Cancer, Autism and Their Epigenetic Roots

K. John Morrow, Jr., has taught and researched in genetics and molecular biology at the University of Kansas and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and was a research director at Meridian Biosciences, Inc. He has written extensively on many aspects of biotechnology and drug development. (Visit his website at www.NewportBiotech.com). He lives in Newport, Kentucky. Elaine A. Moore has worked in hospital laboratories for more than 30 years, primarily in immunohematology and toxicology. She is a freelance medical writer and laboratory consultant. For more information, visit her website at www.elaine-moore.com. She lives in Sedalia, Colorado.

Table of Contents


Acknowledgments

Preface: A Scientific Detective Story

Introduction: The 40-Year-Old Mystery

1. The Long Winding Road to the Long Neck

2. Genes: The Hardware and the Software

3. Mutations and Epimutations

4. Epigenetics: What Makes It Unique?

5. Epigenetics and Cancer: Do We Really Want to Know What’s Out There?

6. Epigenetics and Diabetes: More Grim News

7. Alzheimer’s Disease and Epigenetics: Castles in the Sand

8. A Basket of Mental Disorders

9. Epigenetics and Autism: The Queen of the Night

10. Epigenetic Exercise: Just Do It

11. Aging: The End Game

12. Epigenetics to the Ends of the Earth

13. Why Should You Care About Epigenetics?

14. Pulling It All Together

15. The Way Forward

Epilogue: Concluding Thoughts on the 40-Year-Old Mystery

Chapter Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index