Can Advancements in Genetic's Prevent Parkinson's Disease?

 In the article written by U.S. News & World Report researchers at the University of Southern California have discovered a genetic mutation that might decrease the odds of having Parkinson's disease by half. This mutation is found in only 1% of people of European descent, but if findings are more thoroughly tested they can possibly create prevention or therapies for the disease. 

The mutation is found in the mitochondria, affecting a microprotein called SHLP2. The genetic variant only changes the genetic code of SHLP2 by one singular letter. Dr. Pinchas Cohen discovered the gene mutation in 2016. Other research Cohen had conducted with this gene variant seemed to lessen the chance of cancer. In their research, they compared people of European descent who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's and those without. Those with this gene had half the chance of developing it compared to those who do not. This small mutation prevented the dysfunction of cellular mitochondria, a possible link to what causes Parkinson's disease. The research team even sampled human and mice tissue to test possible cellular connections.

I truly believe that research on diseases such as Parkinson's is extremely important to the genetic field. Not only has the advancement in genetics saved lives, but it will completely change the lives of those who are not born yet. If we can genetically advance ourselves to prevent horrible diseases such as cancer and Parkinson's we will have proven that science and technology advancement has changed our world forever. The more we study and understand these diseases, the more we come closer to curing them. 

Sources:

(News Article) https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-01-05/gene-mutation-protects-against-parkinsons-disease

(Published Study) https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-023-02344-0

(Alternative Link) https://www.parkinson.org/understanding-parkinsons/what-is-parkinsons 

Mystery on the Canary Islands

For many years, the mystery of how the indigenous people arrived on the Canary Islands before European settlers were unknown. The debate over when and why the canary islands were first populated initially arose by Europeans in the 1400s. Records indicated that the Canarians had no navigational skills. This led scholars to wonder how the Canarians even reached the islands. Were they brought by the Romans or perhaps sailed there themselves? Because the language and culture of the indigenous people were lost after European colonization, it has been especially difficult to learn about the past of the Canary Islands. To investigate, Dr. Fregel and her colleagues collected almost 50 mitochondrial DNA genomes from remains at 25 different sites. Most of the cites were radiocarbon dated 150 and 1400 C.E. Results showed North African, Mediterranean, and some sub-Saharan African lineages.  This fit with the genetic history of North Africa. The analysis also showed that the islands didn't have much diversity, where others had a great deal of diversity. This indicated that these ancient populations must have been large. Researchers found lineages that were known only from parts of North Africa and Europe. As well as four new lineages exclusive to Gran Canaria and two eastern islands. Dr. Fregel proposed that this might mean colonization happened in at least two phases with the second wave of migration only on islands closer to the African continent. Even though this evidence did not show how the Canarians arrived on the island, they were able to discover where they may have originated from.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/21/science/canary-islands-indigenous-dna.html
Samples being collected from mummified remains at El Museo Canario in the Canary Islands.



I found this article really interesting and amazing that the researchers were able to study a remains dated all the way back to 150-1400 C.E. Mitochondrial DNA can tell us a lot of valuable information about the past that can then be used for many things science or health-related in the future!

Neandertal DNA May Have Helped Europeans Survive

Geneticist Luis Barrerio conducted a study in which blood was collected from 80 people of African descent and 95 people of European descent. From these blood samples, macrophages were isolated, grown, then infected with two types of bacteria. While monitoring how the macrophages reacted to the bacteria three times faster than the macrophages from those with European descent. Researchers believe this is due to the first Homo Sapiens leaving Africa and migrating to European countries where they mated with Neandertals and adapted some of the immune responses of Neandertals in order to fight off infections they had not before encountered. A second study done in France collected two hundred samples of blood from citizens of Belgium, half of whom were of African descent and half European. In this study monocytes were isolated, grown, and infected with bacteria and viruses. The two groups showed very different immune responses again, with Neandertal-like gene variants in the European group played a major role in altering their immune response.

The change in immune response that those of European descent obtained can not yet be tracked back to the specific outbreak, but it is known that Neandertal DNA helped those of European descent survive tuberculosis due to the lowered immune response. The overactive immune systems of people of African descent can provide an explanation for why African Americans are at a much greater risk for autoimmune diseases when compared to white Americans. This research shows the need for more radical diversity in genetic studies since 80% of participants in genome-wide association studies are of European descent.