DNA News and Research

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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).

UCL researchers identify four genes that drive shape of human noses

Genes that drive the shape of human noses have been identified by a UCL-led study. The four genes mainly affect the width and 'pointiness' of noses which vary greatly between different populations. The new information adds to our understanding of how the human face evolved and may help contribute to forensic DNA technologies that build visual profiles based on an individual's genetic makeup.

20 May 2016

Nanoparticle-based gene therapy may hold promise for patients with asthma

A new study has demonstrated a way to deliver a nanoparticle-based gene therapy, in order to repair lungs damaged by chronic allergic asthma and to reduce inflammation that causes asthma attacks.

19 May 2016

Simple tips to reduce pain from sunburn

The British Skin Foundation has sun safety tips available to the public on this page and our primary advice is to follow these to avoid sunburn in the first place. However, we realise that sometimes accidents can happen.

19 May 2016

Natural product darwinolide may help combat fatal MRSA infection

A serious and sometimes fatal bacterial infection, known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), may soon be beatable thanks to the efforts of University of South Florida scientists who have isolated and tested an extract from a sponge found in Antarctica.

19 May 2016

Conventional repeated radiation treatments may offer no major benefit to brain tumor patients

A new study shows that repeated radiation therapy used to target tumors in the brain may not be as safe to healthy brain cells as previously assumed.

19 May 2016

Effective chemotherapeutic drug may induce permanent hearing loss in Cockayne syndrome individuals

The chemotherapy drug cisplatin can kill cancer, but it can also cause permanent hearing loss.

19 May 2016

THADA gene plays prominent role in transfer of heredity type 2 diabetes from mother to child

Research from Lund University in Sweden can explain why type 2 diabetes is inherited to a greater extent from an individual's mother. The heredity of a previously known risk gene, THADA, has proven to be dominant if it comes from the mother, whereas it has little or no effect on the child's risk of disease if it originates from the father.

18 May 2016

Maintaining balance of P1 and P2 isoforms vital for reducing colon cancer, colitis risk

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), of which Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are the main types, is on the increase in the United States, affecting more than 1.6 million people and explaining perhaps the increase in advertisements offering treatments and cures.

18 May 2016

KU Leuven research sheds new light on cure for HIV

Scientists from KU Leuven, Belgium, present a new therapeutic approach that may make it possible for HIV patients to (temporarily) stop their medication. The findings shed a completely new light on the search for a cure for HIV.

18 May 2016

Researchers may be one step closer to curing HIV

18 May 2016

New study links altered purine metabolism to major depressive disorder

People suffering from major depressive disorder may have altered purine metabolism, according to a new study from the University of Eastern Finland and Kuopio University Hospital.

17 May 2016

Birmingham Women's Hospital leads the way in genomic diagnosis

Birmingham Women's Hospital (BWH) has adopted a radical new technology to make it easier to identify rare diseases by their genetic causes, leading to a faster and more accurate diagnosis for the patient. The technology being used to do this is called Sapientia™ and it is facilitating the reclassification of disease.

16 May 2016

Unlocking the dark proteome: an interview with Dr Kriwacki

The term dark proteome refers to proteins whose structural features and thus functions are not well understood. Many proteins within the dark proteome do not fold into stable three-dimensional structures. These proteins are called intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) and feature highly flexible, disordered confirmations.

16 May 2016

Genomic cfDNA profiling feasible in metastatic CRPC

Comprehensive genomic profiling of cell-free DNA can provide clinically useful information in men with castration-resistant prostate cancer treated with enzalutamide, research indicates.

14 May 2016

Maternal stress, depression during pregnancy may activate protective mechanisms in infants

Maternal stress and depression during pregnancy may activate certain protective mechanisms in babies. Psychologists from the University of Basel together with international colleagues report that certain epigenetic adaptations in newborns suggest this conclusion.

13 May 2016

Researchers develop novel ss-siRNAs to turn off disease-related genes

Combining the therapeutic potential and advantages of existing oligonucleotide-based approaches to turn off disease-related genes, a type of single-stranded silencing RNAs (ss-siRNAs) has shown significantly improved potency and activity.

13 May 2016

Genetic change to non-DNA structures in cell can cause cancer

A mutation that affects the proteins that package DNA--without changing the DNA itself--can cause a rare form of cancer, according to new findings in this week's Science from researchers at The Rockefeller University.

13 May 2016

Mosquito larvae carries Sindbis virus that can cause Ockelbo disease

After an outbreak of Ockelbo disease in northern Sweden in 2013, researchers at Umeå University were able to trace the virus to mosquitos in an area of Lövånger. In a new study, researchers have shown that mosquito larvae in the Västerbotten region also carry virus that can cause infectious disease. These include the Sindbis virus, which causes Ockelbo disease, which is associated with fever, rashes and prolonged joint pain.

13 May 2016

Gene therapy shows promise in treating glioblastoma

A team from the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste has obtained very promising results by applying gene therapy to glioblastoma.

13 May 2016

Histone mutation linked to fatal pediatric brain tumor

A single defect in a gene that codes for a histone — a "spool" that wraps idle DNA — is linked to pediatric cancers in a study published today in the journal Science.

13 May 2016