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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).

GeneLink net sales decrease 8.4% to $7,839,972 for 2010

GeneLink, Inc., a leading consumer genomics biotech company, today reported financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010.

4 Apr 2011

OncoSec acquires certain assets of Inovio

OncoSec Medical Incorporated, a developer of innovative medical approaches to treat solid tumor cancers with unmet medical needs, announced today that on March 24, 2011 it completed its acquisition of certain assets of Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and entered into a license agreement with Inovio, pursuant to the terms of an asset purchase agreement with Inovio entered into on March 14, 2011.

4 Apr 2011

AACR continues to increase focus on cancer clinical trials

The American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting continues to be a showcase for the most cutting edge science in cancer, and this year's meeting, held here April 2-6, will include an increased focus on clinical trials that will impact patient care.

4 Apr 2011

Leukemia & Lymphoma publishes CTI's CPOP phase I/II trial results against NHL

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. announced today that the April 2011 edition of the peer reviewed journal, Leukemia & Lymphoma published results of a phase I/II clinical trial evaluating the effect of cyclophosphamide, pixantrone, vincristine, and prednisone in treating patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who relapsed following initial therapy with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone.

4 Apr 2011

Scientists identify five new genes that increase risk of developing Alzheimer's

A leading UK scientist's search for factors that increase the risk of developing Alzheimer's has uncovered five new genes to help pinpoint what's going wrong in the brain.

4 Apr 2011

Scientists sequence tumor genomes from 50 breast cancer patients

In one of the largest cancer genomics investigations reported to date, scientists have sequenced the whole genomes of tumors from 50 breast cancer patients and compared them to the matched DNA of the same patients' healthy cells.

4 Apr 2011

Researchers identify four new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease

In the largest study of its kind, researchers from a consortium of 44 universities and research institutions in the United States, including Rush University Medical Center, identified four new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease. Each gene individually adds to the risk of having this common form of dementia later in life.

4 Apr 2011

Research offers first structural insights into 'client' protein shape in chaperone presence

In the constantly morphing field of protein structure, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute offer yet another surprise: a common "chaperone" protein in cells thought to help other proteins fold has been shown instead to loosen them.

4 Apr 2011

Life Technologies launches new TaqMan Mutation Detection Assays

Life Technologies Corporation today announced the launch of its TaqMan Mutation Detection Assays -- highly sensitive and novel molecular analysis research tools with the precision to detect a single mutant molecule hiding in a background of 1 million normal copies.

4 Apr 2011

QIAGEN to acquire Cellestis

QIAGEN N.V. has reached an agreement to acquire Cellestis Limited for approximately A$341 million in cash, providing QIAGEN with access to a novel "pre-molecular" technology that offers a new dimension in disease detection not currently possible with other diagnostic methods.

From QIAGEN Manchester Limited 4 Apr 2011

Breast cancer genome reveals potential therapeutic targets

Scientists have sequenced the entire genomes of tumors from 50 breast cancer patients and found more than 1,700 gene mutations, most of which were unique to individual patients. The researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the Siteman Cancer Center suggest that this variability and uniqueness made it difficult to predict outcomes of the cases.

3 Apr 2011

Discovery of 4 new genes associated with Alzheimer's

In the largest study of its kind, researchers from a consortium led by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine and the University of Miami identified four new genes linked to Alzheimer's disease. Each gene individually adds to the risk of having this common form of dementia later in life. These new genes offer a portal into what causes Alzheimer's disease and is a major advance in the field.

3 Apr 2011

Sunshine Biopharma to present new Adva-27a data against cancer at AACR meeting

Sunshine Biopharma, Inc. a development stage pharmaceutical company focused on the research, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of various forms of cancer, today announced that they will be presenting scientific data at the American Association for Cancer Research Meeting April 2-6, 2011 in Orlando Florida.

2 Apr 2011

Idera's IMO-2125 plus ribavirin Phase 1 trial results against HCV presented at EASL meeting

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today the presentation of data from a four-week Phase 1 clinical trial of IMO-2125 in combination with ribavirin in treatment-naïve patients chronically infected with hepatitis C virus genotype 1.

2 Apr 2011

Transgenomic to present study results of high-sensitivity cancer mutation assays at AACR

Transgenomic, Inc. announced today that its scientists have completed studies employing the company's high-sensitivity cancer mutation assays using two proprietary technologies, Ice COLD-PCR and BLOCker-Sequencing. Results from these studies will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research meeting in Orlando, Florida, April 2-6, 2011.

2 Apr 2011

Rsearchers define new step that controls programmed cell death in cancer cells

When cells find themselves in a tight spot, the cell cycle regulator p21 halts the cell cycle, buying cells time to repair the damage, or if all else fails, to initiate programmed cell death.

2 Apr 2011

Loss of SKIP sensitizes cancer cells to apoptotic effects of DNA damage-inducing anticancer drugs

When cells find themselves in a tight spot, the cell cycle regulator p21 halts the cell cycle, buying cells time to repair the damage, or if all else fails, to initiate programmed cell death. In contrast to other stress-induced genes, which dispense with the regular transcriptional entourage, p21Cip1 still requires SKIP, a transcription elongation factor that also helps with the editing of transcripts, to be expressed, found researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

2 Apr 2011

Aberrant DNA methylation may initiate cancer development

Cells control which genes they express by multiple mechanisms, one of which is the direct modification of DNA with small molecules. Methylation of genes effectively silences them, and excess DNA methylation, particularly of genes that control the cell cycle, is known to promote cancer formation.

1 Apr 2011

Study shows immune therapy can prevent pregnancy in mammals including humans

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College have shown that it is possible to immunize mammals to control fertility. They say their technique could possibly be used on other mammals -- including humans -- because fertility hormones and their receptors are species-non-specific and are similar in both females and males.

1 Apr 2011

Oncology experts educate lawmakers about latest information on radiation therapy

Leaders from the radiation oncology community – representing patients, physicians, providers, and manufacturers – met on Capitol Hill today to educate lawmakers and their staffs about the latest in radiation therapy technologies and techniques, improvements in patient care and the community's focus on patient safety in radiation therapy delivery.

1 Apr 2011