Epigenetics, memory, and inheritance

Faddish stuff: epigenetics and the inheritance of acquired characteristics.

“Epigenetic changes are short-term heritable alterations in gene expression that are not due to mutations . . . . Like variations in a letter’s font . . .we are still at sea as to how it all works . . . short term bar codes on our cells so that they remember where they’ve been and where they should be going . . . if they get lost we call it cancer, etc. . since epigenetic changes can be induced...

Epigenetics, histone H3 variants, and the inheritance of chromatin states.

Epigenetics, cellular memory and gene regulation

The field described as 'epigenetics' has captured the imagination of scientists and the lay public. Advances in our understanding of chromatin and gene regulatory mechanisms have had impact on drug development, fueling excitement in the lay public about the prospects of applying this knowledge to address health issues. However, when describing these scientific advances as 'epigenetic', we encou...

Epigenetics, oestradiol and hippocampal memory consolidation.

Epigenetic alterations of histone proteins and DNA are essential for hippocampal synaptic plasticity and cognitive function, and contribute to the aetiology of psychiatric disorders and neurodegenerative diseases. Hippocampal memory formation depends on histone alterations and DNA methylation, and increasing evidence suggests that the regulation of these epigenetic processes by modulatory facto...

Small but sturdy: small RNAs in cellular memory and epigenetics.

Cells in multicellular organisms have distinct identities characterized by their profiles of expressed genes. Cell identities can be stable over a long time and through multiple cellular divisions but are also responsive to extracellular signals. Since the DNA sequence is identical in all cells, a "cellular memory" of expression profiles is achieved by what are defined as epigenetic mechanisms....