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HDACking Histone Acetylation With dCas9-HDAC3

June 12, 2017

Hacking the epigenome is no easy task. Each deactivated Cas9 (dCas9) system boasts its own nuances that must be teased apart before we can crack the histone code with its suite of effector domains. When it comes to histone acetylation, we’ve seen the histone acetyltransferase construct dCas9-p300, which writes H3K27ac to activate gene expression. However, […]

Optogenetics and Smartphone Technology Combine to Provide Personalized Diabetes Treatment

May 2, 2017

They help organize our schedules, they keep us in touch with good (and bad) friends, and they barely leave our sides throughout the day. But can we exploit the ubiquitous nature of smartphones to facilitate personalized treatment of human disease? This is the hope of researchers from the laboratory of Haifeng Ye (East China Normal […]

Cyborg Sperm Target Cancer

April 19, 2017

Yes, you read that correctly, researchers from the lab of Oliver G. Schmidt (IFW Dresden, Germany) have developed a half-biological, half-mechanical cancer-killing cyborg based on the humble spermatozoa. Specifically, the extremely virile research team loaded sperm with a cargo of chemotherapeutic drugs and provided each wriggler with a specially designed metallic harness to allow magnetic […]

Engineered Cells Treat Diabetic Mice

February 23, 2017

Mmm… post-lunch blood glucose spike! Sitting down at my quiet computer, I can nearly hear my pancreatic islet cells working away, pumping out insulin to keep my blood glucose levels in check. Unfortunately, millions of people are not so well-protected from the glycemic havoc so mercilessly wreaked by chocolate cake. For people with type 1 […]

Optogenetic Epigenetic Editing of DNA Methylation Puts You in Control of Stem Cell Fate

February 16, 2017

In Greek mythology, the fates forge the strings of life that control our lives and choose the moment of its end. We mere mortals yearn for such powers and we are now one step closer to the light thanks to an optogenetic epigenome editing system that lets you write and erase DNA methylation to control […]

In Vivo Gene Editing Strategy has CRISPR-Cas9 on the Brain

February 16, 2017

Are you crazy for CRISPR-Cas9? Are you gaga for in vivo gene editing? You should probably get out more, but in the meantime we have just the study for you. A new Nature Biotechnology study from the lab of Jennifer A Doudna has described a major step toward the in vivo application of CRISPR-Cas9-mediated gene […]

Pool Party: CRISPR + DropSeq For Better Pooled Screening

February 16, 2017

For those living in the more Northern climes, this is just about the time when you would give nearly anything for a sunny pool party. When it comes to pool parties, CRISPR turns out to be a pretty good host, but with one important caveat – CRISPR pool parties tend to be life-or-death affairs. Pooled […]

Anti-CRISPRs Provide A Kill Switch For Cas9

January 6, 2017

The post-holiday party period is always an excellent time to reflect that there can always be too much of a good thing. Whether it’s cookies, champagne, or Bing Crosby, sometimes you just need an off-switch. The same can be true of Cas9 – leaving it turned on after your gene editing is done, or leaky […]

HITI: Gene Knock-Ins for Old Cells

December 29, 2016

Just like kids during the holidays, young stem cells have all the fun with their fancy new CRISPR-themed gene editing gifts, while their older, wiser, more differentiated counterparts keep getting nothing but coal. (Well technically carbon nanotubes, but elementally the same). This neglect is partly the fault of more differentiated cells themselves; stodgy as they are, […]

CRISPR Interference Sheds Light on lncRNA Function

December 24, 2016

CRISPR/Cas9 regularly “lights up” our homepage here at Epigenie with new breakthroughs in DNA methylation, stem cell gene editing, and 3-D chromosome structure, to name but a few of the recent highlights. Now, an exciting new study published in Science has employed CRISPR/Cas9 technology to illuminate the “dark matter” of our genome; the ubiquitous but […]

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