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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).

Men with short telomeres may have a greater risk for heart disease

Men with short telomeres - repetitive strips of DNA that cap the ends of chromosomes - may have a higher risk of developing coronary heart disease than those with long telomeres, according to an Article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

14 Jan 2007

Retinoblastoma gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta

An important cancer-related gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta, the organ that controls nutrient and oxygen exchange between a mother and her fetus during pregnancy, and perhaps in miscarriages.

10 Jan 2007

DNA methylation and breast cancer

A new study using mastectomy tissue shows that precancerous changes can occur in normal-appearing areas of the breast as distant as two inches from a tumor's edge.

10 Jan 2007

New embryonic cell discovery

Cambridge scientists have discovered the stage at which some of the cells of a fertilised mammalian egg are fated to develop into stem cells and why this occurs.

10 Jan 2007

Dark state and DNA

Chemists at Ohio State University have probed an unusual high-energy state produced in single nucleotides - the building blocks of DNA and RNA - when they absorb ultraviolet (UV) light.

9 Jan 2007

Retinoblastoma gene may play a critical role in the development of the placenta

9 Jan 2007

Specific gene found that protects some people with diabetes from severe kidney failure

A research team at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and the University of Heidelberg has proven that a gene protects some people with diabetes from developing severe kidney failure or "end-stage renal disease."

9 Jan 2007

A fully integrated microfluidic genetic analysis system with sample-in-answer-out capability

In an accomplishment that represents a significant step toward an era of rapid, inexpensive, bedside testing for cancer, researchers at the University of Virginia have developed a microfluidic device that can process human blood samples and yield diagnostic results within an hour.

8 Jan 2007

DNA vaccine for H5N1 avian influenza enters human trial

The first human trial of a DNA vaccine designed to prevent H5N1 avian influenza infection began on December 21, 2006, when the vaccine was administered to the first volunteer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

3 Jan 2007

Sigma-Aldrich grants Pfizer license to use ddRNAi

Sigma-Aldrich has announced that it has granted Pfizer a worldwide non-exclusive research license to utilize DNA-directed RNAi (ddRNAi) technology. Applications of the ddRNAi technology for research activities have been licensed exclusively by Sigma- Aldrich from Benitec Limited of Australia.

3 Jan 2007

NanoMed Pharmaceuticals issued new U.S. nanoparticle patent

NanoMed Pharmaceuticals has announced that founders Russell J. Mumper, Ph.D. and Michael Jay, Ph.D. have been issued U.S. Patent 7,153,525 entitled "Microemulsions As Precursors To Solid Nanoparticles."

3 Jan 2007

Herpes appears to play a role in bringing about Alzheimer's disease

A gene known to be a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease puts out the welcome mat for the virus that causes cold sores, allowing the virus to be more active in the brain compared to other forms of the gene.

3 Jan 2007

Rapid and label-free nanomechanical detection of biomarker transcripts in human RNA

Researchers from the Swiss Nanoscience Institute in Basel have developed a rapid method to detect the activity of a gene involved in controlling tumor growth.

18 Dec 2006

Aptamer-capped nanocrystal quantum dots

Quantum dots, used increasingly as bright fluorescent markers in basic research and diagnostic assays, must be coated, or capped, with one of a wide variety of organic molecules in order to stabilize these nanocrystals and prevent them from aggregating when added to water.

18 Dec 2006

Nanostructured calcium phosphates (NanoCaPs) for non-viral gene delivery

Though gene therapies hold great promise for treating cancer, it has proven difficult to deliver therapeutic genes efficiently into cancer cells.

18 Dec 2006

Biofunctional organic nanocrystals for quantitative detection of pathogen deoxyribonucleic acid

Waiting a day or more to get lab results back from the doctor's office soon could become a thing of a past.

4 Dec 2006

Weight determination of individual viruses with a miniature ion trap

Viruses are the simplest life forms on our planet, consisting of only DNA or RNA and a shell. After the prokaryotes (bacteria and archebacteria), viruses are the second most common type of organism. In our oceans they are the most common life form.

4 Dec 2006

Gene therapy to treat erectile dysfunction shows promise

The first human study using gene transfer to treat erectile dysfunction (ED) shows promising results and suggests the potential for using the technology to treat overactive bladder, irritable bowel syndrome and asthma, according to the researchers.

2 Dec 2006

Whoever said people were much the same was wrong!

An international research team have come up with a new genetic map which could demand a fundamental shift in how we think genes work.

22 Nov 2006

Test strips for the rapid detection of cocaine

Saving the life of a poisoning victim is often a matter of minutes. It is best when the emergency doctor can perform a reliable diagnosis on the spot to determine which poison or what type of drug overdose a patient is suffering from. Complicated laboratory analyses and a complex apparatus are out of place in the emergency room.

21 Nov 2006