DNA

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered details about the mechanism of an important DNA repair protein that maintains genome stability. Read More

The first study that directly compares Neanderthal DNA in the genomes of a significant population of adults of European ancestry with their clinical records confirms that this archaic genetic legacy has a subtle but significant impact on modern human biology. Read More

An enzyme that builds DNA is able to insert the wrong building blocks, which could generate mutations. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have generated a “parts list” for the molecular machinery that duplicates DNA each time a cell divides. The research has implications for cancer therapies that target components of this machinery. Read More

A new class of DNA repair enzyme has been discovered which demonstrates that a much broader range of damage can be removed from the double helix in ways that biologists did not think were possible. Read More

Insights into the workings of DNA damage response proteins such as SMARCAL1 could suggest new ways to improve genome integrity and prevent cancer. Read More

A study of mitochondrial DNA mutations suggests they result from a process that selects for particular mutations in certain tissues. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have characterized the chemical structures of a series of DNA-protein “crosslinks” that may lead to better ways to avoid the cancer-causing potential of environmental chemicals and prevent some drug toxicities. Read More

Vanderbilt phylogeneticists examined the reasons why large-scale tree-of-life studies are producing contradictory results and have proposed a suite of novel techniques to resolve the contradictions. Read More

Travis Clark, Ph.D., technical director of Sequencing in the VANTAGE core laboratories, shows a tour group how DNA fragments are loaded onto “flow cells” for reading by “next-generation” sequencing machines. Read More

A team led by Vanderbilt University investigators has discovered two new genes — both coding for the signaling protein calmodulin — associated with severe early-onset disorders of heart rhythm. Read More

Structural studies reveal a new framework for understanding a central player in DNA processing. Read More

Researchers have determined how a DNA lesion caused by exposure to chemicals may spark cancer formation. Read More

L-r: Raymond DuBois, Jeff Balser and Dan Roden. (Steve Green/Vanderbilt) “Personalized medicine—the effort to tailor health care to understand individual patients’ needs, genetic profiles and circumstances—is a big emphasis at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center,” said Jeff Balser, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of… Read More

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has stepped up its support of research aimed at cracking the mysteries of the genome, the master DNA code. Read More

They’ve been called “junk DNA” and genetic “dark matter” — the long segments of the human genome (98 percent of it) that do not encode protein. Read More

This month BioVU logged in its 150,000th unique genetic sample. It is now the world’s largest collection of human DNA linked to searchable, electronic health information. Read More

The director of Vanderbilt’s DNA databank will discuss the possibilities of personalized medicine in the first Chancellor’s Lecture of the academic year. Read More

Study finds no evidence of increased mitochondrial mutations in the children of women treated with radiation for cancer. Read More

A new catalog of human genetic data may help researchers uncover the genetic roots of disease and enable the ultimate realization of personalized medicine. Read More