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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).

Research may provide a new way to treat organ scarring

Scientists from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Department of Medicine 3 - Rheumatology and Immunology, headed by Prof. Dr. Georg Schett, have now decrypted a molecular network that controls these processes and could in future provide a new way to treat organ scarring.

1 Feb 2019

Researchers identify regulatory mechanism underlying obesity

Obesity − as research in the past decade has shown − is first and foremost a brain disease. Researchers at Helmholtz Zentrum München, partners in the German Center for Diabetes Research, have now discovered a molecular switch that controls the function of satiety neurons and therefore body weight. The findings were published in the journal 'Nature Metabolism'.

31 Jan 2019

New link found between psychiatric disorders and events during the prenatal stage

Particular genetic variants in the human genome that are important for the development of the brain early in the life of the fetus are frequently found in psychiatric disorders. This is shown by a study carried out by iPSYCH.

31 Jan 2019

Researchers uncover how the immune system protects from bowel cancer

Researchers from Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have discovered a protective mechanism which is used by the body to protect intestinal stem cells from turning cancerous.

31 Jan 2019

NIH-funded researchers develop new assay to measure success of HIV cure strategies

Scientists funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed a new assay to accurately and easily count the cells that comprise the HIV reservoir, the stubborn obstacle to an HIV cure.

31 Jan 2019

RNA-binding protein needed for development of pathological hypertrophy

In response to conditions such as high blood pressure and reduced blood flow to cardiac muscle, the adult heart can drastically enlarge, a process called pathological hypertrophy that preserves cardiac function in the short term but predisposes patients to intractable heart failure and sudden cardiac death if left untreated.

31 Jan 2019

Study sheds light on the genetic causes of tumors in salivary glands

Acinic cell carcinoma is the third most common malignant form of salivary gland cancer. These tumors are similar to normal salivary gland tissue and occur most frequently in the parotid gland.

31 Jan 2019

New autism mouse model shows how epigenetic regulation impacts downstream gene

The causes of autism spectrum disorder are diverse and to some extent, unknown. But without doubt, they are complex, layered and deeply nuanced.

31 Jan 2019

UCLA-led scientists discover new clues to what goes wrong in the brains of people with autism

A team of UCLA-led scientists has discovered important clues to what goes wrong in the brains of people with autism -- a developmental disorder with no cure and for which scientists have no deep understanding of what causes it.

31 Jan 2019

Synchron and Festo introduce new ultra-high throughput DNA extraction device at SLAS 2019

During SLAS 2019, Synchron and Festo will describe the recent technology breakthrough leading to ultra-high throughput DNA extraction – up to 38,400 extractions per 24 hours.

From Society for Laboratory Automation and Screening (SLAS) 30 Jan 2019

Researchers discover how transcription factors find specific loci within DNA

Bioengineering experts have discovered that transcription factors which bind non-specifically to mitotic chromosomes are more efficient at finding their binding site within DNA during interphase.

30 Jan 2019

Chromatrap partners with Covaris to offer highly scalable and simple ChIP workflow

Chromatrap has entered into a partnership with Covaris to offer a highly scalable and simple ChIP workflow enabling researchers to easily isolate protein-DNA complexes for downstream applications, such as ChIP-Seq, ChIP-qPCR, Next-generation sequencing, and Mass Spectrometry.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 30 Jan 2019

IDT recognized for best-in-class customer experience

Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) has won a prestigious Life Science Industry Award for Best Overall Customer Experience, as well as a Gold award for Most Useful Website.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 30 Jan 2019

Using bivalves as model organisms offers promising avenues for medical research

Shellfish like oysters and mussels have the potential to revolutionize human health research, according to a new paper in Developmental and Comparative Immunology.

30 Jan 2019

Binge and heavy drinking may change DNA, resulting in greater desire for alcohol

Binge and heavy drinking may trigger a long-lasting genetic change, resulting in an even greater craving for alcohol, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

29 Jan 2019

Megaphages detected in the intestinal tract of humans who eat high-fiber, low-fat diet

Viruses plague bacteria just as viruses like influenza plague humans. Some of the largest of these so-called bacteriophages have now been found in the human gut, where they periodically devastate bacteria just as seasonal outbreaks of flu lay humans low, according to a new study led by University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

29 Jan 2019

New study elucidates role of signaling molecule in development of myocarditis

Researchers of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet in Munich have shown that a protein called midkine, a member of the class of signaling molecules known as cytokines, is a key driver of inflammation in the heart muscle that can lead to heart failure in patients with myocarditis.

29 Jan 2019

RNA-induced gene fusion can occur in mammalian cells, reveals study

A fusion gene is a new gene made by joining parts of two different genes. The current thought is that fusion genes can happen in cells with unstable genome when part of the DNA from one chromosome moves to another chromosome.

29 Jan 2019

Research provides new understanding of genome regulation in early life

After the fertilization of an egg cell, two become one; two sets of genetic information combine to form a genome. We can think of the egg and sperm as information capsules with stored instructions for starting a new life, but post fertilization, what kick starts the interpretation of these instructions?

29 Jan 2019

New approach identifies epigenetic changes in leukemia cells for patients undergoing ibrutinib treatment

Many new anti-cancer drugs inhibit proteins that are essential for the proliferation of cancer cells. One example is ibrutinib, an innovative therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia first approved in 2014.

29 Jan 2019