Tim Barry, Author at What is Epigenetics?

About Tim Barry

Tim received his B.S in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Business from DeSales University. He has been interested in epigenetics for over a decade and spent three summers researching DNA and Enzymes at Cold Spring Harbor Labs. He is impressed with how the dynamic nature of epigenetics can continually affect someone’s lifestyle and their future descendants. During his down time, Tim will be at the beach, playing golf, at the gym, or with his friends enjoying a fine glass of rye whiskey.

Epigenetic Mechanism Shows Promise in the Fight Against HIV Latency

July 24, 2018 Tim Barry

HIV is a chronic viral infection that attacks the immune system, eventually incapacitating its ability to fight infection leaving the person vulnerable to the development of AIDS, which often leads to death. Anti-retroviral therapies can help to control the virus, but complete eradication of the virus has been tricky to achieve due its stealthy ability to hide from the immune system. HIV is unable to reproduce itself, so it relies on hijacking cellular machinery in order to ensure its survival. [more…]

Epigenetic Marks From Parents Could Influence Embryo Development and Future Health

July 17, 2018 Tim Barry

DNA is the blueprint from which most living organisms are built. It makes up the genes that carry the distinctive characteristics and information that determine physical appearance and health, and it makes everybody unique. At the beginning of life, human embryos inherit genes from both their mother and father, and although the actual genes cannot be altered, the way they are expressed can be influenced by epigenetics. Parents can have a huge epigenetic influence on the development of an embryo [more…]

Viruses Could Epigenetically Modify a Person’s DNA

July 10, 2018 Tim Barry

Viruses can cause many different health problems in humans including HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, and even cancer. They are an extremely small foreign organism that invade healthy cells, and seek to wreak havoc in a healthy human or animal. Viruses are comprised of either RNA or DNA covered in a protein shell, and cannot reproduce on their own, so they rely on their host to survive. Once a virus is inside the body, it hijacks the machinery of healthy cells by [more…]

Trauma of father Could Epigenetically Affect Children Through Sperm MiRNA

Fathers Affected by Early Life Trauma May Impact Later Generations Through Sperm MicroRNAs

June 5, 2018 Tim Barry

When it comes to reproductive health, it’s no secret that a pregnant mother’s choices and environment can severely impact her child’s epigenetics and health—especially mothers suffering from PTSD. But it turns out fathers who have suffered significant stress early on in their life may also epigenetically impact the physical and mental health of their offspring. It was previously thought that fathers only passed DNA to the mother’s egg during fertilization, but it was recently discovered that sperm also contributes miRNA, [more…]

Histone Modifications Linked to Alzheimer's and Aging

Protective Epigenetic Marks Go Awry in Alzheimer’s Disease

April 10, 2018 Tim Barry

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a complex neurodegenerative disease that occurs due to an accumulation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. It affects over 5 million Americans of all ages, particularly those over 65 years of age and is one of the leading causes of death in the US. Currently, there are no sure ways to cure, prevent or even slow down progression of the disease. It is believed to be caused by a combination of genetic and [more…]

epigenetic benefits of exercise on your heart

Epigenetics May Explain Why Stress From Exercise is Good for the Heart

March 6, 2018 Tim Barry

In the exercise community, it is often preached that working out is a form of medicine and can be crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Routine exercise helps to retain healthy body weight and has been shown to lower the risk of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. It’s even been shown to keep the brain healthy. High-intensity exercise places a “good stress” on the heart allowing robust function – but why is stress from exercise considered [more…]

Ovarian Cancer Treatment May Be Found In Epigenetic Therapy

January 15, 2018 Tim Barry

Ovarian cancer is not the most common of cancers, but it is the leading cause of gynecological cancer related death for women in the U.S. It is often hard to detect; many women don’t display symptoms until it’s in an advanced stage, and then it may be too late for treatment as it can easily spread to the uterus, cervix, or fallopian tubes. Treatments typically include chemotherapy, radiation, hormone therapy, or clinical trials for up-and-coming medicines; however, the new field [more…]

Chromosomes Representing Fragile X Syndrome

Epigenetics May Provide Relief for Fragile X Syndrome and Intellectual Disorders

November 21, 2017 Tim Barry

Intellectual disabilities affect an individual’s ability to communicate, process information and can severely impact basic life skills of people from all age groups. Many are a result of a genetic mutation and have often had little insight on any cures or treatments. Recent research published in Cell suggests that epigenetics may play a role in alleviating behavioral symptoms and improving neuronal connections. Fragile X Syndrome is the leading cause for intellectual disability on the genetic level and, until recently, seemed [more…]

A Glimmer of Hope in the Ugly Face of Addiction: Epigenetics May Help Prevent Relapse

October 24, 2017 Tim Barry

Addiction has become an epidemic that is sweeping not only the nation, but the whole world. Returning substance abusers develop an emotional connection to a situation, environment or people that are present at the time of first usage, which generally means that when they encounter a similar experience, they look to use again. Kicking an addiction and all its symptoms may be one of the hardest things that a human has to endure. Half the battle is stopping use of [more…]

An Unlikely Savior: Vinegar Might Epigenetically Protect Plants From Drought

September 5, 2017 Tim Barry

Climate change is undoubtedly one of the greatest threats facing both plants and animals alike. With rising temperatures and irregular weather patterns, droughts have become a far too normal occurrence worldwide. These harsh conditions have proven to be difficult on the survival of agriculture, and scientists all over the world have been searching for a solution to this problem. As genetic engineering becomes more and more developed, scientists have turned to the possibility of editing the genomes of plants to [more…]

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Articles by Tim Barry