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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).

Scientists discover why cerebellar granule cell neurons in A-T patients fail to repair DNA damage

A team of scientists, led by Stuart Lipton, M.D., Ph.D., professor and director of the Neuroscience and Aging Research Center at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, recently discovered why cerebellar granule cell neurons in patients suffering from ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) were unable to repair DNA damage and thus died.

26 Mar 2014

Endogenous tissue growth: an interview with Laurent Grandidier, CEO, Xeltis

ETG or Endogenous Tissue Growth is a new therapeutic category in which surgeons use implants designed to allow the body to repair itself by spontaneously growing natural, healthy tissue from the inside without the use of stem cells or animal-derived products.

25 Mar 2014

Study shows how transcription factor p73 promotes process of producing fertile sperm

The process of producing high-quality, fertile sperm requires many steps. A study in The Journal of Cell Biology shows how the transcription factor p73 promotes this process by regulating the adhesions between developing sperm and their support cells.

25 Mar 2014

Not all doctors offer cancer gene testing to patients, study finds

Many cancer researchers believe that cutting-edge advances in genomics will pave the way for personalized or "precision" cancer medicine for all patients in the near future. A new study by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, however, suggest that not all doctors are ready to embrace tests that look for hundreds of DNA changes in patients' tumor samples, while others plan to offer this type of cancer gene testing to most of their patients.

25 Mar 2014

Scientist receives $275,000 grant to study human papillomavirus that causes head and neck cancer

Basic scientists focus on understanding how things work, so most don't get the chance to directly impact other people's lives. That's why Michelle Ozbun, PhD, is very excited about her recent grant to study human papillomavirus.

25 Mar 2014

Study suggest that women are resistant to mutations that contribute to autism

It takes more mutations to trigger autism in women than in men, which may explain why men are four times more likely to have the disorder, according to a study published 26 February in the American Journal of Human Genetics1.

25 Mar 2014

Faster DNA sequencing techniques more likely to improve care for patients with breast cancer

Faster and cheaper DNA sequencing techniques will likely improve care for patients with breast cancer but also create challenges for clinicians as they counsel patients on their treatment options.

25 Mar 2014

Treatment with natalizumab in patients with MS appears linked with JC virus infection

Treatment with natalizumab in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) appears linked with JC virus (JCV) infection, which can lead to a rare and often fatal demyelinating disease of the central nervous system called progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) that destroys the myelin that protects nerve cells.

25 Mar 2014

CSP analogues may attenuate S. pneumoniae virulence, resistance

The spread of virulent, antibiotic-resistant strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae may be controllable through the use of competence-stimulating peptide analogues, US researchers believe.

24 Mar 2014

Cell-free DNA analysis allows noninvasive tumour genotype monitoring

Noninvasive tumour genotyping using cell-free plasma DNA analysis is feasible, say US researchers who believe the technique will aid patient diagnosis and monitoring.

24 Mar 2014

Rexahn provides updates on clinical development programs, reports full-year 2013 financial results

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing best-in-class therapeutics for the treatment of cancer, is providing an overview of its three clinical development programs and Year for the year ended December 31, 2013.

24 Mar 2014

Study examines events that lead to sepsis by Streptococcus pneumoniae

An international team of academics, including Professor Marco Oggioni from the University of Leicester's Department of Genetics, has studied how localised infections can turn into the dangerous systematic disease sepsis - and has identified for the first time through genetic evidence that a single bacteria could be the cause.

24 Mar 2014

DUF1220 protein domain also linked to severity of autism

The same gene family that may have helped the human brain become larger and more complex than in any other animal also is linked to the severity of autism, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.

24 Mar 2014

Drugs fail to "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells

Scientists at Johns Hopkins report that compounds they hoped would "wake up" dormant reservoirs of HIV inside immune system T cells - a strategy designed to reverse latency and make the cells vulnerable to destruction - have failed to do so in laboratory tests of such white blood cells taken directly from patients infected with HIV.

24 Mar 2014

Taiho Pharmaceutical obtains approval in Japan for anticancer drug Lonsurf

Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Tokyo, President: Masayuki Kobayashi) announced on March 24 that it has obtained approval in Japan from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to manufacture and market the oral combination anticancer drug "Lonsurf(R) combination tablet T15, T20" (nonproprietary names: trifluridine and tipiracil hydrochloride; development code: TAS-102), for the treatment of patients with unresectable advanced or recurrent colorectal cancer (only if refractory to standard therapies).

24 Mar 2014

Climate change could increase death rates in London and southeast England, scientists predict

Warmer summers brought on by climate change will cause more deaths in London and southeast England than the rest of the country, scientists predict.

24 Mar 2014

Viewpoints: Predictions of rising premiums in 2015; anniversary of health law

No one challenges reality like Kathleen Sebelius, who assured the world on Sept. 30, 2013 that the Affordable Care Act website would be open for business the next day. "We're very excited about tomorrow," Sebelius said. "Shutdown or no shutdown, we're ready to go."

24 Mar 2014

Study: Mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer

A new study indicates that a commonly used mood stabilizing drug may help prevent head and neck cancer. The study is published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

24 Mar 2014

Rare abnormality in chromosomes increases risk of rare childhood leukaemia

Researchers have found that people born with a rare abnormality of their chromosomes have a 2,700-fold increased risk of a rare childhood leukaemia. In this abnormality, two specific chromosomes are fused together but become prone to catastrophic shattering.

24 Mar 2014

Scientists explore link between SCN10A and cardiac arrhythmia risk

Although genome-wide association studies have linked DNA variants in the gene SCN10A with increased risk for cardiac arrhythmia, efforts to determine the gene's direct influence on the heart's electrical activity have been unproductive. Now, scientists from the University of Chicago have discovered that these SCN10A variants regulate the function of a different gene, SCN5A, which appears to be the primary gene responsible for cardiac arrhythmia risk.

21 Mar 2014