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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).

Gene behind mitochondrial disease has more varied effects than previously thought

For more than two decades, mutations in a gene located in the DNA of mitochondria have been classified as a mitochondrial disease and linked to a particular set of symptoms.

12 Mar 2019

23andMe to predict risk of diabetes from genetic makeup

DNA testing company 23andMe will soon release a DNA test that can predict an individuals' risk of developing type 2 diabetes, but many experts are concerned.

12 Mar 2019

The app that warns you about snacks you can’t add to your shopping cart

Researchers have developed an app that scans the barcodes of food items in the supermarket and warns you if it is not suitable for your body, based on your DNA.

12 Mar 2019

Adolescent binge drinking may raise risk for anxiety later in life

A growing body of evidence supports the idea that alcohol exposure early in life has lasting effects on the brain and increases the risk of psychological problems in adulthood.

12 Mar 2019

Medical treatment for gestational diabetes could prevent long-term complications in children

Researchers at Cardiff University have found that women taking metformin and/or insulin during gestational diabetes could reduce the risk of long-term complications for their child.

11 Mar 2019

New chromatography technique may improve our understanding of retroviral infections

Researchers have devised a two-step chromatography method that can isolate enveloped virus-like particles (VLPs) and extracellular vesicles (EVs) for analysis.

11 Mar 2019

$2.7 million grant supports UIC researchers to study role of arsenic in development of diabetes

A five-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences will help researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago answer basic questions about the role of arsenic in the development of diabetes and examine the mechanisms by which selenoproteins – found in the human body in 25 different forms – counter the effects of arsenic.

11 Mar 2019

Precision cancer drugs spark powerful immune response and boost effects of immunotherapy

Precision cancer drugs called PARP inhibitors have a previously unknown ability to boost the immune system, and could help many more patients benefit from immunotherapy, a new study reveals.

11 Mar 2019

Researchers identify gene that increases risk of antibiotic reaction

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have identified a gene that increases the risk for a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to the commonly prescribed antibiotic vancomycin.

11 Mar 2019

Comprehensive analysis of sewage reveals antimicrobial resistance levels worldwide

A comprehensive analysis of sewage collected in 74 cities in 60 countries has yielded the first, comparable global data, which show the levels and types of antimicrobial resistant bacteria that are present in mainly healthy people in these countries.

9 Mar 2019

Getting closer to a scary 'post-antibiotic world'

The products of wastewater treatment have been found to contain trace amounts of antibiotic resistant DNA. These products are often reintroduced to the environment and water supply, potentially resulting in the spread of antibiotic resistance.

8 Mar 2019

Scientists shed light on key mechanism linked to development of healthy cells

Scientists have shed light on how healthy cells develop by identifying the role of key molecules involved.

8 Mar 2019

A molecular epigenetic marker can predict survival of children with leukemia

A molecular epigenetic marker is important for distinguishing patients with childhood leukemia at high and low risk of relapse even at the time of diagnosis.

8 Mar 2019

Anti-vaccination activists are misusing new scientific breakthroughs on beneficial microbes

Anti-vaccination activists are capitalizing on radical new scientific insights into the beneficial effects of microbes in the human body, according to new research from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

8 Mar 2019

DNA sequencing method could aid development of anticancer drugs

DNA is small. Really, really, small. So, when researchers want to study the structure of a single-stranded DNA, they can't just pull out their microscopes: they have to get creative.

8 Mar 2019

Researchers develop new method to boost efficiency of CRISPR gene editing in DMD

Scientists have developed a method to boost the efficiency of CRISPR gene editing in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), according to a study that could have implications for optimizing gene therapies for other diseases.

7 Mar 2019

Scientists identify genetic mechanism that may play role in some obesity cases

Obesity is a major public-health problem in the United States and around the world, with an estimated 650 million people suffering from the condition.

7 Mar 2019

CSHL scientists create a ranked list of genetic 'usual suspects'

It's no secret that our genes are what makes us... us! But genes are often also the basis for debilitating diseases. One of the major clues to understanding any illness is seeing which genes are acting unusually during disease onset.

6 Mar 2019

Scientists move one step closer to a HIV cure

Scientists found no rebound of HIV in two patients who stopped taking their HIV medication after they received stem cell transplants for a hematological [blood] disease. Both patients underwent stem cell transplantation as part of their cancer treatment.

6 Mar 2019

New mathematical method to map cell regulatory networks

Faster results. Lower costs. Fewer cells. A new mathematical method developed by researchers at Cincinnati Children's and New York University may soon make it much easier to conduct more of the complex data analysis needed to drive advances in the exploding field of personalized medicine.

6 Mar 2019