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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).

Scientists map flu's chemical key

Scientists from Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) and Rice University have developed a three-dimensional, molecular map that could yield clues about the genetic mutations that will allow bird flu to spread among humans.

17 Oct 2007

Sex once a day... on doctors orders!

The latest research into male fertility has the news all men want to hear - the more sex a man has the more fertile he becomes - at least in some cases!

17 Oct 2007

Direct selection of human genomic loci by microarray hybridization

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Roche NimbleGen Inc., a fully integrated part of Roche Applied Science, have published details of a highly efficient and cost-effective method for capturing targeted regions of the genome via NimbleChip microarrays in preparation for high-throughput 454 Sequencing.

16 Oct 2007

Enhanced DNA-repair mechanism can cause breast cancer

Although defects in the "breast cancer gene," BRCA1, have been known for years to increase the risk for breast cancer, exactly how it can lead to tumor growth has remained a mystery.

16 Oct 2007

HiFi DNA Tech files lawsuit against FDA

A lawsuit was filed Oct. 12 in U.S. District Court against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) related to reclassification of HPV DNA tests from class III to class II devices. The inaction by both agencies hinders introduction of new and affordable HPV testing to improve women’s health care.

15 Oct 2007

Portable detection system for foot-and-mouth and avian flu

Smiths Detection, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, today announces it is to launch a portable detection system that will enable veterinarians to carry out on-site diagnosis of animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth and avian flu.

15 Oct 2007

Microarray-based genomic selection accelerates discovery of subtle DNA variations

A new technology developed by scientists at Emory University will allow researchers to more easily discover subtle and overlooked genetic variations that may have serious consequences for health and disease.

15 Oct 2007

People with lower dopamine levels eat more

Science has found one likely contributor to the way that some folks eat to live and others live to eat.

15 Oct 2007

Dopamine levels and appetite

Science has found one likely contributor to the way that some folks eat to live and others live to eat.

15 Oct 2007

Chlamydia makes men infertile

One of the most common sexually transmitted diseases may be damaging the fertility of British males.

15 Oct 2007

RNA-binding protein key to understanding myotonic dystrophy type 1

Increased levels of a protein called CUGBP1 play an important role in the adult-onset form of muscular dystrophy called myotonic dystrophy type 1, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in a report that appears in the journal Molecular Cell.

12 Oct 2007

New molecules discovered that block cancer cells from modifying cell DNA

Researchers have discovered new small molecules that may prevent prostate cancer cells from turning off normal genes in a process that transforms normal cells into cancer cells. This significant discovery in the field of epigenetics has immediate implications in the development of new diagnostic tests and cancer medications.

12 Oct 2007

Genome update defines landscape of breast and colon cancers

One year after completing the first large-scale report sequencing breast and colon cancer genes, Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have studied the vast majority of protein-coding genes which now suggest a landscape dominated by genes that each are mutated in relatively few cancers.

12 Oct 2007

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genome holds clues for renewable energy, the environment and human health

University of Minnesota researchers contributed to a national effort to sequence the genome of an ancient, one-celled organism that will help advance research in a broad range of areas, from biofuels to restoring the environment to understanding a variety of human diseases.

12 Oct 2007

Cancer researchers investigate free radicals

The University of Leicester has been selected as the hub of a worldwide network of researchers to investigate one of the causes of cancer.

11 Oct 2007

Research shows how stem cells decide to become either skeletal or smooth muscle

Researchers have discovered a key protein that controls how stem cells "choose" to become either skeletal muscle cells that move limbs, or smooth muscle cells that support blood vessels, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

11 Oct 2007

New genetic understanding of multiple sclerosis patients response to Copaxone

A group of Israeli scientists from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries have recently identified genes responsible for the positive response of many multiple sclerosis (MS) patients to the drug Copaxone.

11 Oct 2007

Behavior of drug-dependent offenders

Researchers at the University of Leicester have worked with Northamptonshire Police's Scientific Support Unit to research whether or not drug-dependent offenders were more likely to be apprehended through forensic science techniques than those who were not.

10 Oct 2007

Bacteria reveal targets of immune responses quick and direct identification of antigens

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a widespread herpes virus that infects more than 90 per cent of the worldwide human population.

10 Oct 2007

Salmonella outbreak traced to all Banquet and store brand pot pie products

The Pennsylvania Department of Health today is emphasizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) advisory for consumers not to eat Banquet brand and store brand frozen, not-ready-to-eat pot pie products due to possible Salmonella contamination.

10 Oct 2007