Summary DNA cytosine methylation is a central epigenetic modification that plays essential roles in cellular processes including genome regulation, development and disease. Here we present the first genome-wide, single-base resolution maps of methylated cytosines in a mammalian genome, from both human embryonic stem cells and fetal fibroblasts, along with comparative analysis of mRNA and small RNA components of the transcriptome, several histone modifications, and sites of DNA-protein interaction for several key regulatory factors. Widespread differences were identified in the composition and patterning of cytosine methylation between the two genomes. Nearly one-quarter of all methylation identified in embryonic stem cells was in a non-CG context, suggesting that they may utilize different methylation mechanisms to affect gene regulation. Methylation in non-CG contexts showed enrichment in gene bodies and depletion in protein binding sites and enhancers. Non-CG methylation disappeared upon induced differentiation of the embryonic stem cells, and was restored in induced pluripotent stem cells. We identified hundreds of differentially methylated regions proximal to genes involved in pluripotency and differentiation, and widespread reduced methylation levels in fibroblasts associated with lower transcriptional activity. These reference epigenomes provide a foundation for future studies exploring this key epigenetic modification in human disease and development.

The laboratory mouse is the most widely used mammalian model organism in biomedical research. The 2.6 × 109 bases of the mouse genome possess a high degree of conservation with the human genome1, so a thorough annotation of the mouse genome will be of significant value to understanding the function of the human genome. So far, most of the functional sequences in the mouse genome have yet to be found, and the cis-regulatory sequences in particular are still poorly annotated. Comparative genomics has been a powerful tool for the discovery of these sequences2, but on its own it cannot resolve their temporal and spatial functions. Recently, ChIP-Seq has been developed to identify cis-regulatory elements in the genomes of several organisms including humans, Drosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans3–5. Here we apply the same experimental approach to a diverse set of 19 tissues and cell types in the mouse to produce a map of nearly 300,000 murine cis-regulatory sequences. The annotated sequences add up to 11% of the mouse genome, and include more than 70% of conserved non-coding sequences. We define tissue-specific enhancers and identify potential transcription factors regulating gene expression in each tissue or cell type. Finally, we show that much of the mouse genome is organized in to domains of coordinately regulated enhancers and promoters. Our results provide a resource for the annotation of functional elements in the mammalian genome and for the study of mechanisms regulating tissue-specific gene expression.

Consumer research has documented dozens of instances in which the introduction of an "irrelevant" third option affects preferences between the remaining two. In nearly all such cases, the unattractive dominated option enhances the attractiveness of the option it most resembles -a phenomenon known as the "attraction effect." In the studies presented here, however, we contend that this phenomenon may be restricted to stylized product representations in which every product dimension is represented by a number (e.g., a toaster oven that has a durability of 7.2 and ease of cleaning of 5.5). Such effects do not typically obtain when consumers experience the product (e.g., taste a drink) or when even one of the product attributes is represented perceptually (e.g., differently priced hotel rooms whose quality is depicted with a photo). We posit that perceptual representations of attributes do not support the sorts of comparisons that drive the effect with highly stylized examples, and we question the practical significance of the effect.

In this article, we consider why employing realistic experimental designs and measuring actual behavior is important and beneficial for consumer research. More specifically, we discuss when, where, and how researchers might go about doing this in order to increase the veracity and believability of their work. We analyze the choice of independent variables (IVs) along the experimental-realism dimension, ranging from artificial to realistic, and the choice of dependent variables (DVs) along the behavioral-measures dimension ranging from hypothetical intention to actual behavior. Importantly, we also map various goals of consumer research along these two dimensions to highlight when it is most appropriate to enhance the realism and behavioral measures of an experiment. Using a number of illustrative examples from research in the extant literature, we specifically highlight how consumer researchers can increase experimental realism and utilize actual-behavior measures in their experiments in order to improve both the fidelity of the research and the likelihood that the research provides insight into real consumer behavior.

Understanding the role of emotion in forming preferences is critical in helping firms choose effective marketing strategies and consumers make appropriate consumption decisions. In five experiments, participants made a set of binary product choices under conditions designed to induce different degrees of emotional decision processing. The results consistently indicate that greater reliance on emotional reactions during decision making is associated with greater preference consistency and less cognitive noise. Additionally, the results of a meta‐analytical study based on data from all five experiments further show that products that elicit a stronger emotional response are more likely to yield consistent preferences.