Identical twins are known for having some pretty out of this world similarities. Picking the same clothes, feeling the other’s pain, and often going into the same careers. The latter is true for Mark and Scott Kelly, monozygotic twins who also both happen to have been trained as astronauts. Twins are a favorite model system […]
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Towards Blood DNA Methylation as a Pan-Cancer Surveillance Screen
Early and less tedious cancer diagnosis can prevent future complications and improve patient outcome, however past studies have revealed that the markers of most cancers are as unique as snowflakes. An enticing solution for this heterogeneity would be to screen for any type of cancer using one detection system to ‘rule them all’. Differential DNA […]
Understanding How H3K4me1 Affects the Ageing Stem Cell
Even though we don’t want to admit it, we all see changes in ourselves as the years pass by. A few more inches round the waistline here, and a little less muscle tone there, all due to a little less exercise and a little more food and drink! But what changes occur in our stem […]
Mood Killer: DNA Methylation Linked to Depressive Disorder
There aren’t a lot of laughs to be had when discussing the very real and increasing problem of depression, but some new research supported by the brain initiative on sets of twins may help to lighten the mood a bit. Studies have begun popping up showing that epigenetic marks can be used to show if someone has […]
More Epigenomic Differences Found in Twins?
Twins may look alike, and even share identical genomes, but according to new studies, their epigenomes can be surprisingly different. Examination of the DNA methylation patterns in sets of twins revealed that early environmental conditions can alter epigenomes, and have a big impact on individual variability. A research effort headed up by Jeff Craig and […]