DNA and Histone Methylation Keeps Rowdy Retrotransposons Quiet When Recovering from InjuryJanuary 23, 2025Retrotransposons want to be the life of the party, but mammalian cells need peace and quiet to focus on recovering from an injury. New research shows that without careful coordination by the Setdb1 histone methyltransferase, stem cells become exhausted and the Tet DNA demethylase wakes up endogenous retroviruses (ERVs)—a type of retrotransposon. As a result […]
Epigenetics Reminds Adipocytes of their Obese Past After Weight LossDecember 8, 2024The age-old saying “a moment on the lips, forever on the hips” just got a modern update thanks to an epigenome-based study of obesity! New research now describes the existence of epigenetic memory in the adipose tissue of obese individuals that persists after significant weight loss. A team led by Ferdinand von Meyenn (ETH Zurich) […]
CpGT and MethylGPT – Large AI Models Lay the Foundation for Advanced DNA Methylation AnalysisNovember 27, 2024Vast amounts of DNA methylation data have paved the way for epigenetic clocks to significantly advance aging research; however, generative artificial intelligence (AI) may have now laid the foundation for more transformative insights into DNA methylation. Two preprints report the application of transformer architecture to develop “foundation” or large AI models trained on vast DNA […]
DNA Methylation and Chromatin Map of the Developing Brain Revealed with Single-Cell MultiomicsNovember 22, 2024Maps can tell you where to go and what landmarks you’ll find along the way. In the same way, a new multiomic map describes how DNA methylation and 3D chromatin conformation changes in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus as the human brain develops. The map could help researchers determine the heritability of neuropsychiatric conditions, such […]
“Epi-bit” Encoded Images of Tigers and Pandas Reveal the Epigenetic Future of DNA-based Memory StorageNovember 10, 2024A memorable musical number from Cats muses on the loss of “Memory;” however, an unforgettable new feline-related study now describes the encoding of images of tigers (and pandas!) using printed epigenetic bits (“epi-bits”) on DNA as a novel storage approach for our data and dearest recollections. Can epi-bits make any memory loss a thing of […]
