It has been known for a long time that bacteria develop resistance through gene swapping or conjugation. In addition, researchers believed that as antibiotic resistant bacteria form when antibiotics fail to kill the bacteria allowing them to mutate. However, new research done by Duke University student Lingchong You states that there is a possibility that the antibiotics were killing of the parental generation leaving the newly resistant strain to grow. Through 9 clinical tests, You's team was able to find out that the gene swapping occurred before antibiotics were introduced and continued. You them points out that there are very few proven examples where antibiotics induce resistance. This study thus proves that antibiotics do not promote the spread of resistance within bacteria. bacteria share resistances through conjugation and usually share the resistances whether antibiotics are present or not.
This study could be groundbreaking in terms of making new antibiotics. Researchers now knowing antibiotics do not normally induce resistance could possibly come up with new form of antibiotics that were previously declined based on previous data. I find this to be extremely helpful since bacteria are becoming more and more resistant while the number of antibiotics shortens almost constantly. I hope that this study can help researchers further our knowledge of how bacteria transfer DNA and create antibiotics that work for all people.


https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160411124713.htm

http://www.nature.com/articles/nmicrobiol201644

Pregnant Runners = Child Runners?

Exercise trends come and go like trains at Grand Central Station, but running seems to be a constant favorite for many. There have been many studies done on the health benefits of running, but there has never been a study that correlates mother runners having produced offspring runners, until now.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University of Houston have conducted a study with pregnant mice and their offspring. The study consisted of a group of pregnant mice being able to run on their wheel freely while the other group of pregnant mice had their running wheel locked. Once the offspring were born and weaned, they were placed in separate cages from their mothers. The offspring were closely monitored throughout their lives. During their childhood there were not much differences until they hit adolescence. At that point in their lives those born to mothers that ran started to become runners themselves. As the mice got older they became more and more enthusiastic about running.

The researchers have concluded from the results that the mother’s physical activity during pregnancy had a likely affect of the offspring having the want for the physical activity. Though they have made this correlation through research with mice, it is not clear if humans would have the same affects. It is also not clear as to how having a mother run while pregnant is affecting the offspring to become a runner.

Though there are many un-answered questions due to the immaturity of the research, it is an interesting concept. Once the researches figure out if the same affect on mice happens with humans, they would next have to figure out how it is actually happening.

Neurodermatitis Genes Influence Other Allergies

There is a link between the skin condition atopic dermatitis and asthma, and it is tied to specific genetic loci that present a risk. The Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, where research was conducted on this disease, found seven genetic risk loci important to both diseases. The data used was collected from over 20,000 people. Atopic dermatitis has existing regions that determine the risk for the disease, which happen to also be the same regions that follow a typical allergic path that leads to asthma. The usual pattern, in which atopic dermatitis forms early in life, followed by food allergies and then asthma, is referred to as the atopic march.

In order to come to a basis for discovering the connected regions, the researchers performed a meta-analysis specific to genome-wide association studies, in which both patients and healthy individuals were compared. Within these bounds, the cases focused on individuals who developed atopic dermatitis and then asthma. The studies were concerned with Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms. Two regions in particular were most of interest, as they demonstrated the greatest connection between atopic dermatitis and asthma. It was not of great surprise that there are connections between allergic diseases, as the same genetic loci that produce certain factors should be able to cause other similar variations. If there are specific genetic loci that are associated with allergic conditions, it would make logical sense that many different expressions could result from the same area.

Being that this was one of the first research studies conducted on atopic dermatitis with a focus on genetic possibilities, it would be interesting if similar research was conducted on other related allergic diseases.

The First Discovery of When and Where Proteins are Made

     Scientists from Albert Einstein College of Medicine have developed a technique using fluorescence microscopy to reveal where and when proteins are produced. This process allows scientists to see individual mRNA's as they are translated into proteins in living cells. This technique focuses on the first occurrence of translation in which the ribosome attached to the mRNA must displace the RNA binding proteins from the mRNA's. Researchers synthesized identical copies of mRNA molecules and colored one red and one green. This allowed the nucleus, where mRNA's are made, to turn yellow by containing both colors. When they travel to the cytoplasm, their color may change again based on their new function. 
     When the mRNA's land on the ribosomes, they displace its green fluorescent protein resulting in a red appearance. Meanwhile, all the untranslated mRNA molecules remain yellow. This technique has been named TRICK (Translating RNA Imaging by Coat protein Knock-off). TRICK has also enabled scientists to discover that protein translation does not start immediately after the mRNA's exit the nucleus, but intact begin a few minutes after the mRNA's have entered the cytoplasm. 

     I found this discovery amazing. Not only was the place in the cell where proteins are made discovered, but also the timing. This technique of using color cues is very creative, but at the same time simple enough for non-scientists to understand. I think this discovery  proves how far we have come in the medical field, but also how much further we can go. 

A Case of Identical twins - not really identical?

According to the LA Times, a pair of identical twins fetuses were discovered to be not exactly identical. While they had the same exact DNA, for some reason, unknown to researchers, one of the twins had an extra chromosome (which would cause down syndrome) and the other one did not. Since identical twins are supposed to have the same exact 3 billion base pairs of DNA, it has become a mystery to scientist on how only one of the twins was affected. Due to this discovery being while the twins were still in the womb, the decision was made for them to be aborted. Although a tragic situation, this opens up the research field for scientists to try and understand how something like that could happen. 

While I can't even imagine what this family must have went through and what they had to consider, I am deeply saddened that they made the decision to abort the pregnancy. It is a lot of work to raise twins, let alone to raise twins with one of them having a mental illness. I can understand and respect the fact that for that couple they felt that it would be too much. As far as the scientific side of this situation, I am intrigued that something like this could even happen. I'm sure that scientists will be looking into this and try to figure out how this could even be possible. The field of genetics will keep expanding with new situations like these constantly being discovered.

Link to the article: http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-twins-down-syndrome-genetics-20140416,0,6762726.story

Link to related article: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/down-syndrome