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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).

Study identifies seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes

Seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes have been identified in the largest study to date of the genetic basis of the disease.

9 Feb 2014

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Analyzing the genomes of twin 3-year-old sisters – one healthy and one with aggressive leukemia – led an international team of researchers to identify a novel molecular target that could become a way to treat recurring and deadly malignancies.

9 Feb 2014

Researchers shed light on role of genes and blood lipid levels in cardiovascular health

New genetic evidence strengthens the case that one well-known type of cholesterol is a likely suspect in causing heart disease, but also casts further doubt on the causal role played by another type. The findings may guide the search for improved treatments for heart disease.

9 Feb 2014

Rice, UTMB develop diagnostic test for cryptosporidiosis

Bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston have developed a simple, highly sensitive and efficient test for the diarrheal disease cryptosporidiosis that could have great impact on global health.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers identify protein that regulates how genetic information transcribed from DNA to mRNA

Molecular biologists from Indiana University are part of a team that has identified a protein that regulates the information present in a large number of messenger ribonucleic acid molecules that are important for carrying genetic information from DNA to protein synthesis.

7 Feb 2014

Studies shed more light on genetic basis of bone marrow failure

The study, published in The American Journal of Human Genetics, detected and identified a new disease gene (ERCC6L2). In its normal form, the gene plays a key role in protecting DNA from damaging agents, but when the gene is mutated the cell is not able to protect itself in the normal way.

7 Feb 2014

Combination of etoposide with compounds that interfere with cell division improves therapeutic window for cancer treatments

A large part of the effort dedicated to cancer research is directed towards the search for combinations of existing drugs-many of which have already been introduced into clinical practice-that permit higher overall survival rates and improvements in the quality of life of cancer patients.

7 Feb 2014

Researchers identify histone proteins that may be key to generate induced totipotent stem cells

One major challenge in stem cell research has been to reprogram differentiated cells to a totipotent state. Researchers from RIKEN in Japan have identified a duo of histone proteins that dramatically enhance the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and may be the key to generating induced totipotent stem cells.

7 Feb 2014

Rare and de novo mutations flesh out schizophrenia picture

Two studies in Nature show that rare disruptive and de novo mutations may contribute to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.

6 Feb 2014

Study offers new avenue to pursue in quest for desperately needed treatments for ALS

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists led a study showing that mutations in a gene responsible for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) disrupt the RNA transport system in nerve cells.

6 Feb 2014

Study: Sensitivity to pain could be altered by person's lifestyle and environment

Researchers at King's College London have discovered that sensitivity to pain could be altered by a person's lifestyle and environment throughout their lifetime. The study is the first to find that pain sensitivity, previously thought to be relatively inflexible, can change as a result of genes being switched on or off by lifestyle and environmental factors - a process called epigenetics, which chemically alters the expression of genes.

5 Feb 2014

Researchers discover genetic mutations that cause deadly lung disease

A team of researchers, led by physicians and scientists at Intermountain Medical Center and ARUP Laboratories in Salt Lake City, has made a medical breakthrough by discovering genetic mutations that cause a rare and deadly lung disease.

4 Feb 2014

Pfizer’s palbociclib Phase 2 trial achieves primary endpoint in patients with advanced breast cancer

Pfizer Inc. today announced that the randomized Phase 2 trial [PALOMA-1] of palbociclib achieved its primary endpoint by demonstrating a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) for the combination of palbociclib and letrozole compared with letrozole alone in post-menopausal women with estrogen receptor positive (ER+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HER2-) locally advanced or newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer.

4 Feb 2014

New insights into cell division could improve knowledge of cancer

New insights into how the cells in our bodies divide could improve our knowledge of a condition linked to cancer, a study suggests.

4 Feb 2014

Edison's vatiquinone receives Orphan Status for treatment of Friedreich's ataxia

Edison Pharmaceuticals today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Status to vatiquinone for the treatment of Friedreich's ataxia.

4 Feb 2014

New super-resolution microscopy method could spot dozens of distinct types of biomolecules

A new microscopy method could enable scientists to generate snapshots of dozens of different biomolecules at once in a single human cell, a team from the Wyss Institute of Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University reported Sunday in Nature Methods.

4 Feb 2014

Biotheranostics launches complete genomic tests for metastatic cancer patients

bioTheranostics, Inc., today introduced the bioT3 Metastatic Cancer Solution, a suite of genomic-based tests that provide personalized diagnostic information and therapeutic guidance for metastatic cancer patients across the continuum of care.

4 Feb 2014

Study finds cervicovaginal microbiota differs in women destined to have preterm birth

In a study to be presented on Feb. 6 at 3:15 p.m. CST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting-, in New Orleans, researchers will report that cervicovaginal (CV) microbiota differs in the late second and early third trimester in women destined to have a preterm birth.

4 Feb 2014

Chemical "signature" in blood may predict which AML patients would benefit from chemotherapy

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center have found a chemical "signature" in blood-forming stem cells that predicts whether patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will respond to chemotherapy.

4 Feb 2014

Study: Noninvasive prenatal testing detects 83.2% of chromosomal abnormalities

In a study to be presented on Feb. 6 at 9 a.m. CST, at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting-, in New Orleans, researchers will report that noninvasive prenatal testing detected 83.2 percent of chromosomal abnormalities normally picked up by invasive diagnostic testing strategies, such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) or amniocentesis.

4 Feb 2014

DNA News and Research

Further Reading

Study identifies seven new genetic regions associated with type 2 diabetes

Study points to molecular pathway to treat recurring, deadly malignancies

Researchers shed light on role of genes and blood lipid levels in cardiovascular health

Rice, UTMB develop diagnostic test for cryptosporidiosis

Researchers identify protein that regulates how genetic information transcribed from DNA to mRNA

Studies shed more light on genetic basis of bone marrow failure

Combination of etoposide with compounds that interfere with cell division improves therapeutic window for cancer treatments

Researchers identify histone proteins that may be key to generate induced totipotent stem cells

Rare and de novo mutations flesh out schizophrenia picture

Study offers new avenue to pursue in quest for desperately needed treatments for ALS

Study: Sensitivity to pain could be altered by person's lifestyle and environment

Researchers discover genetic mutations that cause deadly lung disease

Pfizer’s palbociclib Phase 2 trial achieves primary endpoint in patients with advanced breast cancer

New insights into cell division could improve knowledge of cancer

Edison's vatiquinone receives Orphan Status for treatment of Friedreich's ataxia

New super-resolution microscopy method could spot dozens of distinct types of biomolecules

Biotheranostics launches complete genomic tests for metastatic cancer patients

Study finds cervicovaginal microbiota differs in women destined to have preterm birth

Chemical "signature" in blood may predict which AML patients would benefit from chemotherapy

Study: Noninvasive prenatal testing detects 83.2% of chromosomal abnormalities

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