DNA Sequencing News and Research

RSS

Genetic mutation that prevents sperm production found

Up to 15 percent of couples of childbearing age struggle with the heartache of infertility.

11 Apr 2007

New methods for creating and detecting specific proteins

In their native form, the thousands of assorted proteins in our body are virtually indistinguishable.

5 Apr 2007

Unusual protein helps cell bypass damage when making new DNA

Scientists have discovered how an unusual protein helps a cell bypass damage when making new DNA, thereby averting the cell's self-destruction.

3 Apr 2007

Penn State scientists reveal structure of gateways to gene control

Scientists at Penn State University will reveal in the 29 March 2007 issue of the journal Nature the first complete high-resolution map of important structures that control how genes are packaged and regulated throughout an entire genome.

31 Mar 2007

Low-cost Parkinson's disease diagnostic test a world first

Scientists at Melbourne's Howard Florey Institute have developed a cost-effective diagnostic test for Parkinson's disease (PD), which will also assist researchers to understand the genetic basis of PD and to undertake large-scale studies to identify the genes that cause this debilitating condition.

21 Feb 2007

Cancer is a stem cell issue

There is an urgent reason to study stem cells: stem cells are at the heart of some, if not all, cancers. Mounting evidence implicates a clutch of rogue stem cells brandishing 'epigenetic' marks as the main culprits in cancer. Wiping out tumours for good, some biologists believe, depends on uprooting these wayward stem cells.

19 Feb 2007

Self-assembling nanostructures of DNA

Wouldn't it be great if we could get computer chips to grow on trees? Or at least use the specific bonds of DNA molecules to get nanostructures to grow themselves right in the test tube?

5 Feb 2007

Scientists test technique for identifying newly recognized DNA variations that may influence disease risk

Rather than focus on errors and alterations in DNA sequence, the new technique highlights variations in the number of copies of a particular gene.

30 Jan 2007

RNA used to turn on genes to alleviate disease

A new technique that employs RNA, a tiny chemical cousin of DNA, to turn on genes could lead to therapeutics for conditions in which nudging a gene awake would help alleviate disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center say.

28 Jan 2007

New smart anti-microbial approach to preventing tooth decay

Preventing cavities could one day involve the dental equivalent of a military surgical strike. A team of researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research report they have created a new smart anti-microbial treatment that can be chemically programmed in the laboratory to seek out and kill a specific cavity-causing species of bacteria, leaving the good bacteria untouched.

23 Oct 2006

DNA-based computer that could lead to faster West Nile virus detection

New technique detects signature of metastasizing melanoma with as few as 10 cancer cells present in blood sample.

16 Oct 2006

NIH to map genomic changes of lung, brain, and ovarian cancers

It is estimated that 174,470 new cases of lung cancer will be diagnosed in the United States in 2006. Lung cancer is the major cause of cancer-related mortality in both men and women, with an estimated 162,460 deaths expected to occur in 2006.

13 Sep 2006

Study extends the number of antigenic peptides that can be produced from a single protein

Understanding medical research problems often relies on the direct, linear relationship between the sequence of a protein and the DNA encoding that protein. In fact, colinearity of DNA and protein sequences is thought to be a fundamental feature of the universal genetic code.

13 Sep 2006

NIH launches "Knockout Mouse Project"

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today awarded a set of cooperative agreements, totaling up to $52 million over five years, to launch the Knockout Mouse Project.

7 Sep 2006

Genetic code for breast and colon cancers

Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have completed the first draft of the genetic code for breast and colon cancers.

7 Sep 2006

Mitochondrial DNA sequencing tool updated

High-tech laboratory tools, like computers, are often updated publicly as their analytical capabilities expand. In the September issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, NIH grantees report they have developed a second generation "lab on a silicon chip" called the MitoChip v2.0 that for the first time rapidly and reliably sequences all mitochondrial DNA.

30 Aug 2006