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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).

Reported failure of vitamin E to prevent heart attacks may be due to underdosing

The findings, published early online in Free Radical Biology and Medicine, suggest that these earlier studies all had a fundamental flaw the doses used werent high enough to have a significant antioxidant effect.

24 Aug 2007

New clue to mechanisms of gene signaling and regulation

Scientists have discovered a pattern in the DNA sequence of the mouse genome that may play a fundamental part in the way DNA molecules regulate gene expression.

24 Aug 2007

Antitumour drugs impede DNA uncoiling by topoisomerase I

The annoying bulges of an overwound telephone cord that shorten its reach and limit a caller's motion help explain why drugs called camptothecins are so effective in killing cancer cells, according to investigators led by Mary-Ann Bjornsti, Ph.D., at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and Nynke Dekker, Ph.D., at Delft Technology University.

22 Aug 2007

Migration of antibiotic resistance from animal feeding operations into groundwater

The routine use of antibiotics in swine production can have unintended consequences, with antibiotic resistance genes sometimes leaking from waste lagoons into groundwater.

22 Aug 2007

Clemson scientists improve longevity of fluorescent nanoparticles

Clemson University chemists have developed a method to dramatically improve the longevity of fluorescent nanoparticles that may someday help researchers track the motion of a single molecule as it travels through a living cell.

22 Aug 2007

New Cockayne syndrome discovery

Scientists of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) have shown that the genetic defect that causes Cockayne Syndrome affects a key function of the cell – the transcription of genes coding for ribosomal RNA.

21 Aug 2007

Proteins involved in fragile X syndrome identified

The interplay of two proteins that bind to messenger RNA, a molecule that mediates translation of the information encoded in genes into proteins, triggers the appearance of fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FTAX), a late-life disorder associated with the gene that causes fragile X syndrome in children, said researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and Emory University School of Medicine in a report that appears today in the journal Neuron.

17 Aug 2007

Scientists discover new mechanism for viral replication

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a new strategy that Kaposi's Sarcoma Associated Herpesvirus (KSHV) uses to dupe infected cells into replicating its viral genome.

17 Aug 2007

New prion protein 'Shadoo' discovered - may offer insight into mad cow disease

Scientists have discovered a new protein that may offer fresh insights into brain function in mad cow disease.

17 Aug 2007

New TLR9 agonists patent for Dynavax Technologies

Dynavax Technologies Corporation has announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued the company a broad composition of matter patent covering the company's proprietary second-generation TLR9 agonists.

17 Aug 2007

New insight into fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome

Researchers have reported new insight into the pathology underlying a recently identified neurological disorder that strikes middle-aged adults that is caused by alterations in the same gene that causes fragile X syndrome.

17 Aug 2007

HPV vaccine not effective for treating pre-existing HPV infection

For women with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, use of the HPV-16/18 vaccine will not accelerate reduction of the virus and should not be used to treat the infection, according to a study in the August 15 issue of JAMA.

16 Aug 2007

MS patients given hope with new vaccine treatment

Canadian researchers have developed a vaccine to stop the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS) and they say encouraging results have already been seen.

14 Aug 2007

Mitochondrial DNA variants are linked to risk factors for type 2 diabetes

Researchers report for the first time that genetic variants in mitochondria,energy-producing structures harboring DNA that are inherited only from the mother,are directly linked to metabolic markers for type 2 diabetes.

13 Aug 2007

New clues to why persistent acid reflux can turn into cancer

New research from scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center and the Dallas Veterans Affairs Medical Center underscores the importance of preventing recurring acid reflux while also uncovering tantalizing clues on how typical acid reflux can turn potentially cancerous.

13 Aug 2007

Green tea for cancer prevention

Concentrated chemicals derived from green tea dramatically boosted production of a group of key detoxification enzymes in people with low levels of these beneficial proteins, according to researchers at Arizona Cancer Center.

13 Aug 2007

Gene use sets humans and chimps apart

The striking differences between humans and chimps aren't so much in the genes we have, which are 99 percent the same, but in the way those genes are used, according to new research from a Duke University team.

13 Aug 2007

Special nasal cream will bust deadly superbugs

A special cream enriched with bacteria-busting viruses has been developed by scientists in Britain and it could eradicate deadly superbugs such as MRSA from hospitals.

13 Aug 2007

Chromatin remodeling complex connected to DNA damage control

When molecular disaster strikes, causing structural damage to DNA, players in two important pathways talk to each other to help contain the wreckage, scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center report in the August edition of Cell.

12 Aug 2007

Light-activated molecules used to induce apoptosis in cancer cells

A key challenge facing doctors as they treat patients suffering from cancer or other diseases resulting from genetic mutations is that the drugs at their disposal often don't discriminate between healthy cells and dangerous ones -- think of the brute-force approach of chemotherapy, for instance.

12 Aug 2007