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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 food microbes and their gut microbiome impact

Researchers unveiled the curatedFoodMetagenomicData (cFMD) resource, revealing extensive microbial diversity in food and its impact on the human microbiome, with significant overlap found in infants.

1 Sep 2024

Intranasal vaccine shows broad SARS-CoV-2 variant protection

Study demonstrates that a single-dose intranasal live-attenuated vaccine, CDO-7N-1, provides broad protection against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants by inducing potent immune responses, including neutralizing antibodies and T-cell activity, in animal models.

1 Sep 2024

Clonal hematopoiesis identified as new risk factor for atherosclerosis

To the known risk factors for cardiovascular disease - high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, overweight and obesity, smoking, and physical inactivity - a new one has to be added: clonal hematopoiesis.

30 Aug 2024

EU-funded MASTER project develops first comprehensive database of food metagenomes

The first comprehensive database of food metagenomes has been developed by the EU-funded MASTER project.

30 Aug 2024

Redefining 5hmC: More than just a stepping stone in the DNA demethylation pathway

An important DNA modification is methylation, or the addition of a methyl group to the 5th carbon of cytosine. This forms 5-methylcytosine (5mC), typically associated with repression of gene expression.

From biomodal 30 Aug 2024

Discovery of borderzone inflammation offers new avenues for heart failure prevention

Ischemic heart disease is the most common cause of death in the world. It begins with a "heart attack", also known as a myocardial infarction (MI), which causes part of the heart to die due to inadequate coronary blood flow.

29 Aug 2024

New bacterial defense mechanism revealed as potential tool for genome editing

Scientists who have described in a new study the step-by-step details of a bacterial defense strategy see the mechanism as a promising platform for development of a new genome-editing method.

29 Aug 2024

Studies uncover mechanisms behind micronuclear instability and cancer progression

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) from mitochondria are key drivers of genetic chaos in cancer by causing the collapse of micronuclear envelopes, a process that fuels the chromosomal instability (CIN) often observed in aggressive tumor behavior.

29 Aug 2024

WHO calls for manufacturers to submit mpox diagnostic tests for Emergency Use Listing

WHO has asked manufacturers of mpox in vitro diagnostics (IVDs) to submit an expression of interest for Emergency Use Listing (EUL).

29 Aug 2024

Nucleic acids in food show potential to inhibit cancer cell growth

When people eat, they ingest the nucleic acids that reside in all living things. The compounds in these acids could inhibit the growth of cancer cells, according to findings published in PLOS ONE by Osaka Metropolitan University Associate Professor Akiko Kojima-Yuasa of the Graduate School of Human Life and Ecology and colleagues.

29 Aug 2024

Mapping DNA’s hidden knot-like structures may revolutionize disease treatment

Innovative study of DNA's hidden structures may open up new approaches for treatment and diagnosis of diseases, including cancer.

29 Aug 2024

NSF funds UCSB-led Biofoundry to revolutionize biotechnology with unexplored microbes

This week, the National Science Foundation announced the award of a six-year, $22M grant to UC Santa Barbara under its biofoundries program for the establishment of the BioFoundry for Extreme and Exceptional Fungi, Archaea and Bacteria (ExFAB), a collaboration led by UC Santa Barbara (UCSB), together with UC Riverside (UCR), and Cal Poly Pomona (CPP). ExFAB establishes the nation's first biofoundry that focuses on largely untapped and unexplored extreme microbes. UCSB's award is one of only five grants made under NSF's BioFoundry program during this funding cycle, which awarded a total of $75M to the five selected universities.

29 Aug 2024

Study reveals the role of blood clotting in COVID-19

In a study that reshapes what we know about COVID-19 and its most perplexing symptoms, scientists have discovered that the blood coagulation protein fibrin causes the unusual clotting and inflammation that have become hallmarks of the disease, while also suppressing the body's ability to clear the virus.

29 Aug 2024

Novel microscopy technique reveals the mechanics of mitotic chromosome condensation

A team of scientists studying cell division developed a special light microscopy system and used it to analyze the molecular density of cellular environments. Their results provide a novel insight into mitotic chromosome condensation in living human cells.

29 Aug 2024