Nucleic acid
hideA nucleic acid is a macromolecule composed of chains of monomeric nucleotides. In biochemistry these molecules carry genetic information or form structures within cells. The most common nucleic acids are deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Nucleic acids are universal in living things, as they are found in all cells and viruses. Nucleic acids were first discovered by Friedrich Miescher in 1871.
Artificial nucleic acids include peptide nucleic acid (PNA), Morpholino and locked nucleic acid (LNA), as well as glycol nucleic acid (GNA) and threose nucleic acid (TNA). Each of these is distinguished from naturally-occurring DNA or RNA by changes to the backbone of the molecule.
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News tagged with nucleic acids
Gold Nanoparticles Delivery Platinum Warheads to Tumors
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Oct 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (7) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Cisplatin is one of the most powerful and effective drugs for treating a wide variety of cancers, but serious side effects ultimately limit the drug's use and effectiveness. Now, however, researchers have ...
Novel polymer delivers genetic medicine, allows tracking
Oct 06, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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Theresa M. Reineke, associate professor of chemistry in the College of Science, and colleagues in her lab at Virginia Tech and at the University of Cincinnati have developed a new molecule that can travel ...
Designing drugs and their antidotes together improves patient care
Oct 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
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Imagine a surgical patient on a blood-thinning drug who starts bleeding more than expected, and an antidote that works immediately - because the blood thinner and antidote were designed to work together. Researchers at Duke ...
Magnetic Nanoworms and Nanocrystals Deliver siRNA to Tumors
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Sep 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Small pieces of nucleic acid known as short interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, can turn off the production of specific proteins, a property that makes them one of the more promising new classes of anticancer drugs ...
Jet-propelled Imaging for an Ultrafast Light Source
Aug 04, 2009 |
5 / 5 (2) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- John Spence, a physicist at Arizona State University, is a longtime user of the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he has contributed to major advances in lensless imaging. ...
Researchers study virulence of pandemic H1N1 virus
Jul 30, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
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Laboratory studies at Kansas State University and the work of a K-State researcher are making headway in the effort to control the pandemic H1N1 virus.
Jet-propelled imaging for an ultrafast light source
Jul 29, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (11) |
1
John Spence, a physicist at Arizona State University, is a longtime user of the Advanced Light Source at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he has contributed to major advances in lensless imaging. ...
Researchers unravel mystery of DNA conformation
Jul 13, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
An iconic photograph (http://img.timeinc.net/time/80days/images/530228.jpg) of Nobel laureates Drs. Francis Crick and James Watson show the pair discussing with a rigid model of the famous double helix. ...
How E. coli grows its 'nose'
Jul 07, 2009 |
4.8 / 5 (4) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Self-assembling and self-organizing systems are the Holy Grails of nanotechnology, but nature has been producing such systems for millions of years. A team of scientists has taken a unique ...
Chemists see first building blocks to life on Earth
May 13, 2009 |
4.9 / 5 (25) |
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Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed an experiment that sheds new and fascinating light on how life on Earth might have begun.
Researchers develop new way to see single RNA molecules inside living cells
Apr 06, 2009 |
4.6 / 5 (5) |
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Biomedical engineers have developed a new type of probe that allows them to visualize single ribonucleic acid (RNA) molecules within live cells more easily than existing methods. The tool will help scientists ...
Bioinformatics sheds light on evolutionary origin of Rickettsia virulence genes
Mar 12, 2009 |
4 / 5 (2) |
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Scientists from the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech, the University of Maryland School of Medicine, and the University of Louisville have revealed that genes for a specific type of molecular secretion ...
Pack 'Em In -- Gold Nanoparticles Improve Gene Regulation
Nanotechnology / Bio & Medicine
Feb 23, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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Investigators at Northwestern University have found that packing small interfering RNA (siRNA) molecules onto the surface of a gold nanoparticle can protect siRNAs from degradation and increase their ability to regulate genes ...
Artificial cells, simple model for complex structure
Feb 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
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A simple, chemical materials model may lead to a better understanding of the structure and organization of the cell according to a Penn State researcher.
Researchers 'unzip' molecules to measure interactions keeping DNA packed in cells
Biology /
Jan 28, 2009 |
4 / 5 (1) |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Anyone who has ever battled a stuck zipper knows it's a good idea to see what's stuck, where and how badly -- and then to pull hard. A Cornell research team's experiments involve the "unzipping" ...
