Genetics

Genes that regulate how much we dream

Sleep is known to re-energize animals and consolidate their memories. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a mysterious stage of sleep in which animals dream, is known to play an important role in maintaining a healthy mental ...

Genetics

Research reveals gene regulation can be digital and stochastic

Every cell in our body has the same set of genes, or genome, and can potentially become any type of cell. During development, the epigenome mediates the process that leads a cell to become a skin cell or a neuron, for instance. ...

Immunology

How a thieving transcription factor dominates the genome

One powerful DNA-binding protein, the transcription factor PU.1, steals away other transcription factors and recruits them for its own purposes, effectively dominating gene regulation in developing immune cells, according ...

Genetics

Specific gene region in hypertension revealed

Genes encode proteins and proteins dictate cell function. Therefore, the thousands of genes expressed in a cell determine what that cell can do. Among the multiple elements that are involved in the precise regulation of gene ...

Genetics

Human epigenomics explained in new textbook

Researchers from the University of Eastern Finland have published a textbook on human epigenomics, the study of epigenetic modifications across the entire genome. The book is the first of its kind to focus on epigenomics ...

Genetics

Immune diseases inflict identical twins differently

Any parent with identical twins knows their two children are actually remarkably different. Identical twins are genetically identical, but they are not identical in gene expressions, a difference attributable to epigenetics. ...

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