Tag Archives: DNA

Discovery spotlights key role of mystery RNA modification in cells

By Guest PostJanuary 16, 2014Sciencecell differentiation, cells, chuan he, demethylation, deoxyribonucleic acid, diabetes, discovery, DNA, exact function, healthy cells, infertility, key role, m6a, messenger ribonucleic acid, methyl, methylation, mrna, mrna in question, mystery, n6 methyladenosine, neurobiology, obesity, organic compounds, parameter, peking university, proteins, regulating mrna lifetime, rna modification, san diego, sequence, university of california, university of chicago, xiao wang, ythdf2

Researchers had known for several decades that a certain chemical modification exists on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA), which is essential to the flow of genetic information. But only recently did experiments at the University of Chicago show that one major function of this modification governs the longevity and decay of RNA, a process critical to the development of healthy cells.

The chemical modification on mRNA in question is called N⁶-methyladenosine (m⁶A). A recent study by UChicago scientists reveals how the m⁶A modification on mRNA could affect the half-life of mRNA that in turn regulates cellular protein quantities. That discovery could provide fundamental insights into healthy functioning and disorders such as obesity, diabetes and infertility. (more…)

MU Researcher’s Study of African Forest Elephants Helps Guide Research Efforts in the U.S.

By Guest PostJanuary 14, 2014Natureafrican continent. genotyping, african forest elephants, alfonso alonso, arkansas, biodiversity, black bears, central african, DNA, ecosystems, francisco dallmeier, gabon, genetic samples, jesus maldonado, keystone species, lori eggert, missouri, missouri rivers, movement patterns, oil drilling platforms, research efforts, rob fleischer, scbi, survival, threatened animals, university of groningen, university of missouri, university of oxford, US

Study finds that human occupation of an area may not contribute to population decline of an endangered species

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Conservation of a protected or endangered species requires frequent monitoring and the dynamic techniques biologists utilize to ensure the survival of threatened animals. Often, scientists study biodiversity at all levels—from genes to entire ecosystems. Currently, researchers at the University of Missouri are employing genotyping to study movement patterns of African forest elephants in protected and unprotected regions of Gabon to better understand how human occupation of these areas might affect elephants on the African continent. Genotyping is helping conservation biologists determine the best course of action to ensure biodiversity and the preservation of various species in the U.S. and abroad. (more…)

Parasitic DNA proliferates in aging tissues

By Guest PostJanuary 5, 2014Healthaging tissues, cancerous tissue, cancerous tumors, cell culture, DNA, fruit fly drosophila, hepatocellular carcinoma, jill kreiling, john sedivy, journal aging, lymphoma, marco dececco, normal tissues, parasitic dna, replicative senescence, retrotransposable elements, robert reenan, rtes, stephen helfand

As mice age, cells in tissues such as the liver and skeletal muscle lose control over rogue sequences of DNA called “retrotransposable elements,” according to new research in the journal Aging. The elements, which may undermine health, could proliferate in old mice and were also abundant in cancerous tissue. A low-calorie diet, however, restrained their advance.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — The genomes of organisms from humans to corn are replete with “parasitic” strands of DNA that, when not suppressed, copy themselves and spread throughout the genome, potentially affecting health. Earlier this year Brown University researchers found that these “retrotransposable elements” (RTE’s) were increasingly able to break free of the genome’s control in cultures of human cells. Now in a new paper in the journal Aging, they show that RTEs were increasingly able to break free and copy themselves in the tissues of mice as the animals aged. In further experiments the biologists showed that this activity was readily apparent in cancerous tumors, but that it also could be reduced by restricting calories. (more…)

SOFS Take to Water

By Guest PostJanuary 5, 2014Science2d honeycomb, aka chemistry, berkeley lab, chemical signals, DNA, double helix, emergence of nanotechnology, force, metal organic frameworks, mofs, molecule, non covalent bonds, saxs, sofs, solubility in water, supramolecular chemistry, supramolecular organic frameworks, van der waals, xin zhao, yi liu, zhan ting li

Researchers at Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry Create First Soluble 2D Supramolecular Organic Frameworks

Supramolecular chemistry, aka chemistry beyond the molecule, in which molecules and molecular complexes are held together by non-covalent bonds, is just beginning to come into its own with the emergence of nanotechnology. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are commanding much of the attention because of their appetite for greenhouse gases, but a new player has joined the field – supramolecular organic frameworks (SOFs). Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have unveiled the first two-dimensional SOFs that self-assemble in solution, an important breakthrough that holds implications for sensing and separation technologies, energy sciences, and, perhaps most importantly, biomimetics. (more…)

IBM Reveals Five Innovations That Will Change Our Lives within Five Years

By Guest PostDecember 17, 2013Education, Science, Technologyattack the cancer, big data analytics, breakthroughs, cancer treatment plans, change our lives, cloud computing, cognitive experience lab, cognitive systems, computing, dario gil, digital guardian, DNA, five innovations, ibm, ibm scientists, incidence of cancer, learning technologies, new era, stolen identity, uganda, unicef, vital information, within five years

IBM Predicts – in Five Years Everything will Learn

ARMONK, N.Y. – 17 Dec 2013: Today IBM unveiled the eighth annual “IBM 5 in 5“ (#ibm5in5) – a list of innovations that have the potential to change the way people work, live and interact during the next five years.

This year’s IBM 5 in 5 explores the idea that everything will learn – driven by a new era of cognitive systems where machines will learn, reason and engage with us in a more natural and personalized way. These innovations are beginning to emerge enabled by cloud computing, big data analytics and learning technologies all coming together, with the appropriate privacy and security considerations, for consumers, citizens, students and patients. (more…)

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria turns immune system against itself

By Guest PostDecember 6, 2013Healthadenosine synthase a, adsa gene, antibiotic resistant strain, bloodstream, dado, deoxyadenosine, destroy, DNA, dominique m missiakas, human function, immune defense mechanism, immune system, kevin jiang, macrophage, mrsa, mutation, nets, neutrophil extracellular traps, nuc, olaf schneewind, protein, s. aureus, staphylococcal nuclease, staphylococcus aureus bacteria, university of chicago, vilasack thammavongsa, white blood cells

Around 20 percent of all humans are persistently colonized with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, a leading cause of skin infections and one of the major sources of hospital-acquired infections, including the antibiotic-resistant strain MRSA.

University of Chicago scientists have recently discovered one of the keys to the immense success of S. aureus—the ability to hijack a primary human immune defense mechanism and use it to destroy white blood cells. The study was published Nov. 15 in Science. (more…)

Cause of genetic disorder found in “dark matter” of DNA

By Guest PostNovember 18, 2013Healthblood, cause, cell, dark matter, disease, DNA, genetic disorder, glucose, junk dna, mike weedon, pancreatic agenesis, pancreatic beta cells, professor andrew hattersley, ptf1a regulatory region, regulating level, sugar, type 1 diabetes, university of exeter

For the first time, scientists have used new technology which analyses the whole genome to find the cause of a genetic disease in what was previously referred to as “junk DNA”.

Pancreatic agenesis results in babies being born without a pancreas, leaving them with a lifetime of diabetes and problems digesting food.

In a breakthrough for genetic research, teams led by the University of Exeter Medical School and Imperial College London found that the condition is most commonly caused by mutations in a newly identified gene regulatory element in a remote part of the genome, which can now be explored thanks to advances in genetic sequencing. (more…)

What is it About Your Face?

By Guest PostOctober 30, 2013Scienceabout your face, alex nord, axel visel, berkeley lab, catia attanasio, craniofacial birth defects, craniofacial development, craniofacial pathologies, denise liberton, DNA, epigenomic profiling, facial morphology, genetic defects, human chromosomal regions, human face, identical twins, importance of enhancers, in vivo characterization, matthew blow, mice, skull morphology, therapeutic approaches, unique as fingerprint, yiwen zhu, zirong li

The human face is as unique as a fingerprint, no one else looks exactly like you. But what is it that makes facial morphology so distinct? Certainly genetics play a major role as evident in the similarities between parents and their children, but what is it in our DNA that fine-tunes the genetics so that siblings – especially identical twins – resemble one another but look different from unrelated individuals? A new study by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has now shown that gene enhancers – regulatory sequences of DNA that act to turn-on or amplify the expression of a specific gene – are major players in craniofacial development. (more…)