DNA News and Research

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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).

Two genes linked to worst cases of esophageal cancer

University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have pinpointed two genes that are amplified in the worst cases of esophageal cancer, providing data to support a new investigational treatment that targets those same genes.

19 May 2011

New breast cancer biomarker may help identify women's response to tamoxifen

Cancer researchers at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson and an international team of collaborators have discovered a biomarker in breast cancer that may help identify which women will respond to anti-estrogen therapy.

19 May 2011

Children exposed to maternal smoking in utero have increased DNA methylation in AXL gene

Children whose mothers or grandmothers smoked during pregnancy are at increased risk of asthma in childhood, but the underlying causes of this are not well understood. Now a new study indicates changes in a process called DNA methylation that occurs before birth may be a root cause.

19 May 2011

Goat milk has nutritional characteristics beneficial to human health

Researchers at the University of Granada have found that goat milk has nutritional characteristics beneficial to health. They have determined that goat milk has many nutrients that make it similar to human milk.

19 May 2011

A new gene expression analysis technique on a single molecule sequencer

A new gene expression technique adapted for single molecule sequencing has enabled researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center (OSC) to accurately and quantitatively measure gene expression levels using only 100 nanograms of total RNA. The technique, which pairs RIKEN's Cap Analysis of Gene Expression (CAGE) protocol with the Helicos(R) Genetic Analysis System developed by Helicos BioSciences Corporation, opens the door to the detailed analysis of gene expression networks and rare cell populations. In recent years, next-generation DNA sequencers have produced an increasingly detailed picture of how genes are expressed at the molecular level. The transcriptional output of these genes - the RNA copies produced from DNA - has revealed a richness of complexity in transcript structure and function, providing insights into the molecular-level properties of cancers and other diseases.

19 May 2011

Abbott RealTime PCR assay for measuring HCV viral load receives FDA marketing approval

Abbott announced today that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its RealTime PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for measuring the viral load of hepatitis C (HCV), the leading cause of liver cancer in the United States.

19 May 2011

Mayo Clinic develops new screening procedure for Lynch syndrome detection

Mayo Clinic has developed a screening procedure that could dramatically increase testing for Lynch syndrome, a hereditary genetic disorder that raises cancer risk, particularly for colorectal cancer.

19 May 2011

'Gatekeeper' protein plays a key role in skin-cancer prevention

New research from North Carolina State University shows that a "gatekeeper" protein plays an important role in skin-cancer prevention in humans and lab mice.

19 May 2011

LabCorp announces extension of cash tender offer for outstanding shares of Orchid Cellmark

Laboratory Corporation of America® Holdings today announced that LabCorp is extending until 6:00 p.m., New York City time, on June 1, 2011 LabCorp's previously announced cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of the common stock of Orchid Cellmark Inc.

18 May 2011

Epstein-Barr virus might cause multiple sclerosis, study confirms

The Epstein-Barr (EVB) virus -belonging to the herpesviruses family, which also includes the herpes simplex virus and the cytomegalovirus- is one of the environmental factors that might cause multiple sclerosis, a condition affecting the central nervous system, which causes are unknown.

18 May 2011

Novel gene associated with heart development and aging process

Researchers at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) have identified a novel gene in the nucleus of muscle and brain cells that affects heart development and the aging process. Their investigation brings the promise of new treatments for an old, failing heart.

18 May 2011

Endo and Bioniche present Urocidin Phase III trial preliminary results at 2011 AUA annual meeting

Endo Pharmaceuticals and Bioniche Life Sciences today presented Phase III trial results for the intravesical formulation of Mycobacterial cell wall-DNA complex (MCC), known as Urocidin, during a podium presentation at the 2011 American Urological Association annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

18 May 2011

Early exposure to social deprivation and neglect linked to prematurely shortened telomeres in children

Studies in institutionalized Romanian children have found that the length of time spent in conditions of social deprivation and neglect correlates with lower IQ and behavioral problems. A new study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and Tulane University, shows that early adversity even affects children's chromosomes – prematurely shortening the chromosome tips, known as telomeres, and hastening how quickly their cells "age."

17 May 2011

Cellular 'mechanic' keeps DNA damage in check in cells

CANCER RESEARCH UK scientists have discovered how a protein in immune cells plays an essential role in their development by repairing DNA damage - and if this protein is missing lymphomas can form.

17 May 2011

Benitec raises AU$8 million for gene silencing therapeutics

Benitec Ltd (ASX:BLT), a world leader in RNA-based gene silencing for human therapeutics, today announced its fully underwritten AU$8 million renounceable rights issue, incorporating an entitlement offer and a shortfall offer, had successfully closed oversubscribed.

17 May 2011

PGT, Quintiles collaborate to bring genomic testing into mainstream drug development

Quintiles, the world's leading biopharmaceutical services company, and Population Genetics Technologies Ltd., creator of innovative solutions to reduce the costs and complexity of large-scale genomic testing and enable correlations with clinical outcomes, today announced a commercial collaboration to bring genomic testing into mainstream drug development in order to produce safer, more effective medicines.

17 May 2011

Pacific Biosciences, Mount Sinai collaborate to advance genomic research

Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. announced a bi-coastal collaboration to advance clinical research through the Mount Sinai Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology to be led by Eric E. Schadt, Ph.D.

16 May 2011

Study reveals role of KLF14 regulatory gene in type 2 diabetes

A team of researchers, led by King's College London and the University of Oxford, have found that a gene linked to type 2 diabetes and cholesterol levels is in fact a 'master regulator' gene, which controls the behaviour of other genes found within fat in the body.

16 May 2011

Pre-existing malaria prevents secondary infection by another Plasmodium strain

A team of researchers have found that pre-existing malaria prevents secondary infection by another Plasmodium strain, the parasite responsible for malaria, by restricting iron availability in the liver of the host.

16 May 2011

Researchers discover depression-related DNA region

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and King's College London have independently identified DNA on chromosome 3 that appears to be related to depression.

16 May 2011