Tag: DNA

  • Nation & World

    New CRISPR technology takes cells to the movies

    CRISPR system-based technology enables the chronological recording of digital information, turning living cells into a biological hard drive that can record information.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    ‘DNA is not destiny’

    A new study examines whether lifestyle changes can offset genetic risk of heart disease.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Microscopy taps power of programmable DNA

    With a super-resolution microscopy, a team of researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute has leveraged the power of programmable DNA.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    ‘If you’re not failing, you’re probably not trying as hard as you could be’

    Interview with geneticist George Church as part of the Experience series.

    33 minutes
  • Nation & World

    For groups in conflict, genes matter

    Visiting professor Sasha Kimel examined whether information about genetic links can influence groups in conflict.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Researchers help cells forget who they are

    Scientists identify a molecular key that helps cells maintain identity and prevents the conversion of adult cells into induced pluripotent stem cells — a process that would require a cell to “forget” its identity before assuming a new one.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    History as mosh pit

    Today’s discoveries in DNA technology are as exciting as another era’s moon missions, opening avenues of scientific inquiry and invigorating even longstanding fields, speakers at a Radcliffe science symposium on DNA said.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Improved accuracy in genome editing

    A team of scientists has engineered a form of the genome-editing protein Cas9 that can be controlled by a small molecule and offers improved DNA specificity.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    New evidence on Neanderthal mixing

    New research illuminates the mixing with Neanderthals in early human prehistory, narrowing the window of time when they crossbred to between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Diabetes’ genetic variety

    Harvard researchers working at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard have uncovered nine rare genetic mutations that dramatically increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The discovery of the mutations highlights the dizzying genetic diversity of a disease rapidly spreading around the world.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Neurons at work

    Using genetic tools to implant genes that produce fluorescent proteins in the DNA of transparent C. elegans worms, Harvard scientists have been able to shed light on neuron-specific “alternative splicing,” a process that allows a single gene to produce many different proteins.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A shot against heart attacks?

    Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists collaborating with researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a “genome-editing” approach for permanently reducing cholesterol levels in mice through a single injection, a development with the potential to reduce the risk of heart attacks in humans by 40 to 90 percent.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Roomy cages built from DNA

    Scientists at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University have discovered a way to build self-assembling cages made of DNA. The cages are the largest stand-alone DNA structures made to date, and one day may be able to deliver drugs or house tiny bioreactors or photonic devices inside the human body.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    ‘Junk?’ Not so fast

    Research by Harvard Stem Cell Institute scientists shows that much lincRNA, which had been generally believed useless, plays an important role in the genome.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Genes without patents

    The ACLU’s lead attorney and other participants in the Supreme Court case that overturned the common practice of patenting human genes discussed the ramifications in an event at the Science Center.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    New test for Down syndrome

    Experts in child health gathered at Harvard Medical School on Tuesday for a symposium on how genome biology is changing children’s health.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Flu’s coming, but which kind?

    With a new flu virus appearing in China in April and a new SARS-like respiratory ailment appearing in the Middle East, the Gazette sat down with Harvard epidemiologist Marc Lipsitch to talk about the upcoming flu season.

    10 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A foundation for future research

    Harvard researchers recently developed the most detailed “specificity profile” for Cas9 — a “machine” made of protein and RNA that can be programmed to target specific DNA sequences and to precisely cut, paste, and turn on or turn off genes. Future researchers will use the data when developing genetic tools and therapies.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    DNA glue directs tiny gel ‘bricks’ to self-assemble

    A team of researchers at the Wyss Institute has found a way to self-assemble complex structures out of gel “bricks” smaller than a grain of salt. The new method could help solve one of the major challenges in tissue engineering.

    6 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Evolutionary oomph

    Scientists may soon be able to turn to one of the most powerful forces in biology — evolution — to help in their quest to develop new synthetic polymers.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    One gene, many mutations

    In a new paper, Harvard researchers show that changes in coat color in mice are the result not of a single mutation, but of many mutations, all in a single gene. The results start to answer one of the fundamental questions about evolution: Does it proceed by huge leaps — single mutations that result in…

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    A hidden genetic code

    For decades, scientists wondered whether there was some subtle difference between parts of the genetic code that, while different, appear to encode the same amino acid. Harvard researchers now have the answer.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    One cell is all you need

    Scientists at Harvard have pioneered a breakthrough technique that can reproduce an individual’s entire genome from a single cell. The development could revolutionize everything from cancer treatment, by allowing doctors to obtain a genetic fingerprint of a person’s cancer early in treatment, to prenatal testing.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    So doggone complicated

    Geneticist Elaine Ostrander runs a comparative-genomics lab that examines dog DNA to understand better the traits that might aid understanding of human diseases.

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Mapping a genetic world beyond genes

    Most of the DNA alterations that are tied to disease do not alter protein-coding genes, but rather the “switches” that control them. Characterizing these switches is one of many goals of the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Mystery of Native Americans’ arrival

    Research led by scientists at Harvard and University College London has shown that Native Americans arrived in three waves of migration, not one, as is commonly held and that at least one group returned home to Asia.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Life lessons from an old worm

    Research is uncovering the genetic roots of aging, peeling back the once common understanding that creatures simply “wore out” as they aged, and slowly revealing the mechanisms that control a process determined by our genes and that proceeds at different speeds for different species.

    4 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Using DNA as bricks and mortar

    Researchers at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have figured out how to use short lengths of DNA as physical, rather than genetic, building blocks, creating letters and other shapes from the molecules in a proof of design that could one day lead to the creation of structures that, among other things, deliver drugs…

    3 minutes
  • Nation & World

    The future of self-knowledge

    Anne Wojcicki, chief executive officer and co-founder of 23andMe, talked about growth in personal genomics in an event sponsored by the Program on Science, Technology and Society.

    5 minutes
  • Nation & World

    Insight on triple-negative breast cancer

    Scientists from Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and their colleagues have found a genetic marker that predicts which aggressive “triple-negative” breast cancers and certain ovarian cancers are likely to respond to platinum-based chemotherapies.

    4 minutes