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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).

Wild relatives of modern peanut plants can withstand diseases

The wild relatives of modern peanut plants have the ability to withstand disease in ways that peanut plants can't. The genetic diversity of these wild relatives means that they can shrug off the diseases that kill farmers' peanut crops, but they also produce tiny nuts that are difficult to harvest because they burrow deep in the soil.

From University of Georgia 19 May 2021

Successful class of therapeutics attack and shut down unique and harmful genes

A potential class of therapeutics that uses synthetic nucleic acids to attack and shut down harmful genes while preventing viral spread is gathering momentum.

18 May 2021

Exposure to even low levels of lead can trigger epigenetic changes

A research team from Brazil and Portugal has identified a link between a microRNA (miRNA) and the presence of lead in an organism.

18 May 2021

Refreshers develop new DNA sequencing method

An international research team headed by Michal Hocek of the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague) and Charles University and Ciara K. O'Sullivan of Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) in Spain have developed a novel method for labeling DNA, which in the future can be used for sequencing DNA by means of electrochemical detection.

18 May 2021

New kind of biomolecule could play a vital role in the biology of all living things

Stanford researchers have discovered a new kind of biomolecule that could play a significant role in the biology of all living things.

18 May 2021

Researchers develop an unprecedentedly flexible new DNA staining probe

A team of scientists at Nagoya University in Japan has invented an extremely versatile DNA fluorescent dye called “Kakshine".

17 May 2021

Study shows that inactivation of BRG1 leads to high genetic instability

Following the p53 tumor suppressor gene, the genes encoding two proteins of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex are the most often identified mutated.

17 May 2021

Scientists shed light on the origins of Mimivirus and other giant viruses

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay shed light on the origins of Mimivirus and other giant viruses, helping us better understand a group of unique biological forms that shaped life on earth.

17 May 2021

Epigenetic changes drive the fate of a B cell

B cells are the immune cells responsible for creating antibodies, and most B cells produce antibodies in response to a pathogen or a vaccine, providing immunity.

14 May 2021

Scientists identify the language the body uses to marshal responses to threats

UCLA life scientists have identified six "words" that specific immune cells use to call up immune defense genes -- an important step toward understanding the language the body uses to marshal responses to threats.

13 May 2021

New CAD technology may open up new frontiers in genome research

A new Computer Aided Design (CAD) platform for whole genome design is being launched by two pioneers in the world of biotech: Genome Project-write (GP-write) and Twist Bioscience.

13 May 2021

An efficient automated method for production of synthetic DNA

Chemically synthesized short DNA sequences are extremely important ingredients with countless uses in research laboratories, hospitals, and in industry, like in the method for identifying COVID-19.

13 May 2021

Exploring the Genetic effects of Chernobyl Radiation

In this interview, AZoLifeSciences speaks to researchers from the National Cancer Institute about their latest research that investigated the genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation.

From National Cancer Institute (NCI) 13 May 2021

Researchers identify the biosynthesis mechanism of new DNA nucleobases

DNA is made up of nucleobases, which are depicted by the letters G, A, T, and C. They are the foundation of the genetic code.

From Institut Pasteur 13 May 2021

Research group reveals the essential role of Knl1 gene in plants

Dr. HAN Fangpu's group from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences reports the identification and functional study of the maize Knl1 gene in an article published online in PNAS.

12 May 2021

Cancer cells re-organize DNA structure to ramp up the activity of oncogenes

A lot of biological mechanisms go wrong in cancer—for example genes mutate and cells proliferate in an uncontrollable manner.

11 May 2021

The history of the Amazon Basin affects the distribution of manatees

All three species of manatee now present on Earth share a common ancestor from which they split some 6.5 million years ago, when a huge lake in Amazonia, then linked to the Caribbean, was cut off from the sea.

11 May 2021

São Tomé island has two different species of caecilians, shows new study

The Gulf of Guinea islands harbor an abundance of species found nowhere else on Earth. But for over 100 years, scientists have wondered whether or not a population of limbless, burrowing amphibians--known as caecilians--found on one of the islands is a single or multiple species.

11 May 2021

Supercoiling characteristic of DNA's structure controls gene expression, research shows

The two meters of -stretched- DNA contained in human cells are continuously twisting and untwisting to give access to genetic information: when a gene is expressed to generate a protein, the two strands of DNA are separated to give access to all the machinery necessary for this expression, resulting in an excessive accumulation of coiling that needs to be resolved later.

10 May 2021

Genomic Analysis for the Conservation of Koalas

In this interview, AZoLifeSciences speaks to Professor Parwinder Kaur about her latest research that uses genomic analysis for the conservation of koalas.

From The University of Western Australia 10 May 2021