DNA News and Research

RSS

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).

Study provides clearer picture of evolutionary history, genetic organization of cannabis

A study by Canadian researchers is providing a clearer picture of the evolutionary history and genetic organization of cannabis, a step that could have agricultural, medical and legal implications for this valuable crop.

28 Aug 2015

Researchers successfully use alcohols as reagents in alkylation reaction

Researchers at Princeton have developed a dual catalyst system that directly installs alkyl groups--fragments containing singly bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms that have extremely useful properties for drug discovery--onto compounds called heteroarenes. The new reaction uses simple and abundant alcohols and offers a milder and more widely applicable alternative to existing strategies.

28 Aug 2015

Cell-to-cell transmission of HIV leads to development of AIDS

Researchers from the Gladstone Institutes have revealed that HIV does not cause AIDS by the virus's direct effect on the host's immune cells, but rather through the cells' lethal influence on one another.

28 Aug 2015

Researchers identify druggable target to potentially root out colon cancer, end relapse

Researchers targeting colorectal cancer stem cells - the root cause of disease, resistance to treatment and relapse - have discovered a mechanism to mimic a virus and potentially trigger an immune response to fight the cancer like an infection.

28 Aug 2015

Scientists generate pluripotent stem cells with more stable genomes

Damaged tissue, such as pancreas, heart, and neuronal tissue, which is regenerated to treat cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, or neurodegenerative diseases. This is one of the ambitious scenarios to which regenerative medicine aspires and that is being announced as one of the great promises of twenty-first century biomedicine for the treatment of a long list of diseases affecting people today.

28 Aug 2015

Discovery could open up door for cancer research and treatment

Florida State University researchers have taken a big step forward in the fight against cancer with a discovery that could open up the door for new research and treatment options.

28 Aug 2015

Researchers identify new virus that plays role in rare type of liver cancer

More than a cause of a simple infection, viruses are often involved in the development of serious diseases. Such is the case with liver cancer, which often develops in an organ that has been weakened by hepatitis B or C virus.

28 Aug 2015

Obesity raises Lynch syndrome CRC risk

Obesity increases the risk of colorectal cancer in patients with Lynch syndrome, research indicates, but daily aspirin use may combat this excess risk.

27 Aug 2015

Researchers find way to trigger 'virus alert' that may help boost drug's ability to prevent cancer cells

Working with human cancer cell lines and mice, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and elsewhere have found a way to trigger a type of immune system "virus alert" that may one day boost cancer patients' response to immunotherapy drugs. An increasingly promising focus of cancer research, the drugs are designed to disarm cancer cells' ability to avoid detection and destruction by the immune system.

27 Aug 2015

Discovery could help in development of novel cancer-selective viral therapies

Every organism--from a seedling to a president--must protect its DNA at all costs, but precisely how a cell distinguishes between damage to its own DNA and the foreign DNA of an invading virus has remained a mystery.

27 Aug 2015

New test predicts breast cancer relapse months in advance

UK-based researchers have developed a blood test that can predict whether patients with breast cancer will experience a relapse after receiving treatment, months before tumors are visible using hospital scans.

27 Aug 2015

New study describes multi-method strategy to improve detection of PMS2 gene mutations in Lynch syndrome

About 3% of colorectal cancers are due to Lynch syndrome, an inherited cancer susceptibility syndrome that predisposes individuals to various cancers. Close blood relatives of patients with Lynch syndrome have a 50% chance of inheritance. The role that PMS2 genetic mutations play in Lynch syndrome has been underestimated in part due to technological limitations.

27 Aug 2015

Common gene mutation may cause brain damage associated with ALS and FTD

Johns Hopkins researchers say they have discovered some of the first steps in how a very common gene mutation causes the brain damage associated with both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).

27 Aug 2015

Theresa Alenghat receives 2015 AGA-CCFA-Janssen Research Award in IBD Epigenetics Research

The American Gastroenterological Association, in partnership with the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America and Janssen Biotech, Inc., announced today that Theresa Alenghat, VMD, PhD, from Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, OH, was awarded with the 2015 AGA-CCFA-Janssen Research Award in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) Epigenetics Research.

27 Aug 2015

ASTRO awards $675,000 to seven physician-researchers to advance radiation oncology research

The American Society for Radiation Oncology has selected seven leading physician-researchers to receive a total of $675,000 in awards and grants to advance radiation oncology research. Together, the seven funding grants, including ASTRO Junior Faculty Career Research Training Award, the ASTRO Residents/Fellows in Radiation Oncology Research Seed Award and the ASTRO/Radiation Oncology Institute Comparative Effectiveness Research Award, will support studies in radiation and cancer biology, radiation physics, translational research, outcomes/health services research and comparative effectiveness research within radiation oncology.

27 Aug 2015

Scientists reveal how a common gene mutation in ALS and FTD disrupts normal cell function

Researchers have determined how the most common gene mutation in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) disrupts normal cell function, providing insight likely to advance efforts to develop targeted therapies for these brain diseases.

27 Aug 2015

GOSH to improve rare disease diagnosis with adoption of Congenica’s Sapientia technology

Ian was ‘a clumsy child’. He kept bumping into objects and couldn’t see well in the dark. He endured 15 years of tests and misdiagnoses during a lengthy, and sometimes traumatic, diagnostic odyssey.

26 Aug 2015

Variations in opioid receptor genes linked to neonatal abstinence syndrome severity in newborn babies

A new study led by researchers at Boston Medical Center indicates that variations in opioid receptor genes are associated with more severe neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) in newborn babies. The findings, published online in Drug & Alcohol Dependence, could help lead to the development of individualized treatment plans tailored to each infants' risk of requiring medication to curb their NAS symptoms, which could help improve these patients' outcomes and reduce how long some stay in the hospital.

26 Aug 2015

Persistent leukemia-associated genetic mutations linked to increased risk of relapse, reduced overall survival

In preliminary research, the detection of persistent leukemia-associated genetic mutations in at least 5 percent of bone marrow cells in day 30 remission samples among adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia was associated with an increased risk of relapse and reduced overall survival, according to a study in the August 25 issue of JAMA.

26 Aug 2015

Sequenom, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center collaborate to explore utility of liquid biopsy assay

Sequenom, Inc., a life sciences company committed to enabling healthier lives through the development of innovative products and services, today announced that it has entered into a clinical research collaboration with the University of California, San Diego Moores Cancer Center.

26 Aug 2015

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Study provides clearer picture of evolutionary history, genetic organization of cannabis

Researchers successfully use alcohols as reagents in alkylation reaction

Cell-to-cell transmission of HIV leads to development of AIDS

Researchers identify druggable target to potentially root out colon cancer, end relapse

Scientists generate pluripotent stem cells with more stable genomes

Discovery could open up door for cancer research and treatment

Researchers identify new virus that plays role in rare type of liver cancer

Obesity raises Lynch syndrome CRC risk

Researchers find way to trigger 'virus alert' that may help boost drug's ability to prevent cancer cells

Discovery could help in development of novel cancer-selective viral therapies

New test predicts breast cancer relapse months in advance

New study describes multi-method strategy to improve detection of PMS2 gene mutations in Lynch syndrome

Common gene mutation may cause brain damage associated with ALS and FTD

Theresa Alenghat receives 2015 AGA-CCFA-Janssen Research Award in IBD Epigenetics Research

ASTRO awards $675,000 to seven physician-researchers to advance radiation oncology research

Scientists reveal how a common gene mutation in ALS and FTD disrupts normal cell function

GOSH to improve rare disease diagnosis with adoption of Congenica’s Sapientia technology

Variations in opioid receptor genes linked to neonatal abstinence syndrome severity in newborn babies

Persistent leukemia-associated genetic mutations linked to increased risk of relapse, reduced overall survival

Sequenom, UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center collaborate to explore utility of liquid biopsy assay

eBook: Exploring the Cell Cycle and DNA Damage and Repair eBook

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Latest Life Science News