| Scientists find missing link between players in the epigenetic code |
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| Monday, October 01, 2012 | |
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Over the last two decades, scientists have come to understand that the genetic code held within DNA represents only part of the blueprint of life. The rest comes from specific patterns of chemical tags that overlay the DNA structure, determining how tightly the DNA is packaged and how accessible certain genes are to be switched on or off. As researchers have uncovered more and more of these “epigenetic” tags, they have begun to wonder how they are all connected. Now, research from the University of North Carolina School of Medicine has established a new link between two fundamental epigenetic tags -- histone H3 lysine 9 methylation and DNA methylation -- in humans. For full release |
CAROLINA IN THE NEWS
New study questions the value of bed rest in preventing premature birthThe Washington Post
New research is raising fresh concern that an age-old treatment for troubled pregnancies — bed rest — doesn’t seem to prevent premature birth and might even worsen that risk. ...In a separate review of past studies that failed to support bed rest, a trio of obstetricians and ethicists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill went further: They said it’s not ethical to prescribe bed rest unless the woman is enrolled in a research study.