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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).

Non-invasive prenatal testing can detect maternal cancer at early stage

Non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) for chromosomal foetal disorders is used increasingly to test for conditions such as Down's syndrome. NIPT examines DNA from the foetus in the mother's blood, and therefore does not carry the risk of miscarriage involved in invasive testing methods.

7 Jun 2015

New Tel Aviv University research introduces promising new tool to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens

At its annual assembly in Geneva last week, the World Health Organization approved a radical and far-reaching plan to slow the rapid, extensive spread of antibiotic resistance around the world. The plan hopes to curb the rise caused by an unchecked use of antibiotics and lack of new antibiotics on the market.

5 Jun 2015

Scientists identify new agent to combat tuberculosis

According to figures of the World Health Organization, some 8.7 million people contracted tuberculosis in 2012 and this disease is fatal for approximately 1.3 million people throughout the world each year. One of the main problems is that the tuberculosis pathogens have become resistant to the antibiotics used to fight them.

5 Jun 2015

Finding could help researchers develop new methods to prevent cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease

The process that allows our brains to learn and generate new memories also leads to degeneration as we age, according to a new study by researchers at MIT.

5 Jun 2015

PQBP1 protein could improve body's immune response to HIV vaccines

In a scientific discovery that has significant implications for preventing HIV infections, researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute have identified a protein that could improve the body's immune response to HIV vaccines and prevent transmission of the virus.

5 Jun 2015

University of Chicago scientists develop new technique to accurately measure epigenetic changes

One of the most widely used tools in epigenetics research - the study of how DNA packaging affects gene expression - is chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP), a technique that allows researchers to examine interactions between specific proteins and genomic regions. However, ChIP is a relative measurement, and has significant limitations that can lead to errors, poor reproducibility and an inability to be compared between experiments.

4 Jun 2015

Steven Schiff wins NIH Director's Pioneer Award to reduce infant deaths from neonatal sepsis

Steven Schiff, professor of neurosurgery and Brush Chair Professor of Engineering in Engineering Science and Mechanics, has received a $4.1 million National Institutes of Health Director's Pioneer Award, for research aimed at reducing the number of infant deaths from neonatal sepsis in developing countries by identifying the roots of infection, from season of birth to home environment.

4 Jun 2015

Novel strategy shows aptamer-based modular delivery of microRNA in endothelial, breast cancer cells

Researchers have shown that a novel delivery strategy can efficiently introduce a functional microRNA that has anti-cancer and angiogenic activities into two different types of cells--breast cancer cells to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis, and cells that line blood vessels to protect against atherosclerosis.

4 Jun 2015

Scientists make breakthrough in schizophrenia research

An international team of scientists led by Cardiff University researchers has provided the strongest evidence yet of what causes schizophrenia - a condition that affects around 1% of the global population.

4 Jun 2015

Roche announces FDA 510(k) clearance for cobas HSV 1 and 2 Test

Roche announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration has provided 510(k) clearance for the cobas HSV 1 and 2 Test for the direct detection and differentiation of HSV-1 and HSV-2 DNA in anogenital specimens from symptomatic patients. With dual target detection and automation, the cobas HSV 1 and 2 Test provides laboratories with the capability to report up to 94 results in significantly less time than traditional methods and provides a simplified workflow for sample handling in the laboratory.

4 Jun 2015

New JIC research helps to settle important debate on epigenetic inheritance

New research findings by John Innes Centre scientists have helped to settle an important debate in the field of epigenetic inheritance. Using the flowering plant Arabidopsis thaliana as a model for their research, Professor Martin Howard, Professor Caroline Dean and members of their labs, have been trying to understand how organisms 'remember' past events at the cellular level.

4 Jun 2015

U of T researchers uncover new insights on genetic causes of ALS

Researchers at the University of Toronto have uncovered new insights on the genetic causes of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. These findings could uncover a new way to detect a genetic predisposition to ALS before the disease strikes.

4 Jun 2015

Scientists produce strongest evidence yet of schizophrenia’s causes

3 Jun 2015

Scientists identify novel mechanism that can reorganize cell's genetic architecture to promote senescence

Senescence, a phenomenon in which cells cease to divide and grow, can be caused by everything from natural DNA damage to treatment with chemotherapy. However, several mechanisms allow for cells to bypass senescence and grow out of control, eventually becoming cancerous.

3 Jun 2015

Researchers transform bacteria into 'secret agents' for detecting disease

Another step forward has just been taken in the area of synthetic biology. Research teams from Inserm and CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research) Montpellier, in association with Montpellier Regional University Hospital and Stanford University, have transformed bacteria into "secret agents" that can give warning of a disease based solely on the presence of characteristic molecules in the urine or blood. To perform this feat, the researchers inserted the equivalent of a computer programme into the DNA of the bacterial cells.

3 Jun 2015

Childhood trauma increases vulnerability to different health problems in later life

Long-term changes in immune function caused by childhood trauma could explain increased vulnerability to a range of health problems in later life, according to new research by the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience at King's College London and the NIHR Maudsley BRC.

3 Jun 2015

New finding may lead to development of immunity-based therapies for tuberculosis

A study by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center has identified how an enzyme involved in protecting the body from pathogens senses Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB), a bacterial pathogen that infects millions of people worldwide and causes about 1.5 million deaths annually.

2 Jun 2015

DNA Therapeutics to present DT01 phase 1/2a trial results at ASCO 2015

DNA Therapeutics, a private biopharmaceutical company developing DT01, a first-in-class clinical pan DNA repair inhibitor to treat tumors resistant to conventional treatments, will today present the results of the first-in-man phase 1/2a trial of DT01 in combination with radiation therapy in patients with cutaneous metastatic melanoma.

2 Jun 2015

Intermountain Precision Genomics: Precision medicine can benefit advanced cancer patients without increasing costs

Two new studies conducted by Intermountain Healthcare’s Intermountain Precision Genomics reveal that precision medicine can improve survival in advanced cancer patients – and do so without increasing costs.

2 Jun 2015

Phase 2 results from Abbvie’s veliparib study in NSCLC presented at ASCO 2015

AbbVie, a global biopharmaceutical company, today announced findings from a Phase 2 study of the investigational medicine veliparib combined with the chemotherapy regimen carboplatin and paclitaxel that showed an improvement in median progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with previously untreated metastatic or advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who are current smokers.

2 Jun 2015

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Non-invasive prenatal testing can detect maternal cancer at early stage

New Tel Aviv University research introduces promising new tool to combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens

Scientists identify new agent to combat tuberculosis

Finding could help researchers develop new methods to prevent cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease

PQBP1 protein could improve body's immune response to HIV vaccines

University of Chicago scientists develop new technique to accurately measure epigenetic changes

Steven Schiff wins NIH Director's Pioneer Award to reduce infant deaths from neonatal sepsis

Novel strategy shows aptamer-based modular delivery of microRNA in endothelial, breast cancer cells

Scientists make breakthrough in schizophrenia research

Roche announces FDA 510(k) clearance for cobas HSV 1 and 2 Test

New JIC research helps to settle important debate on epigenetic inheritance

U of T researchers uncover new insights on genetic causes of ALS

Scientists produce strongest evidence yet of schizophrenia’s causes

Scientists identify novel mechanism that can reorganize cell's genetic architecture to promote senescence

Researchers transform bacteria into 'secret agents' for detecting disease

Childhood trauma increases vulnerability to different health problems in later life

New finding may lead to development of immunity-based therapies for tuberculosis

DNA Therapeutics to present DT01 phase 1/2a trial results at ASCO 2015

Intermountain Precision Genomics: Precision medicine can benefit advanced cancer patients without increasing costs

Phase 2 results from Abbvie’s veliparib study in NSCLC presented at ASCO 2015

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