DNA in Biological News

New DNA and RNA aptamers offer unique therapeutic advantages

New Rochelle, NY, August 5, 2009A novel class of drugs composed of single strands of DNA or RNA, called aptamers, can bind protein targets with a high strength and specificity and are currently in clinical development as treatments for a broad range of common diseases, as described in a comprehens...

UC San Diego engineer provides insights to decades-old DNA squabble

A group of nanoengineers, biologists and physicists have used innovative approaches to deduce the internal structure of chromatin, a key player in DNA regulation, to reconcile a longstanding controversy in this field. This new finding could unlock the mystery behind the origin of many diseases suc...

Microbes and their hosts -- exploring the complexity of symbiosis in DNA and cell biology

New Rochelle, NY, July 28, 2009The unique association between microorganisms and their hosts, whether insects, plants, or mammals, provides a fascinating view into how microbial symbionts adapt to changing biological environments. Insights into the diversity and complexity of symbiotic relationshi...

UBC researchers help push for standard DNA barcodes for plants

Two University of British Columbia researchers are part of an international team recommending standards for the DNA barcoding of land plants, a step they hope will lead to a universal system for identifying over 400,000 species, and ultimately boost conservation efforts. Barcodes based on porti...

Scientists track impact of DNA damage in the developing brain

Switching off a key DNA repair system in the developing nervous system is linked to smaller brain size as well as problems in brain structures vital to movement, memory and emotion, according to new research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists. The work, published in the Aug...

Baylor researchers unravel mystery of DNA conformation

HOUSTON An iconic photograph ( http://img.timeinc.net/time/80days/images/530228.jpg ) of Nobel laureates Drs. Francis Crick and James Watson show the pair discussing with a rigid model of the famous double helix. The interaction represented produced the famous explanation of the structure of ...

Telomeres resemble DNA fragile sites

Telomeres, the repetitive sequences of DNA at the ends of linear chromosomes, have an important function: They protect vulnerable chromosome ends from molecular attack. Researchers at Rockefeller University now show that telomeres have their own weakness. They resemble unstable parts of the genome...

LSUHSC research helps link schizophrenia to specific DNA region

New Orleans, LA For the first time, an international group of researchers has found genetic evidence linking schizophrenia to a specific region of DNA on chromosome 6. This is the same area where key genes for immune function are located. The LSUHSC research team was led by Nancy Buccola, APRN,...

Faster, more cost-effective DNA test for crime scenes, disease diagnosis

Scientists in Japan are reporting development of a faster, less expensive version of the fabled polymerase chain reaction (PCR) a DNA test widely used in criminal investigations, disease diagnosis, biological research and other applications. The new method could lead to expanded use of PCR in medi...

Study finds DNA barcoding requires caution without closer examination

The goal of DNA barcoding is to find a simple, cheap, and rapid DNA assay that can be converted to a readily accessible technical skill that bypasses the need to rely on highly trained taxonomic specialists for identifications of the world's biota. This is driven by a desire to open taxonomic iden...

Study shows Chronix technology using serum DNA can identify early presence of disease

San Jose, California, June 23, 2009 Chronix Biomedical today reported that a new study in a peer-reviewed journal further confirms the potential diagnostic and prognostic utility of using circulating fragments of DNA to detect early stage disease. These DNA fragments, referred to as serum DNA, a...

Bisphenol A exposure in pregnant mice permanently changes DNA of offspring

Exposure during pregnancy to the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, found in many common plastic household items, is known to cause a fertility defect in the mother's offspring in animal studies, and now researchers have found how the defect occurs. The results of the new study will be presented Saturd...

Aluminum-oxide nanopore beats other materials for DNA analysis

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Fast and affordable genome sequencing has moved a step closer with a new solid-state nanopore sensor being developed by researchers at the University of Illinois. The nanopore sensor, made by drilling a tiny hole through a thin film of aluminum oxide, could ultimately prove capa...

Environmental exposures may damage DNA in as few as three days

ATS 2009, SAN DIEGOExposure to particulate matter has been recognized as a contributing factor to lung cancer development for some time, but a new study indicates inhalation of certain particulates can actually cause some genes to become reprogrammed, affecting both the development and the outcome...

Native Americans descended from a single ancestral group, DNA study confirms

For two decades, researchers have been using a growing volume of genetic data to debate whether ancestors of Native Americans emigrated to the New World in one wave or successive waves, or from one ancestral Asian population or a number of different populations. Now, after painstakingly compari...

Research team wins funds to unravel a DNA mystery

An international research team headed by two researchers from the University of Adelaide, Australia, has been awarded a US$900,000 grant to help unravel the phenomenon of "DNA looping". DNA looping is responsible for controlling the expression of genes in cells. It is believed to play a key ro...

CSHL-led team identifies key decision-point at which cells with broken DNA repair themselves or die

When cells undergo potentially catastrophic damage, for example as a result of exposure to ionizing radiation, they must make a decision: either to fix the damage or program themselves for death, a process called apoptosis. It's a stark decision that is as mysterious as it is remarkable, invol...

CSHL researchers explain process by which cells 'hide' potentially dangerous DNA segments

The DNA in the 23 pairs of chromosomes in each of the billions of cells of the human body is so tightly packed that it would measure six feet in length if stretched end to end. A genome of this size can squeeze into a cell's tiny nucleus because it is compressed into highly condensed chromatin fi...

Caltech scientists control complex nucleation processes using DNA origami seeds

PASADENA, Calif.--The construction of complex man-made objects--a car, for example, or even a pizza--almost invariably entails what are known as "top-down" processes, in which the structure and order of the thing being built is imposed from the outside (say, by an automobile assembly line, or the ...

UIC biologists use DNA to study migration of threatened whale sharks

Whale sharks -- giants of the fish world that strike terror only among tiny creatures like the plankton and krill they eat -- are imperiled by over-fishing of the species in parts of its ocean range. That threat is underscored in a new study from geneticists led by Jennifer Schmidt, University ...

Covering the bases: Quantum effect may hold promise for low-cost DNA sequencing, sensor applications

A ghostly property of matter, called quantum tunneling, may aid the quest for accurate, low-cost genomic sequencing, according to a new paper in Nature Nanotechnology Letters by Stuart Lindsay and his collaborators at the Biodesign Institute of Arizona State University. Tunneling implies that a ...

UMMS researchers publish DNA identification of czar's children

WORCESTER, Mass. Cutting edge science has finally put to rest a 90-year-old mystery that involved nobility, revolution, murder and the long-romanticized story of a child's escape from the firing squad. Genomic analysis performed at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in cooperation wi...

Ancestral genome of present-day African great apes & humans had burst of DNA sequence duplication

The genome of the evolutionary ancestor of humans and present-day apes underwent a burst of activity in duplicating segments of DNA, according to a study to be published in Nature Feb 12, the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday. "The new study shows big differences in the genomes ...

Scientists to sequence DNA of British wheat varieties

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have been awarded 1.7 million to decode the genome of wheat, in order to help farmers increase the yield of British wheat varieties. Bread wheat, with an estimated world harvest of more than 550 million tonnes, is one of the most important food crops in...

Human DNA repair process recorded in action

A key phase in the repair process of damaged human DNA has been observed and visually recorded by a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis. The recordings provide new information about the role played by a protein known as Rad51, which is linked to breast cancer, in this comple...

Researchers 'unzip' molecules to measure interactions keeping DNA packed in cells

ITHACA, N.Y. Anyone who has ever battled a stuck zipper knows it's a good idea to see what's stuck, where and how badly -- and then to pull hard. A Cornell research team's experiments involve the "unzipping" of single DNA molecules. By mapping the hiccups, stoppages and forces along the way, th...

Large DNA stretches, not single genes, shut off as cells mature

Experiments at Johns Hopkins have found that the gradual maturing of embryonic cells into cells as varied as brain, liver and immune system cells is apparently due to the shut off of several genes at once rather than in individual smatterings as previous studies have implied. Working with mous...

Biologists discover link between CGG repeats in DNA and neurological disorders

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. Researchers have long known that some repetitive DNA sequences can make human chromosomes "fragile," i.e. appearing constricted or even broken during cell divisions. Scientists at Tufts University have found that one such DNA repeat not only stalls the cell's replication...

Methods for studying DNA repair and protein modification are featured in CSH Protocols

COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Mon., Jan. 5, 2009) - This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols ( www.cshprotocols.org/TOCs/toc1_09.dtl ) features two articles detailing experimental methods for the analysis of molecular processes involved in DNA repair and post-translational modification o...

The gold standard: Biodesign Institute researchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes

Arizona State University researchers Hao Yan and Yan Liu imagine and assemble intricate structures on a scale almost unfathomably small. Their medium is the double-helical DNA molecule, a versatile building material offering near limitless construction potential. In the January 2, 2009 issue o...

Scripps Research scientists shed light on how DNA is unwound so that its code can be read

LA JOLLA, CANovember 24, 2008Researchers at The Scripps Research Institute have figured out how a macromolecular machine is able to unwind the long and twisted tangles of DNA within a cell's nucleus so that genetic information can be "read" and used to direct the synthesis of proteins, which have ...

Repairing DNA damage: Researchers discover critical process in cancer treatment

Montreal, November 6, 2008 From the sun's UVA rays to tobacco smoke, our environment is chock-full of DNA-damaging agents that can lead to cancer. Thanks to our body's DNA repair mechanisms, however, the effects of many carcinogens can be reversed thereby preventing the formation of tumours. N...

'Junk' DNA proves functional

In a paper published in Genome Research on Nov. 4, scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) report that what was previously believed to be "junk" DNA is one of the important ingredients distinguishing humans from other species. More than 50 percent of human DNA has been referred ...

Landmark study unlocks stem cell, DNA secrets to speed therapies

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- In a groundbreaking study led by an eminent molecular biologist at Florida State University, researchers have discovered that as embryonic stem cells turn into different cell types, there are dramatic corresponding changes to the order in which DNA is replicated and reorganize...

HPV DNA test identifies cervical pre-cancerous disease in developing countries with 90% success rate

Results of the first study to determine the accuracy of a new rapid screening test for HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), created specifically for use in the developing world, have shown it to be 90 per cent accurate in detecting precancerous cervical disease when tested on a group of local women in Sha...

Virus weaves itself into the DNA transferred from parents to babies

Parents expect to pass on their eye or hair color, their knobby knees or their big feet to their children through their genes. But they don't expect to pass on viruses through those same genes. New research from the University of Rochester Medical Center shows that some parents pass on the huma...

Caltech scientists create DNA tubes with programmable sizes for nanoscale manufacturing

PASADENA, Calif.--Scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have developed a simple process for mass producing molecular tubes of identical--and precisely programmable--circumferences. The technological feat may allow the use of the molecular tubes in a number of nanotechnolog...

NHGRI seeks DNA sequencing technologies fit for routine laboratory and medical use

The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today awarded more than $20 million in grants to develop innovative sequencing technologies inexpensive and efficient enough to sequence a person's DNA as a routine part of biomedical research an...

Duke-NIEHS team shows how DNA repairs may reshape the genome

DURHAM, N.C. Researchers at Duke University Medical Center and at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) have shown how broken sections of chromosomes can recombine to change genomes and spawn new species. "People have discovered high levels of repeated sequences in ...

Large reservoir of mitochondrial DNA mutations identified in humans

Blacksburg, Va. Researchers at the University of Newcastle, England, and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech in the United States have revealed a large reservoir of mitochondrial DNA mutations present in the general population. Clinical analysis of blood samples from almost 3,...