Image by Smeerch via Flickr As far as science movies go, the new movie, “To Age or Not To Age” seems like a lot of fun. The interview with Dr. Leonard Guarente suggests that the sirtuin genes play a starring role in the film. Certainly, an NAD+ dependent histone deacetylase – makes for a sexy [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Epigenetics’
Movie star SIRT1 makes for a great body but an old brain
Posted in CREB, SIRT1, tagged aging, Aubrey de Grey, Brain, Chromosome, Development, Epigenetics, Gene expression, histone acetylation, synaptic plasticity on July 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Intronic risk – where Mother Nature meets Mother Nurture
Posted in Intronic or repetitive sequences, tagged Epigenetics, Gene expression, Stress on July 19, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Image via Wikipedia The current buzz about about GWAS and longevity and GWAS in general has stirred up many longstanding inconvenient issues that arise when trying to interpret the results of very large, expensive and worthwhile genetic studies. Its seems that Mother Nature does not give up her secrets without a fight. One of the [...]
Inheritance of epigenetic change?
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Add new tag, Biology, Epigenetics, Gene expression, NOVA on April 27, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Image via Wikipedia pointer to the NOVA program on epigenetics “Ghost in Your Genes” (YouTube link here). Fantastic footage. Great intro to epigenetics and so-called trans-generational effects and the inheritance of epigenetic marks – which, in some cases – are left by adverse or stressful experience. A weird, wild, game-changing concept indeed – that my [...]
Don’t ask what the genes for Prader-Willi syndrome do, ask where
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Brain, Conditions and Diseases, Development, Epigenetics, Frontal lobe, Gene expression, Genomic imprinting, Mutation, Prader-Willi syndrome, visual system, Williams Syndrome on April 8, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Image by Si1very via Flickr In an earlier post on Williams Syndrome, we delved into the notion that sometimes a genetic variant can lead to enhanced function – such as certain social behaviors in the case of WS. A mechanism that is thought to underlie this phenomenon has to do with the way in which [...]
On the genetics of epigenetics (part un)
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged aging, Development, DNA, DNA methylation, Epigenetics, Gene, Gene expression, Genetic testing, histone, histone acetylation, Transcription factor, Twin on January 5, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Last year I dug a bit into the area of epigenetics (indexed here) and learned that the methylation (CH3) and acetylation (OCCH3) of genomic DNA & histones, respectively, can have dramatic effects on the structure of DNA and its accessibility to transcription factors – and hence – gene expression. Many of the papers I covered [...]
Epigenetics and cognitive development – quick sketch overview
Posted in BDNF, MECP2, tagged Art, autism, Development, Epigenetics, Gene expression, schizophrenia, synaptogenesis, Stress, Anxiety, meme-art, Gene, Cognition, Rett Syndrome, MECP2, Transcription, cognitive development on December 16, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Some quick sketches that might help put the fast-growing epigenetics and cognitive development literature into context. Visit the University of Utah’s Epigenetics training site for more background! The genome is just the A,G,T,C bases that encode proteins and other mRNA molecules. The “epi”genome are various modification to the DNA – such as methylation (at C [...]
Epigenetic loss of an insensitive period of cognitive development
Posted in Hippocampus, Hypothalamus, NRXB1, tagged Brain, Bruce McEwen, Chemical synapse, Development, DNA, DNA methylation, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Health, Neural development, Rett Syndrome, Rockefeller University, Stress, synapse, synaptic plasticity on December 4, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
We are all familiar with the notion that genes are NOT destiny and that the development of an individual’s mind and body occur in a manner that is sensitive to the environment (e.g. children who eat lots of healthy food grow bigger and stronger than those who have little or no access to food). In [...]
Know thy epigenome in fatal purpose of the Heart
Posted in Cerebellum, Frontal cortex, NTRK2, tagged Depression, Development, DNA methylation, Epigenetics, Frontal lobe, Gene expression, Mental disorder, Mental health, Suicide on November 11, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image by sludgegulper via Flickr Few events are as hard to understand as the loss of a loved one to suicide – a fatal confluence of factors that are oft scrutinized – but whose analysis can provide little comfort to family and friends. To me, one frightening and vexing aspect of what is known about [...]
Nature meets nurture on BDNF promoter IV
Posted in BDNF, tagged Development, Epigenetics, Gene expression, Neuron, BDNF, Biology, Genetics, Rett Syndrome, Michael Merzenich, CREB on October 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
According to Joseph LeDoux, “One of the most important contributions of modern neuroscience has been to show that the nature/nurture debate operates around a false dichotomy: the assumption that biology, on one hand, and lived experience, on the other, affect us in fundamentally different ways” (ref). Indeed. While I know not where the current debate [...]
podcast: Rett Syndrome Research Trust
Posted in MECP2, tagged Development, economics, Epigenetics, Genetic Disorders, Genetic testing, Mental disorder, Mental health, Podcast, Rett Syndrome on October 1, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
It was a delight today to chat with Monica Coenraads, Executive Director of the Rett Syndrome Research Trust. The RSRT has teamed up with a deeply focused world-class team of research scientists to translate the fruits of basic research on Rett syndrome into viable cures. Whether you are a scientist, student or concerned family member, [...]
Too much yin and not enough yang in cortical networks of MeCP2 mutant mice
Posted in MECP2, tagged autism, Development, Epigenetics, Gene, Gene expression, Long-Term Potentiation, MECP2, Mental disorder, Mental health, Mental retardation, Neural network, Neuron, Rett Syndrome on September 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Image via Wikipedia In previous posts, we have explored some of the basic molecular (de-repression of chromatin structure) and cellular (excess synaptogenesis) consequences of mutations in the MeCP2 gene – a.k.a the gene whose loss of function gives rise to Rett syndrome. One of the more difficult aspects of understanding how a mutation in a [...]
meme-art 5
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged Art, comics, Epigenetics, meme-art on September 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
resourceblog: Understanding the molecular basis of cognitive and social impairment in the autism spectrum disorders
Posted in HDACs, MECP2, tagged autism, Autism spectrum, Development, DNA, DNA methylation, Epigenetics, Gene, Gene expression, HDAC, Mental disorder, Mental health, Mutation, Rett Syndrome on September 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image via Wikipedia The cognitive and emotional impairments in the autism spectrum disorders can be difficult for parents and siblings to understand and cope with. Here are some graphics and videos that might assist in understanding how genetic mutations and epigenetic modifications can lead to various forms of social withdrawl commonly observed in the autism [...]
Epigenetic puppetmasters pull strings of cognitive development from a safe distance
Posted in HDACs, tagged autism, Biology, Development, DNA, Epigenetics, Gene, Gene expression, Genetics, Mental disorder, Mouse, Natural selection, Neural network, Rett Syndrome on September 21, 2009 | 2 Comments »
Image by eugene via Flickr The homunculus (argument) is a pesky problem in cognitive science – a little guy who might suddenly appear when you propose a mechanism for decision making, spontaneous action or forethought etc. – and would take credit for the origination of the neural impulse. While there are many mechanistic models of [...]
Animal model reveals timely insights into immuno-genetic risk of schizophrenia
Posted in Frontal cortex, Hippocampus, MHC loci, tagged Development, Epigenetics, Frontal lobe, schizophrenia on August 19, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Image via Wikipedia Among the various (and few) significant results of recent landmark whole-genome analyses (involving more than 54,000 participants) on schizophrenia (covered here and here), there was really just one consistent result – linkage to the 6p21-22 region containing the immunological MHC loci. While there has been some despair among professional gene hunters, one [...]
SNORD115 confirms autism risk in 15q11-13 duplication mouse model
Posted in 5HTT, SNORD115, SNRPN, UBE3A, tagged autism, Development, Epigenetics, Biology, Genetics, Gene, Eukaryotic, RNA, Genomic imprinting, Prader-Willi syndrome, Angelman Syndrome on July 21, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Image via Wikipedia One way to organize the great and growing body of research into autism is via a sort-of ‘top-down’ vs. ‘bottom-up’ perspective. From the ‘top-down’ one can read observational research that carefully catalogs the many & varied social and cognitive attributes that are associated with autism. Often times, these behavioral studies are coupled [...]
Poor li’l orphan receptor becomes master of the dopamine, epigenetic universe
Posted in NURR1, tagged Dopamine, Epigenetics on July 10, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Image via Wikipedia Yesterday, there were some grumblings on the nomination of Francis Collins to the head of NIH. Some folks feel that the genome-wide, genome-everything approach to medicine has somewhat over-promised and under-delivered in its promise to elucidate the molecular pathways of human disease. In the field of mental health, the whole-genome era is [...]
Ungroomed granddaughters protest epigenetic marks on BDNF
Posted in BDNF, tagged Development, Epigenetics, evolution on May 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Image via Wikipedia Among mammalian species, moms can have it rough. THEY do the foraging and the child rearing usually without the help of dad who may or may not be prancing about defending his territory or doing who knows what. The biological systems that manage such a predicament for the female would, not surprisingly, [...]
CpG methylation bears witness to childhood abuse in victims of suicide
Posted in EGR1, Glucocorticoid receptor, Hippocampus, tagged Depression, Epigenetics, Mental health, Suicide on February 27, 2009 | 5 Comments »
Image by allthewhile via Flickr It is commonly known that some of us handle stress better than others. Some can calmly accept the dire economic news of an impending layoff while others may fret incessantly day-in-and-out and endure many a sleepless night. Why ? What are some of the brain systems that mediate the effects [...]
Happy 200th birthday Charles Darwin ! Here’s an inherited acquired characteristic for you
Posted in Hippocampus, tagged Development, Epigenetics, evolution on February 9, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Cover via Amazon Few may pause on February 12 to note the 200 year anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin and 150 years since the publication of “On the Origin of Species” (click here to download). To some extent, this may be expected since much of the controversy (creator vs. autonomous biochemical processes) seems [...]
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