DNA News and Research

RSS

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).

New fluorescent dye could serve as powerful tool to visualize biological events in living cells

A new photostable fluorescent dye for super resolution microscopy could serve as a powerful tool to visualize biological events and structural details in living cells at real-time for prolonged recording periods.

27 Oct 2015

DNA testing for Down's syndrome could potentially save lives of unborn babies

Offering pregnant women a DNA test for Down's syndrome on the NHS would reduce the dependency on invasive tests and potentially save the lives of unborn babies, a study shows.

27 Oct 2015

Scalable production of gene therapy vectors: an interview with Frank Ubags

Gene therapy involves introducing genetic material into cells to replace missing or malfunctioning genes or to add a gene to express a beneficial protein in order to treat certain diseases, such as cancer or inherited disorders.

26 Oct 2015

UW researchers develop new model to more accurately predict harmful genetic mutations

Between any two people, there are likely to be at least 10 million differences in the genetic sequence that makes up their DNA.

26 Oct 2015

New DNA study may lead to better treatments for diseases caused by cellular changes

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have located a previously unknown function in the so-called histones, which allows for an improved understanding of how cells protect and repair DNA damages. This knowledge may eventually result in better treatments for diseases such as cancer.

26 Oct 2015

Researchers develop new method to predict people's biological age

New research has shed light on the molecular changes that occur in our bodies as we age. In the largest study of its kind, an international group of researchers, including experts from the University of Exeter's Medical School, examined expression of genes in blood samples from 15,000 people across the world.

26 Oct 2015

Improved results yielded from new ChIP-seq protocol

Chromatrap®, a business unit of Porvair Sciences, has developed a new protocol that further extends the many advantages of its popular Chromatin Immunoprecipitation Sequencing (ChIP-seq) assay kits.

From Chromatrap® - Porvair Sciences Ltd 23 Oct 2015

Plague endemic in man since early Bronze Age, but has not always been flea-borne

A recent analysis of ancient DNA has revealed that the plaque had been endemic in humans for at least 3000 years before the first global outbreak on record (the Plague of Justinian in 541 AD). Furthermore, the disease was not always transmitted by fleas, with mutation to the bubonic form only occurring around the start of the 1st millennium BC.

23 Oct 2015

Potential new drug target for acute myeloid leukemia

New treatment options are badly needed for acute myeloid leukemia, a relatively rare form of cancer. The malignancy begins in the bone marrow, and from there can spread rapidly to the bloodstream, depriving the body of the essential blood cells that carry oxygen and fight infections.

23 Oct 2015

Drug engineered from bananas could fight off wide range of viruses

A banana a day may not keep the doctor away, but a substance originally found in bananas and carefully edited by scientists could someday fight off a wide range of viruses, new research suggests.

23 Oct 2015

Successful treatment of rare neurodegenerative disease exemplifies potential of precision medicine

A 20-month-old girl suffering from a rare neurodegenerative disease was diagnosed by exome sequencing and successfully treated.

23 Oct 2015

Juneau Biosciences presents new genetic discoveries in endometriosis at annual ASRM meeting

This week, Juneau Biosciences, LLC presented new discoveries concerning the genetics of endometriosis at the annual American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) meeting in Baltimore, MD.

23 Oct 2015

DNA study reveals basic principle of gene regulation

A study of where and how an enzyme cuts DNA may have inadvertently revealed a basic principle of gene regulation, say researchers in Boston Children's Hospital's Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine (PCMM).

23 Oct 2015

New test may help predict spread of breast cancer to the brain

Women with particularly aggressive forms of breast cancer could be identified by a test that predicts whether the disease is likely to spread to the brain.

22 Oct 2015

Ground-breaking discovery helps scientists view DNA damage with crystal clarity

Scientists have developed a new technique for looking at the initial steps of DNA oxidation – a process which can lead to DNA damage, mutations and cancers. The breakthrough, which uses DNA in crystals, should help related research in the fields of cancer medicine and drug development.

22 Oct 2015

RUCDR Infinite Biologics awarded $6 million grant from NINDS

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke has awarded a five-year grant worth up to $6,034,323 to RUCDR Infinite Biologics, a unit of Rutgers' Human Genetics Institute of New Jersey. RUCDR, which is located on Rutgers' Busch Campus in Piscataway, is the world's largest university-based biorepository.

20 Oct 2015

Bioengineers develop continuously tunable method to find and quantify DNA, RNA biomarkers

A Rice University laboratory has developed a continuously tunable method to find and quantify DNA and RNA biomarkers.

20 Oct 2015

Scientists reveal link between depression and paraventricular thalamus

Scientists from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute have shown that a mouse strain with a mutation that leads to dysfunction of mitochondria--the "powerhouses" that provide energy to cells--spontaneously undergo periodic episodes of depression-like behavior that resemble those in human. Through this research, published in Molecular Psychiatry, the scientists uncovered a link between depression and the paraventricular thalamus, a region of the brain not previously tied to depression.

20 Oct 2015

New research seeks to improve understanding of how breast cancer starts

Dr Michalak was awarded a highly competitive, four-year career development fellowship from the National Breast Cancer Foundation for her research into breast stem cells. The funding is helping to further her research, which seeks to improve our understanding of how breast cancer starts.

20 Oct 2015