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Researchers uncover how vitamins A and C act to modify epigenetic cell memory

Vitamins A and C aren't just good for your health, they affect your DNA too. Researchers at the Babraham Institute and their international collaborators have discovered how vitamins A and C act to modify the epigenetic 'memory' held by cells; insight which is significant for regenerative medicine and our ability to reprogramme cells from one identity to another.

12 Oct 2016

NIBIB researchers develop nanovaccine to enhance cancer immunotherapy

NIBIB researchers have created a nanovaccine that could make a current approach to cancer immunotherapy more effective while also reducing side effects.

25 Aug 2016

DNA methylation changes that alter excitability may be involved in neuropsychiatric diseases

Diseases such as epilepsy, neuropathic pain, anxiety, depression, drug addiction and Alzheimer's are all associated with changes in the excitability of brain neurons.

24 Aug 2016

Mathematicians developing new statistical methods to predict bacterial epidemics

Mathematicians are now developing completely new statistical calculations on the world's fastest computers in order to be able to predict how epidemics of dangerous hospital bacteria spread.

16 Aug 2016

Overcoming gene silencing barriers to target neurological conditions: an interview with Dr Errol de Souza

Many gene mutations that cause neurological disorders have been identified. For example, in a rare neurological disorder such as Huntington’s disease, an autosomal dominant mutation through expansion of CAG (cytosine-adenine-guanine) triplet repeats in the gene coding for the Huntingtin protein results in abnormal protein production.

1 Aug 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

Retroviral replicating vector can extend lives of brain cancer patients

Doctors at UCLA, Cleveland Clinic, University of California San Diego School of Medicine and additional institutions have achieved a milestone in the development of a treatment for people with recurrent glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of brain cancer, by successfully demonstrating a modified virus that can extend the lives of patients with the disease.

2 Jun 2016

Early epigenetic changes could open way for new preventative strategies for ovarian cancer

Research revealing early changes at epigenetic level points to possible new prevention strategies for ovarian cancer. The discovery of early changes in the cells of the Fallopian tubes of women carrying the BRCA genetic mutation could open the way for new preventative strategies for ovarian cancer, reducing the need for invasive surgery, according to research published today in science journal Nature Communications.

24 May 2016

Fructose common in western diet can damage brain genes

A range of diseases -- from diabetes to cardiovascular disease, and from Alzheimer's disease to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- are linked to changes to genes in the brain. A new study by UCLA life scientists has found that hundreds of those genes can be damaged by fructose, a sugar that's common in the Western diet, in a way that could lead to those diseases.

25 Apr 2016

Epigenomics receives FDA approval for Epi proColon®

Epigenomics AG, the German-American cancer molecular diagnostics company, has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Company’s lead product, Epi proColon®, the first and only FDA-approved blood-based colorectal cancer screening test.

14 Apr 2016

Penn researchers develop new mathematical model to estimate mutation rates in the human genome

It turns out that the type, how frequent, and where new mutations occur in the human genome depends on which DNA building blocks are nearby, found researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in an advanced online study published this week in Nature Genetics.

22 Feb 2016

Researchers find new mutation signature in cancer cells

Mutations are the replacement of DNA bases known as Adenine (A), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G) and Thymine (T) with other bases. When mutations such as C to T or G to A are found within a specific DNA sequence, this is known as a mutation signature.

10 Feb 2016

CNIO team uses network theory to build and study first epigenetic communication network

One of the big questions for which there is still no clear answer in biology is how, based on the four universal letters that make up DNA, it is possible to generate such different organisms as a fly or a human, or the different organs and tissues they comprise. In recent years, researchers have discovered that the system is much more complicated than was originally thought.

29 Jan 2016

NIST researchers simulate new method for fast, precise DNA sequencing

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have simulated a new concept for rapid, accurate gene sequencing by pulling a DNA molecule through a tiny, chemically activated hole in graphene--an ultrathin sheet of carbon atoms--and detecting changes in electrical current.

19 Jan 2016

TET proteins needed to maintain genome instability, say researchers

Members of the TET (short for ten-eleven translocation) family have been known to function as tumor suppressors for many years, but how they keep a lid on the uncontrolled cell proliferation of cancer cells had remained uncertain. Now, researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology demonstrate that TET proteins collectively constitute a major class of tumor suppressors and are required to maintain genome instability.

9 Dec 2015

Study reports discovery of new class of DNA repair enzyme

This year's Nobel Prize in chemistry was given to three scientists who each focused on one piece of the DNA repair puzzle. Now a new study, reported online Oct. 28 in the journal Nature, reports the discovery of a new class of DNA repair enzyme.

30 Oct 2015

Tocagen's Toca 511 & Toca FC receives FDA orphan drug designation for treatment of glioblastoma

Tocagen Inc., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to the company's lead immuno-oncology product candidate, Toca 511 & Toca FC, for the treatment of glioblastoma.

26 Aug 2015

Scientists develop new technique to analyze bacterial populations

Scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed a new technique to more precisely analyze bacterial populations, to reveal epigenetic mechanisms that can drive virulence. The new methods hold the promise of a potent new tool to offset the growing challenge of antibiotic resistance by bacterial pathogens.

16 Jun 2015

Investigating epigenetic marks in ancient DNA could help understand health of ancient populations

A new study by anthropologists from The University of Texas at Austin shows for the first time that epigenetic marks on DNA can be detected in a large number of ancient human remains, which may lead to further understanding about the effects of famine and disease in the ancient world.

29 May 2015

Researcher reports possible existence of sixth DNA base

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is the main component of our genetic material. It is formed by combining four parts: A, C, G and T (adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine), called bases of DNA combine in thousands of possible sequences to provide the genetic variability that enables the wealth of aspects and functions of living beings.

6 May 2015