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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).

Northwestern gets $17.5 million NIH grant to invent, develop implantable drug delivery system for HIV prevention

Northwestern Medicine scientists have received a five-year, $17.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for an interdisciplinary project that aims to invent, develop and test an implantable drug delivery system to protect high-risk individuals from HIV infection for up to a year at a time.

4 Aug 2015

Penn Medicine devises new approach to develop vaccines against lethal diseases

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have devised an entirely new approach to vaccines - creating immunity without vaccination.

4 Aug 2015

Stress responder plays critical, early step in repairing DNA damage

DNA damage increases the risk of cancer, and researchers have found that a protein, known to rally when cells get stressed, plays a critical, early step in its repair.

4 Aug 2015

MD Anderson scientists reveal role of metabolic enzyme fumarase in DNA repair

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the worst possible form of genetic malfunction that can cause cancer and resistance to therapy. New information published this week reveals more about why this occurs and how these breaks can be repaired.

4 Aug 2015

First biodegradable gene delivery system efficiently penetrates human airway mucus barrier of lung tissue

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, and Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil have designed a DNA-loaded nanoparticle that can pass through the mucus barrier covering conducting airways of lung tissue — proving the concept, they say, that therapeutic genes may one day be delivered directly to the lungs to the levels sufficient to treat cystic fibrosis (CF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and other life-threatening lung diseases.

4 Aug 2015

Scientists successfully test new tumor diagnosis method

Scientists at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, in cooperation with colleagues at the University of Zurich and the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, have for the first time successfully tested a new tumor diagnosis method under near-real conditions. The new method first sends out an antibody as a "spy" to detect the diseased cells and then binds to them.

4 Aug 2015

Combining chemotherapy and birinapant effective against high-grade serous ovarian cancer

High-grade serous ovarian cancer often responds well to the chemotherapy drug carboplatin, but why it so frequently comes back after treatment has been a medical mystery.

4 Aug 2015

RNA-binding protein ROQUIN regulates response to DNA damage

Messenger (mRNA) molecules are a key component of protein biosynthesis. They are first transcribed as a "working copy" of the DNA and then translated into protein molecules.

3 Aug 2015

Researchers uncover strong evidence for genetic causes of cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability in children. It has historically been considered to be caused by factors such as birth asphyxia, stroke and infections in the developing brain of babies.

3 Aug 2015

Animal study shows children exposed to famine grow smaller, become susceptible to metabolic diseases

Starvation early in life can alter an organism for generations to come, according to a new study in roundworms. The effects are what Duke University biologist Ryan Baugh terms a "bet-hedging strategy."

3 Aug 2015

Environmental factors promote genetic mutations, have underappreciated effect on disease, evolution

Washington State University researchers say environmental factors are having an underappreciated effect on the course of disease and evolution by prompting genetic mutations through epigenetics, a process by which genes are turned on and off independent of an organism's DNA sequence.

3 Aug 2015

BRCA gene mutations and ovarian cancer: an interview with Dr Matulonis, Harvard Medical School

The BRCA gene encodes for the BRCA proteins, BRCA1 and BRCA2. These proteins are very important in repairing DNA, which they do by correcting double-stranded breaks.

2 Aug 2015

FDA accepts Mundipharma EDO's Investigational New Drug Application for EDO-S101

Mundipharma EDO GmbH (Early Development in Oncology) is pleased to announce that the United States Food and Drug Administration has accepted the company's Investigational New Drug Application ("IND") for EDO-S101, a fusion molecule to treat relapsed/refractory haematologic malignancies and solid tumours.

31 Jul 2015

Reducing incorrect gene expression can extend lifespan of cells

Working with yeast and worms, researchers found that incorrect gene expression is a hallmark of aged cells and that reducing such "noise" extends lifespan in these organisms. The team published their findings this month in Genes & Development.

31 Jul 2015

U.S. Navy leads government category in annual ranking of patent portfolios

Predicting the risk of pirate attacks on vital shipping lanes could soon be easier, thanks to a data system that's just one of 364 technologies patented by the U.S. Navy (DoN) in 2014.

31 Jul 2015

Researchers uncover new mechanism that p53 protein uses to trigger cell death

Researchers have identified a new mechanism that the tumor suppressor protein p53 uses to trigger cell death via apoptosis and have shown how the process could be harnessed to kill cancer cells. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led the study, which appears today in the scientific journal Molecular Cell.

31 Jul 2015

DNA study reveals potential treatments to delay or prevent onset of Huntington's disease

Scientists from Cardiff University believe that a treatment to prevent or delay the symptoms of Huntington’s disease could now be much closer, following a major breakthrough.

31 Jul 2015

Patients with HPV traces post-treatment more likely to have oropharyngeal cancer recurrence

Oropharyngeal cancer patients who were found to have detectable traces of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) in their saliva following cancer treatment are at an increased risk for recurrence, a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has found.

31 Jul 2015

Tissue Regenix strengthens position in post-acute wound care market with Medicare coverage for Dermapure

Tissue Regenix Group, the regenerative medical devices company, announces that it has further strengthened its position within the post-acute wound care market as Tissue Regenix Wound Care Inc. has received further approval for DermaPure under Medicare administrator, First Coast Service Options Inc. whose jurisdiction includes Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.

30 Jul 2015

Detailed molecular analyses reveal new treatment options for aggressive childhood leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) leukemia is the most common type of cancer in children. It can occur in various forms, differing not only by specific changes in the genetic material of the leukemia cells but also by their response to therapies. Now, an international team of scientists from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hannover, Heidelberg, Kiel, and Zurich have succeeded in decoding the molecular characteristics of an as yet incurable subtype of leukemia, paving the way for new therapeutic approaches.

30 Jul 2015

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Northwestern gets $17.5 million NIH grant to invent, develop implantable drug delivery system for HIV prevention

Penn Medicine devises new approach to develop vaccines against lethal diseases

Stress responder plays critical, early step in repairing DNA damage

MD Anderson scientists reveal role of metabolic enzyme fumarase in DNA repair

First biodegradable gene delivery system efficiently penetrates human airway mucus barrier of lung tissue

Scientists successfully test new tumor diagnosis method

Combining chemotherapy and birinapant effective against high-grade serous ovarian cancer

RNA-binding protein ROQUIN regulates response to DNA damage

Researchers uncover strong evidence for genetic causes of cerebral palsy

Animal study shows children exposed to famine grow smaller, become susceptible to metabolic diseases

Environmental factors promote genetic mutations, have underappreciated effect on disease, evolution

BRCA gene mutations and ovarian cancer: an interview with Dr Matulonis, Harvard Medical School

FDA accepts Mundipharma EDO's Investigational New Drug Application for EDO-S101

Reducing incorrect gene expression can extend lifespan of cells

U.S. Navy leads government category in annual ranking of patent portfolios

Researchers uncover new mechanism that p53 protein uses to trigger cell death

DNA study reveals potential treatments to delay or prevent onset of Huntington's disease

Patients with HPV traces post-treatment more likely to have oropharyngeal cancer recurrence

Tissue Regenix strengthens position in post-acute wound care market with Medicare coverage for Dermapure

Detailed molecular analyses reveal new treatment options for aggressive childhood leukemia

Understanding the DNA Damage Response in Innate Immunity eBook

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