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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).

Dog ownership strongly linked to DNA make-up, says new study

A surprising new study shows that the difference in genetic blueprint explains more than 50% of the variation between those who choose to own dogs and those who don’t.

17 May 2019

New technique enables comprehensive genetic profiling of circulating tumor cells

A new way to cleanly separate out cancer cells from a blood sample enables comprehensive genetic profiling of the cancer cells, which could help doctors target tumors and monitor treatments more effectively.

16 May 2019

Blood test can assess effectiveness of treatment in patients with skin cancer

Blood tests that track the amount of tumor DNA can - after only one month of drug therapy - detect how well treatment is working in patients with skin cancer, a new study finds.

16 May 2019

Researchers identify why lymphoma patients may become resistant to specific drug

With more targeted therapies being approved each year for cancer, the development of drug resistance to these agents is a growing concern.

16 May 2019

Researchers use cutting-edge technology to read the dark heart of chromosomes

Although the genomes of thousands of plant and animal species have been sequenced, for most of these genomes a significant portion is missing — the highly repetitive DNA.

15 May 2019

Physician training makes doctors' DNA to age six times faster than normal

In just a few short weeks, tens of thousands of newly minted doctors will start the most intense year of their training: the first year of residency, also called the intern year.

15 May 2019

Oxidative stress acts directly on telomeres to hasten cellular aging, study reveals

The same sources thought to inflict oxidative stress on cells- pollution, diesel exhaust, smoking and obesity- also are associated with shorter telomeres, the protective tips on the ends of the chromosomal shoelace.

14 May 2019

WVU researcher studies stubborn blood disease that strikes children

Treating a stubborn blood disease that strikes children may come down to tweaking energy production in stem cells, suggests research out of West Virginia University.

14 May 2019

Scientists discover how mutations in DNA can cause neurodegenerative disease

Scientists have discovered how mutations in DNA can cause neurodegenerative disease. The discovery is an important step towards better treatment to slow the progression or delay onset in a range of incurable diseases such as Huntington's and motor neurone disease - possibly through the use, in new ways, of existing anti-inflammatory drugs.

13 May 2019

Men who delay fatherhood put health of partners, unborn children at risk

Men who delay starting a family have a ticking "biological clock" -- just like women -- that may affect the health of their partners and children, according to Rutgers researchers.

13 May 2019

International team studies potential cancer suppression mechanisms in cetaceans

Scientists know that age and weight are risk factors in the development of cancer. That should mean that whales, which include some of the largest and longest-lived animals on Earth, have an outsized risk of developing cancer.

13 May 2019

Scientists discover mechanism responsible for chronic inflammation in MS

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease. The defense system that usually protects patients from external aggression turns on its own cells and attacks them for reasons that are not yet known.

11 May 2019

IDT announces significant NGS portfolio expansion

Demonstrating its advocacy for genomics research, Integrated DNA Technologies announces a significant expansion to its NGS portfolio.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 10 May 2019

New machine-learning approach discovers mechanism that helps antibiotics kill bacteria

Most antibiotics work by interfering with critical functions such as DNA replication or construction of the bacterial cell wall.

10 May 2019

Cells don’t take up DNA cage nanostructures to a significant extent, finds study

Many studies indicating that DNA nanostructures can enter cells more readily than simple DNA strands are flawed, according to researchers at McGill University.

10 May 2019

New drug targeting genetic weakness could become first treatment for childhood brain cancer

A new type of drug that targets a genetic weakness in an untreatable childhood brain cancer could become the first ever treatment designed to target the disease.

9 May 2019

Light therapy may dramatically reduce neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at MIT have found that light therapy can enhance synaptic function and protect against cell death in Alzheimer’s disease.

9 May 2019

Mining microbial treasures from human-made noxious sites

Filled with a noxious brew of copper, cadmium and arsenic, with a pH rivaling that of sulfuric acid, Montana's Berkeley Pit seems inhospitable to life.

8 May 2019

Genomics study reveals five genes linked to treatment resistance in prostate cancer

A new genomics study has found that men are three times more likely to die from prostate cancer if they possess mutations the retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) gene.

8 May 2019