Our mothers might be onto something when they jokingly blame us for their gray hair and wrinkles. In two recent studies, DNA methylation-based epigenetic clocks show that pregnancy, with its far-ranging emotional and physical changes, increases the biological ages of mothers. On the bright side, the effects were reversible in those who breastfed, according to one of the studies.   The Biological Cost of Pregnancy   Buying a crib, diapers, and other necessities can rack up the bills, but preparing for baby also has a biological cost. A hint of this was born last year when a group anal ..read more

Has searching for ncRNAs left you needing forty winks? Maybe take a short rest and dream-a-little-dream, but don’t sleep on a brand new technique known as napRNA sequencing or NAP-seq, which represents a wake-up call to the epigenetics field by providing the ability to describe novel classes of human regulatory non-coding or ncRNAs! Wakey-wakey! RNA polymerases I-III transcribe the genome into RNAs, which become processed into capped RNAs (mainly messenger RNAs), and non-capped RNAs (napRNAs), which can serve as non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) to regulate gene expression. To describe the genome-wide ..read more

A selfish toddler might throw a tantrum to get their way, but in worms, a “selfish” piece of DNA known as a toxin-antidote (TA) element uses something more sinister—poison. Researchers have just discovered a parent-of-origin effect with this nematode element that could be an evolutionary precursor of genomic imprinting.   Led by Alejandro Burga (Institute of Molecular Biology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences) and Eyal Ben-David (who was at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem), the altruistic team was studying two different wild isolates of C. tropicalis when they realized that they had ..read more

Ever wanted to cut a bad thing out of your life? Well, perhaps the secret to success doesn’t involve any cutting (of your DNA). In some people, a mutant PCSK9 gene interferes with the liver’s job to get rid of LDL, aka “bad” cholesterol. Now, researchers have developed an all-in-one “evolved engineered transcriptional repressor” (EvoETR) that reduced circulating levels of Pcsk9 in mice for weeks without the potential safety issues associated with cutting DNA with CRISPR-Cas9.   The PCSK9 protein controls the number of LDL receptors that are on the surface of liver cells by degrading some ..read more

Like no man is an island and instead relies on those surrounding them, single epigenetic modifications generally do not function in solitary. Now, an absorbing new study from a synergistic epigenomics squad reports how epigenetic reader proteins functionally interpret chromatin states made up of complex combinations of disparate epigenetic modifications. A highly collaborative team guided by Till Bartke (Helmholtz Zentrum München) knew of reader proteins that recognized individual modifications; however, the functional interpretation of complex chromatin states remained somewhat a mystery. To ..read more

A growling stomach represents a clear sign that you must eat something tasty; however, sometimes, your digestive system is where the message needs to go! An exciting epigenetics study reveals that our gut microbiota employs a histone code via histone acylations to influence gene expression in intestinal cells, forcing these cells to speak their language! A communicative crew headed by Leah A. Gates (Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine) knew that high levels of metabolites generated by gut microbiota could induce post-translational modifications in histone proteins in neighboring ..read more

Many have seen a world of opportunities open with the release of artificial intelligence-based tools to the public; now, an all-seeing team has combined CRISPR technology with  “transposase-accessible chromatin with visualization,” aka ATAC-see, to open a whole epigenome of possibilities by identifying novel chromatin regulators! The team, headed by the “visionary” Yusuke Miyanari (Kanazawa University), recognized the functional association between chromatin accessibility and transcriptional networks/cell identity but knew that the molecular mechanisms/networks underpinning chromatin acce ..read more

Sometimes, when you’re dealt the right hand, doubling down is a sound strategy. Although it can be a risky move in blackjack, a new ChIP-seq method makes it a sure thing when you’re dealing with bivalent chromatin. The strategy, which includes important preparation steps and two rounds of chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), provides sensitive genome-wide profiles of bivalent chromatin from low-input sample sources.   Being poised for a situation can help you win in both high stakes gambling and epigenetics. One way a cell can adapt to changing conditions during development is through bi ..read more

A new style, novel functionalities, and a better overall product; we always want our smartwatches to employ the latest technology, and why not?! Now, a well-timed update involving cell-free DNA (cfDNA) nucleosomics-based technology provides for a significantly upgraded epigenetic clock, which may boost aging-based research. A punctual team led by Vladimir B. Teif (University of Essex) that sought to determine the changes occurring to genomic nucleosome positions during aging knew that cfDNA comprises nucleosome-protected genomic regions resistant to digestion by nucleases. Overall, nucleosome ..read more

Performing experiments to understand gene regulation and do not want to miss any extra points? Well, FORGEdb may be the method for you! Building on previous research,  this new method can help scientists unravel the mysteries behind complex diseases by identifying candidate functional variants and uncovering target genes and mechanisms. Developed by a team led by Charles E. Breeze, this method promises to accelerate our understanding of genetic variants and their influence on diseases. Disease-associated variants identified through genome-wide association studies (GWAS) generally locate t ..read more