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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).

Tumor-related risk factors affect conversion of active surveillance to treatment for prostate cancer

For men with "low-risk" prostate cancer initially managed with active surveillance, cancer-related factors such as tumor grade and size are key risk factors for conversion to active treatment, reports a study in The Journal of Urology®, an Official Journal of the American Urological Association.

10 Sep 2021

Washington University School of Medicine receives $7 million to investigate how human genome works

Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has received a $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to help lead national efforts to investigate how variations in the human genome sequence affect how the genome functions.

9 Sep 2021

UC San Diego researchers receive $6 million NIH grant to study insulin-producing cells

Sequencing the human genome -; a feat accomplished in 2003 -; provided the list of ingredients that make up a human being, but not the instructions that explain how those ingredients are used by each cell type to create complex "meals."

9 Sep 2021

Autoimmune antibodies strongly linked to the severity of illness in COVID-19 patients

The presence of special immune system defense molecules, called autoimmune antibodies, has been strongly tied to how poorly people fare when hospitalized with COVID-19, a new study shows.

9 Sep 2021

IGVF consortium receives NIH funding to study how genomic variation influences biological function

The National Institutes of Health is providing approximately $185 million over five years to the Impact of Genomic Variation on Function consortium, initiated and funded by NIH's National Human Genome Research Institute.

9 Sep 2021

Are bat retroviruses a threat to humans?

Zoonotic viruses that bats transmit are capable of infecting humans and have caused devastating infections throughout the world.

9 Sep 2021

New vaccinia-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate induces robust, durable immune responses

Researchers in Australia have developed a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-9) vaccine that induced robust and long-lived humoral and cellular immune responses against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in both young and aging mice.

8 Sep 2021

Self-correcting genetic mutations may protect patients with shortened telomeres from blood cancers

People with rare disorders that cause shortened telomeres — protective caps that sit at the end of chromosomes — may be more likely to have blood cancers such as leukemia or myelodyplastic syndrome.

8 Sep 2021

$New tool can rapidly quantify T cell fraction and predict immunotherapy response$

New tool can rapidly quantify T cell fraction and predict immunotherapy response

Scientists at UCL and the Francis Crick Institute, London, have developed a new tool, which can rapidly estimate the number of T cells (immune cells) in a cancerous tumor; with T cell abundance helping predict a patient's response to immunotherapy, researchers are hopeful this could enable more targeted and effective cancer therapies.

8 Sep 2021

Researchers receive $12.8M renewal grant to reveal how smoking causes distinct lung diseases

Despite cigarette smoking being the single most preventable risk factor for both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), two devastating diseases that make it hard to breathe, about 44 million American adults continue to smoke.

8 Sep 2021

Asthmatic children who are overweight or obese less likely to respond to inhaled steroids

Asthmatic children are less likely to respond to inhaled steroid medication if they are overweight or obese, and this leads to more frequent asthma attacks, according to research presented at the 'virtual' European Respiratory Society International Congress today (Wednesday).

8 Sep 2021

A study of 105 protective and risk factors related to the incidence and severity of COVID-19

A recent study discusses both the known and unknown factors that may affect the risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and a severe course of COVID-19.

7 Sep 2021

Newly identified mechanism can accelerate the development of STING-activating drugs using imaging

A new study from scientists at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center found that emerging drugs that activate the protein STING, a well-established regulator of immune cell activation, substantially alter the activity of metabolic pathways responsible for generating the nucleotide building blocks for DNA.

7 Sep 2021

Optimized strategy for generating male germ-cells from mouse pluripotent stem cells

For species that rely on sexual reproduction, including mice and men, offspring can only happen if sperm from the male fertilize eggs from the female.

7 Sep 2021

Research reveals a previously unknown role for a key transcription regulator linked to cancer

CTCF is a transcription factor that has been a research target due to its role in regulating a critical oncogene called MYC.

7 Sep 2021

Study offers important evidence for the safety of stem cell transplants

Stem cell transplants do not lead to changes in the DNA of the donor cells. That's according to a new study, which provides important evidence for the safety of this procedure.

7 Sep 2021

HKBU scientists find significant link between PM2.5 exposure and neurological disorders

A comprehensive, systematic meta-analysis conducted by HKBU scientists found a significant association between exposure to PM2.5, i.e., fine particulates with equivalent diameters of less than 2.5 microns suspended in the air, and neurological disorders.

7 Sep 2021

Multiplexed electrochemical sensor platform enables simultaneous detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and host antibodies

Scientists from the UK and USA have developed an antifouling nanocomposite-coated multiplexed electrochemical sensor platform that can simultaneously detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA and virus-specific antibodies. The platform has shown 100% accuracy in detecting viral RNA and IgG-specific anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

6 Sep 2021

New insights could help unlock the mystery of how lung cancer arises in never smokers

A genomic analysis of lung cancer in people with no history of smoking has found that a majority of these tumors arise from the accumulation of mutations caused by natural processes in the body.

6 Sep 2021

Cancer treatment with terpyridine platinum compounds induces telomere dysfunction, chromosome instability

Oncotarget published "Terpyridine platinum compounds induce telomere dysfunction and chromosome instability in cancer cells" which reported that this assay is based on the use of two isogenic HT1080 cell lines, one carrying a linear HAC and the other carrying a circular HAC.

6 Sep 2021

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Tumor-related risk factors affect conversion of active surveillance to treatment for prostate cancer

Washington University School of Medicine receives $7 million to investigate how human genome works

UC San Diego researchers receive $6 million NIH grant to study insulin-producing cells

Autoimmune antibodies strongly linked to the severity of illness in COVID-19 patients

IGVF consortium receives NIH funding to study how genomic variation influences biological function

Are bat retroviruses a threat to humans?

New vaccinia-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate induces robust, durable immune responses

Self-correcting genetic mutations may protect patients with shortened telomeres from blood cancers

New tool can rapidly quantify T cell fraction and predict immunotherapy response

Researchers receive $12.8M renewal grant to reveal how smoking causes distinct lung diseases

Asthmatic children who are overweight or obese less likely to respond to inhaled steroids

A study of 105 protective and risk factors related to the incidence and severity of COVID-19

Newly identified mechanism can accelerate the development of STING-activating drugs using imaging

Optimized strategy for generating male germ-cells from mouse pluripotent stem cells

Research reveals a previously unknown role for a key transcription regulator linked to cancer

Study offers important evidence for the safety of stem cell transplants

HKBU scientists find significant link between PM2.5 exposure and neurological disorders

Multiplexed electrochemical sensor platform enables simultaneous detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and host antibodies

New insights could help unlock the mystery of how lung cancer arises in never smokers

Cancer treatment with terpyridine platinum compounds induces telomere dysfunction, chromosome instability

eBook: Exploring the Cell Cycle and DNA Damage and Repair 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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