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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).

Study finds new regulator for heart formation

A new regulator for heart formation has been discovered by studying how embryonic stem cells adjust the packaging of their DNA. This approach to finding genetic regulators, the scientists say, may have the power to provide insight into the development of any tissue in the body - liver, brain, blood and so on.

28 Sep 2012

NCI-funded sequencing project aims to identify genetic links to colorectal cancer

Uncovering colon cancer's genetic roots is the focus of a new $13 million, four-year, National Cancer Institute-funded project at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Ulrike (Riki) Peters, Ph.D., M.P.H., a member of the Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division, will lead the effort. She and her colleagues will use next-generation sequencing, a technique that captures entire genome sequences, to identify genetic links to colorectal cancer.

27 Sep 2012

Increasing doses of radium chloride effective, tolerated in prostate cancer

Radium chloride treatment has dose-dependent beneficial effects on health outcomes in patients with castration-resistant prostate cancer and bone metastases, report researchers.

26 Sep 2012

New cervical cancer screening test introduced in El Salvador

"A new way to screen poor women for cervical cancer was introduced this month in El Salvador, using a test that was originally developed in China," the New York Times reports.

26 Sep 2012

Study finds four different subtypes of breast cancer

In a study published by the journal Nature on Sunday, scientists evaluated breast cancer from a genetic perspective and found distinct genetic differences in patients' tumors. The results of the research point to the fact that analyzing genetics is not only helpful for cancer research, but imperative. Based on the study, scientists conclude that breast cancer can be broken down into four different subtypes.

26 Sep 2012

k-MITOMI device can simultaneously measure up to 768 biomolecular interactions

Inside our cells, molecules are constantly binding and separating from one another. It's this game of constant flux that drives gene expression asides essentially every other biological process.

26 Sep 2012

New computer program predicts most stable structures of nanometer-sized collagen

The human body is proficient at making collagen. And human laboratories are getting better at it all the time. In a development that could lead to better drug design and new treatments for disease, Rice University researchers have made a major step toward synthesizing custom collagen. Rice scientists who have learned how to make collagen - the fibrous protein that binds cells together into organs and tissues - are now digging into its molecular structure to see how it forms and interacts with biological systems.

26 Sep 2012

OncoSec establishes UW as second enrolling site for OMS-I100 Phase II metastatic melanoma trial

OncoSec Medical Inc., a company developing its advanced-stage ImmunoPulse DNA-based immunotherapy and NeoPulse therapy to treat solid tumor cancers, announced that it has established the University of Washington (UW) as the second enrolling site for its Phase II metastatic melanoma clinical trial (OMS-I100).

25 Sep 2012

Researchers discover path to identify why genetic variants increase breast cancer risk

Cancer researchers studying 44 known genetic variants associated with breast cancer have found the way to identify why they increase cancer risk, opening the door to future therapeutic applications based on personalized medicine.

25 Sep 2012

Male BMI effects embryo quality, IVF outcome

Male body mass index influences pregnancy outcome in couples undergoing in vitro fertilization through its effect on embryo quality rather than on sperm parameters, report researchers.

24 Sep 2012

Study on epigenetics link of PTSD and respiratory disease in 9/11 responders

The "Epigenetics Link of PTSD and Respiratory Disease in 9/11 Responders" study is the first to investigate the association between genetic changes and the development of both conditions in the 9/11 responder patient population. Approximately 500 patients treated at the LI-CCE for both conditions will be evaluated during the two-year study.

24 Sep 2012

Researchers identify gene linked to common cause of lower back pain

Researchers at King's College London have for the first time identified a gene linked to age-related degeneration of the intervertebral discs in the spine, a common cause of lower back pain.

24 Sep 2012

Biologists unravel why some people infected with HIV have more virus

Biologists at UC San Diego have unraveled the anti-viral mechanism of a human gene that may explain why some people infected with HIV have much higher amounts of virus in their bloodstreams than others.

24 Sep 2012

Molecular similarity between one sub-type of breast cancer and ovarian cancer

A team of scientists with The Cancer Genome Atlas program reports their genetic characterization of 800 breast tumors, including finding some of the genetic causes of the most common forms of breast cancer, providing clues for new therapeutic targets, and identifying a molecular similarity between one sub-type of breast cancer and ovarian cancer.

24 Sep 2012

Consumer Genetics Conference to take place in Boston from Oct. 3-5

The 4th Annual Consumer Genetics Conference, taking place October 3-5 at the Seaport Hotel in Boston, will include a keynote presentation by George Church that will provide a forthright and candid assessment of new sequencing technologies, including the emergence of nanopore DNA sequencing, current trends in personal genomics, and projections on the future path of medical genomics.

24 Sep 2012

Researchers identify subgroups of B cells in MYC-positive germinal centers

Germinal centers are sites in the organs of the lymphatic system, formed during the course of an immune response to infection, where B cells intensely proliferate and modify their DNA in order to produce antibodies specific for the pathogen. However, it is known that the vast majority of lymphomas derive from the B cells at the germinal centers.

24 Sep 2012

Most basal-like breast and ovarian tumors have similar genetic origins

The most comprehensive analysis yet of breast cancer shows that one of the most deadly subtypes is genetically more similar to ovarian tumors than to other breast cancers.

24 Sep 2012

Study documents women's experiences after abnormal prenatal chromosomal microarray testing

We often hear that "knowledge is power." But, that isn't always the case, especially when the knowledge pertains to the health of an unborn child, with murky implications, at best. A new study, led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, begins to document this exception to the general rule.

24 Sep 2012

FSU researcher to explore gene-controlling effects of addictive drugs in pursuit of new HIV treatments

A Florida State University researcher is on a mission to explore the gene-controlling effects of addictive drugs in pursuit of new HIV treatments.

24 Sep 2012

Maternal choline intake could essentially change fetal genetic expression into adulthood

Just as women are advised to get plenty of folic acid around the time of conception and throughout early pregnancy, new research suggests another very similar nutrient may one day deserve a spot on the obstetrician's list of recommendations.

24 Sep 2012