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).

Base editing technique reveals crucial gene for early human development

Research led by the University of Cambridge Loke Centre for Trophoblast Research has shown that a genome editing technique can be used to alter a single gene in human embryonic cells, enabling the study of very early human development in unparalleled detail.

25 Jun 2026

Natural bioactive compounds target miR-29a molecule to prevent cancer development

A study published in Current Molecular Pharmacology provides a comprehensive analysis of microRNA-29a (miR-29a) as a pivotal regulator in cancer development, and examines how natural bioactive compounds may offer a promising strategy for cancer prevention by modulating its expression.

25 Jun 2026

Spermidine supplement improves COVID 19 vaccine response in older adults

As we age, the immune system gradually declines and becomes less effective at responding to infections and vaccines.

25 Jun 2026

Chronic stress helps tumors evade immune attack through gut microbes

Chronic psychological stress can help tumors evade immune attack through a chain of molecular events involving gut bacteria and viruses within those bacteria, according to a study led by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

25 Jun 2026

Maternal blood test reveals prenatal methylation clues linked to autism risk

Researchers found that maternal plasma cell-free DNA methylation patterns in late pregnancy were associated with later autism diagnosis and maternal obesity in a high-likelihood ASD cohort. The findings suggest cfDNA may offer a minimally invasive way to study prenatal epigenetic changes linked to neurodevelopmental risk, but larger validation studies are needed.

25 Jun 2026

Scientists map genetic changes controlling the immune sensor STING

The immune system depends on molecular alarms that detect danger inside cells. One of these alarms is STING, short for "stimulator of interferon genes".

24 Jun 2026

Scientists identify genes linking air pollution to severe asthma

For many people with asthma, air-quality advisories are harbingers of worsening symptoms. But for reasons science has struggled to explain, the extent to which pollution exacerbates asthma varies widely from person to person.

24 Jun 2026

Open source tool automates data reanalysis to detect rare diseases

A newly developed open-source tool designed for rigorous reanalysis of genomic data is highly effective at detecting new rare disease diagnoses.

24 Jun 2026

Microbes trigger cell death to boost cancer immunotherapy effectiveness

Traditional cancer treatments like chemotherapy and radiotherapy can induce immunogenic cell death (ICD), but their efficacy is often limited by drug resistance, severe off-target toxicity, and immune-related adverse events.

24 Jun 2026

Zebrafish model unlocks new insights into hereditary brain disease

CADASIL, an inherited disease caused by mutations in the NOTCH3 gene, damages the brain’s small blood vessels, leading to strokes, cognitive decline, and early dementia.

24 Jun 2026

MSU researchers develop tool to observe complex molecular choreography in real time

A lot of things need to go right on a molecular level for immune cells to launch an adaptive response to an infection.

23 Jun 2026

Scientists discover how food poisoning bacteria protect themselves from antibiotics

Scientists from the Department of Microbiology of the University of Malaga, also members of the Institute of Subtropical and Mediterranean Horticulture 'La Mayora' (IHSM), have discovered a hitherto unknown mechanism that allows the bacterium Bacillus cereus, which is responsible for food poisoning and human infections, to protect itself against antibiotics and adverse conditions.

23 Jun 2026

Cytoskeletal proteins in the cell nucleus influence brain development

The cytoskeleton gives cells their shape and helps them move. Researchers at Helmholtz Munich and the Ludwig Maximilian University now show that, in neural stem cells, proteins of the cytoskeleton are also found in the cell nucleus, where they can influence developmental programs.

23 Jun 2026

Psychological traits may uncover why Alzheimer’s biology differs between patients

In 822 deceased older adults from ROS and MAP, researchers linked stable psychological traits to multi-omic molecular subtypes of Alzheimer’s dementia using postmortem brain tissue from the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Neuroticism and loneliness were associated with molecular progression, while purpose in life showed subtype-specific inverse associations, suggesting psychological traits may align with Alzheimer’s biology beyond conventional neuropathology.

22 Jun 2026

Using the mathematics of quantum mechanics to improve neuroblastoma outcomes

For a child diagnosed with neuroblastoma-the most common infant cancer, occurring when early nerve cells grow out of control-the path to treatment isn't simple.

22 Jun 2026

Prime and pull vaccine approach prevents genital herpes infection

Genital herpes is a lifelong infection. While available treatments can manage symptoms, they cannot cure the infection or prevent transmission.

22 Jun 2026

Mount Sinai study connects social determinants of health to disease risks

A new study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai shows that social determinants of health-including environmental conditions, health behaviors, access to resources, and social well-being-can play an equally important or even greater role than genetics in predicting a person's risk of developing common diseases.

22 Jun 2026

GATA6 loss transforms colorectal cancer cells into metastatic states

Loss of GATA6-a transcription factor that controls which genes are turned on or off-can reprogram colorectal cancer cells into more primitive, adaptable states that can then spread to the liver and establish new tumors, according to Weill Cornell Medicine and Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers.

22 Jun 2026

Novel gene network approach reveals new schizophrenia risk genes

Scientists have long known that schizophrenia runs in families, but pinpointing exactly which genes contribute to risk has been like searching for needles in a haystack.

22 Jun 2026

New vaccines successfully boost frontline immune cells against HIV

T-cells are the immune system's frontline defenders with a crucial role in controlling HIV. In a milestone clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Diseases (IGHID) at the UNC School of Medicine have demonstrated that new vaccines can significantly boost T cells targeting the most vulnerable, conserved regions of HIV-areas considered key to effective immune control.

22 Jun 2026