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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).

Four genetic variations may increase risk of colorectal cancer

An international research team co-led by cancer prevention researcher Ulrike "Riki" Peters, Ph.D., M.P.H., and biostatistician Hsu Li, Ph.D., at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has identified variations in four genes that are linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer.

21 Feb 2013

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs): an interview with Dr Marco Timmers, CSO at Synthon Biopharmaceuticals

ADCs are used for a new type of targeted therapy that consists of a specific anti-cancer antibody or antibody fragment linked to a potent anti-cancer therapeutic.

20 Feb 2013

Healthy adults with shorter telomere length more likely to develop upper respiratory infection

Among healthy adults who were administered a cold virus, those with shorter telomere length (a structure at the end of a chromosome) in certain cells were more likely to develop experimentally-induced upper respiratory infection than participants with longer telomeres, according to results of preliminary research published in the February 20 issue of JAMA.

20 Feb 2013

Researchers analyze more than 60 brands of cheese available in supermarkets for pollutants

Researchers at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain) have analysed more than 60 brands of cheese commonly available in supermarkets. The concentration of organochloride contaminants in the majority of the samples was lower than levels set by European legislation, but in a few cases it was higher.

20 Feb 2013

Surveying the landscape from bench to bedside

The Obama administration is planning a decade-long scientific effort to examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics.

20 Feb 2013

CINJ researcher receives PCF grant for study on lung cancer detection and prevention

Sharon Pine, PhD, a researcher at The Cancer Institute of New Jersey and assistant professor of medicine at the University of Medicine of Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School has been awarded a two-year, $80,000 dollar research grant from the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

20 Feb 2013

UCLA plays a vital role in ongoing research into Rasmussen encephalitis

How do you find a cure for a devastating pediatric brain disease so rare that it can take decades to build a meaningful research base? In 2010, the parents of a patient created the Rasmussen Encephalitis (RE) Children's Project to help solve this problem. In a short amount of time, the foundation has raised funds to establish a consortium of top researchers, build a collection of samples of the disease from around the world and support projects to study the disease tissue and search for genetic links. The goal is to find a cure.

20 Feb 2013

Experts identify new gene responsible for spinal meningioma

Genetic medicine experts from Manchester Biomedical Research Centre at Saint Mary's Hospital and The University of Manchester have identified a new gene responsible for causing an inherited form of tumour, known as spinal meningioma.

From The University of Manchester 19 Feb 2013

Tranylcypromine may also hold promise in treating sickle cell disease

An antidepressant drug used since the 1960s may also hold promise for treating sickle cell disease, according to a surprising new finding made in mice and human red blood cells by a team from the University of Michigan Medical School.

19 Feb 2013

First Edition: February 19, 2013

Kaiser Health News staff writer Jay Hancock, working in collaboration with The Philadelphia Inquirer, reports: "Computer mistakes like the one that produced incorrect prescriptions for thousands of Rhode Island patients are probably far more common and dangerous than the Obama administration wants you to believe, says Drexel University's Dr. Scot Silverstein."

19 Feb 2013

Article details mechanism by which long non-coding RNA-activators promote gene expression

Long segments of RNA- encoded in our DNA but not translated into protein-are key to physically manipulating DNA in order to activate certain genes, say researchers at The Wistar Institute. These non-coding RNA-activators (ncRNA-a) have a crucial role in turning genes on and off during early embryonic development, researchers say, and have also been connected with diseases, including some cancers, in adults.

18 Feb 2013

Dietary impacts, health changes and oral pathogen genomic evolution

DNA preserved in calcified bacteria on the teeth of ancient human skeletons has shed light on the health consequences of the evolving diet and behaviour from the Stone Age to the modern day.

18 Feb 2013

Two studies discover new enzyme that acts as a sensor of innate immunity

Two studies by researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center could lead to new treatments for lupus and other autoimmune diseases and strengthen current therapies for viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections.

16 Feb 2013

Researchers create new ultra-sensitive tool for chemical, DNA and protein analysis

Utilizing optical characteristics first demonstrated by the ancient Romans, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created a novel, ultra-sensitive tool for chemical, DNA, and protein analysis.

16 Feb 2013

'Vaccine patch' could make immunizations cheaper, easier

"An innovative new way to deliver vaccines could drastically improve the health of the third world, and even the first world, by making vaccines cheaper and easier to distribute and use," Business Insider reports, adding, "The 'vaccine patch' would be as easy to apply as a Band-Aid, and would be stable for weeks at room temperature."

16 Feb 2013

Spherical nucleic acids could revolutionize biomedicine

Northwestern University's Chad A. Mirkin, a world-renowned leader in nanotechnology research and its application, has invented and developed a powerful material that could revolutionize biomedicine: spherical nucleic acids (SNAs).

16 Feb 2013

IKBKE gene plays a key role in tobacco-induced lung cancer

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center have found a potential targeted therapy for patients with tobacco-associated non-small cell lung cancer. It is based on the newly identified oncogene IKBKE, which helps regulate immune response.

16 Feb 2013

Researchers discover SCANR that helps protect a cell's genes against DNA interlopers

Gene wars rage inside our cells, with invading DNA regularly threatening to subvert our human blueprint. Now, building on Nobel-Prize-winning findings, UC San Francisco researchers have discovered a molecular machine that helps protect a cell's genes against these DNA interlopers.

15 Feb 2013

Researchers show how gene mutations shift and evolve over time in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Tumors are not factories for the mass production of identical cancer cells, but are, in reality, patchworks of cells with different patterns of gene mutations. In a new study, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute show, more fully than ever before, how these mutations shift and evolve over time in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) - providing a strobe-like look at the genetic past, present, and future of CLL tumors.

15 Feb 2013

Cardinal Health announces plans to acquire AssuraMed

Cardinal Health today announced plans to acquire privately held AssuraMed, a leading provider of medical supplies to patients in the home, for $2.07 billion, or $1.94 billion, net of the present value of tax benefits.

15 Feb 2013