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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).

New approach to scale up genome editing in tiny worms

Understanding the effects of specific mutations in gene regulatory regions - the sections of DNA and RNA that turn genes on and off - is important to unraveling how the genome works, as well as normal development and disease.

13 Apr 2021

PCR-based reverse genetic system helps analyze SARS-CoV-2 mutations

SARS-CoV-2 is the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. We know that mutations in the genome of SARS-CoV-2 have occurred and spread, but what effect do those mutations have?

13 Apr 2021

New algorithm can predict which genes cause cancer

A new algorithm can predict which genes cause cancer, even if their DNA sequence is not changed. A team of researchers in Berlin combined a wide variety of data, analyzed it with "Artificial Intelligence" and identified numerous cancer genes.

13 Apr 2021

Stem cells of the nervous system age rapidly, shows study

In a new study published in Cell Stem Cell, a team led by USC Stem Cell scientist Michael Bonaguidi, PhD, demonstrates that neural stem cells - the stem cells of the nervous system - age rapidly.

12 Apr 2021

Researchers discover genetic risk factors for childhood OCD

Researchers at the University of Calgary and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), in Toronto, have discovered genetic risk factors for OCD that could help pave the way for earlier diagnosis and improved treatment for children and youth.

12 Apr 2021

New test offers a simpler way to quantify the reservoir of intact viruses in HIV patients

A new test that measures the quantity and quality of inactive HIV viruses in the genes of people living with HIV may eventually give researchers a better idea of what drugs work best at curing the disease.

12 Apr 2021

Novel immunotherapy approach may offer therapeutic advantages for melanoma

In a new study led by Yale Cancer Center, researchers have advanced a tumor-targeting and cell penetrating antibody that can deliver payloads to stimulate an immune response to help treat melanoma.

12 Apr 2021

Imbalanced bacterial community in the gums linked to Alzheimer's disease biomarker

Older adults with more harmful than healthy bacteria in their gums are more likely to have evidence for amyloid beta--a key biomarker for Alzheimer's disease--in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), according to new research from NYU College of Dentistry and Weill Cornell Medicine.

12 Apr 2021

Lung microbiome predicts COVID-19 disease severity

A new preprint research paper posted to the medRxiv* server found changes to the lung microbiome during severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection influence COVID-19 disease severity.

12 Apr 2021

Study shows how nitrate controls gene expression in legumes

Plants in the bean family (legumes) form nodules on their roots to take up nitrogen. Legumes will stop nodule production when nitrogen is plentiful, but precisely how nitrate presence controls nodule formation in these plants has been a mystery.

12 Apr 2021

Scientists compare DNA damaging properties of chemicals from vape products and cigarettes

Imperial Brands scientists have utilized Toxys' ToxTracker suite of stem-cell based in-vitro assays, which provide mechanistic insight into the potential DNA damaging properties of chemicals, comparing vape e-liquid samples and their aerosols to combustible cigarette smoke.

9 Apr 2021

Gift boosts efforts to understand and combat rare cancers

Curing cancer has been the dream of countless doctors and researchers over the decades. Yet some types of cancer, whether because they affect relatively few people or lack influential advocates, receive less attention and funding than others.

9 Apr 2021

Study shows how melanoma cells evade detection and destruction by immune cells

A dysfunctional immune system significantly contributes to the development of cancer. Several therapeutic strategies to activate the immune system to target cancer cells have been approved to treat different types of cancer, including melanoma.

9 Apr 2021

Mitochondrial DNA mutations can reduce death risk in people with bowel cancer

Mutations in the DNA of the cell's energy 'factories' increases the chances of survival for people with bowel cancer, according to a study published today (Thursday) in Nature Metabolism.

9 Apr 2021

Transposons can protect against certain blood cancers

New research has uncovered a surprising role for so-called "jumping" genes that are a source of genetic mutations responsible for a number of human diseases.

9 Apr 2021

Accelerated cellular aging in depressed individuals associated with increased mortality risk

Cells from healthy individuals with major depressive disorder were found to have higher than expected rates of methylation at specific sites on their DNA, when compared to cells from healthy individuals without MDD, according to a study by a multidisciplinary team of Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and University of California San Francisco scientists, in collaboration with others.

8 Apr 2021

Powerful algorithms can 'predict' the biological language of cancer and Alzheimer's

Powerful algorithms used by Netflix, Amazon and Facebook can 'predict' the biological language of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, scientists have found.

8 Apr 2021

Rice bioengineer wins NIH support for a new strategy to fight cystic fibrosis

Chemical and biomolecular engineer Xue Sherry Gao of Rice University's Brown School of Engineering has won National Institutes of Health support for a new strategy to fight cystic fibrosis.

8 Apr 2021

Full assembly of human chromosome 8 reveals novel genes, disease risks

The full assembly of human chromosome 8 is reported this week in Nature. While on the outside this chromosome looks typical, being neither short nor long or distinctive, its DNA content and arrangement are of interest in primate and human evolution, in several immune and developmental disorders, and in chromosome sequencing structure and function generally.

8 Apr 2021

Phase 2 clinical trial launched in Thailand to evaluate IL-15 agonist as therapy to reduce HIV reservoir

The U.S. Military HIV Research Program (MHRP) at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research last week launched a Phase 2 clinical trial in Thailand to evaluate an interleukin-15 (IL-15) superagonist, ImmunityBio's Anktiva (also called N-803), administered during acute HIV infection as an experimental therapy to target establishment of the HIV reservoir at a very early stage.

8 Apr 2021