DNA News and Research

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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 uncovers new risk genes for problematic alcohol use

Do you have what is known as problematic alcohol use? Then statistically you will also be particularly genetically predisposed to develop e.g. depression and insomnia. And to become dependent on drugs and tobacco. This is shown by a new international study in which researchers from iPSYCH are involved.

8 Jun 2020

A synthetic microbial system can determine location of origin for objects

Every year, an estimated 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne illnesses, resulting in some 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

5 Jun 2020

C19ORF57 gene could advance reproductive medicine

The gene C19ORF57 has been identified to play a major role in meiosis by the Institute of Molecular Embryology and Genetics at Kumamoto University.

5 Jun 2020

New image of LSD1 enzyme in action could provide insight into gene regulation

New images of an enzyme in action as it interacts with the chromosome could provide important insight into how cells--including cancer cells--regulate their genes.

5 Jun 2020

Human protein plays crucial role in transcription and genome integrity

Researchers from the University of Seville and Cabimer discover that the UAP56/DDX39B protein remove DNA-RNA hybrids from the genome.

5 Jun 2020

Scientists aim to develop a gene-targeting, antiviral agent to combat COVID-19

A team of scientists from Stanford University is working with researchers at the Molecular Foundry, a nanoscience user facility located at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), to develop a gene-targeting, antiviral agent against COVID-19.

5 Jun 2020

Salk researchers discover how cells remember their identity

Cancer is often the result of DNA mutations or problems with how cells divide, which can lead to cells "forgetting" what type of cell they are or how to function properly.

5 Jun 2020

Small protein has a great influence on bacterial gene regulation

Meningococci are bacteria that can cause life-threatening meningitis and sepsis. These pathogens use a small protein with a large impact: The RNA-binding protein ProQ is involved in the activation of more than 250 bacterial genes.

5 Jun 2020

New technique restores hearing in mice with a recessive genetic mutation

Using a new genetic engineering technique, known as base editing, researchers from Boston Children's Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, have restored hearing in mice with a known recessive genetic mutation.

5 Jun 2020

Advanced microscopy techniques help visualize telomerase in living cells

Canadian researchers have made a major breakthrough in the analysis of telomerase, a crucial enzyme involved in cancer and aging.

4 Jun 2020

Fate-seq technique shows structural differences between COVID-19 and SARS viruses

Scientists have discovered certain segments of the genetic codes of the SARS and COVID-19 viruses that may support the lifecycle of the viruses.

4 Jun 2020

Study uncovers why developing nerve cells take a wrong turn

A group of scientists from CECAD, the Cluster of Excellence 'Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-Associated Diseases,' have found a mechanism by which neurodevelopmental diseases concerning neurons can be explained: The loss of a certain enzyme, UBE2K, impeded the differentiation of stem cells by silencing the expression of genes important for neuronal differentiation and, therefore, the development and generation of neurons.

4 Jun 2020

Building blocks of DNA and RNA could have co-existed in the primordial Earth

Scientists have long debated which genetic information carrier - DNA or RNA - started life on Earth, but a new study suggests life could have begun with a bit of both.

4 Jun 2020

Researchers evaluate long-term impact of bighorn sheep translocations

Translocation is an important management tool used for nearly 100 years to increase bighorn sheep population numbers in Wyoming and to restore herds to suitable habitat throughout their historical range. Y

4 Jun 2020

Review reveals exceptions to the purported rules of sex chromosome evolution theory

For nearly a century, biologists have modeled the evolution of sex chromosomes--the genetic instructions that primarily determine whether an individual will develop into a male or female (or a certain mating type)--resulting in an impressive theoretical framework.

4 Jun 2020

Researchers unravel mechanisms behind organ-specific elimination of chromosomes in plants

Whilst we often think of somatic cells in an organism as containing the same DNA and therefore the same number of chromosomes, it is surprising, how often this is not the case.

3 Jun 2020

Scientists decode ancient DNA extracted from Dead Sea Scrolls

An interdisciplinary team from Tel Aviv University, led by Prof. Oded Rechavi of TAU's George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, Prof. Noam Mizrahi of TAU's Department of Biblical Studies, in collaboration with Prof. Mattias Jakobsson of Uppsala University in Sweden, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Prof. Christopher E. Mason of Weill Cornell Medicine, has successfully decoded ancient DNA extracted from the animal skins on which the Dead Sea Scrolls were written.

3 Jun 2020