Epigenetics News and Research

Latest Epigenetics News and Research

OGF-OGFr axis discovery provides new insights into ovarian cancer

Researchers at The Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania have discovered that the presence and integrity of the opioid growth factor receptor (OGFr), which mediates the inhibitory action of opioid growth factor (OGF) on cell proliferation, is a key to understanding the progression and treatment of human ovarian cancer.

22 Feb 2012

Symposium discusses links between genetic, epigenetic and environmental influences on autism

Two UC Davis MIND Institute researchers will lead a symposium on relationships between genetic, epigenetic and environmental influences on the development of autism in children during the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting, Feb. 16 -18 in Vancouver, Canada.

20 Feb 2012

Scientists observe maturation of immune cells in live zebrafish embryos

T-cells are the immune system's security force. They seek out pathogens and rogue cells in the body and put them out of action. Their precursors are formed in the bone marrow and migrate from there into the thymus. Here, they mature and differentiate to perform a variety of tasks. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg have now succeeded for the first time in observing the maturation of immune cells in live zebrafish embryos.

17 Feb 2012

Exposure to common flame retardant may affect fertility and long-term memory

Mice genetically engineered to be susceptible to autism-like behaviors that were exposed to a common flame retardant were less fertile and their offspring were smaller, less sociable and demonstrated marked deficits in learning and long-term memory when compared with the offspring of normal unexposed mice, a study by researchers at UC Davis has found.

16 Feb 2012

Epigenetic mechanisms maintain tolerance in T cells specific for self antigens

At the most basic level, the immune system must distinguish self from non-self, that is, it must discriminate between the molecular signatures of invading pathogens (non-self antigens) and cellular constituents that usually pose no risk to health (self-antigens).

14 Feb 2012

Unstructured free play, recess need to be reinstated in schools

Evaluating the Let's Move! Initiative, Dr. Melinda Sothern, Professor of Public Health and Jim Finks Chair of Health Promotion at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, calls First Lady Michelle Obama brave for taking on the challenge of childhood obesity and suggests that she now consider working to move it up to the policy level.

14 Feb 2012

Preterm birth interventions should be tailored for underlying risk factors and pathways

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that indicate that preterm birth interventions should be tailored for underlying risk factors and pathways.

13 Feb 2012

Mental illness suspect genes are among the most environmentally responsive regulatory mechanisms

For the first time, scientists have tracked the activity, across the lifespan, of an environmentally responsive regulatory mechanism that turns genes on and off in the brain's executive hub.

3 Feb 2012

Cancer Genomics now available online

Genome Research publishes online and in print today a special issue entitled, "Cancer Genomics," highlighting insights gained form cutting-edge genomic and epigenomic analyses of cancer.

2 Feb 2012

Researchers decipher genetic material of 48 pediatric glioblastomas

Glioblastomas grow extremely aggressively into healthy brain tissue and, moreover, are highly resistant to radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Therefore, they are regarded as the most malignant type of brain tumor. Currently available treatment methods are frequently not very effective against this type of cancer. Glioblastoma can affect people of all ages, but is less common in children than in adults.

31 Jan 2012

Newly discovered molecular pathway may explain how AML develops

Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered a molecular pathway that may explain how a particularly deadly form of cancer develops. The discovery may lead to new cancer therapies that reprogram cells instead of killing them. The findings are published in a recent paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

30 Jan 2012

Novel detection of ovarian cancer in early stages

Ovarian cancer is often detected at a late stage and it is the leading cause of death due to gynecological cancers, and the sixth leading cause of cancer death in women. According to latest discovery by researchers at Sydney’s Garvan Institute there may be a way this killer cancer is detected earlier.

24 Jan 2012

Scientists discover finely tuned mechanism associated with CHD

Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have identified a finely tuned mechanism by which fetal heart muscle develops into a healthy and fully formed beating heart-offering new insight into the genetic causes of congenital heart disease and opening the door to one day developing therapies to fight this chronic and potentially fatal disorder.

23 Jan 2012

IMB announces new International Summer School in the Life Sciences

The Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) has announced a new International Summer School (ISS) in the Life Sciences. The ISS will take place from 16th July to 24th August 2012 and will provide outstanding and enthusiastic undergraduate, Master's and PhD students the opportunity to undertake exciting research projects.

21 Jan 2012

RaNA Therapeutics completes $20.7 million round of financing

RaNA Therapeutics, Inc. today announced it has completed a $20.7 million round of financing co-led by Atlas Venture, SR One, and Monsanto, with participation of Partners Innovation Fund. The company is developing a technology platform to enable selective activation of target genes and expression of therapeutic factors by targeting a type of regulatory RNA called long non-coding RNA.

18 Jan 2012

Research reports on effectiveness of Scriptaid in breast cancer cell lines

Although endocrine therapy for breast cancer has shown excellent results in controlling the disease, responsiveness to the therapy depends on whether or not there is expression of estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells. Research from the Sbarro Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Medicine, a nonprofit cancer, cardiovascular and diabetes research center located in Philadelphia, PA, reports on the effectiveness of a new molecule, Scriptaid, that restores receptivity to endocrine therapy in breast cancer cell lines that had tested negative for the expression of estrogen receptors.

18 Jan 2012

Study shows how Notch gene and PRC2 protein complex work together to cause T-ALL

A new study published in the journal Nature Medicine by NYU Cancer Institute researchers, shows how the cancer causing gene Notch, in combination with a mutated Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) protein complex, work together to cause T- cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

13 Jan 2012

First details of genetic alterations that fuel early T-cell precursor ALL

Researchers have discovered that a subtype of leukemia characterized by a poor prognosis is fueled by mutations in pathways distinctly different from a seemingly similar leukemia associated with a much better outcome. The findings from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) highlight a possible new strategy for treating patients with this more aggressive cancer.

12 Jan 2012

Researchers identify mechanism that makes retinoblastoma so aggressive

New findings from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project (PCGP) have helped identify the mechanism that makes the childhood eye tumor retinoblastoma so aggressive. The discovery explains why the tumor develops so rapidly while other cancers can take years or even decades to form.

11 Jan 2012

Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation names 18 new Fellows

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on supporting innovative early career researchers, named 18 new Damon Runyon Fellows at its fall Fellowship Award Committee review.

11 Jan 2012