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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).

Penn Medicine tests FLASH proton therapy for cancer patients

A new form of proton therapy-designed to deliver cancer-killing radiation therapy in less than a second, through fewer total sessions, with potentially less risk of damaging side effects-is now being tested in a Phase I clinical trial at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania.

1 Sep 2026

Study identifies 36 risk genes for OCD and tic disorders

A Rutgers-led international collaboration has identified 36 genes that substantially raise the risk for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and chronic tic disorders – providing what two researchers said is the most detailed biological understanding of how these conditions develop – and how they might eventually be treated.

1 Sep 2026

New research could improve how brain cancer and tumors are treated

Australian researchers are challenging decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment in a bid to make radiation therapy more effective against tumors, while reducing damage to healthy tissue.

29 Aug 2026

Primate-specific DNA change reveals a new link to dementia-related neurodegeneration

Brain diseases, including dementia, have long been studied using experimental animals such as mice. However, differences between the human and animal genomes have raised concerns that some disease mechanisms may not be fully explained by conventional animal models.

29 Aug 2026

Paternal sperm epigenetics may help explain early pregnancy loss

When a pregnancy ends early and unexplained, the search for answers usually begins with the mother. Lacey Luense, Ph.D., wants to know what the father's sperm might have to do with it.

28 Aug 2026

Stanford scientists develop an ultracompact gene activation tool

The ability to precisely adjust the expression of genes inside the human body - ramping up protective ones and tamping down harmful ones - holds enormous potential for treating and preventing disease.

28 Aug 2026

Cell proliferation gene plays a distinct role in cells that no longer proliferate

In a tale of identities as divergent as "The Prince and the Pauper," a well-known cancer-causing gene also influences cells in a zombie-like state meant to prevent cancer.

28 Aug 2026

New research questions decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment

Australian researchers are challenging decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment in a bid to make radiation therapy more effective against tumors, while reducing damage to healthy tissue.

28 Aug 2026

Egg yolk peptides protect brain cells from oxidative stress

As the human lifespan increases, so too does the risk of developing neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, anxiety and depression.

27 Aug 2026

Brain organoids reveal how Alu-mediated gene deletion can lead to neurodegeneration

Brain diseases, including dementia, have long been studied using experimental animals such as mice.

27 Aug 2026

New funding backs pioneering research to make brain cancer treatment more effective

Adelaide researchers are challenging decades-old assumptions about brain cancer treatment in a bid to make radiation therapy more effective against tumors, while reducing damage to healthy tissue.

27 Aug 2026

New platform enables large-scale production of custom proteins

Scientists have been hard at work for more than 20 years to instruct biological systems, such as E. coli cells, to produce proteins they don't naturally do.

27 Aug 2026

Study reveals why diffuse midline glioma develops in brain midline regions

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have shown that specific brain cells respond differently to the H3.3 K27M, a mutation in the histone H3.3 protein that drives many cases of diffuse midline glioma (DMG), depending on the cell's location in the developing brain.

27 Aug 2026

Faulty myelin-making brain cells may help drive cognitive decline with age

Researchers found that greater age-related cognitive decline was associated with more dysfunctional oligodendrocytes, reduced NRF2 expression, smaller myelinated axons, and abnormally thicker myelin in human white matter. Experiments in mice showed that deleting NRF2 specifically from oligodendrocytes reproduced key white matter abnormalities and reduced cognitive improvement over time, implicating this pathway in cognitive aging.

26 Aug 2026

Nanoparticles regenerate neurons and improve cognition in Alzheimer’s mice

The adult human brain has limited capacity to repair or regenerate neurons lost to Alzheimer's disease, the most common type of dementia.

26 Aug 2026

Research improves understanding of biological mechanisms behind cluster headaches

Inflammation, altered gene regulation, and exposure to substances in tobacco smoke may all contribute to the development of cluster headache.

26 Aug 2026

Scientists identify new drug target to combat airborne tuberculosis

Tuberculosis bacteria released into the air from infected individuals dry out to form infectious particles that are second only to measles in contagiousness.

26 Aug 2026

Stress gene switches on more easily in the brains of people with schizophrenia

Experts at the University of Sydney have found that a gene involved in regulating the body's response to stress switches on more easily in the brains of people who live with schizophrenia.

26 Aug 2026

Maternal obesity alters fetal liver metabolism via placental molecular signals

A mother's obesity during pregnancy may send molecular signals across the placenta that permanently alter her son's liver metabolism, according to a new study in mice published in Nature Communications.

26 Aug 2026

Nicoya is a famous blue zone. DNA aging estimates tell a more complicated story

Researchers developed a SuperLearner framework that combines established epigenetic clocks with machine learning to compare DNA methylation-based aging in residents of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Blue Zone with other Costa Ricans. Initial calibration suggested a modest younger epigenetic age among Nicoyans, but accounting more closely for age distribution substantially reduced the apparent advantage, highlighting the importance of population-specific calibration in longevity research.

26 Aug 2026