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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).

Researchers tune into previously unknown cross talk between estrogen and progesterone receptors

One of the first clues pathologists look for in tissue from a newly diagnosed breast cancer patient is the estrogen receptor, a nuclear protein that converts hormonal messages in the bloodstream into instructions for the cell about how to behave

24 Jun 2016

HMC signal could be used to detect diseases and to personalize medication

Common diseases like allergy, diabetes and other immune diseases have increased dramatically in recent decades. This indicates that the environment may have a more important role than genes in explaining this increase.

24 Jun 2016

Researchers identify new potential target for pancreatic cancer treatment

Using an innovative approach to identify a cancer's genetic vulnerabilities by more swiftly analyzing human tumors transplanted into mice, researchers have identified a new potential target for pancreatic cancer treatment, published online in Cell Reports.

24 Jun 2016

The future of simulated teaching methods

In healthcare, we have physicians, nurses and paramedics who know the textbook by heart and know exactly what they need to do, but have never experienced the procedure first-hand, or they have no experience responding to adverse events that may occur.

24 Jun 2016

Positive environment can reverse trauma-related behavioral alterations in mice

Traumatic experiences in childhood increase the risk of developing behavioral and psychiatric disorders later in life. It is also known that the consequences of a trauma can likewise be observed in the children of people affected even if those children have themselves not experienced any trauma.

24 Jun 2016

Scientists discover how faulty genetic instructions contribute to development of AML

Scientists have previously identified a series of genetic errors that commonly occur inside cancerous blood cells, but it hasn't been clear exactly how those genetic malfunctions create immature blood cells that overpopulate, crowd out healthy cells and spread in patients with acute myeloid leukemia or AML.

24 Jun 2016

Researchers use sensitive technique to reveal high levels of genetic heterogeneity in schizophrenia

International researchers centered at Nagoya University use a highly sensitive technique to identify significantly more DNA sequence repeats in patients with schizophrenia than in control individuals, and outline a possible link between genome instability and disease.

24 Jun 2016

Study reveals surprising diversity in single neuronal transcriptomes of the brain

A team of scientists at The Scripps Research Institute, University of California, San Diego and Illumina, Inc., has completed the first large-scale assessment of single neuronal "transcriptomes."

24 Jun 2016

Scientists streamline total synthesis of uncialamycin drug

A team led by Rice University scientists has improved the production of a potent anti-tumor antibiotic known as uncialamycin.

23 Jun 2016

Scientists discover RNA methylation could strengthen memory formation

New insight into the process that converts experiences into stable long-term memories has been uncovered by neurobiologists from the University of California, Irvine and the University of Queensland.

23 Jun 2016

'Simple' model predicts PegIFN response in chronic HBV

Chinese researchers have developed a scoring system based on hepatitis B virus-related clinical parameters to predict response to pegylated-interferon in chronic HBV patients.

23 Jun 2016

Maternal HBsAg can serve as HBV vertical transmission marker

Two studies have independently identified quantitative hepatitis B surface antigen as a marker to identify pregnant women with chronic hepatitis B virus infection whose infants are at high-risk of infection despite immunoprophylaxis.

23 Jun 2016

Sperm of smokers has greater extent of DNA damage than that of non-smokers

A recent study found that that sperm of men who smoke has a greater extent of DNA damage than that of non-smokers.

22 Jun 2016

Researchers reveal DNA unwrapping can happen asymmetrically to expose specific genes

The protein complex that holds strands of DNA in compact spools partially disassembles itself to help genes reveal themselves to specialized proteins and enzymes for activation, according to Rice University researchers and their colleagues.

22 Jun 2016

Researchers develop plasma QC assay for downstream metabolomics applications

Researchers from IBBL and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine of the University of Luxembourg have investigated the impact of variations in temperature and delays during blood sample processing on downstream metabolomics applications.

22 Jun 2016

New study suggests how rod photoreceptors may have originated to give rise to nocturnal mammals

Retinas from our earliest vertebrate ancestors had cone-like photoreceptors, presumably allowing them to see in daylight, but little ability to see at night. Then, millions of years ago in the Mesozoic era, and in relatively short order, mammals emerged that had retinas with predominantly rod photoreceptors, allowing for them to see at night perhaps to hunt for food while their dinosaur predators were dozing.

22 Jun 2016

Protein-based CHD risk score developed

Researchers have screened over 1000 plasma proteins to develop a predictive score in patients with stable coronary heart disease.

22 Jun 2016

Scientists join together to map urban subway microbiome

Scientists at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona, Spain, have joined today the Global City Sampling Day for the MetaSub research project. Started in 2013 in New York and led by Dr. Christopher E Mason at Weill Cornell Medicine, MetaSub is an international consortium of laboratories to establish a world-wide "DNA map" of microbiomes in mass transit systems.

22 Jun 2016

Scientists uncover five new genetic causes of bowel cancer

A landmark study has given the most detailed picture yet of the genetics of bowel cancer - the UK's fourth most common cancer.

22 Jun 2016

Drexel University researchers aim to identify new molecular mechanisms involved in chronic pain

Chronic pain is one of the most prevalent, disabling and expensive public health crises in the United States. It affects more than 100 million Americans, with annual costs estimated at $635 billion, says a 2014 report from the American Pain Society.

22 Jun 2016