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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).

What makes the elderly more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection?

Why is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019), biased towards infecting the aged population? A recently published study by Italian scientists linked aging, DNA damage, telomere shortening, and increased levels of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) to this relationship.

13 Jun 2021

Joint ICMRA and WHO statement explains how COVID-19 vaccines are regulated for safety, effectiveness

Healthcare professionals and public health authorities have a central role in discussing vaccination against COVID-19 with their patients.

13 Jun 2021

Proteins that control small heat shock genes allows plants to deal with heat stress

"If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen," as the old saying goes. But for organisms that can't leave the proverbial kitchen when things get too hot, there's another way: researchers from Japan have discovered that plants can gain heat tolerance to better adapt to future heat stress, thanks to a particular mechanism for heat stress 'memory'.

11 Jun 2021

New gene expression network can help understand mechanism behind continuous stem cell activity in plants

An inter-university research group has succeeded in constructing the gene expression network behind the vascular development process in plants.

11 Jun 2021

New technique uses high-throughput sequencing to obtain ultra-high-resolution images of gene expression

The 30,000 or so genes making up the human genome contain the instructions vital to life. Yet each of our cells expresses only a subset of these genes in their daily functioning. The difference between a heart cell and a liver cell, for example, is determined by which genes are expressed--and the correct expression of genes can mean the difference between health and disease.

11 Jun 2021

Naked mole rats may hold the key to new treatments for cancer, dementia

Scientists say naked mole rats - a rodent native to West Africa - may hold the key to new treatments for degenerative diseases such as cancer and dementia. The reclusive animals have a lifespan far in excess of other rodents - for example, mice and rats live about two years, whereas naked mole rats can live for 40 or 50 years.

11 Jun 2021

Metformin prevents pulmonary or lung inflammation in animals infected with SARS-CoV-2

Metformin is a widely prescribed blood sugar-lowering drug. It is often used as an early therapy (in combination with diet and lifestyle changes) for type 2 diabetes, which afflicts more than 34 million Americans.

11 Jun 2021

New approach could revolutionize treatment, prevention of Parkinson’s disease

Researchers from Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Japan may have unraveled a new approach that could revolutionize the treatment, prevention, and possibly reversal of the damages that could lead to Parkinson's Disease (PD).

11 Jun 2021

Study shows how XRCC1 gene untangles proteins that trigger cancerous tumors

Even on a good day, DNA is constantly getting damaged. Nicks, scratches, breaks: the delicate strands that carry life's genetic code take a beating as they jumble about in the course of their work. If left untreated, errors accumulate, with fatal consequences -- such as cancerous tumors -- for the cell and the organism.

11 Jun 2021

Study provides treatment options for children with average risk medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer. This cancer can spread through the spinal fluid and be deposited elsewhere in the brain or spine.

11 Jun 2021

Scientists develop new method for single-cell lineage tracing of metastatic cancer

It's often cancer's spread, not the original tumor, that poses the disease's most deadly risk.

10 Jun 2021

Major anti-cancer protein released by neutrophils selectively kills tumor cells

A study published in the June 10, 2021 issue of Cell describes a remarkable new mechanism by which the body's own immune system can eliminate cancer cells without damaging host cells.

10 Jun 2021

Study implicates placental protein as a possible regulator of an infant’s birthweight

New findings from the University of Minnesota Medical School are helping uncover why some people are more likely to be overweight and develop Type 2 diabetes -- and it starts in the womb.

10 Jun 2021

Researchers develop new method to make CRISPR gene editing more precise

CRISPR Researchers from Aarhus University and University of Copenhagen have developed a new method, which makes CRISPR gene editing more precise than conventional methods.

10 Jun 2021

LIM domain only 1 gene contributes to the tumorigenesis of multiple cancers

Humans have been plagued by a myriad of deadly cancers since ages. Parallelly, they have also been attempting different permutations and combinations of treatments to cure the disease. Part of these attempts involving biomolecular targets have come to the fore in recent years.

10 Jun 2021

Study reveals new insights into how genes are regulated in dementia

The largest study of its kind has unveiled new insights into how genes are regulated in dementia, including discovering 84 new genes linked to the disease.

10 Jun 2021

Rapamycin targets gut cells to alter the way DNA is stored

Our genetic material is stored in our cells in a specific way to make the meter-long DNA molecule fit into the tiny cell nucleus of each body cell.

10 Jun 2021

Research clarifies neuron-specific DNA methylation changes and characteristics in bipolar disorder

A research collaboration based in Kumamoto University, Japan has revealed the DNA methylation status of gene transcriptional regulatory regions in the frontal lobes of patients with bipolar disorder (BD).

9 Jun 2021

DNA on-off switches for SARS-CoV-2 host receptor as potential therapeutic targets

Researchers in the United States and Canada have identified DNA on/off “switches” within the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) gene that may control the expression of this host cell receptor before, during and after infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

9 Jun 2021

What are the challenges of SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance in COVID-19 vaccine recipients?

An opinion paper by researchers from the US and Italy recently discussed various aspects of monitoring anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies before and after receiving COVID-19 vaccination to highlight the pros and cons of this monitoring strategy. This paper is published in the open-access journal Diagnostics.

9 Jun 2021

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

What makes the elderly more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection?

Joint ICMRA and WHO statement explains how COVID-19 vaccines are regulated for safety, effectiveness

Proteins that control small heat shock genes allows plants to deal with heat stress

New gene expression network can help understand mechanism behind continuous stem cell activity in plants

New technique uses high-throughput sequencing to obtain ultra-high-resolution images of gene expression

Naked mole rats may hold the key to new treatments for cancer, dementia

Metformin prevents pulmonary or lung inflammation in animals infected with SARS-CoV-2

New approach could revolutionize treatment, prevention of Parkinson’s disease

Study shows how XRCC1 gene untangles proteins that trigger cancerous tumors

Study provides treatment options for children with average risk medulloblastoma

Scientists develop new method for single-cell lineage tracing of metastatic cancer

Major anti-cancer protein released by neutrophils selectively kills tumor cells

Study implicates placental protein as a possible regulator of an infant’s birthweight

Researchers develop new method to make CRISPR gene editing more precise

LIM domain only 1 gene contributes to the tumorigenesis of multiple cancers

Study reveals new insights into how genes are regulated in dementia

Rapamycin targets gut cells to alter the way DNA is stored

Research clarifies neuron-specific DNA methylation changes and characteristics in bipolar disorder

DNA on-off switches for SARS-CoV-2 host receptor as potential therapeutic targets

What are the challenges of SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance in COVID-19 vaccine recipients?

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