http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. A large, multi-institutional research team involved in the NIH Epigenome Roadmap Project has published a sweeping analysis in the current issue of the journal Cell of how genes are turned on and off to direct early human development. Led by Bing Ren of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Joseph Ecker of The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and James Thomson of the Morgridge Institute for Research, the scientists also describe novel genetic phenomena likely to play a pivotal role not only in the genesis of the embryo, but that of cancer as well. Their publicly available data, the result of more than four years of experimentation and analysis, will contribute significantly to virtually every subfield of the biomedical sciences. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-embryonic-epigenome.html Genetics Thu, 09 May 2013 16:18:29 EST news287335096 Nearly every cell in the human body carries a copy of the full human genome. So how is it that the cells that detect light in the human eye are so different from those of, say, the beating heart or the spleen? http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-epigenetic-marker-5hmc-door-role.html Genetics Mon, 04 Feb 2013 16:08:27 EST news279216417 (Medical Xpress)—A few years ago, scientists discovered an unexpected layer of information woven into the genetic code – a nucleotide called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine, or 5hmC. Its meaning was unknown at the time, but a new analysis suggests that a regulatory protein called MeCP2, known for its involvement in the nervous system disorder Rett Syndrome, recognizes 5hmC in the brain and facilitates activation of the genes in which it is most abundant. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-epigenetic-decoder-scientists-rett-syndrome.html Medical research Fri, 21 Dec 2012 06:32:24 EST news275293937 (Medical Xpress) -- Collaboration between scientists at Cambridge University and the Babraham Institute have demonstrated a new technique that will significantly improve scientists' ability to perform epigenetics research and help unlock the door to understanding how cells develop and function. Epigenetics is a branch of genetics that studies modifications to the DNA which affect gene activity. The research, published today (April 26) in the journal Science, has important implications for stem cell research and the development of regenerative medicines. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-04-technique-epigenetics.html Genetics Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:00:10 EST news254665466 In 2009, the DNA alphabet expanded. Scientists discovered that an extra letter or "sixth nucleotide" was surprisingly abundant in DNA from stem cells and brain cells. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-patterns-dna-letter-brain-distinct.html Neuroscience Sun, 30 Oct 2011 14:00:01 EST news239201556 Using human kidney cells and brain tissue from adult mice, Johns Hopkins scientists have uncovered the sequence of steps that makes normally stable DNA undergo the crucial chemical changes implicated in cancers, psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. The process may also be involved in learning and memory, the researchers say. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-04-hopkins-team-dna.html Medical research Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:36:29 EST news222006975