Bases News and Research

RSS

Scientists discover new compounds to target muscular dystrophy

Using a drug-discovery technique in which molecules compete against each other for access to the target - the strand of toxic RNA that causes the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults - a team at the University of Rochester Medical Center has identified several compounds that, in the laboratory, block the unwanted coupling of two molecules that is at the root of the disease.

19 Nov 2008

Computers used to create predictive models of human disease

Increased use of computers to create predictive models of human disease is likely following a workshop organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF), which urged for a collaborative effort between specialists in the field.

12 Nov 2008

Scientists sequence genome of a cancer patient

For the first time, scientists have decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient and traced her disease - acute myelogenous leukemia - to its genetic roots.

6 Nov 2008

Alternative splicing in genes more prevalent than previously believed

Scientists have long known that it's possible for one gene to produce slightly different forms of the same protein by skipping or including certain sequences from the messenger RNA.

2 Nov 2008

Researchers discover how Sonic hedgehog gene controls brain development

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have discovered how the expression of the Sonic hedgehog gene is regulated during brain development and how mutations that alter this process cause brain malformations. The results appear online this month in Nature Genetics.

28 Oct 2008

Getting the flu early may protect against worse one later

New evidence about the worldwide influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 indicates that getting the flu early protected many people against a second deadlier wave, an article co-authored by an NIH epidemiologist concludes.

20 Oct 2008

Molecule stops DNA replication in its tracks

When a dividing cell duplicates its genetic material, a molecular machine called a sliding clamp travels along the DNA double helix, tethering the proteins that perform the replication.

19 Oct 2008

Ultrafast photodynamics of DNA

DNA, the molecule that acts as the carrier of genetic information in all forms of life, is highly resistant against alteration by ultraviolet light, but understanding the mechanism for its photostability presents some puzzling problems. A key aspect is the interaction between the four chemical bases that make up the DNA molecule.

12 Oct 2008

Discovery of gene variant for cleft lip

About 20 percent of isolated cleft lip, one of the world's most common birth defects, may be due to a one-letter difference in the DNA sequence of a gene involved in facial development, researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health report.

6 Oct 2008

Bacterial pneumonia caused most deaths in 1918 influenza pandemic

The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection.

19 Aug 2008

Nanowires from DNA

For millions of years nature has been optimizing DNA - in all living creatures this biomolecule is responsible for storing genetic information.

10 Aug 2008

microRNA may influence development of alcohol tolerance

In recent years, a class of small molecules known as microRNAs have been found to play an important role in regulating gene products in most animal and plant species.

30 Jul 2008

Scientists generate the most precise map of genetic recombination ever

Genetic recombination, the process by which sexually reproducing organisms shuffle their genetic material when producing germ cells, leads to offspring with a new genetic make-up and influences the course of evolution.

10 Jul 2008

Electrostatic-based RNA assays technique could revolutionize medical diagnostics

The dream of personalized medicine - in which diagnostics, risk predictions and treatment decisions are based on a patient's genetic profile - may be on the verge of being expanded beyond the wealthiest of nations with state-of-the-art clinics.

30 Jun 2008

Zinc finger technology brings personalized HIV therapy a step closer

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and collaborators are using minute, naturally occurring proteins called zinc fingers to engineer T cells to one day treat AIDS in humans.

30 Jun 2008

Penn researchers propose major changes to informed consent for transplantation

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine physicians and bioethicists are calling for a new, more standardized way for patients in need of organ transplants to be informed of the risks they face. If adopted, their policy recommendations could promote greater equity in how organs are allocated while restricting patients' abilities to "cherry-pick" the best organs.

26 Jun 2008

New antimicrobial wash to tackle food contamination

University of Georgia researchers have developed an effective technology for reducing contamination of dangerous bacteria on food

24 Jun 2008

Magnetic resonance studies find clear differences between the structures of infectious and non-infectious prions

Infectious proteins known as prions have been identified as the cause of "mad cow" disease (BSE). The culprits are "incorrectly folded" proteins that can "infect" healthy proteins. The molecular bases for such prion diseases are not yet fully understood.

17 Jun 2008

AHF to Dr. Fauci and the CDC: "show us the AIDS numbers"

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is calling for the immediate release of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) latest HIV incidence numbers, after Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) referred to them while in attendance at the United Nations' 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York this week. The US largest AIDS organization and operator of free AIDS treatment clinics in the U.S., Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, also called for massive scale-up of HIV testing throughout the nation.

11 Jun 2008

UNAIDS Executive Director Piot to step down

UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot will step down from his position when his term is over at the end of the year, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced on Tuesday at the United Nations 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York, Reuters reports. Piot has served as UNAIDS executive director since the organization's inception in 1995.

11 Jun 2008