Stem cell banking, a Rs100-crore business in India
Cord blood storage is fast gaining momentum as a less traumatic alternative to treat neurological illnesses, and as a guarantee for the family against a host of diseases
Almost non-existent a few years ago in the country, stem cell banking [...]
Complete Neanderthal Mitochondrial Genome Sequenced From 38,000-year-old Bone
The complete mitochondrial genome of a 38,000-year-old Neanderthal has been sequenced. The findings open a window into the Neanderthals’ past and helps answer lingering questions about our relationship to them.
“For the first time, [...]
When cells go bad
When a cell’s chromosomes lose their ends, the cell usually kills itself to stem the genetic damage. But University of Utah biologists discovered how those cells can evade suicide and start down the path to cancer.
Details of how the process [...]
Forcing bacteria to copy artificial DNA
For the first time, scientists have efficiently manipulated the natural DNA replication process in living cells to make it work for artificial DNA.
The elegant structure of DNA has inspired chemists for decades. The simple pairings of the four [...]
Gene Therapy Halts Brain Disease in Two Boys
Researchers have used a modified AIDS virus to halt a devastating brain disease in two young boys. The treatment, in which the virus delivered a therapeutic gene, marks the first time gene therapy has been successfully used against X-linked [...]
A new dimension for genome studies
Scientists have long known that DNA is arranged in a double helix. But if the double helix did not fold further, each cell’s genome would be two meters long — far too large to fit into the nucleus of a human cell, which is about a hundredth [...]
Suppressing PI3K gene in mice prevents heart from aging
Suppressing a gene in mice prevents heart from aging, preserves its function
Study highlights:
In a mouse study, suppressing the activity of a key gene prevented age-related cardiac changes and preserved much of the heart’s function.
The [...]
Ancient muscle tissue extracted from 18 million year old fossil
Scientists have extracted organically preserved muscle tissue from an 18 million years old salamander fossil. The discovery by researchers from University College Dublin, the UK and Spain, reported in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows [...]
Gene transfer can help ailing heart heal itself
New research in the FASEB Journal shows that fast myosin motor gene transfer increases contractions of heart muscle cells
In a major breakthrough, scientists jump-started a failing heart by transferring a gene, which could help the heart heal [...]
