Latest Epigenetic code Stories

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...

  Salk scientists discover 'hidden' code in DNA evolves more rapidly than genetic code A "hidden" code linked to the DNA of plants allows them to develop and pass down new biological traits far more rapidly than previously thought, according to the findings of a groundbreaking study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. The study, published Sept. 16 in the journal Science, provides the first evidence that an organism's "epigenetic" code - an extra layer of...

Test system on Drosophila should provide the key to histone functionThe genetic inherited material DNA was long viewed as the sole bearer of hereditary information. The function of its packaging proteins, the histones, was believed to be exclusively structural. Additional genetic information can be stored, however, and passed on to subsequent generations through chemical changes in the DNA or histones. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen have...

One of the greatest challenges of this century is making the food supply secure in a world that finds itself under increasing pressure from the growing population, changing food patterns and changing climate. The use of new molecular technologies for plant breeding is essential to increase both yield and stress tolerance in our crops.The new technology is based on insights in epigenetics. The 'epigenetic' component is like an extra dimension on top of the genetic code of a living organism...