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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).

Study reveals role of RUNX proteins in DNA repair

A study by researchers from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore has revealed that RUNX proteins are integral to efficient DNA repair via the Fanconi Anemia pathway.

15 Aug 2018

Real-time dynamic monitoring of cell's nucleus for effective cancer screening

To test for malignancy or monitor the effectiveness of cancer treatment, a person's tissue must be extracted, sent to a lab, stained and analyzed by a pathologist--a process that can take days to complete and is subject to human error.

15 Aug 2018

Scripps Research scientists uncover new approach for treating thrombocytopenia

Blood platelets are like the sand bags of the body. Got a cut? Platelets pile in to clog the hole and stop the bleeding.

15 Aug 2018

“Zombie gene” protects elephants from cancer finds study

A new study has found that elephants do not get cancers as frequently as other animals because of a special gene that they carry.

14 Aug 2018

Scientists reveal role of 'junk DNA' in cancer dissemination

The more scientists explore so-called "junk" DNA, the less the label seems to fit.

14 Aug 2018

'Zombie' gene protects elephants from cancer, study finds

An estimated 17 percent of humans worldwide die from cancer, but less than five percent of captive elephants - who also live for about 70 years, and have about 100 times as many potentially cancerous cells as humans - die from the disease.

14 Aug 2018

Clinical study suggests new treatment direction for head and neck cancer in heavy smokers

Patients with a greater than 10 pack/year history of smoking tend to develop an especially dangerous form of head and neck squamous cell cancer for which prognosis remains poor and treatments have changed little during the past two decades.

14 Aug 2018

Anticancer drugs can help plants to battle infection

Cancer-fighting drugs used on humans can help plants fight disease as well. That discovery, by two Washington State University plant pathologists, could help scientists develop new pathways for plants to battle infection, as revealed in a paper in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science.

14 Aug 2018

Powerful new microscope reveals inner workings of human cells with unprecedented clarity

Australia’s most advanced and powerful microscope, capable of visualizing down to the level of individual atoms, begins its working life today.

14 Aug 2018

New project aims to study growth of water-based microorganisms

In order to better understand and assess the quality of ground and spring water, state-of-the-art methods from the fields of molecular biology and microbiology, as well as chemical high-performance analytics are now developed.

14 Aug 2018

Scientists identify mutational signatures in ovarian cancer

Scientists have identified distinct patterns of genetic mutation among patients with ovarian cancer that could help them personalise treatment in the future.

14 Aug 2018

New method provides a 'big picture' of genetic influences on traits and diseases

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed a powerful method for characterizing the broad patterns of genetic contributions to traits and diseases. The new method provides a "big picture" of genetic influences that should be particularly helpful in designing future genetic studies and understanding potential for genetic risk prediction.

14 Aug 2018

Altered nitrogen metabolism may contribute to emergence of new cancer mutations

Nitrogen is a basic building block of all the body's proteins, RNA and DNA, so cancerous tumors are greedy for this element. Researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science, in collaboration with colleagues from the National Cancer Institute and elsewhere, have now shown that in many cancers, the patient's nitrogen metabolism is altered, producing detectable changes in the body fluids and contributing to the emergence of new mutations in cancerous tissue.

13 Aug 2018

New test predicts the risk of serious disease months before symptoms appear

Researchers have developed a new genetic test that can identify people who are at an increased risk of serious disease, long before they develop any symptoms.

13 Aug 2018

Researchers discover epigenetic mechanism underlying ischemic cardiomyopathy

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham have shed light on an epigenetic reprogramming mechanism that underlies the development of ischemic cardiomyopathy.

13 Aug 2018

Reduced levels of chaperone protein may have implications for development of Parkinson’s disease

Reduced levels of a chaperone protein might have implications for the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease and Lewy body dementia, according to new research from investigators at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

10 Aug 2018

FDA approves first targeted RNA-based treatment for rare, fatal genetic disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Onpattro (patisiran) infusion for the treatment of peripheral nerve disease (polyneuropathy) caused by hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (hATTR) in adult patients.

10 Aug 2018

Koala virus could provide clues to accumulated 'junk' DNA in the human genome

A koala virus could help researchers explain millions of years of accumulated ‘junk’ DNA in the human genome.

10 Aug 2018

Study yields new insights into why the system needs sleep

Sleep is essential for brain functionality and overall health but understanding how sleep delivers its beneficial effects remains largely unknown. In an article publishing on August 9 in the open access journal PLOS Biology, Shanaz Diessler and Maxime Jan at the University of Lausanne and the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (Switzerland), sleep researchers are exploring new and unbiased approaches that can take sleep to a systems level.

10 Aug 2018

Ability to detect RNA helps promote rapid growth, survival of fruit fly larvae

Fruit fly larvae can taste ribonucleosides, the building blocks of gene transcripts, according to a new study publishing on August 7 in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Hubert Amrein and Dushyant Mishra of Texas A&M Health Science Center and their colleagues.

10 Aug 2018