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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).

Tel Aviv University's new Genome Analyzer fuels research dreams and tomorrow's cures

To identify the hemophilia mutation that affected Queen Victoria and her European relatives, scientific detectives used a cutting-edge "deep sequencing tool." Able to trace rare genetic disease mutations, the tool can turn a single laboratory into a fertile genetic research center.

22 Dec 2009

SenoRx wins patent infringement case

Hologic, Inc. (Hologic or the Company), a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of premium diagnostics, medical imaging systems and surgical products dedicated to serving the healthcare needs of women, today announced that the jury in the patent infringement lawsuit against SenoRx brought by Hologic, Cytyc Corp., and Hologic L.P., Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California has returned a verdict in favor of SenoRx.

22 Dec 2009

ONE launches clinical software and business services for medical billing companies and physician groups

The Power of One (ONE) today announced simple but powerful clinical software and business services for radiology, anesthesiology, cardiology, pathology and multi-specialty physician groups. ONE offers its software and services to medical billing companies, academic hospitals, and an array of hospital and office-based practices, including individual and group practices in the Northeast. ONE's purpose is to allow physicians, practices and medical billing companies to take control of their increasingly adverse environment.

22 Dec 2009

Scientists identify role of epigenetic changes in SLE

Identical twins look the same and are nearly genetically identical, but environmental factors and the resulting cellular changes could cause disease in one sibling and not the other.

22 Dec 2009

Discovery suggests how toxin-filtering cells go awry

Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston and Brigham and Women's Hospital have identified an important genetic cause of a devastating kidney disease that is the second leading cause of kidney failure in children, according to The NephCure Foundation.

22 Dec 2009

BUSM researchers discover new gene therapy for treating emphysema patients

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered a new gene therapy that may prevent the progression of emphysema. The study, which appears on-line in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, describes a method to express therapeutic genes in lung tissue for a lifetime after only a single treatment.

22 Dec 2009

Positive interim results from Idera Pharmaceuticals' IMO-2125 Phase 1 clinical trial for HCV

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced positive interim results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of IMO-2125 in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection (HCV). IMO-2125 is an agonist of Toll-like Receptor 9 that Idera designed to treat HCV by inducing endogenous interferon-alpha and other Th1-type cytokines and chemokines.

21 Dec 2009

TessArae's RM-Flu test granted FDA EUA

TessArae, LLC, a privately held company, and Affymetrix Inc., (NASDAQ:AFFX) today announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) to TessArae for its TessArray® Resequencing Influenza A Microarray Detection Panel for the Detection of the 2009 H1N1 Influenza A Virus (TessArray RM-Flu test) for the duration of the declaration of emergency unless revoked earlier. The declaration of emergency will expire on April 26, 2010, unless terminated earlier or renewed.

21 Dec 2009

Researchers determine structures of two enzymes that customize histones

Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have determined the structures of two enzymes that customize histones, the spool-like proteins around which DNA coils inside the cell.

20 Dec 2009

Influence of key transcription factor is less widespread than thought and varies over time

For decades, science texts have told a simple and straightforward story about a particular protein-a transcription factor-that helps the embryo of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, pattern tissues in a manner that depends on the levels of this factor within individual cells.

18 Dec 2009

UAB professors honored for scientific contributions and outstanding mentorship

Three University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) professors have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

18 Dec 2009

New technology sheds light on intracellular transport

Using new technology developed in his University of Oregon lab, chemist Andrew H. Marcus and his doctoral student Eric N. Senning have captured what they describe as well-orchestrated, actin-driven, mitochondrial movement within a single cell.

18 Dec 2009

Genetic variant associated with reduced risk of COPD

What: Researchers have discovered evidence that suggests a genetic variant may be associated with better preserved lung function among children with asthma and adults who smoke, according to a new study funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), which is part of the National Institutes of Health.

18 Dec 2009

Roche Diagnostics and Takara Bio enter into license agreement

Roche Diagnostics and Takara Bio, the Shiga (Japan)-based supplier of systems for use in life science research, announced that they have entered into a license agreement for use of the melting curve analysis technology and SYBR Green techniques in their Kits and Instruments for Real Time PCR.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 18 Dec 2009

Full Accreditation in Health Utilization Management awarded to DNA Direct

DNA Direct, a leading provider of guidance and decision support for genomic medicine, announced today that it has been awarded Full Accreditation in Health Utilization Management by URAC, a Washington D.C.-based health care accrediting organization that establishes quality standards for the health care industry.

17 Dec 2009

Avecia Biologics to be acquired by Merck

Merck & Co. Inc., (operating in the United Kingdom as MSD) and Avecia Investments Limited today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement by which Merck will acquire the biologics business of the Avecia group through a Merck affiliate (Merck Sharp & Dohme (Holdings) Limited or "MSD"). Avecia Biologics is a contract manufacturing organization with specific expertise in microbial-derived biologics. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

17 Dec 2009

Advances in DNA-sequencing technology help identify your personal genome

What secrets about your risk for diseases are written in your own personal "Book of Life" - the 30,000 or so genes that make you you? Advances in DNA-sequencing technology are bringing closer the day when it will be more economical for consumers to get an answer to that question, and others, by ordering up the deciphering of their entire genetic endowment - their "personal genome."

17 Dec 2009

Next-generation DNA sequencing demonstrates potential in identifying mutations in SCLC

Applied Biosystems, part of Life Technologies Corporation, today announced the publication of a paper in the journal Nature that demonstrates the power of next-generation DNA sequencing used to identify DNA mutations in a small cell lung cancer (SCLC) line and identify the mutational burden associated with tobacco smoking.

17 Dec 2009

Human embryonic stem cell lines lack genetic diversity, says study

The most widely used human embryonic stem cell lines lack genetic diversity, a finding that raises social justice questions that must be addressed to ensure that all sectors of society benefit from stem cell advances, according to a University of Michigan research team.

17 Dec 2009