Do Your Genes Play a Role in How COVID19 Affects You?

 

The COVID19 pandemic has been the talk of the year as it has been viciously infecting many people around the world and for some ending in fatality. It is known that underlying conditions such as respiratory issues or old age make patients more susceptible to the virus, but could a person's genetics also be a factor in how the coronavirus affects them? A recent study found that DNA alterations, variants, in a complex of genes on chromosome three affect proteins called chemokines. The chemokines work with the immune system and attract immune cells to tissues being attacked by the COVID19 virus. But with this variant and the coronavirus, the cells attack the lungs. The study found a key variant that was 1.5 times more common in patients who needed a ventilator. Blood type can also have an affect on COVID19. It was found that patients with genes for blood type A were more susceptible to respiratory failure. Patients with O type blood have lessened chances of respiratory failure with the virus.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genes-may-influence-covid-19-risk-new-studies-hint/

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2020283

Severe COVID-19 Linked to Rare Genetic Variants

 

    The wide variation of symptoms found in COVID-19 patients is due to SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for coronavirus disease. This virus can cause symptoms ranging from a benign infection to death. The article from National Institutes of Health describes why certain people develop severe COVID-19 symptoms. Researchers from the from the COVID Human Genetic Effort found that many of their 660 patients with severe COVID-19 have rare genetic variants in genes responsible for defense against the flu. 3.5% of these patients were completely missing a functional gene. Also, researchers from the National Institutes of Health found that among 1000 patients with life threatening COVID-19 pneumonia, 10% produce autoantibodies. Autoantibodies are malfunctioning antibodies that target a person's own tissues and organs instead of antigens. They also discovered that these autoantibodies are responsible for blocking type I interferons, a set of proteins that protects our cells and body from viruses. This blockage stops these patients from producing enough type I interferons to fight off SARS-CoV-2. I do think it's encouraging to hear that we're learning more about this virus everyday. Also, reading and learning about some of the reasons why certain groups are more likely to get severe COVID-19 was also a bit alarming. People may think that they're not at risk of severe COVID-19 because they're healthy. But, if they have one of these rare gene variants or produce autoantibodies, they have a high risk of getting severe COVID-19.

Cancer Projects that Focus on Creating Diversity in Genetic Research Received New Grants

                             Picture from NYT article, "Cancer Projects to Diversify Genetic Research Receive new grants"

Cancer research has been developing and advancing for years. Currently with the COVID-19 pandemic, it has shown a new side of medical research that isn't always seen. In the data with COVID-19 and many genetic projects, there has been a disproportionately higher number of caucasian people who have been involved in research projects as opposed to people of color. This poses a huge issue looking into diseases and cancers in a population as a whole. This article, "Cancer Projects to Diversify Genetic Research Receive new grants", discusses 6 projects that have received grants to diversify genetics in cancer research in order to not only understand how the disease affects different people but also to obtain the ability to combat the diseases on a large scale. One Dr. said to New York Times, "We think there are underlying molecular and cellular differences that impact the incidence as well as its treatment". 

    The article goes on to explain how in order to increase this genetic diversity in research, a trust has to be build between the medical community and people of color. Doctors believe that there is not only a drastic increase of the risk of different cancers, but there may even be a genetic risk that is not being picked up due to them not being represented in trial data or having a large enough data pool to use. It goes on to say a harsh statistic: "Black Americans have the highest death rate of any racial group for most cancers; some 73,000 African-Americans die of cancer each year". This data is critical and diversity in genetic research to include diverse ethnicities is crucial to understand that diseases may effect everyone differently on a cellular and genetic level. One project that is receiving the grant is called "Polyethnic-1000" which is working on "closing the knowledge gap that exists largely because decades of genetic studies focused mainly on white patient populations". 

    It is crucial to have diversity when observing genetics and their role in growing diseases and cancers and I believe that every field in science whether it is research patients or the researchers themselves need more diversity and open up the diversity in studies and research techniques. The statistics presented in this article as well as seeing research and studies in groups of people during the COVID-19 pandemic shed a light that the community needs to work on creating a diverse genetic and research platform. 

Helpful links: Polyethnic-1000, Cancer statistics, and NYT article. 

Genetic or immune defects with covid-19

 In "Genetic or immune defects may impair the ability to fight Covid-19," it brings in thinking of some reason of how. Many of the life-threatening cases were people who had genetic or even immune defects that caused them not to be able to fight Covid-19. The organization, Covid Human Genetic Effort, had brought up the fact that there are glitches in the severely ill-patients in type 1 interferon. Type one interferon is a molecule within the immune system that detects infection and stop it from continuing that does the same with viruses. In one, the severely ill patients have a mutation that makes it so they can't create the interferon. In the other, they found that the severely-ill Covid-19 patients had an antibody that connected to the interferon stoping its actions. In both cases,  it causes severe effects on the patient due to genetic/immune defects. 

I believe that there are many ways that the severely ill Covid-19 patients could be in their position though a big one could be the immune defects and genetic effects. The reason I believe this is because the immune system helps fight off anything that can harm us. But if there is a genetic or immune defect, it could not function and let the virus is due to it not being able to fight the virus.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/24/genetic-immune-defects-may-impair-ability-fight-covid-19

https://www.covidhge.com/

What to Know About the Genetically Engineered Skin That Saved a Young Boy's Life

 

There have been a plethora of advancements, especially in the scientific field. These advancements have helped save lives and treat several unknown diseases. According to an article by Alice Park on the NYTimes, a seven-year-old boy received the most extensive skin transplant yet to treat his health conditions. This patient has a rare genetic disease called junctional epidermolysis bullosa which has caused him to have severe blisters and increased chances of infections. He received donor skin from his father to cover small patches of blisters, however, nothing was effective. They were hopeless until the boy's physicians found a new treatment option. They were able to genetically engineer the skin and cover 80% of the boy's body. This was possible because researchers took Michele De Luca's work "who took people’s skin cells, grew them in the lab, and genetically “fixed” them to no longer carry the disease-causing mutation."The boy now had smooth skin and his skin heals like normal skin. I think this article is really interesting because it shows that more advancements are benefitting many people. This child was suffering from this disease; from daily pain to his doctor's losing hope, he has overcome that phase and is living a happy life. I believe more advancements will proceed as we better our understanding of science and the opportunities we don't know about. 

New Viking Genetic Discovery

There has been a recent genetic study that looks into Vikings and their hair. In the study, it was evident that not only did the Vikings have braids, but they were more common dark hair over blond hair. In that same study, it was evident that not all Viking had been born into the lifestyle; some had adapted into it.  While they were researching into Vikings, it showed that Vikings are not pure Scandinavians. The genetics indicate that they most likely originated from modern-day Denmark and went on to invade different sections of Europe and Asia. I think that it is accurate because they had used genetic DNA and also looked back into other evidence they had received. The study followed old studies to find similarities between the two and came up with how even though it could still be slightly off.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/sep/16/dark-hair-was-common-among-vikings-genetic-study-confirms

https://www.homednadirect.com/knowledge-base/hair-paternity-testing/#:~:text=Paternity%20testing%20is%20reliable%20and,the%20many%20DNA%20samples%20possible.

New Genetic Cause of Epilepsy Found

 

    Researchers have discovered two new gene mutations that cause epilepsy, more specifically the Familial adult myoclonic epilepsy (FAME). The two gene mutations are STARD7 and MARCH6 and they form the FAME2 and FAME3. These mutations form from repeat mutation which are mutations that are involved with neurological diseases. This explains why it is found in epilepsy. This new discovery proves to be extremely beneficial to families who have been affected with this disease because it allows a new treatment plan that could work out better for the patient themselves. With this knowledge testing is available to see the change thats able to be done for the patient which would include a more controlled form of the disease itself. Due to this form of mutation it can be very hard to find the mutation in the DNA sequence so special tools are used such as the expanded short tandem repeat algorithm. This tool can scan an entire genome to find the mutation and other tools aren't able to pick up repeat expansions. This discovery has relieved many families and patients that have had to deal with a disease that no one knew it was caused by. With this information we can begin to work on the important parts of the disease and maybe even find a cure.

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2019-12-genetic-epilepsy.html

https://www.aesnet.org/sites/default/files/file_attach/12.7%20-%20New%20Insight%20Into%20the%20Genetic%20Causes%20of%20Epilepsy_0.pdf

Genetics Of Migraine aura: An update

    This article is about the genetics of migraines and what types of migraines can people have. The two main migraines in this article states are migraines with aura and migraines without aura. The epidemiological studies give evidence about cohort and families are the genetic contribution is highest in migraines with aura. Candidate gene associations studies have performed at the DNA variants in genes prioritized based on presumed knowledge of migraines pathophysiology. There were a lot of studies mentioned in this article related to this update such as (GWAS) and (SNP). 

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.stockton.edu/biologicalscience1/docview/2409814614/744EB56D89FA47C7PQ/6?accountid=29054

https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.stockton.edu/biologicalscience1/docview/2409814614/744EB56D89FA47C7PQ/6?accountid=29054

COVID-19 affecting patients differently

                                          

In the article, “Genetic or Immune Defects May Impair Abilityto Fight Covid-19”, it demonstrates the severely ill patients from Covid-19 were more likely to carry a mutation that affects the making of the type 1 interferon. This type 1 interferon is a frontline immune molecule and helps fight off illnesses as soon as detected. Another study mentioned, showed patients carrying antibodies to their own interferon. This was not found in the asymptomatic people. This would mean they destroy their own interferon. I believe there is a lot to still understand about COVID-19 and finding out this mutation did help understand why COVID-19 affects people differently. Finding out one reason why COVID-19 affects people different is a step in the right direction. This article provided information that I believe will help provide a stepping stone to understand the different affects of COVID-19 on different people. 

Additional link

*Picture of cooked Brussel sprouts Me: yum Everyone: ew

Are you a super taster or a sub taster? To test this theory add blue food coloring to your tongue. The dye does not stick to taste buds. If the dye becomes bluer and bluer you are a sub taster, if your tongue doesn't get very blue you are a super taster. What does this mean? Super tasters have more of a sensitivity to different food flavors such as coffee which is why they add more cream and sugar. Sub tasters on the other hand don't have as many receptors to detect the different food molecules so they go for spicy over mild. The capacity at which your taste buds can detect the taste and send a message to your brain are dictated by the structure of the receptors and how your brain perceives that message. We have 30 different genes that allow us to have a range of what we individually consider bitter based on what our brains senses and signals back to the tastebud. 

Gene Editing: Pros, Cons, Side Effects (In Humans)

 

       First of all, what is gene editing? In 2018, a request was approved to modify the genetic sequence of human embryos. The gene editing technique was give the name CRISPR-Cas9. This means that it can modify and "fix' disease causing genes in the embryo, and therefore have it be gone for future descendants as well. This was a huge breakthrough, but it is very controversial. Let's begin with the pros of gene editing. CRISPR can locate and kill cancer cells. It is also very helpful in drug research, and researchers are using it to speed up the drug discovery process. It can also stop diseases from getting passed down to the offspring. Overall, with gene editing, life can be expanded. It is also used in crops and food production, but that would be a whole other blog post. Now let's get into the cons. Many people see gene editing as unethical. It gives humans almost too much power. People have even called it "playing God". The claim is that diseases are natural, and natural is better. The earth is also already overpopulated, so it would create even more social issues if everyone was kept alive longer. Eventually, there just would not be enough food and resources. Also, it is still not completely safe to do. Gene editing at the cellular level could lead to unexpected results and even miscarriage and stillbirth. And lastly, genetically engineering a species would lead to no diversity, which is a major key to evolution on earth. I think that with proper restrictions, gene editing could be a beautiful gift to humans, as long as it is not taken advantage of. 

https://explorebiotech.com/gene-editing-pros-and-cons/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6454098/

Field Trials of Genetically Modified Mosquitoes and Public Health Ethics

Recently, public health officials released genetically modified(GM) mosquitos in parts of Florida, alarming some people. When looking into it more, I found that they were GM males, which don't bite and are unable to produce viable offspring. By doing this, public health officials hope to reduce the amount of mosquito offspring that are able to pass on diseases that are potentially dangerous to humans. Despite the benefits, there are also ethical issues some are concerned with. Certain people fee individuals and communities should have the opportunity to give consent in regard to being exposed to these mosquitos. There are also issues with regard to potential public health and environmental risks that might arise due to this introduction. I personally find no issue with this since the males wouldn't pose a danger to anyone's health and only have the ability to reduce the population of mosquitos.

CRISPR Gene Editing in Patients with a Congenital Vision Disease

 

Several years ago, scientists learned how to splice the human genome, however, it is still questionable about whether this is an ethical issue when dealing with humans genes. Editas Medicine and Allergan recently disclosed that they would be beginning to perform a type of gene editing in patients with a congenital vision disorder, however, unlike normal human genome splicing, the effects of their editing would not be passed down to the next generation. They will be using CRISPR in the eye of their patients where it will fix a single gene mutation in the CEP290 gene. The mutation of the CEP290 gene prevents photoreceptors from sensing light, which ultimately causes low vision or blindness. Although some may disagree, I believe that this trial of gene editing in humans is ethical, as CRISPR is only capable of editing the specific CEP290 gene. This genetic disorder is currently untreatable, and the use of CRISPR to cut and remove the malfunctioning CEP290 gene could help increase the vision of those with this congenital vision disease. 

https://time.com/4379503/crispr-scientists-edit-dna/?iid=toc_062316

https://www.newscientist.com/term/what-is-crispr/

https://www.umassmed.edu/news/news-archives/2020/06/gene-therapy-and-crispr-strategies-for-curing-blindness/#:~:text=A%20new%20CEP290%20gene%20therapy%20strategy&text=This%20approach%20involves%20using%20shorter,a%20significantly%20reduced%20recovery%20period.

The Increasing Impact of Genetic Studies on Homo Sapien Evolution

In Katarina Zimmer's article from TheScientist she mentions the role genetics has played so far in the study of human evolution. In the past, excavating and studying fossils was the primary method for this. However genetic studies have become a more popular technique, already making a big impact. An example of this is the multi-regional model. This model stated that homo sapiens left Africa and were evolving separately in different regions of the world. This was proven to be incorrect when DNA in the maternally inherited mitochondria was traced all the way back between 100,000 to 200,000 years ago to a single woman ("Mitochondrial Eve")living in southern Africa. This discovery helped prove the  more widely accepted model today, the replacement model or the "Out of Africa" model. The new model stated that all homo sapiens evolved in Africa then migrated and settled in many regions around the globe. This article showed me how big of a role genetics has played, with the replacement model being just one of the many cases where genetics has played a big role. Although this isn't the only method we should use, I think its role will continue to grow when trying to solve this mystery.

Strict New Guidelines Lay Out A Path To Heritable Human Gene Editing

 

    Human gene editing has proved to be a big controversial issue of today, as well as an ethical debate. Scientists are working to perfect gene editing in the ability of producing desired babies. By essentially changing one gene on an individual, you are able to change the traits they will express such as athletic ability, intelligence, or musical talent, etc. Some scientist agree that "designer babies" are a possibility, but the ethical views against it are still too strong to even begin work. More importantly, gene editing can be used to remove diseases or disorders that normally would cause hardship and damage to an individual. One disease in particular they are working to remove is sickle cell-disease. With gene editing, scientists say that it could be corrected. This fix would help many people with this disease to become healthier and overall, live a better life. The steps toward sickle cell-disease and others are being made carefully to benefit society, however it will take some time before it is perfected and accepted by society as a whole.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/human-germline-gene-editing-crispr-strict-new-guidelines

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00673-1

Animals that Pass Down Other's Genes and Not Their Own?!

 

According to a Times of India article, team of scientists led by Jon Oatley used a gene editing tool to create "surrogate dads", or males of an animal species, specifically goats, pigs, cattle, and mice, that are originally sterile (by deleting the NANOS2 gene, which controls the fertility of animals), but then have their testes injected with the stem cells containing the DNA of another animal. The "surrogate dads" then produce sperm, but only with the DNA injected in their testes, not their own. This is expected to be used to advance the world of selective breeding and to easier transfer more desirable traits to livestock. In addition to this, these "surrogate dads" can help animals that are rare or facing extinction to have their DNA immortalized through sperm.

How Do You Feel After You Drink Coffee?

Coffee has never given me a boost in my day like it does to everyone else I know that drinks coffee. I've had coffee with multiple expresso shots, energy drinks, and even a couple a day and I have yet to feel the rush caffeine gives to so many people. An article titled "Why Caffeine Affects People More Than Others" explains that after a person drinks coffee, the caffeine enters their blood stream and connects to an adenosine receptor in their brain and depending on their genetics the receptor may or may not be sticky enough to hold on to the caffeine. Based on that idea my receptors are not sticky what so ever. NorthWestern Feinberg School of Medicine assistant professor, Marilyn Cornelis, adds to this research with the finding that those with low caffeine metabolites cause faster caffeine metabolism which is another way that caffeine may not be affecting a person's body as much as the next. I thought both of these articles were super helpful since I've always wondered why coffee or any kind of energy drink just never gave me that extra pop like everyone else no matter the amount of consumption. 

Genes Influencing Your Covid-19 Risk?

Have you ever considered that maybe the reason covid-19 affects people so differently could be due to their personal genetic makeup? Researchers have been looking into this hypothesis, and have found patterns of certain genes being responsible for severe cases of the disease. Another thing that could affect the severity could be your blood type, according to researchers. In a study done in Spain and Italy, researchers found subtle common similarities between those patients who developed respiratory failure. That similarity was that they had "variants in a complex of genes on chromosome 3." These genes are often used to encode proteins (chemokines), and these proteins interact with the immune system molecules. This all makes sense seeing that the immune system is mostly responsible for how well you handle covid-19. One problem with these statements however, is that the genes being used and studied are based on biased data sets, only using the research from this small trial. However, I do think that this could be the reason that the illness is so feared. We can conclude that it affects those of older age, and with previous health conditions worse than those without, but there are some instances where it aggressively attacks a healthy, young person. Why would this be? Maybe it is because of their genes. 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/genes-may-influence-covid-19-risk-new-studies-hint/

https://consultqd.clevelandclinic.org/genetic-factors-may-influence-covid-19-susceptibility/

On the Left Hand, There Are No Easy Answers

Are you left or right-handed? Well according to an article by Perri Klass on the NYTimes, approximately 90% of people are right-handed leaving the remaining 10% to left-handed people. Even though hand dominance is related to brain asymmetry, it runs in the family. Geneticist, Clyde Francks with a group of Oxford researchers discovered a gene, LRRTM1 which is associated with the development of left-handedness. Even though there are genetic connections between preference, Dr. Geschwind says that “It’s not a single gene that leads to it. There’s a strong environmental component, too. It’s a very tricky problem.” Left-handers are seen to have less asymmetric brains which many believe to be linked to various conditions. I think this article is very interesting as I'm a left-hander myself. I do believe that it has something to do with genetics since my dad, brother, and I are all left-handed in the family. We are rare and it's interesting to see which presidents are also left-handed. Us, left-handers greatness lies in the way they integrate motor control, strength, and different kinds of skills and intelligence. 

Labradoodle genome shows it is primarily a poodle

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200910150330.htm

The creator of the breed Australian Labradoodle is planning on making a breed so it will be a hypoallergic service dog. The article from Science daily described that a new study that the new breed would be mainly a poodle. The Australian labradoodle is one of the most popular breeds, so researchers analyzed their genetic variations along its genomes in thousands of locations. What was found is that the breed is primary genetically poodle with minor genetic features from a labrador retriever. This study finds that over a few generations and a few genetic changes that you can breed an  hypoallergenic dog. The breed will make it easier for all people with any allergies that need service dogs.

Asexual or Sexual Reproduction in Ball Pythons?

 

The oldest ball python in Saint Louis Zoo at 62 years old just laid 7 eggs after not having been near a male in over 15 years according to this New York Times article. Ball pythons can reproduce asexually through facultative parthenogenesis or can store sperm for delayed fertilization, though delayed fertilization has only been documented as lasting for a max of 7 years. The eggs that have not died are currently being incubated and tested to see if it was asexual or sexual reproduction and are expected to hatch in a few weeks if they survive. If they survive, they are living proof of the flexibility of the ball python reproductive system whether they were produced sexually or asexually.

How Much Sleep Do You Need Every Night?

Do you feel well rested with more or less sleep? According to this New York Times article you may have a gene causing you to sleep less than the average amount of hours adults need but still feel refreshed and ready for the day. Brad Johnson serves as his own alarm clock and can never seem to sleep more than six hours a day. Johnson and several family members also share this same characteristic. Dr. Louis Ptacek and his colleagues collected the DNA of Johnson and these family members and found the same mutation in each family member. They then put that same mutation into mice and compared them to regular mice. The mice with the mutation needed one less hour of sleep than the unaffected mice. This gene is called ADRB1, which causes a “heightened wakefulness and impacts wakeful regulation.” I think this study is really interesting because I never asked myself why humans need to sleep and how we know to wake up. It’s crazy that one small mutation can regulate the amount of time someone sleeps to fully function throughout the day.