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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).

TBX5 gene expression could play key role in congenital heart disease

Congenital heart disease is the most common birth defect and the leading cause of all infant deaths in the United States. Mutations in the gene TBX5 have been shown to cause both rare and more prevalent forms of congenital heart disease, yet the underlying mechanisms have remained unclear.

9 Feb 2016

Gut microbes influence severity of malaria

Microorganisms in the gut could play a role in reducing the severity of malaria, according to a new study co-authored by researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the University of Louisville.

9 Feb 2016

Study reveals association between DNA methylation and type 2 diabetes

Researchers from the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute have found an epigenetic mechanism implicated in the regulation of blood sugar. The study, published in the journal Molecular Human Genetics, reveals that the methylation of the TXNIP gene is associated with diabetes mellitus type 2 and, in particular, average blood glucose levels.

8 Feb 2016

FDA clears Sangamo BioSciences' SB-318 IND application for treatment of MPS I

Sangamo BioSciences, Inc., the leader in therapeutic genome editing, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the Company's Investigational New Drug (IND) application for SB-318, a single treatment strategy intended to provide a life-long therapy for Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I (MPS I).

8 Feb 2016

Novel quantitative method may reduce or eliminate need for invasive biopsies

Scientists have identified a quantitative method to measure changes in biomarkers, which may reduce or eliminate the need for invasive biopsies. The method, described in the February 2016 issue of The FASEB Journal uses a novel chimera design of DNA and small DNA with a companion contrast agent to allow antibodies to cross cellular membranes.

8 Feb 2016

Aggression influences new nerve cell production in the brain

A group of neurobiologists from Russia and the USA, including Dmitry Smagin, Tatyana Michurina, and Grigori Enikolopov from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, have proven experimentally that aggression has an influence on the production of new nerve cells in the brain.

8 Feb 2016

New personalized DNA-based digital assay has potential to dramatically impact CML management

The outcomes of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have dramatically improved as the result of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment. Use of a TKI regimen can lower the blood CML biomarker to levels imperceptible by current detection methods. For patients in "molecular remission," however, uncertainties remain regarding whether they will relapse or if treatment should be discontinued.

8 Feb 2016

NIH researchers identify genetic mutation responsible for vibratory urticaria

Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have identified a genetic mutation responsible for a rare form of inherited hives induced by vibration, also known as vibratory urticaria. Running, hand clapping, towel drying or even taking a bumpy bus ride can cause temporary skin rashes in people with this rare disorder.

4 Feb 2016

U.S. panel endorses “three-parent” IVF technique

An expert committee have recommended that the U.S. government allows the clinical investigation of mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRT) to go ahead.

4 Feb 2016

UC Davis researchers develop Hepatitis virus-like particles to target breast cancer

UC Davis researchers have developed a way to use the empty shell of a Hepatitis E virus to carry vaccines or drugs into the body. The technique has been tested in rodents as a way to target breast cancer, and is available for commercial licensing through UC Davis Office of Research.

4 Feb 2016

AstraZeneca’s TAGRISSO (osimertinib) approved in EU for metastatic EGFR T790M mutation-positive NSCLC

AstraZeneca today announced that the European Commission (EC) has granted conditional marketing authorisation for TAGRISSO™ (AZD9291, osimertinib) 80mg once-daily tablets for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

4 Feb 2016

New research identifies key enzyme linked to age-related increases in cancer and inflammation

For the first time, researchers have shown that an enzyme key to regulating gene expression -- and also an oncogene when mutated -- is critical for the expression of numerous inflammatory compounds that have been implicated in age-related increases in cancer and tissue degeneration, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

4 Feb 2016

Genetic variants associated with preference to mornings or nights

23andMe, Inc., the leading personal genetics company, today announced the results of a genome-wide association study (GWAS) identifying genetic variants associated with being a morning person.

3 Feb 2016

Prenatal stress affects babies' health in war-torn areas

Children from war-torn areas of the globe are affected by trauma even before they are born, according to a new University of Florida study.

3 Feb 2016

Study sheds light on mechanisms linked to formation of healthy egg cells in humans

Congenital disorders such as Down's syndrome could be better understood, following new insights into how healthy cells are formed.

3 Feb 2016

New gene cut-and-paste methods help correct disease-causing mutation in animal model

For the first time, researchers have treated an animal model of a genetic disorder using a viral vector to deliver genome-editing components in which the disease- causing mutation has been corrected.

3 Feb 2016

UAB research explores neurofibromatosis type 1

It is easy to tell a medical research story that has a simple and dramatic moment. But disease is often much more complex, and the work to understand it can be painstaking. A vivid example of that is seen in the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Genomics Laboratory, headed by Ludwine Messiaen, Ph.D., professor of genetics. This lab offers clinical genetic testing for a broad array of common and rare genetic disorders.

3 Feb 2016