Cancer Suppression is a miR-200 Family ValueJanuary 21, 2010Cancer regulation and the miR-200 cluster has been a family affair for a while now. A new article from a group at The University of Arizona highlights a couple of family members, miR-200c and miR-141, (they must be the attention-starved middle children) and how epigenetic regulation of their expression differs in normal and cancer cells. […]
Getting Amped on Bisulfite ConversionJanuary 21, 2010Some of the biggest issues associated with bisulfite conversion aren’t really related to the bisulfite conversion process itself, but rather the downstream assays interpret the base conversion. After all, if a C is converted to a U in a test tube and nothing can assay it effectively, was in really converted? OK, enough bisulfite philosophy. […]
DNMT1 the Key to Radiant Skin?January 20, 2010The key to younger looking skin isn’t in expensive nip/tuck work or clay masks, but as a recent Nature paper shows, it’s actually DNMT1 that plays a major role. Thanks to DNMT1, whenever you shed dry skin, it is continually replaced with a new layer. That’s right—the same DNA methyltransferase that plays a role in […]
Epstein-Barr Virus is Crafty with DNA Methylation in LatencyJanuary 20, 2010The 80s TV show MacGyver featured a main character who was always able to get himself out of dangerous situations with just his wits and clever use of whatever materials happened to be lying around. In much the same way, EBV has figured out how to harness a host B cell’s DNAm machinery to modulate […]
More DNAm Data, Less Sample: Reduced Representation is No BSJanuary 13, 2010When someone tells you that they can save you time, money and sample, the magic trifecta for most scientists, your first thought is probably: “Bull&@%!”…your second thought might be: “Where do I sign up?” A new Nature Methods article from researchers at Broad, MIT, Harvard, and the Max Planck Institute promises to do just that […]
