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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).

Researchers reveal the dual function of a zinc finger protein

Human genome mapping was followed by rapid scientific advancements that showed the astonishingly complex world of genetics.

29 Oct 2021

Study sheds light on the regulation of epigenetic modifications during the development

The hereditary material, DNA, interacts with proteins present in the cell nuclei and forms a tightly packed complex with proteins called “chromatin”.

29 Oct 2021

Novel genetic biomarkers accurately predict SARS-CoV-2 infection, says study

Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Medicine identified specific genetic biomarkers that reveal who is infected with COVID-19.

29 Oct 2021

New approach to cut off cancer cells’ food supply and kill them

Inositol is a sugar required for cells to survive. Most cells either get it from the bloodstream or make it themselves. Since there is plenty of inositol available, some cancer cells decide to stop making it.

28 Oct 2021

Study offers novel therapeutic opportunities to prevent breast tumor recurrence

Researchers examined tumor cells that were resistant to the original treatment and identified molecular targets for therapies that could evade breast cancer recurrence.

28 Oct 2021

Research reveals how cancer cells thrive by exploiting genetic and cellular processes

Writing in EMBO reports, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center at UC San Diego Health describe how a pair of fundamental genetic and cellular processes are exploited by cancer cells to promote tumor survival and growth.

From UC San Diego 27 Oct 2021

Genetic secrets of stress-tolerant mangrove trees revealed

Mangrove trees straddle the boundary between land and ocean, in harsh environments characterized by rapidly changing levels of salinity and low oxygen.

26 Oct 2021

Cell-free DNA employed to identify measurable residual disease

Researchers demonstrated that cell-free DNA from CSF could be employed to examine MRD in children treated for the brain tumor medulloblastoma.

25 Oct 2021

Study uses artificial evolution to search DNA molecules for light producing deoxyribozymes

Once thought to function primarily as a storage molecule for genetic information, it is now known that DNA can also catalyze chemical reactions. Although such DNA enzymes (deoxyribozymes) have not been identified in nature, they can be isolated in the lab using powerful methods of artificial evolution.

22 Oct 2021

Scientists use DNA to create what may be the world's tiniest ruler for measuring proteins

As scientists have probed the mysteries of life down to smaller and smaller scales, they have invented tools to help them understand what they observe.

22 Oct 2021

'Mini brains' allow researchers to study a fatal, untreatable neurological disorder

Cambridge researchers have developed 'mini brains' that allow them to study a fatal and untreatable neurological disorder causing paralysis and dementia – and for the first time have been able to grow these for almost a year.

22 Oct 2021

Study pinpoints the mutational hotspots in DNA

Recent research at the University of Bath reveals that tangles in unwound DNA can develop mutational hotspots in the genomes of bacteria.

From University of Bath 21 Oct 2021

Research illustrates the complex mechanism of bacterial innate immunity

Recent research anticipates utilizing newly characterized defense systems in bacteria to match changes to the human genome.

From Durham University 21 Oct 2021

Researchers use light instead of DNA to define plant populations

In Star Trek, characters carry a little handheld device called a tricorder that they can point at objects to analyze and identify them. When the show's writers cooked up the idea in the 1960s, it was purely science fiction, but a new paper in New Phytologist takes the idea a step closer to reality.

20 Oct 2021

MIT researchers discover new way to awaken the immune system to attack tumors

Immunotherapy is a promising strategy to treat cancer by stimulating the body's own immune system to destroy tumor cells, but it only works for a handful of cancers. MIT researchers have now discovered a new way to jump-start the immune system to attack tumors, which they hope could allow immunotherapy to be used against more types of cancer.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 20 Oct 2021

Study uncovers new gene variants that may cause inherited retinal dystrophies

An international team of researchers, led by scientists at University of California San Diego and Shiley Eye Institute at UC San Diego Health, has broadened and deepened understanding of how inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs) affect different populations of people and, in the process, have identified new gene variants that may cause the diseases.

20 Oct 2021

Junk DNA' plays a crucial role in early embryonic development in all mammals, study shows

Nearly half of our DNA has been written off as junk, the discards of evolution: sidelined or broken genes, viruses that got stuck in our genome and were dismembered or silenced, none of it relevant to the human organism or human evolution.

19 Oct 2021

Experts discover effective means to design and build DNA nanostructures

Researchers recently identified the means to get the best DNA to communicate with membranes in the body.

From The University of New South Wales (UNSW) 19 Oct 2021

Cellular environment impacts structure of the nuclear pore complex

Context matters. It's true for many facets of life, including the tiny molecular machines that perform vital functions inside our cells.

From Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 18 Oct 2021

Researchers map proteo-genomic connections between different human diseases

Hundreds of connections between different human diseases have been uncovered through their shared origin in our genome by an international research team led by scientists from the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, challenging the categorisation of diseases by organ, symptoms, or clinical speciality.

18 Oct 2021