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Blocking new genetic marker could alleviate pain from serious burns

The unpleasant sensation sparked by the nervous system when confronted with a harmful stimulus can be alleviated by blocking a genetic marker that switches off the activity of the neurons involved.

1 Feb 2017

Researchers identify new principle for how epigenetic changes can occur

In a new study, researchers at Uppsala University have found evidence of a new principle for how epigenetic changes can occur. The principle is based on an enzyme, tryptase, that has epigenetic effects that cause cells to proliferate in an uncontrolled manner.

20 Jan 2017

Inhibition of EZH2 protein could be new strategy to treat multiple myeloma

In a study published in the scientific journal Oncotarget, researchers from Uppsala University show how the protein EZH2 affects the development of multiple myeloma, and that inhibition of EZH2 could be used as a new strategy to treat the disease.

12 Jan 2017

Epigenetic modification may be cause of adult throat cancers linked to alcohol, tobacco use

A team of researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre has found an epigenetic modification that might be the cause of 15% of adult cancers of the throat linked to alcohol and tobacco use.

12 Jan 2017

New active pharmaceutical ingredient may help against severe forms of testicular cancer

A new active pharmaceutical ingredient may help against severe forms of testicular cancer, which only respond inadequately to other therapies.

30 Dec 2016

Low-carbohydrate diet may help reverse inherited intellectual disability linked to Kabuki syndrome

Experimenting on mice with a genetic change similar to that found in people with a rare inherited disease called Kabuki syndrome, Johns Hopkins scientists report that a very low-carbohydrate diet can "open up" DNA and improve mental function.

20 Dec 2016

Scientists uncover changes in immediate environment of DNA after fertilization

A team of scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München shows changes in the immediate environment of DNA after the ovum and sperm fuse to form the zygote. The results suggest why all conceivable somatic cells can develop from the germ cells. The study has been published in the journal 'Genes and Development'.

6 Dec 2016

Editing preferences of enzymes may play role in infertility and cancer

To "turn off" particular regions of genes or protect them from damage, DNA strands can wrap around small proteins, called histones, keeping out all but the most specialized molecular machinery.

28 Nov 2016

Researchers identify simple, inexpensive tool for assessing prognosis of pediatric brain tumors

A multi-institutional group of researchers, led by investigators at Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the University of Michigan, have identified a simple and inexpensive tool for assessing the prognosis of pediatric brain tumors called ependymomas.

23 Nov 2016

Researchers find certain short junk DNA play key role in development of Ewing sarcoma

The stretches of DNA between genes, littered with repeating sequences, were once considered the "junk of the genome," but scientists are learning that some of this junk is far from harmless clutter.

2 Nov 2016

Network of proteins linked to cancer may play vital role in male fertility

Researchers studying reproductive science identified a network of proteins often linked to cancer as also important to male fertility and the birth of healthy offspring, according to a study in the Oct. 18 online issue of Cell Reports.

19 Oct 2016

Novel PET radiotracer reveals epigenetic activity in the human brain for the first time

A novel PET radiotracer developed at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital is able for the first time to reveal epigenetic activity - the process that determines whether or not genes are expressed - within the human brain.

11 Aug 2016

ZMYND8 protein can suppress metastasis-linked genes in prostate cancer

Although it reads like European license plate number, a protein known as ZMYND8 has demonstrated its ability to block metastasis-linked genes in prostate cancer, according to a study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

28 Jul 2016

Inability to turn off genes in the brain can affect learning and memory

Every time you play a game of basketball, make a cup of coffee or flick on a light switch, you are turning on genes in your brain. These same genes typically are turned off when the activity ceases - but when that doesn't happen, damaging consequences can occur.

14 Jul 2016

JAX researchers find precise, reliable way to identify leukemia cells of origin

Every cancer starts with a single cell, and Jackson Laboratory researchers have found a precise and reliable way -- whole-genome profiling of open chromatin -- to identify the kind of cell that leads to a given case of leukemia, a valuable key to cancer prognosis and outcome.

11 Jul 2016

Researchers discover mechanism of gene silencing in hormone-dependent breast cancer cells

Sometimes, the silencing of a gene is as important as its activation. Nonetheless, up to now, most studies on hormone-mediated gene regulation have focused on researching the factors that influence the activation of certain genes. Little attention has been paid to gene silencing.

8 Jul 2016

Researchers reveal novel mechanism by which viral protein VII suppresses immune alarm signals

Viruses must avoid a host's immune system to establish successful infections—and scientists have discovered another tool that viruses use to frustrate host defenses.

30 Jun 2016

HDAC inhibitors may help regulate alcoholism-induced anxiety

Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modifying gene expression - by alcohol, for example - rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. Recent evidence suggests that alcohol can inhibit activity of an enzyme called histone deacetylase (HDAC) in the amygdala, a brain region that is crucial for storing memories and regulating fear, anxiety, and other emotions.

27 Jun 2016

Genetic change to non-DNA structures in cell can cause cancer

A mutation that affects the proteins that package DNA--without changing the DNA itself--can cause a rare form of cancer, according to new findings in this week's Science from researchers at The Rockefeller University.

13 May 2016

Histone mutation linked to fatal pediatric brain tumor

A single defect in a gene that codes for a histone — a "spool" that wraps idle DNA — is linked to pediatric cancers in a study published today in the journal Science.