Adam Alonzi, Author at What is Epigenetics?

About Adam Alonzi

Adam Alonzi is a writer, biotechnologist, futurist, documentary maker, inventor, and game programmer. He is the author of A Plank in Reason and Praying for Death: A Zombie Apocalypse. His time is consumed by unrelated hobbies and ventures. Visit his blog here.

The Autophagy Advantage: Epigenetics, Cellular Cleanup, and Longevity

January 20, 2025 Adam Alonzi

Autophagy is the eukaryotic cell’s waste management system; it collects and recycles damaged organelles and proteins. Unlike eukaryotic cells, bacteria lack lysosomes—the specialized structures that perform this task—so they rely on simpler methods to manage waste. More memorably, autophagy can be thought of as controlled cannibalism. From Greek, the word translates to “self-eating.” In mammals, it takes three principal forms: micro, macro, and chaperone-mediated (Shu, 2023). Of the three, macroautophagy is the best studied. In a healthy body, autophagy assists [more…]

Caloric Restriction May Unlock Epigenetic Secrets to Longevity

November 26, 2024 Adam Alonzi

“To lengthen thy life, lessen thy meals.” – Benjamin Franklin. For millennia, fasting has been lauded as a path to discipline, purity, longevity, and mental acuity. While Franklin may not have always heeded his own advice, his contention, one shared by many cultures throughout history, is now backed by over eight decades of scientific research. Caloric restriction (CR) is the most thoroughly studied longevity intervention to date. In humans and animals, it consistently increases lifespan and healthspan (McDonald, 2010). Any [more…]

The Epigenetics of Antifungal Resistance

July 19, 2022 Adam Alonzi

Decades of antibiotic and antifungal use have dramatically impacted the global microbiome, with ramifications for agriculture and human health. Worries are mounting but no systematic plans of action are forthcoming. Though that is not to say there are no slivers of hope. While they are still largely confined to immunocompromised patients, fungal infections are a looming public health crisis. Invasive candidiasis is increasingly caused by multidrug-resistant non-albicans yeasts and nearly 60% of C. parapsilosi sampled in South Africa are now [more…]

Gauge Your Age: Epigenetics and the Future of Medicine

June 9, 2020 Adam Alonzi

Why do some people stay healthy throughout their lives and others don’t? While we all age, we don’t all age in the same ways or at the same rate. Epigenetic modifications are largely responsible for this phenomenon, with DNA methylation being the most studied modification. An Epigenetic Clock is a sophisticated way of tracking our “real” age by measuring methylation or demethylation at particular DNA sites (Kanherkar, 2014). The uses for epigenetic clocks are manifold. The most obvious use comes [more…]

The Epigenetics of Kidney Transplantation

March 26, 2019 Adam Alonzi

As the world’s population ages, the demand for organs and ways to optimize the transplant process will only grow. While the exact interactions between different factors must be elucidated further, it is clear that allograft rejection is partially mediated by epigenetic mechanisms such as histone acetylation, DNA methylation, and microRNAs. This framework is useful when applied to the host and the graft as well as to the immunologic and nonimmunologic reasons for rejection. At this time individualized treatment is limited [more…]

Man holding back kidney pain epigenetics

The Epigenetics of Chronic Kidney Disease

January 15, 2019 Adam Alonzi

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects 20 million people in the United States and an estimated 8 to 16 percent of the world’s population. It is known that anomalous DNA methylation, aberrant histone alterations, and changes to microRNA expression all contribute to its pathogenesis. These epigenetic factors are crucial to the development and proper functioning of the kidneys. The manner and extent to which these factors modulate inflammation, fibrosis, and the transition of mesenchymal to epithelial cells is still being elucidated. The [more…]

The Epigenetics of Depression

March 17, 2015 Adam Alonzi

Major depressive disorder (MDD) affects up to 17% of the world’s population. The WHO estimates it will be the second most costly disease to world governments by 2020. As devastating as it is to those who suffer from it, and to their loved ones, relatively little is known about its exact causes, and while diagnosis and treatment have advanced greatly over the past twenty years, far too many people continue to slip through the cracks (only about 50% of patients [more…]

The Epigenetics of Schizophrenia

December 8, 2014 Adam Alonzi

The nascent field of epigenetics has been helpful in elucidating upon other polygenic traits and diseases. Thus it only seems logical to apply it to the study of , a chronic and debilitating illness with a sundry of risk factors. In his widely cited 2013 article, Dr. Thomas Insel defines schizophrenia as “a collection of signs and symptoms of unknown aetiology, predominantly defined by observed signs of psychosis.” The NIMH estimates it affects 1 out of 100 people. Yet in [more…]

Articles by Adam Alonzi