Double trouble: epigenetic duo shapes cell fate and disease
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 10-Sep-2025 15:11 ET (10-Sep-2025 19:11 GMT/UTC)
Shedding light on what determines how cells become what they are meant to be—nerves, bone, muscles, etc.—can also help researchers understand how diseases develop when these biological programs break down.
Now, researchers at Case Western Reserve University have discovered a key synergistic role for two epigenetic markers—molecules that help tell genes to turn on and off—involved in programming cell fate. Importantly, turning off these two markers causes genes to over-activate, disrupting normal cell development.A new study will investigate whether levels of the lung protein CC16 in childhood can predict risk of early chronic obstructive pulmonary disease later in life.
OKLAHOMA CITY – While smoking rates in the United States have substantially declined over the past six decades, smoking remains high among people with low incomes, leading to health disparities. A smartphone app that delivers real-time, tailored messages may hold the key to helping them quit, according to University of Oklahoma clinical trial results published today in JAMA Network Open.
The antibody also has potential to treat a broad array of other conditions, including autoimmune disorders, cancer and diabetes, research indicates.