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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).

‘Precision Medicine’ may not always be so precise when applied to diverse populations, study says

Precision Medicine in oncology, where genetic testing is used to determine the best drugs to treat cancer patients, is not always so precise when applied to some of the world's more diverse populations, according to a study led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, an affiliate of City of Hope, and the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

27 Oct 2017

Sleeper cells in cancerous tumors can be destroyed if they possess specific defects

In many metastasized types of cancer, disseminated tumors grow back despite successful chemotherapy. As a research team under the direction of the University of Bern, Switzerland, has now discovered, this is because of isolated cancer cells that survive the chemotherapy due to a phase of dormancy.

27 Oct 2017

New device that fits on a key chain can accurately test for allergens

More than 50 million Americans have food allergies and often just trace amounts of allergens can trigger life-threatening reactions.

26 Oct 2017

Dream Team plans to stop pancreatic cancer before symptoms occur

Deeply entrenched and mature by the time it's found, pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest to defeat. A Dream Team assembled by Stand Up to Cancer and led by an investigator at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will test new ways to find the disease in its emerging, more vulnerable phase in people who are at high risk for developing it.

26 Oct 2017

Penn study sheds light on genetic cause of early hearing loss

From the moment a baby is born, they are put through a battery of screenings to test for all sorts of characteristics, which includes the sense of hearing.

26 Oct 2017

Dartmouth study uncovers three novel genetic biomarkers for lung cancer

Both environmental and genetic risk factors contribute to development of lung cancer. Tobacco smoking is the most well-known environmental risk factor associated with lung cancer. A Dartmouth research team led by Yafang Li, PhD, has conducted a study to display that gene-smoking interactions play important roles in the etiology of lung cancer.

26 Oct 2017

New enzyme may one day enable genome surgery that erases harmful mutations

DNA editing just got a sharp, new pencil. Researchers have built an enzyme that can perform a previously impossible DNA swap, directly changing the DNA base pair from an A•T to a G•C.

26 Oct 2017

IBN researchers create DNA technology with two new genetic alphabets

Just like how alphabets are strung together to form words, our DNA is also strung together by alphabets to encode proteins. Our DNA contains only 4 natural genetic alphabets - A, C, G and T, which hold the blueprint for the production of proteins that make our bodies work.

26 Oct 2017

Timing of DNA damage within checkpoints matters to a cell's fate, study reports

DNA damage occurs routinely within your cells due to sun exposure, smoking and sometimes during the normal process of making new DNA.

26 Oct 2017

Study: New histone modifications link cellular metabolism to chromatin architecture

Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich (LMU) have discovered that two new classes of histone modifications couple cellular metabolism to gene activity. The study was published in 'Nature Structural and Molecular Biology'.

26 Oct 2017

CRISPR - a genetic editor - used to edit DNA and RNA in two parallel studies

Two different studies have shown that CRISPR - a gene editing tool, could be the next big thing in manipulating and modifying the DNA to suit the needs.

26 Oct 2017

Researchers find rare genetic variants that may help explain longevity in some CF patients

Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder caused by genetic mutations that disrupt the normal movement of chloride in and out of cells. Among other health problems, cystic fibrosis compromises the lungs' ability to fight infection and breathe efficiently, making it the most lethal genetic disease in the Caucasian population. Patients have an average lifespan of just 30 to 40 years.

25 Oct 2017

New analysis method allows to efficiently search for gene transfers onto Y chromosome

Y chromosomes, which are only inherited paternally, evolved from "normal" chromosomes known as autosomes. As males only possess one Y chromosome, there is no counterpart for recombination, the direct exchange of genetic material.

25 Oct 2017

Researchers discover mechanism that corrects protein misfolding in plants

Various human nervous system diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases, are associated with the same basic disorder: the loss of nerve cells capacity to fold their proteins correctly, which causes protein aggregations that form "clumps" that end up generating the cell death.

25 Oct 2017

New discovery could speed development and approval of antiviral drugs

New research shows that a new class of antiviral drugs works by causing the virus' replication machinery to pause and backtrack, preventing the virus from efficiently replicating. This discovery, made possible by a high-throughput experimental technique called "magnetic tweezers," could speed the development and approval of related antiviral drugs.

25 Oct 2017

Researchers mine blood-based epigenetic data to gain insights into autism biology

Using data from blood and brain tissue, a team led by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that they could gain insights into mechanisms that might help explain autism by analyzing the interplay between genes and chemical tags that control whether genes are used to make a protein, called epigenetic marks.

25 Oct 2017

CRISPRy bacon ! Genetically modified leaner low-fat pigs

Genetically modified leaner pigs are on the cards soon. Researchers in china used the gene-editing technology, CRISPR, to create pigs that are less fatty and leaner with more muscle. This could mean genetically modified bacon on the plates.

24 Oct 2017

Scientists develop unique CRISPR-based method for more precise, systematic gene tagging

The genome editing tool known as CRISPR/Cas9 has opened many doors for biomedical research by allowing scientists to precisely edit DNA sequences and alter function. The technology offers hope for correcting genetic defects and preventing disease.

24 Oct 2017

New genetic variants contribute to the risk of breast cancer in women, study reveals

A new study reveals seventy-two novel genetic variants that are responsible for breast cancer risk. Published in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics, of these 72 variants, 65 are common variants that predispose patients to breast cancer and a further seven variants predispose particularly to estrogen -receptor negative breast cancer - the subcategory of cases that do not respond to hormonal treatments.

24 Oct 2017

Pollutant from forest and crop fires induces genetic damage in human lung cells

When exposed in a laboratory to pollution levels comparable to those found in the atmosphere of the Amazon region during the forest and crop burning season, human lung cells suffer severe DNA damage and stop dividing. After 72 hours of exposure, over 30% of the cultured cells are dead.

24 Oct 2017

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

‘Precision Medicine’ may not always be so precise when applied to diverse populations, study says

Sleeper cells in cancerous tumors can be destroyed if they possess specific defects

New device that fits on a key chain can accurately test for allergens

Dream Team plans to stop pancreatic cancer before symptoms occur

Penn study sheds light on genetic cause of early hearing loss

Dartmouth study uncovers three novel genetic biomarkers for lung cancer

New enzyme may one day enable genome surgery that erases harmful mutations

IBN researchers create DNA technology with two new genetic alphabets

Timing of DNA damage within checkpoints matters to a cell's fate, study reports

Study: New histone modifications link cellular metabolism to chromatin architecture

CRISPR - a genetic editor - used to edit DNA and RNA in two parallel studies

Researchers find rare genetic variants that may help explain longevity in some CF patients

New analysis method allows to efficiently search for gene transfers onto Y chromosome

Researchers discover mechanism that corrects protein misfolding in plants

New discovery could speed development and approval of antiviral drugs

Researchers mine blood-based epigenetic data to gain insights into autism biology

CRISPRy bacon ! Genetically modified leaner low-fat pigs

Scientists develop unique CRISPR-based method for more precise, systematic gene tagging

New genetic variants contribute to the risk of breast cancer in women, study reveals

Pollutant from forest and crop fires induces genetic damage in human lung cells

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