Epigenetics News and Research

Latest Epigenetics News and Research

Cancer cells emerge as ghosts from the past: Literally

Cancer is growing by the day worldwide and the cancer cells still manage to evade both the body’s defenses and medical intervention. Now an explanation to the phenomenon is provided by an Arizona State University scientist.

8 Feb 2011

Lampreys may have dual immune defense system similar to that of humans

Biologists have discovered that primitive, predatory lampreys have structures within their gills that play the same role as the thymus, the organ where immune cells called T cells develop in mammals, birds and fish.

4 Feb 2011

Method to comprehensively characterize human embryonic stem cell lines and iPS cell lines

Ever since researchers devised a recipe for turning adult cells into cells that look and act like embryonic stem cells, there has been lingering doubt in the field about just how close to embryonic stem cells each of those cell lines really is at a molecular and functional level. Now, researchers reporting in the February 4th issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, have developed a systematic way to lay those doubts about quality to rest.

4 Feb 2011

New England Biolabs expands line of reagents for sample preparation

New England Biolabs has expanded its line of reagents for sample preparation upstream of next generation sequencing to include NEBNext® Small RNA Sample Prep Set 1 for sequencing on the Illumina® platforms, and NEBNext Small RNA Sample Prep Set 3 for sequencing on LIFE's SOLiD™ platform. These new products offer a new and unique protocol, which results in higher yields and lower adaptor-dimer formation, as compared to other protocols.

From New England Biolabs 3 Feb 2011

SAGE Labs, Cofactor Genomics partner to sequence genomes for six widely used rat strains

Sigma Life Science, the innovative biological products and services business of Sigma-Aldrich®, today announced that its SAGE Labs initiative has partnered with Cofactor Genomics in an effort to sequence genomes for six of the most widely used strains of rat.

3 Feb 2011

Researchers discover 'common set of dysregulated miRNAs in murine lupus models'

Potentially impacting future diagnosis and treatment of lupus, an immune illness affecting more than 5 million people worldwide, researchers at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech have likely uncovered where the breakdown in the body's lymphocyte molecular regulatory machinery is occurring.

1 Feb 2011

Abbott fourth quarter worldwide sales increase 13.4% to nearly $10 billion

Abbott today announced financial results for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2010.

27 Jan 2011

Acetylation complex fits like a halo over a histone

To understand the emerging science of epigenetics-a field that describes how genes may be regulated without altering the underlying DNA itself-scientists are deciphering the many ways in which enzymes act on the proteins surrounding DNA within cells.

21 Jan 2011

Researchers believe driver mutations promote development, growth of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is known to occur typically in older men. Yet some patients are younger than 50 years at the time of diagnosis. Scientists assume that these cases might be the key to understanding the biology of this disease. Early prostate cancer might be a subtype which is characterized by a relatively small number of genetic modifications.

21 Jan 2011

Scientists decipher genetic code for a pancreatic cancer type

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have deciphered the genetic code for a type of pancreatic cancer, called neuroendocrine or islet cell tumors. The work, described online in the Jan. 20 issue of Science Express, shows that patients whose tumors have certain coding "mistakes" live twice as long as those without them.

21 Jan 2011

Cancer cells brought back under normal control

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have brought cancer cells back under normal control — by reactivating their cancer suppressor genes. The discovery could form a powerful new technology platform for the treatment of cancer of the breast and other cancers.

19 Jan 2011

Quebec reimburses VIDAZA for treatment of blood cancer

Quebec patients with serious blood cancers (intermediate-2 and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia) now have publicly funded access to a new innovative therapy, VIDAZA® (azacitidine). Following a priority review and subsequent positive recommendation from the Conseil du medicament, patients now have the potential to significantly extend survival.

18 Jan 2011

Epigenomics concludes feasibility phase in development of improved product concept for Epi proColon

Epigenomics AG, the cancer molecular diagnostic company, today announced that it has concluded the feasibility phase in the development of an improved product concept for Epi proColon, the Company's DNA methylation-based blood test for assistance in the detection of individuals with colorectal cancer.

13 Jan 2011

Epigenetic therapy holds promise for cancer management

Syndax, a clinical-stage epigenetics oncology company, announced publication of data of entinostat combined with the demethylating agent Vidaza® (azacitidine) showing effect in reducing tumor burden in differentiated tumor cells in animal tumor models of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The data is being published in the January 15, 2011 issue of Cancer Research.

12 Jan 2011

CAMH scientists receive NARSAD's Young Investigator grant awards for brain and behavior research

Seven scientists at Canada's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have been awarded Young Investigator grant awards by the U.S.-based NARSAD: The Brain and Behavior Research Fund.

12 Jan 2011

GSK, Epizyme enter partnership to discover, develop, and market epigenetic therapeutics

Epizyme today announced a worldwide strategic alliance with GlaxoSmithKline to discover, develop, and market novel small molecule therapeutics targeting histone methyltransferases, an important class of epigenetic enzymes, for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.

11 Jan 2011

MMRF awards $3 million under 2010 Biotech Investment Awards program

The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) today announced that it has awarded $1 million to each of three Boston-area biotech companies through its 2010 Biotech Investment Awards program: Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Epizyme, Inc. and Karyopharm Therapeutics, Inc. Since the inception of this MMRF program in 2006, $11 million has been committed to 11 biotech companies in multi-year, results-driven funding for the development of innovative treatments for patients with multiple myeloma.

7 Jan 2011

Researchers say women with multiple sclerosis have more HLA genes than men

Women who have multiple sclerosis (MS) are more likely to have a gene associated with multiple sclerosis than men with the disease and it is this gene region where environment interacts with the genetics, according to a study published in the January 5, 2011, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Jan 2011

SuperGen initiates enrollment in first human trial of SGI-110 in MDS and AML

SuperGen, Inc. today announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its first in human study of SGI-110, a second-generation hypomethylating agent, in patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

5 Jan 2011

Paternal diet affects lipid metabolizing genes in offspring

Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Texas at Austin have uncovered evidence that environmental influences experienced by a father can be passed down to the next generation, "reprogramming" how genes function in offspring. A new study published this week in Cell shows that environmental cues-in this case, diet-influence genes in mammals from one generation to the next, evidence that until now has been sparse.

24 Dec 2010