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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).

Personal DNA scanning service 23andMe drops price to $399

Personal DNA scanning service 23andMe on Tuesday is scheduled to announce that it is lowering the price of its gene-mapping service from $999 to $399 in order to attract more customers and expand its database of individual genetic profiles to bolster medical research, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

10 Sep 2008

Physical activity can blunt the effect of obesity genes

People who are concerned that they may have a genetic susceptibility for obesity will find some relief from new research conducted in the U.S.

9 Sep 2008

Egg secretions from a worm may be useful in gene therapy

Egg secretions from a worm that causes a deadly human disease may prove useful in gene therapy, according to research presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference (BPC) in Manchester.

8 Sep 2008

The Cancer Genome Atlas reports first results

The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) has reported results from its first comprehensive study which focused on the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma.

8 Sep 2008

FDA approves DNA test to measure hepatitis B viral load

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the first nucleic acid test for hepatitis B virus (HBV) that measures the amount of viral DNA (viral load) in a patient's blood. Assessing a patient's viral load provides health care professionals with a highly sensitive method for gauging the progress of antiviral therapy in patients with chronic HBV infections.

5 Sep 2008

Link found between Apobec3 gene and neutralizing antibody response to retrovirus

Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. Published in the Sept. 5 issue of Science, the finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus.

4 Sep 2008

Human herpes virus 6 weaves itself into the DNA transferred from parents to babies

Parents expect to pass on their eye or hair color, their knobby knees or their big feet to their children through their genes. But they don't expect to pass on viruses through those same genes.

2 Sep 2008

Discovery of novel candidate gene for inflammatory bowel diseases

A study of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in children has identified a gene that influences whether children get these diseases early in life, and points to a potential new target for treatment.

2 Sep 2008

Hopkins researchers piece together gene "network" linked to schizophrenia

Reporting this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have uncovered for the first time molecular circuitry associated with schizophrenia that links three previously known, yet unrelated proteins.

2 Sep 2008

Older fathers more likely to have children with bipolar disorder

According to new research by Swedish scientists, older fathers are more likely to have children with bipolar disorder.

2 Sep 2008

Atomic bomb's effect results in adult-onset thyroid cancer

Radiation from the atomic bomb blasts in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, likely rearranged chromosomes in some survivors who later developed papillary thyroid cancer as adults, according to Japanese researchers.

1 Sep 2008

Children of older fathers more likely to have bipolar disorder

Older age among fathers may be associated with an increased risk for bipolar disorder in their offspring, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

1 Sep 2008

Genetic link discovered to common form of leukaemia

Researchers in the UK have discovered a genetic link to a common form of leukaemia.

1 Sep 2008

Discovery of new genes for inflammatory bowel disease in children

Researchers have discovered two new genes that increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in childhood.

31 Aug 2008

Blood vessel cells are instructed to form tube-like structures

How do blood vessel cells understand that they should organise themselves in tubes and not in layers? A research group from Uppsala University shows for the first time that a special type of "instructor" molecule is needed to accomplish this. These findings, published in the scientific journal Blood, might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs.

31 Aug 2008

Recent advances make cervical cancer control in developing world feasible for first time

Recent advances in cervical cancer prevention mean that controlling the disease in developing countries is becoming feasible for the first time, experts say.

28 Aug 2008

FDA clears non-invasive test to help manage heart transplant patients

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced it has cleared for marketing a non-invasive test that uses molecular expression techniques to assist doctors in managing heart transplant patients post-surgery for potential organ rejection.

27 Aug 2008

Infections of amniotic fluid may be a significant cause of premature birth

Previously unrecognized and unidentified infections of amniotic fluid may be a significant cause of premature birth, according to researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

25 Aug 2008

A fitness test for DNA

Unusually high levels of physical exertion do cause oxidative stress, but this does not result in any long-term damage to DNA. This is just one of the many outcomes revealed by an extraordinary research project funded by the Austrian Science Fund FWF that are now published. As part of this project, 42 male athletes took part both in a triathlon and an extensive biomedical study, which examined numerous physiological values parameters during the period from two days before to 19 days after the triathlon.

21 Aug 2008

New research suggests inherited diabetes may play a role in rising rates

A new study in the September issue of the Journal of Lipid Research suggests an unusual form of inheritance may have a role in the rising rate of diabetes, especially in children and young adults, in the United States.

20 Aug 2008