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The epigenetic supersimilarity of monozygotic twins

2021-07-14T21:41:06+02:0014 July 2021|Categories: Medicine and Research|Tags: , , |

Monozygotic twins are identical individuals born from the fertilization of a single egg cell from a sperm that have the same genetic makeup. The common elements between two identical twins do not only concern genetics but also involve epigenetics, that is the set of molecular mechanisms that regulate the expression of genes without modifying the DNA. A type of epigenetic modification studied in twins is methylation which consists in the addition of a methyl group (-CH3) to a nitrogenous base. Through the study of metastable epialleles (ME), epigenetic variants set up in the early embryo and maintained during subsequent cell differentiation, it was possible to observe that [...]

Assisted fertilization: the success of "sick" embryos

2021-07-13T20:48:17+02:0018 February 2016|Categories: Medicine and Research|Tags: , , |

The desire to have children leads many couples with fertility problems to resort to artificial techniques such as assisted reproduction. Although in Italy this technique is still the subject of strong discussion, research continues to make progress to ensure the success of embryo implantation. Before implantation in the maternal uterus, the embryos are analyzed and those that can be used are selected, in order to distinguish the healthy from the sick. However, a recent discovery has shown that not all diseased embryos need to be discarded, some can be used by increasing the chances of successful artificial insemination. Assisted reproduction is the process it mediates [...]

Stamina cells: a hope for the future

2021-07-13T21:35:32+02:0014 January 2016|Categories: Medicine and Research|Tags: , , |

We often hear about stem cells and how they are widely used in the research world. In fact, these represent great hope in the field of regenerative medicine, but what are they really? How they are generated? Stem cells are undifferentiated cells capable of unlimited dividing and differentiating into other cell types: nervous, bone, of the heart, of the skin, liver and pancreas. Possono essere prelevate dall'embrione, dal feto o dall'adulto e a seconda della potenzialità delle cellule staminali, are classified in: totipotenti, if they give rise to a whole organism; pluripotent, if they generate many types of fabrics but [...]

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