DNA News and Research

RSS

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).

Research challenges the evolutionary paradigm that continuous alterations occur during the course of genome evolution

Researchers report today that regions of the human genome have been hotspots for acquiring duplicated DNA sequences - but only at specific time-points during evolution.

16 Jun 2005

Vical receives $12 Million HIV vaccine order

Vical Incorporated announced today the receipt of approximately $12.1 million in production orders for multiple clinical lots of DNA vaccines against HIV for the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, under a subcontract managed by SAIC-Frederick, Inc.

16 Jun 2005

Jumping genes help detemine uniqueness of individual brains

Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies may have found one explanation for the puzzling variety in brain organization and function: mobile elements, pieces of DNA that can jump from one place in the genome to another, randomly changing the genetic information in single brain cells.

15 Jun 2005

Incorporating human papillomavirus testing into cervical cancer screening will provide health benefits at a reasonable cost

Incorporating testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA into cervical cancer screening has the potential for improving health benefits at a reasonable cost in France, Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom, according to a new study in the June 15 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

14 Jun 2005

New technology developed at Cornell University could make it just as easy to identify genes

A supermarket checkout computer can identify thousands of different items by scanning the tiny barcode printed on the package. New technology developed at Cornell University could make it just as easy to identify genes, pathogens, illegal drugs and other chemicals of interest by tagging them with color-coded probes made out of synthetic tree-shaped DNA.

14 Jun 2005

Chemotherapy for brain tumors is boosted after vaccine targets resistance-related TRP-2 antigen

In the August issue of the journal Oncogene, researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute describe a molecular mechanism that appears to make malignant brain tumors more vulnerable to chemotherapy after they have been treated with the dendritic cell vaccine.

13 Jun 2005

Researchers may be on the verge of exploiting the vulnerabilities of a virus that causes cervical cancer

Researchers may be on the verge of exploiting the vulnerabilities of a virus that causes cervical cancer, thanks to a newly developed technique that enables scientists to mass-produce human papillomavirus (HPV) in the laboratory.

13 Jun 2005

Research accelerates the search for an effective cancer vaccine

By devising a novel way to package the genome of a common human tumor virus - the virus that causes common warts, genital warts and that is implicated in prevalent cancers - scientists have paved the way for making the pathogen far more accessible to biomedical science.

13 Jun 2005

Researchers discover how microRNA are involved in the development of heart muscle

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how a small molecule of RNA called microRNA - a chemical cousin of DNA - helps fine tune the production of a key protein involved in the early development of heart muscle.

12 Jun 2005

Genetic variations predispose Mexican Americans to insulin resistance

Although numerous studies have shown that low-grade inflammation is linked to heart disease and diabetes, more recent studies have shown that inflammation plays a role in insulin resistance, a syndrome that leads to diabetes and heart disease and affects about one in four adults in the United States.

12 Jun 2005

Venom of marine cone snails may provide an improved treatment for neuropathic pain associated with diabetes

A cone snail toxin discovered by Melbourne researchers has proven to have great potential for easing pain and could provide an improved treatment for neuropathic pain associated with diabetes.

12 Jun 2005

If a dividing cell's activity is a pop song, then the same process in an immune cell is an extended-play dance remix

The basics of cell division are the same in both, but there's a heck of a lot more going on in immune cells, Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered.

10 Jun 2005

First clues as to why stem cells ignore stop signs in the cell cycle

Everyone knows that stem cells are controversial. Many people know that stem cells can grow into virtually any cell type found in the body, from a red blood cell to a muscle cell to a brain cell. But no one really knows why stem cells continue to divide and renew themselves long after the point where other cells stop dividing.

10 Jun 2005

DNA discovery may help explain disorders such as autism

Researchers have made a discovery that may in future help to explain many aspects of human social behavior and disorders such as autism.

10 Jun 2005

Researchers discover how hepatic-C virus evades immune system in acute and chronic infections

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have uncovered how a majority of the genetic changes in the hepatic-C virus, the most common cause of liver disease, allow it to evade the body's immune system during infection.

10 Jun 2005

Researchers explain how ubiquitin function is determined

University of Maryland researchers have explained, for the first time, why the linkage between the cell-regulating protein molecules called ubiquitins determines their function.

10 Jun 2005

Variations in genetic code affect social behavior

Why are some people shy while others are outgoing? A study in the current issue of Science demonstrates for the first time that social behavior may be shaped by differences in the length of seemingly non-functional DNA, sometimes referred to as junk DNA.

9 Jun 2005

Accumulation of genetic changes is not solely determined by natural selection

New data suggest that the accumulation of genetic changes is not solely determined by natural selection. A study by University of Chicago researchers contradicts conventional theory by showing that the percentage of mutations accepted in evolution is also strongly swayed by the speed at which new mutations arrive at a gene: the faster the speed of new mutations, the greater the percentage of those mutations accepted.

9 Jun 2005

Lorus Therapeutics receives patent allowance to protect novel anticancer drug

Lorus Therapeutics today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, GeneSense Technologies Inc. (GeneSense), has received notice from the European Patent Office of its intention to grant GeneSense's application for a patent of its novel antisense drug, GTI-2501.

9 Jun 2005

MicroRNAs play an important role in human cancer

Over the past few years, scientists have discovered that a new class of genetic regulators called "microRNAs" influences normal human growth and development. Now, researchers have found that microRNAs also play an important role in human cancer. The findings are published in today's issue of the journal Nature (June 9).

9 Jun 2005

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Research challenges the evolutionary paradigm that continuous alterations occur during the course of genome evolution

Vical receives $12 Million HIV vaccine order

Jumping genes help detemine uniqueness of individual brains

Incorporating human papillomavirus testing into cervical cancer screening will provide health benefits at a reasonable cost

New technology developed at Cornell University could make it just as easy to identify genes

Chemotherapy for brain tumors is boosted after vaccine targets resistance-related TRP-2 antigen

Researchers may be on the verge of exploiting the vulnerabilities of a virus that causes cervical cancer

Research accelerates the search for an effective cancer vaccine

Researchers discover how microRNA are involved in the development of heart muscle

Genetic variations predispose Mexican Americans to insulin resistance

Venom of marine cone snails may provide an improved treatment for neuropathic pain associated with diabetes

If a dividing cell's activity is a pop song, then the same process in an immune cell is an extended-play dance remix

First clues as to why stem cells ignore stop signs in the cell cycle

DNA discovery may help explain disorders such as autism

Researchers discover how hepatic-C virus evades immune system in acute and chronic infections

Researchers explain how ubiquitin function is determined

Variations in genetic code affect social behavior

Accumulation of genetic changes is not solely determined by natural selection

Lorus Therapeutics receives patent allowance to protect novel anticancer drug

MicroRNAs play an important role in human cancer

Arrayed CRISPR Screening for Revolutionizing Target Discovery

Innovations in baculovirus–insect cell expression systems

Compound Management and its Crucial Role in Early Pharmaceutical Research

Latest Life Science News