News & Reviews Archives | Page 32 of 37

An Epigenetic Link Between Memory Loss and Epilepsy

June 30, 2015 Bailey Kirkpatrick

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have discovered a potential epigenetic explanation for why individuals with epilepsy, particularly temporal lobe epilepsy, usually experience memory loss. They even propose a way to undo that loss of memory. Published recently in the Annals of Translational and Clinical Neurology, a group of UAB scientists believes their results could progress our understanding of numerous other disorders involving memory loss and could lead to a therapeutic approach for restoring proper memory function via [more…]

DNA Methylation, Melting DNA, and Twins: Advancing Forensic Investigations

June 23, 2015 Bailey Kirkpatrick

DNA profiling, also known as genetic fingerprinting has been crucial to the forensic investigation of crime scenes since the 1980s. Although important to the success of many cases, this technique comes with some limitations, particularly when investigators are trying to match DNA evidence to a twin. Using this method, it is difficult to conclusively determine which twin may be innocent and which may be guilty because of their identical DNA sequence. Scientists at the University of Huddersfield, however, conducted research [more…]

Bisulfite Sequencing of Ancient DNA May Lead to Clues about Old Populations

June 9, 2015 Bailey Kirkpatrick

For the first time, anthropologists from The University of Texas at Austin have shown that epigenetic tags on DNA, such as DNA methylation, can be successfully detected in the remains of ancient human DNA using bisulfite sequencing. These results can help progress future studies to enhance our understanding of disease and famine experienced by those from ancient times. Epigenetic research assesses various chemical marks made to DNA which do not alter the underlying genetic code, but impact how certain genes [more…]

DNA Methylation Gives Epigenetic Hope to Cocaine Addiction Treatment

June 2, 2015 Bailey Kirkpatrick

Not only is cocaine a highly addictive drug, but it also comes with an incredibly high chance of relapse even after someone has abstained and experienced symptoms of withdrawal. A new study is illuminating the epigenetic changes made to DNA during the withdrawal stage for those trying to rid themselves of the drug and offers new hope for more effective epigenetic-based treatments for drug addiction. According to researchers from McGill University and Bar Ilan University, the genes found in your [more…]

Smoking Linked to Epigenetic Warning Signs of Cancer in Cheek Cells

May 26, 2015 Bailey Kirkpatrick

New research published in JAMA Oncology shows that DNA damage that occurs as a result of smoking may be found in cheek swabs. In light of this research, smoking is thought to adjust the epigenetic profile of cheek cells and the resulting epigenetic landscape may even be used as an early warning sign of other cancers typically unrelated to smoking, such as gynecological and breast cancers. Professor Martin Widschwendter, Head of the Department of Women’s Cancer at the UCL Institute [more…]

DNa methylation and glucocorticoid resistance helps fight cancer

DNA Methylation and Glucocorticoid Resistance Offers Clues to Improve Cancer Drugs

May 12, 2015 Bailey Kirkpatrick

Scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital conducted a study that illuminates a mechanism by which leukemia cells resist steroids, a key factor detrimental to the success of chemotherapy. This discovery could help create more effective cancer drugs and improve the treatment of many autoimmune related diseases. The researchers looked at a certain type of steroid hormones involved in the immune system, known as glucocorticoids. These hormones are crucial components to the chemotherapy drug cocktail that has helped increase long-term [more…]

Can An Infection Alter Your Epigenome?

May 5, 2015 Bill Sullivan

There are many examples of infectious agents that are capable of modifying the behavior of their host organism. Pathogens typically co-opt their host in ways that create an opportunity to spread into another host. For example, the rabies virus is transmitted through saliva, so the virus transforms its host into an unusually aggressive beast that is prone to bite other animals. The single-celled parasite known as Toxoplasma gondii is another clever puppeteer of its host. Rodents infected with this microbe [more…]

How Eating Zinc Could Affect DNA Methylation and the Immune System

April 28, 2015 Bailey Kirkpatrick

Zinc is a mineral that’s vital to our health and is involved in several aspects of cellular metabolism. According to the National Institutes of Health, zinc plays a role in a wide range of important processes like healing wounds, synthesizing proteins and DNA, and the division of cells. It’s even required to be able to taste and smell properly. Published in Molecular Nutrition & Food Research, recent evidence conducted at the Oregon State University also suggests that zinc affects the [more…]

X Chromosome Inactivation and Epigenetics

Slaying the X in the Fairer Sex

April 14, 2015 Alexandre Daly

In arguably the greatest feat of epigenetic orchestration, every single cell in female marsupial and eutherian mammals permanently silences an entire chromosome. While many studied instances of epigenetic regulation involve the repression of a handful of genes, the process of X chromosome inactivation (XCI) effectively silences a 900-gene chromosome over the course of several days and does so for the entire life of the organism (1)(2). The process of entirely yet exclusively silencing one of the largest chromosomes in the [more…]

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Epigenetics

April 7, 2015 Mary Vagula

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a polygenic metabolic disease characterized by elevated blood sugar levels due to pancreatic beta-cell functional impairment and insulin resistance in tissues such as skeletal muscle, adipose tissue and the liver (1). Millions of people around the globe are diagnosed with diabetes, and its incidence is estimated to double by 2030. It has become one of the most challenging public health issues of 21st century and the fifth leading cause of death worldwide (2). The [more…]

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