Epigenetics News and Research

Latest Epigenetics News and Research

Children under 3 years old are most vulnerable to the effects of adversity, study finds

A Massachusetts General Hospital study has found evidence that children under 3 years old are most the vulnerable to the effects of adversity - experiences including poverty, family and financial instability, and abuse - on their epigenetic profiles, chemical tags that alter gene expression and may have consequences for future mental health.

1 May 2019

New review highlights how lifestyle affects our genes

In the past decade, knowledge of how lifestyle affects our genes, a research field called epigenetics, has grown exponentially.

24 Apr 2019

Researchers explore whether time of day can affect the body's response to physical exertion

Two papers appearing April 18 in the journal Cell Metabolism confirm that the circadian clock is an important factor in how the body responds to physical exertion.

19 Apr 2019

Restoring function of 'misregulated' cancer-fighting genes

Working with human colon cancer cells and mice, researchers led by experts at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center say they have successfully blocked the activity of portions of a protein known as UHRF1 and restored the function of hundreds of cancer-fighting genes that became "misregulated" by the disease.

15 Apr 2019

New hope for treating devastating brain cancer in children

There could be new treatments on the horizon for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, a devastating form of brain cancer that afflicts young children and is currently incurable.

5 Apr 2019

C-Path and Japan's PMDA join forces on first-of-its-kind biomarker project

Critical Path Institute announced today that a formal consultation between its Predictive Safety Testing Consortium and Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency has resulted in an agreement on a first-of-its-kind approach to compare the levels of eight novel urinary kidney safety biomarkers in healthy Japanese volunteers to data collected on these same biomarkers in healthy Western volunteers in a bridging study.

27 Mar 2019

Researchers uncover mechanism that initiates sexual organs maturation

Puberty is a period of extensive changes of body morphology and function. As much as we are familiar with these life-altering changes, relatively little is known about what sets the whole process in motion.

26 Mar 2019

Exposure to particulate air pollution may lead to reduced sperm production

Exposure to tiny air pollution particles may lead to reduced sperm production, suggests new research in mice to be presented Monday, March 25 at ENDO 2019, the Endocrine Society's annual meeting in New Orleans, La.

25 Mar 2019

Researchers track effects of epigenetic marks carried by sperm chromosomes

As an organism grows and responds to its environment, genes in its cells are constantly turning on and off, with different patterns of gene expression in different cells. But can changes in gene expression be passed on from parents to their children and subsequent generations?

20 Mar 2019

Study describes epigenetic loss that changes how cells obtain energy from cancer

It has been known for decades that cancer cells have an altered metabolism and it is seen in several biochemical pathways and in particular, in the way they get energy for their survival.

15 Mar 2019

Adolescent binge drinking may raise risk for anxiety later in life

A growing body of evidence supports the idea that alcohol exposure early in life has lasting effects on the brain and increases the risk of psychological problems in adulthood.

12 Mar 2019

Mechanism through which bacteria attack the immune system discovered

A research team led by Prof. Dr. Winfried Römer and Dr. Elias Hobeika from the University of Freiburg and the University Medical Center in Ulm has discovered a mechanism with which bacteria activate white blood cells and attack an organism's immune system. The scientists recently published the results in the journal Science Signaling.

7 Mar 2019

New approach to tackling chronic inflammatory diseases

An EU-funded project has developed new approaches to tackling chronic inflammatory diseases. These will be used to create precise and individualized treatment options, potentially leading to faster diagnosis, more effective treatments and even cures.

1 Mar 2019

Research reveals how metabolites can be used to inhibit epigenetic mechanisms and treat MS

Understanding and mitigating the role of epigenetics (environmental influences that trigger changes in gene expression) in disease development is a major goal of researchers.

28 Feb 2019

Scientists identify how cells make choice between various mechanisms to repair DNA

When DNA in the cell nucleus gets damaged, our cells can resort to a variety of repair mechanisms. A recent study published in 'Nature Cell Biology', to which scientists from Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen made major contributions, elucidates the molecular basis by which a cell makes the choice between these repair mechanisms.

28 Feb 2019

Porvair Sciences to improve the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer

Porvair Sciences reports on its involvement in a new £2.6 million project led by Swansea University (UK) that aims to dramatically improve the diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 27 Feb 2019

Older biologic age associated with increased risk of developing breast cancer

Biologic age, a DNA-based estimate of a person's age, is associated with future development of breast cancer, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health.

23 Feb 2019

Cell manipulation could soon halt or reverse aging

Researchers have shown that tweaking the tiny inner parts of a cell could prevent the damage caused due to aging.

15 Feb 2019

Scientists shed light on damaging cell effects linked to aging

Some of the damaging cell effects linked to aging could be prevented by manipulating tiny parts of cells, a study shows.

14 Feb 2019

Microbiologists identify enzyme that makes Helicobacter so adaptable

The bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori owes its worldwide distribution to its genetic adaptability. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet Munich microbiologists have identified an enzyme that plays a vital role in the flexible control of global gene expression in the species.

13 Feb 2019