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).

New insight into breast cancer development in high-risk women

Physicians who treat women with the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA1 often remove their patients' ovaries to eliminate the source of estrogen they believe fuels cancer growth.

12 Sep 2007

Endurance athlete's genetic edge has long running history

A gene variation commonly found in endurance athletes most likely evolved as humans moved out of warm, food- rich environments to colder and harsher conditions, new research shows.

11 Sep 2007

Vitamin C inhibits the growth of some tumors

Nearly 30 years after Nobel laureate Linus Pauling famously and controversially suggested that vitamin C supplements can prevent cancer, a team of Johns Hopkins scientists have shown that in mice at least, vitamin C - and potentially other antioxidants - can indeed inhibit the growth of some tumors ¯ just not in the manner suggested by years of investigation.

11 Sep 2007

Genetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis

The human genome has now been thoroughly screened in the hunt for the genetic causes of rheumatoid arthritis. The results, which both confirms previous hypotheses and turn the spotlight on entirely new genes, are presented in two articles in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine.

10 Sep 2007

New genetic risk factor for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus

A genetic variation has been identified that increases the risk of two chronic, autoimmune inflammatory diseases: rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus).

10 Sep 2007

Innovative liquid crystal technology offers promise of new drugs

A partnership between Kent State University, Summa Health System and IC-MedTech Inc. has yielded an innovative liquid crystal technology that offers the promise of new drugs which may more effectively manage cancer and other diseases.

10 Sep 2007

Research looks at prions and retroviruses

National Research Center for Environment and Health in Neuherberg/Munich (Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) the group is continuing to search for cellular components whose make-up is changed as a result of a prion infection.

10 Sep 2007

Virochip technique identifies new viruses in study of respiratory infections and asthma attacks

A new study has found an unexpected number of viruses and viral subtypes in patients with respiratory tract infections (RTIs). The technique used in the study may help identify new viruses associated with human diseases.

10 Sep 2007

Bad news for disease-causing bacteria!

Scientists have what could be some very bad news for disease-causing bacteria. All three major classes of antibiotics that kill infectious bacteria do so in part by ramping up the production of harmful free radicals, researchers report in the September 7, 2007, issue of Cell, a publication of Cell Press.

10 Sep 2007

Clearer picture of how a dividing cell rebuilds the nuclear envelope

Just how a dividing cell rebuilds the nuclear envelope, the protective, functional wrapping that encases both the original and newly copied genetic material, has been a source of controversy for the last 20 years.

10 Sep 2007

Safer gene therapy - biodegradable polymers to deliver genes

In work that could lead to safe and effective techniques for gene therapy, MIT researchers have found a way to fine-tune the ability of biodegradable polymers to deliver genes.

10 Sep 2007

A chink in bacteria's armor

Biomedical researchers at Boston University's College of Engineering may have discovered the path toward developing better drugs capable of defeating so-called “superbugs,” bacteria that have developed resistance to common antibiotics. The researchers have discovered a previously unknown chain of events occurring in bacteria that opens to door to new avenues of research.

10 Sep 2007

DNA and nanotechnology

DNA is one of the most popular building blocks of nanotechnology and is commonly used to construct ordered nanoscale structures with controlled architectures.

5 Sep 2007

Ultraconserved elements in the genome: Are they indispensable?

Three years ago, "ultraconserved elements" were discovered in the genomes of mice, rats, and humans.

5 Sep 2007

Deodorants and breast cancer.....is there a link?

Scientists in Britain suggest they may have found a possible link between the use of deodorants and breast cancer.

4 Sep 2007

Muscadine grape skin extract shows promise for prostate cancer

Laboratory experiments show that an extract of the skin of muscadine grapes can inhibit growth of prostate cancer cells in the laboratory.

4 Sep 2007

Flies can turn off their immune response

The immune response is actively turned on to target and destroy foreign infectious elements, but in the interests of self-preservation, it is just as important to turn the immune system off to avoid damage to oneself by "friendly fire."

4 Sep 2007

First individual genome sequence of one person

Independent sequence and assembly of the six billion base pairs from the genome of one person ushers in the era of individualized genomics

4 Sep 2007

Adult offspring of parents with PTSD have lower cortisol levels

A small study suggests that adults whose parents are Holocaust survivors with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) appear to have lower average levels of the stress hormone cortisol than the adult offspring of parents without PTSD, according to a report in the September issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Sep 2007

New phages to treat bacterial diseases

Viruses found in the River Cam in Cambridge, famous as a haunt of students in their punts on long, lazy summer days, could become the next generation of antibiotics, according to scientists speaking today (Monday 3 September 2007) at the Society for General Microbiology's 161st Meeting at the University of Edinburgh, UK, which runs from 3-6 September 2007.

3 Sep 2007