/channels/taxonomy/term/3854/all en /channels/channels/news/new-understanding-human-origins-africa-348366 <p>There is broad agreement that <i>Homo sapiens </i>originated in Africa. But there remain many uncertainties and competing theories about where, when, and how.</p> Wed, 17 May 2023 15:03:00 +0000 webfull 189688 at /channels /channels/channels/news/what-crocodile-dna-reveals-about-ice-age-345190 <p>What drives crocodile evolution? Is climate a major factor or changes in sea levels? Determined to find answers to these questions, researchers from ���ϲ����� University discovered that while changing temperatures and rainfall had little impact on the crocodiles’ gene flow over the past three million years, changes to sea levels during the Ice Age had a different effect.</p> Wed, 25 Jan 2023 15:11:13 +0000 webfull 186642 at /channels /channels/channels/news/using-dna-strands-design-new-polymer-materials-283461 <p>���ϲ����� University researchers have chemically imprinted polymer particles with DNA strands – a technique that could lead to new materials for applications ranging from biomedicine to the promising field of “soft robotics.”</p> <p>In a study published in <em>Nature Chemistry</em>, the researchers describe a method to create asymmetrical polymer particles that bind together in a spatially defined manner, the way that atoms come together to make molecules.</p> Tue, 19 Dec 2017 15:48:14 +0000 webfull 133657 at /channels /channels/news/chronic-pain-alters-dna-marking-brain-225012 <div><span><span><span>Injuries that result in chronic pain, such as limb injuries, and those unrelated to the brain are associated with epigenetic changes in the brain which persist months after the injury, according to researchers at ���ϲ����� University. Epigenetics explores how the environment – including diet, exposure to contaminants and social conditions such as poverty – can have a long-term impact on the activity of our genes. Thu, 14 Feb 2013 15:25:08 +0000 webfull 94752 at /channels /channels/news/backyard-pool-chemical-nanomaterial-259330 <p><b><i>By Chris Chipello, <a href="/newsroom">���ϲ����� Newsroom</a></i></b></p> <p>Could a cheap molecule used to disinfect swimming pools provide the key to creating a new form of DNA nanomaterials?</p> Tue, 01 Mar 2016 12:07:04 +0000 webfull 117037 at /channels /channels/news/better-way-build-dna-scaffolds-250084 <p>Imagine taking strands of DNA – the material in our cells that determines how we look and function – and using it to build tiny structures that can deliver drugs to targets within the body or take electronic miniaturization to a whole new level.</p> <p> Wed, 06 May 2015 15:29:21 +0000 webfull 109899 at /channels /channels/news/genomic-atlas-gene-switches-plants-228996 <p>What allows certain plants to survive freezing and thrive in the Canadian climate, while others are sensitive to the slightest drop in temperature? Those that flourish activate specific genes at just the right time -- but the way gene activation is controlled remains poorly understood.</p> <p> Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:32:31 +0000 webfull 97168 at /channels /channels/news/hiv-target-shows-surprising-resistance-260257 <p><b><i>By Tod Hoffman, <a href="http://www.ladydavis.ca/">Lady Davis Institute </a></i></b></p> <p><i>Research reveals that even a tiny mutation can allow the HIV virus to become resistant to therapies using the CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing platform</i></p> Fri, 08 Apr 2016 15:34:00 +0000 webfull 118026 at /channels /channels/news/father-effect-255992 <p>Discovery of how environmental memories may be transmitted from a man to his grandchildren Thu, 08 Oct 2015 18:11:38 +0000 webfull 113201 at /channels /channels/news/understanding-effects-genes-human-traits-229335 <p>Recent technological developments in genomics have revealed a large number of genetic influences on common complex diseases, such as diabetes, asthma, cancer or schizophrenia. However, discovering a genetic variant predisposing to a disease is only a first step. To apply this knowledge towards prevention or cure, including tailoring treatment to the patient’s genetic profile –also known as personalized medicine – we need to know how this genetic variant affects health. Thu, 01 Aug 2013 15:09:56 +0000 webfull 97458 at /channels /channels/news/%E2%80%98printing-press%E2%80%99-nanoparticles-257609 <p>Gold nanoparticles have unusual optical, electronic and chemical properties, which scientists are seeking to put to use in a range of new technologies, from nanoelectronics to cancer treatments.</p> Thu, 07 Jan 2016 16:25:42 +0000 webfull 114964 at /channels /channels/channels/news/dna-cages-may-aid-drug-delivery-230159 <p>Nanoscale “cages” made from strands of DNA can encapsulate small-molecule drugs and release them in response to a specific stimulus, ���ϲ����� University researchers report in a new study. </p> <p>The research, published online Sept. 1 in Nature Chemistry, marks a step toward the use of biological nanostructures to deliver drugs to diseased cells in patients. The findings could also open up new possibilities for designing DNA-based nanomaterials.</p> Tue, 03 Sep 2013 15:49:15 +0000 webfull 98288 at /channels /channels/news/chronic-pain-changes-our-immune-systems-258156 <p><em><strong>By Cynthia Lee</strong></em><br /><strong><a href="/newsroom">Newsroom</a></strong></p> <p>Chronic pain may reprogram the way genes work in the immune system, according to a new study by ���ϲ����� University researchers published in the journal <em>Scientific Reports</em>.  </p> Thu, 28 Jan 2016 11:39:36 +0000 webfull 115586 at /channels /channels/news/creating-babies-dna-three-people-241494 Tue, 03 Feb 2015 18:37:54 +0000 webfull 107931 at /channels /channels/news/early-life-adversity-affects-broad-regions-brain-dna-218498 <p><span>Early life experience results in a broad change in the way our DNA is “epigenetically” chemically marked in the brain by a coat of small chemicals called methyl groups, according to researchers at ���ϲ����� University. A group of researchers led by Prof. Moshe Szyf, a professor of Pharmacology and Therapeutics in the Faculty of Medicine, and research scientists at the Douglas Institute have discovered a remarkable similarity in the way the DNA in human brains and the DNA in animal brains respond to early life adversity. The finding suggests an evolutionary conserved mechanism of response to early life adversity affecting a large number of genes in the genome. </span></p> <div><span><span> Wed, 10 Oct 2012 16:41:26 +0000 webfull 87665 at /channels