Category Archives: Methylation Specific PCR

Identical Twins are Not Identically Imprinted : Epigenome in Context of the Genome

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Nicole Kelesoglu

As is the case with their fingerprints, imprinted genes are NOT identical in identical twins. In fact, methylation levels vary notably, yet randomly, in localized imprinted regulatory regions, between MZ twins. Even cooler, a new epigenetics clue came out of demonstrating this imprinting variability. This month in PloS one, the collaborators from the Garvin Institute, the University of Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and St. Vincent’s Clinical School, University of NSW, produced the paper Impact of the Genome on the Epigenome Is Manifested in DNA Methylation Patterns of Imprinted Regions in Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins. by Marcel W. Coolen et al. Blood samples from 128 pairs of identical, and 128 pairs of fraternal teen aged twins, … Continue reading →

Posted in Autism, Bioinformatics, DNA Methylation, Developmental Biology, Divergent Transcription, Gene Regulation, Gene Silencing, Genomewide Methylation Profiling, In Utero, Mass Spec, Methylation Specific PCR, Next Gen Sequencing, Sodium Bisulfite Sequencing, Transcriptome microarray | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Can Epigenetics Improve Forensic Science? : “Matters of Life, Liberty & Death”

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Nicole Kelesoglu

With the Casey Anthony case verdict, and recent capture of Whitey Bulger in the news, my attention is drawn to the important service forensic scientists do to society – promoting justice.  The National Academy of Sciences put out a report in 2009, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward. The report details the challenges faced in forensic science, and makes recommendations, which aim for universal standards and establishing best practice. The major challenge for forensic scientists analyzing DNA from a crime scene, is getting useful data from limited and poor quality samples. There are several research avenues where epigenetics can aid forensic science. While genetic information identifies an individual, the epigenetic information can add informative layers to … Continue reading →

Posted in Applications, DNA Methylation, Forensic genetics, Methylation Specific PCR, Next Gen Sequencing, Sodium Bisulfite Sequencing | 3 Comments