Parents’ mutations, even if they’re not inherited by offspring, could affect subsequent generations through changes to epigenetic marks, a study finds.

In mice, epigenetic marks made on histones during infancy influence depression-like behavior during adulthood. A drug that reverses the genomic tags appears to undo the damage.

Researchers found more than 800 sites in the genome where the twins bore the same chemical tags.

The methodology involves modifying histones and displaying them on the cell surface for analysis.

Although epigenetic changes were long thought to largely act on the genome, rather than as part of it, research is now showing that these patterns can, directly or indirectly, change the genetic code.

By harnessing a unique property of yeast, scientists can synthesize histones and the enzymes that modify these proteins, which spool DNA and influence gene expression.

A study links the loss of DNA methylation across the genome—as is common in cancer—to the disruption of the 3-D compartments that organize the genome and to the timing of DNA replication.

A new strategy prevents reprogramming-induced epigenetic aberrations in human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Scientists show how roundworm daughter cells remember the histone modification patterns of their parents.