epigenetics, genetics & genomics

Studies The Scientist covered this year illustrate the expanding importance of genetic and genomic research in all aspects of life science, from ecology to medicine.

Hydra vulgaris constantly replenish the cells in their heads and grow new ones to reproduce asexually. But gene expression analyses reveal that regenerating a head after an injury is a very different process.

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

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.

Obese mice that exercised while pregnant gave birth to pups that grew up free of the metabolic issues present in the adult young of sedentary obese mothers—possibly by staving off epigenetic changes to a key metabolic gene.

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.

Cells found in different branches of a tree have different patterns of DNA methylation, changes in which accumulate over time.

Female mice modeling the hormonal disorder can pass symptoms down for several generations, likely via changes in genome methylation that are similarly observed in women with PCOS.

Researchers repaired what is otherwise irreversible damage in the animals’ ocular neurons, by activating transcription factors ordinarily used to generate induced pluripotent stem cells.

Weill Cornell Medicine geneticist Christopher Mason speaks with The Scientist about a bolus of new work on the physiological, cellular, and molecular effects of leaving Earth.

Tel Aviv University neuroscientist Oded Rechavi discusses his studies on the inheritance of acquired traits.

The Tel Aviv University researcher is interested in how the macromolecules affect the health and behavior of successive generations of worms.

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researcher is developing cancer therapeutics based on how the physical structure of DNA contributes to the disease.

Two research groups demonstrate that in Caenorhabditis elegans, behavioral traits can be passed down through the germline to future generations, even though they aren’t hard-wired.

Mouse fathers whose sperm lacks the gene Kdm6a pass down altered methylation patterns to male offspring, along with a better chance of developing tumors and dying.

A number of rare diseases show unique epigenetic patterns across the genome, a feature researchers have now exploited to build a diagnostic tool.

Certain populations have been historically underrepresented in genome sequencing studies, but the NIH, private clinics, and 23andMe and other companies are trying to fix that.

The Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory researcher is fueled by curiosity about how one species’ genome can produce a wide variety of traits.