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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Researchers discover how dengue suppresses human immune system

Scientists have discovered a new pathway the dengue virus takes to suppress the human immune system. This new knowledge deepens our understanding of the virus and could contribute to the development of more effective therapeutics.

17 Jul 2014

CIP2A pathway involved in erlotinib response

Researchers have identified a novel mechanism, involving the cancerous inhibitor of protein phosphatase 2A pathway, which mediates the anti-tumour effects of erlotinib in non-small-cell lung cancer cells without epidermal growth factor receptor mutations.

16 Jul 2014

Researchers reveal molecular interplay between Roquin and RNA

The Roquin protein, discovered in 2005, controls T-cell activation and differentiation by regulating the expression of certain mRNAs. In doing so, it helps to guarantee immunological tolerance and prevents immune responses against the body's own structures that can lead to autoimmune disease.

16 Jul 2014

New tools for detecting and monitoring TB in captive elephants

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the organism that causes tuberculosis in humans, also afflicts Asian (and occasionally other) elephants. Diagnosing and treating elephants with TB is a challenge, however, as little is known about how their immune systems respond to the infection.

16 Jul 2014

Inflammatory shift in long-standing bipolar disorder

Patients with chronic bipolar disorder, but not those with schizophrenia, have a shift towards an M1 rather than an M2 macrophage response, research suggests.

15 Jul 2014

Advanced Cell Diagnostics’ in situ hybridization technology reaches two major milestones

Advanced Cell Diagnostics Inc. (ACD), a leader in the field of molecular pathology and developer of cell and tissue-based analysis tools, has announced that its RNAscope® RNA in situ hybridization technology has reached two major milestones. In just three years, over 100 peer-reviewed papers featuring the technology have been published, and with the significant increase in use of RNAscope, ACD has now built a library of over 4000 target probes for numerous species. Probes are designed to order in under two weeks, and in just six months the library has grown by over 1500, reflecting the wide interest in ACD’s breakthrough technology.

From Advanced Cell Diagnostics 15 Jul 2014

New potential avenues to predict and prevent ovarian cancer metastasis

Circulating tumor cells spread ovarian cancer through the bloodstream, homing in on a sheath of abdominal fatty tissue where it can grow and metastasize to other organs, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in Cancer Cell.

15 Jul 2014

Researchers describe innovative technique for early disease detection

Despite impressive medical strides, cancer remains a leading killer and overwhelming burden to healthcare systems, causing well over a half million fatalities per year with a projected cost of $174 billion by 2020, according to the National Cancer Institute.

15 Jul 2014

New genetic programs for taking blank-slate stem cells and turning them into human blood

The ability to reliably and safely make in the laboratory all of the different types of cells in human blood is one key step closer to reality.

14 Jul 2014

Study to understand molecular interplay between Roquin and RNA to treat autoimmune diseases

Scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München, the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU) and the Technische Universität München (TUM) have moved an important step closer to understanding molecular mechanisms of autoimmune diseases.

14 Jul 2014

Scientists develop RNA that binds cGMP

The transmission of signals within cells is dependent on cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) as an important secondary messenger. German scientists have now developed an RNA that binds cGMP. As reported in the journal Angewandte Chemie, it is possible to suppress the cGMP signal cascade in genetically modified cells that produce this RNA.

10 Jul 2014

NANOG gene linked to tumours derived from stratified epithelia

Scientists from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have discovered that NANOG, an essential gene for embryonic stem cells, also regulates cell division in stratified epithelia-those that form part of the epidermis of the skin or cover the oesophagus or the vagina-in adult organisms.

10 Jul 2014

TCGA finds novel mutations in key cancer-causing pathway in lung adenocarcinoma

Researchers from The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network have identified novel mutations in a well-known cancer-causing pathway in lung adenocarcinoma, the most common subtype of lung cancer.

10 Jul 2014

Rockefeller scientists identify protein that makes breast cancer cells more likely to metastasize

Using an innovative tool that captures heretofore hidden ways that cells are regulated, scientists at Rockefeller University have identified a protein that makes breast cancer cells more likely to metastasize.

10 Jul 2014

Pseudogenes may play key role in the discovery of new biomarkers

Dysfunctional, unloved and seemingly of little use, these poor-cousin relatives of genes have lost their protein-coding abilities. They contain material not essential for an organism's survival and are the "last stop" for removal of genomic waste.

8 Jul 2014

Scientists develop chip for detection of RNA strand of dengue fever virus

Scientists at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav) in Mexico developed a chip (also known as cDNA microarray) that allows detection of the RNA strand of the dengue fever virus.

7 Jul 2014

Protein may predict outcome of targeted mccRCC therapy

Levels of carbonic anhydrase 9 increase with the use of vascular endothelial growth factor-targeted therapy for metastatic clear-cell renal cancer, and high expression of this protein is associated with increased survival, show study results reported in European Urology.

3 Jul 2014

New meta-analysis highlights significant gaps in hepatitis C care

A new meta-analysis published online in PLOS ONE by infectious disease and epidemiology specialists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania highlights significant gaps in hepatitis C care that will prove useful as the U.S. health care system continues to see an influx of patients with the disease because of improved screening efforts and new, promising drugs.

3 Jul 2014

Study reveals mechanism underlying abnormal fat accumulation in HIV patients

Building upon their earlier research on the biology of fat metabolism, Joslin scientists discovered that microRNAs -small RNA molecules that play important roles in regulation in many types of tissue - play a major role in the distribution and determination of fat cells and whole body metabolism.

3 Jul 2014

Webinar outlines novel findings from RNA-Seq project performed by OGT

Oxford Gene Technology (OGT), The Molecular Genetics Company, has made the latest in its series of educational webinars available to watch online at www.ogt.com/webinars. In the webinar entitled “Developing new insights into gene expression using RNA-Seq”, Dr Christopher Jones, Research Fellow at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School (BSMS), UK, presents novel findings from a recent RNA-Seq project performed by OGT.

From Oxford Gene Technology 2 Jul 2014