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Endogenous retroviruses may have played significant role in development of the brain

Over millions of years retroviruses have been incorporated into our human DNA, where they today make up almost 10 per cent of the total genome.

12 Jan 2017

Scientists develop genetically engineered T cells with fusion inhibitor to disrupt HIV's harpoon

When HIV attacks a T cell, it attaches itself to the cell's surface and launches a "harpoon" to create an opening to enter and infect the cells.

18 Nov 2016

Yale researchers use new gene editing technique to correct mutations that cause thalassemia

A Yale-led research team used a new gene editing strategy to correct mutations that cause thalassemia, a form of anemia.

26 Oct 2016

Scientists discover new switch that coordinates DNA repair and cell death

The genetic information of every cell is encoded in the sequence of the DNA double helix. Double strand breaks in the DNA, which can be induced by radiation, are a dangerous threat to the cells, and if not properly repaired can lead to cancer.

28 Sep 2016

Salk scientist Clodagh O'Shea named recipient of grant from Faculty Scholars Program

Clodagh O'Shea, an associate professor in the Salk Institute's Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, is among the first recipients of a grant from the Faculty Scholars Program, a new partnership of Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Simons Foundation for early career researchers whose work shows the potential for groundbreaking contributions in their fields.

24 Sep 2016

New four-stranded version of DNA may hold key to development of targeted cancer therapies

Scientists have identified where a four-stranded version of DNA exists within the genome of human cells, and suggest that it may hold a key to developing new, targeted therapies for cancer.

13 Sep 2016

New research article reveals global patterns of genetic variation

Published in today's edition of Nature, the research led by Dr Monkol Lek of the University of Sydney and Dr Daniel MacArthur of The Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard Universities reveals patterns of genetic variation worldwide by sequencing the exomes of 60,706 individuals with diverse geographic ancestries, including European, African, South Asian, East Asian and Latino populations.

18 Aug 2016

ISU researchers design nanomachine capable of detecting mock version of Ebola virus

Imagine you want to build an intricate work of architecture, like a castle. Now imagine that, once all its individual components are brought together, the castle builds itself automatically. Finally, imagine this castle is so small that it's measured on the same scale as DNA, viruses and small molecules.

28 Jun 2016

Researchers reveal DNA unwrapping can happen asymmetrically to expose specific genes

The protein complex that holds strands of DNA in compact spools partially disassembles itself to help genes reveal themselves to specialized proteins and enzymes for activation, according to Rice University researchers and their colleagues.

22 Jun 2016

New research offers more insights into development of Kennedy's disease

Kennedy's disease leads to progressive muscle wastage. It is a condition that affects only men and it appears between 40 and 50 years of age. There is no specific treatment available.

13 Jun 2016

RNA molecular dynamics research provides key insights into new treatments for retroviral diseases

New molecular dynamics research into how RNA folds into hairpin-shaped structures called tetraloops could provide important insights into new treatments for retroviral diseases.

1 Jun 2016

Novel method for designing geometric structures created from DNA

Among the valuable holdings in London's Wellcome Library is a rough pencil sketch made in 1953 by Francis Crick. The drawing is one of the first to show the double-helix structure of DNA--Nature's blueprint for the design of sea snails, human beings, and every other living form on earth.

27 May 2016

Chloride switch controls critical step in basement membrane formation

Chloride plays a key role in the formation of the basement membrane, a suprastructure on the outside of cells that undergirds and guides the function of most of the tissues of the body.

24 May 2016

Cryo-EM technique allows researchers to visualize large transcription PICs at near-atomic resolution

An unprecedented molecular view of the critical early events in gene expression, a process essential for all life, has been provided by researchers at Georgia State University, the University of California at Berkeley and Northwestern University.

12 May 2016

BioAFM Advancements

In this interview, News Medical talks to Dr. Thomas Mueller of Bruker Nano surface, about the advances in BioAFM.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 3 May 2016

Scientists use FAN1 knockout mice to refine detailed mechanisms involved in damaged DNA repair

Like jewels in a vault, our precious genetic material is stored in the nucleus of a cell--sequestered away from potentially damaging cellular components and toxins so that no harm can come to it. Yet over the course of a life moving through this world, our DNA does get damaged, and our cells have a host of complicated repair mechanisms to deal with such injuries.

13 Apr 2016

Newly developed computer models can simulate stem cell transplant recovery

Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University have developed computer models that can simulate the recovery of the immune system in patients undergoing stem cell transplants.

18 Mar 2016

Cell-based tests reveal no activity in cells exposed to vapour from Vype ePen

A series of cell-based tests developed to compare the biological impact of cigarette smoke with e-cigarette vapour revealed no activity in cells exposed to vapour from Vype ePen, a commercially available e-cigarette.

16 Mar 2016

Delivering microRNAs in cancer treatment: an interview with Dr Conde and Prof Artzi

microRNAs (miRs) are small endogenous noncoding RNA molecules (20–23 nucleotides) derived from imperfectly paired hairpin RNA structures naturally encoded in the genome that act specifically as triggering molecules to control translational repression or mRNA degradation.

11 Mar 2016

CNIO researchers find panoramic view of proteins that intervene in a cellular process

Three years ago, the research team directed by Óscar Fernández-Capetillo, head of the Genomic Instability Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre, obtained, for the first time, a panoramic view of the proteins that intervene in one of the most important and delicate cellular processes: the copying of genetic material during cellular division. They observed that the parts of the genome where the DNA was copied were also very rich in the modification by some very particular proteins, SUMOylations, and poor in others, ubiquitinations, but they were unable to understand why.

8 Mar 2016