Automated Chromatin Profiling Platforms Autopilot Patients to the ClinicNovember 22, 2021From human-free supermarket check-outs to autopiloted cars, the modern world is rapidly moving towards automation. In the most recent advance, a rabble of robotic researchers has applied related technological tricks to epigenetic assays to “autopilot” high-throughput chromatin profiling and provide a clinical tool that may support optimized treatment choices in leukemia patients. Specifically, a technology-driven […]
scSPRITE Adds a Twist to Single-cell Genome OrganizationSeptember 27, 2021Are your single-cell chromosome conformation capture experiments looking a little flat? Is your Hi-C data missing that “pop”? Well, don´t fret; a new study serves up a refreshing twist on a popular technique – scSPRITE – that will put some fizz back into your single-cell genome organization research! While bulk profiling provides an averaged read-out […]
Selfies from Beyond the Grave: CelFiE Deconvolutes Cell-free DNA Methylation MessagesJuly 27, 2021Although receiving a selfie from beyond the grave might sound disturbing, posthumous snapshots from dying cells in the form of the cell-free DNA (cfDNA) they release can help prevent us from entering an early grave. Giving Snapchat a run for its money is a new program called CelFiE (CELl Free DNA Estimation via expectation-maximization), which […]
Getting Cheeky with Buccal Collection Methods: The Swab vs. Saliva Cellular Heterogeneity ShowdownJuly 23, 2021There’s nothing tongue in cheek when it comes to the consideration of buccal cell heterogeneity in sample collections methods. Although buccal epithelial cells are the target given their relationship with the brain DNA methylome, immune cells come along for the ride. As the lab of Jeffery Craig (Deakin University, Australia) has previously shown, buccal epithelial cell sample collection […]
New Single-cell CRISPR Screens “ATAC” Chromatin AccessibilityJune 6, 2021Have you been struggling to agree on a plan of action for your recent epigenetic experiments? Have you been fighting over just what strategy to use to decipher how genetic alterations affect the epigenetic landscape? While we should all follow John and Yoko’s example and try to give peace a chance, you sometimes need to […]
Where’s the Cancer Driver? MethSig Cuts Through the Background Noise to Identify Oncogenic Promoter HypermethylationMay 26, 2021As any TikTokker, Zoom presenter, or amateur photographer worth their salt can tell you, sometimes a good background is all you need to make your content really pop. It turns out that the same principle applies when trying to figure out which promoter DNA hypermethylation events drive tumor growth. MethSig, a new algorithm developed by Heng Pan in Dan Landau’s group at Weill Cornell Medicine, improves […]
Nu.Q Capture‑MS: The New New of Liquid Biopsy Detects Histone Modifications on Circulating NucleosomesApril 20, 2021With the rapid pace of liquid biopsy assay development, it can be a challenge to keep up with the latest and greatest early cancer detection methods. Although most methods are focused on assaying the association of cell-free DNA methylation profiles with cancer, a new method homes in on circulating nucleosomes and their histone post-translational modifications (PTMs). In order […]
Removing R-loops Regulates Repression: Revealing the Role of LSD1April 19, 2021Epigenetic regulatory cascades can be complex affairs…to say the least. Thankfully, a recent chromatin effector coregulator-based study now keeps us firmly in the loop by revealing how a histone demethylase induces gene repression by triggering a regulatory cascade that removes RNA:DNA hybrid structures known as R-loops! A talented team led by Philipp Rathert (University of […]
From Single Molecules to Single Cells: NanoMethPhase and scMspJI-seq Upgrade DNA Methylation Mining MethodsApril 2, 2021Mining the DNA methylome can provide a treasure trove of biological insight, and two new whole-genome DNA methylation sequencing methods have come along to fuel a technological gold rush. NanoMethPhase and scMspJI-seq break new ground in phasing allele-specific methylation (ASM) and generating strand-specific single-cell methylomes. By applying these novel approaches, the talented teams dig deep into complex DNA […]
Are My Eggs Getting Old? Single-cell Multiomics Shows that Oocytes Have an Epigenetic TimestampJanuary 13, 2021Unfortunately, real life is not a fairy tale. Unlike Sleeping Beauty, sleeping oocytes are not frozen in time. As oocytes get older, they acquire epigenetic changes that make it harder for them to get on with their baby making business. Important new single-cell multiomics work from Gavin Kelsey’s and Myriam Hemberger’s teams at the Babraham Institute shows […]