Humans are more evolvable now than at any time in history

About 73 percent of all genetic variation in humans has occurred in the last 5,000 years. According to a study published in Nature on November 28 co-written by Joshua Akey of the University of Washington, “Most of the mutations that we found arose in the last 200 generations or so. There hasn’t been much time for random change or deterministic change through natural selection. We have a repository of all this new variation for humanity to use as a substrate. In a way, we’re more evolvable now than at any time in our history.” In most studies of genetic variation, researchers estimated the age of more than one million variants of out DNA code found across human populations and found the majority to be relatively young. This was caused by a period characterized by both narrow reproductive bottlenecks and sudden, enormous population growth. As a consequence for the rapid growth and accumulation in gene variants, Akey’s group found that 86% of varients that seem to be deleterious are less than 10,000 years old, and many of them only existed for the last millennium.



One of the reasons for these large percentiles is due to the rapid population growth. 10,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age, there were about 5 million humans on earth and now there are 7 billion. During reproduction, random variations emerge and if multiplied across humanity’s expanding numbers, than an enormous amount of variation is generated. Natural selection never stopped acting and new mutations with especially beneficial effects, such as lactose tolerance, still spread rapidly, while those with immediately harmful consequences likely vanished within a few generations of appearing. But most variation has small, subtle effects. “Population growth is happening so fast that selection is having a hard time keeping up with the new, deleterious alleles,” said Akey. One of the factors that complicate natural selection in current times is the fact that it is not longer as natural as it used to be. These theoretical models do not account for culture and technology, which are two strong forces with major influences. As of now, the use of reproductive technologies is being studied to see if they ease selection pressure or make them more intense.

It seems common sense to me that evolution is still occurring, especially with the rapid growth that the population has experienced within the last few thousand years. As an organism, we were built to adapt and survive in some way or another, but the fact that so many deleterious mutations have occurred is amazing. I am curious if this is true with other species that have yet to be studied, or if it is due to the fact of how we have changed our natural eating habits and sexual reproduction through technology. Whatever the true cause is, I have always wondered what humans would be like in another 1,000 or 2,000 years and if any changes would even be noticeable. I hope more studies like these can predict what will happen to the human population within the next millennium.

 

 

Scientists snap a picture of DNA’s double helix for the very first time

The picture of the double helix was taken by Enzo Di Fabrizio from the University of Genoa, Italy. He was able to create this by ”pulling a small strand of DNA from a diluted solution and then propping it up like a clothesline between two nanoscopic silicon pillars”. Before this picture, the double helix has never actually been seen by scientists, but its been well documented that the DNA structure is that of spiraling corkscrew. However, this was because of a technique called X-ray crystallography where patterns are converted into an image using mathematics. But by using an electron microscope, and a special technique, Di Fabrizio was finally able to take an image of the double helix.



"The trick to the technique was in acquiring a discrete strand of DNA that could be stretched out and ready to view with an electron microscope. Di Fabrizio managed this by creating a pattern of pillars that repelled water, which resulted in quick moisture evaporation and a residual strand of DNA all ready to go. Then, in order to create a high-resolution image, Di Fabrizio drilled tiny holes in the base of the nanopillar bed and shone beams of electrons". This technique will also be a breakthrough in observing DNA in greater detail along with being able to see how it interacts with RNA and proteins.

This is a great breakthrough in science, and one that I did not even realize that had not happened yet. I was under the assumption that an image of DNA had already been created. With the ability to take images of DNA at this resolution, and hopefully being able to observe its interactions with RNA and proteins, I'm interested to see where this will all lead.

 

A Drinking link...

Researchers from the University of North Carolina discovered a gene called CYP2E. It may protect against alcoholism and a person’s response to alcohol. This means that a person who drinks two drinks could feel nothing but a person who drinks the same two drinks can become inebriated many have a reason for it. CYP2E shows a possible map of how people perceive alcohol, and further, how alcohol affects the brain. It also helps to encode a secondary enzyme that can metabolize alcohol within the brain rather than in the liver. Researcher assembled hundreds of pairs of siblings with at least one parent who was an alcoholic. They were given a drink and asked to tell researcher is they feel drunk, don’t feel drunk, feel tired, or don’t feel tired.


This could propose drugs that induce CYP2E to make people more or less sensitive to alcohol. Researchers are currently focusing on this gene to understand alcoholism more. Further information on the CYP2E gene could lead to ways that could change people’s lives that have a susceptibility for alcoholism.

 

Link to loosing weight

In the July 2010 issue of Genetic researchers have found that genes interacting with a person ability to diet with the help of fruit flies. They determined that the there is a link between body weight and a person’s ability to loose weigh; it helps explain why some diets work better for some people than others. Scientists studied 146 different genetic lines of fruit flies. They were each fed four different diets. These diets included a nutritionally balanced, a low calorie, a high sugar, and a high fat diet. Researchers then measured the difference of metabolic characteristics in each group.  Some flies within the genetic lines tested were highly sensitive to their diets. They showed dramatic changes in body weight. This created a distinction between the metabolic traits that are determined by genetics alone as well as by diet alone. The results of this experiment showed that dieting made little to no difference to the ability to gain, loose, or maintain body weight. This study strongly suggests that some individuals can benefits from altering their dietary habits while other has no ability to change due to their genes.



 

 

Link Between Diet and Gene Mutation

In the April 2012 issue of the journal Genetics, researchers from the University of California say there may be determining variations and responses to vitamin treatment in the human cystathionine beta synthase gene. If this gene becomes defective it can cause a genetic metabolic disorder. This disorder is called homocystinuria and in some cases can be curable with the vitamin B6. The scientists that were involved switched the cystathionine beta synthase gene in yeast with the gene from humans. They tested the genes to determine which alternatives were healthy, treatable, or untreatable when vitamin B6 was given to the species. The scientist concluded the function of 84 DNA sequence variants in this gene, which will help physicians more effectively treat patients based on their particular genotypes.

 



This could lead to the doctors being able to treat patient with drugs more suitable to them rather than do a trial and error. This then could lead to the patient feeling better sooner and be able to figure out what they are more susceptible to when it comes to their genetic makeup.

 

Genes linked with ability to quit smoking

According to Medical News Today, there is a connection between a person's ability to quit smoking on their own or having to use medication to stop smoking. the discovery is being used to make unique treatments for the needs of each individual who is trying to quit.  Researchers have found that some individuals have a weakness to nicotine dependence. they used 3 nicotinic receptor genes, CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4, that have already been proven to have a connection with nicotine addiction.

The researchers used the information from another study and found that people who have the high-risk genes that try to stop smoking that 2 more years to completely quit than individuals who have low-risk genes. individuals who have the high-risk genes had a heavier nicotine consumption than those who didn't. this made it harder for them to quit. Li-Shiun Chen, M.D., of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis stated: "We found that the effects of smoking cessation medications depend on a person's genes. If smokers have the risk genes, they don't quit easily on their own and will benefit greatly from the medications. If smokers don't have the risk genes, they are likely to quit successfully without the help of medications such as nicotine replacement or bupropion."

This study proved that not all individuals with nicotine addictions can be treated the same way. Statistics show that there are about 440,000 deaths in the United States related to smoking or being exposed to second hand smoke. it is also known that 8.6 million Americans have a smoking-related disease and more than 46 million adults that smoke in the United States. i thought this study was very important because it shows the effects of smoking and how bad this addiction really is. i think that that smoking does more damage than a lot of people think it does. it is great that people are being informed about how hard quitting is. this study will help many individuals quit because now they will have individual approaches for them.

Deadly Skin Cancer Metastasis May Be Halted Following Research Breakthrough

More than 1 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the U.S. and melanoma is the deadliest form. Recently scientists have eliminated metastasis, the spread of cancer from the original tumor to other parts of the body, in melanoma by inhibiting a protein known as melanoma differentiation associated gene-9 (mda-9)/syntenin. Paul B Fisher, M.Ph., Ph.D., Thelma Newmeyer Corman Endowed Chair in Cancer Research and his colleagues have found that Raf kinase inhibitor protein interacted with and suppressed mda-9/syntenin. Before now, Fisher had originally cloned mda-9/syntenin in his laboratory, and in previous studies it interacted with another protein, c-Src, that lead to increased metastasis. "In addition to providing a new target for future therapies, there is potential for using these two genes as biomarkers for monitoring melanoma development and progression," says Fisher. Now that the researchers have demonstrated the ability of RKIP to inhibit mda-9/syntenin-mediated metastasis, they are focusing their attention on developing small molecules imitating RKIP that could be used as new treatments for melanoma.

hahaha

I really just thought this was funny. It made me think how far would someone take genetics... haha.

Different types of Orcinus Orca

Scientists have been debating for years whether Killer whales belong to a single species or several different ones, but new DNA evidence seems to show killer whales should be classified in at least four different species. It has always been believed that Orcas have been part of the same species, Orcinus Orca. After been observed more closely scientist are beginning to classify them differently due to their feeding habits and appearances. This is called an Ecotype. Whales from the different Ecotypes do not bread with one another, speak the same dialect, eat the same food, or have the same eye patch.



Scientists have always looked at the mitochondrial DNA from the whales and classified them as a single species, but researchers have come to believe that some species may have mitochondrial DNA that changes more rapidly or slower than others. Therefore looking at just part of the mitochondrial DNA doesn’t give a full picture of genetic variety of killer whales.

Researchers have mapped the full mitochondrial genomes of 139 killer whales from different locations and concluded that the animals fall into several genetically distinct groups.

This changes a lot. Who would have thought that these whales that are so similar actually are very different? I currently do whale research with orcas. This might bring about many different questions when concluding my findings.

Brazil: clone endangered animals

Cloning is the tool that geneticists use as a last resort, but scientist in Brazil wants to change that. They are petitioning to try and cloning eight animals that are close to extinction. Even though none of the animals are critically endangered Brazil's agricultural research agency wants to get a lead. Embrapa, the research agency hopes to begin cloning the maned wolf in the next month. They have already begun collecting tissue samples from all the animals. They have collected somatic cells and spermatozoa from eight threatened species. Some of these animals are classified as near threatened on the list of endangered species. There are plans to put the cloned animals back into the wild even though, these animals have little or no genetic value and could potentially weaken wild populations if they are mixed.



I honestly have mixed feelings about this. Doesn't this shorten the life span of the animal because they are taking cells off animals that are older? DNA loses some of its length each time it is replicated. I am fully agreeing with the conservation of endangered species but is this really the right way of going about it?

Genetic Pathway of Rare Facial Malformation in Children Pinpointed

Researchers at Seattle Children's Research Institute and their collaborators have discovered a pair of defective genes that cause a rare congenital malformation syndrome that can make it impossible for the child to breathe or eat properly without reparative surgery. They found two genes known as PLCB4 and GNAI3 in a genetic pathway that affects children with auriculocondylar syndrome (ACS). ACS is a rare disorder in which a child's bottom jaw develops as an upper jaw and, in some cases, incorrectly fuses to the base of the skull.

3D CT scan of child with ACS. Lower jaw is small and malformed (left); same aged child with normal jaw (middle); lower jaw of child with ACS inverted over upper jaw of normal skull (right). (Credit: Image courtesy of Seattle Children's)

"Although ACS is rare, our findings suggest that these genes may also play a role in more common disorders of the jaw and ears," said Dr. Cunningham, who is also chief of the division of craniofacial medicine and professor of pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Washington School of Medicine. "It's possible that more common jaw problems, like the lower jaw abnormality known as Robin sequence and other skull and facial abnormalities such as craniofacial microsomia, are also caused by genes in this pathway."  Of the five cases studied, two of the parents did not have this condition but were carriers for the mutation. "Now that we know the genetic pathway for ACS, we will be able to better identify and counsel people who have normal facial appearances but carry these genes, about the likelihood of passing on this mutation to their children,'' Dr. Cunningham said.

Spinal Cord Injury and Stem Cell Therapy

After a spinal cord injury, many of the nerve fibers at the injury site lose their insulating layer of myelin. With this result, the fibers are not able to properly transmit signals between the brain and the spinal cord contributing to paralysis. Unfortunately, the spinal cord lacks the ability to restore these lost myelin-forming cells after trauma. Tissue engineering in the spinal cord involves the implantation of scaffold material to guide cell placement and foster cell development. These scaffolds can also be used to deliver stem cells at the site of injury and maximize their regenerative potential. When the spinal cord is damaged—either accidentally (car accidents, falls) or as the result of a disease (multiple sclerosis, infections, tumors, severe forms of spinal bifida, etc.) it can result in the loss of sensation and mobility and even in

complete paralysis. Using Stem cells as a therapy, they replace the injured neurons. Using embryonic stem cells for transplantation is controversial because it is necessary to first create human embryos to produce the stem cells and then kill the embryos in the process of “harvesting” the stem cells. Apart from the controversy about creating and killing human embryos, stem cell researchers are faced with another challenge which is partly practical and partly ethical. The body’s immune system recognizes what is part of the body and what is not. Every cell in the body has protein molecules on the surface of the cell wall that identify the cell as being part of the body. There is a chance that the cells could be rejected and the immune system would attack them. The use of stem cells can be used for a lot of other great causes, when stem cells can be extracted in a more humane way, they could change the future of health care.

 

Cloning Farm Animals

Cloning is scientific process that allows scientists to copy the genetic traits of a plant or animal to create one or more living replicas. Essentially, cloning replicates the genetic make-up of the animal from which the cell nucleus was taken to produce the cloned offspring. It is distinct from genetic modification, which alters animal characteristics by directly changing the DNA sequence.The first clone was the sheep called Dolly, which happened to be a farm animal, in Scotland in 1996. Cloning has always been debatable, because the idea that the cloning could alter the meat and milk that is produced by the cloned animal. There have been multiple farm animals that have been cloned mice, mules, horses, deer, oxen, cows, pigs, dogs and cats. Overall there has been 15 mammals that have been cloned and none being a primate. Scientists expect that in the future, cloning technology will be conventionally used for duplicating breeding animals. This would grant the meat and dairy industries to take advantage of the genetic traits of prized cows and bulls without being limited by the animal’s natural life span. In 2003 the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) there was a ban on cloned animals in any phase of food production. In 2007, there was research that showed that cloning was only 10% successful. Also the prices to clone animals are extremely high, for cows it is approximitly $20,000, and to have a house cat cloned privately it is around $32,000. A Texas-based company began cloning champion horses in March 2006 that can sell for as much as $150,000 per horse. There is a controversy for the animals health, they live short lives and are normally born with deformity's. Also the host mother is at the risk of a high death rate.

New Targets For Ovarian Cancer Treatment Discovered

[caption id="attachment_6645" align="alignleft" width="304" caption="Two microRNAs upregulated"][/caption]

New targets for ovarian cancer treatment have been identified through the unraveling of how the ovarain cancer cells manipulate normal surrounding cells and turn them into tumor promoting cells. A team of researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine discovered that the cancer cells induce the normal cells and alter their production of three microRNAs. The three microRNAs affected are miR-31, miR-214, and miR-155. The cancer cells cause healthy fibroblasts to decrease the amount of miR-31 and miR-214 created and increase miR-155 production. These changes in microRNA levels cause an increase in expression of genes that are involved in the production of the chemical signals associated with cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs). "These CAFs pump out chemical signals telling cancer cells to multiply, invade healthy tissues, and travel to distant sites in the abdomen."-Medical News Today. The most highly upregulated chemical signal was CCL5 which is a key tumor-pormoting factor. The researchers showed that antibodies nuetralized the CCL5 signal and this stopped augmented grouth of normal ovarian structures. By reversing the microRNA signals the researchers were able to cause CAFs to revert to normal fibroblasts. This technique also disrupts the cancer's support system and prevents the cancer from evolving resistance to drugs.

This discovery by the University of Chicago Medicine and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine seems very promising and could possibly be a breakthough in cancer treatment. "Therapeutic approaches targeting microRNAs in cancer cells are under development," added Peter. "Our work suggests that it might be possible to modify microRNA expression in cancer-associated fibroblasts for therapeutic benefit." from Northwestern University. I think these newley discovered targets are the future of how ovarian cancer is treated and hopefully the survival rate of this cancer will be improved.

 

New protein linked with breast cancer

According to Medical News Today, a protein has been found that is linked with breast cancer cells. Johns Hopkins University researchers have found that this protein is used by breast cancer cells to unlock the genes needed to spread the disease throughout the rest of the body. The  JMJD2C gene opens up certain genes that tumors need to grow and metastasize. Researchers where studying the HIF-1 protein, a protein that turns hundreds of genes on and off that are instrumental in development, red blood cell production, and metabolism in cells. They realized that this same protein could be taken over and made to turn on genes that are involved in the making of breast cancer cells.

Researchers then wanted to know how the HIF-1 protein worked so they began to test a large range of human proteins to see which ones would interact with this specific protein.they found 200 hundred proteins that bind with the HIF-1 protein. they searches through all of the binding proteins to see if their were any chemical changes in certain sections of DNA that were able to switch. they found that the protein that was connected with the HIF-1 protein was the JMJD2C gene. they found that the HIF-1 protein switches the JMJD2C gene on and causes tumors. Weibo Luo, Ph.D., an instructor in the Institute for Cell Engineering and Department of Biological Chemistry and leader of the project, stated, "Active HIF proteins have been found in many types of tumors, so the implications of this finding go beyond breast cancer. JMJD2C is both an important piece of the puzzle of how tumors metastasize, and a potential target for anti-cancer therapy." i believe that finding out how these proteins and genes work is very important. if they can find out how these genes turn on and off, they will able to find a way to turn off the genes that cause things like breast cancer. if they can do this for breast cancer, then they will be able to do it for any other type of cancer and many lives will be saved.

Mutation Cause Aortic Valve Disease

Researchers of the UT Southwestern Medical Center have linked a serious cause of aortic value disease by identifying a mutation in gene that seems to be responsible for aortic value disease. A study was conducted by scanning 11 members of a family DNA’s that were affected with disease. Patients were children and 50-60 years old people who had valves problem due to backlog of calcium in the values.  All patients had a mutation on gene called NOTCH1 which cause the aortic value disease. The NOTCH1 gene is very important in developing organ of the body, mainly found in heart and especially in the heart value development.

Normally, aortic valve has 3 leaflets which allow body to flow through the value by closing and opening of the value. However, some child born with an irregular value that has two values instead of three values which called a bicuspid value defect. The Notch1 gene controls calcium pumping in the heart so people that born with the bicuspid aortic value will not pump calcium properly. More likely, calcium will start building up in the value which has difficulty in blood to flow in body. Researchers were looking forward for better treatment of this disease and how to prevent them from calcium to buildup in the value. The NOTCH1 protein controls the bone development, and it offers a hint for understanding how come tissues became irregular calcified. This is really interesting article and I hope that scientist find better treatment for this aortic value disease.

Creating the Perfect Dairy Cow

The dairy cow also known as "Bos Taurus" has many traits that with genetic modifying, can be perfected. Many of the desired traits can be passed down from generation to generation, by selecting the sire and dam that both have traits that balance each other out can create the offspring to have what ever traits the breeder chooses. Some of the most desired traits are stature, dairy form, rear and fore udder, feet, rump, milk yield, milk protein and milk fat. There are hundreds of traits that can create the best dairy cattle, and using the phenotype information becomes more useful in predicting genetic merit of an animal over time since more records accumulate either on the maturing animal or on its progeny."The udder is always the place to start evaluating a cow," Weigel says. "Poor udder traits are the biggest problem, followed by poor feet and leg traits. Naturally, cows that avoid mastitis or injury to their udder are going to be in the dairy herd longer. A lot of times, dairy owners focus on the body size of the cow and for some reason they want big cows. At livestock shows, large dairy cattle often place well, even though body size really doesn't affect the productive life of the cow." Each herd has different strengths and goals in what their herd needs to become to become successful. Either the herd is meant for the milk production, or is meant for artificial insemination and showing. Artificial insemination is a process in which sperm is processed and stored into a females uterus for purpose of conception. AI is one of the most important techniques in genetics for improvement of farm animals. By recording all the phenotypes from generation to generation, the DNA can be traced to help future offspring be perfected.

Regulating Genetically Modified Food

Without the discoverers of the structure of DNA, James Watson and Francis Crick, the door for alteration of genetic material of organisms by exchanging genes from one to another would never have been explored.  Looking at the genetic engineering through modifying agricultural food production, there are many advantages to genetically modified foods though there is always a debate over the risks that go along with GMO products. These plants have been genetically modified in the research laboratory to amplify desired traits such as increased resistance to pesticides or to improve nutritional content. The enhancement of desired traits has routinely been undertaken through breeding, conventional plant breeding methods can be very time consuming and are often not very accurate. The many benefits of genetically engineering crops are pest resistance, herbicide tolerance, diese resistance, cold tolerance, drought tolerance, nutrition, and pharmaceuticals. Some of the disadvantages are eviromental hazards which includes unintended harm to other organisms, reduced effectivness of pesticides, gene transfer to non target species, human health risks, and last but not least economic concerns. Genetically-modified foods have the potential to solve many of the world's hunger and malnutrition problems, and to help protect and preserve the environment by increasing yield and reducing reliance upon chemical pesticides and herbicides. Yet there are many challenges ahead for governments, especially in the areas of safety testing, regulation, international policy and food labeling.

Gene Differences in Non-Smokers with Lung Cancer

Three separate genetic regions have been identified for those that have an increased risk of lung cancer for nonsmokers. This particular study focused on Asian women. Researchers analyzed data from 14 different studies that totaled about 14,000 Asian women. The researchers were able to identify three different genetic markers that were associated with Asian women who had never smoked. Two were found to be located on chromosome 6 and one on chromosome 10. This last marker was the most interesting of the three because previous research has not indicated this particular chromosome.



The study's co-author Dr. Nathaniel Rothman said, "Our study provides strong evidence that common inherited genetic variants contribute to an increased risk of lung cancer among Asian women who have never smoked." Another surprising part of this study was that the researchers did not find an association between the lung cancer risk and variations at a location on chromosome 15. This particular chromosome has been linked to a lung cancer risk in smokers. Therefore, this proves that the genetic variation in chromosome 15 may be related to actually smoking.More research will need to be conducted to show whether Asian women in particular are more prone to the effects of secondhand smoke. Overall, I found this information to be very useful. I would be interested to see whether or not other genetic markers could be identified for other populations.

New Proteins Discovered in Herpes Virus

Approximately 20 years ago, the herpes virus genome was sequenced. This was thought to be able to predict all the proteins that the virus could produce. However, some scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and from the University of California in San Francisco have discovered several hundred novel proteins. In order to do this, the scientists infected cells with the herpes virus and observed which proteins were produced over a 72 hour period. Upon observation, the scientists noticed that  the intermediate products of the virus had many short, novel RNA products. However, one of the most surprising results was that they found the organization of information required for protein production to be much more complex than previously believed.



Overall, I found this information to be quite interesting and hope that it may someday help scientists better identify a way to treat those infected with the herpes virus. The scientists in this study say that much more research needs to be done to take this identification of the virus' genome and determine what the actual products are that the genome is producing.

New DNA Nanotech Mimics Membrane Channels in Cells

[caption id="attachment_6345" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="This nanodevice is formed by 54 double-helical DNA domains on a honeycomb lattice."][/caption]

Physicists from Technische Universitaet Muenchen and the University of Michigan have shown how to construct synthetic membrane channels from the use of DNA nanotechnology. The DNA based channel is shaped after natural membrane channels in lipid bilayer membranes. "Membrane channels are tube-like structures made of proteins, which pierce the barriers and regulate the two-way exchange of material and information between the inside and outside."-Medical News Today. The device's stem is 42 nanometers long and has a internal diameter of two nanometers. The stem is partly protected by a barrel-like cap that is surrounded by cholestorol units which enables it to bind to the lipid membrane of a cell. Once attached to a cell wall, the stem sticks through and forms a pore. The pores formed from the synthetic membrane channels have electrical conductivity just like ion channels in natural cells and might be able to act like voltage controlled gates. The transmembrane current could be adjusted by changing structural details of the synthetic channels and geometric and chemical tailoring of the membrane channels can also be accomplished by this technology.

This little DNA based device could be used as molecular sensors, antimicrobial agents, and drivers of novel nanodevices. "If you want, for example, to inject something into a cell, you have to find a way to punch a hole into the cell membrane, and this device can do that, at least with model cell membranes," says TUM Prof. Hendrik Dietz, from TUM Institute for Advanced Study. This nanotechnology is also propused to imitate the action of viruses or phages by breaking through the cell walls of targeted bacteria to kill them, used as nano-needles to inject material into cells, and basic studies of cell metabolism. Dietz even said "We might be able to mimic natural ion pumps, transport proteins, and rotary motors like the enzyme responsible for synthesizing ATP".

This artical is excting and marks a new step in the development of nanotechnology. This device created by the Technische Universitaet Muenchen and the University of Michigan has opened many doors to the inside of a cell. In the future I think this device will be able to help prevent and treat illnesses.

New Measurement of Biological Age

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered a new model that could show how aging occurs at a genetic level. These findings could better predict how old someone actually is and any kind of disease that can come from aging itself. The researchers in this particular study focused on DNA methylation which is a life-long process where a methyl group is either added or taken away from the cytosine molecule in DNA. This either supports or suppresses gene expression and activity. "The scientist's found that an individual's 'methylome'- the entire set of human methylation markers and changes across a whole genome-predictably varies over time, providing a way to determine a person's actual biological age from just a blood sample." In younger individuals, this methylation is very distinct in some areas and then not in others. However, as aging occurs methylation gets blurrier. This blurring also does not occur at the same rate for all people, thus making it easier to determine a person's biological age.



What I found to be most interesting was that the researchers stated that forensics can use this process to determine how old an individual is just from a blood or tissue sample. One of the researchers on the team also had this to say, "The next step is to look to see whether methylation can predict specific health factors, and whether this kind of molecular diagnosis is better than existing clinical or physical markers." Overall, I feel that this new study is very promising for finding treatments for many different kinds of diseases and possibly even be able to slow down the aging process at a cellular level.

Franciscan Manzanita

Franciscan Manzanita, a  flowering California pant, was thought to be extinct in the wild many years ago. According to a CNN news article, Coastal plant thought extinct for 65 years discovered , this accusation had been disproved when Daniel Gluesenkamp, a biologist, spotted the plant on Highway 101 coming off the Golden Gate Bridge. Gluesenkamp confirmed the plant's identity a few days later. This was an exciting find because the last known wild plant was found in 1947. The plant was relocated to a new area and is now doing very well. It has grown and it has bright green leaves.
Between the months of January to April it displays pinkish flowers. It has even began to reproduce.



I find this to be very interesting. How many other species could still be around today that we think are extinct?

C-Section Births Cause Genetic Changes That May Increase Odds For Developing Diseases In Later Life

Caesarean-section delivery is rapidly increasing worldwide and is currently the most common surgical procedure among women of child-bearing age. Until recently, the long-term consequences of this mode of delivery had not been studied. However, reports that link C-section deliveries with increased risk for different diseases in later life are now emerging. Our results provide the first pieces of evidence that early ‘epigenetic’ programming of the immune system may have a role to play.”



Researchers have found that babies born by Caesarean section, experience changes to the DNA pool in their white blood cells, which could be connected to altered stress levels during this method of delivery. Blood was sampled from the umbilical cords of 37 newborn infants just after delivery.This showed that the 16 babies born by C-section exhibited higher DNA-methylation rates immediately after delivery than the 21 born by vaginal delivery. Three to five days after birth, DNA-methylation levels had dropped in infants delivered by C-section so that there were no longer significant differences between the two groups. Professor Mikael Norman, who specializes in pediatrics at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden says that delivery by C-section has been associated with increased allergy, diabetes and leukaemia risks”. He also compared humans and animals by stating that, " Animal studies have shown that negative stress around birth affects methylation of the genes and therefore it is reasonable to believe that the differences in DNA-methylation that we found in human infants are linked to differences in birth stress."  The authors feel that their discovery could make a significant contribution to the ongoing debate about the health issues around C-section deliveries.

Methylome Modifications Offer New Measure Of Our 'Biological' Age

Researchers at the University of California have been able to describe markers and a model that quantify how aging occurs at the level of genes and molecules. Identifying these markers have been challenging for researchers before because they have looked at the telomeres-the repeating nucleotide sequences that cap the ends of chromosomes and which shorten with age. However, they have found that other factors like stress can affect them. Kang Zang, MD,PhD, professor of ophthalmology and human genetics at the Shiley Eye Center and director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine, focussed on DNA methylation, a process in which a methyl group is added or removed from the cytosine molecule in DNA to promote or suppress gene activity and expression. Zang and her colleagues found that an individual's "methylome" - the entire set of human methylation markers and changes across a whole genome - predictably varies over time, providing a way to determine a person's actual biological age from just a blood sample. She stated that the methylome provides a measure of biological age - how quickly or slowly a person is experiencing the passage of time. That information has potentially huge medical import. "For example, you could serially profile patients to compare therapies, to see if a treatment is making people healthier and 'younger.' You could screen compounds to see if they retard the aging process at the tissue or cellular level." 

Trey Ideker, PhD, a professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Medical Genetics in the UC San Diego School of Medicine and professor of bioengineering in the Jacobs School of Engineering stated that cancer cells age differently than their surrounding normal cells. The findings, according to the study authors, have broad practical implications. Most immediately, they could be used in forensics to determine a person's age based only upon a blood or tissue sample.  He also stated that assessing an individual's methylome state could improve preventive medicine by identifying lifestyle changes that might slow molecular aging. He noted, however, that much more research remains to be done.

Genome Sequencing of 100,000 Foodborne Pathogens Underway

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with the help of university researchers and a private company, have announced that they will be conducting genome sequencing on 100,000 foodborne pathogens. Known as “The 100K Genome Project,” the FDA and the Unversity of California Davis and Agilent will be developing this new database wit the hope of creating a system to allow health officials to cut down the time it takes to identify the source of an outbreak. As of present time, investigators identify clusters of illnesses by uploading pathogens isolated from different individuals to the government-mainted PulseNet database. However, this database can only tell which cases are related, and cannot provide specific genetic details that are needed to figure out where the illness is coming from.



Steven Musser, Director of the Office of Regulatory Science at FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, who is working on the genome sequencing project, says this new database will supplement PulseNet by providing high-resolution data, such as where an organism was found, whether it is resistant to any antibiotics and may even be able to identify the food source. “In terms of resolution it would be sort of like looking at the stars with the Hubble space telescope versus looking at them with binoculars,” explains Musser. The FDA already has evidence that this system will work. One of the 500 strains that has already been sequenced was a strain of Salmonella Bareilly isolated from India that turned out to be the very same strain that caused an outbreak linked to raw tuna product this spring. The plant that processed the tuna implicated in that outbreak was only six miles from where the sample analyzed by FDA was found.

I hope this helps with the control and regulation of products that go on recall due to diseases and outbreaks. As a blueberry farmer, I know how easily one plant can cause trouble to the entire farm due to the inability to successfully locate where the disease is coming from. During the recent lettuce E. coli outbreak, many products that were not infected had to be taken off of the shelves due to the inability to successfully locate the source of the outbreak. With this new genome sequencing project, I hope that cases like these will no longer exist.

 

Living cells captured in pyramid cages

Researchers from the University of Twente in the Netherlands have made a cage that will allow cells to be observed in their natural 3-dimensional environment. The cage is made by depositing nitrides over silicon pits, and when most of the material is peeled away, a small amount of material remains in the corners to create a pyramid. This is a better way of viewing living cells than the flat plane created when using a Petri Dish as the cells are able to interact as the normally do due to the open spaces created by the pyramid.



While culturing cells in 3D is not a new discovery, and it is also not favored when compared to the classic Petri Dish examination,this is a new method that may change that. It is believed that we "could study dynamic interactions with non-tumor cells. For example immune cells could be directly studied on how they recognize/interact with tumor cells. An experiment could be performed to understand why some tumor cells evade surveillance, and why other are killed. With this technology it could advance the diagnostic ability to take metastatic cancer cells circulating in your blood and quickly decide which drugs could be used most effectively. There are really limitless applications with using these platforms."

I hope that this creation of a cage to capture a cell and allow for 3D observation is finally the observation that allows 3D to become just important as the standard 2D study. I think this is a very interesting topic and will be sure to follow along with this.

'Huddle' Gene Linked to Infertility

The discovery of a gene known as SRPK might become the most helpful discovery for people trying to become pregnant.  A correlation has been identified between the absence of this gene and infertility.  In order for development and fertilization to take place in the egg, chromosomes must gather together (referred to as huddling).  Studies that were performed with mice and fruit flies led to the huddling findings, which detail the formation of karyosomes (the clustered chromosomes).  

Further, two meiotic steps involving the kinase SRPK are now considered to be directly correlated to oocytes.  When there is a mutation or complete absence of the SRPK gene, meiotic chromosomes cannot group together and form a karyosome, which in turn restricts the assembly of spindle microtubules.  Without these spindles, oocytes cannot mature, thus leading to infertility or sterility.  There is still more research to be done on this whole process and the functions involving SRPK, but this is already a fantastic find that might leave hope for those who want to have a pregnancy, but currently cannot.

I am curious as to why SRPK might be absent some individuals.  That being the case, infertility would seem like an almost easy fix.  If scientists could figure out a way to either insert SRPK into the DNA or find another way to conjoin the spindle microtubules and form a karyosome, it seems the oocyte could mature.  With such complicated processes, however, I wonder if there are more causes for the absence of SRPK or other reasons as to why the chromosomes do not gather into the karyosome form.  With the simultaneous studies of both fruit flies and mice, hopefully a simple cure to infertility and sterility will be on its way sooner than hoped for!

Temple-Penn researchers identify calcium 'accelerator' to keep cell power supply going

Scientists of Temple University School of Medicine and the University of Pennsylvania have identified a protein that may help in the understanding of how the flow of calcium into the mitochondria is controlled. Through the process of shutting down the activity of 50 genes, one at a time, the protein MCUR1 has been identified as an accelerator that helps regulate calcium coming into the mitochondria form the cell’s larger reservoir. The protein is found inside the mitochondrial membrane and is part of an elaborate mitochondrial channel pore system. The results were published in an advanced online issue of Nature Cell Biology. It is hoped that through the understanding of how to manipulate MCUR1 that there will be advancement in treatments for disease that involve excessive calcium in the cell such as cardiovascular diseases and strokes.



Co-senior author Doctor Muniswamy Madesh of Temple University tells that, “Calcium is the key to regulate many fundamental processes in cells.” He has detailed the importance of this discovery by stating, "excessive calcium in the cell's mitochondria could lead to heart and neuronal mitochondrial dysfunction and cell death. This pathway could be contributing to disease conditions during ischemia/reperfusion injury and stroke, and this discovery opens up possible therapeutic interventions."

The question of how calcium entry into the mitochondria is controlled has yet to be answered; however this is an important step into finding it.  By identifying this protein, the flow of calcium into the mitochondria is now being understood better and only more information can be attained from this discovery. I am excited to see where this discovery leads us and if medication will be available in the future that will cure disease and may allow us to use energy more efficiently.

 

Fruit Flies May Help Us Understand the Biological Effects of Child Abuse

 

Do the genes that you were born with determine your destiny? Or does what you experience in life shape the way you live it. Nowadays, researchers are very keen to prove that what you’re born with determines how your life would be. However, according to a Science Daily article, there is a possibility that what happens after your birth may change even your genetics.

Dr. Marla Sokolowski (University of Toronto), Dr. Tom Boyce (University of British Colombia), and Dr. Gene Robinson (University of Illinois) are co-editors of a special edition of a journal called Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. This edition contains papers from many different disciplines and focuses on how the early years of an organism’s life may affect the way the organism performs as an adult.

One interesting research project focused on how food depravation affects fruit fly behavior. In this experiment, scientists found two varieties of fruit flies – one with a genetic disposition to explore for food (“rovers”), and one with a genetic disposition to stay in one place (“sitters”). When fed a sufficient diet, both fruit flies acted and reproduced as expected. However, when the fruit flies were nutritionally deprived as larvae, both types of fruit flies searched for food like rovers. In addition, rover flies reproduced as normal, while sitter flies showed a reduction in reproductive ability.

This research shows that stressors in an organism’s early years may affect not only the behavior but also the genetics of humans. Research on humans
has showed that methylation in children who experienced abuse was different than methylation in children who did not experience abuse.

Research studies on animals and humans have large implications outside of the lab. It is appropriate that the editors of the journal sought research from a wide variety of disciplines. Studies on adversity during development could drastically change the way things work in fields such as social work, education, and counseling. Hopefully, further research could be used to help children who are currently being abused as well as adult survivors of child abuse.

 

Chinese Acupuncture Affects Brain's Ability To Regulate Pain

According to Science Daily, University of Michigan performed a study that proves that Chinese acupuncture affects the brains ability to regulate pain. The studies participants were 20 females who have fibromyalgia. Fibromyalgia is a common syndrome in which a person has long-term, body-wide pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues. They must of had the syndrome for more than a year and have experienced pain for at least 50 percent of the time. During the study, the participants had to agree not to take any new medication. The patients had eight treatments and had position emission tomography, or PET, scans of the brain during the first treatment and then repeated a month later after the eighth treatment.

A result of the study was that acupuncture increased the binding availability of mu-opoid receptors (MOR) in regions of the brain that process and dampen pain signals – specifically the cingulate, insula, caudate, thalamus and amygdala. There are other medications like painkillers/ morphine that are thought to work by binding to these opioid receptors in the brain and spinal cord. The reduction of pain was associated with the increased binding availability of the receptors.

One possible conclusion of this study is that patients with chronic pain can be treated with acupuncture and they might be more responsive to opioid medications since the receptors seem to have more binding availability. The researchers of this study strongly believe that acupuncture can help reduce chronic pain and can help individuals who are affected by syndromes like fibromyalgia.

Researchers Link New Molecular Culprit to Breast Cancer Progression

Researchers from Johns Hopkins have identified a protein that helps breast cancer cells unlock genes needed in order to spread the disease throughout the body. Gregg Semenza, the Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and director of the Vascular Program at Hopkins’ Institute for Cell Engineering, announced that a protein that wasn’t known before to be involved in breast cancer progression has been identified. The protein is labeled as JMJD2C and it is the key that opens up a whole suite of genes needed for tumors to grow and metastasize. It has now been labeled as a new potential target for cancer drug development.



Semenza and his colleagues were able to find this protein while tracking the activity of another protein, HIF-1, that switches hundreds of genes involved in development, red blood cell production, and metabolism. Previous studies had already concluded that HIF-1 was involved with creation of switching on genes that made breat tumors more malignant. Doctor Weibo Luo led the project in researching more into the HIF-1 and how it works, and how other proteins react to it. During this research, over 200 proteins were found to interact with HIF-1 but only one was labeled as its partner. JMJD2C is turned on by HIF-1, which then binds to DNA, and allows for more HIF-1 to bind to the same sties and active target genes.

This finding is great news for those who suffer from breast cancer and I am happy to see that there is progress in this area. I was unaware in the methods of which proteins that support cancer were identified and this article and finding is very interesting to me. I'm glad to see that there is recent discoveries that may help stop this cancer and I hope that this newly identified protein JMJD2C can be successfully stopped by future medication.

 

Decline of Immune System With Aging May Be Linked to Genetics

 

This article in Science Daily discusses why our ability to fight infection declines with age from Genetics Society of America's journal, Genetics. Scientists found these declining genes in a study on fruit flies. They found that a completely different set of genes are responsible for fighting infection at middle age than during youth.  Many of the genes that were discovered are also present in humans and may help us understand the genetics of our immune systems.  Scientist are hoping to develop new treatments form this information to help prevent the decline of the immune system.



Scientists used fruit flies of different genotypes that were from a natural population. Fruit Flies from each genotype were infected with bacteria at two different ages.  The younger flies were equivalent to the age of a human teenager, and the older flies were equivalent to a middle age adult.   The scientists then observed how fast each set of flies responded and fought off the infection, while also seeing what genes responded.  Genes whose variation in expression were associated with the ability to clear the infection were identified for each of the different ages when exposed to the infection. Thus, the genes for the two age groups were different.  There was no overlap in the sets of genes associated with the ability to clear infection across ages.  This is a very significant study for the medical community.  The genes responsible for warding off infection are almost completely different in younger individuals than in older individuals.   Since the average age of a humans life is continuing to increase we may be able to discover new ways to help our immune systems stay stronger and healthier for longer amounts of time.

New gene triples risk for Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease is just one of the few types of dementia, but it is the most prevalent.  A new gene variant was discovered that not only increases the chances of Alzheimer's disease, but triples it!  It is approximated that less than one percent of people have this gene variant, which also has an unhealthy effect on memory and thinking in the elderly who do not have dementia.  TREM2 is responsible for working with the immune system to reduce brain swelling and get rid of dementia's telltale sign of "sticky deposits."  When mutated, the gene no longer functions efficiently enough to take care of the inflammations and sticky deposits.  The fact that scientists now know about TREM2 could help bring about a new way to reverse the mutation or develop a treatment for its harmful effects.

Aside from TREM2, the only gene known to correlate to Alzheimer's is ApoE.  Even though only about seventeen percent of all people have the variant form of this gene that leads to Alzheimer's, the affected gene accounts for about half the people who have been diagnosed.  Studies of the variant TREM2 gene show similar results to those corresponding to the variant ApoE gene.  Of the people examined for the research who were over 85, those who had the variant TREM2 without Alzheimer's showed findings of decreased cognition.  Not only does the variant correlate to cognition, but it has a role in assisting the immune system as well.

 

Alzheimer's is always a scary possibility when thinking about aging in the future.  Although I always knew it had to do with the loss of memory and some motor skills, I never knew exactly what the disease entailed.  All the damage takes place in the brain, with the buildup of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, in addition to loss of nerve cell connections and death of these neurons.  What I am still somewhat confused about is whether or not anyone in the world can develop Alzheimer's disease.  Are the variant TREM2 and ApoE genes already in a person's DNA at birth (since some cases of the disease are considered to be inherited throughout a family), or can the genes change to become the variants as a person ages?  As for the discovery of TREM2 and the gene's functions, I think it would be a great breakthrough for scientists to research this new information further in order to develop a treatment for the currently incurable disease.

Call That a Ball? Dogs Learn to Associate Words With Objects Differently Than Humans Do

According to Science Daily, dogs learn to associate words with objects differently than humans do. Humans between the ages of two and three, begin to associate words with shape. If you teach a toddler the word ball, they will associate other round objects as a ball. While dogs on the other hand associate words with the size and texture of an object. For example, most dogs refer to all of their toys as the same thing. They are all around the same size and most are made out of the same textures or groups of textures. They explain that earlier research has shown that dogs learn by category.

This study was focused on Gable, a five year old border collie. After a short period of training, Gable learned to associate the name of an object with its size, identifying other objects of similar size by the same name. After a longer period of exposure to both a name and an object, the dog learned to associate a word to other objects of similar textures, but not to objects of similar shape. This study shows for the first time that there is a qualitative difference in word comprehension in the dog compared to word comprehension in humans.

This article really interested me because it's amazing how dog's react to different things, and it was interesting to read about how they actually click the words they hear to what they actually think about.

Pig Genome Project makes way for happier and tastier pigs.

Scientists have recently completed the sequencing of DNA in the cells of a female pig. Lawrence Shook, vice president for research at the University of Illinois and co-author on the study stated that the animal was chosen due to it being a model for biomedical research and how critical it is as a food source throughout the world.  The genome project was originally intended to help look for genes associated with a disease called the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus. The disease does not harm humans, but it is very harmful to pigs as it causes pigs to abort its offspring, young piglets to die, and infected pigs to grow slowly. This virus causes upwards to $660 million per year in the U.S. alone.



The Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium has published their complete analysis of the genome in Nature. This data is free to everyone and it is hoped that genes will be identified as to help pigs grow faster and eat less. Along with this is the hope that the genes will be found that will create a better tasting pig and better tasting bacon.

It is good news for everyone that DNA sequencing can be used in order to keep prices of food low while also creating a better tasting meal. It is my hope that the researchers will be successful in their attempts to identify the genes that cause this disease, and any others that effect this food source. It is exciting to see this genome project being finished and I hope more are to follow in order to help mankind survive.

Stress can cause people to retain as much salt as eating french fries

A recent study, which will be presented at the Behavioral Economics, Hypertension Session of the Psychogenic Cardiovascular Disease Conference in Prato, Italy, has revealed that around 30% of African Americans retain too much sodium, about the same amount we would consume from eating a small order of french fries.  Dr. Gregory Harshfield, a researcher of hypertension at the Institute of Publish and Preventive Health at Georgia Health Sciences University, commented: "This response pattern puts you under a greater blood pressure load over the course of the day and probably throughout the night as well, increasing your risk of cardiovascular disease."  When African American individuals are stressed, they tend to keep about 160 milligrams of salt, and their normal top blood pressure number increases by about 7 points.  During a full day, this reaction increases sodium loads, adding around 500 milligrams to diets that already contain a large amount of salt. 2,300 milligrams or less of daily sodium intake is recommended by The Institute of Medicine.  Harshfield determined that risky amounts of sodium may be taken away by angiotensin receptor blockers, a well-known treatment for blood pressure.  Angiotensin raises blood pressure levels by telling the kidneys to retain salt, as well as raising the levels of the hormone aldosteron, another culprit guilty of directly the kidneys to hold salt.  The author explained that it is natural for the body to react to stress by increase blood vessel constriction for a short period of time, therefore raising sodium elimination.

Women's Brains Contain Male DNA

According to Medical News Today, the brains of women often contain male DNA, which is most likely acquired from a pregnancy with a male fetus.  Scientists have yet to discover what male DNA and male cells in the brain indicate, but there has been research of other kinds of microchimerism showing a link between the phenomenon to autoimmune diseases and cancer.  Microchimerism is the existence of a small number of cells that emerge from another person, which in turn, makes them genetically different from the cells of the host.  Most commonly, during pregnancy, the genetic material and cells are exchanged between fetus and mother. This form is called fetomaternal microchimerism.  The discovery provides evidence for the probability that fetal cells often cross the human blood-brain barrier, while showing also that microchimerism in the brain is comparatively common.  Brain autopsy specimens from 59 females (26 had no neurological disease and 33 had Alzheimer's disease) who passed away between the ages of 32 and 101 were analyzed by the team.  The scientists detected male microchimerism in 63% of the women, which was spread across several regions of the brain.  A slightly lower prevalence of male microchimerism was seen in the patient's with Alzheimer's, which also appeared in lower concentrations in regions of their brains that were most influenced by the disease.  A link between Alzheimer's disease and the level of male cells of fetal origin can't yet be made, the researchers pointed out, because of the small number of women observed, and their history of pregnancy unknown.

Math Anxiety: The brain can feel the pain

A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago, suggests that worry about math can trigger regions of the brain associated with the experience of physical pain and instinctive risk detection.  Ian Lyons and his team of researchers discovered that in people who experience high levels of anxiety when anticipating math tasks, encountering math increases activity in regions of the brain connected with the feeling of physical pain. The more elevated a person's math anxiety, the greater the appearance of neural activity is.  Researchers analyzed 14 adults who experienced anxiety from math based on their answers from a questionnaire about math.  Further testing revealed these individuals were not generally anxious and that their heightened feelings of anxiety were due to math-specific situations.  The study participants were then tested in an fMRI machine measuring their brain activity as they did math. They were asked to verify equations as well as solve world puzzles.  The fMRI scans showed the worry of upcoming math events triggered a response in the brain similar to physical pain. The higher the anxiety about math, the more math anticipation activated the posterior insula, a piece of tissue deep in the brain located above the ear, and is connected to acknowledging threats to the body as well as physical pain.  The researchers concluded that their findings suggest that it is not the act of performing a mathematical task that prompts this response, but rather the anticipation of math.

New Way for Antibiotic Resistance to Spread

Since we were just studying antibiotic resistance in lab,I chose this article. The article was found on Science Daily.The study was performed by Washington State University. The researchers used dairy calves to perform their experiments in the lab. The researchers focused on the antibiotic ceftiofur, a cephalosporin believed to be the helping drive for the proliferation of resistance in bacteria like Salmonella and E. coli. Ceftiofur has minimal impact on gut bacteria. Even though infections have been considerably lowered in the past 70 years, it has had a negative effect on many due to natural selection of drug-resistant microbes. The individuals who are infected with this organism find it difficult to get well fast. They tend to have long hospital stays and have a higher chance of death from minor issues. The researchers mixed cow dung, soil and urine infused with metabolized antibiotic. This recipe was used for antibiotic resistant bacteria. The urine killed off the normal E-Coli in the dung-soil mixture. The antibiotic resistant E-coli survived the soil mixture to recolonize in the calves gut through pasture, forage or bedding.

The main researcher stated " "If our work turns out to be broadly applicable, it means that selection for resistance to important drugs like ceftiofur occurs mostly outside of the animals, This in turn means that it may be possible to develop engineered solutions to interrupt this process. In doing so we would limit the likelihood that antibiotic resistant bacteria will get back to the animals and thereby have a new approach to preserve the utility of these important drugs." One possible solution they mention is to isolate and dispose of residual antibiotic after it is excreted from an animal but before it interacts with soil bacteria.

This article was interesting because many people nowadays have a drug- resistant microbe and it's most likely going to get worse as time goes on.

Autism-Like Behaviors Reversed in Mice: New Hope for Understanding Autism

Scientists at McGill university and the University of Montreal have found a link between autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and protein synthesis. The researchers found that mice with abnormally high synthesis of a certain group of neuronal proteins called neuroligins had showed the symptoms similar to ASD. The scientists have also found that these autism-like symptoms can be reversed by introducing protein inhibiting compounds, or by with gene therapy that targets these neruoligins. According to the article, 1 in 88 children, 1 in 54 boys, and 1 in 252 girls suffer from autism spectrum disorders. Professor Nahum Sonenberg from the team of researchers noted that the reason for the increase in the synthesis of neuroligins was due to a deletion of a gene controlling initiation of protein synthesis. Neuroligins are essential proteins, needed for the transfer of information between neurons. The team of researchers also found that the dis-regulated synthesis of neuroligins largely increases synaptic activity,which results in an "imbalance between excitation and inhibition in single brain cells."

It seems that in current times, more children are being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders. If prevented, the quality of life and opportunities for an individual drastically improves. A plethora of myths are constantly made as to the origin of autism, from substances in tap water to childhood vaccinations. Up to recent research, the cause to autism has been relatively unknown, and the thought of a cure was fantasy. This research may have opened up a door to possibly discovering the root of the mysterious and vague autism. There is not one type of autism, most victims exhibit different symptoms. The movement toward using genetics for therapeutic treatment is an exciting and fascinating.

Autism-Like Behaviors Reversed in Mice: New Hope for Understanding Autism

Autism is defined as a developmental disorder that appears in the first 3 years of life, and affects the brain's normal development of social and communication skills. “According to the U.S.-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 88 children suffer from autism spectrum disorder, and the disorder is reported to occur in all racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic groups. Autism spectrum disorder’s are almost five times more common among boys (1 in 54) than among girls (1 in 252).” According to Science Daily, Autism can be rectified in adult mice with compounds restraining protein synthesis, or with gene-therapy focusing on neuroligins.

The study took place at McGill University and the University of Montreal. In the study they used a mouse replica where a key gene controlling initiation of protein synthesis was erased. In the mice, the study showed that the production of neuroligins was increased. They also came to the conclusion that neuroligins are very important for the configuration and regulation of connections known as synapses between neuronal cells in the brain and essential for the maintenance of the balance in the transmission of information from neuron to neuron. The researchers have linked together protein synthesis and autism spectrum disorder. They used mice in the study, which showed that abnormally high synthesis of a group of neuronal proteins called neuroligins results in symptoms similar to those diagnosed in ASD. They also figured out that autism-like behaviors could be cured in mice with the proper compounds which inhibited protein synthesis. They could also be cured by gene-therapy focusing on the neuroligins.

The researchers final finding was that dysregulated synthesis of neuroligins augments synaptic activity, resulting in an imbalance between excitation and inhibition in single brain cells, opening up exciting new avenues for research that may unlock the secrets of autism. This study can be used to answer all of the unanswered questions that autism disorders have left for us. Also this article really interested me because it is amazing how these finding can make such a huge impact on the world.

Is a Gene Harmful or Helpful? Depends on the Context

Why do organisms have “bad” genes even after millions of years of evolution? Why do genes that are detrimental to an organism’s health – genes that linger but never quite disappear from a population – remain in an organism’s genome after generations? According to Science Daily, these so-called “harmful” genes may be helpful – in certain situations. Historically, the concept of antagonistic pleiotrophy – the idea that certain genes that could be beneficial in some situations and harmful in others – is often used to explain why genetic disorders still exist in human populations.

Previously, this theory was used to explain a few types of genes, such as those that control aging and those that may lead to cancer. However, scientists at the University of Michigan have discovered that antagonistic pleiotrophy can be very influential in an organism’s lifetime. A University of Michigan research team lead by Dr. George Zhang discovered that yeast, a single-celled eukaryotic organism, displayed “widespread antagonistic pleiotrophy”. Yeast is very important in global culture and economy – it is used for making bread and brewing lagers, among other things.

The experiment showed that yeast cells had a capability to activate certain genes based on their growing conditions. For his experiment, he used six different environments, one of which included ethanol. From his conclusions, Zhang and his colleagues learned that yeast was able to choose which genes to turn on to fit its specific environment.

This experiment is interesting because it shows that organisms are very adaptable. It also explains why organisms have “good” and “bad” genes. The idea that the environment can control what genes are expressed is a very powerful concept. It won’t be long until scientists learn more about antagonistic pleiotrophy in humans.

Mutations Effects on Cilium

Two teams of researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine have found a way to make a three-dimensional map that can be used to better understand how the structure of the cilium can be disrupted by genetic mutations. The cilium is a type of photoreceptor in the eye and it helps transports proteins during the light-sensing process. Cilia are a very important component for most mammalian cells. "They play a central role in cellular operations, and when they are defective because of genetic mutations, people can go blind, have cognitive defects, develop kidney disease, grow too many fingers or toes or become obese." The three-dimensional design that these researchers were able to develop was discovered by studying three mice known to have ciliopathies (a disease in the cilium). Researchers used cyro-electron tomography to compare rod structures in the outer structure in healthy mice to the ones that had these ciliopathies. The three-dimensional structure that they were able to create showed that there are vesicles tethered to membrane filaments. Further studies on a specific disease known as Bardet Biedl Syndrome showed that, "...aberrant trafficking of proteins is responsible for photoreceptor degeneration." This degeneration is what could be responsible for many cilial diseases.



Overall, I found this information to be very interesting. It was good to know that many diseases in people can be caused due to a genetic mutation in such a small body part. I would hope that this new found information would be able to help scientists develop ways to better identify those individuals that may have these kinds of mutations and ultimately be able to develop treatments for these diseases as well.

The Tapeworm:Complete mitochondrial genomes of Taenia multiceps, T. hydatigena and T. pisiformis: additional molecular markers for a tapeworm genus of human and animal health significance

Tapeworms come from the genus Taenia that is comprised of flat worms, many being parasitic. Tapeworm require two mammalian hosts for both transmission as well as life cycle completion. Typically transmission is as follows: egg->herbivore->carnivore where the cestode matures and releases its eggs. Infection by tapeworms in humans is caused by inadvertent consumption of eggs or larva typically found in fleas as well as undercooked meat. Infections in mammals can be life threatening if untreated. The picture to the left is of a tapeworm from a dog.

Mitochondrial genomes have been found to have great impact on the science community in understanding molecular variation amongst species and have provided utility in molecular and population genetics as well as evolutionary biology.The tapeworm genus Taenia has growth to have great importance in both human and veterinary biology because of the vast diversity of the parasite. With the completions of 7 total genomes of  T. multiceps, T. hydatigena and T. pisiformis scientists are able to compare and contrast variations within the genomes of the same genus. This research can help to develop genetic markers and used in what scientists are calling an "extended mitochondrial toolkit". Having completed 7 Taenia species genomes, it is possible to analyze amino acids present as well as estimate phylogenetic features for the genus which differed from previous estimates using only partial genes. With these new analyses, better molecular markers were discovered and now these mitochondrial markers are used for molecular ecology, population genetics as well as diagnostics.

Lymphocyte T-Cell Immunomodulator (LTCI):A Review of the Immunopharmocology of new veterinary Biology

Human Animal Hybrids Grown in Lab

For the past three years, British labs have secretly been creating up to 150 human animal hybrid embryos. Since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilization Embryology Act this british laboratory has upwards of 155 mixed embryos containing both animal and human genes and a variety of hybrids including animal eggs fertilized by human sperm; animal cells implanted with human nucleus "cybrids"; humans cells mixed with animal embryos also called "chimeras". The scientists are claiming that, by using these techniques, embryonic stem cells can be created and used to help cure many diseases. Although these hybrids sound promising in the possibilities in curing disease, ethically, many researchers are chastised for their work and many labs lost funding for this type of research. Many people do not believe in this type of research and are making is sound as though there will be a planet of the apes uprising but in fact, many lives can be saved using this research including the ability to use animals for human organ transplants. If we could use, for example pig organs for human transplants, the tens of thousands of people on the transplant list may not die waiting for help. Scientists are introducing humans genes into animals in hopes to lessen the number of transplants that are rejected in those who receive donor organs. Whatever your opinion is on the subject is your opinion but do the research before you begin to judge.