The Chromatin Digest

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  • Microscopic DNA scaffolds may help us combat tuberculosis

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    A scanning electron micrograph of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, an infectious bacterial disease that impacts lung function. Image from NIAID on Wikimedia Commons, under CC BY 2.0. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the causal agent of tuberculosis (TB), which is transmitted through air droplets from person to person and causes severe lung defects. Many…

  • Folding under pressure: RNA looping as a novel epigenetic inheritance mechanism?

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    An example of the different possible types of RNA secondary structures. Credit to Oregon State University, sourced from flickr.com under CC BY-SA 2.0. Most research into epigenetic inheritance – the transmission of traits from cell to cell without altering the DNA sequence – has focused on DNA and histone modifications. New evidence suggests, however, that RNAs,…

  • Scanning the developing chromatome

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    The DNA-binding region of (human) SUV39H1, a key chromatin regulator identified by the authors with ChAC-DIA. Image from SINO Biological. Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) exist in the embryo during early development and can develop into virtually any kind of cell in the body – pluripotent literally means “many-powered”. In the transition from early to late…

  • Lingering epigenetic signatures may underlie weight regain

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    The “yo-yo” effect: even after losing weight, it can be easily regained. Image from Enrique Calabuig on Flickr.com, under CC BY-SA 2.0. Individuals with obesity frequently regain lost weight over time, even following long-term intervention or surgery. However, due to the challenges of working with human fat tissue at a single-cell level, the cellular mechanisms…

  • Biologists discover how to make long distance work

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    Long-range enhancer-promoter contacts work like power lines, connecting regions of the genome which are very far away from each other. Image from pixnio.com under CC PDM 1.0. Enhancers are non-coding elements which are littered throughout the mammalian genome. Enhancers form three-dimensional physical contacts with gene promoters, the sequence immediately upstream (before) the gene’s protein/RNA coding…

  • Announcement: The Chromatin Digest is now on Instagram!

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    Hello! For those of you who are active on social media, The Chromatin Digest now has an Instagram account. If your email inbox gets far too cluttered (I know mine can!), it may be a good idea to follow me there to ensure you don’t miss any posts – @thechromatindigest. All the best, Isabella 🙂…

  • Crime and methylation

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    Crime scene barrier. Image under Creative Commons license, sourced from hawkeyeforensic.com. From quitting smoking and drinking to avoiding specific foods, pregnant women are always advised to be in strict control of their physical health, as this directly impacts the health of the foetus. Foetal alcohol syndrome, for instance, results from excessive drinking during pregnancy. We…

  • The transcription factors behind my midweek meal

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    Tomatoes at various ripening stages (this image is in the public domain). Not long ago, I took a short break from my MSc project to go back home and see my family for Easter. This meant using up all the food in my fridge before leaving, and I cooked up some pretty eclectic meals as…

  • How it all started, and where we are now

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    On the evolution of epigenetics, both as a field and as a term (and my first post!) A diagram of a developing human embryo from a 1916 textbook (image is in the public domain). The meaning of words changes over time. “Awful”, for instance, used to mean “impressive”. Now it means quite the opposite. “Epigenetics”…