Cytosine News and Research

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Scientists design compounds that act against myotonic dystrophy type 1 RNA

While RNA is an appealing drug target, small molecules that can actually affect its function have rarely been found. But now scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have for the first time designed a series of small molecules that act against an RNA defect directly responsible for the most common form of adult-onset muscular dystrophy.

23 Feb 2012

Study on how Antarctic worms survive current levels of ocean warming

Researchers at the University of Delaware are examining tiny worms that inhabit the frigid sea off Antarctica to learn not only how these organisms adapt to the severe cold, but how they will survive as ocean temperatures increase.

21 Dec 2011

Study presents high-resolution genome-wide p53-binding map for normal human cells

Scientists investigating the interactions, or binding patterns, of a major tumor-suppressor protein known as p53 with the entire genome in normal human cells have turned up key differences from those observed in cancer cells. The distinct binding patterns reflect differences in the chromatin (the way DNA is packed with proteins), which may be important for understanding the function of the tumor suppressor protein in cancer cells.

1 Dec 2011

Study investigates 'missing link' between environmental factors and heart failure

A University of Cambridge study, which set out to investigate DNA methylation in the human heart and the 'missing link' between our lifestyle and our health, has now mapped the link in detail across the entire human genome.

30 Nov 2011

First report on how patterns of 5-hmC's distribution change in mouse brain during development

In 2009, the DNA alphabet expanded. Scientists discovered that an extra letter or "sixth nucleotide" was surprisingly abundant in DNA from stem cells and brain cells.

31 Oct 2011

Scientists discover that DNA modifications in brain cells change due to stimulated brain activity

Johns Hopkins scientists investigating chemical modifications across the genomes of adult mice have discovered that DNA modifications in non-dividing brain cells, thought to be inherently stable, instead underwent large-scale dynamic changes as a result of stimulated brain activity.

1 Oct 2011

Scientists uncover how methylation changes can influence blood stem cell's fate

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) and the University of Southern California (USC) have uncovered intriguing new evidence helping to explain one of the ways in which a stem cell's fate can be determined.

27 Sep 2011

Southampton scientists to develop new single molecule DNA sequencing method

A new method of single molecule DNA sequencing is being developed by scientists at the University of Southampton with funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council's Strategic Tools and Resources Development Fund.

26 Aug 2011

Scientists discover new bases of DNA

For decades, scientists have known that DNA consists of four basic units -- adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine. Those four bases have been taught in science textbooks and have formed the basis of the growing knowledge regarding how genes code for life.

22 Jul 2011

First genome-wide mapping of DNA modification in embryonic stem cells

Stem cell researchers at UCLA have generated the first genome-wide mapping of a DNA modification called 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) in embryonic stem cells, and discovered that it is predominantly found in genes that are turned on, or active.

22 Jul 2011

Inefficiency of activation-induced deoxycytidine deaminase is good for the immune system

Why is antibody diversity important? Think about it like this, said Myron Goodman, who is an author on the paper: "Why don't you die when I sneeze? It's because you have a powerful immune system. And the way to get a decent immune system is for your body to have a way to respond to insults it has never seen before."

28 Jun 2011

Scientists pioneer way to find more chromosomal aberrations in tumors

Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project scientists pioneer way to find more chromosomal aberrations in tumors; results likely to advance understanding of cancer.

13 Jun 2011

Unanticipated structure at chromosome ends could be key ingredient in biological 'elixir of life'

In stark contrast to normal cells, which only divide a finite number of times before they enter into a permanent state of growth arrest or simply die, cancer cells never cease to proliferate. Now, scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have uncovered an important clue to one of the mechanisms underlying cancer cell immortality.

22 Apr 2011

NIST's new reference can aid in Huntington's disease diagnosis

A new Standard Reference Material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology will help clinical genetics labs accurately diagnose Huntington's disease, an inherited degenerative brain disorder that usually begins between ages 35 and 50 and progressively leads to physical impairment, dementia and death.

15 Apr 2011

Scientists develop new approach to accelerate evolution of biomolecules in lab

Scientists at Harvard University have harnessed the prowess of fast-replicating bacterial viruses, also known as phages, to accelerate the evolution of biomolecules in the laboratory.

11 Apr 2011

Two new studies on cancer

Last year, a research team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill discovered one way the protein Tet 1 helps stem cells keep their pluripotency-the unique ability to become any cell type in the body.

31 Mar 2011

New technique may find 'hidden' receptors in nerve cells

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and University of Pennsylvania have found a way to uncover potential drug targets that have so far remained hidden from researchers' view.

11 Mar 2011

Novel labeling technique helps researchers to explore DNA chemical modification

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine and the University of Chicago have developed a method for labeling and mapping a "sixth nucleotide," whose biological role scientists are only beginning to explore.

14 Dec 2010

Research on BCR-ABL inhibitors for treating ALL, CML presented at ASH Annual Meeting

Over the past decade, significant advances have been made in the treatment of leukemia through the ongoing development of gene-based targeted therapies. Research that will be presented today at the 52nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology provides greater understanding of the optimal use of several BCR-ABL inhibitors for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and chronic myeloid leukemia, and how a new gene target functions for several myeloid malignancies.

6 Dec 2010

Study shows hypomethylation increases through progression of multiple myeloma

DNA methylation, a modification of DNA linked to gene regulation — is altered with increasing severity in a blood cancer called multiple myeloma, according to a study by Mayo Clinic and the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

4 Oct 2010