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.

A more accurate tool for assessing Arsenic toxicity

Public health experts estimate that more than 200 million people worldwide are exposed to arsenic through contaminated drinking water. Scientists know long-term exposure to arsenic is associated with increased risk of chronic illnesses like cancer and cardiovascular disease, but there hasn't been a reliable way to track these exposures and fully understand their effects on the body and the mechanisms behind them.

4 May 2026

Experimental drug ZED1227 protects the whole body from gluten damage

An experimental drug may in future provide a new form of protection for people with celiac disease.

28 Apr 2026

Obesity may leave immune cells stuck in inflammatory mode after weight loss

A new EMBO Reports study suggests that obesity can leave a lasting epigenetic imprint on CD4 T cells, delaying the restoration of adaptive immune balance after weight loss. Using mouse models and human cohorts, researchers linked this immune “memory” to DNA methylation changes, saturated fatty acids, autophagy, and immune senescence.

28 Apr 2026

Obesity leaves lasting molecular tags on the immune system

People who live with obesity are 'tagging' a memory of being overweight on a key part of the immune system - leaving people with ongoing risk of obesity-related conditions years after losing weight, according to a 10 year-long study published in EMBO Reports.

27 Apr 2026

New insight into how molecular measures of aging relate to neuroimaging markers of brain health

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on April 7, 2026, titled "Association of epigenetic age acceleration with MRI biomarkers of aging and Alzheimer's disease neurodegeneration."

25 Apr 2026

Study identifies epigenetic patterns affecting insulin and glucagon production in type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have carried out the most detailed mapping to date of the epigenome in the cells that regulate the body's blood sugar levels.

24 Apr 2026

Study links common herbicide to rising early-onset colorectal cancer risk

Researchers used DNA methylation-based “epigenetic fingerprints” as proxies for lifelong exposome-related patterns and found that early-onset colorectal cancer was associated with lower Mediterranean diet adherence, lower education, smoking-related signatures, and higher picloram-related exposure signals. They then supported the picloram association in nine independent cohorts and with 21 years of US county-level pesticide-use data, while noting that the findings show association rather than proof of causation.

22 Apr 2026

DNA methylation "fingerprints" identify primary sites in metastatic cancers

A machine learning model analyzing CpG-based DNA methylation accurately predicted the origin of many different cancer types in patients with cancers of unknown primary (CUP), according to research presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2026, held April 17-22.

21 Apr 2026

New study reveals CRISPR enzyme that responds to human DNA methylation

Cancer cells excel at evading detection, but subtle chemical differences set them apart from healthy cells. Now, a team of scientists from Wageningen University & Research and Van Andel Institute has identified a way to exploit this distinction. Using a variant of CRISPR, a modern tool for editing DNA, they distinguished tumor DNA from healthy DNA and selectively cut only the former. The study, published today in Nature, is an early but promising step toward a cancer therapy that targets and destroys tumor cells with high precision.

20 Apr 2026

Scientists discover a biological "memory" of breastfeeding in child blood samples

Babies who are exclusively breastfed for at least three months carry markers in their blood that differ from babies who are not breastfed.

16 Apr 2026

New lab-grown organoids accurately mimic pediatric brain tumor biology

Efforts to identify and evaluate next-generation therapeutics for pediatric brain tumors are easily stymied by the quality and availability of laboratory models for research. To address this issue, scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital developed patient-derived tumor organoids and tumor organoid xenografts that accurately reflect the biologic underpinnings of embryonal brain tumors.

16 Apr 2026

Mitochondrial activity keeps dendritic cells ready to fight disease

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) show that active mitochondria maintain dendritic cells, the immune system's sentinels, in a "ready-to-respond" state, linking cellular metabolism to gene regulation and T-cell activation.

15 Apr 2026

New CRISPR tool selectively cuts tumor DNA while sparing healthy cells

Cancer cells excel at evading detection, but subtle chemical differences set them apart from healthy cells.

15 Apr 2026

Early epigenetic changes shape infant gut microbiome development

The gut microbiome and epigenetics-molecular switches that turn genes on or off-are intertwined, and both contribute to neurodevelopment, finds a study publishing April 10 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue.

10 Apr 2026

Study maps DNA methylation changes driving MDS stem cell dysfunction

Published on April 01, 2026, in Volume 2, article number 19 of the journal Immunity & Inflammation, a collaborative team led by Prof. Cao at the Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, along with Dr. Liangding Hu at the Fifth Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, and Professors Qian Zhang and Yanmei Han at the National Key Laboratory of Immunity and Inflammation, Naval Medical University, has generated the first base-resolution DNA methylome of human MDS HSCs.

9 Apr 2026

New 3D organoid model advances pediatric glioma research and treatment

A three-dimensional experimental system has been developed to study the response to drugs in low-grade glioma, a tumor of the central nervous system that often occurs in children.

9 Apr 2026

How gut microbes may shape heart attack damage and recovery

This review argues that gut microbes and the metabolites they produce, especially SCFAs and TMAO, may shape how the heart responds to myocardial infarction through epigenetic pathways such as DNA methylation, histone modification, and non-coding RNAs. It also outlines potential intervention routes, including diet, probiotics, postbiotics, and metabolite-targeted therapies, while noting that much of the evidence remains translational and not yet clinically definitive.

6 Apr 2026

Plant-focused diets may decelerate epigenetic aging processes

A new research paper was published in Volume 18 of Aging-US on March 20, 2026, titled "Plant-based dietary patterns are associated with slower epigenetic aging."

31 Mar 2026

Chronic colitis reshapes colon stem cells in ways that can accelerate tumour growth

Researchers showed that chronic colitis leaves a long-lasting epigenetic memory in colonic stem cells, persisting for more than 100 days after recovery in mice. This memory is marked by durable AP-1-linked chromatin changes and later amplifies tumour outgrowth after oncogenic mutation.

29 Mar 2026

Weaning reshapes gut microbes to strengthen lifelong immune defenses

According to a team of researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Tongji University and collaborating institutions, weaning or switching from milk to solid food in early life doesn't just change what babies eat, it helps reprogram the gut's immune defenses to mount faster and stronger responses that can last into adulthood.

19 Mar 2026