DNA News and Research

RSS

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the hereditary material in humans and almost all other organisms. Nearly every cell in a person’s body has the same DNA. Most DNA is located in the cell nucleus (where it is called nuclear DNA), but a small amount of DNA can also be found in the mitochondria (where it is called mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA).

Study examines long-term effects on babies born to mothers with obstetric cholestasis

Babies born to mothers who suffer from a rare metabolic complication during pregnancy are programmed to be overweight, according to a study published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

25 Jun 2013

Investigators uncover connection between tumor metabolic process and progression of kidney cancer

Investigators in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network have uncovered a connection between how tumor cells use energy from metabolic processes and the aggressiveness of the most common form of kidney cancer, clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC).

24 Jun 2013

Bacterial DNA more likely to integrate in the genome of tumors than in normal healthy cells

Bacterial DNA may integrate into the human genome more readily in tumors than in normal human tissue, according to a new study from the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Institute for Genome Sciences. Researchers analyzed genomic sequencing data available from the Human Genome Project, the 1,000 Genomes Project and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). They considered the phenomenon of lateral gene transfer (LGT), the transmission of genetic material between organisms in the absence of sex.

21 Jun 2013

MPIIB researchers show that Chlamydia infections can cause mutations in host DNA

Chlamydia trachomatis is a human pathogen that is the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted disease worldwide with more than 90 million new cases of genital infections occurring each year. About 70 percent of women infected with Chlamydia remain asymptomatic and these bacteria can establish chronic infections for months, or even years. Even when it causes no symptoms, Chlamydia can damage a woman's reproductive organs. In addition, standard antibacterial drugs are proving increasingly ineffective in complete eradication, as Chlamydia goes in to persistent mode, leading to asymptomatic chronic infection.

21 Jun 2013

Thirdhand smoke causes significant genetic damage in human cells

A study led by researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has found for the first time that thirdhand smoke-the noxious residue that clings to virtually all surfaces long after the secondhand smoke from a cigarette has cleared out-causes significant genetic damage in human cells.

21 Jun 2013

Researchers receive NIH grant to study key proteins linked to cancer and diabetes

Researchers from the Polytechnic Institute of New York University and NYU have received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to further a novel approach to understanding the genetic underpinnings of diseases including cancer and diabetes.

21 Jun 2013

Researchers discover key role of RAP1 gene in obesity

The discovery of an unexpected function for a gene that was associated to another process in the organism might be a solution in search of a problem, a clue to unsuspected connections. That is what has happened with RAP1, a gene that protects telomeres- the ends of chromosomes-after researchers from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre surprisingly discovered its key role in obesity.

21 Jun 2013

Treating bacteria with silver compounds boosts efficacy of old antibiotics

Slipping bacteria some silver could give old antibiotics new life, scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported June 19 in Science Translational Medicine.

20 Jun 2013

Study describes molecular bases of resistance to new chemotherapeutic agent in familial breast and ovarian cancers

It is estimated that between 5% and 10% of breast and ovarian cancers are familial in origin, which is to say that these tumours are attributable to inherited mutations from the parents in genes such as BRCA1 or BRCA2.

19 Jun 2013

NO2 exposure in infancy is strongly linked with later development of childhood asthma

A research team led by UCSF scientists has found that exposure in infancy to nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a component of motor vehicle air pollution, is strongly linked with later development of childhood asthma among African Americans and Latinos.

19 Jun 2013

Diet, lifestyle and environment attribute to the cause of majority of cancer cases

Diet, lifestyle and the environment are all factors attributed to the cause of the majority of cancer cases and it has been estimated that up to half of all cancers may be preventable according to research by a University of Leicester scientist.

19 Jun 2013

Signaling pathway correlates with EGFR status and poor survival in breast cancer patients

Researchers have discovered and mapped the signaling network between two previously unconnected proteins, exposing a link that, if broken, could cut off cancer cell growth at its starting point.

19 Jun 2013

Aspirin slows accumulation of DNA mutations in abnormal cells, points UCSF scientist

Aspirin is known to lower risk for some cancers, and a new study led by a UC San Francisco scientist points to a possible explanation, with the discovery that aspirin slows the accumulation of DNA mutations in abnormal cells in at least one pre-cancerous condition.

19 Jun 2013

UCSC experts awarded $3.5M NIH grant to develop cancer genomics tools

Despite some successes, predicting cancer outcomes based on the molecular signatures in cancer cells remains a major challenge. A new effort, funded by the National Cancer Institute and led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, aims to clear several key roadblocks that have stymied progress in this field.

18 Jun 2013

OncoSec Medical completes enrollment in ImmunoPulse trial for metastatic melanoma patients

OncoSec Medical Inc., a company developing its advanced-stage ImmunoPulse DNA-based immunotherapy and NeoPulse therapy to treat solid tumor cancers, announced the completion of patient enrollment in a Phase II clinical trial of ImmunoPulse for metastatic melanoma patients.

18 Jun 2013

Genomic instability in new molecular pathway may predict worse outcomes in breast cancer patients

A new molecular pathway involving the gene ZNF365 has been identified and abnormalities in that pathway may predict worse outcomes for patients with breast cancer, according to data published in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

18 Jun 2013

New technique offers potential to screen patients for viruses

In research published in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Saint Louis University researchers describe a technology that can detect new, previously unknown viruses. The technique offers the potential to screen patients for viruses even when doctors have not identified a particular virus as the likely source of an infection.

18 Jun 2013

Patients with central nervous system infections may suffer from the effects of CyCV-VN virus: Study

Patients in Vietnam and other locations with central nervous system infections may well be suffering from the effects of a newly discovered virus, according to a study to be published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

18 Jun 2013

Scientists discover molecular pathway that can prevent death of oocytes due to chemotherapy

Young women who have cancer treatment often lose their fertility because chemotherapy and radiation can damage or kill their immature ovarian eggs, called oocytes. Now, Northwestern Medicine- scientists have found the molecular pathway that can prevent the death of immature ovarian eggs due to chemotherapy, potentially preserving fertility and endocrine function.

18 Jun 2013

MGH researchers discover CNVs in members of 10 families with early-onset Alzheimer's

Although a family history of Alzheimer's disease is a primary risk factor for the devastating neurological disorder, mutations in only three genes - the amyloid precursor protein and presenilins 1 and 2 - have been established as causative for inherited, early-onset Alzheimer's, accounting for about half of such cases.

18 Jun 2013

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Study examines long-term effects on babies born to mothers with obstetric cholestasis

Investigators uncover connection between tumor metabolic process and progression of kidney cancer

Bacterial DNA more likely to integrate in the genome of tumors than in normal healthy cells

MPIIB researchers show that Chlamydia infections can cause mutations in host DNA

Thirdhand smoke causes significant genetic damage in human cells

Researchers receive NIH grant to study key proteins linked to cancer and diabetes

Researchers discover key role of RAP1 gene in obesity

Treating bacteria with silver compounds boosts efficacy of old antibiotics

Study describes molecular bases of resistance to new chemotherapeutic agent in familial breast and ovarian cancers

NO2 exposure in infancy is strongly linked with later development of childhood asthma

Diet, lifestyle and environment attribute to the cause of majority of cancer cases

Signaling pathway correlates with EGFR status and poor survival in breast cancer patients

Aspirin slows accumulation of DNA mutations in abnormal cells, points UCSF scientist

UCSC experts awarded $3.5M NIH grant to develop cancer genomics tools

OncoSec Medical completes enrollment in ImmunoPulse trial for metastatic melanoma patients

Genomic instability in new molecular pathway may predict worse outcomes in breast cancer patients

New technique offers potential to screen patients for viruses

Patients with central nervous system infections may suffer from the effects of CyCV-VN virus: Study

Scientists discover molecular pathway that can prevent death of oocytes due to chemotherapy

MGH researchers discover CNVs in members of 10 families with early-onset Alzheimer's

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Latest Life Science News