http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. (Medical Xpress)—DNA is often called the blueprint of life, but the four-letter combinations that make up the genetic code are just part of the story. Built upon the DNA lies additional epigenetic information in the form of a complex ensemble of chemical tags attached to the DNA itself and on proteins that package our DNA – called histones – which ultimately control how our genetic code is accessed and used. Interestingly, histones are decorated with many types of chemical tags, and their particular combinations have been referred to as the "histone code." But understanding how the cell interprets the code has proven challenging due to its sheer complexity and a lack of tools to study the code inside the cell. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-06-piece-histone-code-puzzle.html Genetics Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:28:20 EST news290158093 With the remains of a recent lottery winner having been exhumed for foul play related to cyanide poisoning, future winners might wonder what they can do to avoid the same fate. A new report in The FASEB Journal involving zebrafish suggests that riboflavin, also known as vitamin B2, may mitigate the toxic effects of this infamous poison. In addition, the report shows that zebrafish are a viable model for investigating the effects of cyanide on humans. As with any research involving animal models, these findings are preliminary until thoroughly tested in clinical trials. Anyone who suspects cyanide poisoning should not attempt to use riboflavin as an antidote, and instead contact local poison control centers or emergency health services immediately. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-zebrafish-vitamin-b2-riboflavin-antidote.html Medical research Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:07:03 EST news286542416 A non-invasive imaging technique which may help in the earlier detection of cancer is among the innovative research being presented at BioPIC 2013, a BioPhotonics and Imaging Conference, taking place in Castleknock Hotel and Country Club, Dublin from 25th - 27th March. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-cancer-brain-imaging-techniques.html Cancer Wed, 27 Mar 2013 09:31:15 EST news283595468 Scientists at A*STAR's Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) have successfully developed a method to map the epigenome using 100 times fewer cells than was previously possible. The discovery, published in the journal Developmental Cell, means that it is now possible to study the epigenome of parts of the body with rare cell populations such as germ cells (which differentiate into the egg or sperm), and clinical biopsy samples (to advance the study, diagnosis and prevention of cancer). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-microscale-epigenomics-technology-epigenome-rare.html Genetics Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:00:02 EST news279786735 Even before obesity occurs, eating fatty and sugary foods causes chemical changes in the brain, meaning that going on a diet might feel similar to going through drug withdrawal, according to a study published today by Dr. Stephanie Fulton of the University of Montreal's Faculty of Medicine and its affiliated CRCHUM Hospital Research Centre. "By working with mice, whose brains are in many ways comparable to our own, we discovered that the neurochemistry of the animals who had been fed a high fat, sugary diet were different from those who had been fed a healthy diet," Fulton explained. "The chemicals changed by the diet are associated with depression. A change of diet then causes withdrawal symptoms and a greater sensitivity to stressful situations, launching a vicious cycle of poor eating." http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-fatty-food-habit-symptoms-depression.html Overweight and Obesity Wed, 12 Dec 2012 04:24:51 EST news274508677 Researchers at Western University have created a mouse model that reproduces some of the chemical changes in the brain that occur with Alzheimer's, shedding new light on this devastating disease. Marco Prado, Vania Prado and their colleagues at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry's Robarts Research Institute, looked at changes related to a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger, named acetylcholine (ACh), and the kinds of memory problems associated with it. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-reveals-spatial-memory-problems-alzheimer.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 10 Oct 2012 13:05:57 EST news269093145 A study developed by researchers at the IDIBELL, led by Manel Esteller, has identified epigenetic changes that occur in adult stem cells to generate different tissues of the human body. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-adult-stem-cells-epigenome.html Medical research Tue, 02 Oct 2012 12:27:25 EST news268399589 Researchers from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) have identified a new role of a chemical involved in controlling the genes underlying memory and learning. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-illuminates-roles-epigenetic-chemical-brain.html Genetics Mon, 17 Sep 2012 09:27:31 EST news267092842 A study coordinated by Manel Esteller, published in Nature Reviews Genetics, highlights the success of this area of research to predict the behavior and weaknesses of tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-epigenetics-emerges-powerfully-clinical-tool.html Genetics Wed, 12 Sep 2012 09:48:32 EST news266662104 (Medical Xpress) -- Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine may have discovered why certain drugs to treat schizophrenia are ineffective in some patients. Published online in Nature Neuroscience, the research will pave the way for a new class of drugs to help treat this devastating mental illness, which impacts one percent of the world's population, 30 percent of whom do not respond to currently available treatments. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-drug-schizophrenia.html Neuroscience Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:25:28 EST news264075897 Mayo Clinic researchers have found a novel way to monitor real-time chemical changes in the brains of patients undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS). The groundbreaking insight will help physicians more effectively use DBS to treat brain disorders such as Parkinson's disease, depression and Tourette syndrome. The findings are published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-07-tool-track-real-time-chemical-brain.html Neuroscience Mon, 16 Jul 2012 00:00:02 EST news261573831 One of the brain's jobs is to help us figure out what's important enough to be remembered. Scientists at Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University have achieved some insight into how fleeting experiences become memories in the brain. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-when-being-scared-twice-is.html Neuroscience Tue, 12 Jun 2012 17:02:28 EST news258739339 One of the biggest risk factors for liver, colon or stomach cancer is chronic inflammation of those organs, often caused by viral or bacterial infections. A new study from MIT offers the most comprehensive look yet at how such infections provoke tissues into becoming cancerous. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-06-comprehensive-chemical-genetic-inflammation-cancer.html Inflammatory disorders Mon, 11 Jun 2012 15:00:05 EST news258645053 Using blood, urine and tissue analysis of a unique mouse model, a team led by UC Davis researchers has identified several proteins as diagnostic biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets for kidney cancer. Subject to follow-up validation testing, inhibition of these proteins and several related pathways holds promise as a form of therapy to slow the growth of kidney tumors. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-biomarkers-therapeutic-kidney-cancer.html Cancer Thu, 31 May 2012 14:43:18 EST news257694189 A study led by Manel Esteller, director of the Epigenetics and Cancer Biology Program at the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), professor of genetics at the University of Barcelona and ICREA researcher, has completed the first epigenome in Europe. The finding is published in the latest issue of the international scientific journal Epigenetics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-epigenome-europe.html Genetics Wed, 30 May 2012 13:17:11 EST news257602625