Haydeh Payami helped uncover the genetic basis of Parkinson’s disease. Now, she hopes to find new ways to treat the disease by studying the gut microbiome.

A green fluorescent dye with a novel DNA binding mechanism improves signal-to-noise in different DNA amplification assays.

Thirty years out from the start of the Human Genome Project, researchers have finally finished sequencing the full 3 billion bases of a person’s genetic code. But even a complete reference genome has its shortcomings.

What would you do if your research interests revolved around obtaining DNA from a bacterium preserved for millions of years in the gut of a bee stuck in amber, matching up a murderer to crime- scene blood half a century old, or cloning genes from a 1,000- year-old mummy? Most scientists would first consider PCR--the polymerase chain reaction--as a technique for approaching problems such as these. With PCR, minute quantities of nucleic acids can be amplified millions of times into sufficient qua

George Church is at it again, this time using multiplex gene editing to create virus-proof cells, improve organ transplant success, and protect elephants.

Researchers are trying to figure out where it came from, whether it’s evolving, and just how big a threat it will be.

With the introduction of the polymerase chain reaction by Nobelist Kary Mullis and other scientists with the former Cetus Corp. in 1985, researchers can amplify their minute samples into a virtually unlimited supply of material to study.

The gene amplification technique invented by genetics researcher Kary Mullis on a moonlit drive through the northern California hills a decade ago--the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-- continues to revolutionize the life sciences. Uses in molecular biology research and in diagnostic tests are proliferating, and PCR is even bringing a new molecular approach to such fields as paleontology and epidemiology. The following companies are among those supplying PCR-related products for the resear

DETERMINING CAUSES: Louis Kunkel believes that researching sarcoglycans will provide a better understanding of muscular dystrophy. C.G. Bonnemann, R. Modi, S. Noguchi, Y. Mizuno, M. Yoshida, E. Gussoni, E.M. McNally, D.J. Duggan, C. Angelini, E.P. Hoffman, E. Ozawa, L. Kunkel, "b-sarcoglycan (A3b) mutations cause autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy with loss of the sarcoglycan complex," Nature Genetics, 11:266-73, 1995. (Cited in 76 papers through August 1997) Comments by Louis M. Kunkel, D