/newsroom/taxonomy/term/1216/all en /newsroom/channels/news/how-sperm-remember-329649 <p>It has long been understood that a parent’s DNA is the principal determinant of health and disease in offspring. Yet inheritance via DNA is only part of the story; a father’s lifestyle such as diet, being overweight and stress levels have been linked to health consequences for his offspring. This occurs through the epigenome - heritable biochemical marks associated with the DNA and proteins that bind it. But how the information is transmitted at fertilization along with the exact mechanisms and molecules in sperm that are involved in this process has been unclear until now.</p> Tue, 16 Mar 2021 16:11:13 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 256678 at /newsroom /newsroom/jaswinder-singh Tue, 22 Dec 2020 21:41:22 +0000 shirley.cardenas@mcgill.ca 254261 at /newsroom /newsroom/guillaume-bourque Mon, 13 Jan 2020 20:29:46 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 196242 at /newsroom /newsroom/kieran-odonnell Tue, 07 Jan 2020 16:31:23 +0000 frederique.mazerolle@mcgill.ca 195086 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/nurses-care-young-mothers-leaves-traces-babies-dna-286970 <div><span>Researchers have known for a couple of decades that early life adversity can affect the way that particular genes function through a process called epigenetics - a bit like a dimmer switch on a light, pushing gene activity up or down. What they haven’t been able to show until now is that POSITIVE early life experiences can have a similar effect, and that these effects can be seen over thirty years later.  </span></div> <div> </div> Tue, 01 May 2018 19:24:32 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 38901 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/epigenetic-alteration-vitamin-b12-processing-gene-shines-new-light-our-understanding-rare-diseases-284319 <p>Rare hereditary recessive diseases were thought to be expressed in offspring only when both parents carry a mutation in the causal gene, but a new study is changing this paradigm. An international research team led by scientists at the University of Lorraine in France along with ƻ����Ժ and the Research Institute of the ƻ����Ժ Health Centre (RI-MUHC) in Canada discovered a new cause of a rare condition known as<em> cblC</em>, that they named “epi-<em>cblC</em>”. They reported it in patients from Europe and the United States.</p> Tue, 30 Jan 2018 19:16:41 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 32909 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/surprise-advance-treatment-adult-cancers-265057 <p>A team of researchers at the Research Institute of the ƻ����Ժ Health Centre (RI-MUHC) has found an epigenetic modification that might be the cause of 15% of adult cancers of the throat linked to alcohol and tobacco use. This is a first in the field of epigenetics and the researchers are hopeful that the discovery can blaze a path in the development of new, targeted, more effective treatments that could arise over the next few years.</p> Wed, 11 Jan 2017 17:52:55 +0000 priya.pajel@mail.mcgill.ca 26603 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/international-human-epigenome-consortium-studies-mark-major-step-forward-epigenetics-research-264204 <p><span>One of the great mysteries in biology is how the many different cell types that make up our bodies are derived from a single cell and from one DNA sequence, or genome. We have learned a lot from studying the human genome, but have only partially unveiled the processes underlying cell determination. The identity of each cell type is largely defined by an instructive layer of molecular annotations on top of the genome – the epigenome – which acts as a blueprint unique to each cell type and developmental stage.</span></p> Thu, 17 Nov 2016 17:00:28 +0000 priya.pajel@mail.mcgill.ca 26399 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/father-effect-255992 <p>Discovery of how environmental memories may be transmitted from a man to his grandchildren Wed, 07 Oct 2015 16:17:20 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 24525 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/honey-i-shrunk-ants-how-environment-controls-size-243448 <p>Until now scientists have believed that the variations in traits such as our height, skin colour, tendency to gain weight or not, intelligence, tendency to develop certain diseases, etc., all of them traits that exist along a continuum, were a result of both genetic and environmental factors. But they didn’t know how exactly these things worked together. By studying ants, ƻ����Ժ researchers have identified a key mechanism by which environmental (or epigenetic) factors influence the expression of all of these traits, (along with many more). Tue, 10 Mar 2015 21:18:15 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 22232 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/brain-development-controlled-epigenetic-factor-243393 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:30:39 +0000 katherine.gombay@mcgill.ca 22230 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/epigenetic-study-tabs-genes-linked-allergies-asthma-242501 Wed, 18 Feb 2015 22:46:20 +0000 christopher.chipello@mcgill.ca 22123 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/new-funding-boost-mental-health-research-239658 Tue, 21 Oct 2014 19:11:27 +0000 cynthia.lee@mcgill.ca 21293 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/dna-signature-found-ice-storm-babies-239204 Mon, 29 Sep 2014 17:34:40 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 21174 at /newsroom /newsroom/channels/news/mcgill-discovery-should-save-wheat-farmers-millions-231037 Wed, 09 Oct 2013 23:21:34 +0000 laurie.devine@mcgill.ca 19228 at /newsroom