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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).

Phase 1/2 clinical trial data for VAL-083 in glioblastoma is presented at 18th Annual SNO meeting

DelMar Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (OTCQB: DMPI) ("DelMar" and "DelMar Pharma") today announced the presentation of interim data from a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for VAL-083 in recurrent glioblastoma (GBM) at the 4th Quadrennial Meeting of the World Federation of Neuro-Oncology (WFNO) being held in conjunction with the 18th Annual Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) meeting in San Francisco.

25 Nov 2013

Researchers identify immune cell protein that sets off body's initial response against viral infection

A Massachusetts General Hospital-led research team has identified an immune cell protein that is critical to setting off the body's initial response against viral infection. The report that will be published in an upcoming issue of Nature Immunology and is receiving early online release describes finding that a protein called GEF-H1 is essential to the ability of macrophages - major contributors to the innate immune system - to respond to viral infections like influenza.

25 Nov 2013

Researchers identify two gene mutations associated with increased risk of eating disorders

Eating disorders are disturbing and often-heartbreaking ailments that are relatively common, mostly among younger women.

25 Nov 2013

Genetic diagnostic test for inherited eye diseases now available from Mass. Eye and Ear

The Massachusetts Eye and Ear/Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology today announced the availability of a comprehensive genetic diagnostic test for inherited eye diseases.

22 Nov 2013

Researchers study role of small non-coding RNAs expressed in the human male germline

Researchers from the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute in Barcelona, Spain, have studied the role of a peculiar class of small non-coding RNAs that are mainly expressed in the human male germline.

22 Nov 2013

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

In the beginning, Chris Hempel noticed the clumsiness. Her girls tripped over toys on the floor. Their grandfather said he couldn't teach them to pedal their tricycles. … The Hempels learned of people who called themselves citizen-scientists. Many shared research papers and their day-to-day experience. Some talked of their willingness to try any promising drug. Others sought a role as equal partners with researchers. Scientists, while sympathetic, generally believe their work should be left to experts. Families are encouraged to raise money if they want to help, but the traditional view is that amateurs can't shape research or find cures. The Hempels found a maddening gap between the search for scientific knowledge and the search for treatments (Amy Docker Marcus, 11/2013).

22 Nov 2013

Studies link hundreds of gene mutations in the brain to increased autism risk

Pity the poor autism researcher. Recent studies have linked hundreds of gene mutations scattered throughout the brain to increased autism risk. Where do you start?

22 Nov 2013

New technique can diagnose cancer with high degree of accuracy, say researchers

A team of researchers from UCLA and Harvard University have demonstrated a technique that, by measuring the physical properties of individual cells in body fluids, can diagnose cancer with a high degree of accuracy.

21 Nov 2013

Unemployed men show signs of faster ageing in their DNA

Men who are unemployed for more than two years show signs of faster ageing in their DNA, a new study has found.

21 Nov 2013

Brown University biologists find way to measure effects of aging

Biologists at Brown University have found a way to measure the effects of aging by watching the ebb and flow of chromatin, a structure along strands of DNA that either silences or permits gene expression. In several newly published experiments they show that gene silencing via chromatin in fruit flies declines with age.

21 Nov 2013

New method uses lab-on-a-chip device and cell phone to determine concentration of molecules

In developing nations, rural areas, and even one's own home, limited access to expensive equipment and trained medical professionals can impede the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

21 Nov 2013

Buck Institute research provides method to study sarcopenia

Our epigenome is a set of chemical switches that turn parts of our genome off and on at strategic times and locations. These switches help alter the way our cells act and are impacted by environmental factors including diet, exercise and stress. Research at the Buck Institute reveals that aging also effects the epigenome in human skeletal muscle. The study, appearing on line in Aging Cell, provides a method to study sarcopenia, the degenerative loss of muscle mass that begins in middle age.

21 Nov 2013

Predicting a person's tall stature from DNA is feasible, shows new study

Predicting adult body height from genetic data is helpful in several areas such as pediatric endocrinology and forensic investigations. However, despite large international efforts to catalogue the genes that influence the stature of humans, knowledge on genetic determinants of adult body height is still incomplete. Now DNA-based prediction of taller-than-average body height is feasible, as reported by researchers from the Netherlands and Sweden in an article published in Springer's journal Human Genetics

21 Nov 2013

Findings show how cancer and aging are tightly interconnected

Researchers from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth have found that epigenetic changes to DNA are associated with aging in disease-free breast tissues and are further altered in breast tumors. Epigenetic changes describe heritable alterations caused by mechanisms other than by changes in DNA sequence. The discovery, published in the February 2014 issue of Epigenetics, illustrates how cancer and aging are tightly interconnected processes by identifying epigenetic alterations present in the normal aging breast that may increase disease risk in cancer-free individuals.

21 Nov 2013

Researchers discover new human enzyme that facilitates DNA repair during DNA copying process

Every day, the human body produces new cells to regenerate tissues and repair those that have suffered injury. Each time this happens, the cells make copies of their DNA that they will pass on to the resulting daughter cells. This process of copying the DNA, also called replication, is very delicate, given that it can generate severe alterations in the DNA that are associated with malignant transformation or ageing.

21 Nov 2013

Using radiation models to improve cancer therapies: an interview with Adrian Treverton, COO of Xstrahl and Jean-Pierre Wery, President of Crown Bioscience

What we are trying to do is take a cancer model like the PDX model (patient-derived tumor xenograft), which is a human-derived cancer growing in an in vivo model and apply radiation to that model.

From Xstrahl 20 Nov 2013

DNA vaccine demonstrates potential to prevent and treat deadly MERS coronavirus

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that preclinical testing of a DNA synthetic vaccine for the virulent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS) induced robust and durable immune responses, demonstrating the potential for a SynCon DNA vaccine to prevent and treat this deadly virus.

20 Nov 2013

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Phase 1/2 clinical trial data for VAL-083 in glioblastoma is presented at 18th Annual SNO meeting

Researchers identify immune cell protein that sets off body's initial response against viral infection

Researchers identify two gene mutations associated with increased risk of eating disorders

Genetic diagnostic test for inherited eye diseases now available from Mass. Eye and Ear

Researchers study role of small non-coding RNAs expressed in the human male germline

Longer looks: Parents' crusade on rare diseases; fighting obesity; experts' view of alternative medicine

Studies link hundreds of gene mutations in the brain to increased autism risk

New technique can diagnose cancer with high degree of accuracy, say researchers

Unemployed men show signs of faster ageing in their DNA

Brown University biologists find way to measure effects of aging

New method uses lab-on-a-chip device and cell phone to determine concentration of molecules

Buck Institute research provides method to study sarcopenia

Predicting a person's tall stature from DNA is feasible, shows new study

Findings show how cancer and aging are tightly interconnected

Researchers discover new human enzyme that facilitates DNA repair during DNA copying process

Using radiation models to improve cancer therapies: an interview with Adrian Treverton, COO of Xstrahl and Jean-Pierre Wery, President of Crown Bioscience

DNA vaccine demonstrates potential to prevent and treat deadly MERS coronavirus

Parkinson's Institute, Population Diagnostics discover new genes relevant to Parkinson's disease

DNA-damaging drug and MK2 inhibitor combination could be effective against cancer

Staphylococcus Aureus Bacteria anticipates and turns immune defenses against the host

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