Epigenetics News

September 5, 2016

Unhealthy Diet in Pregnancy Linked to ADHD?

Reawakening a Sleeping Giant

Why Mom's Diet in Pregnancy Is Important

Is There A Link Between Environment, Puberty?

Latest Headlines

updated 12:01am EDT

Tight DNA Packaging Protects Against 'Jumping Genes,' Potential Cellular Destruction

Sep. 1, 2016 — Scientists discovered that the major developmental function of heterochromatin -- a form of tight DNA packaging found in chromosomes -- is likely the ... read more

Trauma's Epigenetic Fingerprint Observed in Children of Holocaust Survivors

Sep. 1, 2016 — The children of traumatized people have long been known to be at increased risk for posttraumatic stress disorder, and mood and anxiety disorders. However, according to researchers, there are very ... read more

Vitamin C May Boost Effectiveness of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment

Aug. 29, 2016 — A simple adjustment to patients' therapeutic regimen may improve the effectiveness of the standard epigenetic treatment for myeloid dysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia ... read more

Progress in Refining the Genetic Causes of Schizophrenia

Aug. 29, 2016 — An international study has made advances in understanding the ways in which genetic risk factors alter gene function in schizophrenia. The study combined genetic sequence information with measures of ... read more

First Epigenetic Test to Diagnose Tumors of Unknown Origin

Aug. 27, 2016 — It is possible to use a newly-developed epigenetic test called EPICUP® to find out what type of primary tumor is responsible for the metastasis in the patient in cancer of ... read more

Normalizing Tumor Oxygen Supply Could Be Key Factor in the Fight Against Cancer

Aug. 17, 2016 — The lack of oxygen in tumor cells changes the cells' gene expression, thereby contributing to the growth of cancer, suggest researchers. The findings ... read more

How Epigenetics Regulate Vital Functions from Bacteria to Humans

Aug. 4, 2016 — A new study provides a comparative analysis of the evolution of epigenetic mechanisms from prokaryotes (bacteria) to simple eukaryotes (multi-cellular) to more complex eukaryotes ... read more

Why Brain Neurons in Parkinson's Disease Stop Benefiting from Levodopa

July 28, 2016 — Though the drug levodopa can dramatically improve Parkinson's disease symptoms, within five years one-half of the patients using L-DOPA develop an irreversible condition -- involuntary repetitive, ... read more

An Epigenetic Mechanism Is Involved in Development of Autoinflammatory Diseases

July 8, 2016 — Scientists have identified an epigenetic mechanism involved in the development of autoinflammatory diseases. The observed epigenetic changes open up ... read more

Breast Cancer Cells: The Importance of Keeping Silent

July 7, 2016 — Researchers describe a repression mechanism active in hormone-dependent breast cancer cells for the first time. The repression complex of these cells silences genes related ... read more

Rates Of Pregnancy-Related Deaths Have Doubled In Texas

Rural Midwives on Front Line of Sierra Leone Maternity Crisis

World Maternal Mortality Rate Is Improving; The US's Isn't

Fears Grow for Nepal's Pregnant Women After Quake

Not All Tumor Cells Are Equal

Aug. 18, 2016 — Scientists have found that colorectal tumors present epigenetic heterogeneity relates to the clinical course of the disease. This heterogeneity can be used as a predictive ... read more

New PET Scan Tracer Allows First Imaging of the Epigenetics of the Human Brain

Aug. 10, 2016 — A novel PET radiotracer is able for the first time to reveal epigenetic activity -- the process that determines whether or not genes are expressed -- within the human ... read more

Totally New Kind of 'Mark' Discovered in Human Cell Nucleus

July 1, 2016 — Scientists have verified the presence of a protein modification that is a unique mark in human cell nucleus. This protein modification, Histone H4 lysine 20 acetylation (H4K20ac), was only discovered ... read more

Epigenetics: New Tool for Precision Medicine

June 27, 2016 — Four new papers mark the feasibility of epigenetic analysis for clinical diagnostics and precision medicine. Epigenetic analysis addresses key limitations of genetic testing, helping to ensure that ... read more

Cancer-Treating Drugs May Help Reduce Alcoholism-Related Anxiety

June 27, 2016 — Epigenetics is the study of changes in organisms caused by modifying gene expression – by alcohol, for example – rather than alteration of the genetic code itself. Recent evidence suggests that ... read more

Discovery of an Epigenetic Regulator of Tumorigenesis Suggests New Strategies Against Lethal Forms of Breast Cancer

June 23, 2016 — Scientists have identified a previously unknown mechanism by which a protein called CBX8 promotes tumor growth in the most lethal forms of breast cancer. The study underscores the need for cancer ... read more

Not Only Trauma but Also the Reversal of Trauma Is Inherited

June 23, 2016 — Behaviors caused by traumatic experiences in early life are reversible. Researchers could demonstrate that environmental enrichment allows trauma-related symptoms in mice to be reversed. This is the ... read more

New Knowledge About DNA Repair Can Be Turned Into Cancer Inhibitors

June 22, 2016 — A molecular mechanism that reads so-called epigenetic information and boosts repair of lesions in our DNA has been discovered by scientists. This knowledge can be used to develop new targeted cancer ... read more

Social Adversity Early in Life May Affect the Expression of Stress-Related Genes

June 3, 2016 — New research suggests that early severe social deprivation may impact DNA modifications that affect the expression of stress-related ... read more

Epigenetic Modification Increases Susceptibility to Obesity and Predicts Fatty Liver

May 23, 2016 — Scientists have shown in a mouse model that the epigenetic* modification of the Igfbp2 gene observed in the young animal precedes a fatty liver in the adult animal. In addition, young animals with ... read more

Fathers' Age, Lifestyle Associated With Birth Defects

May 15, 2016 — A growing body of research is revealing associations between birth defects and a father's age, alcohol use and environmental factors, say researchers. They say these defects result from ... read more

Cells Carry 'Memory' of Injury, Which Could Reveal Why Chronic Pain Persists

May 12, 2016 — A new study offers clues as to why chronic pain can persist, even when the injury that caused it has gone. Although still in its infancy, this research could explain how small and seemingly innocuous ... read more

Epigenetic Study of Lactose Intolerance May Shed Light on the Origin of Mental Illness

May 9, 2016 — A new study on the epigenetics of lactose intolerance may provide an approach to understanding schizophrenia and other complex, serious ... read more

Altered Primary Chromatin Structures: Implications in Cancer Development

Apr. 25, 2016 — Alterations in the primary structure of chromatin resulting from imprecise arrangements of nucleosomes along DNA has been the focus of recent research, and in particular, its functional implications ... read more

Reader of Epigenetic Marks Could Be 'Game Changer' for Certain Cancers

Apr. 18, 2016 — A new article outlines the essential role of YEATS domain proteins in reading epigenetic marks that regulate gene expression, DNA damage response, and other vital DNA-dependent cellular ... read more

New Insights Into How the Brain Adapts to Stress

Apr. 12, 2016 — Genes in the brain that play a crucial role in behavioral adaptation to stressful challenges are controlled by epigenetic mechanisms. Adaptation to stress is known to require changes in the ... read more

Seeing Cell to Cell Differences for First Time Explains Symptoms of Rare Genetic Disorders

Apr. 1, 2016 — Every cell in the body has two genomes, one from the mother and one from the father. Until now, researchers have lacked the tools to examine -- in a single cell -the exact readout from each genome to ... read more

Mom's Smoking Alters Fetal DNA

Mar. 31, 2016 — A study of over 6,000 mothers and their newborn children -- one of the largest studies of its kind -- solidifies the evidence that smoking cigarettes while pregnant chemically modifies a fetus' ... read more

New Method Measures Risk of Type 2 Diabetes in Blood

Mar. 31, 2016 — A new type of biomarker has been found that can predict the risk of type 2 diabetes, by detecting epigenetic changes in specific genes through a simple blood test, report ... read more

Biological Mechanism Passes on Long-Term Epigenetic 'Memories'

Mar. 28, 2016 — According to epigenetics -- the study of inheritable changes in gene expression not directly coded in our DNA -- our life experiences may be passed on to our children and our children's ... read more

Thursday, August 18, 2016