Authorities say DNA evidence helped link a Massillon man to two alleged sexual assaults reported more than two years apart by young city women.

Nathan Trammell, 40, whose last known address was 807 Dielhenn St. SE, Massillon, was indicted by a Stark County grand jury earlier this week on two counts each of rape, kidnapping and sexual battery. Sexually violent predator specifications are attached to each of the charges. The kidnapping charges also include sexual motivation specifications. Authorities arrested Trammell last week on warrants, court records show. Last week, Trammell pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Common Pleas Court.

A final pre-trial hearing is set for June 4, and the case is scheduled to go to trial June 11. The case has been assigned to Judge Charles Brown. If convicted of all counts, including the sexual motivation and violent offender specifications, Trammell faces a potential sentence of 10 years to life in prison, according to county prosecutors.

Public Defender Stephen Reisch could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

According to the indictment, Trammell held a then-18-year-old woman against her will and sexually assaulted her in March 2009 at her residence. The second incident, which involved a then-20-year-old woman, allegedly occurred in May 2011 at a city residence. The sexual battery charges allege that the judgment of the victims was substantially impaired or they were unaware that the act was being committed. The victims did not know each other.

From our understanding, he did not have a (boyfriend-girlfriend) relationship with them, said Massillon police Det. Bobby Grizzard, who investigated the case.

Grizzard said police developed Trammell as a suspect after the first victim stepped forward. Physical evidence was obtained from the victim, he said, but police lacked a DNA comparison from Trammell.

Police also identified Trammell as a suspect in the second case, which occurred under circumstances similar to the first. The investigation wasnt solidified, however, until last February when police obtained a DNA standard from Trammell following his arrest on an unrelated charge. That evidence was forwarded to the Canton-Stark County Crime Lab for testing and the results tied Trammell to both cases.

Although the DNA is an important part of the case, there are other variables (such as victim statements) that also helped to tie things together, Grizzard said.

Grizzard declined to say if alcohol was involved in either of the incidents.

Read the original post:
DNA links suspect to two rapes in Massillon

22 May 2012 Last updated at 09:01 ET

Researchers in the US have demonstrated a means to use short sections of DNA as rewritable data "bits" in living cells.

The technique uses two proteins adapted from viruses to "flip" the DNA bits.

Though it is at an early stage, the advance could help pave the way for computing and memory storage within biological systems.

A team reporting in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences say the tiny information storehouses may also be used to study cancer and aging.

The team, from Stanford University's bioengineering department, has been trying for three years to fine-tune the biological recipe they use to change the bits' value.

The bits comprise short sections of DNA that can, under the influence of two different proteins, be made to point in one of two directions within the chromosomes of the bacterium E. coli.

The data are then "read out" as the sections were designed to glow green or red when under illumination, depending on their orientation.

The two proteins, integrase and excisionase, were taken from a bacteriophage - a virus that infects bacteria. They are involved in the DNA modification process by which the DNA from a virus is incorporated into that of its host.

The trick was striking a balance between the two counteracting proteins in order to reliably switch the direction of the DNA section that acted as a bit.

Read the original post:
Rewritable DNA memory shown off

DNA is a great way to store informationjust ask your cells. Its molecules are stable, and billions of base pairs coil neatly into a few microns in a cell nucleus.While its easy for a cell to read information from DNA, a cell cant rewrite new data into its DNA sequence.

But now synthetic biologists at Stanford have managed to pull off that very trick. To do so, they had to abandon the genetic code of ATCG and get a DNA sequence to act like bitspieces of binary informationin a computer.The memory system uses two enzymes that can cut out and reintegrate a sequence of DNA in a live cell. Crucially, the attachment sites are designed so that the DNA sequence can be flipped every time it is put back in. The sequence oriented one way would represent 1, and its inversion is 0.

This maysound unnecessarily convoluted and maybe even a little inefficientthis DNA bit took three years to engineerbut synthetic biologists have something bigger brewing on their hands. By working out the pieces of a biological circuit, they hope to get cells to perform computations. A DNA bit, for example, can be used as a counter for cell divisions, perhaps as part of circuitry that shuts down a cell when division goes awry, as in cancer.

This paper published in PNAS comes from the lab of Drew Endy, an assistant professor at Stanford best known for his work withBioBricks. BioBricks are a set of standardized DNA sequences that synthetic biologists can snap together into a biological circuitanalogous to the wires, transistors, and capacitors of an electronic circuit. (To learn more, read thisWired feature about Endy and BioBricks.)Scientists have gotten RNA or DNA sequences to act like computers before, understanding Boolean logic and even doing square roots.

The principles behind biocircuitry are simplethe challenge is getting them to work in the messy, wetware environment of a cell. Rewritable data storage in the DNA of live cells gets it one step closer.

[via Scientific American]

Image via Shutterstock / ermess

Originally posted here:
Synthetic Biologists Turn DNA Into Rewritable, Digital Data Storage | 80beats

Raleigh, N.C. A DNA swab taken from the bed sheet that state school board member Kathy Taft had been sleeping on when she was attacked two years ago could not have matched anyone but her accused killer, two analysts testified Friday in his first-degree murder trial.

Williford's wife files for divorce

Michelle Hannon, a forensic biologist specializing in DNA at the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory, said that there was a 1 in 1 trillion chance that the sperm fraction belonged to someone other than Jason Keith Williford. She noted that the world population at the time of testing was about 6.8 billion people.

Advanced testing by private laboratory LabCorp found the probability of the DNA belonging to someone else was 1 in 6.8 billion, the lab's forensics technical director Shawn Weiss said.

Jason Williford trial (Day 3)

Prosecutors seeking the death penalty contend that Williford broke into the Raleigh home of Taft's boyfriend, John Geil, where she had been recovering from surgery and raped and beat the 62-year-old early on March 6, 2010

Defense attorneys challenged Hannon's testimony, bringing up questions raised in 2010 about the crime lab's testing procedures, her qualifications as a DNA analyst and the internal pressure associated with working on a high-profile murder case.

They also tried to keep Weiss from testifying, arguing before Superior Court Judge Paul Gessner that they were at an unfair advantage because they couldn't adequately question the testing procedures because Weiss analyzed only results of tests performed by a LabCorp technician.

Crime scene investigators spent Friday morning showing jurors videos and photos of 2710 Cartier Drive as it was after Taft's attack, as well as Williford's home, less than two blocks away.

At Williford's home, investigators found knives, one of which was hidden beneath his bed mattress, pornographic DVDs and a "journal of sobriety," among other items.

See the original post here:
DNA in Kathy Taft's bed matched Williford, analysts testify

Marylands highest court will not overturn or even temporarily suspend its ruling last month that prohibits DNA collection from those charged but not yet convicted in violent crimes and burglaries, authorities said Friday.

The Court of Appeals clerks office confirmed that judges had denied Maryland Attorney General Douglas Ganslers motion to stay and reconsider the Alonzo Jay King Jr. v. State of Maryland decision, which found that swabbing criminal suspects for DNA samples after they are charged is a violation of the suspects constitutional rights. A Gansler spokesman said the attorney general plans to challenge the courts ruling with the U.S. Supreme Court.

The next step is that ... were going to petition the Supreme Court, said David Paulson, the Gansler spokesman, noting that those in the attorney generals office had yet to see the Court of Appeals latest ruling.

That Ganslers motion was denied is no surprise; the attorney general was essentially asking the Court of Appeals to reverse itself only weeks after it issued a decision. Still, it means police will not be able to collect DNA from charged suspects while they await further court action. Gansler has said he intends to ask the Supreme Court to temporarily suspend the state courts ruling and, eventually, overturn it.

The case centers on Maryland legislation, which, starting in 2009, allowed police to collect DNA from suspects after they were charged with violent crimes or burglaries. Before then, police had been able to collect DNA only from convicted criminals.

Alonzo Jay King Jr. challenged the law after he was arrested in Wicomico County in April 2009 on first- and second-degree assault charges. Prosecutors used a DNA swab stemming from that case to connect him to a 2003 rape. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the rape.

But in a 5 to 2 ruling, the Maryland Court of Appeals sent Kings case back to the Wicomico County Circuit Court and threw out the DNA evidence against him, saying investigators violated his Fourth Amendment rights in taking his genetic material and comparing it with old crime scene samples. Gansler had asked the same judges who ruled in that case to halt and reconsider their decision, which was publicly criticized by police and prosecutors across the state.

More here:
Md. high court will not reverse DNA ruling; state officials plan Supreme Court challenge

HARRY LYNCH - hlynch@newsobserver.com

Murder defendant Jason Williford, 32, left, spoke quietly with his attorneys in Wake Superior court Friday, May 18, 2012 as the day's testimony began. Williford is charged in the rape and murder of sitting state school board member Kathy Taft, 62, in March 2010.

RALEIGH -- The case against Jason Williford moved from the streets to the laboratory Friday, as forensic experts testified to the microscopic traces left behind at the crime scene both on Kathy Tafts body and in her bedding.

DNA gathered from a cigarette butt that Williford discarded matched sperm found on the slain womans body and on her fitted sheet, testified Michelle Hannon, a forensic scientist with the N.C. State Crime Lab.

Williford, a 32-year-old unemployed musician, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Taft, a 62-year-old member of the state school board from Greenville.

Later Friday, a technical director from LabCorp, Shawn Weiss, backed up the DNA evidence, saying the private firms results showed that sperm taken from the body and sheet were consistent with Williford. Weiss said the statistical probability of finding another, unrelated persons DNA were greater than 6.8 billion to 1 or roughly the population of the Earth.

The prosecutions evidence is nearing its finish in the trial.

Prosecutors say Williford raped and bludgeoned Taft in March 2010. At the time, she was recuperating from cosmetic neck, face and breast surgery, and was bandaged about the head. She was staying in the Raleigh home of her boyfriend. Williford lived nearby.

Defense attorney Ernest Buddy Conner, in his opening statement Wednesday, said his client raped Taft and hit her in the head with a rock three times. But Williford is neither guilty of rape nor first-degree murder, Conner said, explaining that his clients brain chemistry was altered by drugs, alcohol and hypersexual disorder, and that he is mentally ill.

The jury may still hear from Dina Holton, Tafts sister, who was the only other person home in the Cartier Drive home on the night of the slaying. Another potential witness is Willifords wife, Jessica Foote, who has since filed for divorce.

See original here:
DNA matches dominate Williford trial testimony

By Ryan Flinn and Reg Gale - 2012-05-18T04:01:00Z

Rare DNA mutations are so plentiful in the human genome that they make it difficult to precisely identify the genetic switches that cause many common human diseases, two studies found.

The data, released yesterday in the journal Science, shows that the vast majority of genetic variations found in people are rare and evolutionarily recent. Well-known DNA variations that are common across large populations probably dont widely affect many illnesses, the authors said.

The research means it may be more difficult to isolate the roots of ailments such as diabetes and heart disease, and cures will be more elusive, said Joshua Akey, associate professor of genome sciences at the University of Washington in Seattle and an author of the study.

The task of correlating individual variants with particular diseases is probably more complicated than we would have anticipated a few years ago, Akey said in an interview. Its exciting because were starting to see patterns of variation we were never able to access before because the technology wasnt there, and its frustrating because we dont know what it means.

In a study of 2,440 people from Europe and Africa, the researchers discovered about a half-million mutations, most of which were rare, novel or population-specific. The second effort, led by Matthew Nelson and Vincent Mooser of London-based drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), targeted DNA that was already considered to have potential for medical development.

The findings highlight issues involved in the trend toward personalized medicine, in which drugmakers seek to determine whether a patient is genetically susceptible to a particular disease or would be especially responsive to certain treatments. More than 72 such therapies are available now, a fivefold increase from the 13 available in 2006, according to the Personalized Medicine Coalition, an industry advocacy group based in Washington.

It could have significant implications for our health and medicine, Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, California, said in an interview. That whole common-disease, common-variant theory continues to have holes punched in it.

Last month a different study concluded sequencing the genomes of patients to reveal what ailments might mar their futures wasnt the best predictor for the most common diseases.

That study didnt sequence individuals. Instead, researchers collected data from thousands of identical twins in five countries and used a computer model to determine the effectiveness of genome sequencing. They concluded most people would get negative results from having their genome sequenced for all except one of 24 identified conditions, including heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimers.

Originally posted here:
Rare DNA Mutations Raise Question Theories of Disease

15-05-2012 22:03 In this official international tv spot we get some more spoilers about the alien parasite and get to see Michael Fassbender examine it's DNA on board the Prometheus. "A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race." For more awesome coverage of 'Prometheus' check out

Excerpt from:
Prometheus 'Alien DNA' TV Spot [HD]: Spoilers About The Alien Parasites - Video

16-05-2012 06:34 DNA testing is a new way to discover your family's history. The Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society can provide you with the kit and complete the testing and analysis for $300.

View post:
DNA test helps News 8's Kim Lemon trace family roots - Video

GROWERS of superfine wool are using DNA technology to improve fleece and flock quality.

Genomic testing of young rams can now accurately predict the quality of the wool from their progeny.

Previously, high-value traits such as adult fleece weight could be measured only late in life.

Recently, the head of the Co-operative Research Centre for Sheep Industry and Innovation James Rowe told a seminar in Canberra these traits could now be accurately predicted in young rams using DNA analysis.

He said Merino breeders and superfine wool producers could now make earlier selection of their breeding stock.

"DNA tests can now be used to produce predictive research breeding values, which are based on a blend of new genomic technology and the conventional measurement techniques, which support Australian sheep breeding values," Prof Rowe said.

"ASBVs are the most practical way to objectively assess and select for or against a variety of traits."

The delivery of DNA-based breeding values comes from research led by the Sheep CRC, through its information nucleus flock and genomics pilot projects.

The results have been delivered to producers using MerinoSelect and LambPlan.

The Canberra seminar was run by the Australia Superfine Wool Growers Association, an international association of superfine wool growers and processors founded to ensure a viable superfine Merino wool industry.

Read the original here:
DNA technology is superfine

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 12:27 PM EDT, Thu May 17, 2012

Mexican police work the grisly scene where 49 dismembered bodies were found Sunday near Monterrey.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Monterrey, Mexico (CNN) -- Mexican authorities are asking for DNA samples from families of missing persons nationwide in their efforts to identify 49 decapitated bodies, an official said Wednesday.

That will be the only way to identify the victims -- whose killers cut off their heads, hands and feet -- Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters three days after investigators found the remains abandoned along a highway.

Officials in El Salvador may also request access to the DNA data authorities in Nuevo Leon have compiled, to compare it with samples from family members of Salvadoran migrants who have gone missing in Mexico, Domene said.

While investigators work to identify the victims behind closed doors, parts of the case have played out quite publicly.

Banners hanging in locations throughout the country, purportedly from the Zetas, claim that the notoriously ruthless cartel had nothing to do with the gruesome crime.

But another message purportedly signed by the Zetas and found Sunday at the crime scene -- a roadside near the industrial city of Monterrey and about 80 miles southwest of the U.S. border -- told a different story, threatening members of rival cartels and Mexican authorities.

Read this article:
Mexican police seek DNA of missing to identify dismembered bodies

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 12:27 PM EDT, Thu May 17, 2012

Mexican police work the grisly scene where 49 dismembered bodies were found Sunday near Monterrey.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Monterrey, Mexico (CNN) -- Mexican authorities are asking for DNA samples from families of missing persons nationwide in their efforts to identify 49 decapitated bodies, an official said Wednesday.

That will be the only way to identify the victims -- whose killers cut off their heads, hands and feet -- Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters three days after investigators found the remains abandoned along a highway.

Officials in El Salvador may also request access to the DNA data authorities in Nuevo Leon have compiled, to compare it with samples from family members of Salvadoran migrants who have gone missing in Mexico, Domene said.

While investigators work to identify the victims behind closed doors, parts of the case have played out quite publicly.

Banners hanging in locations throughout the country, purportedly from the Zetas, claim that the notoriously ruthless cartel had nothing to do with the gruesome crime.

But another message purportedly signed by the Zetas and found Sunday at the crime scene -- a roadside near the industrial city of Monterrey and about 80 miles southwest of the U.S. border -- told a different story, threatening members of rival cartels and Mexican authorities.

More here:
Mexican police seek DNA of missing to identify decapitated bodies

STONY BROOK, NY--(Marketwire -05/17/12)- Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN.OB) announces that its smartDNA anti-theft system will be used by police in Sweden to deter theft of copper wire and other copper electrical components in the Sweden national rail system. APDN's smartDNA will be used as evidence marking on the rail system's often-stolen copper wire and other parts. Applied to the metal, which has skyrocketed in price since 2009, a unique, permanent smartDNA mark will forever associate the specific copper directly to a specific crime. The plant-derived DNA is extremely robust, and has proven highly resistant to harsh weather and to criminals' attempts to clean it from stolen product. Used widely in Sweden and the United Kingdom, smartDNA has proved a powerful deterrent.

The smartDNA security system will be used on a stretch of rail track, in a test beginning shortly. Depending on results, the product could be used nationally on the extensive Sweden rail system.

"Thieves get DNA on them and at the same time, we can link what they have stolen to a specific location. Then we can prosecute them for more serious crime than we do now," stated Harly Nilsen a Sweden Transport Administration maintenance officer.

Anders Burn, Detective Superintendent and head of the surveillance unit at the regional Criminal Investigation Department in Stockholm, agreed with Nilsen, saying "The police are often successful in finding copper theft suspects, along with their haul of copper. But, legally, if we cannot link them to a specific crime we have to let them go, along with the copper itself. smartDNA may help greatly in this problem."

The initiative was met with approval in the U.S. by the former chairman of the U.S. National Grid, Robert Catell, who commented:

"I have been following Applied DNA Sciences for some time and think this is the beginning of a great application of their technology. I applaud the creative thinking of the Swedish Transport Administration and the Swedish Police for their forward-thinking actions."

Theft of copper has become an enormous problem in Sweden and globally. Copper is commonly used in critical infrastructure, such as the rail systems and power grid. On April 10, 2012, rail traffic connecting Stockholm, Malm, and Copenhagen was brought to a standstill after thieves severed the high-voltage overhead lines in order to steal the valuable copper wire inside. Passengers on ten trains that travel on a stretch of track on the Southern Main Line (Sdra stambanan) in south central Sweden were forced to disembark.

"We have to view this as a problem for society when the thefts are so widespread that they can be compared with the sabotage of important societal infrastructure," Sweden Transport Administration chief, Gunnar Malm, said in a statement.

The adoption of smartDNA to fight copper theft follows the decision of the Swedish National Police Board (RPS) to use the security technology in covert police operations nationwide in Sweden starting in June. A spray form of the product is already used in over forty jewelry stores as an anti-intruder system. In the United Kingdom, a similar, and award-winning APDN system has been used since 2009 to apply an evidence mark on cash in transit to and from banks, with great success.

"DNA evidence marking is well proven in the UK, and they have convictions," said Nilsen.

View original post here:
Applied DNA Sciences smartDNA(R) System to Protect Against Copper Theft in Sweden

By the CNN Wire Staff

updated 12:27 PM EDT, Thu May 17, 2012

Mexican police work the grisly scene where 49 dismembered bodies were found Sunday near Monterrey.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Monterrey, Mexico (CNN) -- Mexican authorities are asking for DNA samples from families of missing persons nationwide in their efforts to identify 49 decapitated bodies, an official said Wednesday.

That will be the only way to identify the victims -- whose killers cut off their heads, hands and feet -- Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters three days after investigators found the remains abandoned along a highway.

Officials in El Salvador may also request access to the DNA data authorities in Nuevo Leon have compiled, to compare it with samples from family members of Salvadoran migrants who have gone missing in Mexico, Domene said.

While investigators work to identify the victims behind closed doors, parts of the case have played out quite publicly.

Banners hanging in locations throughout the country, purportedly from the Zetas, claim that the notoriously ruthless cartel had nothing to do with the gruesome crime.

But another message purportedly signed by the Zetas and found Sunday at the crime scene -- a roadside near the industrial city of Monterrey and about 80 miles southwest of the U.S. border -- told a different story, threatening members of rival cartels and Mexican authorities.

Read more:
DNA sought to ID decapitated bodies in Mexico

Mitotic spindle-chromosome attachments, marked in green, become unstable (on the right) compared to normal (on the left). Credit: Cook and Salmon labs, UNC School of Medicine

The foundation of biological inheritance is DNA replication a tightly coordinated process in which DNA is simultaneously copied at hundreds of thousands of different sites across the genome. If that copying mechanism doesn't work as it should, the result could be cells with missing or extra genetic material, a hallmark of the genomic instability seen in most birth defects and cancers.

University of North Carolina School of Medicine scientists have discovered that a protein known as Cdt1, which is required for DNA replication, also plays an important role in a later step of the cell cycle, mitosis. The finding presents a possible explanation for why so many cancers possess not just genomic instability, but also more or less than the usual 46 DNA-containing chromosomes.

The new research, which was published online ahead of print by the journal Nature Cell Biology, is the first to definitively show such a dual role for a DNA replication protein.

"It was such a surprise, because we thought we knew what this protein's job was to load proteins onto the DNA in preparation for replication," said Jean Cook, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics and pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine and senior study author. "We had no idea it also had a night job, in a completely separate part of the cell cycle."

The cell cycle is the series of events that take place in a cell leading to its growth, replication and division into two daughter cells. It consists of four distinct phases: G1 (Gap 1), S (DNA synthesis), M (mitosis) and G2 (Gap 2). Cook's research focuses on G1, when Cdt1 places proteins onto the genetic material to get it ready to be copied.

In this study, Cook ran a molecular screen to identify other proteins that Cdt1 might be interacting with inside the cell. She expected to just find more entities that controlled replication, and was surprised to discover one that was involved in mitosis. That protein, called Hec1 for "highly expressed in cancer," helps to ensure that the duplicated chromosomes are equally divided into daughter cells during mitosis, or cell division. Cook hypothesized that either Hec1 had a job in DNA replication that nobody knew about, or that Cdt1 was the one with the side business.

Cook partnered with Hec1 expert Edward (Ted) D. Salmon, PhD, professor of biology and co-senior author in this study, to explore these two possibilities. After letting Cdt1 do its replication job, the researchers interfered with the protein's function to see if it adversely affected mitosis. Using a high-powered microscope that records images of live cells, they showed that cells where Cdt1 function had been blocked did not undergo mitosis properly.

Once the researchers knew that Cdt1 was involved in mitosis, they wanted to pinpoint its role in that critical process. They further combined their genetic, microscopy and computational methods to demonstrate that without Cdt1, Hec1 fails to adopt the conformation inside the cells necessary to connect the chromosomes with the structure that pulls them apart into their separate daughter cells.

Cook says cells that make aberrant amounts of Cdt1, like that seen in cancer, can therefore experience problems in both replication and mitosis. One current clinical trial is actually trying to ramp up the amount of Cdt1 in cancer cells, in the hopes of pushing them from an already precarious position into a fatal one.

The rest is here:
DNA replication protein Cdt1 also has a role in mitosis, cancer

New Delhi: Senior politician and former Andhra Pradesh governor ND Tiwari has been ordered to either "gracefully appear" for a DNA test, or be forced to take the test by the Delhi Police.

The Delhi High Court warned Mr Tiwari to pick his option within two days. The court has also asked a Hyderabad lab to send kits to Delhi for the DNA test. Mr Tiwari has been ordered not to leave India.

Mr Tiwari has been fighting a paternity test for several years. Rohit Shekhar, in his 30s, claims to be his biological son. Last month, the High Court had said that Mr Tiwari must submit blood samples for a DNA test, or risk being subjected to it by force.

Mr Tiwari, who is 86 years old, was forced to resign as governor of Andhra Pradesh in 2009 after local channels broadcasted footage that allegedly showed him in a compromising position with three women.

Read more from the original source:
DNA test inevitable for ND Tiwari after court order

The Delhi High Court on Monday gave two days to veteran Congress leader N D Tiwari to decide if he wants to give his blood sample voluntarily for a DNA test in a paternity suit against him or a directive for using police force against him be passed.

Justice Reva Khetrapal also told the counsel for 86-year-old Tiwari that his client will not leave India till he gives his blood sample for the DNA test in the wake of categorical orders of the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.

It is deemed expedient that the time of two days be granted to defendant no. 1 (Tiwari) to inform whether he voluntarily wants to give blood sample for the DNA test or the court will have to take recourse to police force, said the court, fixing the matter for May 16.

The court, meanwhile, also directed the Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) to send requisite kit for the DNA test to the registrar of the court.

The court rejected the plea of Tiwaris counsel that a weeks time be granted for taking instruction in this regard from the Dehradun-based Congress leader.

I cannot keep the matter pending as the issue has finally been decided by a Division Bench of this court and by the Supreme Court and nothing remains to be decided, said the court.

The courts directions have come on an application of 33-year-old Rohit Shekhar, seeking to compel Tiwari to give his blood sample at the earliest to decide the four-year-old paternity suit.

... contd.

Follow this link:
DNA test: HC gives Tiwari two days to decide

OKLAHOMA CITY -

A DNA match has linked an Oklahoma inmate with the rape and kidnapping of a 14-year-old Oklahoma City girl.

The case had grown cold for more than two years. The charges were just filed today against that 19-year-old prisoner. His DNA matched the sample taken from that young rape victim. And for now, he is the only one being linked to the disturbing crime.

The police report states it was back in November of 2009, that a 14-year-old girl was walking home from school when she was approached by two men.

It happened near N.W. 19th and Purdue. She says the men told her to get into their car, but she refused and kept walking. That's when one of the men came up behind her, wrapped his gloved hand around her nose and mouth and grabbed her.

The police report states she thought there was some type of chemical on the glove and she passed out.

When she came to she says that's when she discovered one of the men on top of her.

"She woke up being sexually assaulted inside the car, she was then forced out of the car and left," MSgt. Gary Knight said.

Though she was not able to give police a good description of her attacker, police did conduct a rape exam and were able to get a DNA sample to run through CODIS, the national database.

"In order to get a CODIS hit we need a viable sample," Knight said.

Original post:
DNA Links Inmate To Rape Of 14-Year-Old OKC Girl

May 14, 2012

Image Credit: Photos.com

The foundation of biological inheritance is DNA replication

This is a coordinated process in which DNA is copied at hundreds of thousands of different sites across the genome at the same time. If the copying mechanism doesnt work properly, the result may be cells with missing or extra genetic material, a hallmark of the genomic instability seen in most birth defects and cancers.

Scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine have discovered a protein known as Cdt1. This is required for DNA replication and has an important role in a later step of the cell cycle, mitosis. This is a possible explanation why so many cancers possess not just genomic instability, but also more or less than the usual 46 DNA-containing chromosomes.

The new research was published online ahead of print by the journal Nature Cell Biology. It is the first to definitively show such a dual role for a DNA replication protein.

This was such a surprise. We thought this proteins job was to load proteins onto the DNA in preparation for replication, said Jean Cook, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics and pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine and senior study author. We had no idea it also had a night job, in a completely separate part of the cell cycle.

The cell cycle is the series of events that happen in a cell leading to its growth, replication and division into two daughter cells. It has four distinct phases: G1 (Gap 1), S (DNA synthesis), M (mitosis) and G2 (Gap 2). Cooks research focuses on G1, when Cdt1 places proteins onto the genetic material to get it ready to be copied.

Cook ran a molecular screen to find other proteins that Cdt1 could be interacting with inside the cell. She expected to only find more entities that controlled replication but was surprised to discover one that was involved in mitosis. That protein, called Hec1 for highly expressed in cancer, helps to ensure that the duplicated chromosomes are divided equally into daughter cells during mitosis. Cook hypothesized that either Hec1 had a job in DNA replication that nobody knew about, or that Cdt1 was the one with the side business.

To look at these two possibilities, Cook partnered with Edward (Ted) D. Salmon, PhD, professor of biology and co-senior author who is a Hec1 expert. After letting Cdt1 do its replication job, they interfered with the proteins function to see if it adversely affected mitosis. Using a high-powered microscope that records images of live cells, they showed that cells where Cdt1 function had been blocked did not undergo mitosis properly.

Read the original post:
DNA Replication Protein Plays Role In Cancer

ScienceDaily (May 13, 2012) The foundation of biological inheritance is DNA replication -- a tightly coordinated process in which DNA is simultaneously copied at hundreds of thousands of different sites across the genome. If that copying mechanism doesn't work as it should, the result could be cells with missing or extra genetic material, a hallmark of the genomic instability seen in most birth defects and cancers.

University of North Carolina School of Medicine scientists have discovered that a protein known as Cdt1, which is required for DNA replication, also plays an important role in a later step of the cell cycle, mitosis. The finding presents a possible explanation for why so many cancers possess not just genomic instability, but also more or less than the usual 46 DNA-containing chromosomes.

The new research, which was published online ahead of print by the journal Nature Cell Biology, is the first to definitively show such a dual role for a DNA replication protein.

"It was such a surprise, because we thought we knew what this protein's job was -- to load proteins onto the DNA in preparation for replication," said Jean Cook, PhD, associate professor of biochemistry and biophysics and pharmacology at the UNC School of Medicine and senior study author. "We had no idea it also had a night job, in a completely separate part of the cell cycle."

The cell cycle is the series of events that take place in a cell leading to its growth, replication and division into two daughter cells. It consists of four distinct phases: G1 (Gap 1), S (DNA synthesis), M (mitosis) and G2 (Gap 2). Cook's research focuses on G1, when Cdt1 places proteins onto the genetic material to get it ready to be copied.

In this study, Cook ran a molecular screen to identify other proteins that Cdt1 might be interacting with inside the cell. She expected to just find more entities that controlled replication, and was surprised to discover one that was involved in mitosis. That protein, called Hec1 for "highly expressed in cancer," helps to ensure that the duplicated chromosomes are equally divided into daughter cells during mitosis, or cell division. Cook hypothesized that either Hec1 had a job in DNA replication that nobody knew about, or that Cdt1 was the one with the side business.

Cook partnered with Hec1 expert Edward (Ted) D. Salmon, PhD, professor of biology and co-senior author in this study, to explore these two possibilities. After letting Cdt1 do its replication job, the researchers interfered with the protein's function to see if it adversely affected mitosis. Using a high-powered microscope that records images of live cells, they showed that cells where Cdt1 function had been blocked did not undergo mitosis properly.

Once the researchers knew that Cdt1 was involved in mitosis, they wanted to pinpoint its role in that critical process. They further combined their genetic, microscopy and computational methods to demonstrate that without Cdt1, Hec1 fails to adopt the conformation inside the cells necessary to connect the chromosomes with the structure that pulls them apart into their separate daughter cells.

Cook says cells that make aberrant amounts of Cdt1, like that seen in cancer, can therefore experience problems in both replication and mitosis. One current clinical trial is actually trying to ramp up the amount of Cdt1 in cancer cells, in the hopes of pushing them from an already precarious position into a fatal one.

The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health. Study co-authors from UNC were Dileep Varma; Srikripa Chandrasekaran; Karen T. Reidy; and Xiaohu Wan.

Continued here:
DNA replication protein also has a role in mitosis, cancer