Tag: DNA

World’s oldest DNA sequenced from million-year-old mammoths

Teeth from mammoths buried in the Siberian permafrost for more than a million years have yielded the world’s oldest DNA ever sequenced, according to a study published on Wednesday, shining the genetic searchlight into the deep past. Researchers said the three specimens, one roughly 800,000 years old and two over a million years old, provide

A Brief History of British Genomics

The isolation of DNA was successfully carried out in 1869. However, its sequencing had to wait until the Human Genome Project was completed in 2003, more than a hundred years later. vitstudio | Shutterstock Modern genomics dates back to the 1970s, but its foundation was laid at least twenty years before this, with the creation

Regulatory Mechanisms Involved in Gene Expression

Gene expression can be regulated by various cellular processes with the aim to control the amount and nature of the expressed genes. This article aims to describe the regulatory mechanisms that control gene expression in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. BitCyte | Shutterstock Gene expression is controlled with the help of regulatory proteins at numerous levels.

Scientists identify new genetic MND risk factor in junk DNA

A new genetic risk factor for Motor Neurone Disease (MND), which if treated could halt or prevent the degenerative condition, has been identified in so-called ‘junk DNA’ by scientists at the University of Sheffield. The newly discovered genetic changes are present in up to one percent of MND patients. The pioneering research, published in the

Simple twist of DNA determines fate of placenta

The development of the mammalian placenta depends upon an unusual twist that separates DNA’s classic double helix into a single-stranded form, Yale researchers report July 15 in the journal Nature. The Yale team also identified the molecular regulator that acts upon this single strand to accelerate or stop placental development, a discovery with implications not

Traces of immortality in tumor DNA

To gain an infinite lifespan, cancer cells need to maintain the ends of their chromosomes, known as telomeres. They achieve this in various ways. Scientists from the German Cancer Research Center systematically investigated more than 2,500 tumor genomes of 36 types of cancer to find out how these mechanisms are manifest in changes in the

Disorderly DNA helps cancer cells evade treatment

Each cell in the human body holds a full two meters of DNA. In order for that DNA to fit into the cell nucleus—a cozy space just one hundredth of a millimeter of space—it needs to be packed extremely tight. A new Northwestern University study has discovered that the packing of the three-dimensional genome structure,

Will There Ever Be a Universal Test to Detect Cancer?

ATLANTA — Cancer is over one hundred different diseases hiding under one name. That's why, just as there isn't one universal way to treat cancer, there also isn't one universal way to detect it. But that doesn't mean scientists aren't trying: If researchers can find a unique signature or "biomarker" of cancer — meaning a

Simply receiving DNA test results can alter your physiology

Over the years, researchers have identified genetic risk factors for a range of conditions. As genetic testing has become quicker, more cost-effective, and increasingly accurate, DNA tests have become relatively common. Each year, millions of people access information about their genetic risk of developing conditions such as Alzheimer’s. Some estimate that in 2017 alone, 1

AMP addresses clinical relevance of DNA variants in chronic myeloid neoplasms

The Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), the premier global molecular diagnostics professional society, today published consensus, evidence-based recommendations to aid clinical laboratory professionals with the management of most Chronic Myeloid Neoplasms (CMNs) and development of high-throughput pan-myeloid sequencing testing panels. The report, “Clinical Significance of DNA Variants in Chronic Myeloid Neoplasms (CMNs): A Report of

Pneumococcal DNA predicts course of infection

In addition to revealing information about a patient’s condition, pneumococcal DNA also appears to provide information about the course of an infection. In the next issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, Radboudumc researchers describe several pneumococcal genes predicting whether a patient runs the risk of developing meningitis or dying from the disease. Use of such genetic

Researchers map DNA damage links to onset of skin cancer, melanoma

A critical link in mapping recurrent mutations of melanoma—the most serious form of skin cancer in humans—has been discovered by researchers at Washington State University School of Molecular Biosciences, in collaboration with researchers at Georgia State University. In a paper published July 6 in Nature Communications, researchers established that DNA binding by a specific set