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.
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.
Mice that experienced heart attacks underwent a large-scale shift in their immune systems that allowed cancer to flourish, perhaps explaining the observation in patients.
