Connection Between Epigenome, Selective Mutability, Evolution, and Human Disease
Li, Harris et al., PLoS Genetics
Researchers at the Baylor College of Medicine and elsewhere propose a "connection between the epigenome, selective mutability, evolution, and human disease" based on the findings of their study on associations of structural mutability with germline DNA methylation and with non-allelic homologous recombination mediated by low-copy repeats. "Combined evidence from four human sperm methylome maps, human genome evolution, structural polymorphisms in the human population, and previous genomic and disease studies consistently points to a strong association of germline hypomethylation and genomic instability," the Baylor-led team writes.
Volume, Not Firmness or Uplift
March 31, 2009
A trial underway in Britain is using a stem cell-based therapy to repair the breasts of women following tumor-removal surgery, and a separate trial is using the technique on healthy women, reports the Times Online. The stem cells are extracted from the fat of the woman's stomach or thighs. Surgeons say that the addition of stem cells may promote the growth of blood vessels. Plastic surgeon Eva Weiler-Mithoff says the results from British cancer patients have been promising but notes that that does not justify the cosmetic application of the treatment. The Times also points out: "Although the stem cell technique will restore volume, it will not provide firmness and uplift."