DNA Methylation News and Research

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DNA methylation is a type of chemical modification of DNA that can be inherited and subsequently removed without changing the original DNA sequence. As such, it is part of the epigenetic code and is also the most well characterized epigenetic mechanism.

New UAB research identifies link between temporal lobe epilepsy and memory loss

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham identifies an epigenetic cause for why patients with temporal lobe epilepsy tend to have memory loss, and suggests a potential way to reverse that loss.

8 Jun 2015

MHICN expands clinical research program in collaboration with Erasmus Medical Center and ErasmusAGE

Metagenics Healthcare Institute for Clinical Nutrition announced today an expanded clinical research program in collaboration with Erasmus Medical Center and ErasmusAGE, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands – a leading global healthcare center in epidemiology and health outcomes research.

1 Jun 2015

DNA changes during drug withdrawal may offer promising ways to develop effective addiction treatments

One of the major challenges of cocaine addiction is the high rate of relapse after periods of withdrawal and abstinence. But new research reveals that changes in our DNA during drug withdrawal may offer promising ways of developing more effective treatments for addiction.

27 May 2015

Study evaluates prenatal nutrition and genome-wide DNA patterns in adults exposed to malnutrition

Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and Leiden University in the Netherlands found that children whose mothers were malnourished at famine levels during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy had changes in DNA methylation known to suppress genes involved in growth, development, and metabolism documented at age 59.

15 May 2015

Smoking-related DNA damage can be detected in cheek swabs

DNA damage caused by smoking can be detected in cheek swabs, finds research published today in JAMA Oncology. The study provides evidence that smoking induces a general cancer program that is also present in cancers which aren't usually associated with it - including breast and gynaecological cancers.

15 May 2015

Researchers uncover methylated DNA markers that may lead to noninvasive cancer screening

A team of Mayo Clinic researchers has succeeded in identifying the source of cancer in patients' gastrointestinal tracts by analyzing DNA markers from tumors. The results open the possibility that doctors could one day be able to screen for cancer anywhere in the body with a noninvasive blood test or stool sample.

22 Apr 2015

Study: Key signaling pathway in B-cell lymphoma can be blocked using compounds

Cancer researchers from the University of Zurich have identified a key signaling pathway in B-cell lymphoma, a malignant type of blood cancer.

7 Apr 2015

New study finds that walnuts have potential to benefit overall health

Multiple new research abstracts suggest walnuts may have the potential to positively affect several important health factors. From their impact on colon cancer and certain aspects of cognitive aging, to their positive effect on both gut health and vascular health, the research findings presented at Experimental Biology 2015 detail our latest understanding of walnuts' inner workings.

31 Mar 2015

McGill researchers identify key mechanism by which environmental factors influence traits

Until now scientists have believed that the variations in traits such as our height, skin colour, tendency to gain weight or not, intelligence, tendency to develop certain diseases, etc., all of them traits that exist along a continuum, were a result of both genetic and environmental factors. But they didn't know how exactly these things worked together.

12 Mar 2015

New study identifies genetic link to peanut allergy

Researchers have pinpointed a region in the human genome associated with peanut allergy in U.S. children, offering strong evidence that genes can play a role in the development of food allergies.

25 Feb 2015

Epigenetics and women’s health research: an interview with Professor Steve Conlan, Swansea University

Our research into gynaecological oncology focuses around understanding mechanisms of how genes are regulated or how they become dysregulated in a disease; and also the effects that has on the surface of the endometrium and also the function of the ovaries...

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 24 Feb 2015

Epigenome plays significant part in embryonic development

The early stages of embryonic development shape our cells and tissues for life. It is during this time that our newly formed cells are transformed into heart, skin, nerve or other cell types. Scientists are finding that this process is largely controlled not by the genome, but by the epigenome, chemical markers on DNA that tell cells when to turn genes on and off.

24 Feb 2015

Researchers assemble comprehensive map of human epigenome

Virtually every cell in the body carries an identical genome. But how is it possible that each of the body's 200 different types of specialized cells - in the heart, brain, bone, skin and elsewhere - develops from the same DNA instruction book?

19 Feb 2015

TNF signaling molecule triggers Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis

Cells lining the intestinal tract form a critical barrier, protecting our bodies from the billions of bacteria living in the gut. Breaches in this barrier are driven largely by a single signaling molecule called tumor necrosis factor (TNF), elevated amounts of which are associated with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

17 Feb 2015

New study sheds light on anorexia nervosa

A study led by Howard Steiger, PhD, head of the Douglas Mental Health University Institute Eating Disorders Program, in Montreal, in collaboration with Linda Booij, a researcher with Sainte-Justine Hospital and an assistant professor at Queen's University, is the first to observe effects suggesting that the longer one suffers from active anorexia nervosa (AN), the more likely they are to show disorder-relevant alterations in DNA methylation.

9 Feb 2015

Genomics of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC): an interview with Professor Thomas J. Giordano

There are two types of thyroid cells and therefore there are two broad types of thyroid cancer. Medullary carcinoma is derived from parafollicular or C cells, whereas follicular cells give rise to several types of thyroid cancers.

4 Feb 2015

New study examines the methylome of triple-negative breast cancer

The new study, published in Nature Communications, compares the breast cancer DNA 'methylome' with that of healthy individuals. The methylome provides a new picture of the genome and shows how it is epigenetically 'decorated' with methyl groups, a process known as DNA 'methylation'.

3 Feb 2015

Researchers reveal why many African-American women are diagnosed with deadly forms of breast cancer

Researchers have uncovered new information that may begin to explain why many African-American women are more likely to be diagnosed with aggressive, often deadly forms of breast cancer, which strengthens the evidence that increased dietary folate intake may prove to be an effective strategy for reducing risk for the disease in African-American women.

31 Jan 2015

Offspring of mice treated with drug had delayed onset, reduced symptoms of Huntington's disease

Famine, drug abuse and even stress can "silence" certain genes, causing health problems in generations to come. Now scientists are wondering—could therapies that change gene expression in parents help their children?

23 Dec 2014

Study: Long-term endurance training alters epigenetic pattern in the human skeletal muscle

A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that long-term endurance training in a stable way alters the epigenetic pattern in the human skeletal muscle. The research team behind the study, which is being published in the journal Epigenetics, also found strong links between these altered epigenetic patterns and the activity in genes controlling improved metabolism and inflammation.

10 Dec 2014