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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).

Bacteria in Lake Mendota Evolve with Changing Seasons

Like Bill Murray in the movie "Groundhog Day," bacteria species in a Wisconsin lake are in a kind of endless loop that they can't seem to shake. Except in this case, it's more like Groundhog Year.

6 Jan 2025

Researchers Discover Key Factor Behind Disease Resistance in Gene Carriers

New work by Columbia researchers has turned a textbook principle of genetics on its head and revealed why some people who carry disease-causing genes experience no symptoms.

3 Jan 2025

Biologists Reveal Genetics Behind Walnut Trees' Alternating Sexes

The genetics behind the alternating sexes of walnut trees has been revealed by biologists at the University of California, Davis.

3 Jan 2025

Epigenetic Clocks Offer Insight into Biological Age at Cell-Type Resolution

A new priority research paper, featured as the cover of Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 22, was published on December 29, 2024. The paper is titled "Cell-type specific epigenetic clocks to quantify biological age at cell-type resolution."

3 Jan 2025

Breakthrough in Nanopore Technology Could Transform Disease Detection

UC Riverside scientists have developed a nanopore-based tool that could help diagnose illnesses much faster and with greater precision than current tests allow, by capturing signals from individual molecules.

3 Jan 2025

Zebrafish Protein Promotes Cardiac Repair in Mice

Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute's Bakkers group have used a zebrafish protein to successfully repair damaged mouse hearts.

3 Jan 2025

New Insights into How Early Life Experiences Influence Genetic Expression and Brain Health

In a comprehensive Genomic Press Interview, renowned neuroscientist Dr. Michael Meaney reveals pivotal discoveries about the intricate relationship between genes and environment in shaping brain health.

2 Jan 2025

Ancient DNA Analysis Unveils Migration Patterns in Early Europe

Waves of human migration across Europe during the first millennium AD have been revealed using a more precise method of analyzing ancestry with ancient DNA, in research led by the Francis Crick Institute.

2 Jan 2025

Study Reveals Mechanism Behind Retrotransposon Insertion in Centromeres

A joint research group team led by Sayuri Tsukahara and Tetsuji Kakutani of the University of Tokyo has clarified a mechanism of how retrotransposons, genetic elements that can "jump around" chromosomes and are known drivers of evolution, preferentially insert in the centromere.

2 Jan 2025

New Study Reveals DNA’s Role in Stabilizing Cellular Structures

In a discovery that could redefine how we understand cellular resilience and adaptability, scientists at Scripps Research have unlocked the secret interactions between a primordial inorganic polymer of phosphate known as polyphosphate (polyP), and two basic building blocks of life: DNA and the element magnesium.

26 Dec 2024

Fruit Flies Evolve New Defense Through Gene Transfer

In the continual arms race between parasites and their hosts, innovation was thought to be the key to a successful attack or defense that one-ups the competition.

26 Dec 2024

New Gene Editing Tool Targets Alzheimer's by Skipping Disease-Causing Gene Segments

A new gene editing tool that helps cellular machinery skip parts of genes responsible for diseases has been applied to reduce the formation of amyloid-beta plaque precursors in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign report.

24 Dec 2024

Plant Research Reveals Unexpected Function for Key Cellular Protein

A cell protein previously believed only to provide a scaffolding for DNA has also been shown to directly influence DNA transcription into RNA – the first step of the process by which an organism's genetic code expresses itself. The fundamental breakthrough was discovered in apple cells but is relevant to all living organisms made of nucleus-containing cells, including humans.

24 Dec 2024

PlantRNA-FM: Bridging the Gap Between RNA Structure and Function

With PlantRNA-FM, researchers can systematically analyze plant RNA, uncovering functional motifs that play key roles in gene expression and stress responses.

23 Dec 2024

Extracellular Vesicles from Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Restore Joint Health in Osteoarthritis

A new research paper was published in Aging (listed by MEDLINE/PubMed as "Aging (Albany NY)" and "Aging-US" by Web of Science) Volume 16, Issue 21 on November 22, 2024, entitled, "Anti-aging effect of extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stromal cells on senescence-induced chondrocytes in osteoarthritis."

20 Dec 2024

Engineering Yeast Promoters for Biologic Manufacturing

When introducing genes into yeast to make it produce drugs and other useful substances, it is also necessary to reliably switch the production on or off. A Kobe University team found three gene regulation design principles that provide a flexible guideline for the effective control of microbiological production.

19 Dec 2024