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 player in the development T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Leuven, Belgium -- Leukemia, or cancer of the bone marrow, strikes some 700 Belgians each year.

16 Apr 2007

New tumor antigen found with new cloning technique

In recent years, researchers have worked to develop a number of vaccines to help the immune system fight tumors.

16 Apr 2007

New diagnostic technologies to predict and monitor cancer risks

Molecular messages and signals circulating in blood or contained in cells lining the airway can identify early stage cancer, according to research reported at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

16 Apr 2007

New chemical agent, MCP110, provides synergistic effect to standard drugs

Integrating the use of drugs targeted to specific cancer proteins into current chemotherapy regimens to improve the efficacy of systemic treatment is an important clinical goal at Fox Chase Cancer Center.

16 Apr 2007

Potential biomarkers for early detection of liver cancer

Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health have discovered a means for early detection of liver cancer.

16 Apr 2007

Health disparities in access to healthcare

Minority individuals are much more likely to develop and die from cancer than the general U.S. population.

16 Apr 2007

Bristol-Myers Squibb announces new results of Baraclude (entecavir) resistance monitoring program

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company has announced new results of the Baraclude (entecavir) resistance monitoring program, which found a continued low incidence of resistance in studies of nucleoside-naive chronic hepatitis B patients through four years of treatment.

16 Apr 2007

deCODE launches novel DNA-based reference laboratory test for assessing inherited risk of type 2 diabetes

deCODE genetics has announced the launch of deCODE T2, a novel DNA-based reference laboratory test for the first common and well-validated genetic risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D).

16 Apr 2007

Researchers probe checkpoint signaling responses in unprecedented ways

As published in the April 15th issue of Genes & Development, Dr. Karlene Cimprich and colleagues at Stanford University have determined the minimal DNA structure sufficient to activate the ATR-mediated DNA damage checkpoint.

16 Apr 2007

Mapping rhesus macaque genome helps illuminate what makes us human

Researchers have sequenced the genome of the relatively ancient rhesus macaque ( Macaca mulatta ), providing perspective into how humans are genetically different from our primate relatives.

15 Apr 2007

Should stocks of smallpox virus be destroyed?

Smallpox was eradicated in 1980, but the virus still exists in WHO controlled depositories. In this week's BMJ , two experts go head to head over whether these stocks should be destroyed.

15 Apr 2007

People with two copies of a particular gene have a 70% higher risk of being obese

Scientists have identified the most clear genetic link yet to obesity in the general population as part of a major study of diseases funded by the Wellcome Trust, the UK's largest medical research charity.

15 Apr 2007

Macaque genome analysis will improve scientists' ability to identify human genes involved in diseases

Cornell experts in computational biology and bioinformatics have made key contributions to the analysis of the genome of the rhesus macaque, better known as the rhesus monkey.

15 Apr 2007

Understanding of primate evolution advanced

The completed DNA sequence of the rhesus macaque ,an Old World monkey, has advanced understanding of primate evolution and will enhance medical research in neuroscience, behavioral biology, reproductive physiology, endocrinology, heart and blood vessel disease and immunodeficiency, said scientists at the Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) Human Genome Sequencing Center who led the effort.

15 Apr 2007

First successful attempt to determine the structure of RfaH transcription factor

The results of a new study suggest that bacteria that cause diseases like bubonic plague and serious gastric illness can turn the genes that make them infectious on or off.

15 Apr 2007

Dysfunctional DNA repair pathways

Individuals who inherit two mutant copies of any one of about 12 genes that make the proteins of the Fanconi Anemia (FA) pathway develop FA, which is characterized by increased incidence of cancer and bone marrow failure, among other things.

15 Apr 2007

Gelatin-based nanoparticles deliver therapeutic genes to human breast cancer

Northeastern University professor Mansoor Amiji and graduate student Sushma Kommareddy have published a new paper that examines the potential of engineered gelatin-based nanoparticles to deliver therapeutic genes to human breast cancer tumors implanted in mice.

14 Apr 2007