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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).

Novel model reveals how genomic instability arises in histologically benign tissue

Understanding which cells give rise to which areas of cancer can improve our understanding of how a tumor has grown and developed, including how it has changed genetically, over time. This has been made possible using a new technique called spatial transcriptomics, which allows scientists to see what genetic changes take place without breaking up the tissue they're looking at.

11 Aug 2022

Study aims to understand how female fertility is established at the molecular level

Fertility is finite for mammalian females. From birth, females possess a limited number of primordial follicles, collectively called the ovarian reserve. Within each follicle is an oocyte that eventually becomes an egg. But with age, the follicles in the ovarian reserve decrease.

11 Aug 2022

Nearly three-quarters of all stem cell lines are affected by DNA damage, say researchers

DNA damage caused by factors such as ultraviolet radiation affect nearly three-quarters of all stem cell lines derived from human skin cells, say Cambridge researchers, who argue that whole genome sequencing is essential for confirming if cell lines are usable.

11 Aug 2022

New computation-guided approach to identify small molecule corrector drugs for p53 hotspot mutations

A new study, led by researchers from the University of California, Irvine and the University of California, San Diego, reveals a new computation-guided approach to identify small molecules that can restore aspects of wild-type p53 tumor suppression function to mutated p53, which play an important role in many human cancers.

11 Aug 2022

Scientists discover new target for treatment of premature aging disorders

A stretch of DNA that hops around the human genome plays a role in premature aging disorders, scientists at the Salk Institute and King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia have discovered.

10 Aug 2022

Research identifies unique vulnerabilities in ALT cancers that can serve as novel therapeutic targets

In a study recently published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, a team of researchers led by C. Patrick Reynolds, M.D., Ph.D., director for the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine Cancer Center, sought to expand upon his lab's previous research that showed ALT tumors identified by a biomarker known as C-circles share a common biology that confers vulnerabilities to be exploited for cancer therapy.

10 Aug 2022

Scientists conduct comparative analysis of monkeypox virus profilin-like proteins and human profilin proteins

In a new study, researchers explored monkeypox virus proteomics and structural characteristics of the A42R protein, the only MPXV protein in the RCSB PDB (protein data bank) and the only profilin-like protein of poxviruses with known structure.

10 Aug 2022

What is the correlation between monkeypox viral DNA and infectivity in clinical samples?

In a new study, researchers investigated the correlation between monkeypox virus (MPXV) infectivity and viral DNA content in clinical specimens.

10 Aug 2022

IRB scientists identify critical spots on the genome where gene editing could cause an unwanted response

CRISPR/Cas9 is a commonly used, very precise, gene editing technique whose development, by Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier, was recognised with the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Commonly known as "genetic scissors", CRISPR allows the introduction of the desired DNA sequence into (virtually) any spot of the genome, thus modifying or inactivating a gene. This technique is widely used in biomedical research and some CRISPR-based therapies are in clinical trials for the treatment of human blood disorders, some types of cancer and HIV, among other conditions.

10 Aug 2022

Rice University researchers model a key mechanism by which DNA replicates

Knowing the structure of a complex biological system isn't nearly enough to understand how it works. It helps to know how the system moves.

10 Aug 2022

Study evaluates the tumor-modulatory effects of opsins on melanoma cancer

Melanopsin (OPN4) is a light-sensing protein found in skin and retina cells. A new study conducted at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil suggests that OPN4 can also participate in the development and progression of melanoma, the most aggressive type of skin cancer.

10 Aug 2022

Next-generation sequencing system yields results comparable to traditional diagnostics

In the pursuit of accurate diagnoses for illnesses, doctors have traditionally used multiple methods — including culturing patient samples on a wide variety of media, reviewing countless medical records and analyzing clinical data using complex mathematical algorithms — to try to identify the bacterium, virus, fungus or other pathogen responsible for an infection.

10 Aug 2022

Pathogens in ancient DNA could explain how two civilizations collapsed

The current study has strongly indicated the presence of Y. pestis and S. enterica on the island of Crete that contributed to societal changes during 2,000 BCE.

9 Aug 2022

The eyes of mutant zebrafish help understand the role of a protein in preventing cell death

Around 15 years ago, a group of researchers discovered mutant zebrafish. The eyes of these zebrafish did not develop correctly, resulting in them being significantly smaller than the eyes of wild zebrafish.

9 Aug 2022

Novel AI tools accurately predict the role of DNA’s regulatory elements

Newly developed artificial intelligence (AI) programs accurately predicted the role of DNA's regulatory elements and three-dimensional (3D) structure based solely on its raw sequence, according to two recent studies in Nature Genetics.

9 Aug 2022

Study reveals key similarities between the nervous system of two early-diverging animal lineages

Neurons, the specialized cells of the nervous system, are possibly the most complicated cell type ever to have evolved. In humans, these cells are capable of processing and transmitting vast sums of information. But how such complicated cells first came about remains a long-standing debate.

9 Aug 2022

Serbia's genome center monitors potential virus mutations to facilitate more effective COVID-19 control

In partnership with BGI Genomics from China, Serbia's first genome sequencing center, opened in December 2021, is monitoring potential virus mutations to facilitate more effective COVID-19 control and accelerating access to genomics to enhance health outcomes.

9 Aug 2022

Study demonstrates the success rate of gene analysis using cytological specimens to be extremely high

Personalized medicine for lung cancer using molecular-targeted drugs is common but there have been no prospective validation studies done on the usefulness of lung cancer gene panel testing using cytology samples.

8 Aug 2022

Scientists find key molecular differences between breast cancer cells in initial and metastatic tumors

Studying a deadly type of breast cancer called triple negative, Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists say they have identified key molecular differences between cancer cells that cling to an initial tumor and those that venture off to form distant tumors.

8 Aug 2022

Research progress on the three-dimensional interaction between virus and host genome

A recent study reviewed the current progress on 3D interactions between host and viral genomes.

8 Aug 2022

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Novel model reveals how genomic instability arises in histologically benign tissue

Study aims to understand how female fertility is established at the molecular level

Nearly three-quarters of all stem cell lines are affected by DNA damage, say researchers

New computation-guided approach to identify small molecule corrector drugs for p53 hotspot mutations

Scientists discover new target for treatment of premature aging disorders

Research identifies unique vulnerabilities in ALT cancers that can serve as novel therapeutic targets

Scientists conduct comparative analysis of monkeypox virus profilin-like proteins and human profilin proteins

What is the correlation between monkeypox viral DNA and infectivity in clinical samples?

IRB scientists identify critical spots on the genome where gene editing could cause an unwanted response

Rice University researchers model a key mechanism by which DNA replicates

Study evaluates the tumor-modulatory effects of opsins on melanoma cancer

Next-generation sequencing system yields results comparable to traditional diagnostics

Pathogens in ancient DNA could explain how two civilizations collapsed

The eyes of mutant zebrafish help understand the role of a protein in preventing cell death

Novel AI tools accurately predict the role of DNA’s regulatory elements

Study reveals key similarities between the nervous system of two early-diverging animal lineages

Serbia's genome center monitors potential virus mutations to facilitate more effective COVID-19 control

Study demonstrates the success rate of gene analysis using cytological specimens to be extremely high

Scientists find key molecular differences between breast cancer cells in initial and metastatic tumors

Research progress on the three-dimensional interaction between virus and host genome

eBook: A guide to RNA sequencing eBook

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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