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On 6-7 September, the JSPS Stockholm Office sponsored a colloquium on the subject of “epigenetics, ” venued at the Karolinska Institute (KI) in Stockholm. It was planned by Prof. Shoji Tajima, Osaka University, and Prof. Rolf Ohlsson, KI, and held with the cooperation of the Japanese Society for Epigenetics. In 2003, the decoding of the human genome was completed, leaving in play a process to elucidate its genetic information. As part of that process, epigenetics has attracted much interest as a phenomenon of gene behavior caused by retention of non-DNA changes in an organism’s genes. As epigenetics has pertinence to various biological phenomena, including embryogeny, cell differentiation, somatic cell cloning, aging, cancer, and congenital abnormalities, research on it is being pursued across a wide range of fields. In Japan, the aforementioned Japanese Society for Epigenetics has been established to advance such cross-disciplinary investigations. On the other hand, countries of Northern Europe were among the first to initiate related research programs on a national level. At this colloquium, lectures by leading researchers in related fields were delivered along with presentations by front-running young Japanese researchers, creating a dynamic that, coupled with an intensifying interest in epigenetics, attracted a more-than-expected 110 participants, with some of the younger European researchers coming from outside of the Scandinavian region. A poster session was also featured, which gave the participating young researchers an opportunity to introduce their work and exchange views with seniors and peers. ― JSPS Stockholm Office  |
