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.

Prenatal exposure to paternal tobacco smoking linked to high asthma risk

Children exposed to paternal tobacco smoking before birth are more likely to develop asthma - and associated changes to immune genes predict the level of risk.

31 May 2019

Study explores associations between daytime sleepiness and epigenetic modifications

Everyone feels tired at times, but up to 20 percent of U.S. adults report feeling so sleepy during the day that it interferes with daily activities, including working, having meals or carrying on conversations.

29 May 2019

Children under 3 years old are most vulnerable to the effects of adversity, study finds

A Massachusetts General Hospital study has found evidence that children under 3 years old are most the vulnerable to the effects of adversity - experiences including poverty, family and financial instability, and abuse - on their epigenetic profiles, chemical tags that alter gene expression and may have consequences for future mental health.

1 May 2019

Prenatal stress may be involved in shaping psychiatric resilience later in life

Maternal stress during or after pregnancy has been repeatedly associated with subsequent psychiatric problems and non-coding 'epigenetic' DNA changes during childhood.

30 Apr 2019

Cannabis, Alcohol and the Epigenome

With the legalization of cannabis in many US states, we explore the epigenetic effects of cannabis, cannabis-derived products, and alcohol.

29 Apr 2019

New review highlights how lifestyle affects our genes

In the past decade, knowledge of how lifestyle affects our genes, a research field called epigenetics, has grown exponentially.

24 Apr 2019

Restoring function of 'misregulated' cancer-fighting genes

Working with human colon cancer cells and mice, researchers led by experts at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have successfully blocked the activity of portions of a protein known as UHRF1 and restored the function of hundreds of cancer-fighting genes that became "misregulated" by the disease.

15 Apr 2019

Johns Hopkins scientists design new cell model of aging-associated colon cancer risk

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers say a new study of clusters of mouse cells known as "organoids" has significantly strengthened evidence that epigenetic changes, common to aging, play a essential role in colon cancer initiation.

12 Apr 2019

Study relates DNA methylation levels to obesity

DNA methylation is a mechanism that regulates whether genes are "on" or "off" and is influenced by hereditary and environmental factors, as well as lifestyle and nutritional habits.

10 Apr 2019

Poverty can become embedded across wide swaths of the genome, study finds

A new Northwestern University study challenges prevailing understandings of genes as immutable features of biology that are fixed at conception.

4 Apr 2019

Research leads to innovative method of diagnosing rare hereditary diseases

A new sophisticated computational model, developed by scientists at Lawson Health Research Institute, is bringing an innovative method of diagnosing rare hereditary conditions.

29 Mar 2019

Researchers find little evidence for connection between Chinese Famine and T2DM epidemic

The Chinese Famine of 1959-61 has been widely interpreted as an important contributor to later epidemics of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitis, but in re-examining 17 related Chinese studies researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and Leiden University Medical Center, found little evidence for this association.

26 Mar 2019

Ludwig scientists to share advances in cancer research at AACR Annual Meeting 2019

Ludwig Cancer Research released today the full breadth of findings to be presented by Ludwig researchers at this year's American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga., March 29 - April 3, 2019.

22 Mar 2019

UCD researchers lead development of new urine test to detect prostate cancer

Cancer researchers at University College Dublin have led the development of a new test which uses urine to detect prostate cancer. Studies have so far shown the test to be 70% more specific for prostate cancer compared to the blood test currently used by doctors.

19 Mar 2019

A molecular epigenetic marker can predict survival of children with leukemia

A molecular epigenetic marker is important for distinguishing patients with childhood leukemia at high and low risk of relapse even at the time of diagnosis.

8 Mar 2019

Older biologic age associated with increased risk of developing breast cancer

Biologic age, a DNA-based estimate of a person's age, is associated with future development of breast cancer, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

23 Feb 2019

Microbiologists identify enzyme that makes Helicobacter so adaptable

The bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori owes its worldwide distribution to its genetic adaptability. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Munich microbiologists have identified an enzyme that plays a vital role in the flexible control of global gene expression in the species.

13 Feb 2019

New DNA methylation GrimAge tool allows you to predict lifespan and healthspan

The Grim Reaper arrives for each of us eventually--wouldn't it be nice to know when? Now UCLA researchers have developed a new tool to help you plan ahead for your date with the Angel of Death.

13 Feb 2019

Blood cells could hold the key to aging

Blood cells could hold the key to aging, according to new research out of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

8 Feb 2019

Insufficient sleep mirrored by DNA from blood leukocytes

An insufficient amount of sleep and qualitatively poor sleep are common among the general population. Prior studies have indicated that prolonged insufficient sleep and poor sleep quality are associated with a heightened risk of cardiovascular diseases, dementia and psychiatric disorders, particularly depression, yet the molecular mechanisms underlying this connection are not well known.

7 Feb 2019