Nucleic Acid News and Research

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RNAssist and Rapid Labs agree on a manufacturing and supply agreement for genoPHIX and vivoPHIX

RNAssist has developed several universal biological sample stabilization, fixation and microbial inactivation reagents.

From Rapid Labs Ltd 23 Jan 2020

Scientists discover a new way to combine coding languages into single "bilingual" molecule

The nucleic acids of DNA encode genetic information, while the amino acids of proteins contain the code to turn that information into structures and functions. Together, they provide the two fundamental codes underlying all of life.

10 Jan 2020

Scientists find way to combine two main coding languages into single 'bilingual' molecule

9 Jan 2020

Mayo Clinic researchers seek radical new approach to treat cocaine addition

In a radical new approach to treat cocaine addition, researchers at the Mayo Clinic are seeking approval for first-in-human studies of a single-dose gene therapy.

7 Jan 2020

Study shows the feasibility of using gene therapy to treat chronic traumatic encephalopathy

A new study shows the feasibility of using gene therapy to treat the progressive neurodegenerative disorder chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

3 Jan 2020

NIH awards $1.2 million grant for studying biomolecular interactions to inform better drug design

Biomolecules -- carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids -- form the foundation of life and are responsible for carrying out every process that occurs in our bodies.

23 Dec 2019

New paper-based test for early Lyme diagnosis

A new paper in the journal ACS Nano reports the development of an incredibly cheap and highly sensitive test to diagnose Lyme disease in its earliest stages, when it can be most easily, effectively and inexpensively treated.

18 Dec 2019

Nanosize container can slip inside cells and deliver medicines, gene therapies

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine report they have created a tiny, nanosize container that can slip inside cells and deliver protein-based medicines and gene therapies of any size - even hefty ones attached to the gene-editing tool called CRISPR.

6 Dec 2019

New strategy could help cells get rid of disease-related debris

Tohoku University researchers have developed a strategy that could help cells get rid of disease-related debris. Further research could lead to treatments for neurodegenerative and metabolic diseases, Down syndrome, and maybe even aging-related diseases.

27 Nov 2019

New electrochemical CRISPR biosensor can help improve diagnosis of diseases

The CRISPR/Cas technology can do more than alter genes. A research team at the University of Freiburg is using what are known as gene scissors - which scientists can use to edit genetic material - in order to better diagnose diseases such as cancer.

25 Nov 2019

U of T, ASU scientists develop first direct gene circuit

Scientists at the University of Toronto and Arizona State University have developed the first direct gene circuit to electrode interface by combining cell-free synthetic biology with state-of-the-art nanostructured electrodes.

25 Nov 2019

DNA-modulated liquid droplets may explain how prion proteins clump

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, have identified that the interaction between prion proteins and DNA may be behind the formation of protein amyloid aggregates and of the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other spongiform encephalopathies.

22 Nov 2019

Researchers turn to older treatment methods for new health challenges

The last thing anyone wants during a stay in the hospital is a hospital-acquired infection. Nosocomial infections, as they are called, are on the rise as more pathogens become resistant to drugs currently available.

21 Nov 2019

Newly developed ChiTaRS database can collect cases of druggable fusion targets

When sections from two separate genes merge due to various factors, such as translocation or splicing, the hybrid that is formed is called a gene fusion. In recent years, it has been discovered that these fusion events play a vital role in the development of cancers and other complex diseases.

20 Nov 2019

New point-of-care medical device rapidly and accurately detects viruses

The gene-editing tool CRISPR has been heralded as a scientific miracle destined to eradicate diseases from sickle-cell anemia to cancer, or decried as "the genetic scissors that tailor the human gene pool," an ethically risky technology driving us toward a designer babies.

11 Nov 2019

Illinois researchers develop lab-on-a-smartphone system to detect infectious diseases

Infectious diseases such as Zika and Dengue remain a top contributor to death and disability across the globe, according to the World Health Organization.

10 Nov 2019

Novel detection method for retinoblastoma

A retinoblastoma is a dangerous cancer often occurring in very young children, under 2, which can cause blindness or the loss of the eye. The tumor is a diffuse, gluey mass spread all over the eye. It also spreads easily. As a result of this, direct biopsy is impossible, unlike with most other tumors. Instead, eye examination by ophthalmologists (eye specialists) and ultrasound imaging are needed to make a diagnosis.

5 Nov 2019

Researchers make progress toward gene-based strategies to treat inherited neurometabolic diseases

Researchers are making great strides toward developing gene-based strategies to treat a variety of inherited neurometabolic diseases characterized by severe neurological involvement.

29 Oct 2019

Hong Kong Baptist University receives FDA orphan drug designation for novel aptamer

A research team from the School of Chinese Medicine at Hong Kong Baptist University has successfully developed a novel aptamer, i.e. a single-stranded piece of DNA, for the treatment of osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

23 Oct 2019

Koalas protect their germline cells against retroviral attack

In a new study published in the journal Cell, scientists have found that koala DNA is protected against attack by retroviruses by a special type of immune response, which distinguishes foreign DNA from the host genome and destroys it before it can proliferate. This finding could help us understand both how koalas survive these infections, and the mechanics of adaptive gene change.

15 Oct 2019