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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).

Fractals can help describe how cancer spreads in the body and the right tools to stop it

What can seashells, lightning and the coastline of Britain teach us about new drugs for cancer?

7 Dec 2018

New way of controlling HIV latency to completely eradicate the virus

A new study suggests that a genetic switch that causes latent HIV inside cells to begin to replicate can be manipulated to completely eradicate the virus from the human body. Cells harboring latent HIV are "invisible" to the natural defenses of the immune system.

7 Dec 2018

New diagnostic tools may help identify breast cancer patients who could benefit from targeted therapies

A set of emerging diagnostic tools may help identify breast cancer patients who are most likely to benefit from therapies that target important enzymes fueling a range of subtypes, including BCRA-mutated and triple negative cancers.

7 Dec 2018

Earliest strain of plague bacteria found in neolithic Swedish mass grave

Researchers have unearthed a strain of plague bacteria Yersinia pestis, in a woman who was buried in Sweden during the stone ages.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers develop new molecular tool to decode sugar-protein attachments

Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine have developed a new molecular tool they call EXoO, which decodes where on proteins specific sugars are attached--a possible modification due to disease.

6 Dec 2018

Study reveals how the absence of Dna2 enzyme affects chromosome instability

Cells have in place a number of mechanisms to protect the integrity of the genome, including processes that repair mistakes that may occur during DNA replication.

6 Dec 2018

Researchers create new light-activated tools for controlling neurons

By enabling super-fast remote control of specific cells, light-activated proteins allow researchers to study the function of individual neurons within a large network - even an entire brain. Now one of the pioneers of 'optogenetics' and colleagues have created two new tools - protein pores which when illuminated allow Ca2+ into cells or K+ out - for switching neurons on or off using light.

6 Dec 2018

Duke-NUS researchers highlight possible role of bioaerosol sampling in pandemic surveillance

As a leading global city with a high population density, Singapore is vulnerable to the introduction of biological threats. Initiating an early emergency response to such threats calls for the rapid identification of the causative agent.

6 Dec 2018

New massive sequencing platform implemented for double factor preimplantation genetic testing

A research team from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in collaboration with the Blood and Tissue Bank of Catalonia, has managed to implement a massive sequencing platform for Preimplantation Genetic Testing for the first time in history.

5 Dec 2018

Scientists reveal how DNA damage leads to cancer and hereditary diseases

Scientists revealed how DNA damage influences mutations. Turned out that its contribution to mutagenesis was underestimated and many of the inheritance mutations are caused not by errors in DNA doubling, but by damage to this fragile molecule.

5 Dec 2018

Researchers find evidence of epigenetics in single-celled archaea

Researchers have found evidence of epigenetics-based evolution in a species of archaea, our oldest single-cell ancestors.

5 Dec 2018

Scientists understand how sounds can incite fear

How is it that a sound can send a chill down your spine? By observing individual brain cells of mice, scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory are understanding how a sound can incite fear.

5 Dec 2018

Researchers take a step forward with a study of molecules of DNA

Researchers from the Andalusian center for Molecular Biology and regenerative Medicine and from the University of Seville have taken a step forward with a study of something as essential for life as the molecules of DNA.

5 Dec 2018

Bacterial infections may contribute to far more cancers than previously thought, shows study

The Institute of Human Virology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine announced today the discovery that DnaK, a protein of the bacterium mycoplasma, interferes with the mycoplasma-infected cell's ability to respond to and repair DNA damage, a known origin of cancer.

5 Dec 2018

FDA takes significant step forward in driving development of novel genetic tests

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today took a significant step forward in driving the efficient development of novel diagnostic technologies that scan a person's DNA to diagnose genetic diseases and guide medical treatments.

5 Dec 2018

Cancer cells could be detected irrespective of site and type using simple test

Australian researchers have found that cells containing cancer could soon be detected using a simple test. The test could one day change how cancers are diagnosed, the team says. The results of the study to develop the test were published in the journal Nature Communications.

4 Dec 2018

Selective survival of embryos under adverse conditions may explain health problems later in life

An international team led by researchers of the Leiden University Medical Center and Lund University in Sweden propose that selection of random epigenetic differences causes particular embryos to survive under adverse conditions in the womb.

4 Dec 2018

New study supports use of ZnO nanoparticles in sunscreens

Zinc oxide has long been recognized as an effective sunscreen agent. However, there have been calls for sunscreens containing ZnO nanoparticles to be banned because of potential toxicity and the need for caution in the absence of safety data in humans.

4 Dec 2018