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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).

Cancer-Causing Mutations Found in Healthy Breast Tissue

Williams, M. J., et al. (2024) Luminal breast epithelial cells of BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers and noncarriers harbor common breast cancer copy number alterations. Nature Genetics. doi.org/10.1038/s41588-024-01988-0.

21 Nov 2024

Sylph: A Fast and Accurate Tool for Species-Level Metagenome Profiling

Sylph's innovative approach to metagenome profiling delivers high accuracy and efficiency, advancing research in microbial diversity and disease associations.

21 Nov 2024

Discovery of Oldest Known Ecdysozoan Sheds Light on Animal Evolution

Everyone has a past. That includes the millions of species of insects, arachnids, and nematode worms that make up a major animal group called the Ecdysozoa.

19 Nov 2024

Magnesium-Focused Approach to Curbing Antibiotic Resistance

According to recent estimates, the number of fatal antibiotic-resistant illnesses is expected to increase significantly over the next 25 years.

18 Nov 2024

Plastics in Wastewater Found to Harbor Foodborne Pathogens

The study identifies pathogens in plastispheres from WWTPs, underscoring the environmental risks of microplastics and the need for better management strategies.

18 Nov 2024

New Technology Isolates Key Gut Bacteria Linked to Disease

Researchers at UMC Utrecht have created a novel technique that effectively separates a particular subset of gut bacteria that are identified by IgA antibodies from fecal samples.

15 Nov 2024

Study Shows How Genetic Variations Can Enhance Cancer Drug Effectiveness

By exploiting the genetic variation in cancer cells, an already approved cancer drug demonstrated enhanced effects against cancer cells in specific patient groups.

15 Nov 2024

Integrative Taxonomy Uncovers Cryptic Daisy Species

Sometimes plants are sufficiently similar to one another that the procedures used by 18th-century scientist Carl Linnaeus for distinguishing species are insufficient.

14 Nov 2024

New Insights into the Role of Chromatin in Cellular Processes

The Mattiroli group's researchers discovered that the speed at which DNA is replicated during cell division can be directly influenced by the way DNA is packaged in cells.

13 Nov 2024

Cow Digestive Enzyme Shown to Break Down Tough Bacterial Biofilms

Most of the disease-causing bacteria secrete matrix-like layers around themselves called biofilms. These biofilms act as thick barriers limiting the entry of drugs and helping the bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.

12 Nov 2024

CRISPR Reveals Hidden Functions of Noncoding RNA

Genes contain instructions for protein production, with the central dogma of biology stating that this information flows from DNA to RNA to proteins.

8 Nov 2024

Genetic Analysis Redefines Stories of Pompeii Victims

A new genetic study demands reexamination of the identities of, and relationships among, some of the people buried and preserved in the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.

8 Nov 2024

New GIFT Method Outshines GWAS in Genetic Breakthrough

Genomic Informational Field Theory (GIFT) enhances genetic association detection, outperforming GWAS in mapping complex traits and subtle genetic interactions.

8 Nov 2024

New Understanding of the Evolution of Multicellular Life

In 2017, the single-celled species Chromosphaera perkinsii was found in maritime sediments in Hawaii. More than a billion years ago, long before the first animals appeared on Earth, the earliest indications of its existence were found.

7 Nov 2024

Study Reveals How Plants Override Genetic Instructions Through DNA Duplication

Biologists at Washington University in St. Louis have discovered the origin of a curious duplication that gives plants multiple ways to override instructions that are coded into their DNA.

7 Nov 2024

Study Reveals How Chronic Immune Signaling Can Promote Cancer

Along with defending against pathogens, the body's innate immune system helps to protect the stability of our genomes in unexpected ways -; ways that have important implications for the development of cancer, researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) are discovering.

6 Nov 2024

Novel Mechanism of Resistance to Bt Crops in a Major Agricultural Pest

Insect pests can destroy crops if they are not controlled. Crops that produce bacterial proteins that kill important pests without endangering humans or wildlife have been genetically modified to limit damage and lessen the need for insecticide sprays.

5 Nov 2024

Researchers Develop Synthetic Genes for Self-Assembling Biomaterials

Researchers from the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and the University of Rome Tor Vergata in Italy have developed synthetic genes that function like the genes in living cells.

5 Nov 2024

3D Tumor Microenvironment Model Highlights Role of Ischemia and Acidification in Cancer Spread

Developed 3MIC model simulates tumor microenvironments, enabling direct observation of ischemic effects on cancer cell invasiveness and drug resistance.

4 Nov 2024

Unraveling the Spatial Complexity of Gene Expression with Seq-Scope

A new method, developed by University of Michigan researchers, creates images that are worth many gigabytes of data, which could revolutionize the way biologists study gene expression. Seq-Scope, developed by Jun Hee Lee, Ph.D., Hyun Min Kang, Ph.D., and their colleagues, was first described in Cell in 2021 as the first method to analyze gene expression at sub micrometer-scale spatial resolution.

1 Nov 2024