DNA Replication News and Research

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DNA replication, the basis for biological inheritance, is a fundamental process occurring in all living organisms to copy their DNA. This process is "semiconservative" in that each strand of the original double-stranded DNA molecule serves as template for the reproduction of the complementary strand. Hence, following DNA replication, two identical DNA molecules have been produced from a single double-stranded DNA molecule. Cellular proofreading and error-checking mechanisms ensure near perfect fidelity for DNA replication.

Study helps understand basic mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA maintenance

Researchers at the University of Eastern Finland have discovered a novel mechanism safeguarding mitochondrial DNA. The study, published in PNAS earlier this week, was carried out in close collaboration with research groups from CBMSO in Madrid, Spain, and Umeå University in Sweden.

13 Oct 2017

New test identifies antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 30 minutes

The discovery of antibiotics in the early part of the 20th century changed modern medicine. Simple infections that previously killed people became easy to treat. Antibiotics' ability to stave off infections made possible routine surgeries, organ transplants, and chemotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

4 Oct 2017

Immunotherapy could help some breast cancer patients based on genetic changes in their tumors

Immunotherapy drugs could help some breast cancer patients based on the genetic changes in their tumors, researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and their collaborators find.

13 Sep 2017

Impaired DNA replication may lead to trans-generational inheritance of epigenetic changes

Scientists reveal that a fault in the process that copies DNA during cell division can cause epigenetic changes that may be inherited for up-to five generations.

17 Aug 2017

Vanderbilt researchers unravel how bacterial toxin prevents DNA replication

One of the most potent toxins known acts by welding the two strands of the famous double helix together in a unique fashion which foils the standard repair mechanisms cells use to protect their DNA.

2 Aug 2017

Scientist offers evidence to challenge mutation accumulation theory of oncogenesis

What causes cancer? Smoking, certainly, and also things like sun and chemical exposure. Cancer risk also increases with some genetic predispositions and in old age.

1 Aug 2017

New imaging approach reveals dynamic and structural interactions of DNA in cell's nucleus

Sixty-four years ago, James Watson and Francis Crick described the now-iconic double helix structure of DNA.

29 Jul 2017

Scientists use supercomputers to test new techniques for early cancer detection

An important factor in fighting cancer is the speed at which the disease can be identified, diagnosed and treated.

28 Jun 2017

Fluorescent proteins found in jellyfish shed new light on DNA copying

Using these proteins, originally found in jellyfish to make them glow, the team where able to focus laser beams on the brightly lit proteins and track them inside a bacteria that normally lives inside the human gut.

28 Jun 2017

Complete DNA sequencing should not be feared according to researchers

It is now much easier than before to do a complete DNA sequencing of patients to look at all the three billion letters that make up a person’s genetic code or genome. DNA sequencing prices have fallen and it could soon be a part of routine medical tests experts suggest. However there is public fear associated with complete sequencing. Researchers looked at the fact if this fear was actually justified.

26 Jun 2017

Synergistic drug pairing: New approach to combat MDR bacterial infections

Antibiotics were the wonder drug of the 20th century, but persistent use and over-prescription have opened the door that has allowed bacteria to evolve resistance.

20 Jun 2017

Near-atomic resolution 3D snapshots show how key biological machine unfolds problematic proteins

Hand over hand. That's how new, near-atomic resolution, 3-D snapshots show that a key biological machine unfolds a ribbon of protein through its central channel.

16 Jun 2017

'Mismatch repair' genetic defects drive cancer patient's response to immunotherapy drugs

In an expanded, three-year clinical trial of 86 patients with colorectal and 11 other kinds of cancer that have so-called 'mismatch repair' genetic defects, scientists at Johns Hopkins Medicine and its Bloomberg~Kimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy have found that half of the patients respond to an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab.

9 Jun 2017

Research reveals role of Rrm3 protein in repair of breaks that occur during DNA replication

A research group from the University of Seville has revealed the role that the protein Rrm3 plays in the repair of breaks that occur during the replication of DNA, by using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a model organism.

8 Jun 2017

Lethal DNA re-replication may be used to attack cancer cells

DNA over-replication is a phenomenon that can have devastating consequences for proliferating cells. When parts of the genome are duplicated more than once, cells suffer from 'genomic instability' (alterations to the structure, composition and/or number of chromosomes), and this process gives rise to aberrant cells as those detected in many carcinomas.

4 May 2017

Salk Institute receives additional $3 million Glenn Foundation gift to continue aging research

The Salk Institute has received a $3 million gift from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research for the second time in 4 years, enabling the Institute to continue investigating the biology of normal human aging and age-related diseases.

10 Apr 2017

Study identifies protein as potential therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer

A protein known as arginine methyltransferase 1 (PRMT1) may be a potential therapeutic target for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common type of pancreatic cancer, and one of the most deadliest with a less than 10 percent, five-year survival rate.

28 Mar 2017

Micron Oxford advance their cellular imaging techniques using the super-resolution Nanoimager

Micron Oxford is a collaborative, multidisciplinary bioimaging unit working with biomedical researchers in the Oxford area and beyond, to apply advanced light microscopy imaging techniques to address key biological questions.

24 Mar 2017

High-resolution images of protein complex performing first step in genome-replication dance captured

It's a good thing we don't have to think about putting all the necessary pieces in place when one of our trillions of cells needs to duplicate its DNA and then divide to produce identical daughter cells.

17 Mar 2017

New compounds with potent anticancer activity could lessen side effects of oncological treatments

The Universitat Jaume I, the Spanish Centre for Advanced Scientific Research and the University of Pavia have patented new compounds with potent anticancer activity in breast and colon tumour cell lines that have low toxicity in healthy cells, which can dramatically decrease side effects during chemotherapy treatment.

23 Feb 2017