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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).

Prenatal smoking exposure can potentially affect someone's health for years after birth

New Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research finds that blood taken from children up to the age of five contains molecular evidence about whether their mothers smoked during pregnancy.

23 Nov 2015

Oxford University researchers unlock the secret behind bacterial sex

Migration between different communities of bacteria is the key to the type of gene transfer that can lead to the spread of traits such as antibiotic resistance, according to researchers at Oxford University.

23 Nov 2015

CRISPR tool unlocks potential for novel treatments across different therapeutic areas

CRISPR is one of the most exciting advances in gene-based medicine in decades. A uniquely powerful tool for editing the genome, it allows scientists to manipulate DNA with unprecedented precision by deleting unwanted or faulty genes and replacing them with different ones. Its promise in this field of medicine is immense, unlocking the potential for novel treatments across a wide range of therapeutic areas.

22 Nov 2015

FDA takes important steps regarding genetically engineered plants and animals intended for food

Based on sound science and a comprehensive review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is taking several important steps today regarding food from genetically engineered (GE) plants and animals, including the first approval for a genetically engineered animal intended for food, AquAdvantage Salmon.

20 Nov 2015

Research findings may lead to potential therapeutic target for treating inflammatory bowel diseases

UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers have shown that a pathogen-sensing molecule plays a vital role in keeping gastrointestinal (GI) systems healthy.

20 Nov 2015

Researchers devise system to accelerate the process of making life-saving vaccines

Researchers at Brigham Young University have devised a system to speed up the process of making life-saving vaccines for new viruses.

20 Nov 2015

Scientists identify way to sensitize drug-resistant glioblastoma cells to chemotherapy

Scientists from the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and clinicians from Carilion Clinic have discovered how to sensitize drug-resistant human glioblastoma cells to chemotherapy.

20 Nov 2015

Researchers suggest new way to target cancer protein

For years, scientists have struggled to find a way to block a protein known to play an important role in many cancers. The protein, STAT3, acts as a transcription factor -- it performs the crucial task of helping convert DNA into the RNA instructions used to make new proteins.

19 Nov 2015

UF Health investigators make new discovery about Huntington's disease

University of Florida Health researchers have made a new discovery about Huntington's disease, showing that the gene that causes the fatal disorder makes an unexpected "cocktail" of mutant proteins that accumulate in the brain.

19 Nov 2015

Last resort antibiotics may no longer work

E.coli has become resistant to the last line of antibiotics we have left and untreatable bugs may already be circulating in Britain, warn scientists.

19 Nov 2015

Role of genetic predisposition in pediatric cancer patients

The most detailed analysis yet of the role germline mutations in genes associated with cancer predisposition play in the development of childhood cancer suggests that comprehensive genomic screening may be warranted on all pediatric cancer patients, not just those with a family history of cancer.

19 Nov 2015

New technique improves accuracy of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

A new CRISPR/Cas9 technology developed by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is precise enough to surgically edit DNA at nearly any genomic location, while avoiding potentially harmful off-target changes typically seen in standard CRISPR gene editing techniques.

19 Nov 2015

IMB scientists unravel complex regulatory mechanism involved in brain development

Scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Mainz have unraveled a complex regulatory mechanism that explains how a single gene can drive the formation of brain cells. The research, published in The EMBO Journal, is an important step towards a better understanding of how the brain develops. It also harbors potential for regenerative medicine.

19 Nov 2015

Scientists identify mechanism that may help prostate cancer cells escape effects of cancer drugs

Advanced prostate cancer is a disease notoriously resistant to treatment. New research by scientists at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of California, San Francisco sheds light on a new mode of drug resistance to emerging therapies in metastatic prostate cancer.

18 Nov 2015

Promising new treatment for sepsis on the horizon

A promising new drug for sepsis is on the horizon thanks to new funding from the British Heart Foundation, which could help take the laboratory discovery into the clinic.

18 Nov 2015

Researchers identify a mechanism that may explain association between obesity and cancer

Researchers have identified a mechanism that allows cancer cells to respond and grow rapidly when levels of sugar in the blood rise. This may help to explain why people who develop conditions in which they have chronically high sugar levels in their blood, such as obesity, also have an increased risk of developing certain types of cancer.

18 Nov 2015

Johns Hopkins scientists use gene-based tests to distinguish precancerous cysts from harmless cysts

In a "look-back" analysis of data stored on 130 patients with pancreatic cysts, scientists at Johns Hopkins have used gene-based tests and a fixed set of clinical criteria to more accurately distinguish precancerous cysts from those less likely to do harm. The findings may eventually help some patients in real time safely avoid surgery to remove harmless cysts.

18 Nov 2015

TSRI scientists discover first-in-class compounds that target persistent tuberculosis

Tuberculosis has been infecting humans for several millennia, making it one of the most horribly successful diseases in history. Today, it is still a major killer, responsible for some 1.5 million deaths each year.

18 Nov 2015

Researchers use large-scale computer modeling to show effects of confinement on cell macromolecules

Using large-scale computer modeling, researchers have shown the effects of confinement on macromolecules inside cells -- and taken the first steps toward simulating a living cell, a capability that could allow them to ask 'what-if' questions impossible to ask in real organisms.

17 Nov 2015

RNA-based drugs provide many advantages over CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

In just the past few years, researchers have found a way to use a naturally occurring bacterial system known as CRISPR/Cas9 to inactivate or correct specific genes in any organism. CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing activity runs continuously, though, leading to risk of additional editing at unwanted sites. Now, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, Ludwig Cancer Research and Isis Pharmaceuticals demonstrate a commercially feasible way to use RNA to turn the CRISPR-Cas9 system on and off as desired -- permanently editing a gene, but only temporarily activating CRISPR-Cas9.

17 Nov 2015

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Prenatal smoking exposure can potentially affect someone's health for years after birth

Oxford University researchers unlock the secret behind bacterial sex

CRISPR tool unlocks potential for novel treatments across different therapeutic areas

FDA takes important steps regarding genetically engineered plants and animals intended for food

Research findings may lead to potential therapeutic target for treating inflammatory bowel diseases

Researchers devise system to accelerate the process of making life-saving vaccines

Scientists identify way to sensitize drug-resistant glioblastoma cells to chemotherapy

Researchers suggest new way to target cancer protein

UF Health investigators make new discovery about Huntington's disease

Last resort antibiotics may no longer work

Role of genetic predisposition in pediatric cancer patients

New technique improves accuracy of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

IMB scientists unravel complex regulatory mechanism involved in brain development

Scientists identify mechanism that may help prostate cancer cells escape effects of cancer drugs

Promising new treatment for sepsis on the horizon

Researchers identify a mechanism that may explain association between obesity and cancer

Johns Hopkins scientists use gene-based tests to distinguish precancerous cysts from harmless cysts

TSRI scientists discover first-in-class compounds that target persistent tuberculosis

Researchers use large-scale computer modeling to show effects of confinement on cell macromolecules

RNA-based drugs provide many advantages over CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing system

eBook: A guide to RNA sequencing eBook

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