DNA News and Research

RSS

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).

Modified SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain could increase vaccine efficacy, says study

A team of researchers from the USA and China have engineered a receptor-binding domain (RBD) that they claim improves the immunogenicity of multivalent SARS-CoV-2 vaccines. Their study, which was released on the bioRxiv* in November 2020, may help advance even more efficacious SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates in the future.

23 Nov 2020

Researchers discover mechanism by which abnormal proteins unleash toxicity in neurodegenerative diseases

Thanks to modern medicine, humans tend to live much longer than before. Unfortunately, this also opens a wider window to develop chronic diseases with late onset, such as neurodegenerative diseases.

23 Nov 2020

Researchers receive $8.3 million NIH grant to illuminate the causes of spina bifida

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, have been awarded a five-year, $8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to further illuminate the causes of spina bifida, the most common structural defect of the central nervous system.

20 Nov 2020

New findings could pave the way for more effective, safer and cheaper gene therapy

In a promising advance for affordable, personalized medicine, researchers have used metal-organic frameworks to successfully deliver the genetic snipping tool CRISPR/Cas9 into human cancer cells.

20 Nov 2020

Researchers discover new functions of key cellular machine in cancer

Utah scientists have discovered new functions of a key cellular machine that regulates gene packaging and is mutated in 20% of human cancers.

19 Nov 2020

Study shows family history can predict preterm birth

Predicting preterm birth can be difficult, especially for women who have not given birth. It has long been known that the best predictor of preterm birth is someone who has had a prior preterm birth; however, this information is helpful only in second and subsequent pregnancies.

19 Nov 2020

Hyperbaric oxygen treatments in healthy adults can reverse the aging process, finds study

A new study from Tel Aviv University and the Shamir Medical Center in Israel indicates that hyperbaric oxygen treatments (HBOT) in healthy aging adults can stop the aging of blood cells and reverse the aging process.

19 Nov 2020

CRISPR/Cas9 system is highly effective in treating metastatic cancers

Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) have demonstrated that the CRISPR/Cas9 system is very effective in treating metastatic cancers, a significant step on the way to finding a cure for cancer.

19 Nov 2020

Scientists identify previously unknown mechanism that drives tumor spread

Any given tumor is composed of a multitude of cell types that can each look or behave differently from its neighbors.

19 Nov 2020

Research shows sexual lineage plays crucial role in transgenerational plasticity

A new pair of papers published in the Journal of Animal Ecology has shown that sexual lineage matters for how offspring receive adaptations from parents in stickleback fish.

18 Nov 2020

TB researchers uncover crucial clue that explains antibiotic resistance in bacteria

For a slow-growing microbe that multiplies infrequently, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB) has long puzzled researchers as to how it develops resistance to antibiotics so quickly, in a matter of weeks to months.

18 Nov 2020

Researchers use single-cell analysis to assess effects of aging on mice’s egg cells

Using the power of single-cell analysis, researchers at the Babraham Institute have assessed the effects of age on egg cells (oocytes) in mice, particularly looking to identify genomic and epigenetic factors that relate to reduced developmental competence.

18 Nov 2020

New understanding of glycan signatures of the SARS-COV-2 S1 spike protein

A team of scientists from the University of Oxford, UK, has revealed that site-specific glycosylation differs between spike proteins derived from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and a viral vector-based vaccine candidate.

18 Nov 2020

New approach uses a nanosensor to speed up early-stage disease diagnosis

Catching deadly diseases like cancer early on is key to improving patient survival odds. However, diseases are much harder to diagnose in their preliminary stages because people often haven't developed symptoms yet and only trace amounts can be found in their bodies.

18 Nov 2020

UTHSC and Regeneron partner to advance precision medicine

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center has entered into an agreement with the Regeneron Genetics Center, a subsidiary of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., for the company to sequence DNA that has been voluntarily collected and stored as part of a biorepository initiative UTHSC is building in collaboration with its partner teaching hospitals.

18 Nov 2020

Researchers use proteogenomics to better understand the biological complexity of breast cancer

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and other institutions have applied powerful proteogenomics approaches to better understand the biological complexity of breast cancer.

18 Nov 2020

A DNA-based nanogel for targeted delivery of therapeutics

Current chemotherapy regimens slow cancer progression and save lives, but these powerful drugs affect both healthy and cancerous cells.

18 Nov 2020

Government-funded scientists laid the groundwork for billion-dollar vaccines

When he started researching a troublesome childhood infection nearly four decades ago, virologist Dr. Barney Graham, then at Vanderbilt University, had no inkling his federally funded work might be key to deliverance from a global pandemic.

18 Nov 2020

Somatic mutation may act as a natural gene therapy in patients with rare autosomal disease

Researchers affiliated with the Center for Cell-Based Therapy in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, have identified for the first time a non-hereditary mutation in blood cells from a patient with GATA2 deficiency, a rare autosomal disease caused by inherited mutations in the gene that encodes GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2).

17 Nov 2020

Accelerated biological aging not a risk factor for severe COVID-19, say researchers

A new study conducted by researchers at RWTH Aachen University in Germany has found no evidence to support the hypothesis that severe outcomes in cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may be linked to accelerated biological aging.

17 Nov 2020

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Modified SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain could increase vaccine efficacy, says study

Researchers discover mechanism by which abnormal proteins unleash toxicity in neurodegenerative diseases

Researchers receive $8.3 million NIH grant to illuminate the causes of spina bifida

New findings could pave the way for more effective, safer and cheaper gene therapy

Researchers discover new functions of key cellular machine in cancer

Study shows family history can predict preterm birth

Hyperbaric oxygen treatments in healthy adults can reverse the aging process, finds study

CRISPR/Cas9 system is highly effective in treating metastatic cancers

Scientists identify previously unknown mechanism that drives tumor spread

Research shows sexual lineage plays crucial role in transgenerational plasticity

TB researchers uncover crucial clue that explains antibiotic resistance in bacteria

Researchers use single-cell analysis to assess effects of aging on mice’s egg cells

New understanding of glycan signatures of the SARS-COV-2 S1 spike protein

New approach uses a nanosensor to speed up early-stage disease diagnosis

UTHSC and Regeneron partner to advance precision medicine

Researchers use proteogenomics to better understand the biological complexity of breast cancer

A DNA-based nanogel for targeted delivery of therapeutics

Government-funded scientists laid the groundwork for billion-dollar vaccines

Somatic mutation may act as a natural gene therapy in patients with rare autosomal disease

Accelerated biological aging not a risk factor for severe COVID-19, say researchers

eBook: Exploring the Cell Cycle and DNA Damage and Repair eBook

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Latest Life Science News