Lab-made genome gives life to ethics debate Jan 26, 2008
Dr. Venter noted that having commercial labs synthesize the pieces cost less than a dollar for each base pair of nucleotides. Robert Holt, a scientist at the Genome Science Centre of the BC Cancer Agency, and a former collaborator with the Venter group, called the report an important technical accomplishment because the size of the DNA molecule constructed dwarfs previous efforts. (Globe and Mail)
Scientists create man-made DNA map Jan 26, 2008
The researchers at the J Craig Venter Institute in Rockville created the artificial genome code - the chemical blueprint of life - by synthesising and assembling 582,970 base pair genome of bacterium Mycoplasma genitalium JCVI-1. 0. (India Times, India -- Health/Science)
Longest Piece of Synthetic DNA Yet Jan 25, 2008
"The 582,970 base pair M. genitalium bacterial genome is the largest chemically defined structure synthesized in the lab," lead author Daniel Gibson told ScientificAmerican ... (Base pairs are complementary linked nucleotide bases, such as adenine thymine. (Scientific American)
Scientists Create First Synthetic Bacterial Genome -- Largest Chemically Defined Structure Synthesized In The Lab Jan 25, 2008
24, 2008) A team of 17 researchers at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) has created the largest man-made DNA structure by synthesizing and assembling the 582,970 base pair genome of a bacterium, Mycoplasma genitalium JCVI-1 ... Prior to today s publication the largest synthesized DNA contained only 32,000 base pairs ... Thus, building a synthetic version of the genome of the bacteria M. genitalium genome that has more than 580,000 base pairs presented a formidable challenge. (Science Daily)
NEJM editorial on significance and limitations of new lupus gene expression research Jan 21, 2008
The new research looks at how variations in a single DNA base pair, called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), can be used to identify genetic variations among individuals that are associated with a diagnosis of lupus. In some cases, the SNPs call attention to important genes but have no apparent functional importance themselves. (EurekAlert!)
Using Genes to Fight Pine Beetle Jan 17, 2008
" To find out, Aukema and fellow researchers at UNBC are collecting as many pine beetle samples as they can, looking at the insect in all its life stages -- from larvae to adult. The genes in each beetle sample are exposed to various chemicals, like pheromones or the chemicals in tree sap to determine what makes them "switch" on or off. "We're not sequencing every single base pair in the DNA," says Dezene Huber, a Canada Research Chair and associate professor at UNBC. "We're looking at these... (TheTyee.ca)
Study puts doctors closer to genetic prostate-cancer test Jan 17, 2008
" The research team, from Johns Hopkins, Wake Forest University and the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, drew blood from 2,893 prostate cancer patients and 1,781 matched "controls" who did not have the disease. Using DNA from blood cells, they sifted through variations in chemicals called nucleotides that pair up to form the DNA. These "single nucleotide polymorphisms," or SNPs (pronounced "snips"), occur when one chemical base pair is swapped for another, altering the information in the DNA... (Chicago Tribune)
Scientists Discover Remarkable Editing System For Protein Production Jan 4, 2008
In addition to Beebe, Mock, and Schimmel, Eve Merriman was an author on the new Nature paper, entitled "Distinct domains of tRNA synthetase recognize the same base pair." All authors are from The Scripps Research Institute. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Skaggs Foundation, and the National Foundation for Cancer Research. (Science Daily)
Are Humans Evolving Faster? Dec 11, 2007
Chromosomes are made of DNA, a twisting, ladder-like structure in which each rung is made of a "base pair" of amino acids, either G-C or A-T. Harpending says that about every 1,000 base pairs, there will be a difference between the two chromosomes. That is known as a SNP.. (Science Daily)
Will nanobots help us to live forever? Nov 22, 2007
For example, the amount of genetic data collected has doubled every year since 1990, and the cost has come down from $10 per base pair to a fraction of a penny. As a result, technologies to literally reprogramme the "software" (ie the genes) that underlie human biology will be a thousand times more powerful than they are today in a decade, and a million times more powerful in two decades. (Guardian Unlimited -- Life)
Localization of TFIIB binding regions using serial analysis of chromatin occupancy Nov 13, 2007
GSTs are 20-22 base pair fragments that are derived from TFIIB bound chromatin. TFIIB localized to both non-protein coding and protein-coding loci. (BioMed Central)
Creationist draws on Bible to explain place in universe Nov 11, 2007
Eddie wrote on Nov 10, 2007 10:32 PM:" Phil, you're (not "your") quite mistaken. You need to educate yourself about basic biology. Mutations are changes to the base pair sequence of the genetic material of an organism. There are several types of mutations, and they can be advantageous, disadvantageous, or neutral towards an organism's survival. Speciation has been observed numerous times; fruit flies, African frogs, and especially the human-initiated creation of domestic sheep are prime... (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
If mutations occur at random over the entire sequence of a species' genome, how can a complex organ such as an eye evolve? How can all the mutations that direct the development of that organ be concentrated in the right places? Nov 1, 2007
At more than six billion individuals, the human species is now so large that every single base pair of the three billion in the genome is mutated several times, somewhere in the population, every generation. Some of these mutations are so harmful that they're eliminated before their carriers are even born. (Scientific American)
Masquerading for money: Tougaloo, Rust get ball rolling with scholarship event Nov 1, 2007
But science was her favorite subject, and good grades led to her three-year participation in Murrah's Base Pair program. The research mentorship program, funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, annually matches 15 high school students with University of Mississippi Medical Center faculty members for in-depth science experiences. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Were Neandertals the Original Redheaded Strangers? Oct 27, 2007
A 128 base pair fragment of MC1R was isolated from the Italian sample. (For reference, there are estimated to be 250,000,000 base pairs in the entire Neandertal genome. (Scientific American)
SPECIAL REPORT: So similar, yet so different Oct 18, 2007
The new, more thorough version finds surprisingly high diversity in single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) parts of the genome marked out by specific changes in a single DNA base pair. Bill Clinton: impressed by the revelatory power of DNA.R. EDMONDS/AP. (Nature News Service)
IBM Opens New Doors to Quantum Computing Sep 3, 2007
Scientists from IBM have managed to partially confirm Feynmans theory and to give God his share of the glory and greatness for his inventiveness: our DNA uses 32 atoms to store information in one half of the chemical base pair that is the fundamental unit that makes up genetic information. With further work it may be possible to build structures consisting of small clusters of atoms, or even individual atoms, that could reliably store magnetic information. (eFluxMedia (press release))
Scientists Find Clue To Mechanisms Of Gene Signaling And Regulation Aug 24, 2007
DNA methylation occurs across the animal genomes, almost always at the C base position of a CG dinucleotide (sequence of two base pairs) in the genetic sequence ... In the regions of the genome where genes are imprinted, called differentially methylated regions, they found a repeat pattern (periodicity) of 8 to 10 base pairs between two CG dinucleotides ... "We believe that this repeating pattern of 8 to 10 base pairs between CGs provides a signal for where the differential methylation should... (Science Daily)
Genetic Phonetics Could Be The Trick To Sounding Out DNA's Meaning Aug 22, 2007
Most modern attempts to decipher how portions of genetic code are translated into physical characteristics are akin to a first-grader trying to sound out a word letter by letter or, in this case, base pair by base pair. But University of Florida researchers have developed a computational method that s more like reading whole words at a time. (Science Daily)
New genetic risk factors for multiple sclerosis found Jul 30, 2007
The three research teams analyzed thousands of patients of European descent, and found that a single base pair difference in the IL7R gene increased the risk of having MS by about 20. That risk is too low to make IL7R useful for a genetic test, cautions Margaret Pericak-Vance, a geneticist at the University of Miami in Florida, and an author on one of the studies. (Nature News Service)
Mouse genome will help identify causes of environmental disease Jul 30, 2007
57 billion base pair of their standard reference strain. The data were then used to develop the haplotype map which contains 40,898 segments. (EurekAlert!)
Hepatitis C helicase unwinds DNA in a spring-loaded, 3-step process Jul 27, 2007
What they found was that the DNA unwound in discrete jumps: Three nucleotide pairs (base pairs) had to be unhitched from one another before an unwinding event occurred ... You are loading the spring with small mechanical movements until finally you have accumulated enough tension on the DNA-protein complex to cause the rapid unwinding of three base pairs ... The researchers observed that three ATP molecules were consumed in each unwinding reaction, indicating that three hidden steps, each... (EurekAlert!)
Semiconductor membrane mimics biological behavior of ion channels Jul 13, 2007
Since each base pair carries a different electrical charge, we could use the membrane as a p-n junction to detect the changing electrical signal. . (EurekAlert!)
First Bacterial Genome Transplantation Changes One Species To Another Jun 30, 2007
Venter, Smith and Hutchison made the first significant strides in the development of a synthetic genome by their work in assembling the 5,386 base pair bacteriophage X174 (phi X). They did so using short, single strands of synthetically produced, commercially available DNA (known as oligonucleotides) and using an adaptation of polymerase chain reaction (PCR), known as polymerase cycle assembly (PCA), to build the phi X genome. (Science Daily)
Going beyond X and Y May 21, 2007
In 1990, while at the University of Cambridge, Peter Goodfellow discovered SRY, a gene on the Y chromosome hailed as the "master switch." Just one base pair change in this sequence would produce a female instead of a male. And when researchers integrated SRY into a mouse that was otherwise chromosomally female, an XX fetus developed as a male. (Scientific American)
Cataloging The Structural Variations In Human Genetics May 11, 2007
We know there is a genetic factor, but what is the role of single base pair changes versus structural changes. The project Eichler and his colleagues describe in their paper will help answer this question. (Science Daily)
New Genetic Risk Factors For Type 2 Diabetes Identified Apr 29, 2007
This means researchers often need to take additional steps, such as sequencing every DNA base pair in that particular region of the genome, to identify the exact genetic variant that affects disease risk. In the latest work, researchers began by scanning the genomes of more than 2,300 Finnish people who took part in the Finland-United States Investigation Of NIDDM Genetics (FUSION) and Finrisk 2002 studies. (Science Daily)
A cricket Gene Index: A genomic resource for studying neurobiology, speciation, and molecular evolution Apr 26, 2007
In addition, a set of unique 70 base pair oligomers that can be used for DNA microarrays was developed. All Gene Index information is posted at the DFCI Gene Indices web page. (BioMed Central)
Two-step Process Filters Evolution Of Genes Of Human And Chimpanzee Mar 7, 2007
They focused their analysis on the simplest and most common mutations, those that alter just one letter, a single base pair, of DNA.. DNA uses a three-letter code to designate the 20 types of amino acids that are strung together in specific order to create a protein. (Science Daily)
Your scent and your sex life Feb 22, 2007
"It was remarkably precise. ... A mouse can discriminate a mouse that differs by one DNA base pair mutation in one MHC gene," says Monell director Gary Beauchamp. Other studies showed that when it came to mating, opposites attracted -- in both mice and men. (Seacoast New Hampshire)
New Technique Assesses Effects Of Multiple Copies Of Genes On Disease Risk Feb 1, 2007
"The copy number variants we describe in this paper are numerous and fairly large they vary in length between two thousand and two million DNA base pairs," Graubert says ... -- The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in ... It is made up of 23 chromosome pairs with a total of about 3 billion DNA base pairs. (Science Daily)
Where was the defense? Dec 22, 2006
Where was the defense. A fan's perspective on the Falcons. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Sports)
Genomic 'Firestorms' Underlie Aggressive Breast Cancer Progression Dec 3, 2006
It is made up of 23 chromosome pairs with a total of about 3 billion DNA base pairs ... -- The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in. (Science Daily)
Hi-Tech Initiative in Quest for Better Drugs Dec 1, 2006
Breast cancer sufferers could eventually benefit from high-tuned, tailor-made drug treatments that minimise side effects as a result of a joint initiative between computer scientists in Edinburgh and cellular biologists in Japan. Igor Goryanin, director of the Edinburgh Centre for Bioinformatics and Dr. Yoshiyuki Sakaki, head of Riken Genomic Research Centre. (Science Daily)
Genetic Variation: We're More Different Than We Thought Nov 25, 2006
New research shows that at least 10 percent of genes in the human population can vary in the number of copies of DNA sequences they contain--a finding that alters current thinking that the DNA of any two humans is 99. 9 percent similar in content and identity. (Science Daily)
DNA :: Human genome shows DNA differences - revised DNA map Nov 24, 2006
- identify all the approximately 20000-25000 genes in human DNA,; determine the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA ... Example of dA-dT base pair as found within DNA double helix. (SpiritIndia)
Neanderthal DNA sequenced Nov 18, 2006
More than one million base pairs of Neanderthal DNA have been sequenced, according to findings appearing this week in and that could begin to shed light on whether humans and Neanderthals interbred and when they diverged genetically ... The researchers investigated fragments of nuclear DNA roughly 100 to 200 base pairs long, which were extracted from a 38,000-year-old Neanderthal bone from Vindija Cave in Croatia ... In their Nature paper, at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary... (The Scientist)
Neanderthal Genome Sequencing Yields Surprising Results And Opens A New Door To Future Studies Nov 17, 2006
In a paper published in the November 17, 2006 issue of the journal Science, a team of researchers led by Edward Rubin, director of both JGI and Berkeley Lab s Genomics Division, reports the development of a Neanderthal metagenomic library, which they used to characterize more than 65,000 DNA base pairs of Neanderthal origin ... Said Rubin, We predict that in the near future anthropologists will be able to develop hypotheses about our extinct ancestors through the scanning of billions of base... (Science Daily)
What happened to the Neanderthals? Check their DNA. Nov 17, 2006
The sequences the two teams have produced cover 65,000 to 1 million base pairs. Each base pair is built from four basic chemicals that make up an organism's genetic "code." Each base pair forms a "rung" on the DNA molecule's ladder ... By comparison, the human genome, and presumably the Neanderthal's, consists of some 3 billion base pairs. (Christian Science Monitor)
Decoded Sea Urchin Genome Shows Surprising Relationship To Humans Nov 11, 2006
The Sea Urchin Genome Sequencing Project (SUGSP) Consortium, led by the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM-HGSC) in Houston, announced today the decoding and analysis of the genome sequence of the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. A group of adult purple sea urchins spawns in a kelp bed off the California coast. (Science Daily)
Phoenix Rising: Scientists Resuscitate A 5 Million-year-old Retrovirus Nov 1, 2006
"Retroviruses, whose genomes consist of RNA, can create DNA "copies" of the RNA genomes and incorporate them into the genomes of their hosts. Phoenix belongs to a sub-category of retroviruses--known as HERVs (human endogenous retroviruses)--which inserted copies into the human germline millions of years ago. These copies were subsequently passed on from generation to generation. Remnants of HERVs now comprise nearly 8% of the human genome, but most were rendered inactive long ago by... (Science Daily)
Honey Bee Genome: Social Insect Creates Buzz For Agricultural, Biomedical Research Oct 27, 2006
D., co-director of the Human Genome Sequencing Center at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM-HGSC) in Houston, describes the approximately 260 million DNA base pair genome of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) ... Although only 9 percent the size of the 3 billion base pairs in the human genome, the honey bee contains nearly half as many genes as the human genome, more than 10,000 in the bee compared to around 20,000 genes in the human. (Science Daily)
Steelers wheelin,' Falcons reelin' Oct 21, 2006
1 billion base pairs that make up the 30,000 genes. People differ in 1 out of every 1,000 of these base pairs ... Each change in a base pair can alter a gene. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Sports)
A Ruler Of Gold And DNA: New Tool Could Expedite Scientists' Push To Learn How Genetic Information Is Processed Oct 16, 2006
For example, if the gold particle s spidery DNA strands, which are 54 base pairs long, are shortened for whatever reason, then the gold-DNA particle s scattering wavelengths also shift and this shift can be easily detected using spectroscopy. This method is so sensitive that scientists can use it to detect whether a DNA strand has been shortened by as little as one base pair in length, which opens the door for mapping the exact location of protein-DNA interactions ... As usual, they attached to... (Science Daily)
Focusing in on Cancers Complexity Sep 8, 2006
For example, 59 percent of the colorectal cancer mutations went from a C:G base pair to an T:A pair, whereas this was the case for only 35 percent of the breast cancer mutations. These differences may be due to different kinds of carcinogens, different types of repair mechanisms, or different exposures to endogenous mutagens, said Vogelstein. (Howard Hughes Medical Institute)
Unprecedented Genetic Study May Help Identify People Most At Risk For Alcoholism Aug 26, 2006
The normal human genome consists of about 3 billion base pairs of DNA in each set of chromosomes from one parent ... -- The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in. (Science Daily)
Mitochondrial DNA sequencing tool updated Aug 26, 2006
The genome consisted of 16,568 base pair, or units, of DNA and encoded 37 contiguous genes. But because of the balky sequencing tools of the day and their high cost, much of the subsequent research progressed slowly or stalled. (EurekAlert!)
Emory Scientists Develop New Map Of Genetic Variation In Human Genome Aug 12, 2006
The human genome sequence in our DNA contains three billion base pairs of four chemical building blocks--adenine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine (A, T, C, G), strung together in different combinations in long chains within 23 pairs of chromosomes ... Dr. Devine says INDELs can be grouped into five major categories, depending on their effect on the genome: (1) insertions or deletions of single base pairs; (2) expansions by only one base pair (monomeric base pair expansions); (3) multi-base pair... (Science Daily)
Gene Variant Increases Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes; But Healthy Lifestyle Changes Reduce Genetic Risk Jul 24, 2006
It is a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), or single base pair change, in the region of a gene that codes for a transcription factor a protein that acts like a master switch regulating the expression of other genes. In their DNA analysis, the researchers found one copy of the risk variant in 40 percent of DPP participants, and two copies in 10 percent. (Science Daily)
Latest Sequencing Targets: Gibbon Genome Sequence To Be Added To Primate Tree Jul 23, 2006
The refined genome sequences will improve the accuracy of comparisons between mammalian genomes, one of the most effective ways to pinpoint the roughly 5 percent of the 3-billion base pair human genome that is most obviously functional ... -- The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in. (Science Daily)
NHGRI announces latest sequencing targets Jul 20, 2006
The refined genome sequences will improve the accuracy of comparisons between mammalian genomes, one of the most effective ways to pinpoint the roughly 5 percent of the 3-billion base pair human genome that is most obviously functional. The seven mammals to be sequenced are: the nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus); domestic cat (Felis catus); guinea pig (Cavia porcellus); African savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana); tree shrew (Tupaia species); rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus); and a... (EurekAlert!)
DNA overwinds when stretched Jul 13, 2006
The findings suggest DNA-binding proteins must induce changes in stretching or winding of DNA molecules in order to recognize binding sites that vary in length -- due, for instance, to base pair insertions or deletions, Bustamante said. "It would be interesting to test how DNA sequence affects the response to twist. This could be performed by comparing the single-molecule behavior of several DNA sequences," Lionnet added. (The Scientist)
Reprogramming Biology Jun 28, 2006
Sequencing DNA has come down in price by half annually, from $10 per base pair in 1990 to under a penny today. The amount of genetic data we have sequenced has more than doubled every year. (Scientific American)
Desalination Roadmap Seeks Technological Solutions To Increase Water Supply Jun 11, 2006
Posted: June 10, 2006. After one last meeting in San Antonio in April, Sandia National Laboratories researchers Pat Brady and Tom Hinkebein are putting the final touches on the updated Desalination and Water Purification Roadmap -- "Roadmap 2" -- that should result in more fresh water in parts of the world where potable water is scarce. (Science Daily)
First Whole-genome Scan For Links To Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Reveals Evidence For Genetic Susceptibility Jun 8, 2006
Posted: June 7, 2006. A federally funded team of researchers including several from Johns Hopkins have identified six regions of the human genome that might play a role in susceptibility to obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD. The study was published online June 6 in Molecular Psychiatry. (Science Daily)
'Pinball protons' created by ultraviolet rays and other causes can lead to DNA damage May 18, 2006
The team at the University of Georgia studied how the removal of a proton from the Guanine-Cytosine (G-C) base pair is involved in creating lesions that can lead to replication errors ... The lesions are breaks in the hydrogen bonds, of which there are two in the G-C base pair ... The team discovered that the base pair minus its knocked-off proton can either break entirely or change its bonding angle--something that also causes improper replication. (EurekAlert!)
Scientists Solve 30-year-old Mystery Of Mutant Mouse's Kidney Woes May 2, 2006
"To make sure this was the cause and not just a result of the problem, we analyzed the sequence of the aqp2 gene from the mutant mice, comparing it to the gene from other normal mice, and found a single base pair had changed.". The change swaps the amino acid serine for the amino acid leucine at a key position in the protein. (Science Daily)
Gene Variant Associated With Obesity Risk Found With New Statistical Technique Apr 17, 2006
Posted: April 16, 2006. A pioneering statistical technique developed at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has helped identify a common gene variation associated with an increased risk for obesity. (Science Daily)
Nanopore Method Could Revolutionize Genome Sequencing Apr 11, 2006
It should be possible to sequence strands of DNA that are tens of thousands of base pairs in length, possibly as long as an entire gene, in one pass through the nanopore ... -- The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in. (Science Daily)
Comprehensive Strategy Seeks To Identify Structural Variation In Human Genome Mar 17, 2006
Such comparisons between mammalian genomes represent one of the most effective ways to pinpoint the roughly 5 percent of the 3-billion base pair human genome that is most obviously functional. According to computer modeling results, it is expected that comparisons among the 24 genome sequences will allow conserved sequences as small as six base pairs to be identified reliably ... Six base pairs is roughly the size of a transcription factor binding site: a small DNA sequence occurring near a gene... (Science Daily)
Gene Influences Antidepressant Response Mar 16, 2006
Posted: March 15, 2006. Whether depressed patients will respond to an antidepressant depends, in part, on which version of a gene they inherit, a study led by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has discovered. (Science Daily)
'Looking' At Eyeless From Two Directions Mar 11, 2006
-- The Human Genome Project (HGP) endeavoured to map the human genome down to the nucleotide (or base pair) level and to identify all the genes present in. . (Science Daily)
Detection of DNA on nanotubes offers new sensing, sequencing technologies Feb 22, 2006
Hybridization refers to the spontaneous binding of two complementary strands through base pair matching. By wrapping one strand of DNA around the surface of a carbon nanotube, the researchers can create a sensor that is targeted for a particular piece of complementary DNA. When the complementary DNA then binds to the DNA probe, the nanotube's natural near-infrared fluorescence is shifted slightly, and can readily be detected. (EurekAlert!)
The complete art of RNA folding analysis Feb 16, 2006
Folding space analysis comprises various methods, such as suboptimal folding, computation of base pair probabilities, sampling procedures, and abstract shape analysis. Common to many approaches is the idea of partitioning the folding space into classes of structures, for which certain properties can be derived. (BioMed Central)
Researchers Discover How to Detect Mutations Jan 31, 2006
What they found was that just a single base pair mutation in a DNA molecule can cause a significant change in the conductance of the molecule. The measurement is extremely sensitive; the alteration of a single base in the DNA stack can either increase or decrease the conductivity of a DNA helix, depending on the type of mismatched base. (Softpedia)
