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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).

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

Molecular Mechanisms That Maintain the Tissue Specificity of PKMzeta

The protein PKMzeta has been strongly associated with long-term memory formation.

19 Apr 2023

The Function of ANKLE1 in the Prevention of DNA Damage and Autoimmunity

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) School of Biological Sciences research team led by Dr. Gary Ying Wai Chan has uncovered the function of a unique enzyme called ANKLE1.

19 Apr 2023

Cedars-Sinai and Axiom Space of Houston Collaborate to Send Stem Cells to Space

Cedars-Sinai investigators, in collaboration with Axiom Space of Houston, are sending stem cells to space in early May to explore whether microgravity can make it easier and more efficient to produce large batches of stem cells.

18 Apr 2023

Sickle Cell Disease Cure? Prime Editing Offers Hope for Blood Disorder

At St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, researchers have shown how prime editing could help correct the mutation that results in sickle cell disease in a possibly curative method.

18 Apr 2023

Prime Target for Male Contraceptive Development Identified

As far as a highly effective, reversible, and non-hormonal male contraceptive for humans and animals is concerned, the discovery of a gene in multiple mammalian species could set the stage.

18 Apr 2023

New Method Uses Light to Activate Protein Functions

Scientists can now use light to activate protein functions both inside and outside of living cells. The new method, called light-activated SpyLigation, can turn on proteins that are normally off to allow researchers to study and control them in more detail.

18 Apr 2023

Genetic Changes Affecting Cartilage Cell Maturation may Influence Adult Height, Study Shows

When it comes to height, our fate is sealed along with our growth plates—cartilage near the ends of bones that hardens as a child develops.

17 Apr 2023

Entry of Aging-Associated Enzymes into Human Genetic Material

An enzyme that controls aging and other metabolic processes accesses human genetic material to modify gene expression within the cell, according to a new study. Images of a sirtuin enzyme bound to a nucleosome, a tightly packed complex of DNA and proteins called histones, have been created by a team led by Penn State researchers.

17 Apr 2023

Rapid Metagenomics: A Powerful Tool for the Diagnosis of Pathogenic Organisms

According to recent research presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark, metagenomic sequencing can also provide quick and actionable antimicrobial resistance predictions to treat bloodstream infections much faster than traditional laboratory tests and has the potential to save lives and help manage antibiotic use (15–18 April 2023).

17 Apr 2023

New Peptide Blocks a Hyperactive Brain Enzyme Involved in Neurodegeneration

MIT neuroscientists have found a way to reverse neurodegeneration and other symptoms of Alzheimer's disease by interfering with an enzyme that is typically overactive in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

17 Apr 2023

Chemists Propose New Hypothesis for How the First Sugars Arose on the Earth

Two prominent origin-of-life chemists have published a new hypothesis for how the first sugars-;which were necessary for life to evolve-;arose on the early Earth.

17 Apr 2023