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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).

CHOPS syndrome sheds light on key biological processes during human development

Analyzing a puzzling multisystem disorder in three children, genetic experts have identified a new syndrome, shedding light on key biological processes during human development. The research also provides important information to help caregivers manage the disorder, and may offer clues to eventually treating it.

3 Mar 2015

Researchers reveal how bacterial molecule controls the body's response to TB infection

The cascade of events leading to bacterial infection and the immune response is mostly understood. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune response to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis have remained a mystery — until now. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have now uncovered how a bacterial molecule controls the body's response to TB infection and suggest that adjusting the level of this of this molecule may be a new way to treat the disease.

3 Mar 2015

MIT researchers develop new nanodevice that can help overcome drug resistance

Chemotherapy often shrinks tumors at first, but as cancer cells become resistant to drug treatment, tumors can grow back. A new nanodevice developed by MIT researchers can help overcome that by first blocking the gene that confers drug resistance, then launching a new chemotherapy attack against the disarmed tumors.

3 Mar 2015

Caltech researchers reveal new information that could help fight against hookworms

Tiny parasitic hookworms infect nearly half a billion people worldwide--almost exclusively in developing countries--causing health problems ranging from gastrointestinal issues to cognitive impairment and stunted growth in children. By sequencing and analyzing the genome of one particular hookworm species, Caltech researchers have uncovered new information that could aid the fight against these parasites.

3 Mar 2015

Scientists sequence genome of hookworm

In an advance that may potentially lead to new treatments for parasitic hookworms, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Cornell University have sequenced the genome of the hookworm, Ancylostoma ceylanicum.

3 Mar 2015

Sall4 protein helps fix DNA damage

A protein that helps embryonic stem cells (ESCs) retain their identity also promotes DNA repair, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The findings raise the possibility that the protein, Sall4, performs a similar role in cancer cells, helping them fix DNA damage to survive chemotherapy.

3 Mar 2015

New genetic discovery may lead to effective treatments for Huntington's disease

A new genetic discovery in the field of Huntington's disease (HD) could mean a more effective way in determining severity of this neurological disease when using specific treatments. This study may provide insight for treatments that would be effective in slowing down or postponing the death of neurons for people who carry the HD gene mutation, but who do not yet show symptoms of the disease.

2 Mar 2015

Taiho announces submission of TAS-102 MAA to EMA for treatment of mCRC

Taiho Pharma Europe Ltd., a subsidiary of Japan based Taiho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., announced that it has submitted a Marketing Authorisation Application to the European Medicines Agency for TAS-102 (nonproprietary names: trifluridine and tipiracil hydrochloride), an oral combination anticancer drug intended for use in the treatment of refractory metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

2 Mar 2015

Bielefeld University chemists develop copper molecule that could help prevent spread of cancer

Chemists at Bielefeld University have developed a molecule containing copper that binds specifically with DNA and prevents the spread of cancer. First results show that it kills the cancer cells more quickly than cisplatin - a widely used anti-cancer drug that is frequently administered in chemotherapy.

2 Mar 2015

Study details a new pathway for tumor formation

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine (SVM) have identified the biological mechanism that may give some cancer cells the ability to form tumors in dogs.

2 Mar 2015

Genetic decanalization can lead to complex genetic diseases in humans

The information encoded in the DNA of an organism is not sufficient to determine the expression pattern of genes. This fact has been known even before the discovery of epigenetics, which refers to external modifications to the DNA that turn genes "on" or "off".

28 Feb 2015

NYU Langone reminds people about importance of screening and preventing colorectal cancer

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. However, according to Mark Pochapin, MD, the Sholtz/Leeds professor of Gastroenterology and director of the Division of Gastroenterology at NYU Langone Medical Center : "With early screening and prevention, this is one cancer that is highly curable and often preventable."

28 Feb 2015

Intrexon signs agreement to acquire Okanagan Specialty Fruits

Intrexon Corporation, a leader in synthetic biology, today announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the pioneering agricultural company behind the Arctic apple, the world's first non-browning apple.

27 Feb 2015

KU Leuven researchers devise simple, effective solution to untangle DNA

Researchers have long sought an efficient way to untangle DNA in order to study its structure - neatly unraveled and straightened out - under a microscope. Now, chemists and engineers at KU Leuven, in Belgium, have devised a strikingly simple and effective solution: they inject genetic material into a droplet of water and use a pipet tip to drag it over a glass plate covered with a sticky polymer.

27 Feb 2015

New test can predict survival chances of women with breast cancer

Scientists have developed a new test which can predict the survival chances of women with breast cancer by analysing images of 'hotspots' where there has been a fierce immune reaction to a tumour.

27 Feb 2015

Genomics researchers discover novel gene variants in childhood CVID

Genomics researchers analyzing a rare, serious immunodeficiency disease in children have discovered links to a gene crucial to the body's defense against infections. The finding may represent an inviting target for drugs to treat common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).

27 Feb 2015

Scientists identify novel gene that affects brain function

U.S. and Australian scientists have found the mechanism a novel gene uses to affect brain function and elicit behavior related to neuropsychiatric disease.

26 Feb 2015

Scientists discover DNA vaccine that alleviates chronic inflammation in the body

An international team of scientists including CureLab Oncology, Inc. (Boston), University of Camerino (Italy), and Boston University have serendipitously discovered a DNA vaccine, which systemically alleviates chronic inflammation in the body. Since osteoporosis is an inflammatory disease, preventive and therapeutic effects of the new vaccine were demonstrated on mouse models with osteoporosis.

26 Feb 2015

Researchers reveal how malaria parasite deploys genetic trickery to escape immune system attack

Up to one million people -- mainly pregnant woman and young children -- are killed each year by the Plasmodium falciparum parasite, which causes the most devastating form of human malaria.

26 Feb 2015

Beckman Coulter Genomics Introduces a Scalable RNA-seq service line for processing intact and degraded RNA samples

This fully automated sample preparation pipeline delivers consistent results run after run, reducing user variability and bias and allows processing of a large amount of samples with reduced turnaround time relative to manual library construction.

25 Feb 2015