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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).

Fertility treatments cause epigenetic changes in mouse embryos, study finds

Though epigenetic disorders - diseases caused by faulty gene expression - are still rare overall, babies born using fertility treatments have up to an 11-fold higher risk of inheriting them.

26 Nov 2019

Discovery in C. difficile biology opens new window to developing treatments for dangerous infections

A process called sporulation that helps the dangerous bacterium Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) to survive inhospitable conditions and spread is regulated by epigenetics, factors that affect gene expression beyond the DNA genetic code, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai report.

25 Nov 2019

Article reveals new mechanism of programmed aging

Nature has sentenced humans to an inevitable death from the time of birth; the natural instrument of execution is the aging process. According to modern scientific notions, only two root causes of aging can be: stochastic physiological damage or the implementation of a special genetic program in the body.

25 Nov 2019

U of T, ASU scientists develop first direct gene circuit

Scientists at the University of Toronto and Arizona State University have developed the first direct gene circuit to electrode interface by combining cell-free synthetic biology with state-of-the-art nanostructured electrodes.

25 Nov 2019

Recent discovery about C. difficile could pave the way for new treatments

Researchers have found that sporulation, which helps the bacterium C. difficile survive and spread, is regulated by epigenetics.

25 Nov 2019

New highly sensitive test for dengue virus developed using DNA star

Researchers have developed a new method for detecting and destroying the dengue virus that could be adapted for other viruses.

25 Nov 2019

New targeted treatment to fight against deadly pancreatic cancer

Every day, more than 1200 people worldwide are told they have pancreatic cancer. Within 12 months, 80 per cent of them will have succumbed to the disease.

25 Nov 2019

New tool uses tiny circuits made of DNA to identify cancer cells

A new cancer-detecting tool uses tiny circuits made of DNA to identify cancer cells by the molecular signatures on their surface.

22 Nov 2019

DNA-modulated liquid droplets may explain how prion proteins clump

Researchers at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, have identified that the interaction between prion proteins and DNA may be behind the formation of protein amyloid aggregates and of the emergence of neurodegenerative diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other spongiform encephalopathies.

22 Nov 2019

Accelerating Medicines Partnership program for Parkinson’s disease launches new data portal

The Accelerating Medicines Partnership program for Parkinson's disease (PD) has launched a data portal to provide de-identified information collected from 4,298 PD patients and healthy controls to researchers working to develop effective therapies for the disease.

22 Nov 2019

Extra DNA scooped up alongside cancer-causing genes helps drive tumor growth

One of the ways a cancer-causing gene works up enough power to turn a normal cell into a cancer cell is by copying itself over and over, like a Xerox machine.

21 Nov 2019

Researchers turn to older treatment methods for new health challenges

The last thing anyone wants during a stay in the hospital is a hospital-acquired infection. Nosocomial infections, as they are called, are on the rise as more pathogens become resistant to drugs currently available.

21 Nov 2019

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease study unearths a new mechanism of neurodegeneration

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is an inherited neurodegenerative condition that affects 1 in 2500 individuals.

21 Nov 2019

Researchers investigate a hospital outbreak in real time using high-resolution technique

On the European Antibiotic Awareness Day, researchers announce the results of a pilot study completed in record time. The initiative opens new perspectives for the control of bacterial infections in Portuguese hospitals.

21 Nov 2019

Doughnut-shaped circles of ecDNA provide tumor cells with a malignant twist

Deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA encodes information, not only in its sequence but also in its shape.

21 Nov 2019

Researchers identify a promising drug pair to attack deadly childhood brain cancers

Researchers have devised a new plan of attack against a group of deadly childhood brain cancers collectively called diffuse midline gliomas, including diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, thalamic glioma and spinal cord glioma.

20 Nov 2019

Impaired gene expression may influence aging via altered cellular metabolism

Throughout history, humans have been obsessed with finding a way to prevent aging and prolong life. Although the mechanisms have long eluded us, modern science is revealing more and more about the aging process. Now, researchers from Japan have uncovered new information about the genetic processes that may trigger age-related disorders, including low energy production and low cellular growth.

20 Nov 2019