A report on the Epigenetic Engineering Meeting hosted by the Barts Institute of Cancer, held in London, UK, May 7, 2014 This short and focused meeting was set up to bring the audience up to date with a specific set of techniques broadly categorized as epigenetic engineering (or epigenetic editing). The speakers reminded us of very important questions that still linger, like Damocles’ sword, over the field of epigenetics: what is the real role of epigenetics during gene transcription and development? Are epigenetic modifications the cause or consequence of these processes? While the jury is still out, this meeting reminded us that the tools needed to answer these philosophical questions are finally available and improving by the hour. Moreover, there was also a general consensus that epigenetic editing might provide the next big advance in cancer treatment. Epigenetic-editing treatments might finally allow targeted modulation of gene expression and could bypass the side effects of current epigenetic drugs.
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