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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).

New facts provide baseline for future studies of epigenome's role in human development, diseases

While genomics is the study of all of the genes in a cell or organism, epigenomics is the study of all the genomic add-ons and changes that influence gene expression but aren't encoded in the DNA sequence. A variety of new epigenomic information is now available in a collection of studies published Feb. 19 in Nature by the National Institutes of Health Roadmap Epigenomics Program.

19 Feb 2015

UCSD researchers make new attempt to develop malaria vaccine candidate

Researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine used algae as a mini-factory to produce a malaria parasite protein. The algae-produced protein, paired with an immune-boosting cocktail suitable for use in humans, generated antibodies in mice that nearly eliminated mosquito infection by the malaria parasite.

19 Feb 2015

Lupus Research Institute announces this year's Novel Research Grants

As the Lupus Research Institute celebrates its 15th anniversary, the engine of innovation moves forward at accelerated speed with the announcement of this year's Novel Research Grants bringing new talent from a wide diversity of specialties. Each project lives up to the strictest definition of novel – wholly original, never-been-done-before.

19 Feb 2015

TDF monotherapy ‘reasonable’ option in entecavir-resistant HBV

Researchers from the Republic of Korea have found that the efficacy of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate monotherapy is comparable to that of TDF plus entecavir in chronic hepatitis B patients with genotypic resistance to entecavir.

18 Feb 2015

Long-term TDF ‘promising’ in Chinese HBV patients after multiple antiviral failures

Long-term tenofovir disoproxil fumarate therapy is effective in Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection who have relapsed after treatment with multiple nucleos(t)ide analogues, research suggests.

18 Feb 2015

First comprehensive maps and analyses of human epigenomes revealed

Two dozen scientific papers published online simultaneously on Feb. 18, 2015 present the first comprehensive maps and analyses of the epigenomes of a wide array of human cell and tissue types. Epigenomes are patterns of chemical annotations to the genome that determine whether, how, and when genes are activated.

18 Feb 2015

Facts about precision medicine

President Barack Obama is requesting an increase of $215 million in the 2016 federal budget to launch the Precision Medicine Initiative. This boost in funding for research will give genetic causes of cancer a national focus specifically around precision or "personalized" treatments for cancer in the future.

18 Feb 2015

Caris Life Sciences announces record-setting revenue for 2014

Caris Life Sciences, a leading biosciences company focused on fulfilling the promise of precision medicine, today announced select year-end financial and operational results for 2014, which include record-setting revenue and continued case volume growth for its panomic, comprehensive tumor profiling service, Caris Molecular Intelligence.

18 Feb 2015

Researchers show importance of DNA damage in fine tuning of innate immune system

For the first time scientists from Umeå University show the importance of DNA damage in fine tuning of our innate immune system and hence the ability to mount the optimal inflammatory response to infections and other biological dangers.

18 Feb 2015

Research may lead to future medical treatments for children with neurodevelopmental problems

Children born with a DNA abnormality on chromosome 16 already linked to neurodevelopmental problems show measurable delays in processing sound and language, says a study team of radiologists and psychologists.

18 Feb 2015

Fetal exposure to drugs can cause neurological problems

Research suggests that fetal exposure to chemicals or drugs can cause neurological problems. Babies whose mothers take the epilepsy drug valporic acid (VPA) during pregnancy, for example, appear to have an elevated risk of developing an autism spectrum disorder.

18 Feb 2015

Cabazitaxel therapy may be more effective in treating prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer for men in the United States. Only one class of chemotherapy called taxanes is effective against the disease.

17 Feb 2015

TNF signaling molecule triggers Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis

Cells lining the intestinal tract form a critical barrier, protecting our bodies from the billions of bacteria living in the gut. Breaches in this barrier are driven largely by a single signaling molecule called tumor necrosis factor (TNF), elevated amounts of which are associated with inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

17 Feb 2015

Study shows link between autoimmune diseases and gene regulatory elements

Investigators with the National Institutes of Health have discovered the genomic switches of a blood cell key to regulating the human immune system.

17 Feb 2015

Bacteria's DNA can pass trait to offspring in a way similar to parents' own DNA

It's a firmly established fact straight from Biology 101: Traits such as eye color and height are passed from one generation to the next through the parents' DNA.

17 Feb 2015

Research: 14% of cerebral palsy cases are linked to genetic mutation

An international research group led by a team at the University of Adelaide has made what they believe could be the biggest discovery into cerebral palsy in 20 years.

17 Feb 2015

Wistar researchers identify new therapeutic target for aggressive form of ovarian cancer

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all cancers affecting the female reproductive system with very few effective treatments available. Prognosis is even worse among patients with certain subtypes of the disease. Now, researchers at The Wistar Institute have identified a new therapeutic target in a particularly aggressive form of ovarian cancer, paving the way for what could be the first effective targeted therapy of its kind for the disease.

16 Feb 2015

New study finds promising target for future therapies to treat breast and ovarian cancer patients

The Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of the drug olaparib for ovarian cancer patients with inherited mutations in the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2 came as welcome news to the thousands of women now eligible to receive it. A new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists indicates that the pool of patients who can benefit from the drug is potentially much wider - and offers a ready means of identifying them.

16 Feb 2015

Tissue and cell diagnostics market reaches $7.7 billion in 2014

With fast and effective testing techniques, the tissue and cell diagnostics market was estimated to have reached $7.7 billion in 2014 for in vitro diagnostic (IVD) and other reagents used by clinical laboratories, according to Kalorama Information.

16 Feb 2015

Discovery offers much needed information about how virulent insect-borne diseases cause infection

For decades, scientists have thought the bacteria that cause the bubonic plague hijack host cells at the site of a fleabite and are then taken to the lymph nodes, where the bacteria multiply and trigger severe disease. But UNC School of Medicine researchers discovered that this accepted theory is off base. The bacteria do not use host cells; they traffic to lymph nodes on their own and not in great numbers.

16 Feb 2015