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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).

Microbiologists discover how the spread of antibiotic resistance works in pneumococcus

Antibiotic resistance results from bacteria's uncanny ability to morph and adapt, outwitting pharmaceuticals that are supposed to kill them. But exactly how the bacteria acquire and spread that resistance inside individuals carrying them is not well-established for most bacterial organisms.

22 Nov 2012

Methylome modifications offer new measure of a person's biological age

Women live longer than men. Individuals can appear or feel years younger - or older - than their chronological age. Diseases can affect our aging process. When it comes to biology, our clocks clearly tick differently.

22 Nov 2012

Obesity and oxidative stress: an interview with Dr Elizabeth New

Even though oxygen is essential for us to live, it can react with other compounds in the body to produce molecules called free radicals, which are highly reactive and damaging.

22 Nov 2012

Human Food Project, University of Colorado Boulder launch American Gut

Ever wondered who is living in your gut, and what they're doing? The trillions of microbial partners in and on our bodies outnumber our own cells by as many as 10 to 1 and do all sorts of important jobs, from helping digest the food we eat this Thanksgiving to building up our immune systems.

22 Nov 2012

Study provides new insight into human cognitive function and risk for neurological diseases

Short snippets of DNA found in human brain tissue provide new insight into human cognitive function and risk for developing certain neurological diseases, according to researchers from the Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The findings are published in the November 20th issue of PLoS Biology.

22 Nov 2012

Kidney tumors may be smarter than previously thought

New research has found there are several different ways that kidney tumours can achieve the same result - namely, grow.

22 Nov 2012

Acetylon's ective histone deacetylase inhibitors to be showcased at 54th ASH annual meeting

Acetylon Pharmaceuticals Inc., a leader in targeted epigenetic drug discovery and development for enhanced therapeutic outcomes, today announced that its selective histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors will be featured in five posters and one oral presentation at the 54th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), taking place December 8-11, 2012, in Atlanta, Georgia.

21 Nov 2012

Certain mutated cells continue DNA replication process even after drug treatment

Certain mutated cells keep trying to replicate their DNA - with disastrous results - even after medications rob them of the raw materials to do so, according to new research from USC.

21 Nov 2012

Small non-coding RNA715 plays an important role in regulating myelin formation in the CNS

Scientists at the Mainz University Medical Center have discovered another molecule that plays an important role in regulating myelin formation in the central nervous system.

21 Nov 2012

Synthetic membrane channels can be constructed through DNA nanotechnology

As reported in the journal Science, physicists at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and the University of Michigan have shown that synthetic membrane channels can be constructed through "DNA nanotechnology."

21 Nov 2012

New genetic evidence about why some people are happier than others

Researchers at McMaster University have discovered new genetic evidence about why some people are happier than others.

20 Nov 2012

Scientists identify two genetic risk factors for sagittal craniosynostosis

Seattle Children's Research Institute, together with an international team of scientists and clinicians from 22 other institutions, have identified two genetic risk factors for the most common form of non-syndromic craniosynostosis, a birth defect in which the bony plates of an infant's skull prematurely fuse. The condition is known as sagittal craniosynostosis and often results in an abnormal head shape and facial features.

20 Nov 2012

New fiber-optic device can deliver light to the brain in 3D

A new tool for neuroscientists delivers a thousand pinpricks of light to a chunk of gray matter smaller than a sugar cube. The new fiber-optic device, created by biologists and engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, is the first tool that can deliver precise points of light to a 3-D section of living brain tissue. The work is a step forward for a relatively new but promising technique that uses gene therapy to turn individual brain cells on and off with light.

19 Nov 2012

Biomolecular imaging: an interview with Professor Roger Reddel

The reason Children’s Medical Research Institute (CMRI) exists is to find ways to treat or prevent childhood disease. Our research programs are focussed on the areas of cancer cell growth, nerve cell signalling, embryology and gene therapy. These four programs have a shared aim of translating novel findings into new treatments for the benefit of families everywhere.

19 Nov 2012

Abacus Diagnostica’s GenomEra C. difficile assay receives CE mark

Abacus Diagnostica Ltd announced that it has received the CE mark for the GenomEra C. difficile assay for the detection of toxin-producing Clostridium difficile directly from stool samples. C. difficile is the leading cause of infectious nosocomial diarrhea in Europe and North America.

19 Nov 2012

Induced-pluripotent stem cells not as genetically unstable as previously thought

Stanford University School of Medicine scientists have demonstrated, in a study conducted jointly with researchers at Yale University, that induced-pluripotent stem cells - the embryonic-stem-cell lookalikes whose discovery a few years ago won this year's Nobel Prize in medicine - are not as genetically unstable as was thought.

19 Nov 2012

Two genetic factors strongly associated with non-syndromic sagittal craniosynostosis

An international team of geneticists, pediatricians, surgeons and epidemiologists from 23 institutions across three continents has identified two areas of the human genome associated with the most common form of non-syndromic craniosynostosis ― premature closure of the bony plates of the skull.

18 Nov 2012

New England Biolabs launches new NEBNext Ultra kits at ASHG annual meeting

New England Biolabs, Inc. launched their new NEBNext "Ultra" kits at the recent American Society for Human Genetics annual meeting.

From New England Biolabs 17 Nov 2012

Researchers discover health similarities between humans and pigs

An international scientific collaboration that includes two Kansas State University researchers is bringing home the bacon when it comes to potential animal and human health advancements, thanks to successfully mapping the genome of the domestic pig.

17 Nov 2012

Possible link between mind wandering and aging

Scientific studies have suggested that a wandering mind indicates unhappiness, whereas a mind that is present in the moment indicates well-being. Now, a preliminary UCSF study suggests a possible link between mind wandering and aging, by looking at a biological measure of longevity.

17 Nov 2012