DNA methylation is a mechanism used by many organisms, including humans, to keep certain regions of DNA inactive, i.e. in a state where they will not be read. Errors in this process may result in inappropriate inactivation of a gene, termed epimutation; this may occur even when no DNA sequence changes (i.e. mutations) are present. Some individuals are born with high levels of an epimutation that predisposes them to developing multiple cancers. Little is known about whether low levels of epimutat ....DNA methylation is a mechanism used by many organisms, including humans, to keep certain regions of DNA inactive, i.e. in a state where they will not be read. Errors in this process may result in inappropriate inactivation of a gene, termed epimutation; this may occur even when no DNA sequence changes (i.e. mutations) are present. Some individuals are born with high levels of an epimutation that predisposes them to developing multiple cancers. Little is known about whether low levels of epimutations (only a portion of the body's cells affected) are important in development of sporadic (common) cancer. The aim of this project is to determine the levels of epimutations in the normal tissues of healthy individuals, and compare these with the levels in normal tissues of people who have had certain types of cancers. In doing this we hope to find out if low level epimutations contribute to the risk of developing sporadic cancer.Read moreRead less
A New Virus Causing Acute Gastroenteritis In Humans
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$575,374.00
Summary
Diarrhoea is very common, especially in children but a cause is often not found. Believing there must be undiscovered viruses responsible, we developed a new method to look for them, and discovered one, which we have named adelavirus, in 17% of children with diarrhoea presenting to the WCH, Adelaide, over a 3 month period. 55% were hospitalised. This project proposes to investigate how widespread adelavirus infection is in the community and investigate how a vaccine might be developed.