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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).

Individualized therapies targeting specific features show promise in transforming cancer treatment

Individualized therapies that target the specific genetic features of tumors have the potential to transform cancer diagnosis, treatment and care.

10 Sep 2018

Family genetic background essential for understanding autism progression

Whether an individual develops a neurodevelopmental disorder like autism or ADHD and the severity of that disorder depends on genetic changes beyond a single supposedly disease-causing mutation.

7 Sep 2018

Metabolic dysfunction drives chronic illness

Much of modern Western medicine is based upon the treatment of acute, immediate harm, from physical injury to infections, from broken bones and the common cold to heart and asthma attacks.

7 Sep 2018

Superbugs often move between humans and animals

The MRSA staphylococcus is an example of a pathogen, the likes of which are often called superbugs. These are resistant to most antibiotics and can cause serious infections.

7 Sep 2018

Immune checkpoint inhibition may be effective in treating HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma

Among a small cohort of patients with HIV-associated Kaposi's sarcoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors, more than 65 percent had partial or complete remission.

7 Sep 2018

Researchers describe novel mechanism that links epigenetic change to translational control

Understanding how memories form and are retrieved has applications to psychiatric, neurological and neurodegenerative disorders, and may be helpful to attenuate maladaptive memories in psychiatric disorders.

7 Sep 2018

Study links spinal muscular atrophy disease expression with haplotypes

A natural history study has provided the first comprehensive clinical description of spinal muscular atrophy within the Amish and Mennonite communities and correlates ancestral chromosome 5 haplotypes and SMN2 copy number with disease severity.

7 Sep 2018

Short telomeres could be independent risk factor for age-related functional decline

Elderly people with short chromosome caps, or telomeres, are more likely to have difficulty performing daily activities such as carrying groceries, climbing stairs and walking, finds a new study of more than 1,200 people from five European countries.

6 Sep 2018

Research uncovers how the immune system detects DNA damage

Our immune system is working every day to protect us from bacteria, viruses, and parasites, but it can also detect when our own cells are damaged.

6 Sep 2018

New diagnostic tool for difficult-to-detect cancers

A new diagnostic tool is expected to result in better treatment of cancer that is difficult to diagnose. The tool was developed by cancer researchers at Sahlgrenska Academy and doctors at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden. Their study, which has been published in JCO Precision Oncology, started with a single cancer patient.

6 Sep 2018

New system accelerates discovery of chemical compounds that inhibit enzyme implicated in cancers

Researchers at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, have developed a system to accelerate the discovery of chemical compounds that inhibit an enzyme implicated in a number of cancers.

6 Sep 2018

Researchers develop novel way for dating 'hibernating' HIV strains

Researchers at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Simon Fraser University, in partnership with University of British Columbia and Western University, have developed a novel way for dating "hibernating" HIV strains, in an advancement for HIV cure research in the province.

6 Sep 2018

Researchers find bacterial DNA in intestine of newborn calves

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland have found bacterial DNA in the intestine of newborn calves, representing quite a diverse variety of bacterial species.

6 Sep 2018

Hypertension drugs may be used to preserve memory of lupus patients

Researchers from The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that the activation of brain cells called microglia likely contributes to the memory loss and other cognitive impairments suffered by many patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

5 Sep 2018

Researchers develop new DNA-based test to detect trace amounts of peanuts in foods

For people with severe peanut allergies, eating even miniscule amounts of the legume can trigger anaphylaxis --- a life-threatening condition characterized by dizziness, breathing difficulties and, sometimes, loss of consciousness.

5 Sep 2018

Mechanical properties of viral DNA influence the course of infection, study finds

A new study reveals a previously unknown mechanism that governs whether viruses that infect bacteria will quickly kill their hosts or remain latent inside the cell. The discovery, reported in the journal eLife, also may apply to viruses that infect humans and other animals, the researcher said.

5 Sep 2018

Tipping the scales to initiate tumorigenesis in the colon

The regulatory protein c-MYC plays an important role in promoting the development of many types of tumors. c-MYC is a transcription factor that controls the activity of large numbers of genes involved in cell division, and its overexpression leads to excessive cell proliferation.

5 Sep 2018

Study finds new clues to understand relapse in breast cancer

A large genomic analysis has linked certain DNA mutations to a high risk of relapse in estrogen receptor positive breast cancer, while other mutations were associated with better outcomes, according to researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of British Columbia.

4 Sep 2018

Easy and inexpensive test could one day help guide epilepsy treatment

An easy and inexpensive test for the HLA-B*15:02 allele could one day allow clinicians to quickly identify which epilepsy patients are at risk of carbamazepine hypersensitivity, according to study results presented by Gita V. Soraya at ILAE's 2018 Asian & Oceanian Epilepsy Congress in Bali.

4 Sep 2018

Stanford researchers show how to prevent immune response to gene therapy in mouse model

Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have demonstrated that gene therapy can be effective without causing a dangerous side effect common to all gene therapy: an autoimmune reaction to the normal protein, which the patient's immune system is encountering for the first time.

4 Sep 2018