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Novel artificial genomic DNA can replicate and evolve outside the cell

Scienmag

Professor Norikazu Ichihashi and his colleagues at the University of Tokyo have successfully induced gene expression from a DNA, characteristic of all life, and evolution through continuous replication extracellularly using cell-free materials alone, such as nucleic acids and proteins for the first time.

DNA 96
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Researchers teach AI to tailor artificial DNA for drug development

Drug Discovery World

Using artificial intelligence, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden have succeeded in designing synthetic DNA that controls the cells’ protein production. . First it was about being able to fully ‘read’ the DNA molecule’s instructions. The next step is to use human cells.

DNA 52
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Anti-convulsant drug can modify DNA conformation and interact with chromosome proteins

Scienmag

Brazilian research group shows that valproic acid (VPA), used to treat epilepsy since the 1960s, modulates gene expression in tumor gene models and acts on DNA conformation and the histones in chromatin Results of recent studies involving valproic acid, used for decades as an anti-convulsant drug, show that it can interact with the conformation of (..)

DNA 70
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Key early steps in gene expression captured in real time by CSU researchers

Scienmag

Capturing how RNA polymerase enzymes kick off transcription On scales too small for our eyes to see, the business of life happens through the making of proteins, which impart to our cells both structure and function.

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Epigenetics discovery could lead to new class of cancer drugs

Drug Discovery World

A new paper has solved the 20-year mystery of how epigenetic modifications act as traffic lights to control gene expression and could ultimately speed up the development of a new class of epigenetic cancer drugs. When it gives the green light, H3K4me3 allows RNA polymerase II to move along DNA, transcribing it into RNA as it moves.

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$4.3 million awarded to advance transcription factor drugs

Drug Discovery World

Transcription factors are proteins that control every gene in a person’s genome by binding to DNA and flipping the on/off switches that govern gene expression. Talus Bio was also awarded a $2.0M At Talus Bio we believe ‘nothing is undruggable.’ The post $4.3

Drugs 98
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Turning science into business: Amplifying mRNA by targeting regRNAs

Drug Discovery World

DDW’s Diana Spencer speaks to Josh Mandel-Brehm , CEO of Massachusetts-based biotech CAMP4, to understand the role regulatory RNAs play in gene expression and how the founders overcame the challenge of launching a business based on brand new science. DS: How easy was it to transfer theoretical research into a viable business?