Epigenomics News and Research

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Variation in genetic mechanism increases fat storage and drives obesity

A specific gene region has long been suspected of contributing to obesity in humans but the precise mechanisms behind this were previously unclear. Now, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Harvard Medical School and other partners have been able to show that a single genetic alteration in this region reduces thermogenesis (fat burning), instead increasing lipid storage.

24 Aug 2015

Researchers uncover genetic circuit involved in obesity

Like many other conditions, obesity is caused by an interplay between genetic and environmental factors. While efforts to combat the obesity epidemic will need to include changes in diet and exercise, insights into the genes involved may also help with prevention and treatment.

20 Aug 2015

Researchers develop user-friendly platform for analyzing transcriptomic and epigenomic big data

Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have developed a user-friendly, integrated platform for analyzing the transcriptomic and epigenomic "big data."

12 Aug 2015

BGI to hold 10th International Conference on Genomics in October

The 10th International Conference on Genomics (ICG-10) will be held by BGI from October 22-25, 2015, in Shenzhen, China.

31 Jul 2015

New technology enhances investigations of epigenomes

A new technology that will dramatically enhance investigations of epigenomes, the machinery that turns on and off genes and a very prominent field of study in diseases such as stem cell differentiation, inflammation and cancer, is reported on today in the research journal Nature Methods.

28 Jul 2015

MD Anderson named one of Genome Characterization Centers

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center has been named a site for one of two new Genome Characterization Centers (GCC) funded through the National Cancer Institute.

23 Jul 2015

Researchers find new way to potentially stop progression of late-stage cancers

An international research team led by Mayo Clinic oncologists has found a new way to identify and possibly stop the progression of many late-stage cancers, including bladder, blood, bone, brain, lung and kidney.

18 Jun 2015

MHICN expands clinical research program in collaboration with Erasmus Medical Center and ErasmusAGE

Metagenics Healthcare Institute for Clinical Nutrition announced today an expanded clinical research program in collaboration with Erasmus Medical Center and ErasmusAGE, from Rotterdam, the Netherlands – a leading global healthcare center in epidemiology and health outcomes research.

1 Jun 2015

Link between dDsk2 protein and neurodegenerative diseases identified

Until today, the proteins known as ubiquitin receptors have been associated mainly with protein degradation, a basic cell cleaning process. A new function now described for the protein dDsk2 by the team headed by Ferran Azorín, group leader at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and CSIC research professor, links ubiquitin receptors for the first time with the regulation of gene expression.

29 Apr 2015

Subpopulation of tumor cells make melanoma aggressive

KU Leuven researchers have zeroed in on what makes cancer cells in melanoma so aggressive. They also succeeded in taming the effect in cell cultures.

10 Apr 2015

DURECT initiates DUR-928 multi-dose Phase 1 clinical trial for NAFLD, NASH and AKI

DURECT Corporation today announced that it has initiated a multi-dose Phase 1 clinical trial of an oral formulation of DUR-928, the lead molecule in DURECT's Epigenomic Regulator Program.

30 Mar 2015

Epigenome plays significant part in embryonic development

The early stages of embryonic development shape our cells and tissues for life. It is during this time that our newly formed cells are transformed into heart, skin, nerve or other cell types. Scientists are finding that this process is largely controlled not by the genome, but by the epigenome, chemical markers on DNA that tell cells when to turn genes on and off.

24 Feb 2015

Epigenome-wide association study helps discover genes linked to allergies and asthma

Researchers from Canada, the UK, Sweden and the US have discovered more than 30 genes that strongly affect an antibody involved in allergies and asthma. Some of the genes could provide targets for drugs to treat those conditions, according to the international team's study, published online in Nature on Feb. 18.

20 Feb 2015

Study provides new insights into early events that shape cancer

A study led by researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital suggests a new way to trace cancer back to its cell type of origin. By leveraging the epigenome maps produced by the Roadmap Epigenomics Program - a resource of data collected from over 100 cell types - the research team found that the unique genetic landscape of a particular tumor could be used to predict that tumor's cell type of origin.

19 Feb 2015

Researchers assemble comprehensive map of human epigenome

Virtually every cell in the body carries an identical genome. But how is it possible that each of the body's 200 different types of specialized cells - in the heart, brain, bone, skin and elsewhere - develops from the same DNA instruction book?

19 Feb 2015

Epigenome may hold promise for conquering diseases

The human genome project captured the public imagination when its first draft was published 14 years ago this week in the international science journal Nature, but the epigenome may hold the real promise for conquering disease.

19 Feb 2015

New facts provide baseline for future studies of epigenome's role in human development, diseases

While genomics is the study of all of the genes in a cell or organism, epigenomics is the study of all the genomic add-ons and changes that influence gene expression but aren't encoded in the DNA sequence. A variety of new epigenomic information is now available in a collection of studies published Feb. 19 in Nature by the National Institutes of Health Roadmap Epigenomics Program.

19 Feb 2015

First comprehensive maps and analyses of human epigenomes revealed

Two dozen scientific papers published online simultaneously on Feb. 18, 2015 present the first comprehensive maps and analyses of the epigenomes of a wide array of human cell and tissue types. Epigenomes are patterns of chemical annotations to the genome that determine whether, how, and when genes are activated.

18 Feb 2015

Discovery leads to new understanding of cancer metastasis

In a breakthrough in the understanding of how cancer spreads, researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified a substance secreted by lung cancer cells that enables them to metastasize, beginning their deadly march to other sites in the body.

10 Feb 2015

Investigators develop microbiome map of New York City subway system

The microbes that call the New York City subway system home are mostly harmless, but include samples of disease-causing bacteria that are resistant to drugs -- and even DNA fragments associated with anthrax and Bubonic plague -- according to a citywide microbiome map published today by Weill Cornell Medical College investigators.

9 Feb 2015