PUBLICATIONS

Male infertility is a huge problem affecting nearly 1 in 10 men of reproductive age. This issue is occurring alongside observed reductions in sperm count in men over the last several decades. Although the reasons for these observations are not yet fully understood, environmental toxicants and poor diet could both be involved by adversely affecting …

Nut Consumption Improves Sperm Parameters and May Alter Epigenome Read More »

Aging is a fact of life that cannot be avoided. From the moment we are born, every part of us starts to age, and slowly over time, the cells and tissues in our bodies progressively decline in their ability to repair and restore themselves. Our eyes get hit even harder by this occurrence, especially nowadays, …

Reversing Vision Loss by Restoring Youthful Epigenetic Information Read More »

Obesity is currently a major healthcare concern in the United States and biomedical researchers are still working to untangle the complexity of the physiological changes that occur as a result of increased fat gain. Human beings have two major types of fat in their bodies which are white and brown adipose tissue (WAT and BAT, …

Epigenetic Regulator TET1 May Prevent Beiging of Fat Cells Read More »

The human heart is arguably one of the most complex and vital structures of the body. It is also the first organ to develop in a fetus. That’s because it’s needed right away to efficiently transport nutrients and waste throughout the growing embryo. Once formed, the heart will continue to do its same job over …

Researchers Characterize Chromatin State & Gene Expression Dynamics During Heart Development Read More »

Buried within our DNA, there exists a vast amount of dormant genetic material – a remarkable percentage of which consists of ancient inserted elements that have found their way into our genome, only to be silenced for millions of years.  While the origins of most of these obsolete retroelements are not fully known, their inactive …

Epigenetically Awaking Ancient Parts of Our DNA to Fight Cancer Read More »

Smoked pepper, BBQ sauce, and a few minutes on the grill impart a wonderful smokiness to these burgers, while mushrooms lend a satisfying meaty flavor. And because these burgers contain grated beets, they even look like beef burgers. 

1 cup unsalted raw walnuts
1/2 cup uncooked quick-cooking oats
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 Portobello mushroom, stemmed and finely chopped
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/2 medium beet, grated
15-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp. smoked salt
1/2 cup cooked brown rice
3 Tbs. commercial smoky BBQ sauce
1/4 tsp. smoked pepper
1/8 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. garlic powder

8 whole-grain hamburger buns, split and toasted
8 thin slices tomato
8 thin slices red onion

Place the walnuts in a dry skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the nuts are fragrant and golden. Transfer to a food processor.
Place the oats in the skillet, and toast over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add to the food processor, and pulse the mixture until you have a fine meal. Set aside.
Lightly spray a large skillet with nonstick cooking spray, and heat to medium heat. Add the onion and sauté, stirring frequently, until translucent. Add the roasted garlic, mushrooms, and thyme, and cook until the mushrooms are soft. Remove from the heat, and stir in the grated beet until it releases its color. Set aside.
Place the kidney beans and smoked salt in a large mixing bowl, and mash until only a few beans remain whole. Add the cooked brown rice, reserved walnut mixture, reserved mushroom mixture, BBQ sauce, and spices, and mix thoroughly until you’ve formed a moldable dough.
Preheat an outdoor grill or grill pan to medium.
Divide the burger mixture into 8 equal portions, and mold into patties. Arrange the patties on the outdoor grill or grill pan, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, searing grill marks into each side.
For each burger, place a cooked patty on the bottom of a bun, and add a slice of tomato and a slice of onion. Place the top of the bun on the sandwich, and serve immediately.

Years before COVID-19 emerged out of China and entered the US, a lesser-known, highly contagious coronavirus (CoV) had already hit US soil, causing an outbreak of severe diarrhea in pigs. This swine CoV, referred to as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), first appeared in the US in 2013. It caused high mortality and morbidity rates …

RNA Modification Detected in Swine Coronavirus Read More »

Years before COVID-19 emerged out of China and entered the US, a lesser-known, highly contagious coronavirus (CoV) had already hit US soil, causing an outbreak of severe diarrhea in pigs. This swine CoV, referred to as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), first appeared in the US in 2013. It caused high mortality and morbidity rates …

RNA Modification Detected in Pigs with Swine Coronavirus Read More »

Histones are the most eminent DNA-interacting proteins.  As the primary protein constituent of chromatin, forming complexes with DNA to compact our large genome for efficient nuclear organization, histones support critical cellular processes such as transcription, DNA replication, and DNA repair through diverse post-translational modifications that regulate their interactions with DNA and other nuclear proteins.  Consequently, …

Histone Modifications – Regulators of Viral Infection Read More »