A major new study in the journal Nature reveals a ‘traffic light’ mechanism controlling genetic activity within cells – a system which could potentially be targeted by cancer drugs already in development. The research describes how ‘epigenetic’ changes to the structure of DNA can act as a stop-go signal in determining whether a gene should be read. Unlike our genetic make-up, which is well understood, the world of epigenetics is still largely unexplored and referred to as the ‘dark matter’ of the genome. But the new findings answer a fundamental and longstanding question – how epigenetic proteins regulate the processes
New study unveils epigenetic ‘traffic lights’ as seen on The Hippocratic Post.