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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).

Proton Therapy USA, CareCapital form Proton Therapy Global Management

Proton Therapy USA and CareCapital plc announced today the formation of Proton Therapy Global Management (PTGM). The Company will design, develop and manage a global network of proton therapy centers, providing access to this specialized and highly effective treatment to the world's growing population of cancer patients. Proton therapy is a precise form of radiation treatment that has been very successful in treating a wide range of localized tumors, while leaving healthy tissue mostly intact.

30 Jun 2010

SeqWright, RainDance Technologies partner to offer RainStorm microdroplet-based PCR technology

SeqWright Inc., a world-wide leader in custom genomic and molecular biology services, announced today the expansion of its service portfolio by partnering with RainDance Technologies to offer the company's innovative RainStorm™ microdroplet-based PCR technology. SeqWright recognizes the growing demand from life science researchers for more efficient and cost-effective processes that allow for automated workflows providing greater confidence in results to meet the needs of large-scale resequencing studies.

30 Jun 2010

Epigentek develops new approach for identification of "sixth DNA base" 5-hmC

Research experts in the epigenetic field from Epigentek have developed a new, breakthrough approach for the identification of the "sixth DNA base," 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5-hmC). This technology is based on a high throughput, strip-well format and is also incorporated into the first commercially available product, the MethylFlash(TM) Hydroxymethylated DNA Quantification Kit, for rapidly quantifying hydroxymethylated DNA.

30 Jun 2010

Gene diagnosis to be featured at 9th INT'L BIO FORUM & BIO EXPO JAPAN

9th INT'L BIO FORUM & BIO EXPO JAPAN, organized by Reed Exhibitions Japan, will come back again as Asia's largest bio-event from June 30 - July 2, 2010. "Gene diagnosis" is one of the featured topics for this year.

30 Jun 2010

Individual dental patterns are as reliable as DNA tests, say researchers

Researchers from the University of Granada have shown that a person's dental patterns can be used as proof of their identity with the same degree of reliability as DNA testing, the method that forensic police use to reveal the identity of dead bodies. The researchers came to their conclusion after analyzing the dental patterns of more than 3,000 people.

30 Jun 2010

Aeolus AEOL 10150 study confirms ability to rescue skin from deleterious effects of CEES

Aeolus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. reported that researchers from National Jewish Health and the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus have completed studies demonstrating that AEOL 10150 provides statistically significant protection of the skin in the 2-chloroethyl-ethylsulfide (CEES; half mustard) model of mustard gas exposure in mice and in a human cell culture model.

30 Jun 2010

Oxygen can combat wrinkle formation by reducing UVB damage

It's no secret that UVB radiation from the sun causes wrinkles. However, a Japanese study published in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology (http://ajpregu.physiology.org/) indicates that oxygen may help combat the formation of wrinkles by lessening tissue damage done by UVB rays.

30 Jun 2010

An innovative genetic prediction algorithm

A University of Toledo doctoral candidate in biomedical sciences recently combined the inspiration he received from his grandfather, values learned from his mother, insights gleaned from his mentors and processing power tapped from a supercomputer to unlock a few of the many secrets of the human genome.

29 Jun 2010

Simple blood test may help detect chromosomal abnormalities in developing foetus

Researchers in The Netherlands believe they are on the verge of developing a simple, prenatal blood test that would be able to detect accurately chromosomal abnormalities in the developing foetus.

29 Jun 2010

Mammalian embryo use different strategies to suppress retroviral infection: Study

Some viruses insert themselves into the host's DNA during infection in a process called retroviral integration, causing several diseases, including AIDS and cancer, notes a Texas A&M researcher who specializes in fetal diseases.

29 Jun 2010

Researchers study mechanism of human brain

Because of its intricate organization, figuring out the wiring diagram that explains how the billions of neurons in the brain are connected, and determining how they work together, remains a formidable task.

29 Jun 2010

Telomere length could prove a quality marker for embryonic development

Scientists from the University of Warwick and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, are the first to directly measure a specific region of DNA in human embryos. The length of this region could be a quality marker for embryonic development.

29 Jun 2010

Scancell, immatics collaborate to develop ImmunoBody vaccines for colorectal cancer

Scancell Holdings Plc,, the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, today announces a research collaboration with immatics biotechnologies GmbH to explore the development of novel ImmunoBody® vaccines for colorectal cancer.

29 Jun 2010

Non-Invasive prenatal blood test to detect chromosomal abnormalities in foetus

Researchers in The Netherlands believe they are on the verge of developing a simple, prenatal blood test that would be able to detect accurately chromosomal abnormalities in the developing foetus. At present, the only reliable way to do this is through amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling, both of which are invasive and carry the risk of triggering a miscarriage.

29 Jun 2010

Movable sequences of DNA are more common than previously thought

Researchers at the University of Leicester have demonstrated that movable sequences of DNA, which give rise to genetic variability and sometimes cause specific diseases, are far more common than previously thought.

29 Jun 2010

FDA grants Abbott 510(k) clearance to market molecular diagnostic test for detection of chlamydia, gonorrhea

Abbott announced today that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market a new, sensitive molecular diagnostic test and instrument to simultaneously detect two of the nation's most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), gonorrhea and chlamydia, including a new variant strain of chlamydia recently discovered in Sweden.

28 Jun 2010

Scientists use PGS method to analyse chromosomal status of eggs

The efficacy of preimplantation genetic screening has been one of the most hotly disputed subjects in assisted reproduction over the past few years. The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology PGS Task Force has now shown, in its groundbreaking proof of principle study, that screening of polar bodies (small cells that are the by-product of egg development), is a reliable method to analyse the chromosomal status of an egg.

28 Jun 2010

Wellcome Trust launches project in UK to decode genomes of 10,000 people

On the tenth anniversary of the completion of the first draft of the human genome - a draft which had taken ten years to complete - the Wellcome Trust today launches a project to decode the genomes of 10,000 people over the next three years. This will be one of the largest genome sequencing programmes ever undertaken and will analyse the genomes of the equivalent of one in 6,000 people in the UK.

28 Jun 2010

Transposons create genomic instability and are implicated in cancer and other diseases: Research

Transposons, or "jumping genes," make up roughly half of the human genome. Geneticists previously estimated that they replicate and insert themselves into new locations roughly one in every 20 live births.

28 Jun 2010

Helicos BioSciences to develop, market MDx tests that utilize HeliScope Single Molecule Sequencer

Helicos BioSciences Corporation announced today that it is in the early stages of validating molecular diagnostic (MDx) tests that utilize its HeliScope® Single Molecule Sequencer. The HeliScope Sequencer's ability to sequence single molecules of natural, unamplified DNA or RNA simplifies the diagnostic testing workflow obviating the need for the amplification steps utilized by most genetic analysis methods.

28 Jun 2010