Evolutionarily preserved mechanism governs use of genes
Researchers at Uppsala University have found that the protein coding parts of a gene are packed in special nucleosomes. The same type of packaging is found in the roundworm C elegans, which is a primeval relative of humans. view more (2009-08-18)
Scientists Take Early Steps Toward Mapping Epigenetic Variability
The study of eipigenetic variability in cells and tissues could someday help diagnose diseases more precisely and provide more targeted treatments for chronic ailments. view more (2009-08-17)
Silenced genes as a warning sign of blood cancer
In many types of cancer, parts of the genetic material of tumor cells are switched off by chemical labels called methyl groups. This kind of methyl labeling ranges among the epigenetic changes that do not change the sequence of DNA building blocks. view more (2009-08-05)
Cancer's distinctive pattern of gene expression could aid early screening and prevention
Distinctive patterns of genes turned off - or left on - in healthy versus cancerous cells could enable early screening for many common cancers and maybe help avoid them, Medical College of Georgia scientists say. view more (2009-07-28)
New Piece Found in the Puzzle of Epigenetics
A team of scientists led by Professor Dirk Eick of Helmholtz Zentrum München has identified the enzyme TFIIH kinase as an important factor in the epigenetic regulation of the cell nucleus enzyme RNA polymerase II. view more (2009-06-17)
New Method Developed by UC San Diego Bioengineers Gives Regenerative Medicine a Boost
Bioengineers at UC San Diego have developed a breakthrough method for sequencing-based methylation profiling, which could help fuel personalized regenerative medicine and even lead to more efficient and cost-effective methods for studying certain diseases. view more (2009-04-24)
New nucleotide could revolutionize epigenetics
Anyone who studied a little genetics in high school has heard of adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine -- the A,T,G and C that make up the DNA code. view more (2009-04-17)
The new 'epigenetics:' Poor nutrition in the womb causes permanent genetic changes in the offspring
The new science of epigenetics explains how genes can be modified by the environment, and a prime result of epigenetic inquiry has just been published online in The FASEB Journal: You are what your mother did not eat during pregnancy. view more (2009-04-14)
Ali Shilatifard and Colleagues Aim to Clarify the Definition of "Epigenetics"
Ali Shilatifard, Ph.D., Investigator, has joined with a team of colleagues to propose an operational definition of "Epigenetics" - a rapidly growing research field that investigates heritable alterations in gene expression caused by mechanisms other than changes in DNA sequence. view more (2009-04-02)
Understanding mental illness through gene-environment interactions
Biological Psychiatry, published by Elsevier, is very pleased to present a special section of its February 1st issue devoted to fundamental new insights into epigenetics, a field of research devoted to understanding how the environment can produce long-lasting or even heritable changes in gene function without altering the DNA sequence. view more (2009-03-17)
ossible drug target for obesity treatment a no-brainer: UNC study
Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have discovered a gene that when mutated causes obesity by dampening the body's ability to burn energy while leaving appetite unaffected. view more (2009-02-05)
Rethinking the genetic theory of inheritance
Scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have detected evidence that DNA may not be the only carrier of heritable information; a secondary molecular mechanism called epigenetics may also account for some inherited traits and diseases. view more (2009-01-20)
Growth of new brain cells requires 'epigenetic' switch
New cells are born every day in the brain's hippocampus, but what controls this birth has remained a mystery. Reporting in the January 1 issue of Science, neuroscientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have discovered that the birth of new cells, which depends on brain activity, also depends on a protein that is involved in... view more... (2009-01-09)
CSHL researchers map changing epigenetic modifications that enable transposons to run amok
Much like cancer cells, plant cells grown for a long time outside of their normal milieu, in culture dishes, have highly unstable genomes. view more (2008-12-11)
Plants display 'molecular amnesia'
Plant researchers from McGill University and the University of California, Berkeley, have announced a major breakthrough in a developmental process called epigenetics. They have demonstrated for the first time the reversal of what is called epigenetic silencing in plants. view more (2008-12-03)
Study finds genomic changes in the brains of people who commit suicide
Are genes destiny? Alternatively, are we simply the products of our environment? There is a growing sense that neither of these two possibilities fully captures the essence of the risk for psychiatric disorders. view more (2008-10-23)
Our genome changes over lifetime, Johns Hopkins experts say
Researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that epigenetic marks on DNA-chemical marks other than the DNA sequence-do indeed change over a person's lifetime, and that the degree of change is similar among family members. view more (2008-06-25)
Child abuse may 'mark' genes in the brains of suicide victims
A team of McGill University scientists has discovered important differences between the brains of suicide victims and so-called normal brains. Although the genetic sequence was identical in the suicide and non-suicide brains, there were differences in their epigenetic marking - a chemical coating influenced by environmental factors. view more (2008-05-07)
'Destruct' triggers may be jammed in tumor cells, UF geneticists say
Tumor cells living in the cross hairs of radiation or chemotherapy may be able to escape death because their self-destruct mechanisms are jammed, say University of Florida scientists writing in a recent issue of Developmental Cell. view more (2008-05-01)
Epigenetic research uncovers new targets for modification enzymes
Enzymes regulating genetic expression can be just as important as the genome itself, increasing evidence shows. The expanding field of epigenetics focuses on the multiple influences on DNA and surrounding molecules that determine whether genes are turned on or off during development and disease processes. view more (2008-04-28)
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