Tag: epigenetics
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Targeting Highly Plastic Cancer Cells: A Path to Slower Progression and Better Therapies
Introduction: The Challenge of Cancer Cell Plasticity Cancer is not a uniform mass of identical cells. It is a dynamic ecosystem where a small subpopulation can adapt, change identities, and drive disease progression. Emerging research highlights the role of highly plastic cancer cells—cells that can shift their behavior and characteristics in response to environmental pressures,…
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Targeting Highly Plastic Cancer Cells: A New Frontier in Combating Progression and Drug Resistance
Understanding cancer cell plasticity Cancer is not a uniform mass of identical cells. Within a tumor, a small subpopulation of cells can exhibit remarkable plasticity—the ability to change their identity and behavior in response to environmental cues. This cellular flexibility enables tumors to adapt, survive, and evolve under therapeutic pressure. Recent research highlights that these…
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Mosaic loss and youth-onset schizophrenia and bipolar disorders
Understanding mosaic loss in youth and its relevance to psychiatric disorders Mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs) occur when cells acquire genetic changes after fertilization, leading to a mosaic pattern where some cells carry abnormalities while others do not. Traditionally studied in aging or cancer contexts, mCAs are now increasingly examined for their potential role in brain…
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Climate adaptation begins early in fruit fly embryos, study finds
Overview: A surprising window into climate adaptation As global temperatures rise at an unprecedented pace, scientists from the University of Vermont have turned to an unlikely early-warning system: the embryonic stage of the common fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The study examines how environmental stressors experienced during the earliest moments of life can shape an organism’s…
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Fruit flies’ embryonic stage reveals that climate adaptation begins early
Introduction: A window into early climate adaptation As global temperatures rise, scientists are racing to understand how living beings will adapt to faster and more extreme warming. A new study from the University of Vermont turns the lens on an unlikely but widely studied organism: the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. Focusing on the embryonic stage—the…
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Groundbreaking 3D Maps of the Human Genome Reveal New Genome Architecture
Introduction: A leap forward in understanding genome architecture Researchers from Northwestern University, in collaboration with the 4D Nucleome Project, have unveiled the most detailed three‑dimensional maps of the human genome to date. This landmark work dives into the physical organization of DNA, offering unprecedented insight into how the genome’s shape influences gene regulation, development, and…
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Prenatal Famine Elevates Multigenerational Infectious Disease Risk
Overview: Famine in the Womb and Long-Term Health Exposure to severe food shortages during pregnancy has long been thought to shape a child’s future health. A recent examination of the Great Chinese Famine of the mid-20th century adds a striking dimension: the impact of famine in utero may ripple across generations, elevating the risk of…
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Prenatal Famine and the Multigenerational Risk of Infectious Diseases
Overview: Linking fetal exposure to long-term infectious disease risk Recent research on historical famines has shed light on how being exposed to famine in the womb can influence not just the health of the individual, but potentially the health of subsequent generations. In the wake of the mid‑twentieth century Great Chinese Famine, scientists have begun…
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Cannabis Use Linked to Epigenetic Changes, New Study Finds
Overview: Cannabis and the Epigenome Recent scientific work has opened a window into how cannabis use may affect the body beyond the immediate effects of cannabinoids like THC. A large study involving more than 1,000 adults, published in 2023, found evidence that cannabis use is associated with changes in the epigenome—the system that regulates when,…
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Cannabis Epigenetic Changes: Study Links Use to Epigenome
Introduction: Cannabis and the Epigenome New research published in 2023 examined more than 1,000 adults to explore how cannabis use might affect the body at a molecular level. The study did not claim that cannabis changes the DNA sequence itself, but it provides evidence that cannabis consumption can alter the epigenome — the system of…