DNA News and Research

RSS

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).

Highly Tissue-Specific lincRNA Markers Could Indicate the Presence of Disease

Our genetic code includes over 15,000 specific sections that can be made into molecules called lincRNAs.

27 Apr 2023

New Gene Therapy may be on the Horizon for Usher Syndrome Type 1F

Usher Syndrome type 1F is a rare but severe genetic disease that causes deafness, lack of balance, and progressive blindness.

27 Apr 2023

New Genetic Mutations Linked to Canine Bladder Cancers Identified

Researchers have identified new genetic mutations linked to a subset of canine bladder cancers. Their findings have implications both for early cancer detection and for targeted treatments in dogs and humans.

26 Apr 2023

New Genome Editing Technology Achieves Precise Targeted Insertion of DNA Segments

A new genome editing technology was developed by GAO Caixia’s group from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). This technology achieves successful and accurate targeted insertion of large DNA segments in plants.

26 Apr 2023

A Study on Genetic Markers and Their Efficiency in the Cultivation of High-Quality Rice

For individual organisms, genetic markers, like simple sequence repeat (SSR), fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP), and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), offer unique identifiers. This helps in the determination of important genetic variations in plants, enabling modern plant breeding to choose high-quality crop varieties.

26 Apr 2023

A Rapid Method for the Quantitative Detection of miRNA

Researchers investigating the growth of a roundworm discovered a tiny RNA molecule that controlled the expression of specific genes in the early 1990s. This resulted in the discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs), which are now known to exist in all forms of life. These molecules, it turns out, play vital functions in a variety of biological processes.

26 Apr 2023

Interpretable Machine Learning Framework Helps Optimize Chromosome Design and Synthesis

Artificially synthesizing genomes has numerous applications, including medical research and industrial strains. Scientists are continuously progressing in the depth and breadth of genome design and synthesis, from Craig Venter’s team’s synthesis of the artificial life JCVI-syn1.0 in 2010 to the rewriting and synthesis of the prokaryotic E. coli genome, and the Sc2.0 project’s artificial synthesis of the yeast genome.

26 Apr 2023

Generating the Landscape of m6A in a Mouse Embryo

RNA, particularly mRNA, has recently received some attention as the major component of the COVID-19 vaccines.

26 Apr 2023

New Powerful Resource to Understand the Biology of Extracellular RNA

An international team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine with the National Institutes of Health Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium and the Bogdan Mateescu laboratory at the ETH Zürich and University of Zürich has developed a new powerful resource to study extracellular RNA (exRNA), a novel form of cell-to-cell communication.

24 Apr 2023

Genetic Variant Linked to Increased Risk of Developing Perianal Crohn's Disease

Cedars-Sinai investigators have identified a genetic variant that increases people's risk of developing perianal Crohn's disease, the most debilitating manifestation of Crohn's disease.

24 Apr 2023

Universal Mechanism by Which Cells Determine DNA Shape Uncovered

We finally know why our DNA has an X shape. This finding by researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute may have much broader implications for how our cells behave.

21 Apr 2023

Food-Poisoning Bacteria Create Syringe-Like Structures to Inject Toxins Into Intestinal Cells

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered how a bacterium that infects people after they eat raw or undercooked shellfish creates syringe-like structures to inject its toxins into intestinal cells.

21 Apr 2023

Spatial Organization of Chromosomes and the Role of DNA Tension

Two protein complexes are primarily responsible for chromosomal spatial organization in human cell nuclei. DNA tension has an unanticipated function in this. Together with Austrian colleagues, nanoscientist Cees Dekker and his PhD candidate Roman Barth of TU Delft’s Kavli Institute of Nanoscience published their detailed visualization in Nature on April 19th, 2023.

21 Apr 2023

Gene-Silencing Complexes Work Together to Render X Chromosomes Inactive

Two protein complexes are involved in the mysterious process of shutting off one X chromosome in female mammals, according to a new study from RIKEN. This result could aid in the understanding of how specific tumors in women develop.

21 Apr 2023

A Previously Unknown Mechanism for DNA Folding Revealed

A hitherto unknown mechanism for DNA folding is described in a study in Nature published by researchers from Karolinska Institutet and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics.

20 Apr 2023

Adding Few Cell Layers Inside a Corn Kernel Could Increase the Grain's Nutrient Content

What if, by adding a couple of cell layers inside a corn kernel, the grain could become significantly richer in essential nutrients like iron, zinc, and protein? Such an improvement could benefit people who rely on corn for a large portion of their diet, as in many parts of the global south.

20 Apr 2023