A research paper from the University of Alabama at Birmingham was cited as among the top 100 stories of the year by Discover Magazine. The paper, titled “DNA methylation regulates neuronal glutamatergic synaptic scaling,” was originally published June 23, 2015, in Science Signaling, a publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The paper’s first author, Jarrod P. Meadows, is an M.D/Ph.D. student training jointly in the labs of J. David Sweatt, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Neurobiology, and John J. Hablitz, Ph.D., professor of neurobiology.
The Discover Magazine story cited the UAB work along with another paper on methylation.
“The brain is quite the circus act: It constantly juggles the complex job of processing a daily barrage of new experiences with the equally daunting task of storing memories,” wrote Andy Berger, the magazine article’s author. “But scientists never understood how it managed to pull this off. Now, two studies published in June reveal it’s because neurons, brain cells that transmit messages, alter their DNA constantly.”
The Discover top 100 stories of 2015 feature the best in science from space exploration to medicine, technology, paleontology and environment. Highlights, according to the magazine, include the first look at Pluto, Kennewick Man’s genetic roots, LHC reactivated and the ethics of editing human embryos.