News tagged with dna methylation
Nanofluidics sorts DNA for cancer research
(Phys.org) -- Cornell nanotechnology researchers have devised a new tool to study epigenetic changes in DNA that can cause cancer and other diseases: a nanoscale fluidic device that sorts and collects DNA, ...
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
May 24, 2012 |
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Biologists offer clearer picture of how protein machine systems tweak gene expression
Indiana University biologists have found that specific types of RNA polymerase enzymes, the molecular machines that convert DNA into RNA, can differ in function based on variation in the parts -- in this case ...
Mar 01, 2012 |
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Researchers suspend, image single DNA molecules
(PhysOrg.com) -- Studying chemical modifications in the chromosomes of cells is akin to searching for changes in coiled spaghetti. Scientists at Cornell have figured out how to stretch out tangled strands ...
Chemistry / Analytical Chemistry
Oct 31, 2011 |
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Speeding up evolution: Orchid epigenetics
Organisms adapt to their dynamic environment using various strategies. Ovidiu Paun, working at the Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, investigates how marsh orchids adjust to and diffuse in ...
Jul 28, 2011 |
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Mechanism for stress-induced epigenetic inheritance uncovered in new study
Researchers at RIKEN have uncovered a mechanism by which the effects of stress in the fly species Drosophila are inherited epigenetically over many generations through changes to the structure of chromatin, ...
Jun 23, 2011 |
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Breast milk may provide a personalized screen of breast cancer risk
Breast cancer risk can be assessed by examining the epithelial cells found in breast milk, according to preliminary study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held April 2-6.
Apr 04, 2011 |
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Genetic alteration may represent early stage of smoking-induced cardiovascular damage
A new study uncovers a previously unrecognized link between tobacco smoking and a gene known to influence the cardiovascular system, possibly identifying an early stage of smoking-associated cardiovascular pathology. The ...
Mar 31, 2011 |
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Molecular mechanism links stress with predisposition for depression
A new study provides insight into how stress impacts the brain and may help to explain why some individuals are predisposed to depression when they experience chronic stress. The research, published by Cell Press in the January ...
Medicine & Health / Neuroscience
Jan 26, 2011 |
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Biomarker test shows promise for melanoma diagnosis
A new study shows that a test of biomarkers for DNA methylation is technically feasible and could aid in earlier, more precise diagnosis of melanoma.
Jan 24, 2011 |
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High red blood cell folate levels linked to silenced tumor-suppressors
People with higher levels of folate in their red blood cells were more likely to have two tumor-suppressing genes shut down by methylation, a chemical off switch for genes, researchers report in the December issue of Cancer ...
Dec 22, 2010 |
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New labeling method expands ability to read DNA modification
Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and the University of Chicago have developed a method for labeling and mapping a "sixth nucleotide," whose biological role scientists are only beginning to explore.
Dec 13, 2010 |
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New clue in leukemia mystery: Researchers identify 'poison' employed by deadly enzyme mutations
There is new hope for people with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. Research led by Weill Cornell Medical College and published today in the online edition of the journal ...
Dec 03, 2010 |
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DNA repair protein caught in act of molecular theft
Scientists have observed, for the first time, an intermediate stage in the chemical process that repairs DNA methylation damage and regulates many important biological functions that impact health conditions ...
Nov 10, 2010 |
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New risk factor for developing breast cancer
An Australian research team from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, the University of Melbourne and the University of Queensland has identified a new risk factor for developing breast cancer. This has been published online ...
Nov 10, 2010 |
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Researchers sequence human methylome at single base-pair resolution
DNA methylation plays an important role in many processes such as animal development, X-chromosome inactivation, and carcinogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms and functions of DNA methylation and how it varies from tissue ...
Nov 09, 2010 |
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DNA methylation
DNA methylation is a type of chemical modification of DNA that can be inherited and subsequently removed without changing the original DNA sequence. As such, it is part of the epigenetic code and is also the best characterized epigenetic mechanism. Because methylation is a common capability of all viruses for self non-self identification, the epigenetic code could be a persistent remnant of ancient viral infection events.
DNA methylation involves the addition of a methyl group to DNA — for example, to the number 5 carbon of the cytosine pyrimidine ring — in this case with the specific effect of reducing gene expression. DNA methylation at the 5 position of cytosine has been found in every vertebrate examined. In adult somatic tissues, DNA methylation typically occurs in a CpG dinucleotide context; non-CpG methylation is prevalent in embryonic stem cells.
In plants, cytosines are methylated both symmetrically (CpG or CpNpG) and asymmetrically (CpNpNp), where N can be any nucleotide but guanine.
Research has suggested that long term memory storage in humans may be regulated by DNA methylation.
For more information about DNA methylation, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
