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).

CNRS-Institut researchers identify 'virulence factor' that inhibits host immune response

Oncogenic retroviruses are a particular family of viruses that can cause some types of cancer. Thierry Heidmann and his colleagues in the CNRS-Institut Gustave Roussy-Université Paris Sud 11 "Rétrovirus endogènes et éléments rétroïdes des eucaryotes supérieurs" Laboratory have studied these viruses. They have identified a "virulence factor" that inhibits the host immune response and allows the virus to spread throughout the body.

16 Feb 2010

Prestigious journal suppressing dissenting evidence favoring unnecessary cervical biopsy industry, complains HiFi DNA Tech president

Connecticut Pathologist Sin Hang Lee, MD, has filed a complaint with the international Council of Science Editors alleging the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine (Journal) is suppressing dissenting evidence in favor of a $10 billion “unnecessary cervical biopsy industry that protects special interest groups.”

16 Feb 2010

Stem cells intentionally cut and then repair their own DNA to develop new tissues

A new study from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa suggests that stem cells intentionally break their own DNA as a way of regulating tissue development. The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), could dramatically change how researchers think about tissue development, stem cells and cancer.

15 Feb 2010

Allele-specific DNA methylation a widespread phenomenon, reveals IoP study

Researchers from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP), King's College London, have identified numerous novel regions of the genome where the chemical modifications involved in controlling gene expression are influenced by either genetic variation or the parental origin of that particular stretch of DNA. This contradicts previous assumptions that epigenetic signals are generally equal across both copies of a given region of the genome, except at a small number of known imprinted genes.

15 Feb 2010

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Cancer Research UK scientists have deciphered the first structure of 'a DNA repair engine' that reverses the beneficial effects of chemotherapy, according to research published in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology* today.

15 Feb 2010

Bioniche Life Sciences meets obligations under licensing agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced that it has met the obligations associated with two milestones under its licensing agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals for exclusive rights to develop and market Bioniche's proprietary product for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer in North America.

15 Feb 2010

Tobacco users with HPV-positive head and neck cancers at increased risk of recurrence

Patients with head and neck cancer linked to high risk human papillomavirus, or HPV, have worse outcomes if they are current or former tobacco users, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

15 Feb 2010

Idera Pharmaceuticals presents TLR antagonist preclinical hyperlipidemia data at Keystone Symposia conference

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. presented data on the evaluation of a Toll-like receptor (TLR) antagonist in a preclinical hyperlipidemia model today at the Keystone Symposia conference “Advances in Molecular Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis” being held in Banff, Alberta, Canada. Idera’s proprietary TLR antagonists have dual activity for both TLR7 and TLR9, and present a potentially innovative approach for the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases.

15 Feb 2010

Researchers describe the structure of ToxT that controls virulent nature of Vibrio cholerae

In a new study, Dartmouth researchers describe the structure of a protein called ToxT that controls the virulent nature of Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria that causes cholera. Buried within ToxT, the researchers were surprised to find a fatty acid that appears to inhibit ToxT, which prevents the bacteria from causing cholera.

14 Feb 2010

Positive interim results from Helix BioPharma's Topical Interferon Alpha-2b Phase II pharmacokinetic study

Helix BioPharma Corp. today announced that the first ten patients that have been enrolled in its Phase II pharmacokinetic study of Topical Interferon Alpha-2b in patients with low-grade cervical lesions have completed the pharmacokinetic primary endpoint analyses with positive findings.

14 Feb 2010

HIV transmission among male partners: CFAR scientists discover origin of strains

A team of scientists, led by a virologist from the University of California, San Diego's Center for AID Research (CFAR), has discovered the origin of strains of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among men who have sex with men. The study, which may be important in developing prevention strategies for HIV, will appear in Science Translational Medicine on February 10, 2010.

12 Feb 2010

Histone modifications associated with pancreatic cancer development and progression

Specific chemical modifications to proteins called histones, which are found in the nucleus of cells and act as spools around which DNA is wound, can be used to predict prognosis and response to treatment in subsets patients with pancreatic cancer, a study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

12 Feb 2010

New project to unravel secret lives of cancer cells may help produce new cancer therapies

A team of scientists from Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has embarked on a major new project to unravel the secret lives of cancer cells that go dormant and self-cannibalize to survive periods of stress. The work may help produce new cancer therapies to stem changes that render cancer cells dangerous and resistant to treatment.

12 Feb 2010

Treating bacteria with insufficient levels of antibiotics leads to multidrug resistance in 'superbugs'

For years, doctors have warned patients to finish their antibiotic prescriptions or risk a renewed infection by a "superbug" that can mount a more powerful defense against the same drug. But a new study by Boston University biomedical engineers indicates that treating bacteria with levels of antibiotics insufficient to kill them produces germs that are cross-resistant to a wide range of antibiotics.

12 Feb 2010

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' Cotara specifically targets solid tumors and anti-tumor activity

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (PPHM) today reported publication of data in the online edition of the journal Current Cancer Therapy Reviews that supports the clinical potential of the company's novel brain cancer agent Cotara® for the treatment of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the deadliest form of brain cancer. Cotara specifically targets cells at the center of brain tumors, so its radioactive payload is able to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy tissue largely unaffected. Cotara is currently being tested in a Phase II clinical trial in recurrent GBM patients.

12 Feb 2010

Also in Global Health News: China's health care system; Breastfeeding practices in Pakistan; HIV transmission in MSM; Abu Dhabi joins malaria fight

The Los Angeles Times examines China's transition to "Western-style privatized medicine" through the government's "$124-billion overhaul, chiefly to improve service in rural areas." The article details the efforts of a woman from Inner Mongolia to get care in Beijing for her ailing father and looks at climbing health care costs and the growing "black market for medical care" (Pierson, 2/11).

12 Feb 2010

CapitalBio officially joins Roche NimbleGen CSP Program

Roche NimbleGen announced today that Beijing-based genomic services provider CapitalBio has officially joined the Roche NimbleGen Certified Service Provider (CSP) Program.

12 Feb 2010

ASU scientists develop versatile DNA reader to unlock DNA genetic code

Arizona State University scientists have come up with a new twist in their efforts to develop a faster and cheaper way to read the DNA genetic code. They have developed the first, versatile DNA reader that can discriminate between DNA's four core chemical components⎯the key to unlocking the vital code behind human heredity and health.

12 Feb 2010

Second-quarter fiscal 2010 results announced by Pharmacyclics

Pharmacyclics, Inc. today reported financial results for its second fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2009.

12 Feb 2010

QIAGEN N.V. enters into agreement to distribute Celera molecular multiplex assay

QIAGEN N.V. and Celera Corporation today announced an agreement under which QIAGEN will distribute a Celera molecular multiplex assay. The assay is the next generation version of QIAGEN’s ResPlex II assay for detection of respiratory pathogens.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 11 Feb 2010

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

CNRS-Institut researchers identify 'virulence factor' that inhibits host immune response

Prestigious journal suppressing dissenting evidence favoring unnecessary cervical biopsy industry, complains HiFi DNA Tech president

Stem cells intentionally cut and then repair their own DNA to develop new tissues

Allele-specific DNA methylation a widespread phenomenon, reveals IoP study

Structure of 'DNA repair engine' that reverses beneficial effects of chemotherapy deciphered

Bioniche Life Sciences meets obligations under licensing agreement with Endo Pharmaceuticals

Tobacco users with HPV-positive head and neck cancers at increased risk of recurrence

Idera Pharmaceuticals presents TLR antagonist preclinical hyperlipidemia data at Keystone Symposia conference

Researchers describe the structure of ToxT that controls virulent nature of Vibrio cholerae

Positive interim results from Helix BioPharma's Topical Interferon Alpha-2b Phase II pharmacokinetic study

HIV transmission among male partners: CFAR scientists discover origin of strains

Histone modifications associated with pancreatic cancer development and progression

New project to unravel secret lives of cancer cells may help produce new cancer therapies

Treating bacteria with insufficient levels of antibiotics leads to multidrug resistance in 'superbugs'

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals' Cotara specifically targets solid tumors and anti-tumor activity

Also in Global Health News: China's health care system; Breastfeeding practices in Pakistan; HIV transmission in MSM; Abu Dhabi joins malaria fight

CapitalBio officially joins Roche NimbleGen CSP Program

ASU scientists develop versatile DNA reader to unlock DNA genetic code

Second-quarter fiscal 2010 results announced by Pharmacyclics

QIAGEN N.V. enters into agreement to distribute Celera molecular multiplex assay

Understanding the DNA Damage Response in Innate Immunity eBook

Latest eBooks

Industry Focus eBook - Analytical Chemistry (3rd edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Microbiome (1st edition)

Industry Focus eBook - Cell biology (5th edition)

Advancing degrader and proximity-based drug development

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo