Category Archives: DNA

Oct. 25, 2013 Every day, all day, our DNA gets beaten up by chemicals and radiation -- but remarkably, most of us stay healthy. Now, an investigation by a team of French and Canadian researchers has produced insights into a little-studied but common radiation threat to DNA: low-energy electrons (LEEs), with energies of 0-15 electron volts.

The team has devised the first rough model of a close DNA cellular environment under threat from LEEs, revealing for the first time their effects on DNA in natural, biological conditions. Their work appears in The Journal of Chemical Physics, which is produced by AIP Publishing

The team's work is an important step forward in understanding how LEEs injure DNA because it provides a realistic experimental platform for analysis of results. The goal is to use this knowledge to improve current uses of radiation, such as in cancer treatments.

"The way by which these electrons can damage DNA, and how much damage they inflict, quantitatively, is of major importance not only for general radiation protection purposes, but also for improving the efficiency and safety of therapeutic and diagnostic radiation therapy," said Michel Fromm, the lead researcher from Universit de Franche-Comt in Besanon, France, whose expertise is in creating nanometer-scaled DNA layers. His co-author on the paper is Leon Sanche, of Sherbrooke University Qubec, Canada, who is one of the world's leading authorities on LEE research.

The team explored specific features of a small DNA molecule called a plasmid on a specialized thin film they created, which was irradiated by an electron gun. The impact produced transient particles called anions, which dissociate into "pieces" of DNA. When analyzed, these molecular fragments provide insight into the mechanisms of DNA strand breaks and other DNA injuries that health researchers seek to understand, repair and prevent.

"The fascinating point is that each time the close environment of DNA changes, new mechanisms of interaction of LEEs appear," Fromm said.

Here is the original post:
Understanding DNA damage from common radiation threat, low-energy electrons

LONDON -- DNA tests have confirmed that a Bulgarian Roma couple are the parents of Maria, a blond, green-eyed 4-year-old girl taken by police in central Greece last week from the Roma settlement where she was living, Bulgarian authorities said Friday.

Authorities undertaking a drug raid had arrested a Greek Roma couple, Crhostos Salis, 39, and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, 40, suspecting Maria had been abducted. The couple, still jailed, said they had informally adopted her from her Bulgarian Roma parents.

The Bulgarian government said the scientific tests showed that Bulgarian Roma Sasha Ruseva, a 34-year-old mother of eight, was the child's mother. Ruseva said she gave birth to a baby girl in Greece in 2009, when she worked there as an olive picker, but knew she could not afford to care for another child and voluntarily handed her over for adoption.

She said that after seeing Marias photo, she was convinced the child was hers although she could not be sure without the DNA test.

Greek authorities search for the girls parents through widely published photos of her on posters and websites triggered a worldwide response.

Sightings of other children living in Roma communities and whose light-skinned appearance does not match those of their families have sparked widespread controversy as police suspicions of child trafficking clash with accusations of racism.

In two widely reported recent cases in Ireland, children were also seized by police who suspected they were not the natural offspring of their Roma parents. In both cases, police were proved wrong by DNA tests and the children were returned to their families.

ALSO:

Mexico: Fatal explosion at candy factory in Ciudad Juarez

Egyptian comic praised by Jon Stewart goes back into the fray

Continued here:
DNA tests show blond girl seized by police is daughter of Roma mother

NIKOLAEVO, Bulgaria DNA tests have confirmed that a Bulgarian Roma couple are the parents of a mysterious girl in Greece known as Maria, authorities said Friday.

Genetic profiles of Sasha Ruseva and her husband, Atanas, matched that of the girl, said Svetlozar Lazarov, an Interior Ministry official.

Ruseva has said she gave birth to a baby girl four years ago in Greece while working as an olive picker, and gave the child away because she was too poor to care for her.

12 Photos

Maria has been placed in temporary care since last week after authorities raided a Roma settlement in central Greece and later discovered that girl was not the child of a Greek Roma couple she was living with. The couple has been arrested, and who have been charged for allegedly abducting Maria and document fraud.

A lawyer representing the Greek couple said Friday they planned to seek legal custody of the fair-haired girl.

The couple have told authorities they had received Maria after an informal adoption.

Under Greek law, child abduction charges can include cases where a minor is voluntarily given away by its parents outside the legal adoption process.

"Now that they're in prison there's not much they can do," their lawyer, Costas Katsavos, said.

"But provided what we said is borne out, that it was not an abduction, then logically they will be released from prison and they will be able to enter a proper (adoption) process ... They truly and ardently want her back."

Continued here:
DNA test shows Bulgarian Roma woman is mother of "Maria"

New research suggests thatso-called junk DNA might not be so worthless after all. It might actually help us tell each other apart.

Face shape is largely determined by genetics, yet no two faces are entirely alike. How do genes bring about faces with subtle differences while avoiding dramatic disruptions and facial malformations such as cleft lip and palate? The answer may be in the "junk DNA," a new study has found.

Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of The Christian Science Monitor Weekly Digital Edition

NoncodingDNA, sometimes called junk DNA, refers to sequences in a genome that don't produce proteins, some of which are thought to have no known biological function.

Studying mice, researchers identified more than 4,000 small regions in the genome that are likely a type of noncoding DNA called enhancers, which amplify the expression of a gene. In this case, these regions were active while the face of a mouse embryo developed, according to the study, detailed in the Oct. 25 issue of the journal Science.

Most of these enhancer sequences are found in humans as well, so it is likely that they have similar face-shaping functions in humans, the researchers said. [5Face-Shaping Genes Identified]

"Our results suggest it is likely there are thousands of enhancers in the human genome that are somehow involved in craniofacial development," study researcher Axel Visel, a geneticist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's genomics division, said in a statement. "We don't know yet what all of these enhancers do, but we do know that they are out there and they are important for craniofacial development."

To test whether these enhancers are indeed important inshaping the face, the researchers deleted three of the enhancers in mice and compared them with normal mice at 8 weeks of age. The results showed that each enhancer deletion caused a distinct set of differences in the shape of the face for instance, causing an increase or decrease in facial length and an increase or decrease in the width of various parts of the face, such as the base of the skull or the palate.

In the study, to avoid the challenge ofrecognizing individual mouse faces, the researchers created 3D images using a process called microcomputed tomography to link changes in face shape with alterations in the function of each of the enhancers.

Excerpt from:
'Junk' DNA could determine face shape, scientists say

Roma family in Ireland reunited with daughter after DNA test
Two blonde, blue-eyed girls taken from Roma couples. Authorities turn to DNA tests for answers. For a family in Ireland, it #39;s proof the girl is indeed their ...

By: L.N T?D?NGS

Read more:
Roma family in Ireland reunited with daughter after DNA test - Video

25 October 2013 Last updated at 12:26 ET

DNA tests have confirmed a Bulgarian Roma couple as the biological parents of mystery child Maria, found in Greece last week, Bulgarian officials say.

They identified the couple as Sasha Ruseva and Atanas Rusev.

The officials are investigating whether the mother had sold the child - a claim she has denied.

Maria was found at a Roma camp in central Greece. Police noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde girl and the adults she was staying with.

The couple, Christos Salis and Eleftheria Dimopoulou, have since been charged with child abduction. They have insisted the girl was given to them legitimately.

Maria - who was found near Farsala, central Greece - is currently being cared for by the Athens-based charity The Smile of the Child.

"The issue took international dimensions but the way it was covered raises questions regarding how the state addresses the phenomena of racism and xenophobia. It is striking that the suspected culprits were not presented as persons accused of the actual deed - what was highlighted was their ethnic background." Dimitris Zachos, Greek university lecturer, http://www.tvxs.gr web TV

"Now let's suppose that Maria was not a blonde angel with green eyes and alabaster skin but dark-skinned, slightly short and bit chubby, maybe with a physical imperfection. Would the story sell that much on media? Is a blonde drama equal to a dark-haired one? Is a dark-skinned child less abused? Are tragedies assorted to race?" Elena Akrita, journalist, Ta Nea newspaper

"There are many losing from the development of the story. Not that they care a lot, though. They'll be waiting for the next story, to prove their racist and intolerant theories, wondering "what has happened to this world where there are blonde Roma"? There are blonde Roma, just as there are dark-skinned amongst the advocates of the Nazi "Aryan race" theory. Niko Ago, journalist, http://www.protagon.gr website

Read this article:
DNA test proves mystery girl parents

Stoyan Nenov / Reuters

Sasha Ruseva, 35, may be the biological mother of the blond girl known as "Maria" who was found in Greek Roma camp last week, according to her grandmother.

By Carlo Angerer and Henry Austin, NBC News

NIKOLAEVO, Bulgaria The family of a Bulgarian couple whose DNA matched with the mystery girl known as Maria on Friday, told NBC News they were happy she had been identified and they hoped she would be home soon.

"I'm happy and I hope that the kid will come home, but nobody knows when," Angel Rusev, the girls uncle said. "We're going to take care of her and all the other kids."

DNA samples taken from his brother Atanas Rusev, 36, and the girls mother Sasha Ruseva, 35, was shown to match with the little girl.

Analysis proved that Sasha Ruseva is the biological mother of the girl named Maria," Bulgarian Interior Ministry Chief Commissioner, Svetlozar Lazarov told reporters. "It also showed Atanas Rusev as the biological father.

Ivan Yanev / EPA

Some of Sasha Ruseva's children pose for photographers on Friday. Their great-grandmother strongly believes Maria is their sister.

He added that pretrial proceedings had been initiated to discover whether the mother had given her consent for her daughter to be sold abroad.

See more here:
DNA tests confirm Bulgarian woman is Maria's mom

Roll into Shape with Team Dna
This is great conditioning for those of you that want to get defined especially in the comfort of your own house! The biggest benefit to training using ball ...

By: teamdnafitness

Continue reading here:
Roll into Shape with Team Dna - Video

Wikimedia Commons

A DNA test has found that a blonde-haired, blue-eyed child taken from a Roma family by Dublin's police force is their biological daughter, according to Sky News.

The child had been taken from her parents on Monday, after a neighbor contacted the authorities to report that the child was "living with a large Roma family but looked nothing like any of her supposed siblings," according to the Sunday World.

Doubts had already been raised about the child in Dublin, with The Irish Times reporting that the parents had produced both a birth certificate and a passport to support their claims.

However, the Irish case had followed the removal of another blonde girl from a Roma camp near the town of Larissa in central Greece. That girl, named "Maria," was found not to be a genetic match to the couple who claimed to be her parents.

Together these stories sparked a continent-wide controversy about the possibility that Roma gangs were responsible for the trafficking of stolen children. M any observers, however, worried that the case was leading to a witch hunt against Europe's Roma communities, historically some of the most isolated and persecuted people in Europe.

This is actually the second time this month that Irish police took a child from a Roma family and later returned him, the previous one being a 2-year-old boy in the Midlands region of Ireland. The Guardian reports that it is not clear if a DNA test influenced this decision .

Traveler support group Pavee Point has complained about the Irish cases, saying that the removal of children from their families was being treated as "a matter of first resort and not as a matter of last resort."

More From Business Insider

Continue reading here:
Ireland Shocked After DNA Tests Show Blonde Girl Seized From Gypsy Family Is Actually Their Daughter

Published: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 8:17 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 at 8:17 p.m.

WINTER HAVEN | Deputies arrested a 41-year-old man Monday after DNA testing linked him to a May burglary in Winter Haven, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Todd William Clark, of 309 Lake Howard Drive NW in Winter Haven, is charged with burglary of an unoccupied structure and grand theft. He is accused of burglarizing Marc's Auto Repair and Thrift Store on May 19, and stealing more than $500 worth of items including a bicycle and DVDs.

Detectives found a pair of jeans, a shirt and a pair of socks in the bathroom of the store the night the burglary was reported. The clothing was sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for testing and returned in September. According to the Sheriff's Office, the DNA on the clothes matched Clark.

Clark told detectives in an interview that he had consumed alcohol and drugs the night of the crime, and that he "didn't remember" committing the burglary but he did remember the clothing he wore the night of the incident. His description matched the clothing that was found.

He added that he remembers being on Lake Howard Drive, near the store, the morning after the incident in nothing but boxer shorts.

Clark was booked into the Polk County Jail and released Tuesday on $2,000 bail.

See the original post:
DNA Matches Man to Winter Haven Burglary