Tag: DNA

,br>ScienceDaily (Mar. 6, 2012) — You might think that the DNA you inherited is one thing that you absolutely can't do anything about, but in one sense you'd be wrong.
Researchers reporting in the March issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have found that when healthy but inactive men and women exercise for a matter of minutes, it produces a rather immediate change to their DNA. Perhaps even more tantalizing, the study suggests that the caffeine in your morning coffee might also influence muscle in essentially the same way.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 8, 2012) — DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack. The new results suggest that scientists may now be able to combine DNA sequencing data with their knowledge of the triggers and targets that set off immune alarms to more precisely develop vaccines and other immunotherapies for cancer.

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) Nature is a master builder. Using a bottom-up approach, nature takes tiny atoms and, through chemical bonding, makes crystalline materials, like diamonds, silicon and even table salt.
In all of them, the properties of the crystals depend upon the type and arrangement of atoms within the crystalline lattice.

The recoil of a nucleus during radioactive decay can do more damage than the alpha particle it emits, according to a new study.

Thorium-232 is a silvery, radioactive metal that is particularly good at absorbing X-rays. In the early days of X-ray imaging, doctors routinely injected patients with thorium dioxide because it produced high contrast images. Between the 1930s to the 1950s, some 10 million people received these doses.

ScienceDaily (Apr. 12, 2011) DNA nanotechnology makes use of the ability of natural DNA strains' capacity for self asssembly. Prof. Alexander Heckel and his doctoral student Thorsten Schmidt of Goethe University were able to create two rings of DNA only 18 nanometers in size, and to interlock them like two links in a chain. Such a structure is called catenan, a term derived from the Latin word catena (chain).
Schmidt, who got married during the time he was working on the nano-rings, believes that they are probably the world's smallest wedding rings.

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2011) Duke University bioengineers have developed a new method for rapidly producing an almost unlimited variety of human-made DNA sequences.

These novel sequences of recombinant DNA are used to produce repetitive proteins to create new types of drugs and bioengineered tissues. Current methods for producing these DNA sequences are slow or not robust, the researchers said, which has hindered the development of these increasingly important new classes of protein-based polymers.

Anger is growing in Europe about new Washington data sharing demands, in what they call a move to stop potential terrorists from entering the U.S. The requirements include fingerprints, DNA samples and cross border payments - data considered by many as private and sensitive. Travellers from countries refusing to share the information will have to apply for a visa to enter the U.S. However some EU states - like Austria and Germany - have already agreed to hand over the personal data of its citizens.

In June the EU and the United States signed the so-called SWIFT deal, giving American government officials access to all bank transactions within Europe. Eva Lichtenberger - an Austrian politician and member of the European Parliament - says there are no guarantees the data won't be misused if provided.

Scientists Uncover Transfer of Genetic Material Between Blood-Sucking Insect and Mammals
Researchers at The University of Texas at Arlington have found the first solid evidence of horizontal DNA transfer, the movement of genetic material among non-mating species, between parasitic invertebrates and some of their vertebrate hosts.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 12, 2010) In a world first an international team of researchers, led by Dr Michael Bunce of Murdoch University, have successfully isolated ancient DNA from fossil eggshell remains of extinct birds.

"We were really surprised to discover that ancient DNA is well-preserved in fossil eggshells, particularly the heaviest bird to have existed the elephant bird called Aepyornis, which is now extinct," said Murdoch doctoral student Charlotte Oskam, who undertook the research.

ScienceDaily (Mar. 1, 2010) A rare, ancient polar bear fossil discovered in Norway in 2004 is yielding a treasure trove of essential information about the age and evolutionary origins of the species whose future is now seen as synonymous with the devastation wrought by climate change.

A paper published in the current issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by researchers at Penn State University, the University at Buffalo, the University of Oslo, and other institutions is filling in key pieces of the evolutionary history of polar bears and brown bears, including their response to past climate changes.