A logical step: biocomputing pushes forward

One of the essential components of a computer, the transistor, has been created in a living biological system for the first time... [Read More]

A break is not the end: pluripotent stem cell research gives insight on DNA damage disorder

The biological basis of a rare congenital disorder has been clarified, thanks to stem cell technology. The researchers say their work shows how advances in stem cell science can provide insights into genetic conditions... [Read More]

Genetic tests that improve drug effectiveness are going neglected, warns expert

Genetic tests that could greatly improve the effectiveness of drug therapy for a wide variety of conditions are being underused or ignored, a leading expert says... [Read More]

Gene therapy nears approval as European regulator makes recommendation

The European Medicines Agency has recommended European Union market approval for a gene therapy, Glybera, to treat patients with severe cases of a rare genetic condition called lipoprotein lipase deficiency... [Read More]

An eggsample of why it is hard to prove a negative

Earlier this year, a paper claimed to have found cells, called ovarian stem cells, in the adult ovaries of both mice and humans. These cells could apparently be grown in large numbers in the lab and could retain the ability to give rise to eggs. A new study finds no evidence for the existence of germline progenitors able to produce eggs in postnatal ovaries. Is a lack of evidence sufficient to win the argument?... [Read More]

DNA decoy drug, first of its kind, trialled in resistant melanoma

A drug that mimics broken strands of DNA and pushes treatment-resistant cancer cells to autodestruct has produced encouraging results in a first clinical trial. The medicine, DT01, is the forerunner for a new class of drug developed by researchers at the Institut Curie in Paris... [Read More]

Chromosomes as hard-drives: rewritable memory encoded into DNA of living cells

A rewritable memory system using short sections of DNA to hold data in bacterial cells has been developed by synthetic biologists. Dr Drew Endy and his team at Stanford University in California produced the system after three years of work and 750 designs... [Read More]

By accident, scientists discover how commonest DNA replication error is corrected

Scientists have discovered the enzyme in our cells which corrects the most frequently occurring mistake in DNA as cells divide... [Read More]

Six kinds of synthetic DNA created

Six new kinds of artificial genetic material have been created by scientists. These XNAs, or xeno-nucleic acids, have similar life-building properties to naturally-occurring DNA... [Read More]

The root of the problem: clues about male pattern baldness

New treatments for male pattern baldness could be on the way, as scientists identify a protein they believe inhibits growth of hair follicles... [Read More]

Intense exercise can alter your DNA

A bout of intense exercise can change the way your genes are regulated, scientists have shown. These changes led to an increase in enzymes that are involved in energy production... [Read More]

Alzheimer's memory loss due to gene blockade reversed in mice

An enzyme associated with memory loss can be blocked to reverse symptoms of Alzheimer's disease in mice, a study has shown... [Read More]

Miniature DNA sequencer could read a genome in seconds

A handheld device for sequencing DNA on the move has been unveiled by UK company Oxford Nanopore. The single-use MinION tool resembles a USB drive in size and shape, and the company hopes it will be put into routine use by clinicians and researchers alike... [Read More]

Parkin gene researchers grow Parkinson's brain cells in lab

Human brain cells with Parkinson's disease have been successfully grown in a Petri dish, allowing researchers to study them in unprecedented detail. Researchers used a technique in which skin cells are transformed into induced pluripotent stem cells, which can then be made to change into any cell type – in this case, neurons... [Read More]

Early life factors may impact genes of Glasgow's poorest, study claims

Unhealthy lifestyles associated with social deprivation may have detrimental effects on DNA before birth, say scientists. A study of adults living in Glasgow shows a correlation between deprivation and DNA methylation - a normal process that occurs mainly during embryonic development and regulates gene activity... [Read More]

Gene therapy to treat HIV shows promise

The success of a new gene therapy trial represents a significant step towards a 'functional cure' for HIV, US researchers announced this week. By mimicking the effects of a naturally occurring gene mutation that makes an individual resistant to infection, this therapy aims to reduce or eliminate the dependency of HIV patients on antiretroviral drugs.... [Read More]

TV Review: Horizon - Are You Good or Evil?

Good and evil have always been moral perspectives, but this edition of BBC One's science programme Horizon has pulled them firmly into the scientific realm, with an analysis of the science behind good and evil.... [Read More]

Turning up the volume on silenced genes

Researchers at the Fox Chase Cancer Centre, Philadelphia, USA, have elucidated the mechanism behind one form of gene silencing, which may open up a new route to cancer treatment.... [Read More]

US Undiagnosed Diseases Program identifies new genetic condition

The genetic basis for a previously unexplained medical condition which causes a painful hardening of the arteries has been identified by the US Undiagnosed Diseases Program (UDP).... [Read More]

Book Review: Drawing the Map of Life - Inside the Human Genome Project

The quest to sequence the first human genome has all the ingredients of a good thriller. Privately funded maverick scientist Dr Craig Venter raced the government-sponsored Human Genome Project (HGP) to be the first to sequence the human genetic code. When the draft code was finally published in 2001, it became one of the landmark scientific advances of the last decade... [Read More]