ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2012) Researchers' findings address a scientific debate that had lasted for 16 years over the existence of a double-stranded DNA structure.

Double-stranded DNA has often been described as a right-handed helical structure, known as B-DNA. To perform its multiple functions, double-stranded DNA has multiple structures depending on conditions. For example, the melted DNA bubble forms during transcription elongation and the left-handed helical Z-DNA forms hypothetically during transcriptional regulations.

Scientists have been proposing a novel form of double-stranded DNA structure since 1996. Referred to as 'S-DNA', it is produced from stretching the B-form DNA beyond a certain 'transition force' of around 65 pN to approximately 1.7-fold in length (termed as DNA overstretching transition). Its existence has sparked a 16-year scientific debate since it was proposed, as many other evidences suggested that DNA overstretching transition was merely a force-induced DNA melting transition, leading to peeled-apart single-stranded DNA.

At National University of Singapore (NUS), the research was led by Associate Professor Jie Yan, from the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science and Mechanobiology Institute, Singapore. It succeeded in demonstrating the intricacies of the DNA mechanics in highly sensitive single-DNA stretching experiments.

Assoc Prof Yan and his team found that DNA overstretching may involve two transitions that are distinct in their transition kinetics, namely, a slower hysteretic peeling transition to peeled-apart single-stranded DNA and a faster non-hysteretic transition to an unknown DNA structure. However, whether the unknown DNA structure produced from the non-hysteretic transition is the S-DNA or two single-stranded DNA strands through inside-DNA-melting, remains a question.

Their findings were published in Nucleic Acids Research.

In another recent work published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Assoc Prof Yan and co-researchers examined the thermodynamics associated with the two transitions. They found that the non-hysteretic transition was associated with a small negative entropy change, in contrast to the large positive entropy change found during the hysteretic peeling transition. This result strongly favors DNA re-arrangement into a highly ordered, non-melted state during the non-hyteretic transition. They also demonstrated that the selection between the two transitions was dependent on DNA base-pair stability and could be represented in a multi-dimensional phase diagram.

Their results not only brought clarity to the scientific debate of whether S-DNA exists, but also provided important insights to the possible structures and functions of the mysterious S-DNA.

Given its elongated structure, the S-DNA may be a potential binding substrate for DNA intercalators, including those used in chemotherapeutic treatment to inhibit DNA replication in rapidly growing cancer cells. In cells, many DNA-binding proteins utilize side chain intercalation to distort the DNA backbone. Therefore, the S-DNA may also be a potential binding substrate for these proteins that occur in living organisms.

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Novel double-stranded DNA structure produced through mechanical stretching

DNA tests could help free man convicted of killing wife

According to the Ohio Innocence Project, DNA testing has exonerated a man convicted of killing his ex-wife.

Former Akron police Capt. Doug Prade has consistently maintained he didn't kill Margo Prade as he served a life sentence for her 1998 murder.

Investigators said the killer bit Margo PRade and left saliva on the lab coat she was wearing, but tests performed before the trial were inconclusive.

"The DNA testing at the time of trial couldn't find the perpetrator's DNA," said Carrie Wood, of the Innocence Project. "The DNA technology available today found the perpetrator's DNA and it excluded Doug Prade."

A judge ordered the test two years ago, and researchers at a Fairfield laboratory released the results Thursday.

The state stands by the jury's verdict and cites eyewitness testimony placing Prade at the scene of the crime, but attorneys with the Innocence Project say such testimony is a factor in three of every four wrongful convictions.

"Now I just have stronger views on the use of DNA evidence and how strong it is when compared to any other types of evidence that are used in trials," said second-year law student Scott Leaman, who worked on Prade's case.

The state's brief indicates Margo Prade was fearful of her ex-husband, and her friends shared her concern and urged her to arm herself.

A hearing will be held in three weeks to determine what will happen next in the case.

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DNA tests could help free man convicted of killing wife

2 August 2012 Last updated at 12:50 ET

Scientists believe they have discovered a clue to why women tend to live longer than men - by studying fruit flies.

Writing in Current Biology, they focus on mutations in mitochondrial DNA - the power source of cells.

Mitochondria are inherited only from mothers, never from fathers, so there is no way to weed out mutations that damage a male's prospects.

But one ageing expert said there were many factors that explained the gender difference in life expectancy.

By the age of 85, there are approximately six women for every four men in the UK, and by 100 the ratio is more than two to one.

And females outlive males in many other species.

In the research, experts from Australia's Monash University and the UK's Lancaster University analysed the mitochondria of 13 different groups of male and female fruit flies.

Mitochondria, which exist in almost all animal cells, convert food into the energy that powers the body.

I certainly don't think this is a discovery that explains why women live five-to-six years longer than men

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DNA clue to why women live longer

LAKEPORT, Calif. On Thursday the jury in the trial of a Lakeport man accused of stabbing his neighbor to death heard from DNA and fingerprint experts and a criminologist about the testing of evidence found at the crime scene.

California Department of Justice criminologist Richard Waller, DNA expert Stephanie Carpenter and latent fingerprint expert Terry Hamlin testified Thursday in the murder trial of 34-year-old Ivan Garcia Oliver.

Oliver is charged with murder, burglary, elder abuse and several special allegations for the stabbing death of 67-year-old Michael Dodele on Nov. 20, 2007, at Western Hills Mobile Home Park on Lakeshore Boulevard outside of Lakeport.

The prosecution is alleging that Oliver killed Dodele after finding out he was listed as a sex offender on the Megans Law Web site. Oliver mistakenly believed Dodele had molested children, which he hadnt, although he had done prison time for raping an adult female victim.

The trial began last week. On Wednesday the jury heard an audiotape of a jailhouse interview in which Oliver allegedly admitted to killing Dodele.

Thursdays testimony included DOJ criminologist Richard Waller, who was able to match a footprint made in blood in Dodeles kitchen to one of the shoes Oliver was alleged to have been wearing.

Afternoon testimony, which totaled about an hour, included DOJ DNA expert Stephanie Carpenter, who analyzed blood spots on the pants and sweatshirt Oliver allegedly was wearing at the time of Dodeles death. She also tested blood spots on a knife, bleach bottle, a bathroom water knob and a white rug.

Dodeles blood was found on Olivers sweat shirt, with Olivers blood found on the other items, according to testimony.

Carpenter offered the jury an explanation of what DNA is and how testing is conducted.

DNA is essentially a set of instructions that tells your body how to grow and develop, she said.

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DNA, fingerprint experts take stand in Oliver trial

Monterey is one of California's iconic seafood spots, but that apparently doesn't mean you always get what you order at the city's eateries and grocery stores.

DNA testing in Monterey showed that that more than one-third of the seafood samples collected from 17 grocery stores, restaurants and sushi venues were mislabeled according to federal standards.

Those results were released Thursday by the international ocean advocacy group Oceana and the Monterey Weekly. The publication targeted species with regional significance and those that were found to be mislabeled from previous studies, including red and yellowtail snapper, wild salmon and sole.

Oceana had other groups have found higher rates of fish mislabeling in Los Angeles (55 percent) and Boston (48 percent), and similar rates in South Florida (31 percent). Last year, the group launched an initiative to reduce what's been dubbed "seafood fraud," in which one species is substituted for another.

The practice can undermine local fishermen and consumers' ability to make choices based on fishing practices, location and variety of seafood.

"Given how famous Monterey Bay is for fresh, local seafood, if we are seeing seafood fraud at this level, it's happening everywhere," said Geoff Shester, California program director for Oceana. He was not aware of any San Diego-specific study on the issue, though his group is testing seafood at other spots nationwide.

Oceana said the biggest surprise was the discovery that restaurants selling popular Monterey Bay sand dabs were actually selling juvenile flathead sole. None of the fish labeled as sand dabs were Pacific sand dab found in local waters, DNA tests showed.

We still dont know whether the baby flatfish sold as sand dabs came from Alaska or as the result of trawling in a local fish nursery habitat," Shester said. Either way, residents and tourists seeking this famous Monterey Bay seafood dish at a local restaurant are being duped, at the expense of local hook-and-line fishermen who can catch real sand dabs sustainably.

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DNA tests show seafood fraud haunts iconic port

By Mike Wagner

The Columbus Dispatch Thursday August 2, 2012 10:55 AM

Attorneys for former Akron Police Capt. Douglas Prade, center, say the tests prove his innocence.

New lab-test results show that DNA recovered from a murder scene in Summit County didn't come from a former Akron police captain who was convicted of killing his ex-wife nearly 15 years ago in a case that received national attention.

Douglas Prade, 66, is currently serving a life sentence at the Madison Correctional Institution, but has always maintained his innocence after being convicted in September of 1998. Prade was found guilty of shooting his ex-wife, Margo, a prominent Akron doctor and the mother of his two daughters. Margo was shot six times following a struggle in her van in a parking lot outside of her office.

They are not going to find my DNA because I didnt do it, said Prade in a prison interview with the Dispatch last year. This has always been about seeking and revealing the truth.

View video interviews The Dispatch conducted with Prade in 2007

The DNA testing, conducted by DNA Diagnostics Center of Fairfield, north of Cincinnati, focused on the lab coat Margo was wearing during the attack and specifically a bite mark left by her killer. Testing results released today found male DNA present within the bite mark but it didnt match Prade. Further testing of the lab coat performed by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations during the past several months didnt detect the presence of other male DNA. Fingernail scrapings from Margo Prade and other items collected from the crime scene were also tested and excluded Douglas Prades DNA.

Attorneys at the Ohio Innocence Project, based at the University of Cincinnati, say the testing results prove Prades innocence and he should be exonerated. They are asking Summit County Common Pleas Judge Judy L. Hunter to set Douglas Prade free or, at the very least, grant him a new trial. A hearing in Akron to determine the significance of the new testing results is scheduled for Aug. 21.

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Former Akron police captain excluded by DNA test

Winning government approval would be the first step in increasing public confidence in personalized genetic testing

Maciej Frolow / Photodisc / Getty Images

Earlier this week, the personal gene-testing company 23andMe announcedthat its seeking the blessing of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its DNA tests that allow people to peer into their genetic makeup.

If the FDA grants approval, it would be a major step forward for the growing industry springing up around genetic testing. Every day, it seems, scientists are reporting new gene-based discoveries that allow them to better pinpoint the causes of disease. As technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, single-gene tests are being joined by the sort of genotyping technology used by 23andMe, which scans about 1 million points on the genome that are known to vary among humans. An even more complex technique, genomic sequencing, looks at about 3 billion points that cover a persons entire genetic code. 23andMe the name is a reference to the 23 pairs of chromosomes that comprise a persons genome intends to eventually offer sequencing, but the cost starts at around $4,000, which is considerably more expensive than the $299 the company charges for its testing.

Not only is sequencing more costly, but it also uncovers a trove of data that researchers have yet to fully understand. Even among the more targeted areas of the genome that 23andMe examines, there is much information that remains murky if not elusive. Of the 1 million points we look at, theres only a fraction of those that science can tell us anything about, says Ashley Gould, 23andMes vice president for corporate development and its chief legal officer.

Since 23andMe began offering testing in late 2007, more than 150,000 people have become clients. The vast majority have been adults, although parents can give consent for their children to participate. Our goal is to get 1 million in our database, says Gould. Having more people will increase our power to conduct research. There is immense power in coming together to progress research.

(MORE: 23andMe Seeks FDA Approval for Personal DNA Test)

The company was co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, who is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Her bio on the company website explains why shes interested in personal genetics, expressing her hope that the company will create a common, standardized resource that has the potential to accelerate drug discovery and bring personalized medicine to the public. (Plus, getting access to her own genetic information and understanding it has always been one of Annes ambitions.)

The $299 fee includes processing of a saliva sample via a collection kit the company sends out. The data gleaned from the sample is shared with users via a secure website. Customers also have access to the companys ancestry features, which have helped people track down relatives. There are 242 health reports available for different conditions, enabling users to learn more about traits like freckling or eye color as well as carrier status for cystic fibrosis, for example, and risk for diseases such as Alzheimers. As new literature is published, we add new reports, says Gould.

When data reveals increased risk for certain diseases, 23andMe offers up videos that share more detailed information about that specific condition. The company also has a relationship with a nationwide genetic counseling service that users can call for an appointment.

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Personal DNA Testing: What Can It Reveal?

Ottawa, ON (PRWEB) August 02, 2012

DNA Genotek, a subsidiary of OraSure Technologies Inc. and a leading provider of products for biological sample collection, and BioServe Biotechnologies, Ltd today announced that they are jointly providing support for a new genomic study into craniofacial anomalies (cleft lip and palate) in Ethiopia. The project, titled Collaborative study on gene- environment interaction in craniofacial anomalies, will investigate the genetic and environmental causes of craniofacial anomalies (cleft lip and palate) with the ultimate aim of prevention. The research project will be conducted by principal investigator Dr. Mekonen Eshete of Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia with the support of external advisers and collaborators - Professor Peter Mossey of the University of Dundee and Dr. Azeez Butali of the University of Iowa.

In Ethiopia, infectious diseases such as HIV, TB, and malaria are the primary health concerns which often results in less focus on congenital problems. However, the impact of a congenital birth defect can be very severe when coupled with poor socioeconomic conditions. Through the DNA Genotek Helping Hands Program, DNA Genotek will be providing OrageneDNA kits to collect DNA from saliva from study participants. DNA Genotek Partner Program member BioServe Biotechnologies will provide the DNA extraction services as part of its corporate philanthropy program. The collaboration will enable the execution of this important research project.

I believe the support we are receiving from DNA Genotek and BioServe will help bring a change in the management of congenital anomalies in general and clefts in particular. While the majority of Africans have knowledge about congenital anomalies including clefts, different superstitious meanings are given to the condition and in fear, many parents leave children born with congenital anomalies to die. Supporting this research will bring a change in both medical treatment and societal attitudes, said Mekonen Eshete, MD, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Addis Ababa University.

BioServe welcomes the opportunity to participate in the DNA Genotek Helping Hands program, particularly for a cause as worthy this one, said Rama Modali, President of BioServe. Its rewarding for our entire company to see our services directly contribute to results-oriented public health projects like this one that offer such large potential impact.

The DNA Genotek Helping Hands Program has a long history of assisting organizations that are innovators in disease research, disease prevention and treatment, said Ian Curry, president, DNA Genotek Inc. We chose to support this project as we firmly believe that it will have a long-term impact on significant numbers of people. We are pleased to work with our partner company, BioServe, on this important initiative to ensure its ultimate success.

The reality is that in the present circumstances many infants born with CL/P in sub-Saharan African countries, and in other low income countries in the world do not survive, often due to lack of awareness and perceived burden of care, said Professor Peter Mossey, University of Dundee. This generous gesture by DNA Genotek and BioServe, by raising awareness is literally life-saving, and will unlock the potential for a study in Ethiopia that can be replicated in other sub-Saharan African countries and that is geared ultimately towards primary prevention.

These are exciting times for cleft research in Africa and this study provides a wonderful opportunity for prevention of clefts and other birth defects, said Dr Azeez Butali of the University of Iowa.

Oragene is a registered trademark of DNA Genotek Inc. All other brands and names contained herein are the property of their respective owners. Some DNA Genotek products may not be available in all geographic regions.

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DNA Genotek Inc. and BioServe Biotechnologies, Ltd. to Support Genetic Study of Craniofacial Anomalies in Ethiopia

By Ador Vincent Mayol, Chito Aragon Cebu Daily News

DNA test results of items owned by kidnap-homicide suspect Bella Ruby Santos showed no traces of bloodstains from slain kidnap victim Ellah Joy Pique.

The disclosure of the DNA test results by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in Central Visayas (CIDG-7) caused Santos lawyer Rameses Villagonzalo to declare that the case against his client will be dismissed soon.

But Senior Supt. Jose Pante, CIDG-7 chief, said it wouldnt affect the case.

We rely more on the testimony of the witnesses, Pante told Cebu Daily News.

The DNA test results on two items seized by police confirmed that the dead body found in Barili town was that of 6-year-old Ellah Joy.

The two items, a yellow- blanket and yellow comforter, were used to cover Ellah Joys remains.

Still, Villagonzalo said the results only showed the failure of the prosecution to prove the guilt of his client.

The suppression of evidence by the prosecution is over. The truth has come out. Their efforts to mislead the public is finished, he said.

Villagonzalo said the prosecution is only giving false hope to the Pique family, who blamed Santos and her British partner Ian Charles Griffiths of being responsible for their daughters death.

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DNA test results turn negative in Bella’s items

Scotland is home to a least a hundred thousand feral cats. Unfortunately, the cats that now live in the Scottish Highlands are not native to the country, and they have helped push the already squeezed native felines closer toward extinction.

The native groupthe Scottish wildcat (Felis silvestris grampia), also known as the Highland tigerisnt much bigger than your average house cat, although it has a larger tail and a reputation for wild ferocity. The subspecies probably descended from the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) between 7,000 and 9,000 years ago, roaming throughout Britain until deforestation dramatically reduced its habitat. The 19th century brought further population declines, spurred by more habitat loss, hunting for the animals fur, and persecution by livestock farmers and game bird hunters. By 1880 it existed only in Scotland.

The 20th century saw the population dwindle further. Roads and cars proved deadly; at the same time, feral and domestic cats (Felis catus) competed with the wildcats for prey and also hybridized with them, diluting their gene pool. Today the Scottish wildcat is a whisker away from extinction. An attempt to count the wild population in 2004 estimated that just 400 or so remained.

But even that number may be too optimistic. Many conservationists put the figure at 100 and some think there may be none left, Steve Piper, a wildlife filmmaker and trustee of the Scottish Wildcat Association, told The Scotsman. They are disappearing so fast they are more in peril than pandas, tigers or polar bears.

But theres still hope. Paul ODonoghue, biological sciences lecturer at the University of Chester in England, is collaborating with the WildGenes Laboratory at Edinburgh Zoo to develop a DNA test that can help identify whether a wildcat is purebred or a hybrid. ODonoghue and his team will map the wildcats genome using century-old museum samples, allowing them to determine the genetic markers of a pelage perfect specimen. This information, in turn, will help future captive breeding efforts by allowing conservationists to pair up animals that contain the most wildcat DNA. ODonoghue said the test should be ready by the end of this year.

Douglas Richardson, animal collections manager at the Highland Wildlife Park, which recently premiered two new Scottish wildcat kittens, told The Herald that saving this iconic catthe only feline native to the U.K.should be a priority. We get our knickers in a twist because the Indians arent doing all they can to protect their tigers or the Kenyans their black rhinos, but its okay for us to let this one slip through the net? I dont think so.

Of course, any captive breeding program will need to have a decent number of wildcats on hand to be successful. Of the 75 adult wildcats currently living in captivity only one shows strong signs of being a purebred, and about a dozen, including all those at Highland Wildlife Park, show at least some hybrid characteristics. The rest are clearly hybrids.

More pure wildcats might be out there: This past April camera traps in Cairngorms National Park caught sight of several wildcats, the first time they had been spotted in that area. It is not yet known if they are pure wildcats or hybrids. Despite the low odds, ODonoghue says he is hopeful that some pure wildcats will be found somewhere.

Keeping wildcats pure in the wild will remain the ultimate challenge. Conservation groups are calling for widespread neutering and sterilization of domestic and feral cats to prevent, or at least slow, any future hybridization. Weve got to act decisively and immediately, ODonoghue told The Herald. Otherwise, he says, there wont be any wildcats much longer.

Photo by Peter Edin via Flickr. Used under Creative Commons license

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DNA Test Could Help Save Scottish Wildcat from Extinction If It Still Exists

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Fractal Analytics, a leading provider of Big Data predictive analytics, announced today a breakthrough analytics solution that redefines the way marketers engage with consumers. Customer DNA is an advanced machine-learning solution that drives extreme personalization and relevance to increase affinity and loyalty based on a deeper understanding of each customers preferences. The solution has been implemented by a national retail group to enhance target marketing, store promotions, assortment and pricing.

Customer DNA infers consumer personality traits and preferences from behavior across multiple channels and from multiple data sources such as business transactions, consumer provided information, social networks and third party information. The Big Data that drive Customer DNA are processed by Hadoop for speed and efficiency. The solution applies an advanced scientific approach to continuously update and reassess what the system understands about consumers - based on what they buy, how they prefer to shop, how and when they respond to seasonal promotions or discounts, as well as how they express themselves in social networks.

Natwar Mall, SVP, Fractal Sciences at Fractal Analytics, said, Customer DNA will bring back the personalized service experience that was delivered previously only by mom & pop stores. It will help large organizations maximize revenue by targeting shoppers with efficient one-to-one message and offer interactions across campaigns and customer touch points.

Mall added, Data, science and technology are converging to create unprecedented opportunities to build breakthrough solutions for companies. In response to the high demand from companies that need to deliver a high ROI from Big Data analytics, we developed an advanced analytics organization called Fractal Sciences. Staffed by our best and brightest, Fractal Sciences mission is to apply the latest scientific advances and find new synergies across disciplines to bring more cutting-edge solutions to solve key market issues. The Customer DNA solution is among this teams latest key wins.

The Customer DNA model is designed to support both Business- to-Consumer and Business-to-Business organizations for retail as well as consumer goods, hotel and entertainment, financial services, insurance, airlines, and direct distributers. In addition to personalized marketing, the solution supports merchandise planning, product assortment and inventory management.

About Fractal Analytics

We believe analytics is critical to deeply connect with consumers, earn customer loyalty, make better decisions to reduce waste, and ultimately improve lives. Fortune 500 companies partner with Fractal to build breakthrough analytic solutions, set up analytical centers of excellence, and create a culture of data driven decisioning.

We solve problems, operationalize solutions to drive results, and ultimately drive change in organizations towards fact-based decisioning. We help businesses: (a) Understand, predict and influence consumer behavior; (b) Improve marketing, pricing, supply chain, risk and claims management; (c) Harmonize data, visualize information, build dashboards and forecast business performance.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com

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Fractal Analytics Announces Customer DNA Solution for Personalized Marketing

STONY BROOK, NY--(Marketwire -08/01/12)- Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. (APDN) (Twitter:@APDN), a provider of botanical DNA-based product verification solutions, announces that celebrated guitar maker C.F. Martin & Co. ("Martin Guitar") has expanded DNA marking to protect and authenticate its guitar strings. Martin Guitar produces millions of strings per year, and is one of the leading manufacturers of guitar strings in the world. Martin Guitar strings are made in Navojoa, Mexico.

"Botanical DNA marking provides the ultimate security by protecting the guitar strings and the guitar itself at the original point of manufacture. DNA technology will help us to ascertain product authenticity, and it is consistent with Martin Guitar's intellectual property protection strategy," said C. F. Martin & Co. Vice President, Business Development, Gregory Paul. "Use of this technology for strings and other musical instruments by others in our industry can only help in the fight against counterfeiting."

Martin Guitar, an iconic American brand that is acknowledged as the creator of some of the world's finest musical instruments for over 175 years, has partnered with Applied DNA Sciences to protect its products, brands and intellectual property from counterfeiting and diversion. Since 2011, Martin Guitar has been incorporating its unique "Martin Guitar" botanical DNA mark onto each of its guitars, produced in its factories at Nazareth, Pennsylvania and Navojoa, Mexico. As part of the DNA authentication platform, any guitars made by Martin Guitar from 2011 will be able to be identified and forensically authenticated.

Every year, several thousand dedicated guitar owners attend a special event hosted by Martin Guitar to learn about new products, as well as new technologies. APDN will exhibit its botanical DNA authentication technology at the Martin Owners Club Event on Friday, August 3, 2012 in Nazareth. Applied DNA will be exhibiting at this event for the second year in a row.

At the Martin Owners Club Event in 2011, Chris Martin IV, Chairman and CEO, stated: "People around the world know the high level of quality that is inherent in each and every guitar that features the C. F. Martin logo, and protecting our intellectual property is of vital importance, as we face new counterfeit-related challenges at home and abroad."

Chris Martin IV commented recently: "We continue to work with Applied DNA Sciences on developing this program, first with our custom guitars, which have now extended to our laminates, and soon we will begin to mark our strings. We are serious about protecting our brand. Like I have said before, if you want to make guitars go ahead -- just don't use the Martin Guitar name on it."

Martin Guitar selected botanical DNA over other authentication technologies because it can be used to covertly mark a guitar, with its location known only to Martin Guitar, and for the strength in DNA generally in prosecution. As an identification procedure, DNA is recognized in courts in general as strong forensic evidence.

Botanical DNA can also be used in combination with wireless tracking technologies such as RFID as a way to ensure that those devices are not copied or tampered with. As guitars are botanically DNA-marked in quantity, forensic authentication by our labs, both as a quality control measure and also testing of products already in the field, can prove in time to be a strong anti-counterfeiting platform.

Famously wielded by singers like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Freedy Johnston, and Robbie Robertson, historic Martin guitars are on display at a museum at the factory in Nazareth, where the Martin Owners Club Event is held. Last year, the company celebrated the creation of guitar number 1,500,000, counting from its first creations in a workshop in what is now the TriBeCa section of New York in 1833. Applied DNA Sciences is honored to help protect the historic legacy of this cherished American brand.

Dr. James A. Hayward, CEO, Applied DNA Sciences stated:

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Legendary Guitar Maker C. F. Martin & Co. Expands DNA Marking to Guitar Strings and Protects Brand With Botanical DNA

The DNA forms known as G-quadruplexes are finally discovered in human cells.

In 1962, researchers at the National Institutes of Health identified peculiar twists of DNA shaped into four-stranded structures, rather than the double helix that had come to define DNA. For much of the 50 years since the discovery of these structures, now known as G-quadruplexes, it was felt that those findings were a laboratory curiosity, an artifact if you will, says Stephen Neidle of University College London. Still, researchers were intrigued by these test-tube structures because they were made exclusively from guanines and were stable at physiological conditions. Yet evidence for their existence in human cells remained elusive. Its almost become more religion than science, says Steve Jackson of the University of Cambridge. Some believed in them, some didnt.

To end the debate, Jacksons lab teamed up with the lab of Shankar Balasubramanian, also at Cambridge. They used a small molecule called pyridostatin, which binds to G-quadruplexes in vitro, to try to ferret out these structures in human cells, and found that, like other small molecules that bind quadruplexes in vitro, pyridostatin induces a DNA damage response. The team took advantage of this response by exposing cells to pyridostatin and cross-linking the DNA to a damage-response protein, a histone called H2AX. After zeroing in on the genomic foci of this damage response, the group used high-throughput sequencing to determine which genes pyridostatin had targeted and determined that they were indeed regions with a high tendency toward G-quadruplex formation. It shows that G-quadruplexes really [do exist] in human cells in culture, Jackson says.

The findings are a triumph for those who had believed that G-quadruplexes exist in vivo. Pyridostatin doesnt induce G-quadruplexes to form, Jackson points out, but binds to those that already exist.

What G-quadruplexes are doing in the genome still remains unanswered. I think probably in some cases G-quadruplexes are problems that need to be resolved by the cell, says Jackson. For instance, others have reported that in yeast it appears that the helicase Pif1 unwinds G-quadruplex structures to maintain genomic stability. Jacksons group also found overlap between pyridostatin damage and Pif1 targets.

I think in other cases, the idea that they can have positive functions is very appealing, says Jackson. Given that telomeres can form G-quadruplexes, its possible that the structures are involved in facilitating telomeres unique structure or preventing them from being recognized as broken bits of DNA, Jackson speculates. Or perhaps G-quadruplexes are involved in regulating transcription, since they also form in promoter regions, making them possible targets for small-molecule therapies to arrest cancers cell cycle. Although G-quadruplex research has been conducted for half a century, Jackson says, its still early days.

R. Rodriguez et al., Small-moleculeinduced DNA damage identifies alternative DNA structures in human genes, Nat Chem Biol, 8:301-10, 2012.

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DNA, Contortionist

Roxboro, N.C. Tests have matched DNA found at the scene of a Henderson man's death over Memorial Day weekend with a nearby pit bull, but Person County authorities are waiting for more test results before filing any criminal charges.

Deputies found the body of Eugene Cameron, 65, under a carport at 1189 Semora Road, west of Roxboro, on May 26. Family members said he was checking on the house while his friend was out of town.

Witnesses said that Cameron was found naked, with his clothes balled up beside him, and bloody dog paw prints surrounded him. He had a severe injury to his right arm that authorities said could have caused him to bleed out.

The injury was consistent with a dog bite, and animal control officers seized an 8-year-old pit bull named DMX from Antonio Ford, who lives next to the house where Cameron was found dead.

A California lab that is conducting specialized tests in the case determined that DNA from DMX was found in the blood at the scene, Person County Sheriff Dewey Jones said Tuesday. He said the lab is now checking to see if the dog's DNA is on Cameron's ripped clothing.

Ford could be charged with involuntary manslaughter if authorities determine that DMX is to blame for Cameron's death, Jones said. The charge might be upgraded to second-degree murder if investigators can establish that the dog was known to be violent, the sheriff said.

Ford maintains that DMX was caged up the night Cameron was killed and that he believes a person or a wild animal is responsible for the attack.

Residents have said that the dog sometimes roams the neighborhood and tries to attack their dogs.

Copyright 2012 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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DNA links dog to site of Henderson man's death

He got away with a brutal, strangulation murder for 25 years.

But yesterday, violent Harlem con Steven Carter was finally sent to prison thanks to his victim's fingernails clippings, which languished in evidence storage for a quarter century before being tested last year as part of the Manhattan DA's ongoing cold case DNA efforts.

"I'm sure he assumed he was home free," assistant district attorney Melissa Mourges said of Carter at his sentencing in Manhattan Supreme Court.

It was Nov. 10, 1986 when victim Antoinette Bennett -- a drug-addicted prostitute -- was found sprawled face down among the children's climbing blocks in a playground at St. Nicolas Park.

A crack pipe was wedged under her body, and her face had been stabbed three times prior to her being strangled.

Carter "pushed that sharp knife through her cheek all the way into her mouth," Mourges told Justice Bonnie Wittner, in arguing for the 25-to-life sentence.

"The medical examiner used the words 'Torture and control' to explain the purpose of these wounds," the prosecutor said.

Carter left his DNA under a fingernail on Bennet's left hand so long ago, that testing couldn't have linked him then to the crime.

DNA tests were only done on the clippings last year by DA Cyrus Vance's Forensic Sciences/Cold Case Unit, as "Part of a systematic review of more than 3,000 unsolved case files dating back to the '70s," he explained in a post-sentence statement.

The fingernail DNA matched the now 50-year-old Carter, whose DNA had been databased as a result of his lengthy, 26-conviction record, including for weapons and sex crimes.

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DNA ‘nails’ 1986 slayer

Chris Turner/CNN

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed a controversial state DNA testing law to remain in effect until the justices have time to consider the broader constitutional questions.

Maryland's DNA Collection Act permits police to collect genetic material from those who have been arrested, but not yet convicted.

Chief Justice John Roberts issued the three-page in-chambers opinion, putting a state court's ruling favoring a criminal defendant on hold.

"Collecting DNA from individuals arrested for violent felonies provides a valuable tool for investigating unsolved crimes and thereby helping to remove violent offenders from the general population," Roberts wrote. "Crimes for which DNA evidence is implicated tend to be serious, and serious crimes cause serious injuries. That Maryland may not employ a duly enacted statute to help prevent these injuries constitutes irreparable harm."

The chief justice said there is a "fair prospect" the Supreme Court would ultimately find in favor of the state on the search and seizure questions.

After more legal briefs are filed, the high court in coming weeks will decide whether to hear the case and issue a definitive, binding ruling. Oral arguments would likely not be held until early next year.

A 1994 federal law created a national database in which local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies can compare and share information on DNA matches from convicted felons, but courts have been at odds on just when such samples can be collected and the information distributed.

The current case involves a Maryland man convicted of a 2003 rape in Wicomico County in the state's eastern shore region. Alonzo King Jr. had been arrested three years ago on an unrelated assault charge, and a biological sample was automatically obtained at that time.

King moved to suppress the use of the DNA on Fourth Amendment grounds, but was ultimately convicted of the first-degree rape offense.

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Criminal DNA collection law stays in place

Jolie Pearl and Neil Schwartzman found each other using 23andMe's online DNA mapping service.

Online DNA mapping helps siblings find each other

23andMe is part of a fledgling industry that allows consumers to peek into their genetic code for details about their ancestry and future health. The company's saliva-based kits have attracted scrutiny for claiming to help users detect whether they are likely to develop illnesses like breast cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's.

The biology of how DNA variations actually lead to certain diseases is still poorly understood, and many geneticists say such tests are built on flimsy evidence.

For years, the Silicon Valley company has resisted government regulation, arguing that it simply provides consumers with information, not a medical service. But now company executives say they are seeking government approval - and the scientific credibility that comes with it.

"It's the next step for us to work with the FDA and actually say, 'this is clinically relevant information and consumers should work with their physicians on what to do with it,'" said CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki, who is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Google and Brin have invested millions in the privately held company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif.

Wojcicki says the shift in strategy reflects the growing scope of the company's test kit, which now measures the risks of developing more than 115 different diseases.

23andMe said Monday it submitted an initial batch of seven health-related tests to the FDA for review. The company plans to submit 100 additional tests in separate installments before the end of the year. Tests involving family history and nonmedical traits will not be reviewed, since they don't fall under FDA oversight.

Even some of the harshest critics of the genetic testing industry say 23andMe is taking the right approach.

Dr. James Evans of University of North Carolina said he considers much of the information reported by 23andMe, "relatively useless," and "in the realm of entertainment." He believes patients benefit more from pursuing a healthy lifestyle than parsing the potential risks of developing various diseases.

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Personalized DNA test seeks FDA approval

Gene profiles suggest people interbred with a now-extinct species on the continent not that long ago

Web edition : 3:45 pm

Expeditions to Africa may have brought back evidence of a hitherto unknown branch in the human family tree. But this time the evidence wasnt unearthed by digging in the dirt. It was found in the DNA of hunter-gatherer people living in Cameroon and Tanzania.

Buried in the genetic blueprints of 15 people, researchers found the genetic signature of a sister species that branched off the human family tree at about the same time that Neandertals did. This lineage probably remained isolated from the one that produced modern humans for a long time, but its DNA jumped into the Homo sapiens gene pool through interbreeding with modern humans during the same era that other modern humans and Neandertals were mixing in the Middle East, researchers report in the August 3 Cell.

The evidence for ancient interbreeding is surprisingly convincing, says Richard Ed Green, a genome biologist at the University of California, Santa Cruz. There is a signal that demands explanation, and archaic admixture seems to be the most reasonable one at this point, he says.

Scientists have discovered that some people with ancestry outside Africa have DNA inherited from Neandertals or Denisovans, a mysterious group known only through DNA derived from a fossil finger bone found in a Siberian cave (SN: 6/5/10, p. 5; SN: 1/15/11, p.10).

But those researchers had DNA from fossils to guide their research. This time, researchers led by Sarah Tishkoff at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia didnt have fossil DNA, or even fossils.

Tishkoffs group took DNA donated by 15 African hunter-gatherers five Pygmies from Cameroon and five Hadza and five Sandawe from Tanzania and compiled complete genetic blueprints for each person. Population geneticist Joshua Akey of the University of Washington and his colleagues helped analyze the data. Using a statistical analysis, the team determined that about 2 percent of the DNA from the hunter-gatherers came from an unknown species of hominid that split from modern human ancestors about 1.1 million years ago. These long-lost human cousins must have then interbred with modern humans sometime before the common ancestral lineage of the three hunter-gatherer groups separated about 30,000 to 70,000 years ago, Akey says.

A separate study posted online July 23 on arXiv.org examined patterns of single DNA unit changes, known as SNPs, in 22 African groups. That study, by Joseph Pickrell of Harvard Medical School and colleagues, also presents evidence that some African groups, including the Hadza, may harbor DNA from unknown extinct hominids.

Other researchers arent convinced that the DNA remnants identified are the genetic remains of a new species of human cousin. The DNA could have come from a genetically distinct group of modern humans that has since died out due to changes in their environment, diseases or confrontations with rival groups of humans, says Jean-Jacques Hublin, a paleoanthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

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DNA hints at African cousin to humans

Genetic test maker 23andMe is asking the Food and Drug Administration to approve its personalized DNA test in a move that, if successful, could boost acceptance of technology that is viewed skeptically by leading scientists who question its usefulness.

23andMe is part of a fledgling industry that allows consumers to peek into their genetic code for details about their ancestry and future health. The company's saliva-based kits have attracted scrutiny for claiming to help users detect whether they are likely to develop illnesses like breast cancer, heart disease and Alzheimer's.

The biology of how DNA variations actually lead to certain diseases is still poorly understood, and many geneticists say such tests are built on flimsy evidence.

For years, the Silicon Valley company has resisted government regulation, arguing that it simply provides consumers with information, not a medical service. But now company executives say they are seeking government approval - and the scientific credibility that comes with it.

"It's the next step for us to work with the FDA and actually say, `this is clinically relevant information and consumers should work with their physicians on what to do with it,' " said CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki, who is married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Google and Brin have invested millions in the privately held company, which is based in Mountain View, Calif.

Wojcicki says the shift in strategy reflects the growing scope of the company's test kit, which now measures the risks of developing more than 115 different diseases.

23andMe said Monday it submitted an initial batch of seven health-related tests to the FDA for review. The company plans to submit 100 additional tests in separate installments before the end of the year. Tests involving family history and nonmedical traits will not be reviewed, since they don't fall under FDA oversight.

Even some of the harshest critics of the genetic testing industry say 23andMe is taking the right approach.

Dr. James Evans of University of North Carolina said he considers much of the information reported by 23andMe, "relatively useless," and "in the realm of entertainment." He believes patients benefit more from pursuing a healthy lifestyle than parsing the potential risks of developing various diseases.

But as test makers begin analyzing larger portions of genetic code, there are rare cases when the findings may help doctors identify patients with a higher risk of treatable health problems, such as aneurysms or colon cancer.

The rest is here:
Company seeks FDA approval for personal DNA test

HANG LUNG 1H UNDERLYING PROFIT HK$2.5B; ANALYST EST. HK$2.4B

By Anna Edney - 2012-07-30T18:47:12Z

23andMe Inc., the Google Inc.-backed DNA analysis company co-founded by Anne Wojcicki, sought U.S. regulatory approval for a genetic testing service that may help people assess their risk for developing cancer and Alzheimers.

The submission with the Food and Drug Administration will cover seven tests, which 23andMe isnt specifying, Ashley Gould, the Mountain View, California-based companys chief legal officer, said today in a phone interview. The tests are part of a service that tells users whether they carry a disease, are at risk of a disease and would respond to a drug, she said.

The result that you get when you review a report, the FDA wants to ensure thats a valid result, Gould said.

Wojcicki, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, started 23andMe about six years ago, and her husband used the saliva kit to determine he had a gene that makes him susceptible to developing Parkinsons. The FDA decided in 2010 that services claiming to evaluate a customers risk of disease must be cleared by regulators if the companies sell directly to consumers.

23andMe is working proactively with the FDA to ensure the industry delivers high quality information that consumers can trust, Wojcicki said in a statement on the companys website.

Such types of genetic tests may become a $25 billion annual market in the U.S. within a decade, highlighting the need to identify which work best, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), the largest publicly traded U.S. health insurer, has said. While UnitedHealth said such tests hold great promise, the insurer in a March report raised concern about accuracy and affordability.

23andMe said it submitted the FDA application today for the least stringent of two types of medical device reviews. The company plans to submit several more applications by the end of this year, Gould said.

DNA Genotek Inc. (OSUR), a company bought last year by OraSure Technologies Inc., makes the FDA-approved saliva kit. Gould said 23andMe is seeking approval of the process for analyzing and interpreting DNA results for patients.

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Google-Backed 23andMe Asks FDA to Clear DNA Evaluation Service