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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).

Women with inflammatory breast cancer now have a chance of treatment

Women with the deadliest and rarest form of breast cancer now have a chance of treatment where once their options were severely limited, thanks to a new discovery by George Mason University researchers.

15 Nov 2011

Scientists discover molecular basis for tamoxifen resistance and potential way to defeat it

In the last three decades, thousands of women with breast cancer have taken the drug tamoxifen, only to discover that the therapy doesn't work, either because their tumors do not respond to the treatment at all, or because they develop resistance to it over time. Now researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) have discovered the molecular basis for tamoxifen resistance and found a potential way to defeat it.

14 Nov 2011

ZIOPHARM announces darinaparsin preclinical data on prostate cancer

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., a drug development company employing small molecule and synthetic biology approaches to cancer therapy, announced today that results from preclinical studies of darinaparsin (Zinapar or ZIO-101), a novel organic arsenic, in prostate cancer were presented at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics, taking place November 12-16 in San Francisco.

14 Nov 2011

Researchers show how ER-positive breast cancer tumors become resistant to tamoxifen

Researchers have shown how estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer tumors become resistant to tamoxifen, the only approved hormonal therapy for premenopausal patients with this type of breast cancer.

14 Nov 2011

Researchers retrace evolution of unusual bacterial infection

Researchers at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston have retraced the evolution of an unusual bacterial infection as it spread among cystic fibrosis patients by sequencing scores of samples collected during the outbreak, since contained.

14 Nov 2011

Mutations make Staph more resistant to antibiotics

Infectious diseases specialists from Austin Health are working closely with Microbiologists from the University of Melbourne to understand how Staph is becoming resistant to all antibiotic therapies.

11 Nov 2011

Scientists suppress NCoR1 protein and create mighty mice

A team of researchers at EPFL, the University of Lausanne and the Salk Institute created super strong, marathon mice and nematodes by reducing the function of a natural inhibitor, suggesting treatments for age-related or genetically caused muscle degeneration are within reach.

11 Nov 2011

Regulated gene transcription more complex than previously thought

Cells develop and thrive by turning genes on and off as needed in a precise pattern, a process known as regulated gene transcription. In a paper published in the Nov. 9 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say this process is even more complex than previously thought, with regulated genes actually relocated to other, more conducive places in the cell nucleus.

11 Nov 2011

Berkeley Lab, Bruker partner to develop and distribute new structural biology methods

Bruker Corporation and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) today announced a collaboration to develop and distribute new structural biology methods and tools to integrate Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) with Nuclear Magnetic Resonance.

11 Nov 2011

GenMark Diagnostics third quarter revenues increase 90% to $1.3 million

GenMark Diagnostics, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011.

10 Nov 2011

Combination of azacitidine and entinostat shows promise against NSCLC

A new type of therapy aimed at reversing the gene-silencing that promotes cancer-cell growth has shown promising results in a small clinical trial conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center.

10 Nov 2011

Study reveals role of circadian rhythms in regenerative capacity of skin stem cells

The investigation reveals the role of the daily biological clock (circadian rhythms) in the regenerative capacity of skin stem cells. Disruption of this rhythm results in premature tissue ageing and a greater predisposition to the development of skin tumours. The

10 Nov 2011

Aristolochic acid leads to kidney failure, upper urinary tract cancer

Aristolochic acid, a component of a plant used in herbal remedies since ancient times and still used in certain herbal medicines worldwide, leads to kidney failure and upper urinary tract cancer in individuals exposed to the toxin.

10 Nov 2011

UC Riverside professor to co-lead '1000 Fungal Genomes' project

Jason Stajich, an assistant professor of plant pathology and microbiology at the University of California, Riverside, is a member of an international research team that, in collaboration with the Joint Genome Institute of the U.S. Department of Energy, has embarked on a five-year project to sequence 1000 fungal genomes from across the Fungal Tree of Life.

10 Nov 2011

Transgenomic third quarter total revenue increases 87% to $8.3 million

Transgenomic, Inc. today reported financial results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and provided a business update.

10 Nov 2011

Idera third quarter net loss increases to $5.5 million

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2011. Idera is a biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of DNA- and RNA-based drug candidates targeted to Toll-like receptors (TLRs).

9 Nov 2011

Ground-breaking study into causes of high blood pressure

A researcher from the University of Leicester's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences has been involved in a ground-breaking study into the causes of high blood pressure.

9 Nov 2011

Genetic sequencing key to fundamentally understanding diseases

What started back in 2004 as a three-person start-up may well be on its way to becoming a multi-million euro success story. Advanced by a team of young Dutch scientists pushing disruptive biotech innovations onto the market, the SME FlexGen is attracting the attention of some key investors and demonstrating the added value that public support can offer to innovative SMES, with the Eurostars funding programme leading the way.

9 Nov 2011

Protein p97/VCP aids DNA repair like a corkscrew

Human genetic material is constantly at risk of injury from the environment. Possible causes of damage include metabolic processes, chemical substances or ionizing radiation, such as X-radiation.

9 Nov 2011

Maryland anesthesiologist named 2011 Researcher of the Year

Often on the mind of Gary Fiskum, PhD, are the more than 250,000 people in the U.S. who get resuscitated from cardiac arrest each year, the 6 million living with traumatic brain injuries, and the wounded warriors whose brain whose brains sustain enormous G-forces from roadside bombs in the war zone.

9 Nov 2011