Children Prenatally Exposed to Cannabis Have Altered DNA MethylationOctober 7, 2024As more states legalize and decriminalize cannabis, more questions are being raised about its effects, especially on pregnancy. Now, a clear-thinking team sees through the haze and shows that maternal cannabis use during pregnancy is associated with epigenome-wide differential DNA methylation in the blood of exposed children, especially in genes involved in neurodevelopment. Studies have shown […]
Epigenetic Two-factor Authentication Secures Male Fertility from the Insider Threat of TransposonsOctober 7, 2024Two-factor authentication represents a modern approach to securing our digital lives from outside threats; however, research now suggests that this concept may not be so modern. A new study now reveals that male germ cells employ a piRNA-mediated epigenetic “two-factor authentication” strategy to secure the precisely timed DNA methylation-induced silencing of insider threats that impact […]
Metformin Keeps Aging Primate Epigenomes “In Form”September 30, 2024Those of us feeling the all too familiar effects of time may look to cut back on certain “excesses” and keep fit (in both body and mind) to maintain a healthy aging process. Now, a team of fitness enthusiasts has revealed that long-term treatment with the diabetes drug metformin maintains an aging population of monkeys […]
scEpiAge Brings Single-cell Resolution to Epigenetic Clock HeterogeneitySeptember 23, 2024DNA methylation-based epigenetic clock construction has generally relied on bulk datasets representing findings from thousands or millions of cells, and now, a new single-cell epigenetic clock age predictor known as scEpiAge may help to resolve the impact of heterogeneity. Can improved resolution offer more profound insight into the aging process? A team led by Marc […]
Amyloids Could Solve the ‘Missing Heritability’ MysterySeptember 23, 2024Science is full of mysteries just waiting to be solved. One of these mysteries is the “missing heritability” problem—it turns out that some traits seem hereditary, yet cannot be traced back to nucleic acids or even known epigenetic modifications. Now, a talented team studying C. elegans has spotted protein clumps called amyloids that could be […]
