Epigenetics News and Research

Latest Epigenetics News and Research

New England Biolabs launches new NEBNext Ultra kits at ASHG annual meeting

New England Biolabs, Inc. launched their new NEBNext "Ultra" kits at the recent American Society for Human Genetics annual meeting.

From New England Biolabs 17 Nov 2012

RainDance's ThunderStorm System for targeted sequencing selected by UCL Cancer Institute

RainDance Technologies, Inc., the Digital Biology Company, today announced that the University College London (UCL) Cancer Institute has adopted its ThunderStorm System as a centralized platform for the validation of genomic and epigenomic targets from clinical and non-clinical studies, including follow-ups for genome-wide and epigenome-wide association studies (GWAS and EWAS), as well as stratified cancer medicine and basic research.

15 Nov 2012

UiO researchers discover enzyme critical for spread of cancer

Enzyme hunters at UiO have discovered the function of an enzyme that is important in the spreading of cancer. Cancer researchers now hope to inhibit the enzyme.

15 Nov 2012

Selective blocking of HDAC11 inhibitor would act exclusively on tumor cells

Several substances inhibiting so-called HDAC enzymes have been studied in trials searching for new anti-cancer drugs in recent years. "Trials have shown that HDAC inhibitors are very effective in arresting growth of cultured cancer cells. But apart from a very rare type of lymphoma, these drugs unfortunately do not clinically affect malignant tumors," says Prof. Dr. Olaf Witt, who heads a research department at DKFZ and is pediatrician at the Center for Child and Adolescent Medicine of Heidelberg University Hospital.

6 Nov 2012

Dysregulation of CISTR-ACT causes brachydactyly type E

The patients have single short fingers (metacarpals) and toes (metatarsals) and can be restricted in growth due to a shortened skeleton. This hereditary disease is called brachydactyly type E (Greek for short fingers).

6 Nov 2012

Additional data from EnVivo’s EVP-6124 Phase 2b trial on AD presented at CTAD meeting

EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, a company dedicated to developing a broad range of novel central nervous system (CNS) therapies, today presented pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic data along with the previously reported statistically significant clinical results from its Phase 2b clinical trial of EVP-6124, a novel alpha-7 agonist, in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

1 Nov 2012

Study identifies new prognostic biomarker and therapeutic target for adult B-ALL

New insight into the aggressive behavior of certain adult B-acute lymphoblastic leukemias has provided researchers with a potential new prognostic biomarker and a promising new therapeutic target.

30 Oct 2012

Researchers decode software instructions that drive 3 different forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

30 Oct 2012

Nicotine exposure causes asthma in smoker's grandchildren

The dangers of smoking on smokers and their children are widely known but new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine demonstrates that nicotine exposure also causes asthma in the smoker's grandchildren.

30 Oct 2012

Scientists decode epigenetic programming of three virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia

A team of national and international researchers, led by Weill Cornell Medical College scientists, have decoded the key "software" instructions that drive three of the most virulent forms of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They discovered ALL's "software" is encoded with epigenetic marks, chemical modifications of DNA and surrounding proteins, allowing the research team to identify new potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

29 Oct 2012

Maternal bariatric surgery affects cardiovascular risk profile of offsprings

Kids born to moms who have lost a substantial amount of weight after undergoing bariatric surgery have fewer cardiovascular risk factors than their siblings who were born before the weight loss surgery.

29 Oct 2012

Idea of nuclear reprogramming holds promise for repairing damaged tissue

The idea of taking a mature cell and removing its identity (nuclear reprogramming) so that it can then become any kind of cell, holds great promise for repairing damaged tissue or replacing bone marrow after chemotherapy.

29 Oct 2012

New federal funding enables researchers to unravel how humans develop cancers

A Simon Fraser University scientist working at one of Canada's first epigenomics mapping centres says new federal funding will accelerate researchers' ability to unravel how we develop some of the most common life threatening cancers.

26 Oct 2012

UNM Cancer Center scientist to continue histone modification study

While every one of our cells contains all of our genetic information, each type of cell uses only specific parts of that information to make its proteins. Uncovering more about the mechanism that directs which particular pieces of genetic information the cell uses is the research focus of Mary Ann Osley, PhD, University of New Mexico Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Co-Leader of the Cancer Biology and Biotechnology Program at the UNM Cancer Center.

24 Oct 2012

Methylation provides clues to gastric cancer subtypes

Research published in Science Translational Medicine shows that many gastric cancers are associated with significant epigenetic alterations along the DNA triggered by methylation.

22 Oct 2012

Epigenetic alteration associated with increased risk of breast cancer

Monozygotic twins have the same genome, that is, the same DNA molecule in both siblings. Despite being genetically identical, both twins may have different diseases at different times. This phenomenon is called "twin discordance". But how can people who have the same genetic sequence present different pathologies and at different ages? The explanation partly lies in the fact that the chemical signals added in the DNA to "switch off" or "switch on" genes can be different. These signals are known as epigenetic marks.

20 Oct 2012

Childhood poverty, demographics associated with DNA methylation patterns

A University of British Columbia and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) study has revealed that childhood poverty, stress as an adult, and demographics such as age, sex and ethnicity, all leave an imprint on a person's genes. And, that this imprint could play a role in our immune response.

20 Oct 2012