Researchers unveiled UMBS‑seq, an 'ultra‑mild' DNA methylation sequencing method published in Nature Communications, addressing DNA damage and inconsistency problems in traditional bisulfite and enzymatic assays. The technique preserves fragile samples, improves accuracy and reduces degradation that has historically limited methylation profiling in archival cancer specimens. Authors and university press notes argued UMBS‑seq will broaden reliable epigenetic analyses for clinical and translational oncology research. Early adopters expect improvements in liquid biopsy and archival sample workflows.