Tagged: DNA

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Science
9:53 am
Thu June 13, 2013

Natural DNA Cannot Be Patented, Supreme Court Rules

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Originally published on Thu June 13, 2013 10:28 am

In a decision that could have broad-reaching effects on the future of science and medicine, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that:

-- "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated."

-- But, synthetically created "strands of nucleotides known as composite DNA (cDNA)" are "patent eligible" because they do not occur naturally.

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Research News
2:37 am
Thu January 24, 2013

Shall I Encode Thee In DNA? Sonnets Stored On Double Helix

Credit Attributed to John Taylor / National Portrait Gallery
William Shakespeare, depicted in this 17th century painting, penned his sonnets on parchment. Now his words have found a new home ... in twisting strands of DNA.
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Originally published on Thu January 24, 2013 12:19 pm

English critic Samuel Johnson once said of William Shakespeare "that his drama is the mirror of life." Now the Bard's words have been translated into life's most basic language. British scientists have stored all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets on tiny stretches of DNA.

It all started with two men in a pub. Ewan Birney and Nick Goldman, both scientists from the European Bioinformatics Institute, were drinking beer and discussing a problem.

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Genetics - Cancer
6:43 am
Mon July 16, 2012

Unwinding the helix: using genetics to treat childhood cancer

Credit Scott Supplesa
Washington University’s Todd Druley uses a magnet to separate DNA-coated magnetic beads from a liquid reaction buffer, to isolate specific genes from patient DNA for sequencing analysis.
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Pediatric leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. There are about 3,000 new cases in the United States every year, typically in children between the ages of four and six.

With treatment, about three-quarters of affected children are able to beat the disease.

But for those with what’s known as “high risk” leukemia, the odds of survival are much worse.

Washington University pediatric oncologist Dr. Todd Druley has been trying to use genetics to understand why some leukemia is so hard to treat. He spoke with St. Louis Public Radio's Véronique LaCapra.

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