Shining the Light on Retinal miRNA RegulationMay 25, 2010As any celebrity can tell you, lighting conditions can make a big difference. A new article in Cell shows that lighting can effect much more than just whether or not a star looks good on the cover of People Magazine, it also plays a part in regulating miRNA expression in the retina. A group from […]
Brain Tumor Patients with DNA Methylation Live LongerMay 25, 2010Most patients diagnosed with brain tumors or gliomas only live about 15 months after the diagnosis, but a few patients beat the odds, living several more years. Researchers with The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) now say that they can tell which patients will have better outcomes by looking at their DNA methylation. Those with a […]
Taming miR-33 Keeps Cholesterol Levels in LineMay 13, 2010Judging from the amount of Lipitor® adds on TV, everyone these days is looking for ways to lower bad cholesterol (LDL) and raise good cholesterol (HDL). Now, in dueling Science Express papers, two independent research teams say that blocking miR-33 expression could give our good cholesterol a real boost. Anders Näär and colleagues at various […]
DNA Methylation Takes a Back Seat To Histone Mods in miRNA RegulationMay 11, 2010DNA methylation has long been considered a key epigenetic driver in transcription, but lately histone modifications have been stealing some of the regulatory thunder. Histone mods like H3K4me3, H3K27me3 and H4 acetylation have shown researchers they’re not afraid to get conrolling when it comes to miRNA transcription either. Researchers from the Institute of Genetics and […]
Getting SMRT with Direct DNA Methylation DetectionMay 10, 2010Discovering a new use for something is always a nice suprise, sort of like finding a forgotten $20 bill in your back pocket. Researchers at Pacific Biosciences realized that their single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) sequencing technique could also have the bonus ability to directly detect DNA methylation (DNAm)—without bisulfite conversion or any other additional sample prep. […]
