DNA News and Research

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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).

New DNA technique will speed up chemical compensation claims

A new DNA technique developed by scientists in the U.S. may help prove if people have had their health damaged by exposure to chemicals.

18 Sep 2007

Secrets of protein folding revealed

A team led by biophysicist Jeremy Smith of the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has taken a significant step toward unraveling the mystery of how proteins fold into unique, three-dimensional shapes.

18 Sep 2007

Real time footage reveals DNA-enzyme interaction

For the first time scientists have been able to film, in real time, the nanoscale interaction of an enzyme and a DNA strand from an attacking virus.

18 Sep 2007

Scientists learn three-dimensional structure of enzyme in unusual virus

Biologists have determined the three-dimensional structure of an unusual viral enzyme that is required in the assembly of new viruses.

18 Sep 2007

New understanding of gene mutation responsible for fragile X syndrome

Scientists have discovered how the gene mutation responsible for fragile X syndrome - the most common inherited form of mental retardation - alters the way brain cells communicate.

18 Sep 2007

JAK genes and cancer

Cancer-causing genes can work in more powerful and sneaky ways than have been realized.

18 Sep 2007

Genetic lab test for Warfarin sensitivity approved by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today cleared for marketing a new genetic test that will help physicians assess whether a patient may be especially sensitive to the blood-thinning drug warfarin (Coumadin), which is used to prevent potentially fatal clots in blood vessels.

18 Sep 2007

The importance of gene regulation for common human disease

A new study published in Nature Genetics on Sunday 16 September 2007 show that common, complex diseases are more likely to be due to genetic variation in regions that control activity of genes, rather than in the regions that specify the protein code.

17 Sep 2007

Scientists synthesize DNA-based memory loop in yeast cells

Harvard Medical School researchers have successfully synthesized a DNA-based memory loop in yeast cells, findings that mark a significant step forward in the emerging field of synthetic biology.

17 Sep 2007

Powerful new discovery method speeds up gene discovery

Scientists will be able to pinpoint genetic causes of human diseases faster than ever thanks to a powerful new discovery method unveiled by the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) and an international team of researchers.

17 Sep 2007

LL37 peptide provides a new potential target for autoimmune disease

A human peptide that acts as a natural antibiotic against invading microbes can also bind to the body's own DNA and trigger an immune response in the absence of an infection, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports in an early online publication in Nature.

17 Sep 2007

DNA as a picoforce standard

DNA, the biomolecule that provides the blueprint for life, has a lesser-known identity as a stretchy polymer.

17 Sep 2007

Genetic variant explains why people react differently to smells

Why the same sweaty man smells pleasant to one person and repellant to another comes down to the smeller's genes.

17 Sep 2007

Androstenone determines whether male body odor smells pleasant

New research from Rockefeller University, performed in collaboration with scientists at Duke University in North Carolina, reveals for the first time that this extreme variability in peopl's perception of androstenone is due in large part to genetic variations in a single odorant receptor called OR7D4.

17 Sep 2007

Researchers look at role of oxidative stress in human diseases

Oxidative stress is known to underlie many human diseases including atherosclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease.

17 Sep 2007

Screening all babies for high cholesterol could save many lives

Doctors in the UK say in order to reduce the number of people suffering from heart disease children as young as 15 months should be screened for high cholesterol.

17 Sep 2007

Loneliness can damage your health

A team of researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) may have found a genetic reason why lonely people have poorer health.

14 Sep 2007

Delivery of anti-cancer drug paclitaxel on a tiny ball of gold

Rice University chemists have discovered a way to load dozens of molecules of the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel onto tiny gold spheres. The result is a tiny ball, many times smaller than a living cell that literally bristles with the drug.

13 Sep 2007

Potential vaccine target for chlamydia

Scientists at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC have identified a potential target for the development of a vaccine against Chlamydia trachomatis, the most prevalent sexually transmitted bacterial infection in the world.

13 Sep 2007

New Rensselaer tools speed stem cell research

Engineers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have developed tools to help solve two of the main problems slowing the progress of stem cell research - how to quickly test stem cell response to different drugs or genes, and how to create a large supply of healthy, viable stem cells to study from only a few available cells.

13 Sep 2007