A powerful genome editing tool can be deployed as an ace DNA detective, able to sniff out DNA snippets that signal viral infections, cancer, or even defective genes. This genetic detective, developed in the laboratory of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator Jennifer Doudna at the University of California, Berkeley, uses the genome-slicing system known as CRISPR. By combining the…
A new genetic study by UK-based scientists suggests that immunotherapy drugs could prove to be an effective treatment for some breast cancer patients. Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, near Cambridge – one of the world’s leading genome centres – and their collaborators, have identified particular genetic changes in a DNA repair mechanism in breast cancer. Led by Dr Serena…
A new genetic test to assess breast cancer risk in women who have a family history of the disease could be introduced into clinical practice in the UK within the next few months. Devised at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) and the University of Manchester, researchers believe the test for high-risk groups could also help reduce the number of women needing to have surgery to remove…
DNA sequencing could soon become part of the routine diagnostic workup for patients with chronic kidney disease, suggests a new study from Columbia University Medical Center. The researchers found that DNA sequencing could identify the genetic cause of the disease and influence treatment for many patients with chronic kidney disease.
A research team in the United States has developed a revolutionary technique that has encoded an image and short film in living cells. Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Harvard Medical School (HMS) used CRISPR gene editing to encode the image and film in DNA, using this as a medium to store information and produce a code that relates to the individual…
Modifying a DNA sequence to alter a cell to cure a disorder, prevent a genetic disease being passed on to next generations, or to use genetic modification as a way to diagnose a virus: yes, these tasks are possible. The recently discovered CRISPR technique can do it all.
Every cancer is different and every patient is different. This insight gained in personalised medicine prompted oncology researchers to focus more on the individual patient’s immune system. It is particularly the immune system’s ability to destroy cancer cells that raised hope.
In a bid to detect cancers early and in a noninvasive way, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report they have developed a test that spots tiny amounts of cancer-specific DNA in blood.
There are various concepts about how blood cells develop. However, they are based almost exclusively on experiments that solely reflect snapshots. In a publication in Nature, scientists from the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg now present a novel technique that captures the process in a dynamic way.
UK-based researchers believe personalised treatment for breast cancer is within sight after uncovering what they say is the most detailed picture to date of which genetic variations contribute to development of the disease.
New findings from a scientific collaboration between the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), the National Centre for Tumour Diseases (NCT) Heidelberg and the Thoraxklinik Heidelberg suggest liquid biopsy as a promising tool to monitor lung cancer patient tumours early. Scientists associated liquid biopsy readouts with clinical data and could track tumour responses to cancer drugs in real-time.
Findings suggest that modifying the cell replication cycle could make combined therapies more successful.
Genes do not exist in isolation. So far, little has been known about how the position of a gene on a chromosome affects its evolution.
Genetics isn’t just for geneticists anymore. With the rise of direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies like 23andMe, anyone can rifle through their genotypes at hundreds of thousands of positions throughout their DNA. However, these new possibilities may have some serious drawbacks, says Alzheimer's-specialized site Alzforum.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study, led by epidemiologist Dr. Parveen Bhatti, found that night shift work is associated with reduced ability to repair DNA lesions. Over time, DNA damage that is not repaired will cause mutations that can lead to cancer.
Research from the Stowers Institute provides evidence suggesting that cancer cells might streamline their genomes in order to proliferate more easily. The study, conducted in both human and mouse cells, shows that cancer genomes lose copies of repetitive sequences known as ribosomal DNA. While downsizing might enable these cells to replicate faster, it also seems to render them less able to…
A recently published Cornell University study describes how shifts in the diets of Europeans after the introduction of farming 10,000 years ago led to genetic adaptations that favored the dietary trends of the time.
Scientists have discovered that dying tumor cells release small pieces of their DNA into the bloodstream. These pieces are called circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) or circulating cell-free DNA (ccfDNA).
According to Darwin, humans will one day become extinct. Some don’t think we need to accept this fate because gene editing may allow us to use our brains to take over the evolutionary story.
Drugs that are used in cancer therapy to erase epigenetic alterations in cancer cells simultaneously promote the production of countless mysterious gene transcripts, scientists from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) now report in Nature Genetics. The substances activate hidden regulatory elements in DNA. The unusual gene activity has the potential to stimulate the immune system – a…
By definition, biobanks are collections of specimens of human bodily substances, such as tissue, cells, DNA, proteins, blood or other fluids, with data on the donor attached.
The one-size-fits-all approach to early stage breast cancer creates a paradox: Millions of dollars are spent on unnecessary surgeries and radiation to treat women with low-risk ‘in situ’ lesions, an estimated 85% of which would never progress to invasive cancers. Meanwhile, the standard conservative treatment is insufficient for many early-stage tumors that have progressed past the in situ…
Genetic testing of tumor and blood fluid samples from people with and without one of the most aggressive forms of skin cancer has shown that two new blood tests can reliably detect previously unidentifiable forms of the disease.
High concentrations of the stress hormone, Cortisol, in the body affect important DNA processes and increase the risk of long-term psychological consequences. These relationships are evident in a study from the Sahlgrenska Academy on patients with Cushing’s Syndrome, but the findings also open the door for new treatment strategies for other stress-related conditions such as anxiety, depression…
About six years ago, liquid biopsy appeared on the diagnostic lab stage. Last December, a seminar offered by Agena Bioscience in Frankfurt, Germany, was set to explore the enormous potential of this new technique for oncology.
