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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).

Mysterious DNA modification appears more in the brain under stress

With advances in genomics, scientists are discovering additional components of the DNA alphabet in animals. Do these unusual chemical modifications of DNA have a special meaning, or are they just signs that cellular machines are making mistakes?

24 Oct 2017

Research provides insight into how two stands of double helix separate during replication

Life would be impossible if the DNA in dividing cells were replicated with anything less than near-perfect precision. Every time a nucleated cell commits to becoming two cells, every "letter" of its genome must be replicated once and only once.

24 Oct 2017

Genomic roots of ovarian tumors may arise in fallopian tubes, study suggests

Some scientists have suspected that the most common form of ovarian cancer may originate in the fallopian tubes, the thin fibrous tunnels that connect the ovaries to the uterus.

24 Oct 2017

Brazilian scientists examine how benzopyrene can cause cancer

Benzo[a]pyrene is a potent carcinogen and mutagen present in cigarette smoke, automotive exhaust, burnt wood fumes, barbecued and smoked meat etc.

23 Oct 2017

Health scientists uncover gene linked to lung fibrosis

Health scientists at the University of Leicester and University of Nottingham have heralded the discovery of a gene associated with lung fibrosis as 'a potential new avenue of treatment for further research into this terrible disease.'

23 Oct 2017

Researchers use nanopore technique to detect biomarkers of disease

Adam Hall, Ph.D., isn't kidding when he says the research he does is on a very small scale. But he is understating things more than just a little.

20 Oct 2017

Gene circuit can be used to switch on inside cancer cells and stimulate immune attack, study suggests

A new study, conducted by researchers at MIT, suggests that a recently developed synthetic gene circuit can stimulate the immune system to kill cancer cells when it identifies indications of the cancer. The gene circuit will only stimulate a therapeutic response when it identifies two particular cancer markers.

20 Oct 2017

Chromosomes may be entangled, research finds

Everyone knows that long bits of yarn, or charging cables and the like, tend to get quickly tangled and form nasty knots. Little is known about the structures of our genetic material, chromosomes, which also consist of long strings that -- according to our experience -- should be likely to become knotted. However, up to now it has not been possible to study this experimentally.

20 Oct 2017

Researchers discover new function in gene-regulatory protein

Researchers at Umeå and Stockholm universities in Sweden and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the US have published a new study in the journal Molecular Cell.

20 Oct 2017

HPV-related oropharyngeal cancer risk remains generally low, study suggests

The prevalence of throat (oropharyngeal) cancers caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) has increased in recent decades, and some groups are much more likely than others to have the oral HPV infections that can cause these cancers.

20 Oct 2017

Better post-weaning diet can reverse potential consequences of early-life high-fat exposure

Research has shown that a mother's diet during pregnancy, particularly one that is high-fat, may program her baby for future risk of certain diseases such as diabetes. A new study from nutrition researchers at the University of Illinois shows that switching the offspring to a new diet--a low-fat diet, in this case--can reverse that programming.

20 Oct 2017

Study finds mitochondrial DNA damage in Veterans with Gulf War illness

Researchers say they have found the "first direct biological evidence" of damage in veterans with Gulf War illness to DNA within cellular structures that produce energy in the body.

19 Oct 2017

Penn researchers functionally dissect gene variant linked to FTLD

Seven years ago, Penn Medicine researchers showed that mutations in the TMEM106B gene significantly increased a person's risk of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD), the second most common cause of dementia in those under 65.

19 Oct 2017

Liver cancers linked to compound popular in herbal remedies

A latest study has shown that Aristolochic Acids (AA) – that are commonly used as a natural product found in some natural remedies, could be associated with liver cancers. Researchers from Singapore and Taiwan showed in their study that AA could be causing mutations in the genes that predispose an individual to liver cancers.

19 Oct 2017

Blood transfusions should be gender matched between donor and recipient

An emergency blood transfusion mandates matching of the blood types so that the donor and the recipient are compatible in their blood types. There is no other matching between the blood bag and the recipient – race, ethnicity, religion, gender etc.

18 Oct 2017

Study uses precision medicine approach to find effective treatments for rare cancers

For the first time, researchers have been able to identify effective treatments for patients with rare cancers by analyzing genes and proteins in their blood and tumors. In a study reported in The Oncologist, half the patients receiving these targeted treatments saw their rare cancers either stabilize, shrink or go into remission.

17 Oct 2017

Study sheds new light on why autism is more common in boys

Researchers aiming to understand why autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are more common in boys have discovered differences in a brain signaling pathway involved in reward learning and motivation that make male mice more vulnerable to an autism-causing genetic glitch.

17 Oct 2017

Discovery may lead to new approach for treating MS

Around 2.5 million people are affected by the autoimmune disease Multiple Sclerosis (MS), the commonest central nervous system disease among young adults.

17 Oct 2017

Using AFM to study cell mechanics and function

My lab, broadly speaking, is interested in trying to understand interactions between cells and materials. Those could be materials that are present within living tissue or materials that we use for engineering purposes to try to do something of technological or therapeutic interest.

From Bruker Nano Surfaces and Metrology 17 Oct 2017

Scientists develop revolutionary blood screening test to diagnose breast cancer

In a potential major breakthrough in breast cancer research, scientists at the Center for Translational Cancer Research at the Helen F. Graham Cancer Center & Research Institute of Christiana Care Health System have developed a revolutionary new blood test to diagnose breast cancer.

16 Oct 2017