
Research Spotlight
Fresh insights from the spatial epigenome

EpiTrace: A Chromatin Clock to Map Cell Mitotic Age from scATAC‑seq
EpiTrace turns chromatin accessibility into a “clock,” letting scientists read how many times a cell has divided directly from single-cell ATAC-seq. Trained on ~126 k clock-like loci, the method accurately orders cells by mitotic age across embryos, organoids, and tumors—unlocking barcode-free lineage tracing and spatial maps of cellular aging.

Spatial ATAC-seq Unmasks Early Glial Rewiring in Alzheimer’s
Ever wondered how early Alzheimer’s really begins? The research team from UT Health Science Center, lead by Dr. Kong, investigates pixel-scale spatial ATAC-seq maps catch microglia and astrocytes flipping their chromatin switches to “inflammatory” in hippocampus and cortex—long before plaques show up—hinting at brand-new, region-specific targets for stopping the disease in its tracks.