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.
-
Nation & World
‘DNA is not destiny’
A new study examines whether lifestyle changes can offset genetic risk of heart disease.
-
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.
-
Nation & World
For groups in conflict, genes matter
Visiting professor Sasha Kimel examined whether information about genetic links can influence groups in conflict.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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…
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.