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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 novel protein-genome interaction mapping technology

Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI) and Cancer Research Technology Limited (CRT) today have released details of the development and commercialisation of a powerful protein-genome interaction mapping technology termed 'DamID.'

14 Aug 2006

Evidence of a genetic risk factor for Parkinson's disease

A Mayo Clinic-led international research collaboration - one of the largest studies of its kind - provides strong evidence that a genetic risk factor may account for 3 percent of the cause of Parkinson's disease.

8 Aug 2006

Chronic cigarette smoking is associated with diminished folate status

Every year, nearly 300,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with oral cancer.

8 Aug 2006

DNA overwinds when stretched

Most of us are familiar with the winding staircase image of DNA, the repository of a biological cell's genetic information. But few of us realize just how tightly that famous double helix is wound.

8 Aug 2006

Scientists find new lead in hunt for a SARS vaccine

SARS coronavirus protein called "nsp1" causes the breakdown of biochemical messages that normally prompt the production of a protein critical to defending the body against viruses.

8 Aug 2006

Gene amplification links growth controlling pathway from Drosophila to human cancers

Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered a new cancer-promoting role for a gene potentially involved in breast, liver, and other kinds of cancers.

8 Aug 2006

Leukemia gene changes genetic packaging

A signaling system involved in many forms of leukemia and lymphoma is more powerful than scientists have thought, exerting control over our genes by affecting whole swaths of chromosomes in global fashion.

6 Aug 2006

New research may solve problem of vessels re-closing after angioplasty

Through studying pigeons with genetic heart disease, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have discovered a clue about why some patients' heart vessels are prone to close back up after angioplasty.

6 Aug 2006

Gene family expansion can begin even before a gene is duplicated

Theoretical biologist Stephen Proulx studies gene families to explore how genomes become diverse and evolve.

6 Aug 2006

Genetics is a very strong component of obesity

Nearly 6 percent of morbidly obese children and adults have a genetic defect that keeps them feeling like their stomach is running on empty, no matter how much they have eaten.

6 Aug 2006

DNA of human embryonic stem cells is chemically modified in a characteristic, predictable pattern

Embryonic stem cells are derived from embryos that are undergoing a period of intense cellular activity, including the chemical addition of methyl groups to specific DNA sequences in a process known as DNA methylation.

6 Aug 2006

Federally approved human embryonic stems inferior to those donated for research

Neural stem cells grown from one of the federally approved human embryonic stem cell lines proved to be inferior to neural stem cells derived from fetal tissue donated for research, a UCLA study has found.

4 Aug 2006

Researchers determine structure of an important smallpox virus enzyme and how it binds to DNA

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined the structure of an important smallpox virus enzyme and how it binds to DNA.

4 Aug 2006

Genomic expansion and diversification in a African sleeping sickness parasite allow it to evade host detection

A team of scientists headed by Dr. Sara Melville at the University of Cambridge has shown that the parasite known to cause African sleeping sickness has evolved an unusual chromosomal structure as a result of environmental adaptation.

3 Aug 2006

BRIT1 gene plays a pivotal role in DNA damage detection and repair

A single gene plays a pivotal role launching two DNA damage detection and repair pathways in the human genome, suggesting that it functions as a previously unidentified tumor suppressor gene.

3 Aug 2006

Structural alterations in breast stromal and epithelial DNA

Researchers have uncovered a pattern of DNA damage in connective tissues in the human breast that could shed light on the early stages of breast cancer.

3 Aug 2006

FDA develops cost-effective way to identify bioterror agents used in hoax incidents

Researchers at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) are developing a quick, cost-effective way to screen for and identify bioterror agents and other substances used in hoax incidents.

3 Aug 2006

Fatty acids found in dairy products shown to treat diabetes

Fatty acids commonly found in dairy products have successfully treated diabetes in mice, according to a researcher at Penn State.

3 Aug 2006

Different genes may be responsible for causing autism in boys and girls

In the on-going search to find the cause of Autistic Spectrum Disorders, the latest research says different genes may be responsible for causing autism in boys than in girls, and the discovery may help explain why the condition is more common in boys.

3 Aug 2006

Variation in the CHEK2 gene may triple a woman's risk of developing breast cancer

Study shows that women in the general population who carry a specific CHEK2 mutation are three times as likely as women without the mutation to develop breast cancer.

2 Aug 2006