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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).

Researchers believe driver mutations promote development, growth of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is known to occur typically in older men. Yet some patients are younger than 50 years at the time of diagnosis. Scientists assume that these cases might be the key to understanding the biology of this disease. Early prostate cancer might be a subtype which is characterized by a relatively small number of genetic modifications.

21 Jan 2011

Scientists find ADAR1 enzyme protect against measles virus

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have found that a known enzyme in cells protects against measles virus, likely by altering the virus's genetic material, RNA. Cells lacking the enzyme become highly vulnerable to the virus's destructive effects. The enzyme also protects against several other respiratory viruses, including influenza A.

21 Jan 2011

Scientists decipher genetic code for a pancreatic cancer type

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have deciphered the genetic code for a type of pancreatic cancer, called neuroendocrine or islet cell tumors. The work, described online in the Jan. 20 issue of Science Express, shows that patients whose tumors have certain coding "mistakes" live twice as long as those without them.

21 Jan 2011

Akonni introduces TruTip kit for extraction of human genomic DNA from fresh, frozen whole blood

Akonni Biosystems, a molecular diagnostics company focused on providing rapid and highly scalable solutions for infectious and genetic disease testing, today announced the launch of a TruTip kit for extraction of human genomic DNA from fresh or frozen whole blood.

20 Jan 2011

ZIOPHARM's darinaparsin receives EMA COMP orphan drug designation for treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma

ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., announced today that The Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP) within the European Medicines Agency (EMA) adopted a positive opinion for darinaparsin (Zinapar™ or ZIO-101) designation as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).

20 Jan 2011

Scientists discover fundamental mechanism behind toxic protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases

Protein aggregation underlies several neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's chorea or Parkinson's. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) in Martinsried near Munich, Germany, now discovered a fundamental mechanism which explains how toxic protein aggregation occurs and why it leads to a widespread impairment of essential cellular functions.

20 Jan 2011

University of Minnesota grants Cellectis rights related to TAL effector-mediated DNA recognition and cleavage

Cellectis, the French genome engineering specialist, has announced today that it has signed an exclusive license agreement with the University of Minnesota that grants Cellectis the worldwide right to use inventions related to TAL effector-mediated DNA recognition and cleavage. This revolutionary approach for the targeted modification of genomes was developed by the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University.

20 Jan 2011

4SC initiates dosing in resminostat Phase I/II SHORE study for KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer

4SC AG, a drug discovery and development company, today announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Phase I/II SHORE study with the oral pan-histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor resminostat as a second-line treatment for patients with advanced and metastatic colorectal KRAS-mutant cancer.

20 Jan 2011

Scarab Genomics, WIST enter research agreement to produce isoprene from paper, pulp mill waste streams

Scarab Genomics, a leader in the development of production E. coli strains based on reduced genome technology and the Wisconsin Institute for Sustainable Technology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point have entered into a research agreement to produce isoprene from paper and pulp mill waste streams.

20 Jan 2011

Findings could speed use of RNA nanotechnology for treating disease

Scientists are reporting an advance in overcoming a major barrier to the use of the genetic material RNA in nanotechnology - the field that involves building machines thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair and now is dominated by its cousin, DNA. Their findings, which could speed the use of RNA nanotechnology for treating disease, appear in the monthly journal ACS Nano.

20 Jan 2011

Researchers identify PBRM1 gene mutation in one in three patients with common form of renal cancer

In a collaborative project involving scientists from three continents, researchers have identified a gene that is mutated in one in three patients with the most common form of renal cancer.

20 Jan 2011

GSK and Prosensa commence GSK2402968 Phase III study in DMD

GlaxoSmithKline and Prosensa today announced that the first patient has commenced treatment in the Phase III clinical study investigating GSK2402968, in ambulant boys with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), who have a dystrophin gene mutation amenable to an exon 51 skip (up to 13% of boys with DMD). Commencement of this study confirms previously announced plans to progress this asset into Phase III.

20 Jan 2011

UNC scientists discover how chaperone enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate DNA damage

UNC scientists who study how cells repair damage from environmental factors like sunlight and cigarette smoke have discovered how a "chaperone" enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate the DNA damage that leads to cancer and other diseases.

19 Jan 2011

Researchers create biyouyanagin compound library

Using chemical compounds found in a Japanese plant as a lead and the clever application of ultraviolet light, a Scripps Research Institute team has created a unique library of dozens of synthetic compounds to test for biomedical potential. Already, one of the compounds has shown great promise in inhibiting replication of HIV particles and fighting inflammation.

19 Jan 2011

New study provides insight into developing therapeutics for airway disease

Researchers from Duke University Medical Center have identified how nanoparticles from diesel exhaust damage lung airway cells, a finding that could lead to new therapies for people susceptible to airway disease.

19 Jan 2011

Meganucleases used to prevent HSV-1 infection

Cellectis, announced today that scientists from Cellectis therapeutics, the French National Center For Medical Research (CNRS) and Institut de la Vision (Paris) have used its proprietary meganucleases to successfully prevent infection of cultured cells by a Herpes Simplex virus (HSV-1).

19 Jan 2011

New patented technique offers unprecedented view of DNA damage

New technology providing the first view of DNA damage throughout the entire human genome developed by Cardiff University scientists could offer a valuable new insight into the development and treatment of conditions like cancer.

19 Jan 2011

Cancer cells brought back under normal control

Scientists at The University of Nottingham have brought cancer cells back under normal control — by reactivating their cancer suppressor genes. The discovery could form a powerful new technology platform for the treatment of cancer of the breast and other cancers.

19 Jan 2011

Common genetic risk factor for heart failure in Caucasians also linked to kidney function

Nearly five million Americans live with heart failure, with as many as 700,000 new cases diagnosed each year. In addition to lifestyle factors, scientists have shown that heart failure has a strong heritable component, but identifying the responsible genes has been a major challenge. Now, new research has identified a common genetic risk factor for heart failure in Caucasians that is also linked to kidney function.

19 Jan 2011

Scripps Research receives NIH grant to develop therapies for circadian rhythm disorders

The Scripps Research Institute has been awarded $3.17 million over four years to develop compounds that will counteract disruptions of the human biological clock - the circadian rhythm that regulates our patterns of activity and rest over a 24-hour daily cycle.

19 Jan 2011

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers believe driver mutations promote development, growth of prostate cancer

Scientists find ADAR1 enzyme protect against measles virus

Scientists decipher genetic code for a pancreatic cancer type

Akonni introduces TruTip kit for extraction of human genomic DNA from fresh, frozen whole blood

ZIOPHARM's darinaparsin receives EMA COMP orphan drug designation for treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma

Scientists discover fundamental mechanism behind toxic protein aggregation in neurodegenerative diseases

University of Minnesota grants Cellectis rights related to TAL effector-mediated DNA recognition and cleavage

4SC initiates dosing in resminostat Phase I/II SHORE study for KRAS-mutant colorectal cancer

Scarab Genomics, WIST enter research agreement to produce isoprene from paper, pulp mill waste streams

Findings could speed use of RNA nanotechnology for treating disease

Researchers identify PBRM1 gene mutation in one in three patients with common form of renal cancer

GSK and Prosensa commence GSK2402968 Phase III study in DMD

UNC scientists discover how chaperone enzyme plays a key role in cells' ability to tolerate DNA damage

Researchers create biyouyanagin compound library

New study provides insight into developing therapeutics for airway disease

Meganucleases used to prevent HSV-1 infection

New patented technique offers unprecedented view of DNA damage

Cancer cells brought back under normal control

Common genetic risk factor for heart failure in Caucasians also linked to kidney function

Scripps Research receives NIH grant to develop therapies for circadian rhythm disorders

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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