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).

Successfully cloning mice from an advanced melanoma cell

Nature can reset the clock in certain types of cancer and reverse many of the elements responsible for causing malignancy, reports a research team led by Whitehead Institute Member Rudolf Jaenisch, in collaboration with Lynda Chin from Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

3 Aug 2004

Entirely new approach to the treatment of aging

Dispelling the belief that the only way to treat such conditions is by fixing or replacing damaged genes, they instead focused on the field of epigenetics—the study of changes in gene silencing that occur without changes in the genes themselves.

3 Aug 2004

Metabasis Therapeutics announces multi-center Phase 2 study to evaluate the orally administered antiviral compound remofovir mesylate

Metabasis Therapeutics has announced the initiation of a multi-center, multi- national Phase 2 study to evaluate the orally administered antiviral compound remofovir mesylate in chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infected patients.

3 Aug 2004

New screening technique to look for genes that change patients' responses to cancer drugs and other medications

Scientists have developed a new screening technique to help them look for genes that change patients' responses to cancer drugs and other medications.

3 Aug 2004

Smart gene therapy might effectively prevent the organ damage commonly suffered by heart attack victims

Early intervention with a novel kind of "smart gene therapy" might effectively prevent the organ damage commonly suffered by heart attack victims, suggests a new animal study by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and Duke University Medical Center.

2 Aug 2004

A protein that the body uses to attack the AIDS virus is actually a stealthy defense mechanism that evolved 32 million years before HIV

A protein that the body uses to attack the AIDS virus is actually a stealthy defense mechanism that evolved 32 million years before the emergence of HIV, according to new findings from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

2 Aug 2004

Scientists have produced a prion protein that can trigger the development of a neurological disorder similar to "mad cow" disease

Scientists have produced a prion protein that can trigger the development of a neurological disorder in mice that is similar to "mad cow" disease, according to a new study supported by the National Institute on Aging, a part of the National Institutes of Health.

2 Aug 2004

The p53 transcription factor plays a vital role in preventing cancer onset

Researchers at the Uppsala Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have discovered that the transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) is a novel regulator of the tumor suppressor p53, which is inactivated in at least half of all human cancers.

2 Aug 2004

Important step in understanding the genetic mechanisms of aging

Scientists have rendered the first gene and protein networks of human aging, an important step in understanding the genetic mechanisms of aging. The work led by Joao Pedro de Magalhaes from Harvard Medical School is detailed in the July 30 issue of FEBS Letters.

29 Jul 2004

DNA of rare and endangered species is to be preserved for future generations

The DNA of rare and endangered species is to be preserved for future generations, thanks to a groundbreaking new project involving scientists at The University of Nottingham, the Institute of Zoology and London’s Natural History Museum.

29 Jul 2004

Further evidence about how estrogen helps activate breast cancer

A UC Irvine researcher has found a novel tumor- suppressor function for a gene that, when mutated, often triggers breast cancer in women.

29 Jul 2004

Framework for systematically incorporating epigenetic information into traditional genetic studies

Scientists at Johns Hopkins are calling for simultaneous evaluation of both genetic and epigenetic information in the search to understand contributors to such common diseases as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.

29 Jul 2004

Women with a history of cancer in their family are better off having MRI scans instead of mammograms

New research by Mieke Kriege at the Department of Medical Oncology, Rotterdam Family Cancer Clinic suggests that women with a history of cancer in their family are better off having MRI scans instead of mammogram's.

28 Jul 2004

Ozone loss caused genetic mutations at time of mass extinction

Research into the world’s worst mass extinction, which led to the loss of 90 per cent of living species 250 million years ago, has found that the historical tragedy also involved some disturbing genetics mutations.

27 Jul 2004

Possible inherited component for lung cancer

Researchers have discovered a possible inherited component for lung cancer, a disease normally associated with external causes, such as cigarette smoking.

27 Jul 2004

Gene responsible for infertility

A paper describing discoveries about the role of a gene that is important in all animals, plants, and fungi is published in the 20 July 2004 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

23 Jul 2004

Gene associated with susceptibility to developing type 1 diabetes

A new gene mutation identified by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston is part of the constellation of genes associated with susceptibility to developing type 1 diabetes. It could also play a role in the devastating complications of diabetes such as kidney failure.

23 Jul 2004