Tag: DNA

Matters of the mitochondria

New research has unravelled the mystery of how mitochondria —the energy generators within cells — can withstand attacks on their DNA from rogue molecules. The findings could pave the way for new treatments to tackle neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. The research could also have important implications for clinical advances in “mitochondrial donation” — known as...

May 16, 2017

Checkpoint pathways

It would obviously create problems if cells proceeded from one phase of the cycle to the next before the preceding phase had been properly completed. For example, if chromosomes start moving toward the spindle poles before they have all been properly attached to the spindle, the newly-forming daughter cells might receive extra copies of some...

May 2, 2017

Human DNA discovered in caves without skeletal remains

 An international team of researchers has successfully retrieved human DNA in cave sediments where no skeletal remains were found, a new study revealed. The highly sensitive screening technique the team applied even identified ancient human DNA sequences from locations where the presence of an extinct human species called Neanderthals has been proposed but never demonstrated,...

April 28, 2017

Our ancestors wiped out HIV-type virus 11 million years ago

Our ancestors may have eliminated a primordial HIV type virus around 11 million years ago, according to a new study that examined fossil DNA to find out when ancient viruses were at their peak. Researchers from The Rockefeller University in the US suggest that our primate ancestors evolved a defence mechanism that involved manipulating the...

April 16, 2017

DNA test on river waters reveals fish diversity

In a first, US scientists have monitored a spring fish migration through DNA tests on water samples, a study said on Wednesday. "Environmental DNA" or eDNA, strained from one-litre samples drawn weekly from New York's East and Hudson rivers over six months last year, revealed the presence or absence of several key fish species passing...

April 13, 2017

Control & production

Gene regulation is based on the movement of DNA segments from one location to another within the genome, a process known as DNA rearrangement. Two particularly interesting examples involve the mechanism used by yeast cells to control mating and the mechanism used by vertebrates to produce millions of different antibodies. In the yeast Saccha-romyces cerevisiae,...

April 4, 2017

Chromosome replication

Genome-level control is involved in making the eukaryotic genome — chromosomal DNA — accessible to the cell’s transcription machinery. To initiate transcription, a eukaryotic RNA polymerase must interact with both DNA and a number of specific proteins (general transcription factors) in the promoter region of a gene. Except when a gene is being transcribed, its...

March 28, 2017

Now, new vitamin may help DNA repair, reverse ageing process!

Scientists have identified a vitamin that plays a key role in repairing damaged DNA and may lead to the development of a drug that can reverse ageing, fight cancer as well as help in space travel. The study, published in the journal Science, identified how a vitamin called NAD+ — naturally present in every cell...

March 24, 2017

Neanderthals used plant-based aspirin, penicillin: Study

Neanderthals had a good knowledge about the medicinal properties of plants and used primitive versions of aspirin and penicillin to treat themselves about 40,000 years ago, say scientists who studied the oldest dental plaque from our nearest extinct relative. The DNA found in the dental plaque of provided remarkable new insights into the behaviour and...

March 9, 2017

Control elements

All the regulatory mechanisms so far control the initiation of transcription. Prokaryotes also employ some regulatory mechanisms that operate after the initiation step. A classic example was discovered when Charles Yanofsky and his colleagues found that the trp operon of E coli has a novel type of regulatory site located between the promoter/operator and the...

March 7, 2017

New blood test may detect cancer at early stage

Scientists have developed a new blood test that can detect cancer and locate where the tumour is growing, providing a potential alternative to invasive surgical procedures like biopsies. When a tumour starts to take over a part of the body, it competes with normal cells for nutrients and space, killing them off in the process,...

March 7, 2017

World-first gene therapy cures teen with sickle cell disease

In a world-first, doctors have successfully reversed sickle cell disease in a French teenager using a pioneering treatment to alter his DNA, offering new hope to millions of people with the deadly blood disorder. Sickle cell disease causes round red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body, to become shaped like a sickle. These...

March 6, 2017

83 new DNA changes influencing height identified

An international team of researchers has identified 83 new DNA changes that strongly determine human height as well as also help predict a person's risk of developing certain growth disorders. Height is mostly determined by the information encoded in the human DNA — children from tall parents tend to be taller and those from short...

February 2, 2017

Magic bullets of DNA for low cost breast cancer detection

Indian scientists have designed high precision DNA probes for breast cancer detection, which they claim can bring down costs of diagnostics ten-fold. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology – Guwahati relied on 'magic bullets' of science, a class of molecules called aptamers, that can bind to virtually any molecule, clasping it in a firm...

January 19, 2017

Magic bullets of DNA for low cost breast cancer detection

Indian scientists have designed high precision DNA probes for breast cancer detection, which they claim can bring down costs of diagnostics ten-fold. Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology – Guwahati relied on 'magic bullets' of science, a class of molecules called aptamers, that can bind to virtually any molecule, clasping it in a firm...

January 19, 2017

Gene cloning

In nature, genetic recombination usually takes place between two DNA molecules derived from organisms of the same species. In animals and plants, for example, an individual’s parents are the original sources of DNA that recombine during meiosis. A naturally-arising recombinant DNA molecule usually differs from the parental molecules only in the combination of alleles it...

December 20, 2016

Minding those Serifs

Graphology can lead to startling revelations about personality traits.

November 10, 2016