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).

Cancer is a stem cell issue

There is an urgent reason to study stem cells: stem cells are at the heart of some, if not all, cancers. Mounting evidence implicates a clutch of rogue stem cells brandishing 'epigenetic' marks as the main culprits in cancer. Wiping out tumours for good, some biologists believe, depends on uprooting these wayward stem cells.

19 Feb 2007

Epigenetics to shape stem cell future

Everyone hopes that one day stem cell-based regenerative medicine will help repair diseased tissue. Before then, it may be necessary to decipher the epigenetic signals that give stem cells their unique ability to self-renew and transform them into different cell types.

19 Feb 2007

At last the culprit in Autism is revealed

An international team of scientists have discovered two new genetic links that may predispose children to develop autism.

19 Feb 2007

Genetic variations contribute to a person's risk for nicotine dependence

Americans are bombarded with antismoking messages, yet at least 65 million of us continue to light up. Genetic factors play an important role in this continuing addiction to cigarettes, suggest scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

18 Feb 2007

Enzyme important in fetal heart-cell failure - findings provide new targets for treatment

In almost all forms of heart failure, the heart begins to express genes that are normally only expressed in the fetal heart. Researchers have known for years that this fetal-gene reactivation happens, yet not what regulates it.

18 Feb 2007

Largest collection of autism DNA

Preliminary findings from the largest genome scan ever completed in the history of autism research are being published in Nature Genetics. University of Pittsburgh researchers with a consortium of scientists from across the world contributed to this landmark research endeavor through the Autism Genome Project.

18 Feb 2007

Watercress shows anti-cancer potential

Eating watercress daily can significantly reduce DNA damage to blood cells, which is considered to be an important trigger in the development of cancer, University of Ulster scientists revealed.

18 Feb 2007

HIV protein TAT used to pull protein Bim into cancer cells - helps kill cancer cells

Cancer cells are sick, but they keep growing because they don't react to internal signals urging them to die. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found an efficient way to get a messenger into cancer cells that forces them to respond to death signals. And they did it using one of the most sinister pathogens around - HIV.

15 Feb 2007

Shortening chromosomes cause for earlier cancer onset in families with Li-Fraumeni syndrome

In families with a high incidence of Li-Fraumeni syndrome, the ends of individuals' chromosomes act somewhat like a lit fuse, according to researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Their findings detail how telomeres, the ends of the chromosomes, shorten with every successive generation, leading to more severe cancers at an earlier age.

15 Feb 2007

New patented technology for next generation of DNA and RNA microarrays

A novel invention developed by a scientist from New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) could revolutionize biological and clinical research and may lead to treatments for cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer's, diabetes, and genetic and infectious diseases.

13 Feb 2007

Biochip allows genes to express themselves

Biochip platforms that work as artificial cells are attractive for medical diagnostics, interrogation of biological processes, and for the production of important biomolecules.

13 Feb 2007

Variation in gene caspase-8 may help protect against breast cancer

A large-scale analysis of data on breast cancer risk has concluded that a common variation in the gene caspase-8 (CASP8) is associated with a somewhat lower risk of the disease. Variants are small changes that occur in a gene sequence.

13 Feb 2007

FDA approves absorbable polymer suture that uses DNA technology

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it has cleared for marketing in the U.S. the TephaFLEX Absorbable Suture - the first absorbable polymer suture made from material isolated from bacteria modified by recombinant DNA technology.

12 Feb 2007

Nanoparticle boost for antitumor vaccines

Researchers have known for some time that certain sequences of synthetic DNA induce potent immune responses when injected into animals and humans.

12 Feb 2007

DNA-encoded antibody libraries

During the past several years, breakthroughs in genomic and proteomic technologies have enabled researchers to more clearly identify the biochemical networks that malfunction when a healthy cell becomes malignant.

12 Feb 2007

Type-2 diabetes genes identified

The most important genes associated with a risk of developing type-2 diabetes have been identified, scientists report today in a new study.

11 Feb 2007

PALB2 gene mutation elevates risk of breast cancer four-fold

Cancer is a complex and common disease caused by a combination of both genetic and environmental factors. An inherited predisposition seems to be involved in at least 5-10 per cent of all cases of breast cancer.

11 Feb 2007

Folate and vitamin B12 preserve cognitive function among seniors

Folate and vitamin B12, two important nutrients for the development of healthy nerves and blood cells, may work together to protect cognitive function among seniors, reports a new epidemiological study from the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University (USDA HNRCA).

11 Feb 2007

New method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities

A study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University provides the first demonstration of a practical method of screening tumors for cancer-related gene abnormalities that might be treated with "targeted" drugs.

11 Feb 2007

New diagnostic technology for routine prenatal genetic testing

Research studies demonstrating the viability of an approach to routinely detect the presence of fetal DNA in a mother's blood to accurately diagnose or rule out genetic defects -- as early as the first trimester -- was presented today at the 27th Annual Meeting of the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine being held in San Francisco.

11 Feb 2007