Posts Tagged ‘epigenetics’
New DNA letter may have distinct function
EMORY (US) — Scientists have mapped the patterns formed by a sixth nucleotide—a new DNA letter discovered in 2009—in the brains of mice, observing how its pattern of distribution changes during development and aging. Continue…
Wednesday, November 9, 2011 11:46 - 0 Comments
Health & Medicine - Oct 25, 2011 11:51 - 3 Comments
DNA ‘remembers’ early living conditions
MCGILL (CAN) — Family living conditions in childhood are associated with significant effects in DNA that persist well into middle age, new research shows. (more…)
Health & Medicine - May 4, 2011 12:18 - 3 Comments
Pregnancy diet weighs in child obesity
U. SOUTHAMPTON (UK) — Independent of how thin or overweight a mother is, what she eats while pregnant influences her child’s risk of obesity years later. (more…)
Science & Technology - Aug 27, 2010 10:32 - 0 Comments
Genomes of ultra-social ants sequenced
NYU (US)—Scientists have at last sequenced the entire genome of two very different species of ant. The insights gleaned from the genetic blueprints are already yielding clues to their fascinating social behavior. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Jul 30, 2010 15:11 - 4 Comments
Diet linked to changes in breast cancer DNA
BROWN (US)—A new study suggests that epigenetic profiles of breast cancer tumors have a direct association with diet, alcohol, and tumor size. The finding could offer a new way to predict the severity of the disease. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Jul 21, 2010 16:51 - 0 Comments
Why are stem cells so willing to change?
UNC-CHAPEL HILL (US)—A protein called Tet1 appears to play a critical role in helping stem cells do what they do best: renew and become any type of cell in the body—a quality known as pluripotency. (more…)
Health & Medicine - May 10, 2010 16:29 - 11 Comments
Can mental trauma alter our biology?
U. MICHIGAN (US)—Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be caused by actual alterations in the body’s immune system triggered by exposure to a disturbing event. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Feb 15, 2010 16:52 - 0 Comments
Mother’s age increases autism risk
UC DAVIS (US)—Advanced maternal age is linked to a significantly elevated risk of having a child with autism, regardless of the father’s age, according to a new study. (more…)
Science & Technology - Nov 19, 2009 19:08 - 2 Comments
Tool decodes biology’s key players
PRINCETON (US)—A team has engineered a faster, more accurate method for analyzing histones, enigmatic proteins that influence almost every aspect of how cells and tissues function. The approach offers a long-sought tool for studying stem cells, cancer, and other critical areas of biology and medicine. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Aug 31, 2009 12:30 - 0 Comments
Genetic aftermath of alcohol during pregnancy
Dipak Sarkar’s research has shown that a seemingly irreversible reduction in the number and function of beta-endorphin neurons results in a permanent impairment of stress and immune system functions throughout life. While the body often displays the ability to recover from damage or disease, this does not seem to come into play with the loss of beta-endorphin neurons. The diagram of the brain shows the hypothalamus, home to beta-endorphin neurons, in relation to other parts of the brain.
Health & Medicine - Aug 27, 2009 11:10 - 0 Comments
Signs of prenatal smoking in DNA
“Maternal smoking during pregnancy is not only detrimental to the health of the mom and the newborn child, but research such as this suggests that it may impact the child into adulthood and possibly even future generations as well,” says Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.
Health & Medicine, Science & Technology - Apr 27, 2009 12:48 - 0 Comments
Forget it—Stem cells start with clean slate
EMORY (US)—New findings about how sperm and egg unite to create new life may have implications for stem-cell therapies and cloning. Emory University scientists have pinpointed a process that erases information in fertilized eggs to create a zygote—the ultimate stem cell. (more…)
