Category Archives: DNA

March 21, 2017 Transcription from ultra-short deleted DNA segments is made possible by their concatenation and circularisation. Excised DNA segments are represented by pieces of train track. The RNA polymerase, represented by the train engine, can only proceed when segments are joined together. Credit: Sophie R. Allen, ICB, University of Bern

A species of unicellular ciliate has found a special trick to make use of the cellular machinery in seemingly impossible ways. Researchers at the University of Bern have for the first time described a mechanism in detail how so-called "junk DNA" is transcribed before being degraded and this mechanism is remarkably clever.

It sounds a bit like the winning proposal in a design contest: How can small pieces of information be read when they are too short to fit into the reading apparatus? Stitch them together into a longer string and close the string to produce a handy loop that can even be read off repeatedly. That's how a little organism called Paramecium tetraurelia, a species of unicellular ciliate, organises the transcription of small excised DNA segments into RNAs, which have a regulatory function.

But the story actually goes the other way round: When Mariusz Nowacki from the Institute of Cell Biology of the University of Bern found small RNAs with a regulatory function in the elimination of segments out of paramecium DNA, he and his team started to investigate the molecular mechanisms where do these RNAs come from, and what exactly is their role? They soon found out that there seems to be a sort of a feedback loop in the deletion of DNA segments. These, previously thought to be useless pieces of DNA, are cut out of the genome and then degraded by the cell machinery. However, before degradation, they serve as templates for small RNAs which in turn help with cutting out more of these DNA pieces. Once started, this pyramid system keeps reinforcing itself, via the production of RNA.

Transcribing the non-transcribable

As beautiful and intriguing as this system seemed to be, the researchers were left with a serious problem: Usually, the cellular transcription mechanism needs a much longer piece of DNA to operate. So how could these small excised DNA pieces of the length of not even 30 base pairs be used as templates? Without a good explanation for this, the whole theory looked very implausible. "It was an interesting detective work," Nowacki remembers. They had a suspect all they needed was to pin it down. "We were not actually looking for the unknown, because we soon had an idea, and then it was all about testing that idea." And their guess proved to be right: Paramecium has figured out a way to stitch DNA pieces together randomly into strings and, once the strings have the right length (of about 200 base pairs), to connect the ends and form circular concatemers of DNA segments.

Junk or not junk?

The finding has interesting implications: DNA thought to be non-coding "junk" of no use for the organism whatsoever and degraded quickly after being removed from the genome is actually a functional template for a biologically important class of small RNAs. It is actually one of the big emerging fields in molecular biology, whether "junk" DNA is really worthless or rather, as is increasingly becoming clear, whether it actually has regulatory functions. Nowacki believes that in this work his group was for the first time able to pin down a precise mechanism for the transcription of deleted "junk DNA" which would strengthen the case for an inevitable name change.

RNA & Disease The Role of RNA Biology in Disease Mechanisms

The research group studies a class of molecules that has long been neglected: RNA (ribonucleic acid) is pivotal for many vital processes and much more complex than initially assumed. For instance, RNA defines the conditions, in a given cell, under which a given gene is or is not activated. If any part of this process of genetic regulation breaks down or does not run smoothly, this can cause heart disease, cancer, brain disease and metabolic disorders.The NCCR brings together Swiss research groups studying different aspects of RNA biology in various organisms such as yeast, plants, roundworms, mice and human cells. Home institutions are the University of Bern and the ETH Zurich.

Explore further: 'Junk RNA' molecule found to play key role in cellular response to stress

More information: Sarah E. Allen et al. Circular Concatemers of Ultra-Short DNA Segments Produce Regulatory RNAs, Cell (2017). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.02.020

Journal reference: Cell

Provided by: University of Bern

A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators has found a surprising role for what had been considered a nonfunctional "junk" RNA molecule: controlling the cellular response to stress. In their report in ...

In cells, DNA is transcribed into RNAs that provide the molecular recipe for cells to make proteins. Most of the genome is transcribed into RNA, but only a small proportion of RNAs are actually from the protein-coding regions ...

Much in the same way as we use shredders to destroy documents that are no longer useful or that contain potentially damaging information, cells use molecular machines to degrade unwanted or defective macromolecules. Scientists ...

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have called it "junk DNA." They have long been perplexed by these extensive strands of genetic material that dominate the genome but seem to lack specific functions. Why would nature force the ...

What used to be dismissed by many as "junk DNA" is back with a vengeance as growing data points to the importance of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs)genome's messages that do not code for proteinsin development and disease. ...

A study by researchers at the Yale Stem Cell Center for the first time demonstrates that piRNAs, a recently discovered class of tiny RNAs, play an important role in controlling gene function, it was reported this week in ...

Pop quiz: Are crocodiles more closely related to lizards or to birds? The answer may surprise you. Although traditional taxonomy classifies birds separately, they are actually closely related to crocodilians, sharing such ...

A promising vaccine target for the most deadly type of malaria has had its molecular structure solved by Institute researchers, helping in the quest to develop new antimalarial therapies.

New research supports the creation of more marine reserves in the world's oceans because, the authors say, fish can evolve to be more cautious and stay away from fishing nets.

A species of unicellular ciliate has found a special trick to make use of the cellular machinery in seemingly impossible ways. Researchers at the University of Bern have for the first time described a mechanism in detail ...

Trees and other plants, from towering redwoods to diminutive daisies, are nature's hydraulic pumps. They are constantly pulling water up from their roots to the topmost leaves, and pumping sugars produced by their leaves ...

A 20-year demographic study of a large chimpanzee community in Uganda's Kibale National Park has revealed that, under the right ecological conditions, our close primate relatives can lead surprisingly long lives in the wild.

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"a special trick to make use of the cellular machinery in seemingly impossible ways".

"this mechanism is remarkably clever".

"like the winning proposal in a design contest"

"beautiful and intriguing"

Read more at: https://phys.org/...html#jCp

Is that evidence of random, blind and irrational processes or of super-intelligent nano design?

"a special trick to make use of the cellular machinery in seemingly impossible ways".

"this mechanism is remarkably clever".

"like the winning proposal in a design contest"

"beautiful and intriguing"

Read more at: https://phys.org/...html#jCp

Is that evidence of random, blind and irrational processes or of super-intelligent nano design?

I suppose you can explain why the super-intelligent nano designer made so many mistakes then?

Sounds to me like they didn't know what they were doing. Of course a blind and irrational processes couldn't care less whether you get cancer or not.

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Researchers discover unique DNA editing function - Phys.Org

March 21, 2017 by Lisbeth Heilesen A model for monitoring and repairing damaged DNA (left figure). The crystal structure of the DNA control protein Rad26 that is responsible for bringing the Rad3 kinase to damaged DNA and starting repair signalling (right figure). Credit: Kasper Rjkjr Andersen

New Danish research provides mechanistic insight into how DNA is monitored and repaired if damage occurs. The results may eventually help to improve the treatment of certain types of cancer, as the DNA repair complex provides a mechanism for cancer cells to resist chemotherapy.

Our DNA is constantly exposed to damage and to protect the genome, cells have evolved mechanisms that monitor and repair these damages. Our structural knowledge of the protein complexes that monitor DNA has so far been limited. New research now describes the structure and organisation of the DNA controls protein Rad26 and shows how the kinase Rad3 is recruited to sites of damaged DNA.

To maintain the genome integrity, DNA damages have to be monitored and repaired. The first step in this process is orchestrated by the Rad3 kinase. Rad26 is a functional subunit of Rad3-rad26 DNA repair complex and is responsible for bringing the kinase to sites of DNA damage, but the mechanism behind kinase recruitment and structural knowledge of how this complete is organized has until now been unclear.

New results from Aarhus reveal the crystal structure of Rad26 and identify the elements that are important for recruiting Rad3 kinase. Rad26 is a dimer with a conserved interface in the N-terminal part of the protein. Biochemical data demonstrated that Rad26 uses its C-terminal domain and a conserved motif to recruit Rad3. From the in vitro reconstituted Rad3-Rad26 complex, small-angle X-ray scattering and electron microscopic studies, it is possible to model the quaternary structure and thus bring us closer to a mechanistic understanding Rad3-Rad26 DNA repair apparatus.

Rad3 signalling ensures that cells do not divide before DNA damages are repaired and thus provides cancer cells with a mechanism to resist chemotherapy by repairing these DNA damages. Our new structural knowledge will help the development of Rad3 inhibitors that make cancer cells more susceptible to chemotherapy and this new treatment is now being tested in clinical trials.

The study is published in The Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Explore further: Researchers probe a DNA repair enzyme

More information: Kasper Rjkjr Andersen. Insights into Rad3 kinase recruitment from the crystal structure of the DNA damage checkpoint protein Rad26, Journal of Biological Chemistry (2017). DOI: 10.1074/jbc.M117.780189

Researchers have taken the first steps toward understanding how an enzyme repairs DNA. Enzymes called helicases play a key role in human health, according to Maria Spies, a University of Illinois biochemistry professor.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a molecular mechanism that reads so-called epigenetic information and boosts repair of lesions in our DNA. This knowledge can be used to develop new targeted cancer ...

DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are the worst possible form of genetic malfunction that can cause cancer and resistance to therapy. New information published this week reveals more about why this occurs and how these breaks ...

The occurrence of chemotherapy resistance is one of the major reasons for failure in cancer treatment. A study led by scar Fernndez-Capetillo, Head of the Genomic Instability Group at the Spanish National Cancer Research ...

A protein that helps embryonic stem cells (ESCs) retain their identity also promotes DNA repair, according to a study in The Journal of Cell Biology. The findings raise the possibility that the protein, Sall4, performs a ...

A group of researchers at Osaka University found that if DNA damage response (DDR) does not work when DNA is damaged by radiation, proteins which should be removed remain instead, and a loss of genetic information can be ...

University of Sydney researchers have used infrared spectroscopy to spotlight changes in tiny cell fragments called microvesicles to probe their role in a model of the body's immunological response to bacterial infection.

Zinc is a vital micronutrient involved in many cellular processes: For example, in learning and memory processes, it plays a role that is not yet understood. By using nanoelectrochemical measurements, Swedish researchers ...

Whether inside your laptop computer or storing energy outside wind farms, we need high-capacity, long-lasting, and safe batteries. In batteries, as in any electrochemical device, critical processes happen where the electrolyte ...

Photoreceptors in vertebrates typically consist of two separate colourless parts: an organic pigment and a protein. Combined, they create a colourful, light-sensitive molecule called an iminium ion that triggers vision upon ...

Borrowing from nature is an age-old theme in science. Form and function go hand-in-hand in the natural world and the structures created by plants and animals are only rarely improved on by humans.

Prion diseases are scary, incurable and fatal. They first gained notoriety when cows became infected by prion proteins and, in turn, infected people. Fervor surrounding mad cow disease resulted in the U.S. banning imports ...

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Structural knowledge of the DNA repair complex - Phys.Org

Its often said that humans are 99.9% identical. and what makes us unique is a measly 0.1% of our genome. This may seem insignificant. But what these declarations fail to point out is that the human genome is made up of three billion base pairswhich means 0.1% is still equal to three million base pairs.

In those three million differences lie the changes that give you red hair instead of blonde, or green eyes instead of blue. You can find changes that increase your risk of obesity, or others that decrease your risk of heart disease; differences that make you taller or lactose intolerant, or allow you to run faster.

When I first started learning about genetic variation, I assumed these changesthe 0.1% that make us uniqueonly appeared in certain places, such as genes for height or inherited diseases like diabetes. I thought the rest of the genomethe other 99.9%was fixed; that the 0.1% that was different in me was more or less the same 0.1% that was different in you. But, as it turns out, the 0.1% of DNA that is different between people is not always the same 0.1%: Variation can happen anywhere in our genomes.

In fact, one group of scientists looking at 10,000 people found variants at 146 million unique positions, or about 4.8% of the genome. Another group collected the DNA from 15,000 people and found 254 million variants, roughly 8% of the genome. And as we continue to sequence 100,000, 100 million, or all seven billion people on the planet, we will find a lot more variation. This means that humans have many more differences than we first thought.

Imagine that your DNA is a car. There are certain obvious variants you can have: blue or white, two-door or four-door, convertible or sedan. These changes represent the 0.1%. Because the other 99.9%the engine, the seats, the steering wheel, the tireshas to be there for the car to work, we assume they are fixed.

But electric cars have shown us that we dont need the gas cap, the gas tank, or even a gas engine any more; we can replace those things with a variant like batteries and charging ports. And maybe one day well develop cars that have boosters instead of tires so we can hover over the ground.

In other words, what we believe is static may actually be variable. More than 0.1% of the car can change and it still be a car, just like the human genome.

With the rise of services that offer to sequence your DNA, more and more people are talking about the value of personal genomics and what you might uncover about yourself. These kinds of mail-in tests are an easy way to point to something tangiblelike your blue eyes or the waddle you and your grandmother shareand say It runs in the family. You might even say, Theres a gene for that!

But those examples of straight-forward, visible evidence are just starting points in the immense and only partially explored field of personal genomics. There are also many variations of our genomes that are invisible to the naked eye, like the way we metabolize caffeine, have a distaste for cilantro, or the more serious examples of predispositions toward certain types of cancers and diseases like Alzheimers and Parkinsons.

There are also all sorts of other gene variants we havent discovered yet. Because our data is limited by the amount of sequenced DNA available for study, scientists like myself have only explored a small portion of the genetic variation that exists in the world.

As access to personal genomics becomes a more practical option and more people opt in to research, this data pool grows every day. This means our theories will become much less theoretical in the months and years to come, and it soon wont be surprising to discover theres a gene for almost every trait.

So what does all this variation actually mean? What do we learn by cataloging all this information?

The consequences of sequencing millions of peoples DNA and identifying new genetic variants are both simultaneously predictable and unknown. On the predictable side, we are going to learn a lot more about human health and disease: Individual genetic variants and groups of genetic variants will be found to play a role in obesity, heart disease, and cancer, among other factors. We are going to find genetic variants responsible for rare diseases that have gone undiagnosed.

But its the unknown findings that get me excited. We dont know how many unique variants we will find. And while our current understanding of biology suggests some positions in DNA are not variable (because any change in these genes disrupts the basic function of being human), we may discover that these positions actually are variable and can change. Were also getting to a point where we will be able to better study the role of environmentwhat you are exposed to, the things you choose to eat, the activities you decided to engage inand how it interacts with your DNA. With this information, we will be able to better make predictions about you as an individual.

There is still so much for us to discover about human genetic variation. A variant that increases risk for a disease today might turn out to be protective for another disease tomorrow. The more people who get their DNA sequencedwhether for personal or research purposesthe more we will discover.

We each carry three billion base pairs of information inside us with the potential to unravel a piece of the mystery that makes us all so fundamentally human. At the end of the day, we are all still more similar than we are differentbut we are just beginning to understand how important our differences are.

Learn how to write for Quartz Ideas.We welcome your comments at ideas@qz.com.

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Genetics has proven that you're uniquejust like everyone else - Quartz

BBC News

Pocahontas Heacham mulberry tree legend faces DNA test BBC News She was famed as a colonial peacemaker - but now DNA analysis is to be used to test part of the 400-year-old legend of when Pocahontas came to England. After helping save a colonialist's life the Native American travelled to England in 1616 with ... and more »

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Pocahontas Heacham mulberry tree legend faces DNA test - BBC News

Dear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

My father went through the process of filing for my brothers and I. However, my DNA results showed that we are not related by blood. My father has not disowned me and still wants me to be near him.

What steps can be taken so that I can be able to live in America with my father? I am now 23 years old.

- MG

Dear MG,

I am so sorry that you had to learn that the man you have known and loved as your father all your life is not your biological father. This happens on occasions and is the reason an unwed father filing for a son or daughter; or a US citizen son or daughter filing for their father, presents a higher level of scrutiny before approval.

If a child is born out of wedlock, i.e., the mother and father were not legally married at the time of the child's birth; and the mother and father never married before the child was 18 years old and the father is filing for his son or daughter - or the son or daughter is filing for the father - proof has to be submitted to US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that a parent-child relationship existed before the child was 18 years old.

Every case is different and will produce different types of proof. Sometimes it is easy because all the parties lived together and can prove this fact, and others are more difficult because the child never lived with the father.

One of the other levels of proof that USCIS requires with out-of-wedlock children is that the parent and child voluntarily submit to a DNA test to prove the biological relationship. Such tests have to be conducted by The Department of Homeland Security-approved facilities.

When the DNA results indicate that the parent and child are not biologically related, the petition can go no further. However, if the petitioner is a parent, and the beneficiary child is under age 16 and the child and supposed parent lived together for at least two years, the parent can adopt the child and refile a petition as an adoptive parent.

In your case, your father will not be able to continue the petition. If you are able, you can seek to study in the United States and apply for a student visa; or if you are eligible, you can seek a work permit (H1-B visa) to live and work in the United States for up to three years. If your brothers are now permanent residents, under current immigration law when they become US citizens one of them can file a petition for you - if you are related through your mother. While that is a very long waiting period for a green card, at least someday you and your family can all be together.

- Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal and personal injury law in Florida. She is a mediator, arbitrator and special magistrate in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com

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DNA concerns - Jamaica Gleaner

Researchers at UCLA have developed an improved method to detect the presence of DNA biomarkers of disease that is compatible with use outside of a hospital or lab setting. The new technique leverages the sensors and optics of cellphones to read light produced by a new detector dye mixture that reports the presence of DNA molecules with a signal that is more than 10-times brighter.

Nucleic acids, such as DNA or RNA, are used in tests for infectious diseases, genetic disorders, cancer mutations that can be targeted by specific drugs, and fetal abnormality tests. The samples used in standard diagnostic tests typically contain only tiny amounts of a diseases related nucleic acids. To assist optical detection, clinicians amplify the number of nucleic acids making them easier to find with the fluorescent dyes.

Both the amplification and the optical detection steps have in the past required costly and bulky equipment, largely limiting their use to laboratories.

In a study published onlinein the journal ACS Nano, researchers from three UCLA entities the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, the California NanoSystems Institute, and the David Geffen School of Medicine showed how to take detection out of the lab and for a fraction of the cost.

The collaborative team of researchers included lead author Janay Kong, a UCLA Ph.D. student in bioengineering; Qingshan Wei, a post-doctoral researcher in electrical engineering; Aydogan Ozcan, Chancellors Professor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering; Dino Di Carlo, professor of bioengineering and mechanical and aerospace engineering; andOmai Garner, assistant professor of pathology and medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

The UCLA researchers focused on the challenges with low-cost optical detection. Small changes in light emitted from molecules that associate with DNA, called intercalator dyes, are used to identify DNA amplification, but these dyes are unstable and their changes are too dim for standard cellphone camera sensors.

But the team discovered an additive that stabilized the intercalator dyes and generated a large increase in fluorescent signal above the background light level, enabling the test to be integrated with inexpensive cellphone based detection methods. The combined novel dye/cellphone reader system achieved comparable results to equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars more.

To adapt a cellphone to detect the light produced from dyes associated with amplified DNA while those samples are in standard laboratory containers, such as well plates, the team developed a cost-effective, field-portable fiber optic bundle. The fibers in the bundle routed the signal from each well in the plate to a unique location of the camera sensor area. This handheld reader is able to provide comparable results to standard benchtop readers, but at a fraction of the cost, which the authors suggest is a promising sign that the reader could be applied to other fluorescence-based diagnostic tests.

Currently nucleic acid amplification tests have issues generating a stable and high signal, which often necessitates the use of calibration dyes and samples which can be limiting for point-of-care use, Di Carlo said. The unique dye combination overcomes these issues and is able to generate a thermally stable signal, with a much higher signal to noise ratio. The DNA amplification curves we see look beautiful without any of the normalization and calibration, which is usually performed, to get to the point that we start at.

Additionally, the authors emphasized that the dye combinations discovered should be able to be used universally to detect any nucleic acid amplification, allowing for their use in a multitude of other amplification approaches and tests.

The team demonstrated the approach using a process called loop-mediated isothermal amplification, or LAMP, with DNA from lambda phage as the target molecule, as a proof of concept, and now plan to adapt the assay to complex clinical samples and nucleic acids associated with pathogens such as influenza.

The newest demonstration is part of a suite of technologies aimed at democratizing disease diagnosis developed by the UCLA team. Including low-cost optical readout and diagnostics based on consumer-electronic devices,microfluidic-based automation andmolecular assays leveraging DNA nanotechnology.

This interdisciplinary work was supported through a team science grant from the National Science Foundation Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation program.

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UCLA researchers make DNA detection portable, affordable using cellphones - UCLA Newsroom

Updated March 21, 2017 16:19:17

Saliva from a man accused of sexually assaulting a Brazilian backpacker, and brutally attacking her friend at Salt Creek, was found on the woman's bikini bottoms and body, a forensic scientist has told the Supreme Court.

The 60-year-old South Australian man who cannot be identified is on trial for charges including aggravated kidnapping, indecent assault and attempted murder.

It is alleged the man sexually assaulted the Brazilian woman at a remote and isolated beach in the Coorong National Park in February 2016 then attacked her friend, a German backpacker who came to her aid.

Forensic scientist Duncan Taylor from Forensic Science SA, told the jury analysis of swabs taken from the Brazilian woman's breasts, neck and face as well as her bikini bottoms tested positive for saliva.

He said analysis showed the saliva matched the accused man's DNA at likelihood ratios in the billions and millions.

Dr Taylor agreed with several possible scenarios about how the saliva could have been transferred including licking, but also agreed when questioned by the defence that being in close proximity to someone in a confined space like a car could result in a DNA transfer.

He said it was not possible for him to determine how the DNA was deposited.

The last witness for the prosecution case was an electronic crime expert from SA Police, Detective Brevet Sergeant Jeremy Handley, who gave evidence of the analysis of the contents of the accused's iPhone and laptop.

He said there were 95 pornographic images found on the laptop including images depicting naked or semi-naked women with mouth gags and their hands and feet tied.

He also said phonographic videos were found on the man's phone as well as still images taken from those videos that depicted women wearing mouth gags and with their arms and legs bound.

The court heard internet search terms found on the man's computer included "women being brutally raped", "sex fetish", "brutal rape scenes of women" and "hardcore women being raped".

Dr Taylor also told the court blood found all over the accused's four-wheel-drive including the bonnet and roof matched the German woman's DNA at a likelihood ratio of greater than 100 billion.

The court heard "blood drops" or stains found on the accused's top and jeans also matched the German woman's DNA at the same likelihood ratio.

Dr Taylor said the man's shirt had many blood stains.

"It displayed heavy blood-like staining on the front of the shirt and more blood-like staining on the rear of the shirt," he said.

The court heard the German woman's DNA was also matched to blood stains on the handle of a shovel.

Prosecutor Jim Pearce QC has closed the prosecution case.

Defence lawyer Bill Boucaut SC said no witnesses would be called for the defence.

The trial will progress to closing addresses on Wednesday.

Topics: courts-and-trials, law-crime-and-justice, crime, sexual-offences, adelaide-5000, sa

First posted March 21, 2017 14:17:20

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Salt Creek: Saliva DNA on backpacker's body matched to accused - ABC Online

Detroit police are investigating whether a man suspected of shooting two officers Wednesday night is connected with the fatal shooting last year of a Wayne State University policeman. Wochit

Collin Rose(Photo: Wayne State University)

Detroit Police todayconfirmedthat DNA evidence ties a suspect in this week's Detroit police shootings to the death of Wayne State police officer Collin Rose.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said a man being held in connectionwith a Wednesday shootout with policethat injured twopolice officersis the prime suspect in Rose's death.

Wayne County ProsecutorKym Worthy today charged Raymond Durham, 60, of Detroit, in connection with the shooting of the two male officers Wednesday. Police and prosecutors say that about 8:30 p.m., the officers stopped to do a pedestrian investigation of Durham on Ash Street near Tillman. While he was detained, police say Durham fought the officers and pulled a gun from his front waistband, firing at the officers and leading to a shootout.

One of the officers, a 20-year veteran, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, while the other, a 4-year officer, was shot in the leg, police say.

Police found Durham a little more than two hours later at Vinewood and Michigan Avenuewith multiple gunshot wounds. He was hospitalized at remains under treatment in police custody, Worthy's office said, adding that he'd be remanded to jail once he's released from the hospital.

Durham ischarged withtwo counts of assault with intent to murder, two counts of resisting and obstructing the police causing serious impairment, one count of felon in possession of a firearm and five counts of felony firearm. He was arraigned in a localhospital by 36th District Court Magistrate Laura Echartea. A probable cause hearing is set for March 24.

Detroit police are looking for Raymon Durham as a person of interest related to a shooting of 2 police officers on the city's west side.(Photo: Detroit Police Dept.)

"We are able to charge this case today because of the round-the-clock collaboration with the Detroit Police Department, the Michigan State Policeand many others who worked tirelessly on this case," Worthy said. "Any time a police officer is injured is a stark reminder of how much law enforcement puts on the line every minute of every day."

Police from multiple local, state and federal agencies "worked very hard to get to this day," Craig said of Durham's link to Rose's death, but given that much more investigation must be done, "this does not signify closure."

Also read:

Slain Wayne State officer's police dogs are grieving, too

Police: Sex crime suspect killed in Warren by fugitive team

Rose was killed on Nov. 22 in the area of Brainard and Lincoln in Detroit's Woodbridge neighborhood just west of the university. He was shot in the head about 6:35 p.m. that day after stopping a man on a bike. Police said Rose had called for backup just before he was shot by a man who fled on foot. The 29-year-oldofficer died a day later.

In December, prosecutors dropped charges against a man initially charged in the case after an investigation eliminated him as a suspect.

Wayne State University Police Chief Anthony Holt said it was too early for him or other university or city police officers to feel a sense of satisfaction about the DNA link, particularly because two Detroit officers remain hospitalized from this week's shooting. Craig said their conditions continue to improve and both are in good spirits. Police have declined to identify the officers out of sensitivity to their families.

Police, in a manhunt that included more than 200 local and federal agents, arrested Wednesday's shooting suspect on the city's west side about two hours after a gun battle that left the two officers wounded. Both the 60-year-old suspect and officers are in stable condition with bullet wounds.

The suspect in Wednesday's shooting was later found on the ground with a loaded .38-caliber revolver, and he was "preparing to engage" police when they arrested him.

Craig declined to go into specifics about the details of the DNA match, saying he didn't want to undermine the investigation into the shootings. He also wouldn't discuss whether the suspect had been among those police were looking into as possible suspects in Rose's death before the DNA match was made.

Police have sent the gun for ballistics testing.

Craig acknowledged the importance of the DNA link but called it a first step in the investigation of Roses killing.

Whenever theres a forensic match, its significant, Craig said, but he said its one component of the investigation, along with interviews and other evidence gathering police have done.

He said the investigation into Roses killing had been gathering steam recently, but he acknowledged a strong possibility that Durham might have remained on the streets had it not been for this weeks shootings of the two officers.

Craig said he planned to visit with the injured officers today and get updates on their conditions. He said the more seriously injured officer, who was shot in the neck, was expected to have toundergo several surgeries. Craig said that officer told him at his hospital bedside that he believed the man who shot Rose to death was the same man who shot him and his colleague.

"I don't know if that was cop instinct, but he felt very strongly about it, and I just looked at him and I said, 'Well, we're going to work hard, bring some closure,' " Craig said.

Holt said he would wait for evidence to be presented to Worthy's office before he would be ready to be excited about having solved Rose's killing. He said he and his officers are "taking a wait-and-see approach."

"Keep in mind we had two officers who were gravely wounded and are still recovering," Holt said. "It's a little too soon to be doing any celebration right now."

Contact Matt Helms: 313-222-1450 or mhelms@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter: @matthelms.

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Detroit chief: DNA links shooting suspect to death of WSU officer Collin Rose - Detroit Free Press

Have you considered having your DNA tested? If you havent, maybe you should. But first, some explanation is needed.

We each have 46 chromosomes, 23 from each parent. One pair of the chromosomes determines sex. All babies inherit an X chromosome from their mothers. Babies who inherit an X chromosome from their fathers are XX and therefore female. Babies who inherit a Y chromosome from their fathers are XY and therefore male.

There are 3 types of DNA tests: Y-DNA, mtDNA (mitochondrial) and autosomal DNA.

YDNA Since only men have Y DNA, only men can take this test. It traces the sex-determining chromosome that passes from father to son, tracing the straight male line, father, fathers father, etc. It doesnt provide information on any other lines.

MtDNA (mitochondrial DNA) Both men and women have X chromosomes so anyone can take this test. It traces the chromosome that passes from mothers to all of their children regardless of the childrens gender, tracing the straight female line, mother, mothers mother, etc. It does not provide information on other lines.

Autosomal DNA This test is done on the 22 non-sex-determining chromosomes called autosomes. Anyone can take this test, which provides a broad overview of a persons ancestry. A number of companies do this test. Among them are Ancestry.com, 23andme.com, and familytreedna.com.

The autosomal DNA test can identify the parts of the world from which your ancestors came. People from all over the world have been tested, allowing scientists to identify certain markers or slight differences that are associated with people from certain regions. By looking at these markers, scientists can use DNA to tell you the regions of your ancestors.

Most continents can be divided based on DNA into a number of regions. Each region usually encompasses several modern countries. In Europe, for example, Ancestry DNA lists a number of regions including Great Britain (mainly England); Ireland, which includes Ireland, Scotland and Wales; and Europe West, which includes Germany, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

In Africa, Ancestry DNA has North Africa and eight sub-Saharan regions including Ivory Coast/Ghana, Cameroon/Congo, Nigeria, and African South East Bantu among others.

Asia is divided into Asia East, which includes China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Indonesia and several other countries; Asia West, which includes the Middle East and the Caucasus; Asia Central, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan and others; and Asia South, which includes the countries of the Indian subcontinent. There are also listings for Polynesia and Melanesia. The entire inhabited globe is covered. It should be noted that many countries in Europe and elsewhere are admixed, which means that natives of those countries usually have some DNA from other, typically neighboring, regions.

If you have ancestors who have been in America for many generations, it can be very hard to cross the ocean through record research to find out from where they came. Colonial and 19th-century record-keeping (or lack or destruction thereof) can make it difficult. DNA leaps across the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean as if it wasnt even there.Apart from Native (aboriginal) American DNA, America hasnt been settled long enough to have its own DNA, so unless you are Native American, your DNA will take you across the ocean.

If you have a researched tree and have had your DNA tested and have them both on-line at a site such as Ancestry.com, the DNA can also:

1. Help to confirm your research. If you have DNA links showing that you match a number of people who descend from a certain ancestor, it indicates that your research is most probably correct and that you actually do descend from him. If he is a fairly recent ancestor and you dont have any matches who descend from him, you may need to re-check your research.

2. Help you find some unknown ancestors. If you dont know a particular female ancestors maiden name, for example; but you find a number of DNA cousins whose research shows that they descend from one man, say John Franklin, and he lived in the area where you suspect your female ancestor lived and is the right age to have been her father, you may have just found her father. You can then do research to confirm or disprove this hypothesis by checking a name you would never have thought to check before. Not only may you have found her father, but your DNA cousin may have traced the line several generations further back. If so, some websites, such as Ancestry.com, let you see this and let you contact your DNA cousin through his screen name. DNA is still relatively new, and genealogy websites are still adding helpful new ways to search it for connections.

What can DNA testing not do? It cannot tell you the actual names of ancestors or when they came to America. To find the actual names of ancestors you have to do genealogical research.

We dont get DNA from all of our ancestors. We have DNA from our parents, grandparents, and a few generations further back. Beyond that we each get DNA from some of our ancestors, but not from all of them. Each generation receives only half of its parents DNA. The other half is dropped. Genealogists distinguish between a genealogical family tree that is basically a list of all known ancestors and a genetic family tree that is basically only the ancestors from whom a person has DNA. Even if you are descended from, say, Charlemagne, after so many generations you probably dont actually have any of his DNA. Only a very small percentage of his descendants do.

You should not have a DNA test done unless you are sure you want to know and can accept whatever it tells you. If you or one of your ancestors were adopted and dont know it, your test may make you realize it when you find you arent related to the people you thought you were. It may have been a matter of adoption (formal or informal) or a wife having a child from a prior marriage that you didnt know about, or a matter of marital infidelity in some prior generation.

Genealogists even have a term for this, Non Parental Event (NPE). You may also find that you have a small percentage of DNA from a race or ethnicity that you didnt expect. Some people have concerns about confidentiality. Most sites have rules posted on their websites about confidentiality.

How is DNA tested? The person who wants to be tested orders a test kit. The kit has a cotton swab, a test tube, a package to mail it back in, and simple instructions. The person follows the instructions, swabs the inside of his cheek with the cotton swab, puts the cotton swab into the test tube, seals the tube, puts it into the pre-addressed package and mails it to the company. In a month or so, the person gets his results. The cost is usually about $100, although the tests sometimes go on sale.

DNA testing does NOT by any means take the place of a researched family tree, just as having a researched family tree does NOT take the place of DNA testing. The two complement each other, providing a much more complete picture of your ancestry. Paired with a carefully researched family tree, DNA testing can be a powerful tool for the genealogist.

Read this article:
Augusta Genealogical Society: DNA can unlock family connections - The Augusta Chronicle

It seems thatin todays society, being an entrepreneurmakes you some sort of rockstar. The title itself has an appeal that makes anyone and everyone with an idea suddenly want to call themselves an entrepreneur.

But being a true entrepreneur is not an easy road. Most entrepreneurs have made money --and lost money. It's normal to have had struggles and successes. The question is whether you have the DNA tosee it through, or if you feel compelled to stick with asecure office job as soon as your first venture idea fails. And honestly, theres nothing wrong with that -- entrepreneurship isn't for everyone.

Here are five indicators that will help you determine whetherthe tough road of entrepreneurship is right for you.

A very common theme I have found among my entrepreneurial network is that the vast majority of entrepreneurs learn by doing. This is why you hear about successful entrepreneurs failing out of school. Not because they wanted to prove a point, but because the school environment did not serve them. They werent learning anything fromsomeone else talking at them.

The need to get your hands dirty is a crucial trait of an entrepreneur.

Kids with entrepreneurial spirits often get labeledas being impatient. They cant sit still. They have low attention spans. But as these kids get older, they developwhat is better described as the ability to be patiently impatient. They dont want to slow down -- and they shouldnt. But they also are very good at waiting for the right time to pull the trigger on decisions.

If you can be both at the same time -- patiently impatient -- then you are right where you need to be.

There is a difference between being obnoxiously persistent and humbly persistent. The people who get told no and refuse to acknowledge helpful feedbackare grandiose dreamers, not grounded in reality. But the people who get told no and then take the time to listen, learn, adjustand keep moving forwardpossess a true gift for persistence.

One of the big reasons that people with entrepreneurial spiritsstruggle in corporate environments is because they feel as though they dont own their work. Its a combination of either not being given enough creative freedom, or having so many checks and balances in place that nothing actually gets done effectively.

Being an entrepreneur is tough, but the ability to take charge ofyour work is the real reward.

Your intention sets your path. You have to know what your motivations and goals are, otherwise youll chase the wrong things and end up somewhere you arent thrilled about.

True entrepreneurs seek freedom -- and the definition of freedomis subjective. Its more about a lifestyle than a benefits package or an end-of-the-year bonus.

Chase the lifestyle, not the paycheck.

Brian D. Evans is the founder of BDE Ventures and Influencive. He is an award-winning serial entrepreneur, online marketer, mobile app advisor and accomplished writer. Evans has been building and advising startups for over a decade.

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5 Ways to Know Whether You Have the DNA of an Entrepreneur - Entrepreneur