genome_sequence_barcode_social.64aebdb05a0b8
Epigenetic study links DNA methylation to diseases including breast cancer and diabetes
An epigenetic study of more than 18,000 people has found links between DNA methylation and diseases including breast cancer and type 2 diabetes.
Writing in the journal PLoS Medicine, researchers at the University of Edinburgh described the results of an analysis of DNA methylation at around 750,000 cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotide (CpG) sites in whole-blood samples. DNA methylation at CpG sites is an epigenetic modification to DNA that alters the activity of genes. The reversible process is affected by factors such as diet, stress, and smoking.
