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).

Rob Knight wins Creative Promise Prize in Biomedical Science

Rob Knight was named winner of a Creative Promise Prize in Biomedical Science for his groundbreaking research on microbial communities and the development of computational tools that honed the analysis of microbial data.

12 Apr 2015

New combination therapy holds promise for treating HER2-positive breast cancer

Resistance to therapy is a major problem in the cancer field. Even when a treatment initially works, the tumors often find ways around the therapy.

10 Apr 2015

Subpopulation of tumor cells make melanoma aggressive

KU Leuven researchers have zeroed in on what makes cancer cells in melanoma so aggressive. They also succeeded in taming the effect in cell cultures.

10 Apr 2015

New automated tool rapidly delivers large particles into mammalian cells

A new device developed by UCLA engineers and doctors eventually help scientists study the development of disease, enable them to capture improved images of the inside of cells and lead to other improvements in medical and biological research.

10 Apr 2015

Stem cell disease model reveals how tumor suppressor may drive bone cancer

Using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), a team led by Mount Sinai researchers has gained new insight into genetic changes that may turn a well known anti-cancer signaling gene into a driver of risk for bone cancers, where the survival rate has not improved in 40 years despite treatment advances.

10 Apr 2015

Challenges involved in tracing the source of Legionnaires’ disease outbreak

Genetic research helps to explain why tracing the source of an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease that claimed four lives has proven to be more complicated than scientists hoped.

10 Apr 2015

Researchers use new gene editing tool to cut HIV DNA

The virus that causes AIDS is an efficient and crafty retrovirus. Once HIV inserts its DNA into the genome of its host cells, it has a long incubation period, and can remain dormant and hidden for years.

10 Apr 2015

Research opens door to potential drug target for deadly Ebola virus

Opening the door to potential treatments for the deadly Ebola virus, scientists have found that a protein made by the virus plays a role similar to that of a coat-check attendant.

9 Apr 2015

Shorter individuals at greater risk of heart disease

In a study of more than 200,000 people with or without heart disease, researchers from the University of Leicester found that for every 2.5 inch decrease in a person’s height, the risk of coronary heart disease increased by 13.5%...

9 Apr 2015

Study suggests that pancreatic cancers harbor genetic alterations

A genetic analysis led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggests that most pancreatic cancers harbor genetic alterations that could be targeted by existing drugs, using their genetic features as a roadmap for treatment. The findings support a precision approach to treating pancreatic cancer, the fourth most deadly cancer for both men and women.

9 Apr 2015

University of York scientists use low temperature plasmas to treat prostate cancer

Scientists at the University of York have discovered a potential new treatment for prostate cancer using low temperature plasmas (LTPs).

9 Apr 2015

UAB scientists create alternative to the use of viruses in gene therapy

A team of scientists from the Institute for Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the UAB has produced an alternative to the use of viruses in gene therapy. The researchers synthesised nanoparticles which act as artificial viruses, capable of surrounding DNA fragments and releasing them as therapeutic agents, with no biological risk, into the interior of the cells.

9 Apr 2015

Humans carry recessive disease mutations that can cause severe genetic disorders or prenatal death

Humans carry an average of one to two mutations per person that can cause severe genetic disorders or prenatal death when two copies of the same mutation are inherited, according to estimates published today in the journal GENETICS.

9 Apr 2015

Vanderbilt researchers join multi-center effort to accelerate development of potential Ebola therapy

Vanderbilt University researchers have joined a multi-center effort led by Pennsylvania-based Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. to accelerate development of potential antibody therapies against the often-lethal Ebola virus.

9 Apr 2015

Clearer understanding of ORC offers new insight into fundamental DNA replication initiation mechanisms

A clearer understanding of the origin recognition complex (ORC) - a protein complex that directs DNA replication - through its crystal structure offers new insight into fundamental mechanisms of DNA replication initiation. This will also provide insight into how ORC may be compromised in a subset of patients with Meier-Gorlin syndrome, a form of dwarfism in humans.

9 Apr 2015

Mobidiag announces CE-IVD marking and launching of Amplidiag C. difficile+027 test

Mobidiag Ltd, a Finnish molecular diagnostics company specialized in the development of innovative diagnostics solutions for infectious diseases, today announced the launch of Amplidiag C. difficile+027, a qualitative qPCR-based test performed from DNA extracted from stool in suspected cases of C. difficile infection (CDI).

9 Apr 2015

Changes in height can affect risk of coronary heart disease

The shorter you are- the more your risk of coronary heart disease. That's the key finding of a new study led by the University of Leicester which discovered that every 2.5 inches change in your height affected your risk of coronary heart disease by 13.5%. For example, compared to a 5ft 6inch tall person, a 5 foot tall person on average has a 32% higher risk of coronary heart disease because of their relatively shorter stature.

8 Apr 2015

Study suggests possibility of developing personalized treatments for brain cancer

DNA mutations can cause cancer but in some cases, more mutations may mean a better prognosis for patients. A Yale-led comprehensive genomic analysis of more than 700 brain tumors has revealed one such subtype of the most malignant brain tumor, called glioblastoma, or GBM. This subtype possesses thousands of tumor-specific DNA errors or mutations instead of dozens observed in most glioblastoma cases. It is also associated with longer survival.

8 Apr 2015

Experimental oligonucleotide-based drug stimulates human immune system to fight infections

An experimental single-stranded oligonucleotide-based drug, MGN1703, comprised only of natural DNA components, stimulates the human immune system to fight infections and attack cancer cells without causing the harmful side effects associated with similar compounds that also contain non-natural DNA components.

8 Apr 2015

New blood test may more accurately identify biomarkers for Parkinson's disease

A new blood test may more accurately identify blood signatures, or biomarkers, for Parkinson's disease (PD), according to a new study published in the journal Movement Disorders.

7 Apr 2015