After having discussed what epigenetic mechanisms are and how we’ve learnt about what they do, it is now time to look into how epigenetics affect our lives if things do not go the way they are supposed to go.
Epigenetics is the most rapidly expanding field in biology. In the second article in this series, I discussed which experimental techniques have been crucial in gaining insight into epigenetic processes. I will now shed light on what those and other methods have taught us.
In times of financial crisis, as we are currently experiencing, some governments think that it’s OK, or even wise, to cut down on funding for scientific research. Even though we know better, we are still faced with a situation in which it is much harder to get our science financed.
It is not uncommon for scientists to work irregular hours: starting very early in the morning to have all lab equipment for yourself, and/or continuing until late at night. Next to increased productivity (at least that’s what we think … read on!), what are the other consequences of screwing up your biological clock?
In 1951, cervical tumour cells were taken from Henrietta Lacks and put into culture, to divide endlessly and be distributed across labs all over the world, perhaps to eventually find their way to your incubator: cells known as HeLa cells.
These days, epigenetics is a fast moving field. I don’t remember having learnt about it during my biomedical studies, some 10 years ago. Nowadays, there seems to be no way around it when studying health and disease.This is an easy-to-digest crash course in Epigenetics; What it is, the tools used to study it, how it is regulated and the potential therapeutic targets.