Cytosine News and Research

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Rett Syndrome, the first identified epigenetic disease - linked to specific defects in the three-dimensional folding of chromatin

Sometime between the age of 6 and 18 months, after a period of seemingly normal development, girls affected with Rett Syndrome lose interest in play; they gradually become withdrawn and anxious, develop autistic-like behaviors, and acquire specific symptoms like repetitive teeth-grinding and hand-wringing.

20 Dec 2004

Gene decoding revealed at atomic level

A recent finding by a North Carolina State University biochemist advances the fundamental biology of how genetic information, encoded in DNA, is decoded for the production of proteins.

4 Dec 2004

Genetic double-agents unmasked

Babraham Institute and Cancer Research UK scientists have discovered that certain enzymes with a key activity in the immune system may be important in stem-cell development, but may also work against us by contributing to the occurrence of cancer.

26 Oct 2004

Flaw in DNA helps explain cancers and aging

Their finding explains how oxidative DNA damage - a process long believed to underlie cancers and aging - can create permanent genetic damage.

30 Aug 2004

How DNA repair machinery detects and corrects errors in DNA replication

Biochemists at Duke University Medical Center have discovered key components that enable the cell's DNA repair machinery to adeptly launch its action in either direction along a DNA strand to strip out faulty DNA.

2 Jul 2004

New technique of identifying genes may help researchers developing drugs

A quick new technique able to identify genes that evolve rapidly as well as those that change slowly already has pinpointed new targets for researchers developing drugs against tuberculosis and malaria, and it could do the same for other infectious diseases, according to a paper in this week's Nature.

29 Apr 2004