April 2016 | What is Epigenetics?

maternal smoking and epigenetics, dna methylation

Maternal Smoking Epigenetically Harms Child Development

April 26, 2016 Bailey Kirkpatrick

Thankfully, smoking is a habit all pregnant women are advised to break. But, surprisingly, this wasn’t always the case, especially in the 1940s and 1950s when doctors endorsed smoking in tobacco advertisements. Tobacco companies even ran ads hinting that pregnant women could smoke as a way to calm their nerves. With the influx of research on the harms of cigarettes, it now seems absurd to think they were ever recommended. A recent study in American Journal of Human Genetics links [more…]

epigenetics dna methylation green tea and EGCG

Children of Diabetic Moms May Benefit from the Epigenetic Power of Green Tea

April 19, 2016 Bailey Kirkpatrick

If a mother with diabetes drinks green tea during pregnancy, could it improve her child’s development? For years, pregnant women have been advised to take probiotics and antioxidants, such as folic acid, to help improve pregnancy outcomes. However, the precise way these supplements work continues to be up for debate. Now, epigenetic evidence is mounting in regard to the benefits of certain antioxidants and the potential underlying biological mechanisms. New research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology [more…]

Book Review: Super Genes

April 13, 2016 Natalie Crowley

Change your genes, change your life. Seems like a radical idea, especially since we’ve been taught to believe that our genes are set in stone when we are born. Not so, according to the authors of Super Genes, Deepak Chopra, M.D. and Rudolph Tanzi, Ph.D. It seems that we are not at the mercy of our genes, rather we are the “user and controller” of them. And, through simple lifestyle changes, we may be able to modify our gene activity [more…]

New Method Simultaneously Profiles Methylome and Transcriptome in the Same Single Cell

April 7, 2016 Marisa Mariani

A new single-cell genomics protocol that is potentially transformative for epigenetics research has been developed by scientists in the UK and Belgium. Applying this method, it is now possible to study the epigenome and transcriptome of a single cell at the same time. This novel approach could enhance our understanding of the link between gene expression and DNA methylation in single cells. Also, the knowledge of this relationship may clarify the mechanisms underlying normal development, and changes that occur with [more…]

Birth Season Could Epigenetically Determine Your Allergy Risk

April 5, 2016 Bailey Kirkpatrick

It has long been acknowledged that the season during which you were born can influence you throughout your life in many ways – your height, lifespan, and maybe even your temperament. In fact, research has found a strong connection between the season of someone’s birth and their personality. A study in European College of Neuropsychopharmacology found that people born in the summer are more likely to experience mood swings, those born in autumn are less likely to be depressive, and [more…]

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