DNA sequences

Link between CGG repeats in DNA and neurological disorders

harminka — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 00:44:17 -0600

Researchers have long known that some repetitive DNA sequences can make human chromosomes "fragile," i.e. appearing constricted or even broken during cell divisions.

Defining DNA differences to track and tackle typhoid

harminka — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:31:21 -0500

For the first time, next-generation DNA sequencing technologies have been turned on typhoid fever - a disease that kills 600,000 people each year. The results will help to improve diagnosis, tracking of disease spread and could help to design new strategies for vaccination.

Consortium develops new method to manipulate genetic material

harminka — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 01:32:29 -0500

A multi-institutional team of researchers, including scientists at the University of Minnesota Medical School, have developed a powerful tool for genomic research and medicine. The robust method will allow researchers to generate synthetic enzymes that can target and manipulate DNA sequences for inactivation or repair.

New method enabling routine targeted gene modification

harminka — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:01:47 -0500

A multi-institutional team led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has developed a powerful new tool for genomic research and medicine – a robust method for generating synthetic enzymes that can target particular DNA sequences for inactivation or repair.

Good news in our DNA

harminka — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:06:00 -0500

As the cost of sequencing a single human genome drops rapidly, with one company predicting a price of $100 per person in five years, soon the only reason not to look at your "personal genome" will be fear of what bad news lies in your genes.

Small RNAs that regulate gene expression and protect genome

harminka — Wed, 14 May 2008 02:41:25 -0500

RNA is best known as a working copy of the DNA sequence of genes. In this role, it’s a carrier of the genes’ instructions to the cell, which manufactures proteins according to information in the RNA molecule.

Magnet Lab researchers make observing cell functions easier

harminka — Fri, 09 May 2008 09:52:34 -0500

Now that the genome (DNA) of humans and many other organisms have been sequenced, biologists are turning their attention to discovering how the many thousands of structural and control genes -- the “worker bees” of living cells that can turn genes on and off -- function.

New cost-effective means to reconstruct virus populations

harminka — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:36:01 -0500

Researchers from the United States and Switzerland have developed mathematical and statistical tools for reconstructing viral populations using pyrosequencing, a novel and effective technique for sequencing DNA. They describe their findings in an article published May 9th in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology.

PyroBayes software aids researchers analyzing millions of DNA sequences

harminka — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:18:23 -0500

It took a global corps of scientists approximately $500 million and 13 years to identify the more than 35,000 genes of the human genome. Five years later, Boston College Biologist Gabor Marth and his research team have developed software that can analyze half a million DNA sequences in 10 minutes.

Evolution with restricted number of genes

harminka — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 02:06:01 -0600

The development of higher forms of life would appear to have been influenced by RNA polymerase II. This enzyme transcribes the information coded by genes from DNA into messenger-RNA (mRNA), which in turn is the basis for the production of proteins.

New technique could dramatically lower costs of DNA sequencing

harminka — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 03:36:27 -0600

Using computer simulations, researchers at the University of Illinois have demonstrated a strategy for sequencing DNA by driving the molecule back and forth through a nanopore capacitor in a semiconductor chip. The technique could lead to a device that would read human genomes quickly and affordably.

Biologists Assemble Fly mtDNA for Landmark Genome Project

harminka — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:56:31 -0600

As part of a major new international genome sequencing project, Brown biologists assembled the complete mitochondrial DNA sequences of seven different species of fruit fly. Their work, published in Nature, provides scientists with an exciting new tool to understand the genetic differences within a species as well as the evolutionary relationships among different species.