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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).

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in offspring

As the study shows, a high-fat diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in the offspring. These changes affect metabolic pathways regulated by the gut hormone GIP, whereby the adult offspring are more susceptible to obesity and insulin resistance, the precursor to type 2 diabetes. Similar mechanisms cannot be ruled out in humans, according to Pfeiffer.

2 Feb 2016

Biochemical compound demonstrates increasing potential for use in cancer imaging

In the paper, an international team reviewed studies conducted over the past 30 years on a particular tracer, called “18F-FLT,” and found that it has the potential to improve diagnostic imaging, and thus treatment, of some cancers.

2 Feb 2016

Mount Sinai researchers report new method to restore microbiome of newborns delivered via C-section

Scientists from the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, collaborating with NYU Langone Medical Center and a multi-center team of researchers, demonstrated for the first time that the microbiome of newborn babies delivered via cesarean section (C-section) can be partially restored to resemble that of vaginally delivered infants.

2 Feb 2016

Researchers identify definitive genetic defect in angiocentric gliomas

Diagnosis and treatment decisions for a recently recognized type of children's brain tumor should be improved by the discovery of the genetic mechanism that causes it, say researchers who identified the unusual DNA abnormality in angiocentric gliomas.

2 Feb 2016

Radiation could increase responses to innovative immune-based therapeutic approaches to fight cancer

A team of Georgia State University researchers is fighting cancers using a combination of therapies and recently found ways that radiation could maximize responses to novel immune-based therapeutic approaches to fight cancer.

1 Feb 2016

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to specifically modify gene expression in diseased upper motor neurons, brain cells that break down in ALS.

1 Feb 2016

Researchers show how bacterial colony protects itself against toxic substances

Bacterial populations move over surfaces in coordinated way known as swarming, which allows them to spread further over organs and tissues and increases the virulence of the infection. This movement is driven by the action of the flagella and the chemoreceptors, the systems responsible for identifying chemical compounds in the environment and which are anchored at the poles of their cells, forming highly organised structures, of which the protein CheW forms part.

1 Feb 2016

New technology could help identify, characterize biologically active molecules produced by living cells

Gene sequencing company Illumina recently made big waves by announcing a new spinoff, Grail, dedicated to building a test for cancer by sequencing tumor DNA fragments found in blood. The company also reported plans for a separate project to identify single cells and tag them for later analysis.

1 Feb 2016

FedMed gains access to Trovagene's Precision Cancer Monitoring tests and service

Trovagene, Inc., a developer of cell-free molecular diagnostics, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with FedMed, Inc. establishing health benefit access to Trovagene's full line of Precision Cancer Monitoring (PCM) tests and services.

1 Feb 2016

Research offers novel insights into root causes of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a mysterious and devastating disorder that afflicts one percent of the adult population worldwide. Its symptoms — hallucinations, emotional withdrawal, and cognitive impairment — are chronic and typically emerge just as individuals are entering adulthood. Today's medications treat just one of these symptoms (psychosis); treatments for the underlying disease and its many other symptoms have been hard to develop, because no one really understands what causes the disorder.

31 Jan 2016

Study provides vital information about mechanisms governing DNA repair

DNA damage can lead to gene inactivation or deregulation and cause various diseases such as cancer; however, many DNA repair mechanisms allow cells to survive against such damage. A study lead by Antoine Simoneau of the laboratory of Dr. Hugo Wurtele, a researcher in immunology-oncology at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital (CIUSS de l'Est-de-l'Île-de-Montréal) and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Montreal, and recently published in the prestigious journal Nucleic Acids Research, provides valuable information about certain mechanisms governing DNA repair.

31 Jan 2016

New partnership aims to study underlying neurobiology and genetics of PTSD, TBI

Cohen Veterans Bioscience today announced two new collaborative partnership efforts that will provide critical research tools for understanding the underlying neurobiology and genetics of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI) with the goal of accelerating the development of first generation diagnostics and treatments.

31 Jan 2016

Men with ASD have differences in brain connections

Research at King's College London has revealed subtle brain differences in adult males with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which may go some way towards explaining why symptoms persist into adulthood in some people with the disorder.

30 Jan 2016

UCL-led researchers find way to assess viability of induced pluripotent stem cells

A research team led by scientists from UCL have found a way to assess the viability of 'manufactured' stem cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Published today in Nature Communications, the team's discovery offers a new way to fast-track screening methods used in stem cell research.

30 Jan 2016

Two studies shed new light on nature of tandem DNA repeat arrays

A pair of studies by a team of scientists has shed new light on the nature of a particular type of DNA sequences—tandem DNA repeat arrays—that play important roles in transcription control, genome organization, and development.

29 Jan 2016

Multinational study suggests new way to classify gliomas

A comprehensive analysis of the molecular characteristics of gliomas—the most common malignant brain tumor—explains why some patients diagnosed with slow-growing (low-grade) tumors quickly succumb to the disease while others with more aggressive (high-grade) tumors survive for many years.

29 Jan 2016

Researchers developing new methods to better analyze effects of e-cig flavorings

Faculty and student researchers at Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf are developing methods to better analyze the effects of flavorings used in electronic cigarettes (e-cigs).

29 Jan 2016

New NYUCD study explores how gene expression initiated in notochord

A new study by basic science researchers in the Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology at New York University College of Dentistry sought to understand how gene expression is initiated in the notochord, the evolutionary and developmental precursor of the backbone.

29 Jan 2016

CNIO team uses network theory to build and study first epigenetic communication network

One of the big questions for which there is still no clear answer in biology is how, based on the four universal letters that make up DNA, it is possible to generate such different organisms as a fly or a human, or the different organs and tissues they comprise. In recent years, researchers have discovered that the system is much more complicated than was originally thought.

29 Jan 2016

Researchers find how microtubules, motor proteins assemble into macroscopic networks

What bones are to bodies, the cytoskeleton is to cells. The cytoskeleton maintains cellular structure, builds appendages like flagella and, together with motor proteins, powers cellular movement, transport, and division. Microtubules are a critical component of the cytoskeleton, vital for cell division and, because of that, an excellent target for chemotherapy drugs.

29 Jan 2016

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation leads to epigenetic changes in offspring

Biochemical compound demonstrates increasing potential for use in cancer imaging

Mount Sinai researchers report new method to restore microbiome of newborns delivered via C-section

Researchers identify definitive genetic defect in angiocentric gliomas

Radiation could increase responses to innovative immune-based therapeutic approaches to fight cancer

New study lays foundation for future gene replacement therapies to treat ALS patients

Researchers show how bacterial colony protects itself against toxic substances

New technology could help identify, characterize biologically active molecules produced by living cells

FedMed gains access to Trovagene's Precision Cancer Monitoring tests and service

Research offers novel insights into root causes of schizophrenia

Study provides vital information about mechanisms governing DNA repair

New partnership aims to study underlying neurobiology and genetics of PTSD, TBI

Men with ASD have differences in brain connections

UCL-led researchers find way to assess viability of induced pluripotent stem cells

Two studies shed new light on nature of tandem DNA repeat arrays

Multinational study suggests new way to classify gliomas

Researchers developing new methods to better analyze effects of e-cig flavorings

New NYUCD study explores how gene expression initiated in notochord

CNIO team uses network theory to build and study first epigenetic communication network

Researchers find how microtubules, motor proteins assemble into macroscopic networks

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