June 12, 2017 Naturally occurring DNA is in constant motion, researchers hypothesize, and transports large transcription factors (depicted in green) through its tangles until they reach sites where they bind and carry out their activity. Here a still image from a very large, unique simulation. Credit: Georgia Tech / Edmond Chow / Jeff Skolnick Imagine if a dense thicket didn't obstruct your path but instead picked you up and shuttled you through the forest. That's what tightly packed DNA might be doing with important life molecules to get them where they're needed on time. New simulations of DNA as a transport conduit could shatter the way scientists have thought about how large molecules called transcription factors diffuse on their way to carry out genetic missions, according to a study by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The simulations add important brush strokes to our picture of elusive inner mechanics of cells. The simulations strongly support the hypothesis that, in a live cell, DNA is in constant motion, making it the dominant mover of transcription factors, to their target sites on DNA. There, the factors regulate the transcription of genetic code into life-sustaining action. DNA gorilla cage How transcription factors … Continue reading →

You've probably heard how companies like Ancestry.com or 23-and-me can use your DNA to tell you where you came from. Now for the first time in our area, police are using similar technology to tell us what a suspect might look like. Scott Broom, WUSA 5:57 PM. EDT June 12, 2017 GAITHERSBURG, MD (WUSA9) - For the first time, police in the D.C. area are turning to a new DNA analytic system that helps them predict who a suspect may be. "DNA was considered to be just a fingerprint for a very long time," said EllenGraytakofParabonNanolabs, the Northern Virginia-based company that is offering DNA analytics to investigators nationwide. "What this can do is actually tell those investigators something they couldn't have known." Montgomery County Police are hoping the technology will help them solve the 1992 murder ofJamesEssel, who was the operator of the Sugarloaf Mountain Market in Comas before he was stabbed to death in the store. PREVIOUS:PhotoDNAmay have tracked alleged child pornographer For years detectives have had the description of a possible suspect vehicle, but had no idea what the person driving might have looked like. Scientists used DNA collected from the scene to create a composite of who … Continue reading →

The Rev. Canon Cindy Voorhees, left, leads a St. James the Great Episcopal Church service inside a community room at the Newport Beach City Hall on Sunday morning, June 4, 2017. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer) The Rev. Canon Cindy Voorhees leads a St. James the Great Episcopal Church service inside a community room at the Newport Beach City Hall on Sunday morning, June 4, 2017. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer) Lissa Schairer, right, asks a question during a Q and A regarding DNA testing to determine racial background at the Newport Beach City Hall on Sunday morning, June 4, 2017. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer) Genealogist Colleen Greene answers questions regarding DNA testing to determine racial background at the Newport Beach City Hall on Sunday morning, June 4, 2017. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer) The Rev. Canon Cindy Voorhees greets parishioners at the end of church service at the Newport Beach City Hall on Sunday morning, June 4, 2017. (Photo by Drew A. Kelley, Contributing Photographer) Genealogist Colleen Greene answers questions regarding DNA testing to determine racial background at the Newport Beach City Hall on Sunday morning, June 4, 2017. (Photo … Continue reading →

Pacific Standard Can the Law Enforcement's DNA Database Tell Police Your Medical Information? Pacific Standard Despite what procedural dramas might lead you to believe, the DNA that police collect at crime scenes can't tell you anything about the characteristics of the person who left it behind. If police have a database of suspects' DNA, then they can match a ... Surprise at how few garda give DNA for eliminationThe Times (subscription) all 2 news articles » See original here: Can the Law Enforcement's DNA Database Tell Police Your Medical Information? - Pacific Standard … Continue reading →

BBC News Mum Danielle Morris who faked DNA paternity test jailed - BBC News BBC News The would-be father paid maintenance and had the girl's name tattooed on his arm before the truth came out. Woman who faked DNA paternity test to trick ex-lover into believing ...Mirror.co.uk all 2 news articles » Read more: Mum Danielle Morris who faked DNA paternity test jailed - BBC News - BBC News … Continue reading →

June 12, 2017 Scientists have known for decades that smoking cigarettes causes DNA damage, which leads to lung cancer. Now, for the first time, UNC School of Medicine scientists created a method for effectively mapping that DNA damage at high resolution across the genome. Credit: Christ-claude Mowandza-ndinga (UNC Health Care) Scientists have known for decades that smoking cigarettes causes DNA damage, which leads to lung cancer. Now, for the first time, UNC School of Medicine scientists created a method for effectively mapping that DNA damage at high resolution across the genome. The innovation comes from the laboratory of Nobel laureate Aziz Sancar, MD, PhD, the Sarah Graham Kenan Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UNC's School of Medicine. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Sancar and his team developed a useful technique for mapping sites on the genome that are undergoing repair following a common type of DNA damage. They then used that technique to map all damage caused by the major chemical carcinogen - benzo[]pyrene. "This is a carcinogen that accounts for about 30 percent of the cancer deaths in the United States, and we now have a genome-wide map of the … Continue reading →

It has been well documented that mutations in proteins of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) pathway underlie a variety of cancers. This genetic proofreading pathway helps to maintain genomic stability by rectifying post-replication errors that often arise between DNA base pairs. This repair pathway is so influential for cells' genetic fidelity that three investigators won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work to understand the molecular mechanisms that control this pathway. Now, a team of scientists at the Johns Hopkins BloombergKimmel Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and other institutions has just reported on their findings of an expanded, three-year clinical trial of 86 patients with colorectal and 11 other kinds of cancer that have MMR genetic defects. The investigators found that half of the patients responded to an immunotherapy drug called pembrolizumab (Keytruda)a programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) receptor inhibitorand that patient immune responses closely aligned with mutations found in their cancers. Findings from the study were published recently in Science in an article entitled Mismatch-Repair Deficiency Predicts Response of Solid Tumors to PD-1 Blockade. "Our study results may lead to a new standard-of-care that includes MMR deficiency testing to help identify a wider group of patients … Continue reading →

WABASHA A DNA match from a sexual encounter last summer resulted in criminal charges against a Zumbrota man. Cole Alexander Muenkel, 21, will make his initial appearance June 21 in Wabasha County District Court, where he faces one count each of first-, second- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct. All are felonies. He remains free in lieu of $25,000 conditional bail. The charges stem from an alleged incident Aug. 7 at an underage drinking party. A girl at the party passed out on the tailgate of a truck, the complaint says, and someone took a photo of her with several males around her, including Muenkel. He can be seen holding a canned beverage in his hand; the victim said Muenkel gave her alcohol to drink, the document says. The girl woke up in the back seat of the truck some time later to find Muenkel on top of her, sexually assaulting her, court documents say. He eventually left the back seat; after a few minutes, he came back, picked the girl up and moved her to her car, the report says. The teenager went with her mother to the hospital, where a sex assault kit and exam were completed. The victim … Continue reading →