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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).

Breakthrough research could lead to new potential treatments for malaria

Groundbreaking research done at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University's (NTU) School of Biological Sciences (SBS) could lead to the development of more potent drugs or a vaccine for malaria, which is transmitted to humans by infected mosquitoes and kills up to three million people each year.

6 Feb 2010

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Within a virus's tiny exterior is a store of energy waiting to be unleashed. When the virus encounters a host cell, this pent-up energy is released, propelling the viral DNA into the cell and turning it into a virus factory.

6 Feb 2010

Biochemists identify a critical piece in the evolutionary puzzle

Monash University biochemists have found a critical piece in the evolutionary puzzle that explains how life on Earth evolved millions of centuries ago.

6 Feb 2010

Personalized risk assessment tools can help improve smoking cessation

Giving smokers information about their own individual risk of serious illness helps motivate them to quit smoking, according to a paper published in the current issue of Postgraduate Medical Journal.

5 Feb 2010

New England Biolabs to supply Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute next-generation sequencing library construction reagents

As an important supplier to the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, New England Biolabs is pleased to announce that the Sanger Institute will use New England Biolabs as one of its suppliers for next-generation sequencing library construction reagents.

From New England Biolabs 5 Feb 2010

Sequenom CMM launches SensiGene Fetal RHD Genotyping test for pregnant RhD negative women

Sequenom, Inc. today announced the launch of the SensiGene™ Fetal RHD Genotyping test by Sequenom's CAP accredited and CLIA-certified laboratory, Sequenom Center for Molecular Medicine (Sequenom CMM).

5 Feb 2010

Arrayit's VIP DNA testing technology receives patent protection in Israel

Arrayit Corporation, a life sciences and healthcare technology leader, announced today that the Company has received patent protection in the State of Israel for its proprietary Variation Identification Platform™ (VIP™) DNA testing technology. The Israeli patent extends Arrayit's current patent portfolio, which includes VIP patents in the United States, Singapore, New Zealand, China, South Korea, and the European Union.

5 Feb 2010

BioMarin Pharmaceutical signs stock purchase agreement to acquire LEAD Therapeutics

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. announced today that it has entered into a stock purchase agreement to acquire LEAD Therapeutics, Inc. (LEAD), a small private drug discovery and early stage development company with key compound LT-673, an orally available poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) inhibitor for the treatment of patients with rare, genetically defined cancers.

4 Feb 2010

CTD seeks small molecule drug discovery and therapeutic antibody targets from academic researchers

A major centre created by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and MRC Technology (MRCT) in order to fast-track the discovery and development of novel drugs, opens its first call for targets today.

4 Feb 2010

Around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing part of their DNA

A small but significant proportion of morbidly obese people are missing a section of their DNA, according to research published today in Nature. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and ten other European Centres, say that missing DNA such as that identified in this research may be having a dramatic effect on some people's weight.

4 Feb 2010

Defective chromosome cause of severe obesity

A new cause of obesity due to a defect on chromosome 16 has just been discovered. It is thought to explain close to 1% of obesity cases. For carriers of the defect, the risk of becoming overweight is 50 times higher. This research is the result of close cooperation between the team of Professor Froguel, a CNRS researcher, in Lille, and colleagues at Imperial College in London and Vaudois University Hospital in Lausanne, with the support of ten other European research groups. The findings of the study are to be published in Nature on February 4, 2010.

4 Feb 2010

Mapping of human genome modification during embryonic development

Scientists at The Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) led an international effort to build a map that shows in detail how the human genome is modified during embryonic development.

4 Feb 2010

Study sheds new light on cancer metastasis

Some cells are natural rule-breakers. Neural crest cells for example, not only migrate throughout the body during development (most cells are more selective in their wandering), they are also more developmentally flexible than their predecessors (a no-no for nearly all cell types).

4 Feb 2010

GEN Feb issue provides up-to-date coverage on the emerging field of epigenetics

Increasing numbers of research studies clearly demonstrate that genetics alone cannot explain the diversity of living organisms, reports Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN).

4 Feb 2010

Genes of mother and fetus linked to risk of preterm labor and birth

New evidence that genetics play a significant role in some premature births may help explain why a woman can do everything right and still give birth too soon.

4 Feb 2010

Study finds link between genes that regulate maternal inflammatory response, bacterial vaginosis and preterm delivery

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's (SMFM) annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting -, in Chicago, researchers will show the use of haplotype tagging (hap-tag) single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to study the relationship between genetic predispositions, an environmental factor - bacterial vaginosis, and preterm birth.

4 Feb 2010

Helicos BioSciences to install Single Molecule and Genetic Analysis Systems at SLI and Stanford University

Helicos BioSciences Corporation today announced the completion of the sale of a Helicos® Single Molecule System to the St. Laurent Institute (SLI). The installation of the system is expected to be completed in early February.

4 Feb 2010

DNA variants in mother and fetus can increase risk of preterm labor

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified DNA variants in mothers and fetuses that appear to increase the risk for preterm labor and delivery.

4 Feb 2010

Gene variants protect sexually-abused victims from alcohol dependence, says study

Exposure to severe stress early in life increases the risk of alcohol and drug addiction. Yet surprisingly, some adults sexually abused as children - and therefore at high risk for alcohol problems - carry gene variants that protect them from heavy drinking and its effects, according to researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

3 Feb 2010

Research opens new avenues for understanding genetic basis of type 2 diabetes

Together with colleagues in Barcelona, researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have generated a complete map of the areas of the genome that control which genes are "turned on" or "off."

3 Feb 2010

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Breakthrough research could lead to new potential treatments for malaria

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Biochemists identify a critical piece in the evolutionary puzzle

Personalized risk assessment tools can help improve smoking cessation

New England Biolabs to supply Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute next-generation sequencing library construction reagents

Sequenom CMM launches SensiGene Fetal RHD Genotyping test for pregnant RhD negative women

Arrayit's VIP DNA testing technology receives patent protection in Israel

BioMarin Pharmaceutical signs stock purchase agreement to acquire LEAD Therapeutics

CTD seeks small molecule drug discovery and therapeutic antibody targets from academic researchers

Around seven in every thousand morbidly obese people are missing part of their DNA

Defective chromosome cause of severe obesity

Mapping of human genome modification during embryonic development

Study sheds new light on cancer metastasis

GEN Feb issue provides up-to-date coverage on the emerging field of epigenetics

Genes of mother and fetus linked to risk of preterm labor and birth

Study finds link between genes that regulate maternal inflammatory response, bacterial vaginosis and preterm delivery

Helicos BioSciences to install Single Molecule and Genetic Analysis Systems at SLI and Stanford University

DNA variants in mother and fetus can increase risk of preterm labor

Gene variants protect sexually-abused victims from alcohol dependence, says study

Research opens new avenues for understanding genetic basis of type 2 diabetes

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