Category Archives: DNA

On April 25, 1953, Francis Crick and James Watson published a one-page paper that many believed would revolutionise biological research. Building on the work of Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, they had discovered DNAs double-helix structure, providing the first glimpse into how organisms inherit and store biological information. But, 60 years later, has their discovery really had the transformative impact that the world expected?

The media marked the publications 60th anniversary with much fanfare, hailing the breakthrough that ushered in the age of genetics, and calling it one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time. The British newspaper The Guardianfeatured the headline, Happy Birthday, DNA! The golden moment that changed us all.

To some extent, they are right. The finding forms the basis of genetics and has opened up promising new research areas, such as synthetic biology, in which biological systems are created or modified to perform specific functions. Likewise, it has facilitated important innovations, such as pharmacogenetic cancer treatment, in which drugs target specific genetic defects within cancer cells.

Moreover, DNA has acquired a certain mystique in popular culture. According to Dorothy Nelkin and Susan Lindee, it has become a sacred entity - the modern equivalent of the Christian soul, an individuals essence. While some forms of biological determinism, such as the belief that race or gender dictates a persons destiny, have been widely rejected, the idea that a person can be genetically predisposed, say, to get into debt, become a ruthless dictator, or vote regularly in elections remains socially acceptable.

But, almost from the beginning -and most intensely since 1971, when Time magazine published a special section entitled, The New Genetics: Man into Superman - science and society alike have tended to overestimate the impact of genetics. When the Human Genome Project published the first draft of the fully sequenced human genome in 2000, Henry Gee, an editor of the journal Nature, predicted that scientists would be able to alter entire organisms out of all recognition to suit our needs and tastes by 2099. We will have extra limbs, if we want them, he asserted , maybe even wings to fly.

Thirteen years later, Gees prediction looks increasingly unlikely, with the Human Genome Project so far having failed to meet expectations. Indeed, in 2010, the science writer Nicholas Wade lamented that , a decade after the project was launched, geneticists were almost back to square one in knowing where to look for the roots of common disease.

For example, a 12-year study of 19,000 white American women found that 101 genetic markers that had been statistically linked to heart disease had no predictive value. Self-reported family histories, by contrast, proved very accurate in predicting the disease.

In fact, most diseases are not caused by single genes. As a result, after a few early successes with atypical single-gene disorders such as Huntingtons disease, progress has stalled. Common variants typically explain a small fraction of genetic risk.

Genetics has been a source of particularly high hopes when it comes to cancer treatment. Between 1962 and 1985, cancer-related deaths in the US rose by 8.7 percent, despite the use of aggressive chemotherapy drugs and radiation therapy, highlighting the dangers of a one-size-fits-all approach to treatment. An understanding of the genetic determinants of patients therapeutic response, it was believed, would enable doctors to develop individualised treatment programmes, sparing more responsive patients from harmful overtreatment.

But patients are not the only variable. Cancer, too, is heterogeneous, even in patients with the same diagnosis. After sequencing the entire genomes of 50 patients breast cancer tumors, researchers found that only 10 percent of the tumours had more than three mutations in common. According to a recent study mapping genetic mutations in 2,000 tumours, breast cancer can actually be divided into ten subgroups.

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DNA at 60

DNA Typing Inventions that shook the world

By: ninety9dragons

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DNA Typing Inventions that shook the world - Video

Lifelike Masks Created From DNA
Lifelike masks are created by DNA. An artist and PhD student in New York City prints 3D masks from the DNA evidence she finds on the street. Used objects lik...

By: GeoBeatsNews

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Lifelike Masks Created From DNA - Video

Genomic DNA Extraction Kit Whole Blood

By: Tao Sun

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Genomic DNA Extraction Kit Whole Blood - Video

Angus VNR: Commercial DNA helps with drought decisions
Mark Gardiner, of Gardiner Angus Ranch, and Kent Andersen, of Zoetis, explain how commercial cattlemen can use DNA technology as they rebuild their herds. Th...

By: apicreativemedia

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Angus VNR: Commercial DNA helps with drought decisions - Video

adn-dna.net BN007 Geolodia 2012 a Fumanya (Barcelona)
Recurso educativo del aula virtual de ciencias de la naturaleza http://www.adn-dna.net/ (acceso libre y gratuito).Consultar actualizaciones y actividades del...

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adn-dna.net BN007 Geolodia 2012 a Fumanya (Barcelona) - Video

Sara Villela album DNA de Adorador ( Louvor Quem ELE?)
Composio: Sara Villela Album DNA de Adorador Local: AD Vila Mara (Sub Sede)

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Sara Villela album DNA de Adorador ( Louvor Quem é ELE?) - Video

Harvard University Discovers Message from God in Our DNA Code!
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Harvard University Discovers Message from God in Our DNA Code! - Video

Cleveland kidnappings: DNA confirms Ariel Castro is father of Amanda Berry #39;s child
Reporter Sarah Hashim-Waris with the latest details on the ongoing investigation of the disappearances of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight.

By: losangelestimes

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Cleveland kidnappings: DNA confirms Ariel Castro is father of Amanda Berry's child - Video

CLEVELAND, May 10 (UPI) -- DNA results confirm Ariel Castro is the father of the child born to Amanda Berry while she was being held hostage in his home, Ohio authorities said Friday.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said preliminary tests confirmed Castro's paternity, The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported.

DeWine said state lab technicians had worked through the night to produce the results.

Castro's DNA also was compared to samples from other crime scenes around the state, but no matches were found,

Castro is accused of kidnapping, raping and beating three women and holding them captive for a decade.

One of his Castro's adult daughters, Angie Gregg, says her father "is dead to me."

"There will be no visits; there will be no phone calls," she told CNN in an interview Thursday. "He can never be 'daddy' again. I have no sympathy for the man."

"I wonder this whole time, how he could be so good to us, but he took young women, little girls, someone else's babies, away from these families and over the years never felt enough guilt to just give up and let them free," Gregg said.

Castro, a 52-year-old former bus driver, allegedly enticed the women off the street with offers of a ride home, authorities said.

He was held in jail Friday on $8 million bail under a suicide watch after being charged with rape and kidnapping for allegedly abducting Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. Authorities say Castro repeatedly raped the three women during their years-long ordeal.

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DNA tests show Castor fathered hostage's child