Race and Sex Major Players in Global DNA MethylationMay 3, 2011Lower global DNA methylation levels have been associated with genomic instability and cancer in humans, making it a great potential biomarker in peripheral blood. So scientists took a close look at the factors around global methylation levels and found that race and gender play a huge role. Researchers from Texas and New York measured the […]
Probing Placental EpigeneticsMay 3, 2011Ever since Tom Cruise publicly vowed to eat his newborn’s placenta a few years back, the “afterbirth” organ has gotten a bum rap. But recent evidence suggests that in addition to its long-recognized role in supplying oxygen and nutrients to the growing fetus, the placenta also influences fetal development through epigenetic mechanisms. Now a trio […]
Epigenetic SNPs Behind Not So Positive Feedback Loop in AlcoholismMay 2, 2011We all like to celebrate here and there. Shoot…EpiGenie’s still recovering from its royal wedding breakfast bash. But most experts will tell you that moderation is key. Now, researchers in Sweden and Australia give us even more reason to heed that advice and avoid going on that next weekend bender—they found that heavy drinking can […]
Tumor Suppressor Methylation is Cause for Cancer ConcernMay 2, 2011Aberrant DNA methylation causes cancer. Wait, didn’t we know this already? Well, not exactly. Association and causation are two very different things. For instance, being smart may be associated with wearing glasses, but the actual cause is a desire to not bump into everything. In order to determine whether aberrant DNA methylation at particular loci […]
Sperm Nucleosome Retention is All Off BaseApril 19, 2011There are lots of ways sperm cells are different from other cell types, but a new PLoS Genetics paper focused on one way in particular, chromatin structure, in order to find out what those differences mean and where they come from.In most cells, DNA is packaged up into nucleosomes, but in sperm, nucleosomes are only […]
