Episode 15: OHSU Researcher Andrew Adey discusses his interest in methylation and how researchers are using new technologies to fill in theories about cell identity and aging dating back to the 1950s.
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Show Notes
Eric Topol Substack Article: “Loss of Cell Identity Drives Human Aging”
Review paper on epigenetics and aging:
Yücel, A.D., Molière, A. & Gladyshev, V.N. “Written in development and lost in ageing: the grammar of cellular identity.” Nature. Sept. 30, 2026.
Another paper on epigenetics and aging
Lu et al. “Prevalent mesenchymal drift in aging and disease is reversed by partial reprogramming.” Cell. October 2025.
Adey lab preprint on single-cell methylation analysis in the brain:
Rylaarsdam, et al. “Early postnatal DNA methylation dynamics define neuronal subtypes and are disrupted by MECP2 loss.” bioRxiv. June 8, 2026.
Adey lab Amethyst paper:
Rylaarsdam, et al. “Single-cell DNA methylation analysis tool Amethyst resolves distinct non-CG methylation patterns in human astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.” Commun Biol. Oct. 14, 2025.
Ecker lab paper on non-canonical methylation in the brain:
Lister, et al. “Global epigenomic reconfiguration during mammalian brain development.” Science. July 4, 2013.
My GenomeWeb story on methylation sequencing tech (paywall)
SciMet v3 paper:
Nichols, et al. “Atlas-scale single-cell DNA methylation profiling with sciMETv3.”Cell Genomics. Jan. 8, 2025.
