May 2014 | What is Epigenetics?

dna methylation breast cancer epigenetic research solved puzzle

Scientists Solve 30 Year Old Breast Cancer Riddle

May 28, 2014 Bailey Kirkpatrick

Scientists at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that mice lacking one copy of a gene called CTCF have abnormal DNA methylation and are markedly predisposed to cancer. This ground-breaking research helps solve a mystery that has loomed for over 30 years – which gene or genes cause the frequent loss of one copy of chromosome 16 in breast cancer cells. Dr. Gala Flippova, staff scientist at Fred Hutchinson, and his colleagues originally cloned the CTCF gene and mapped [more…]

epigenetic calorie restriction algorithm bioinformatics

Computer Algorithm Uses Epigenetics to Identify “Aging Genes”

May 21, 2014 Bailey Kirkpatrick

Restricting calorie consumption without malnutrition has been shown to prolong lifespan in various species, including yeast, worms, flies, monkeys, and humans. Although the underlying mechanism is not yet known, an advanced computer algorithm sheds light on the concept and potential causes. At Tel Aviv University’s Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Keren Yizhak and her colleagues developed something called a genome-scale metabolic model (GSMM), creating a computer algorithm that predicts which genes can be “turned off” to produce the same anti-aging [more…]

chemoresistance in ovarian cancer epigenetics the answer

Epigenetics Holds the Answer to Chemoresistance in Ovarian Cancer Patients

May 14, 2014 Bailey Kirkpatrick

A study conducted at Georgia State University and the University of Georgia gives us novel insight into the chemoresistance of ovarian cancer and offers a potential therapeutic approach to overcoming it. Inhibiting enzymes that lead to changes in gene expression could decrease chemotherapy resistance in ovarian cancer patients, researchers say. Dr. Susanna Greer and her colleagues have identified two enzymes that suppress proteins that regulate cell survival and chemoresistance in ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all gynecologic [more…]

4 Things You’re Forgetting to Thank Mom For This Mother’s Day

May 8, 2014 Bailey Kirkpatrick

We all know the deal by now: On Mother’s Day we should show appreciation for the years our moms spent raising us, for the years she worked patiently to bestow on us the skills we didn’t even know (or maybe refused to believe) we needed to succeed in life. A lot of the things she did for us are easy to give thanks for because we’ve experienced them first-hand throughout our childhood: reassuring words of wisdom, hot meals on the [more…]

dna methylation babies epigenetics womb development

Genotype and Womb Environment Epigenetically Influence Babies’ Development

May 6, 2014 Bailey Kirkpatrick

A multitude of studies support that the quality of a child’s environment in the womb significantly influences health and development over his or her lifetime. Scientists at the University of Southampton, UK and National University of Singapore have analyzed epigenetic marks on DNA in order to determine how much a baby’s development in the womb is dictated by his or her genotype compared to the mother’s mental and physical health. In the study published in Genome Research, scientists used samples [more…]

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