Gene Transfer and Anti-Aging

 The article discusses experiments done on fruit flies and the results of transferring certain genes into them. In the experiment, scientists took genes from simple organisms that are able to regenerate their bodies into fruit flies. Fruit flies are more complex and on their own can not regenerate parts of their body. However, with the transferred genes, the fruit flies had an age-related intestinal issue gene become suppressed. This can be beneficial for discovering new mechanisms related to stem cell function and new anti-aging strategies. 

The genes focused on in the study are called highly regenerative species-specific JmjC domain encoding genes (HRJDs). HRJDs ended up increasing the fruit flies intestinal stem cell division while suppressing intestinal cells that were mis-differentiating. According to the article, fruit flies intestines are similar to human intestines on a cellular level so it would be interesting to see if this method has the same affect on humans' intestines.

It would be amazing if in the future, scientists could develop techniques like this to help promote anti-aging and self regeneration in humans. Seems like an absurd concept but with time and research it has potential. If flatworms and jellyfish can do it then maybe there is a possibility for humans too.

Feasible or Fluke? Debate Ensues Amidst Revelation of Cancer Microbes

 Studies worldwide have been finding microbes within tumors. If true, this could potentially create a whole new way to fight against cancer. The very implication shows how important this is for those affected by such diseases. End of story, right? If only it were that simple. Inevitably, other research teams would attempt to follow the experiments themselves, yet this is where the problem occurred. Other teams weren't able to procure similar results no matter how closely they followed the other teams’ methods (even with little experimental procedures to go off of), writing off the studies as insufficient. Meanwhile, researchers who worked on these studies adamantly defended and continue to defend their work.

  So, which is it? An extraordinary discovery which may lead to beneficial medical breakthroughs or simply sullied data? It can certainly be both, or at least the latter which may lead up to the former. Although, this is something that may take some time. The research teams of the original studies need to go back and try their experiments many more times, tweaking their methodologies until they are able to reproduce their results reliably. Until then, the critics of their studies will continue to push them and that should be expected. Progress can only be made by questioning whether claims have a foundation to stand upon. As stated by Dr. Casadevall (microbiologist) from within the article, "This is a story of the scientific process at work." 

Links

- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/health/cancer-microbes-debate.html

- https://www.cell.com/trends/microbiology/fulltext/S0966-842X(23)00030-6

Genetic link to susceptibility and resistance to inflammatory bowel disease

It is know that Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a common problem in the world but no cure has been found yet for this disease. IBD is the constant inflammation of the gut and how it develops is still unknown. But researchers recently found that the Cd14 gene in mice is correlated with the formation of IBD. This Cd14 gene plays a role of protecting the body from IBD. If the mice had a deficiency of this gene, then the inflammation of the gut was more severe. When there was a higher stimulation of this gene in mice, it was seen that it played a protective role against inflammation in the intestines. This finding suggests new ideas for scientist to see if soluble Cd14 could help with future medical research on this disease.

This is very interesting to see how scientists use this new finding to tackle a solution for Inflammatory Bowel Disease. This may have been the first step to finding a cure for this common widespread disease.

Link to article

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How Infectious Bacteria Colonize our Intestines

A recent study from Hebrew University shows the specific mechanisms for how bacteria are able to colonize a host. By utilizing a pathogenic strain of E. coli, the researchers were able to determine that the bacteria feel the proteins on the surface of where they are traveling. When they feel proteins that are present in the intestines, they implant themselves and start to undergo gene expression. Certain genes in their genome only express after they have implanted themselves in the intestines. They get the energy for this gene expression by feeding off of the host cell's metabolism, making them behave similar to a virus. I found this article particularly interesting because it gives us more insight as to how bacteria are able to colonize their hosts. This research could potentially help medical researchers to figure out new and more effective ways of treating bacterial infections.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170222082914.htm

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/355/6326/735.full 

Stem Cell Regeneration Fluctuates by Time in Fruit Flies

Circadian rhythms in fruit flies have been found to be related to the regeneration of stem cells in the flies.  In an article in Science Daily, researchers have looked at the inside of fruit fly intestinal tracts to find a hotbed of stem cell regeneration.  A rhythm was found in the stem cells that is key to their regeneration process.

These circadian clocks govern daily rhythms through genes that synchronize molecular pathways that promote or repress protein production, influencing a multitude of body functions.

A transcription factor of the circadian rhythm that helps to regulate gene activity is called period.  Scientists discovering the period gene in the intestinal tract of the flies was shocking to some.  This ultimately led to the conclusion that the period gene's presence indicates intestinal healing fluctuates with the time of day in the flies.  Scientists removed the period gene in some flies, and found them to function normally except during arrhythmic bursts of activity throughout the 24-hour day.  They later studied over 400 genes in the fruit flies to find if they are rhythmically expressed in the fly intestines, and over 3% of the entire genome was found to be inactive at certain parts of the day.  Scientists will now look to see if the same circadian rhythms are present in mice, with hopes to eventually use the collected data to help treat cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy.  This is a reference published in Science Daily that describes the function of the circadian rhythm and provides more information on their purpose.

Possibly Origin of Diabetes in the Intestines

A recent study conducted on the intestines of mice gives insight to a possible discovery of the origin of diabetes.  An article in Science Daily outlines the similarities between humans with diabetes and the observations in the mice being studied.  According to the article the mice were found to be lacking an enzyme crucial for the production of lipids in the intestines, FAS (fatty acid synthase).  Mice without the FAS enzyme were found to have chronic inflammation in the intestines due to the inability to keep the mucosal layer of the intestines intact.  Based on the study proper maintenance of the mucosal layer cannot be upheld without proper production of the FAS enzyme.  Without this mucosal layer intact bad bacteria are able to invade the cells of the colon and small intestines causing inflammation.  When inflammation occurs insulin resistance results causing the inhibition of insulin production.  These findings in mice could only be linked to the recorded symptoms of diabetes patients.  Further investigations and tests on diabetes patients are needed to confirm or match any of the data recorded from the study of mice to individuals with diabetes.

Intestinal Stem Cells

In a recent article, researchers from the University of California, Berkeley found that intestinal stem cells may lead to understand certain intestinal diseases, like diabetes and obesity. Working with fruit flies, the scientists at Berkeley found that when the flies eat their gut becomes enlarged. This is due to the intestinal stem cells expanding the intestines so the food can flow through gracefully. This was a new discovery in itself because scientists initially thought that stem cells just replaced tissues when an accident or injury happened, but other than that they did relatively nothing else, until now. These intestinal stem cells enlarge the gut for about four day and then go back to normal size once all the food is digested. The insulin secreted from the intestines is what causes the intestinal stem cells to expand and enlarge the intestines. This phenomenon may give insight to the therapeutic use of stem cells in gastrointestinal diseases and metabolic diseases, like diabetes.  I found this article very interesting because diabetes is a serious condition that should not be taken lightly. The fact that researchers are still trying to find ways to treat this disease is enlightened