Epigenetics News and Research

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Epigenetics is the study of chemical reactions that influence gene expression, through activation or deactivation of genes at specific times and locations.

New Study Proves Research Models Accurately Replicate Cancer ecDNA Loops

Damage to DNA in cancer cells can lead to pieces breaking off chromosomes and floating away, like icebergs cracking off from a glacier. Just as icebergs are a threat to ships and their crew, these scattered bits of DNA loom large to physicians and cancer patients by having titanic effects on tumor progression and treatment resistance.

8 Jun 2026

Scientists Uncover How Marine Invertebrates Bypass Mammalian Epigenetic Rules

Typically, the information encoded in DNA allows organisms to develop, function and pass traits across generations.

3 Jun 2026

New Epigenetic Study Discovers Inheritance Patterns That Defy Mendel's Laws

Scientists have long known that the DNA code in genes is not the only way to pass genetic traits from parents to offspring.

21 May 2026

Inherited Genetic Pathways Shape Individual Cancer Risk and Outcomes

Why do two people with the same cancer diagnosis-the same stage, the same cell type, and the same clinical profile-often have completely different outcomes? For decades, scientists have studied acquired mutations in cancer to find answers, but mutations alone explain only part of the story.

12 May 2026

Epigenetic Changes May Influence Inheritance Beyond DNA Sequence Alone

When we think about genetic inheritance, we usually leap to DNA, the four-letter code containing the instructions for building a living organism.

11 May 2026

Long Read Sequencing Uncovers Telomere Length Variation Across Chromosomes

In a new proof-of-concept study published in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of Chicago analyzed genomic data from more than 2,500 participants in the national All of Us research program to estimate chromosome-specific telomere length (csTL).

30 Apr 2026

Lund Researchers Map Epigenome Secrets of Insulin and Glucagon Cells

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have carried out the most detailed mapping to date of the epigenome in the cells that regulate the body's blood sugar levels.

27 Apr 2026

Early Epigenetic Changes and Gut Microbiome Interact to Shape Neurodevelopment

The gut microbiome and epigenetics-molecular switches that turn genes on or off-are intertwined, and both contribute to neurodevelopment, finds a study publishing April 10 in the Cell Press journal Cell Press Blue.

13 Apr 2026

Redefining Cancer Therapy Through Selective Targeting of BET Protein Families

For over a decade, a class of drugs called BET inhibitors has been tested in cancer trials with high expectations.

10 Apr 2026

Epigenetic Switch Discovery Opens New Target for Cancer Therapy

Cancers emerge from many different paths. One path begins early, in embryonic development, when a protein complex called PRC2, which regulates cell differentiation, identity, and plasticity, becomes dysfunctional.

16 Mar 2026

SeekGene Joins Human Cell Atlas Consortium to Advance Multiomics Research

SeekGene, a biotechnology company focused on "driving the development and democratization of innovative single-cell technologies", announced it has officially joined the Human Cell Atlas (HCA) Commercial Discount Program, providing eligible consortium members with exclusive commercial discounts on its single-cell platforms and assays to support large-scale cell atlas research worldwide.

12 Feb 2026

Reprogrammed Engrams Reverse Cognitive Decline in Mice

Age-related memory decline and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's are often thought of as irreversible.

11 Feb 2026

Study Reveals Circadian Control of Immune Variability

In laboratory models, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center discovered that a mother's circadian rhythms, or internal body clock, can influence the immune system states of her offspring, which can accurately predict the risk of bacterial infection.

5 Jan 2026

Spatial Touchstone Project Brings Standardization to Spatial Transcriptomics

Spatial transcriptomics provides a unique perspective on the genes that cells express and where those cells are located.

8 Dec 2025

PLAMseq Revolutionizes Simultaneous Analysis of Genome Proteins and Their Locations

A team from the Andalusian Centre for Molecular Biology and Regenerative Medicine (CABIMER) has developed an innovative technique called PLAMseq (proximity-labelled affinity-purified mass spectrometry plus sequencing) that, for the first time, allows simultaneous analysis of chromatin-associated proteins and their location in the genome in a single experiment.

5 Dec 2025

Epigenetic Signatures Explain How Andean Highlanders Thrive in Low Oxygen

DNA sequencing technology makes it possible to explore the genome to learn how humans adapted to live in a wide range of environments.

4 Dec 2025

DNA Rigidity Inside the Nucleosome Regulates INO80 Positioning

Researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have shown that DNA inflexibility, or rigidity, inside the nucleosome regulates the positioning of INO80. This highlights that the physical structure and shape of DNA, not just genetic information, are key components of DNA transcription.

26 Nov 2025

Novel Mechanism for Epigenetic Patterning in Plants

Every cell within an organism shares an identical genetic blueprint. Their distinct identities stem from epigenetics—precise chemical markers that dictate gene expression.

24 Nov 2025

RNA Molecules Alter Genome Structure to Silence Critical Neuronal Genes During Stress

What if the brain's response to stress could be read not in fleeting neurotransmitter bursts, but in the quieting of genes deep inside chromatin? Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have now shown that stress hormones may silence crucial neuronal genes through an unexpected class of RNA molecules that operate not by encoding proteins, but by reshaping the genome's architecture.

5 Nov 2025