Epigenetics News and Research

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Epigenetics is the study of chemical reactions that influence gene expression, through activation or deactivation of genes at specific times and locations.

Mice study shows influence of dad's obesity on daughter’s body weight and breast cancer risk

Obese male mice and normal weight female mice produce female pups that are overweight at birth through childhood, and have delayed development of their breast tissue as well as increased rates of breast cancer.

24 Jun 2016

Scientists discover RNA methylation could strengthen memory formation

New insight into the process that converts experiences into stable long-term memories has been uncovered by neurobiologists from the University of California, Irvine and the University of Queensland.

23 Jun 2016

Drexel University researchers aim to identify new molecular mechanisms involved in chronic pain

Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent, disabling and expensive public health crises in the United States. It affects more than 100 million Americans, with annual costs estimated at $635 billion, says a 2014 report from the American Pain Society.

22 Jun 2016

Scientists aim to explore how gestational diabetes can put babies at lifelong risk for cardiovascular disease

Gestational diabetes can put babies at a lifelong risk for cardiovascular disease, and scientists want to better understand how.

21 Jun 2016

TUM scientists identify four new risk genes altered in MS patients

Scientists of the Technical University of Munich and the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry have identified four new risk genes that are altered in German patients with multiple sclerosis (MS).

20 Jun 2016

Fetal BPA exposure leads to harmful change in adult uterine response to estrogens

Low levels of BPA exposure may be considered safe, but new research published online in The FASEB Journal, suggests otherwise. In the report, researchers from Yale show that the genome is permanently altered in the uterus of mice that had been exposed to BPA during their fetal development.

17 Jun 2016

New study reveals high percentages of unsafe blood lead levels among U.S. children

Despite four decades of public health efforts to minimize children’s exposure to lead, high percentages of unsafe blood lead levels are still found in children in numerous regions of the United States, according to a new study by researchers at Quest Diagnostics, the world’s leading provider of diagnostic information services.

From Quest Diagnostics 17 Jun 2016

Interdisciplinary approach to improve cancer treatments

Whether it focuses on determining why certain cancers develop drug resistance, finding a way to improve individual's immune systems or better understanding cancer cell evolution, fundamental scientific research will "stand up to cancer" with three new awards from the National Science Foundation.

15 Jun 2016

Findings may help explain why rheumatoid arthritis drugs vary in effect

Researchers at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with colleagues in Pennsylvania and China, report that not only are there distinct differences in key cellular processes and molecular signatures between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) but, more surprisingly, there are joint-specific differences in RA.

12 Jun 2016

Maternal stress exposure can have major effect on child’s development and future health

The environment the unborn child is exposed to inside the womb can have a major effect on her or his development and future health. Maternal stress during pregnancy can be transmitted biologically to the unborn child.

9 Jun 2016

Study finds link between late onset of puberty and subsequent semen quality in men

A new study from Rigshospitalet and EDMaRC finds a strong association between late onset of puberty and subsequent semen quality. This is the first study of its kind to investigate the influence of pubertal timing on male reproductive health.

9 Jun 2016

Epigenomic alterations play key role in triggering obesity-induced diabetes

Obesity is a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, yet not all obese humans develop the disease. In a new study, researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden and from the Institute of Health and Medical Research in France have identified epigenomic alterations that are associated with inflammation and type 2 diabetes

7 Jun 2016

Advances in precision diagnostics aid accurate detection of CNS tumors

Thanks to new methods of precision diagnostics, such as DNA sequencing and epigenetic analyses, it is becoming increasingly possible to identify specific central nervous system (CNS) tumors accurately and to provide targeted treatment. The Comprehensive Cancer Center of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital is one of the top centers in the world for diagnosing and treating this type of tumor.

6 Jun 2016

Early social deprivation may lower DNA methylation within stress-related genes

New research suggests that early severe social deprivation may impact DNA modifications that affect the expression of stress-related genes. These nongenetic (or epigenetic) modifications occur when molecules called methyl groups are added to components of DNA.

6 Jun 2016

Gene dysregulation makes immune therapies less effective against metastatic melanoma

Patients who don't respond to treatments that use their own immune cells to destroy tumors, called tumor infiltrating lymphocytes, share changes in mechanisms that switch genes on or off in those cells, according to study results presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology on June 4 in Chicago.

6 Jun 2016

Study provides insight to gene shuffling process

Use of a new technique developed at the Babraham Institute has allowed researchers to take an in-depth look at the gene shuffling process that is responsible for our body's ability to recognise a vast range of foreign agents such as disease-causing microorganisms.

4 Jun 2016

CNIO researchers avoid genetic manipulation to create lab mice with extra-long telomeres

The Telomeres and Telomerase Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, in collaboration with the Centre's Transgenic Mice Core Unit, has succeeded in creating mice in the laboratory with hyper-long telomeres and with reduced molecular ageing, avoiding the use of what to date has been the standard method: genetic manipulation.

3 Jun 2016

New research highlights value of exercise for humans looking to keep their brains fit

The relentless desire by mice to run on cage "exercise" wheels has helped explain at a molecular level how exercise benefits a mammal's brain.

2 Jun 2016

Researchers explore use of miR-192 as clinical marker for pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer is regarded as the cancer type with the lowest survival rates. Fewer than seven in 100 patients survive the first five years after diagnosis. Clinicians attribute this devastating prognosis to two circumstances: Pancreatic cancers often do not cause any signs or symptoms and by the time they are detected they have already reached a very advanced stage in most cases.

2 Jun 2016

Vital compound in common anti-inflammatory drugs can combat cancer, inflammation

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have identified a new pathway by which salicylic acid--a key compound in the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs aspirin and diflunisal--stops inflammation and cancer.

1 Jun 2016

Epigenetics News and Research

Further Reading

Mice study shows influence of dad's obesity on daughter’s body weight and breast cancer risk

Scientists discover RNA methylation could strengthen memory formation

Drexel University researchers aim to identify new molecular mechanisms involved in chronic pain

Scientists aim to explore how gestational diabetes can put babies at lifelong risk for cardiovascular disease

TUM scientists identify four new risk genes altered in MS patients

Fetal BPA exposure leads to harmful change in adult uterine response to estrogens

New study reveals high percentages of unsafe blood lead levels among U.S. children

Interdisciplinary approach to improve cancer treatments

Findings may help explain why rheumatoid arthritis drugs vary in effect

Maternal stress exposure can have major effect on child’s development and future health

Study finds link between late onset of puberty and subsequent semen quality in men

Epigenomic alterations play key role in triggering obesity-induced diabetes

Advances in precision diagnostics aid accurate detection of CNS tumors

Early social deprivation may lower DNA methylation within stress-related genes

Gene dysregulation makes immune therapies less effective against metastatic melanoma

Study provides insight to gene shuffling process

CNIO researchers avoid genetic manipulation to create lab mice with extra-long telomeres

New research highlights value of exercise for humans looking to keep their brains fit

Researchers explore use of miR-192 as clinical marker for pancreatic cancer

Vital compound in common anti-inflammatory drugs can combat cancer, inflammation

Genetics & Genomics - Second Edition eBook

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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