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 use analysis of epigenetic marks on DNA to measure baby's development in womb

An international study, involving scientists at the University of Southampton, has used an analysis of epigenetic marks on DNA to measure how much a baby's development in the womb is determined by the genes inherited from the parents, as compared with the mother's nutrition, mental health and lifestyle.

28 Apr 2014

New blood test accurately detects presence of breast cancer and monitors response to treatment

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center investigators report they have designed a blood test that accurately detects the presence of advanced breast cancer and also holds promise for precisely monitoring response to cancer treatment.

15 Apr 2014

Three-gene test may aid earlier lung cancer detection

Methylation of three genes may help with the early diagnosis of non-small-cell lung cancer, research suggests.

14 Apr 2014

1/4 human tumor exist genetic polymorphisms linked with increased risk of cancer

In 10% of human tumors there is a family history of hereditary disease associated with mutations in identified genes. The best examples are the cases of polyps in the large intestine associated with the APC gene and breast cancer associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.

11 Apr 2014

Comprehensive genomic analysis of low-grade brain tumors sorts into three categories

Comprehensive genomic analysis of low-grade brain tumors sorts them into three categories, one of which has the molecular hallmarks and shortened survival of glioblastoma multiforme, the most lethal of brain tumors, researchers reported at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2014.

10 Apr 2014

Multiple genomic data could help improve studies of association between genes and disease

The difference between merely throwing around buzzwords like "personalized medicine" and "big data" and delivering on their medical promise is in the details of developing methods for analyzing and interpreting genomic data. In a pair of new papers, Brown University epidemiologist Yen-Tsung Huang and colleagues show how integrating different kinds of genomic data could improve studies of the association between genes and disease.

10 Apr 2014

Simple blood test can predict obesity levels in children

Scientists have found that a simple blood test, which can read DNA, could be used to predict obesity levels in children.

26 Mar 2014

Scientists unlock one of mysteries of modern genetics

Scientists at Indiana University have unlocked one of the mysteries of modern genetics: how acquired traits can be passed between generations in a process called epigenetic inheritance. The new work finds that cells don't know to silence some genes based on information hardwired into their DNA sequences, but recognize heritable chemical marks that are added to the genes. These chemical tags serve as a form of molecular memory, allowing cells to recognize the genes and remember to silence them again in each new generation.

21 Mar 2014

New tool pinpoints genetic sources of disease

Many diseases are the result of either variations in the genome or reversible chemical changes to DNA, known as the epigenome. New data obtained by Johns Hopkins scientists show a connection between genetic variants and epigenetic information.

20 Mar 2014

Nine fellows selected to receive Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellowship for next two years

Autism Speaks, the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, today announced the sixth class of The Dennis Weatherstone Predoctoral Fellows funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

19 Mar 2014

People with type 2 diabetes have epigenetic changes on DNA

People with type 2 diabetes have epigenetic changes on their DNA that healthy individuals do not have. This has been shown in a major study by researchers at Lund University. The researchers also found epigenetic changes in a large number of genes that contribute to reduced insulin production.

9 Mar 2014

Bioline enters Epigenetics field with launch of new EPIK product range

Bioline, The PCR Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meridian Bioscience, Inc., announces that it has entered the rapidly growing Epigenetics field, with the launch of the first kits in the new EPIK™ product range; EPIK™ Fast Quantification Kit and EPIK™ Amplification Kit.

18 Feb 2014

Small non-coding RNAs can help predict individuals with breast cancer

Small non-coding RNAs can be used to predict if individuals have breast cancer conclude researchers who contribute to The Cancer Genome Atlas project. The results, which are published in EMBO reports, indicate that differences in the levels of specific types of non-coding RNAs can be used to distinguish between cancerous and non-cancerous tissues. These RNAs can also be used to classify cancer patients into subgroups of individuals that have different survival outcomes.

18 Feb 2014

TGen study reveals genetic origins of breast cancer that spreads to brain

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) has uncovered possible genetic origins of breast cancer that spreads to the brain, according to a first-of-its-kind study published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

11 Feb 2014

Chemical "signature" in blood may predict which AML patients would benefit from chemotherapy

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found a chemical "signature" in blood-forming stem cells that predicts whether patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will respond to chemotherapy.

4 Feb 2014

Treating peanut allergy with oral immunotherapy changes DNA of immune cells

Treating a peanut allergy with oral immunotherapy changes the DNA of the patient's immune cells, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford. The DNA change could serve as the basis for a simple blood test to monitor the long-term effectiveness of the allergy therapy.

31 Jan 2014

Researchers study how epigenetic alterations contribute to age-related increases in breast cancer risk

Age is a key risk factor for breast cancer. A recent study by researchers from the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, "Age-related DNA methylation in normal breast tissue and its relationship with invasive breast tumor methylation," examines the connection between cancer and the aging process to see if epigenetic DNA alterations might contribute to age-related increases in breast cancer risk.

31 Jan 2014

Findings on molecular defects behind bladder cancer may pave way for new, targeted treatments

The once sketchy landscape of the molecular defects behind bladder cancer now resembles a road map to new, targeted treatments thanks to the unified efforts of scientists and physicians at 40 institutions.

30 Jan 2014

Johns Hopkins researchers reveal how non-CpG methylation may contribute to Rett Syndrome

In normal development, all cells turn off genes they don’t need, often by attaching a chemical methyl group to the DNA, a process called methylation. Historically, scientists believed methyl groups could only stick to a particular DNA sequence: a cytosine followed by a guanine, called CpG. But in recent years, they have been found on other sequences, and so-called non-CpG methylation has been found in stem cells, and in neurons in the brain.

28 Jan 2014

Study reveals epigenetic changes also play a role in breast cancer risk

Breast cancer runs in families; however, genetic predisposition (such as being BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers) explains only a portion of this observation.

8 Jan 2014