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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 describe epigenetic mechanisms underlying the development of cerebellum

From before birth through childhood, connections form between neurons in the brain, ultimately making us who we are. So far, scientists have gained a relatively good understanding of how neural circuits become established, but they know less about the genetic control at play during this crucial developmental process.

23 Dec 2015

Biocept agrees $15 million common stock purchase deal with Aspire

Biocept, Inc., a molecular diagnostics company commercializing and developing blood-based liquid biopsies to improve the detection, monitoring and treatment of cancer, announces a $15 million common stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC, a Chicago-based institutional investor.

22 Dec 2015

Researchers reveal inherited genetic errors across 12 cancer types

Researchers long have known that some portion of the risk of developing cancer is hereditary and that inherited genetic errors are very important in some tumors but much less so in others.

22 Dec 2015

Study reveals new genetic factors linked to age-related macular degeneration

An international study of about 43,000 people has significantly expanded the number of genetic factors known to play a role in age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss among people age 50 and older.

22 Dec 2015

Scientists identify 52 genetic variations associated with age-related macular degeneration

In one of the latest examples of precision medicine, teams of geneticists from nine countries, involving more than 100 scientists, analyzed the genes of more than 33,000 individuals in the hope of finding genetic variations responsible for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of vision loss among people age 50 or older.

22 Dec 2015

Roche announces availability of cobas HBVassay for use on cobas 4800 System

Roche announced today the commercial availability of the cobas HBVassay for use on the cobas 4800 System in countries accepting the CE mark. This new molecular diagnostic assay expands the available virology menu on the cobas 4800 System, improving system efficiency and providing testing flexibility that allows physicians to assess a patient's response to antiviral therapy.

22 Dec 2015

New easy-to-use computer program can quickly identify drug-resistant infections

Scientists have developed an easy-to-use computer program that can quickly analyse bacterial DNA from a patient's infection and predict which antibiotics will work, and which will fail due to drug resistance. The software is currently being trialled in three UK hospitals to see whether it could help speed up diagnosis of drug-resistant infections and enable doctors to better target the prescription of antibiotics.

21 Dec 2015

Chromatrap to be Lead Sponsor at 'Epigenetics in Drug Discovery' conference

Chromatrap, a business unit of Porvair Sciences, has announced that it will be the Lead Sponsor at the prestigious “Epigenetics in Drug Discovery” conference to be held in Cambridge, UK from 26th-27th January 2016.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 21 Dec 2015

New study improves understanding of metal-based chemotherapy drugs

What is the mechanism of action of metal-based chemotherapy drugs (the most widely used for treating common cancers like testicular or ovarian cancer)? How can we improve their effect and reduce their toxicity? A new study combining experiments and theory has broadened our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of these active drugs to help experimentalists devising increasingly effective drugs with fewer side effects.

21 Dec 2015

Heidelberg neurobiologists identify Dnmt3a2 protein that boosts memory performance

Increasing the level of a certain DNA-modified enzyme in the brain significantly improves cognitive ability. The discovery was made by the research team led by Prof. Dr. Hilmar Bading at the Interdisciplinary Center for Neurosciences of Heidelberg University. Mouse experiments showed that the Dnmt3a2 protein can boost memory performance in the animals.

21 Dec 2015

Certain gut bacteria linked to type 2 diabetes, reveal Russian scientists

A group of Russian scientists, including Dr Elena Kostryukova, the Head of the Laboratory of Postgenomic Research in Biology of the Scientific Research Institute of Physical-Chemical Medicine and a researcher at MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology), and Maria Vakhitova, an MIPT postgraduate student, has discovered that the presence of certain bacteria in the gut may be linked to the development of type 2 diabetes.

21 Dec 2015

New discovery may soon make prostate cancer cells easier to destroy

A newly discovered connection between two common prostate cancer treatments may soon make prostate cancer cells easier to destroy. Drugs that could capitalize on the discovery are already in the pipeline, and a clinical trial to test whether the finding could improve treatments for prostate cancer patients could be only a few years away.

20 Dec 2015

Research opens door to validation studies in multiple tumor types of liquid biopsy

Pancreatic cancer tumors spill their molecular secrets into the blood stream, shedding their complete DNA and RNA wrapped inside protective lipid particles that make them ripe for analysis with a liquid biopsy, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report online at the Annals of Oncology.

18 Dec 2015

Scientists identify overlooked consequence of spatial separation of cells into nucleus, cytoplasm

Genetically identical cells do not always behave the same way. According to the accepted theory, the reason are random molecular processes - known as random noise. For decades this view has been underpinned by numerous experiments and theoretical models.

18 Dec 2015

New study sheds light on the molecular basis of memory and learning

The brain still harbours many unknowns. Basically, it is assumed that it stores experiences by altering the connections between brain cells. This ability to adapt - which is also called "plasticity" - provides the basis for memory and learning, which is the ability to draw conclusions from memories. On a molecular scale these changes are mediated by modifications of expression of specific genes that as required strengthen or weaken the connections between the brain cells.

18 Dec 2015

Zoledronate drug can protect stem cells from ageing

Stem cells can be protected from the effects of ageing by a drug currently used to treat patients with osteoporosis, a breakthrough study has found.

17 Dec 2015

A glass of clean drinking water contains 10 million bacteria

Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have discovered that our drinking water is to a large extent purified by millions of "good bacteria" found in water pipes and purification plants. So far, the knowledge about them has been practically non-existent, but this new research is about to change that.

17 Dec 2015

UMMS researchers identify new life cycle stage in HIV infection

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have identified a new life cycle stage in HIV infection, thanks to a novel technique they developed to take images of intact infected cells.

17 Dec 2015

Scientists reveal major players in severe muscle damage caused by sepsis

Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, Paris Descartes University, Sainte-Anne Hospital and the CNRS have recently published a paper in Nature Communications in which they reveal major players in the severe muscle damage caused by sepsis, or septicemia, which explains why many patients suffer debilitating muscle impairment long-term after recovery.

17 Dec 2015

Researchers report development of rapid, low-cost test for detecting TB in resource-limited areas

Tuberculosis (TB) is a highly infectious disease and a major global health problem, especially in countries with developing health care systems. Because there is no fast, easy way to detect TB, the deadly infection can spread quickly through communities. Now, a team reports in ACS Sensors the development of a rapid, sensitive and low-cost method for detecting the disease in resource-limited areas.

17 Dec 2015