Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An alkylation process involving addition of, or substitution by, a methyl group.
  • noun The process of treating something with methyl alcohol.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of methylating. See methylate.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun chemistry the addition of a methyl group to a molecule
  • noun genetics the addition of a methyl group to cytosine and adenine residues in DNA that leads to the epigenetic modification of DNA and the reduction of gene expression and protein production

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

methyl + -ation

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Examples

  • Amplicon sequence reads corresponding to the BS-PCR products were aligned to the Human Reference Genome, and the extent of methylation (DNA methylation%) was determined by comparing the total number of Cs

    PLoS ONE Alerts: New Articles Mehregan Movassagh et al. 2010

  • Certain genes in some of the samples showed changes, which are known as methylation, that are thought to precede the development of cancer.

    In Breast Milk, Clues to Risk of Breast Cancer Jennifer Corbett Dooren 2011

  • The methylation is linked with the development of lung cancer.

    Boing Boing: December 3, 2006 - December 9, 2006 Archives 2006

  • Wasn't I just informed that proteins aren't involved in methylation of genes?

    The Memory Hole 2005

  • They found that in the suicide group, the genes that convert important information into chemical activity in brain cells were altered by a process called methylation, which is normally involved in regulating cell growth.

    canada.com Top Stories 2008

  • She analyzed three genes among the many known to undergo a process called methylation in breast cancer.

    Breast milk cells may someday predict cancer 2011

  • She analyzed three genes among the many known to undergo a process called methylation in breast cancer.

    Breast milk cells may someday predict cancer 2011

  • This process is called methylation because it involves moving around a chemical group called methyl, which consists of one carbon and three hydrogen molecules.

    Mark Hyman, MD: Nutrition Tips: Folic Acid: Killer or Cure-All? 2010

  • A process known as methylation helps to signal a gene sequence to turn on or off, thereby influencing whether or not a given disease is expressed.

    The Chemistry of Calm M.D. Henry Emmons 2010

  • He also had trouble with methylation, which is required to make normal neurotransmitters and brain chemicals and critical for helping the body get rid of toxins.

    The UltraMind Solution M.D. Mark Hyman 2009

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