- It is often said that the
genome is our fate, our destiny.
Which certainly is true,
but there is another level
of control in our lives,
that is the epiginome,
epi - above, the genome.
- In addition to DNA sequences,
which basically gives us
a blueprint of who we are
as human beings.
There's another group of
chemicals that deposited on
genome, on the DNA, that
dictates how the genome interacts
with the environment, interact
with mental processes,
and how they alter during processes
such as disease and aging.
- There are many many
diseases that are caused
by alteration in those
marks of the epiginome,
diseases of the newborn,
diseases of the adult,
diseases of the aging,
cancer, many many diseases
where the epiginome
plays an important role.
What we have discovered
is a precise technology
to modify our epiginome.
- This technology allows us
to deposit the methyl group,
the methyl mark, on the DNA
in the particular region
we choose where we wanna target it.
In this case, we choose to
target a region that has
been implicated in colon cancer,
and we targeted a region that has
abnormal patterns of methylation
in a disease called Angelman Syndrome.
- Our technology read as correct,
aberrant DNA methylation
in Angelman Syndrome.
This a neurodevelopmental
disorder, as Autism.
This work has important
implications for healthy
development, aging, and disease.
- We expect this technology
can be broadly applied
to many other diseases
and disorders that are
associated with epiginome aberrations.
- If I were to make an
analogy, the genome is
what the writer in a
book wants to tell us,
the original text, and the
epiginome is what we interpret,
and both things are
important to get the message.
I'm convinced that technologies
like these could be
very useful for correct
many of the diseases
that we cannot correct today.
