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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).

New Study Shows How Butterflies and Moths Can Help Understand Evolution

Butterflies and moths share "blocks" of DNA dating back more than 200 million years, new research shows.

14 Jul 2023

Revealing the Function of Retrotransposons

A retrotransposon, a parasitic DNA sequence that borrows the cell’s own machinery to accomplish its objectives, has been discovered.

13 Jul 2023

Gene Recognition of CRISPR-Cas Visualized With New Method

A novel technique has been devised by researchers from the University of Leipzig and the University of Vilnius in Lithuania to monitor the smallest twists and torques of molecules in milliseconds.

13 Jul 2023

The Future of Nanobiotechnology: Ethical Considerations

Prosthetics moved by thoughts. Targeted treatments for aggressive brain cancer. Soldiers with enhanced vision or bionic ears.

13 Jul 2023

Dad’s Genes “Remote Control” Mom’s Metabolism to Benefit Fetus

The unborn baby “remote controls” its mother’s metabolism, resulting in a nutritional tug-of-war between the two. The mother’s body requires the baby to survive, but she also needs enough glucose and fats in her system to be able to deliver the baby, breastfeed, and reproduce again.

12 Jul 2023

Genome of Xerces Blue Butterfly Reveals Extinction Story

The Xerces Blue butterfly (Glaucopsyche xerces) was native to the coastal dunes of San Francisco, in the United States. As the city grew, much of the butterfly's habitat was destroyed and its population was relegated to Golden Gate National Park.

12 Jul 2023

First 'Living Digital Camera' Stores Images in DNA

In a world first, a 'biological camera' bypasses the constraints of current DNA storage methods, harnessing living cells and their inherent biological mechanisms to encode and store data.

12 Jul 2023

The Mechanism of Immune Memory Development

The memory of the immune system depends on distinctive epigenetic traits and a particular 3D arrangement of the DNA in the nucleus of memory cells, allowing for rapid activation of these cells, according to a team of researchers from the Erasmus University Medical Center, the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute.

12 Jul 2023

New Insights Into How Genes Are Activated

Genetic information contained within DNA has to be read by specific proteins that enable the process of gene activation to begin – but in many cases, these proteins can't access their targets because DNA strands are bundled up to control what genes are used in the wide range of different cell types.

12 Jul 2023

Global Cooling Caused Diversity of Species in Orchids, Confirms Study

Research led by the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath looking at the evolution of terrestrial orchid species has found that global cooling of the climate appears to be the major driving factor in their diversity.

11 Jul 2023

New Culture System may Improve Efficiency and Safety of Genome Editing in HSCs

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are rare cells found in the bone marrow that produce red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

11 Jul 2023

C. auris in Ear Canals of Stray Dogs Could Pose Risk to Humans

Researchers from McMaster University and the University of Delhi in India have isolated and identified the first live culture of the drug-resistant pathogen Candida auris from an animal, particularly from the ear canals of stray dogs.

10 Jul 2023

T cells are Sensitive to Genetic Disturbances Within Mitochondrial Power Plants

All cells have their own power plants, called mitochondria. There are often more than 100 mitochondria per cell and each possesses their own genome, which in turn contains genes responsible for energy production.

7 Jul 2023

Fragile Symbiosis Between Fungus and Bacteria Revealed

A new study on the coexistence of bacteria and fungi shows that a mutually beneficial, functioning symbiosis can be very fragile.

7 Jul 2023

6mA Modification Genomic Distribution and Evolutionary Patterns in Plants

One of the epigenetic alterations is the amino acid N6-methyladenine (6mA). Although 6mA and 5-methylcytosine (5mC) were both found at the same time, eukaryotes have only lately begun to pay attention to it, primarily because of the limits of detection technologies.

5 Jul 2023