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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).

Key gene changes reveal four previously unknown conditions within schizophrenia

Changes in key genes clearly define four previously unknown conditions within the umbrella diagnosis of schizophrenia, according to a study led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center published online April 28 in EBioMedicine, a Lancet journal. Cases associated with changes in each of the four genes were different from each other in terms of symptoms, intelligence level and other disease features.

29 Apr 2016

Study links age-related changes in human pancreas to diabetes development

A Stanford-led national collaboration to procure and analyze human pancreatic tissue from deceased donors illustrates how the organ's function changes as we age, and could point the way toward new diabetes treatments.

29 Apr 2016

New class of cancer-driver gene may serve as unique therapeutic targets, biomarkers in TNBC

The discovery of long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) has dramatically changed the understanding of the biology of diseases such as cancer. The human genome contains about 20,000 protein-coding genes - less than 2 percent of the total - but 70 percent of the genome is made into non-gene-encoding RNA.

29 Apr 2016

Experimental therapy has over 90% remission rate for advanced leukemia patients

Twenty-seven of 29 patients with an advanced type of leukemia that had proved resistant to multiple other forms of therapy went into remission after their T cells (disease-fighting immune cells) were genetically engineered to fight their cancers.

28 Apr 2016

Musashi-2 protein regulates function, development of blood stem cells

Researchers at McMaster University's Stem Cell and Cancer Research Institute have made significant steps forward in understanding the stem cells of the human blood system after discovering how a key protein allows for better control and regeneration of these cells.

28 Apr 2016

HBcrAg may predict HCC development

Research suggests a role for hepatitis B core-related antigen in the prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma development in nucleos(t)ide analogue treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection.

27 Apr 2016

New study on retroviral DNA could help improve treatments for HIV infection

When retroviruses such as HIV infect a cell, they first make a copy of their RNA genome in the form of DNA. The relatively short viral DNA strand then moves to the cell nucleus, where it inserts itself into the host cell's DNA.

27 Apr 2016

Modernization of screening methods in sperm banks could protect future children from highly heritable diseases

U.S. sperm banks perform genetic testing to screen for and disqualify carriers of a limited number of recessive disease mutations, but more comprehensive and affordable DNA-based screening methods are now available that can detect many more disease-causing genetic variations.

27 Apr 2016

New rat study shows specific genetic factors may contribute to differences in addiction among humans

Why does one person who tries cocaine get addicted, while another might use it and then leave it alone? Why do some people who kick a drug habit manage to stay clean, while others relapse? And why do some families seem more prone to addiction than others?

27 Apr 2016

Rapamycin drug could target neural damage linked to Leigh syndrome

Salk Institute scientists showed how an FDA-approved drug boosts the health of brain cells by limiting their energy use. Like removing unnecessary lighting from a financially strapped household to save on electricity bills, the drug--called rapamycin--prolongs the survival of diseased neurons by forcing them to reduce protein production to conserve cellular energy.

27 Apr 2016

Takara Bio USA, Integrated DNA Technologies collaborate to enhance transcriptome research

Takara Bio USA, Inc. (TBUSA, formerly Clontech Laboratories, Inc.), a wholly owned subsidiary of Takara Bio Inc., and Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) today announced a new collaboration to support targeted RNA sequencing.

From Integrated DNA Technologies 27 Apr 2016

First-ever vaccine to combat Leishmaniasis under development

As scientists scramble to get a Zika virus vaccine into human trials by the end of the summer, a team of researchers is working on the first-ever vaccine to prevent another insect-borne disease - Leishmaniasis - from gaining a similar foothold in the Americas.

27 Apr 2016

New national database could help identify major influences on miscarriage

A new national database could help relieve the misery of miscarriage for thousands of women.

26 Apr 2016

Newly published manuscripts enhance understanding of the immune system

MedImmune, the global biologics research and development arm of AstraZeneca, today announced that it has achieved a significant scientific milestone by publishing three manuscripts in Nature Immunology that advance the understanding of the immune system and highlight underlying mechanisms in two little-understood disease areas -- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

26 Apr 2016

Low levels of vitamin D, methylation in black teens may increase cancer risk

Low levels of vitamin D in black teens correlates with low activity of a major mechanism for controlling gene expression that may increase their risk of cancer and other disease, researchers report.

26 Apr 2016

Study identifies risk factors for asparaginase-induced pancreatitis in ALL patients

Researchers have identified a rare genetic variation associated with a dramatically increased risk of severe acute pancreatitis in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients treated with the chemotherapy agent asparaginase. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital led the study, which appears today in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

26 Apr 2016

Study shows canine AD shares significant features of human version

Atopic dermatitis (AD), a chronic inflammatory skin condition and the most common form of eczema, is estimated to afflict as much as 10 percent of the U.S. population, and is much more common now than it was 50 years ago. Veterinary clinical estimates also show that approximately 10 percent of dogs have atopic dermatitis.

26 Apr 2016

Changes in chromatin structure may promote cancer

Cancer development is a complex process involving both genetic and epigenetic changes. Genetic changes in oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes are generally considered as primary causes, since these genes may directly regulate cellular growth. In addition, it has been found that changes in epigenetic factors, through mutation or altered gene expression, may contribute to cancer development.

26 Apr 2016

Borrelia infection can cause scleratrophic skin lesions in certain countries

This review summarizes the literature on scleratrophic skin lesions as a manifestation of a Borrelia infection. An association of morphea with Lyme borreliosis LB was mainly reported from Middle-European Countries, Japan and South America. B. afzelii has been identified predominantly from the chronic skin lesions of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) and has been cultivated from morphea lesions in isolated cases.

26 Apr 2016

Study on HDAC enzymes could lead to development of better drugs for treatment of cancer, Alzheimer’s

New knowledge about the mechanism of specific protein complexes in the body could help in the development of better drugs for the treatment of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer’s, according to research led by the University of Leicester.

25 Apr 2016