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By investigating the existence of an unusual four-stranded structure of DNA in human cells, scientists have opened the door to novel cancer therapeutics and a new era for personalised medicine.
When Watson and Crick discovered the double helix structure of DNA in 1953, they declared they had "found the secret of life". However, as in all pursuits of science, the story did not end there. Less than 60 years later, a team led by chemist Professor Shankar Balasubramanian and cancer biologist Professor Steve Jackson has found that an unusual four-stranded configuration of DNA also forms…
Virus ‘barcodes’ offer rapid detection of mutated strains
Researchers funded by BBSRC and others are developing a way to 'barcode' viral diseases to rapidly test new outbreaks for potentially lethal mutations. Dr Julian Hiscox and Dr John Barr of the University of Leeds's Faculty of Biological Sciences are working with the Health Protection Agency Porton (HPA) to build a bank of molecular signatures that will help identify the severity of virus infection from characteristic changes seen in cells. Currently the team is barcoding different strains of influenza virus and human respiratory…
Scientists find new pieces of hearing puzzle
Researchers funded by BBSRC have gained important new insights into how our sense of hearing works. Their findings promise new avenues for scientists to understand what goes wrong when people experience deafness. Their findings are published in Royal Society Open Biology, a new open access journal. The team was led by Prof John Wood of UCL. Professor Wood explains: "As many people will already know, our ears are filled with tiny hair cells that move in response to the pressure of a sound wave…
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