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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).

Advancements in HIV treatment help patients live longer

Huge advancements have taken place in HIV treatment and prevention over the past 10 years, but there is still no cure or vaccine. A new review shows that because of advancements in treatment, people with the virus are living longer.

25 Jun 2014

Study: Cohesin mutations are common in melanoma and bladder cancer

Massive sequencing of cancer genomes brings to light new genes every day that could be involved in the process of tumour formation.

25 Jun 2014

Frederic Bushman gets Pioneer Award from Human Gene Therapy

Frederic D. Bushman, PhD's (University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine) early pioneering work in understanding how HIV reproduces by inserting its genetic material into the DNA of a host cell led to key advances in the ability to move pieces of DNA and whole genes between cells.

25 Jun 2014

Wild fleas transmit Chagas' disease in some regions of Latin America

For 10 years, major fumigation campaigns in the villages have eliminated the fleas that transmit Chagas' disease in many Latin American countries.

25 Jun 2014

New study finds genetic links between schizophrenia risk and cannabis use

Genes that increase the risk of developing schizophrenia may also increase the likelihood of using cannabis, according to a new study led by King's College London, published today in Molecular Psychiatry.

25 Jun 2014

New method to help patients with cancer, genetic conditions, neurological disorders

UT Arlington physics researchers may have developed a way to use laser technology to deliver drug and gene therapy at the cellular level without damaging surrounding tissue. The method eventually could help patients suffering from genetic conditions, cancers and neurological diseases.

25 Jun 2014

SLAC research reveals rapid DNA changes that act as molecular sunscreen

The molecular building blocks that make up DNA absorb ultraviolet light so strongly that sunlight should deactivate them - yet it does not. Now scientists have made detailed observations of a "relaxation response" that protects these molecules, and the genetic information they encode, from UV damage.

24 Jun 2014

Computer analysis of family photos could help diagnose rare genetic disorders

Computer analysis of photographs could help doctors diagnose which condition a child with a rare genetic disorder has, say Oxford University researchers.

24 Jun 2014

Study paves way to develop novel therapies for nasopharyngeal cancer

A team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (CSI Singapore) at the National University of Singapore, National University Cancer Institute Singapore (NCIS) and National University Hospital Singapore (NUH), discovered a distinct mutational signature and nine significantly mutated genes associated with nasopharyngeal cancer, paving the way to developing novel therapies for this deadly disease.

23 Jun 2014

Researchers identify two oncogenes that drive the development of medulloblastoma

A new collaborative study carried out by researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, UC San Diego, the German Cancer Research Center, the University of Heidelberg (Germany), and 33 other research institutions has identified two oncogenes, called GFI1 and GFI1B, that drive the development of medulloblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in children.

23 Jun 2014

Study explores new ways to improve medications to treat type 2 diabetes

A better understanding of how the transcription factor Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor Gamma (PPARgamma) works is critical to find new ways to improve medications to treat type 2 diabetes.

23 Jun 2014

A new breakthrough for treating nasopharyngeal carcinoma

23 Jun 2014

Overlooked DNA shuffling drives deadly paediatric brain tumour

One of the deadliest forms of paediatric brain tumour, Group 3 medulloblastoma, is linked to a variety of large-scale DNA rearrangements which all have the same overall effect on specific genes located on different chromosomes.

23 Jun 2014

Celsion acquires all assets of EGEN

Celsion Corporation, an oncology drug development company, today announced the completion of the acquisition by Celsion of substantially all of the assets of EGEN, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of nucleic acid-based therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and other difficult to treat diseases.

21 Jun 2014

Yap1 oncogene drives recurrence and progression of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer tumors addicted to mutant Kras signaling for their growth and progression have a ready-made substitute to tap if they're ever forced to go cold-turkey on the mutant oncogene, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report in the journal Cell.

20 Jun 2014

Susceptibility gene for type 1 diabetes regulates self-destruction of cell's energy factory

A team led by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania found that a susceptibility gene for type 1 diabetes regulates self-destruction of the cell's energy factory. They report their findings this week in Cell.

20 Jun 2014

Nicox launches expanded access to Sequenom Laboratories' RetnaGene portfolio

Nicox S.A., the international ophthalmic company, and Sequenom, Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM), a life sciences company providing innovative genetic analysis solutions, today announced that Nicox's subsidiary, Nicox Inc. is launching expanded access to Sequenom Laboratories' RetnaGene™ portfolio of laboratory-developed genetic tests in the United States (U.S.).

19 Jun 2014

Research provides unique insight into lncRNAs that regulate lung development

It's a long way from DNA to RNA to protein, and only about two percent of a person's genome is eventually converted into proteins.

19 Jun 2014

DNA sequencing does not reveal the pathogenicity of bacteria

While more and more genomic information is becoming available at a drastically increasing pace, the knowledge we can gain about how microorganisms interact with their surrounding, infect hosts and alter their molecular programs in accordance to changing environmental conditions remains widely not deducible from genomic data alone, the researchers from University of Southern Denmark claim.

19 Jun 2014