Name: Spit It Out: Hidden Messages in Your DNA
Start: 2025-05-20T19:30:00
End: 2025-05-20T21:30:00
Location: Levels Cafe and Lounge

Your DNA holds more than just genetic code—it carries chemical marks that reveal your lifestyle, health, and even your biological age. This evening, we’ll explore how DNA methylation controls genes, what it can tell us about our bodies, and whether a simple saliva test could unlock a personal health MOT.

Join us for a night of science, secrets, and the stories written in your DNA!

Beyond DNA Sequence: How DNA methylation controls our genes

Christine Rodger (PhD Student )

DNA doesn’t lie… Chemical modifications in your genome called DNA methylation can reveal your biological age, smoking status and even how much physical activity you do. In a similar way to genetic mutations, when these chemical marks are misplaced, they can lead to diseases. Yet, we still don’t fully understand what DNA methylation actually does. In my talk, I will share how my PhD research aims to better understand the function of DNA methylation in human cells.

Can you generate a health MOT from a saliva sample?

Prof Riccardo Marioni (Professor of Molecular Epidemiology of Ageing)

Scientific advancements in recent years have helped us learn huge amounts about our lifestyle/behavioural patterns (e.g., how well we're actually ageing!) as well as what diseases we're likely to get over the coming decades. Much of this work has used biological markers from blood samples. Could it also be possible to do this using an at-home saliva test?

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