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.

Scientists uncover how methylation changes can influence blood stem cell's fate

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered intriguing new evidence helping to explain one of the ways in which a stem cell's fate can be determined.

27 Sep 2011

ATA announces five recipients of 2011 thyroid cancer research grants

The American Thyroid Association (ATA) announced the five recipients of its 2011 research grants, each of whom will receive up to $25,000 annually for up to two years. Three of the five recipients were awarded special ATA ThyCa grants for research projects that focus on thyroid cancer. These grants are funded by ThyCa: Thyroid Cancer Survivors, Inc.

8 Sep 2011

Parental stress strongly associated with DNA methylation in children

Researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Child & Family Research Institute have shown that parental stress during their children's early years can leave an imprint on their sons' or daughters' genes - an imprint that lasts into adolescence and may affect how these genes are expressed later in life.

31 Aug 2011

‘Methyl magnet’ genes can cause family cancer risk

Medical researchers have discovered a new type of mechanism causing cancer susceptibility, showing that tiny changes in some anti-cancer genes can act as magnets to attract modifying “biochemical tags”, effectively switching them off and predisposing families to an increased risk of the disease.

15 Aug 2011

Cancer-causing fusion protein works by silencing tumor suppressor gene IL-2Rγ

Mariusz A. Wasik, MD, professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and Qian Zhang, MD, PhD, research assistant professor, both from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and their colleagues, found that a cancer-causing fusion protein works by silencing the tumor suppressor gene IL-2R common gamma-chain.

10 Aug 2011

HUYA enters strategic partnership with King's Lab

HUYA Bioscience International, a leader in globalizing China's biopharmaceutical innovations, today announced a strategic partnership with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Pharmacy King's Lab. The alliance with HUYA will assist King's Lab in accelerating the development of their novel drugs to international standards.

8 Aug 2011

New study supports DNA-based 'biomarker' blood test for prostate cancer screening

A new study supports the use of a DNA-based "biomarker" blood test as a complement to the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test currently offered to screen men for prostate cancer. University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers report their findings online ahead of print in the British Journal of Cancer.

8 Aug 2011

Scientists discover new bases of DNA

For decades, scientists have known that DNA consists of four basic units -- adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine. Those four bases have been taught in science textbooks and have formed the basis of the growing knowledge regarding how genes code for life.

22 Jul 2011

First genome-wide mapping of DNA modification in embryonic stem cells

Stem cell researchers at UCLA have generated the first genome-wide mapping of a DNA modification called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in embryonic stem cells, and discovered that it is predominantly found in genes that are turned on, or active.

22 Jul 2011

Altogen Labs introduces pyrosequencing services for hospitals, research institutions

Altogen Labs, a biology contract research organization and provider of pre-clinical research services, announced its launch of a pyrosequencing service today.

20 Jul 2011

TCGA examines ovarian serous adenocarcinoma tumors from 500 patients

An analysis of genomic changes in ovarian cancer has provided the most comprehensive and integrated view of cancer genes for any cancer type to date. Ovarian serous adenocarcinoma tumors from 500 patients were examined by The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network and analyses are reported in the June 30, 2011, issue of Nature.

30 Jun 2011

Majority of cancers are due to epigenetic influences

Dr. Ajay Goel, Ph.D., Director of Epigenetics and Cancer Prevention at the Gastrointestinal Research Center at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, TX, has announced plans for a series of upcoming studies to continue to unlock the mechanisms by which curcumin prevents cancer via its influence on epigenetic activity.

23 Jun 2011

ISSCR honors UCSF cancer scientist with 2011 Outstanding Young Investigator Award

UCSF's Robert Blelloch, MD, PhD, has received the 2011 Outstanding Young Investigator Award from the International Society for Stem Cell Research, for his pioneering research on the role of molecular tools known as microRNAs in embryonic stem cells and cancer.

16 Jun 2011

Researchers identify 'epigenetic fingerprints' of healthy volunteers, patients with common diseases

Until a decade, it was believed that differences between people were due solely to the existence of genetic changes, which are alterations in the sequence of our genes. The discoveries made during these last ten years show that beings with the same genetics like the twins and cloned animals may have different characteristics and disease due to epigenetic changes.

4 Jun 2011

Green tea consumption increases number of 'regulatory T cells', prevents autoimmune disease

One of the beneficial compounds found in green tea has a powerful ability to increase the number of "regulatory T cells" that play a key role in immune function and suppression of autoimmune disease, according to new research in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University.

3 Jun 2011

Children exposed to maternal smoking in utero have increased DNA methylation in AXL gene

Children whose mothers or grandmothers smoked during pregnancy are at increased risk of asthma in childhood, but the underlying causes of this are not well understood. Now a new study indicates changes in a process called DNA methylation that occurs before birth may be a root cause.

19 May 2011

Epigenomics presents Septin9 blood test study data in colorectal cancer at DDW 2011

Epigenomics AG, the cancer molecular diagnostics company, reports that Dr. Uri Ladabaum, Associate Professor in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at the School of Medicine of Stanford University, has presented the results of a health economic analysis of potential future colorectal cancer screening with Septin9 blood tests at the ongoing Digestive Disease Week 2011.

9 May 2011

Genome epigenetic analysis reveals new ways to detect and treat breast cancer

The most comprehensive analysis yet of the epigenetic modifications present in breast cancer has revealed potentially important new ways to detect and treat the disease, Belgian researchers have reported.

5 May 2011

Eurotrans-Bio awards 1.1 million grant to MDxHealth, NovioGendix for bladder cancer program

MDxHealth SA, a leading molecular diagnostics company in the field of personalized cancer treatment, today announced that together with partner NovioGendix B.V., a molecular diagnostics company spun out from Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, the Netherlands, has received a USD 1.1 million grant from Eurotrans-Bio to progress its bladder cancer program.

3 May 2011

UCLA study findings hold promise to cure diabetes

Simply put, people develop diabetes because they don't have enough pancreatic beta cells to produce the insulin necessary to regulate their blood sugar levels.

30 Apr 2011