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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).

Blocking PRC2 protein may help protect against AML

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have identified a candidate drug target for treating acute myeloid leukemia, a white blood cell cancer that proliferates out of control in the bone marrow.

2 Apr 2012

TGen to present TNBC study at AACR 2012 annual meeting

Because cases of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) are so genetically different, whole-genome sequencing is needed to detect the subtle molecular differences that might point to specific treatments for individual patients.

2 Apr 2012

ViiV, Shionogi announce initial results from dolutegravir Phase III study on HIV-1

ViiV Healthcare and Shionogi & Co., Ltd. today announced that initial results have been received from the SPRING-2 (ING113086) Phase III study of the investigational integrase inhibitor dolutegravir in treatment-naive adults with HIV-1.

2 Apr 2012

Scientists use DNA sequencing to identify 'driver' mutations in cancer

Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are using powerful DNA sequencing technology not only to identify mutations at the root of a patient's tumor - considered key to personalizing cancer treatment - but to map the genetic evolution of disease and monitor response to treatment.

2 Apr 2012

RT3D may boost effects of two standard chemotherapy drugs in head and neck cancer patients

A naturally-occurring harmless human virus may be able to boost the effects of two standard chemotherapy drugs in some cancer patients, according to early stage trial data published today in Clinical Cancer Research.

2 Apr 2012

Twins and mothers with poor nutrition more likely to develop obesity, type 2 diabetes

If you're expecting, this might make you feel a little better about reaching for that pint of ice cream: New research published online in the FASEB Journal suggests that twins, and babies of mothers who diet around the time of conception and in early pregnancy, may have an increased risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes throughout their lives.

2 Apr 2012

WCMC receives SU2C-PCF Prostate Dream Team Translational Cancer Research Grant

An international team of investigators from centers in the United States and the United Kingdom, including Weill Cornell Medical College, have been awarded a grant for $10 million over a three-year period to study the molecular underpinnings of metastatic prostate cancer while creating a comprehensive testing system to optimize personalized treatments.

2 Apr 2012

Scientists link two genes involved in serotonin production to PTSD

Why do some persons succumb to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while others who suffered the same ordeal do not? A new UCLA study may shed light on the answer.

2 Apr 2012

Study provides new information on why A-T disease attacks the brain

Rutgers scientists think they have found a way to prevent and possibly reverse the most debilitating symptoms of a rare, progressive childhood degenerative disease that leaves children with slurred speech, unable to walk, and in a wheelchair before they reach adolescence.

2 Apr 2012

New breast cancer gene mutation discovered

A large international study led by University of Melbourne researchers has identified a mutation linked to breast cancer attached to the newly identified gene, called XRCC2. Lead researcher Melissa Southey said the discovery, using high-speed technology, would hopefully mean that more gene mutations responsible for causing breast cancer could be rapidly identified in the next few years.

1 Apr 2012

State of Texas awards Asuragen $6.8M to pursue Next Generation Sequencing applications

Asuragen, Inc. announced today that the Company received notice of a $6.8 million commercialization award to pursue Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) applications from the State of Texas through the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas ("CPRIT").

31 Mar 2012

UH clinical trial to evaluate stool DNA testing for colon cancer

In a first-of-its-kind clinical trial, physician-scientists at University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center's Seidman Cancer Center and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine are studying a promising new non-invasive technology for colon cancer screening. The four-year study is recruiting patients to compare the effectiveness of stool DNA (SDNA) testing with colonoscopy for detecting large colon polyps.

31 Mar 2012

Starvation during childhood may increase risk of heart complications

Russians born during the Leningrad Siege in World War II, which was responsible for some of the greatest losses of civilian life in history, are giving scientists new strategies to identify people who experienced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and starvation during childhood at greatest risk of developing long term heart complications.

31 Mar 2012

Cardium launches Excellagen wound care product

Cardium Therapeutics today announced market introduction of its Excellagen professional-use, syringe-based wound care product for the management of diabetic foot ulcers, pressure ulcers and other dermal wounds.

31 Mar 2012

TRIM28 protein essential after fertilisation to preserve epigenetic marks on imprinted genes

An international team led by scientists at A*STAR's Institute of Medical Biology (IMB) discovered that a protein, called TRIM28, normally present in the mother's egg, is essential right after fertilisation, to preserve certain chemical modifications or 'epigenetic marks' on a specific set of genes.

30 Mar 2012

The Lancet acknowledges world's first bedside genetic test

Developed in Canada and conducted by researchers from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, in partnership with Spartan Bioscience, the world's first bedside genetic test has received acknowledgment by The Lancet, the world's leading general medical journal.

30 Mar 2012

Researchers discover MicroRNAs as new switch of adipose cell development

Hunger has always threatened mankind. This makes it unsurprising that human bodies attempt to store all surplus nourishment in adipose tissue. In developed countries, this life-saving craving is turning into a problem and obesity—adiposity—is turning into a danger. Why, though, does excess fat the body ill? How does fat trigger diabetes? And can these superfluous fat reserves be turned into warmth and just as well burnt?

30 Mar 2012

Researchers generate artificial thymus tissue to enable T cell maturation

The thymus plays a key role in the body's immune response. It is here where the T lymphocytes or T cells, a major type of immune defence cells, mature. Different types of T cells, designated to perform specific tasks, arise from progenitor cells that migrate to the thymus from the bone marrow. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Immunology and Epigenetics in Freiburg have generated artificial thymus tissue in a mouse embryo to enable the maturation of immune cells.

30 Mar 2012

Massively parallel sequencing quickly identifies breast cancer risk gene

An international team of researchers led by the University of Melbourne has used new technology to fast track the discovery of a breast cancer risk gene and could assist in the discovery of other cancer genes.

30 Mar 2012

XRCC2 gene mutations cause increased breast cancer risk

Mutations in a gene called XRCC2 cause increased breast cancer risk, according to a study published today in the American Journal of Human Genetics. The study looked at families that have a history of the disease but do not have mutations in the currently known breast cancer susceptibility genes.

30 Mar 2012