Researchers: Scientists have yet to work out how one parental version of a given gene can be switched (or faded) on or off and maintained that way while the other is in the opposite state. It is known that much of the on/off switching occurs during the formation of gametes (sperm and egg), but the precise mechanisms remain unclear. This new study points to the intriguing possibility that some imprinted genes may not be marked in gametes, but become active later in development, or even in adulthood.
Tag: mice
Mice from opposite coasts of North America show same the changes in genes
The house mouse, beloved of cats, only arrived in North America with Europeans, so there aren’t millions of years to make up a story about how things happened.
Closing in on how early life stress changes epigenetic markers
The good news from this mouse study is that if epigenetic stress is recognized, it can be reversed. That means, presumably, that it won’t be passed on: In a study published March 15 in Nature Neuroscience, researchers found that early-life stress in mice induces epigenetic changes in a particular type of neuron, which in turn Read More…
What if epigenetics turns out to be useful in treating disability?
If epigenetic treatment holds up, was Lamarck still as wrong as generations of Darwinists made him out to be?
At the Scientist: The epigenetic couch potato mouse debuts
Why the sea is boiling hot: It’s not just that Darwinian evolution is not being demonstrated to any degree but that a lot of NON-Darwinian evolution IS being demonstrated.
Irresistible! An epigenetic couch potato mouse
From the release: “Our findings suggest that epigenetic mechanisms, such as DNA methylation, that are established in the brain during fetal or early postnatal life, play a major role in determining individual propensity for exercise,” Waterland said.
Chromosomes organize to ensure each nose cell expresses only one smell receptor
For the same type of reason, perhaps, as each key only produces one letter (prevents information from being degraded even as it is produced).
Coffee time: How cats court mice
This coffee time is dedicated to: animal mind Urine: Surely not an incentive one would expect, if one must clean litter boxes. But this just in from From BBC News: Cats ‘control mice’ with chemicals in their urine Researchers found that when very young mice were exposed to a chemical in cat urine, they were Read More…