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Pop karnchanapimonkul

The Ballooning Brain: Defective Genes May Explain Uncontrolled Brain Growth in Autism: ... - 0 views

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm

brain genes autism

shared by Pop karnchanapimonkul on 13 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • linked atypical gene activity to excessive growth in the autistic brain
  • autistic brain sprouts an excess of neurons and continues to balloon during the first five years of life, as all those extra neurons grow larger and form connections.
  • start to lose neural connections, faster than typical brains
  • ...11 more annotations...
  • 67 percent more neurons in their prefrontal cortex (PFC) than typical children
  • executive functions"—high-level thinking, such as planning ahead, inhibiting impulses and directing attention.
  • In brain tissue from both autistic children and autistic adults, genes coding for proteins that identify and repair mistakes in DNA were expressed at unusually low levels. Additionally, all autistic brains demonstrated unusual activity levels for genes that determine when neurons grow and die and how newborn neurons migrate during early development
  • Some genes involved in immune responses, cell-to-cell communication and tissue repair, however, were expressed at unusual levels in adult autistic brains, but not in autistic children's brains
  • autistic child develops in the womb, something—an inherited mutation or an environmental factor like a virus, toxin or hormone—muffles the expression of genes coding for proteins that usually fix mistakes in sequences of DNA
  • Errors accumulate.
  • The genetic systems controlling the growth of new neurons go haywire, and brain cells divide much more frequently than usual, accounting for the excess neurons found in the PFC of autistic children.
  • autistic brain grow physically larger and form more connections than in a typical child's brain.
  • immune system reacts against the brain's overzealous growth,
  • Not all researchers, however, accept
  • If scientists definitively link autism to a characteristic sequence of changes in gene expression and unusual neural growth, then it becomes possible to target and reverse any one of the thousands of steps in that sequence.
  • Pop karnchanapimonkul on 13 Apr 12
     
    Article about how genetic expression may be the cause for autism.
Pop karnchanapimonkul

Sight Seen: Gene Therapy Restores Vision in Both Eyes: Scientific American - 0 views

www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm

gene therapy vision disease enzyme

shared by Pop karnchanapimonkul on 13 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • gene therapy to treat blindness in 12 adults and children with Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA), a rare inherited eye disease that destroys vision by killing photoreceptors—light-sensitive cells in the retina at the back of the eye.
  • genetic mutations in retinal cells. One mutated gene that causes the disorder is named RPE65. An enzyme encoded by RPE65 helps break down a derivative of vitamin A called retinol into a substance that photoreceptors need to detect light and send signals to the brain.
  • injected a harmless virus carrying normal copies of RPE65
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • subsequently began producing the enzyme
  • proved so much they no longer met the criteria for legal blindness
  • injected the functional genes into the previously untreated eye
  • improved as soon as two weeks after the operation: They could navigate an obstacle course, even in dim light, avoiding objects that had tripped them up before, as well as recognize people's faces and read large signs
  • brains were much more responsive to optical input as well.
  • second round of gene therapy further strengthened the brain's response to the initially treated eye as well as the newly treated one
  • that neuroplasticity plays a role
  • visual cortex responding to the newly flowing channel of information from the second eye bolster activity in areas of the visual cortex responding to the initially treated eye.
  • Pop karnchanapimonkul on 13 Apr 12
     
    Article about how the enzyme produced from gene therapy is used to cure blindness in an eye genetic disease.
Sea Maskulrath

Anti-cloning advocate Fred Sauer files to run for governor - 0 views

www.stltoday.com/...6b-11e1-8534-0019bb30f31a.html

anti cloning

shared by Sea Maskulrath on 09 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Anti-cloning advocate Fred Sauer files to run for governor
  • . LOUIS • Anti-cloning activist Fred Sauer may be looking to convert his legal victory into a political win.
  • Although Sauer is no stranger to generating publicity for his causes, he added his name to the Republican contenders for governor with little fanfare Monday morning.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • This year, however, Sauer won a round in court, convincing a judge to rule against Gov. Jay Nixon's signature bio-tech initiative, MOSIRA, which seeks to help tech start-ups in the state.
  • Sea Maskulrath on 09 Apr 12
     
    As with all the processing happening around the world there are also people with money and power that are also trying to prevent cloning form happening. 
nidthamsirisup

Epigenetics Seeks Clues to Mental Illness in Genes' Life Story - Science in 2011 - NYTi... - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...09brain.html

epigenetics DNA Genes disease

shared by nidthamsirisup on 15 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • epigenetics, the study of how people’s experience and environment affect the function of their genes.
  • Studies suggest that such add-on, or epigenetic, markers develop as an animal adapts to its environment, whether in the womb or out in the world — and the markers can profoundly affect behavior.
  • In studies of rats, researchers have shown that affectionate mothering alters the expression of genes, allowing them to dampen their physiological response to stress. These biological buffers are then passed on to the next generation: rodents and nonhuman primates biologically primed to handle stress tend to be more nurturing to their own offspring, and the system is thought to work similarly in humans.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • the offspring of parents who experience famine are at heightened risk for developing schizophrenia, some research suggests — perhaps because of the chemical signatures on the genes that parents pass on.
  • in some people with autism, epigenetic markers had silenced the gene which makes the receptor for the hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin oils the brain’s social circuits, and is critical in cementing relationships; a brain short on receptors for it would most likely struggle in social situations.
  • In one large study of people with schizophrenia, researchers at Johns Hopkins are analyzing blood and other data to see whether the degree of epigenetic variation is related to the inherited risk of developing the disorder. In another, researchers at Tufts are studying the genes of animals dependent on opiates to see how epigenetic alterations caused by drug exposure affect the opiate sensitivity of the animals’ offspring.
orasa sukmark

Junk DNA Can Revive and Cause Disease, Study Finds - NYTimes.com - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...20gene.html

shared by orasa sukmark on 30 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • can rise from the dead like zombies
  • dead gene come back to life and cause a disease
  • a dead gene come back to life and cause a disease.
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • Some of those genes, surprised geneticists reported Thursday, can rise from the dead like zombies, waking up to cause one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy.
    • adisa narula
      adisa narula on 30 Mar 12
       
      Do these genes revive automatically?
  • It is a dominant genetic disease.
  • people who have the disease cannot smile.
  • FSHD affects about 1 in 20,000 people
  • function, if any, is largely unknown.
  • function, if any, is largely unknown
  • FSHD, is one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy.
  • in a way FSHD was the easy case — it is a disease that affects every single person who inherits the genetic defect. Other diseases are more subtle, affecting some people more than others, causing a range of symptoms.
  • The dead gene was also repeated on chromosome 10, but that area of repeats seemed innocuous, unrelated to the disease. Only chromosome 4 was a problem.
  • chromosome 4 was a problem.
  • No one whose dead gene was repeated more than 10 times ever got FSHD
  • it was not completely inactive. It is always transcribed
  • copied by the cell as a first step to making a protein.
  • But the transcriptions were faulty, disintegrating right away. They were missing a crucial section, called a poly (A) sequence, needed to stabilize them.
  • But the transcriptions were faulty, disintegrating right away. They were missing a crucial section, called a poly (A) sequence, needed to stabilize them.
  • extra copies change the chromosome’s structure, shutting off the whole region so it cannot be used.
nidthamsirisup

Study suggests why some animals live longer - 1 views

www.physorg.com/...2012-03-animals-longer.html

animals dna project genetics

shared by nidthamsirisup on 02 Apr 12 - No Cached
    • nidthamsirisup
      nidthamsirisup on 02 Apr 12
       
      A new method to detect proteins associated with longevity which helps further our understanding into why some animals live longer than others.
  • The study, led by Dr. Joao Pedro Magalhaes and postgraduate student, Yang Li, is the first to show evolutionary patterns in biological repair systems in long-lived animals and could, in the future, be used to help develop anti-ageing interventions by identifying proteins in long-lived species that better respond to, for example, DNA damage
  • these species have optimised pathways that repair molecular damage, compared to shorter-lived animals, such as mice
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • found a similar pattern in proteins associated with metabolism, cholesterol and pathways involved in the recycling of proteins
  • Proteins associated with the degradation of damaged proteins, a process that has been connected to ageing, were also linked with the evolution of longevity in mammals.
  • If we can identify the proteins that allow some species to live longer than others we could use this knowledge to improve human health and slow the ageing process.
  • “We developed a method to detect proteins whose molecular evolution correlates with longevity of a species. The proteins we detected changed in a particular pattern, suggesting that evolution of these proteins was not by accident, but rather by design to cope with the biological processes impacted by ageing, such as DNA damage. The results suggest that long-lived animals were able to optimise bodily repair which will help them fend off the ageing process.”
orasa sukmark

Shot of Young Stem Cells Makes Rapidly Aging Mice Live Much Longer and Healthier - Gate... - 1 views

www.gate2biotech.com/-2130

shot stem cells aging much mice longer gate biotech com DNA genetics disease gene RNA brain human epigenetics research Genes

shared by orasa sukmark on 16 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • animals that got the stem/progenitor cells improved their health and lived two to three times longer than expected,
  • "Our experiments showed that mice that have progeria, a disorder of premature aging, were healthier and lived longer after an injection of stem cells from young, healthy animals," Dr. Niedernhofer said. "That tells us that stem cell dysfunction is a cause of the changes we see with aging."
  • "Typically the progeria mice die at around 21 to 28 days of age, but the treated animals lived far longer -- some even lived beyond 66 days. They also were in better general health."
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • we injected stem/progenitor cells from young, healthy mice into the abdomens of 17-day-old progeria mice,
  • As the progeria mice age, they lose muscle mass in their hind limbs, hunch over, tremble, and move slowly and awkwardly. Affected mice that got a shot of stem cells just before showing the first signs of aging were more like normal mice, and they grew almost as large.
  • orasa sukmark on 16 Apr 12
     
    the experiment from the University of Pittsburgh shows that the mice can be stronger live longer after they were injected with stem cells from young healthy animals.
avikan

New Hope Of a Cure For H.I.V. - NYTimes.com - 0 views

query.nytimes.com/...fullpage.html

shared by avikan on 11 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • So people with H.I.V. now must take drugs every day for life, which some researchers say is not a sustainable solution for tens of millions of infected people.
  • CCR5,
  • This is what was done with the Trenton patient. Some of the man's white blood cells were removed from his body and treated with a gene therapy developed by Sangamo BioSciences. The therapy induced the cells to produce proteins called zinc-finger nucleases that can disrupt the CCR5 gene.
  • ...5 more annotations...
    • avikan
      avikan on 11 Apr 12
       
      Millions of people worldwide are currently affected by HIV and many have died from AIDS. Scientists have been trying for many years to find a cure for the epidemic, but now many are trying to find a way to prevent the passing on of the virus for future generations. Although no definite treatment has been discovered yet, recent findings have shown promising results for the future. 
    • avikan
      avikan on 11 Apr 12
       
      With the fast developing biological technologies we are seeing today, scientists hope's are growing stronger.  Maybe one of us one day will be a part of the phenomenon, in search of a way to help the millions affected by the epidemic  
    • avikan
      avikan on 11 Apr 12
       
      CD4 cells initiate the body's response to infections.
    • avikan
      avikan on 11 Apr 12
       
      Many forms of HIV, initially use CCR5 to enter and infect host cells. A few individuals carry a mutation known as CCR5 delta 32 in the CCR5 gene, protecting them against these strains of HIV.
    • avikan
      avikan on 11 Apr 12
       
      For over 30 years scientists have been trying to find a cure for the HIV/AIDs epidemic and so far have been unsuccessful 
    • avikan
      avikan on 11 Apr 12
       
      Incase some of us forgot, AIDs stands for Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, a disease in which there is a severe loss of the body's cellular immunity. And HIV stands for Human immunodeficiency virus, a virus that causes AIDs
Mickey Tsai

Study finds gene variants behind childhood obesity risk - USATODAY.com - 0 views

www.usatoday.com/...1

gene childhood obesity

shared by Mickey Tsai on 13 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Scientists have discovered two gene variants that appear to play a critical role in the development of common childhood obesity
  • Obesity is the result of a complex interplay among biological, behavioral, cultural, environmental and economic factors
  • a highly heritable condition,
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • a third of kids are obese or overweigh
  • gene research may provide insight into the biological pathways that contribute to obesity
  • Mickey Tsai on 13 Apr 12
     
    Scientists have found two gene variants that are likely to cause childhood obesity. This could be useful in knowing how to treat and prevent it. Although there is a genetic component to obesity, it is not the only factor. Biological, behavioral, cultural, environmental and economic factors can all play a role in obesity.
Nitchakan Chaiprukmalakan

Hoogsteen base pairs: An alternate structure in DNA - 0 views

scitechstory.com/...-an-alternate-structure-in-dna

shared by Nitchakan Chaiprukmalakan on 13 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • This discovery, made by a team of researchers from the University of Michigan (USA) and the University of California, Irvine (USA) and published in the journal Nature January 26, 2011 [Transient Hoogsteen base pairs in canonical duplex DNA] involves a new capability of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) machines and something most people have never heard of (including me): Hoogsteen base pairs.
  • It was discovered by the biologist Karst Hoogsteen in 1963. In effect, the Hoogsteen base pair is a ‘normal’ Watson-Crick base pair (usually A-T) flipped-over like an upside-down step on a ladder.
  • It changes the geometry and allows for truly exotic formations such as a triple helix or even quadruplex structures.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Hoogsteen base pairs were known to exist primarily in RNA and had been observed in DNA only when there was damage to the DNA structure, or something else like a protein or drug was bound to it.
  • In RNA the Hoogsteen base pairs have been studied fairly extensively. They are considered an “excited state” and are useful to observe unusual protein binding. In DNA the Hoogsteen base pairing, which by the way has two forms, normal and reverse, was considered an anomaly.
  • It was discovered that normal DNA undergoes these shifts about 1% of the time and they last only milliseconds.
  • “Together, these data suggest that there are multiple layers of information stored in the genetic code.” Because critical interactions between DNA and proteins are thought to be directed by both the sequence of bases and the flexing of the DNA molecule, these excited states represent a whole new level of information contained in the genetic code.
Sea Maskulrath

Changes in gene expression causes high BP in pregnancy - 1 views

zeenews.india.com/...igh-bp-in-pregnancy_16515.html

epigenetics DNA human

shared by Sea Maskulrath on 16 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Washington: Researchers have discovered that changes in the gene expression of a key enzyme may contribute to high blood pressure and increase susceptibility to forming blood clots in pregnant women with preeclampsia.
  • Epigenetics refers to changes in gene expression that are mediated through mechanisms other than changes in the DNA sequence.
  • The VCU team reported that thromboxane synthase – an important inflammatory enzyme – is increased in the blood vessels of expectant mothers with preeclampsia.The thromboxane synthase gene codes for this enzyme, which is involved in several processes including cardiovascular disease and stroke. This enzyme results in the synthesis of thromboxane, which increases blood pressure and causes blood clots.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • According to Walsh, one of the main epigenetic mechanisms is methylation of the DNA, which controls the expression of genes. The increase of
  • his enzyme in the blood vessels is related to reduced DNA methylation and the infiltration of neu
  • enzyme
  • trophils
  • trophils into the blood vessels. Neutrophils are white blood cells that normally help fight infection.
Nickyz P.

Concerns Raised about Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes - NYTimes.com - 2 views

www.nytimes.com/...lly-engineered-mosquitoes.html

shared by Nickyz P. on 16 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • These mosquitoes are genetically engineered to kill — their own children.
  • The results, and other work elsewhere, could herald an age in which genetically modified insects will be used to help control agricultural pests and insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria.
Changul Louis Yeum

Changes in Social Status Seen in Monkeys' Genes - 1 views

www.nytimes.com/...tus-seen-in-monkeys-genes.html

Genes gene

shared by Changul Louis Yeum on 12 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Changul Louis Yeum on 12 Apr 12
     
    Social stress is known to have adverse health effects on both humans and primates. Now, researchers report that it also affects the immune system of female rhesus macaques at the genetic level.
Pop karnchanapimonkul

Genetic adaptation of fat metabolism key to development of human brain - 0 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...120412133056.htm

adaptation fat metabolism brain human gene

shared by Pop karnchanapimonkul on 13 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • 300,000 years ago humans adapted genetically to be able to produce larger amounts of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. This adaptation may have been crucial to the development of the unique brain capacity in modern humans.
  • higher risk of developing disorders like cardiovascular disease.
  • investigated the genes for the two key enzymes that are needed to produce Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids from vegetable oils.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • genetic adaptation for high production of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids is found only in humans
  • 300 000 years ago in the evolutionary line that led to modern humans
  • important factor for human survival in environments with limited dietary access to fatty acids
  • In today’s life situation, with a surplus of nourishment, this genetic adaptation contributes instead to a greater risk of developing disorders like cardiovascular disease
  • first study to show a genetic adaptation of human fat metabolism
  • thrifty gene
  • adaptation that contributed to enhanced survival in an earlier stage of human development, but in a life situation with an excess of food instead constitutes a risk factor for lifestyle diseases
  • Pop karnchanapimonkul on 13 Apr 12
     
    This article explains how earlier genetic adaptations that help our survival is now harming us.
Sea Maskulrath

Scientists clone pashmina goat - Hindustan Times - 0 views

www.hindustantimes.com/...Article1-825339.aspx

clone goat

shared by Sea Maskulrath on 09 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • three years of producing the first-ever buffalo animal clone, Indian scientists have now successfully cloned the world's first pashmi
  • The cloned baby is kept under medical observation at the off campus sheep breeding centre and is in "fine health"
  • The cloned was produced with the help of a cost-effective "hand guided t
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • echnique" and NDRI had used the same technology to clone two buffalo calves on its Karnal campus.
  • Sea Maskulrath on 09 Apr 12
     
    Now that the cost of the pashmina will be lowered, we have to thank Dr.Tej for his hard work and that we cannot underestimate indian biotechnology.   
Sea Maskulrath

Boffins set mammoth cloning task - 0 views

www.heraldsun.com.au/...story-fn5iztw3-1226298850815

gene cloning

shared by Sea Maskulrath on 09 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Sea Maskulrath on 09 Apr 12
     
    As it has been stated in the news, Russia and south Korean scientist has been working together in this cloning project in order to compress the gene of mammoth into an embryo ,which then will be placed into the womb of an indian elephant. if successful, they will be able to recreate the mammoth :) WOW
Kaoko Miyazaki

The Rinn Lab - 0 views

www.rinnlab.com/research.html

RNA

shared by Kaoko Miyazaki on 11 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Kaoko Miyazaki on 11 Apr 12
     
    John Rinn (RNA researcher at Harvard Medical School) continues on his ongoing research about Long Intergenic Noncoding RNA's (lincRNAs). lincRNAs used to be overlooked and classified as 'waste' products, but today it is seen as the contractors that create the DNA's coding sequence needed for the organism's structure. In simpler terms, lincRNAs are responsible for putting molecular materials in places they are supposed to be - as though following a rough draft to make a final master piece. Because lincRNAs have so many functions, if step goes wrong, it could cause potential harm to the organism such as creating a tumor. But because of their many functions like guiding the interactions of protein DNA to name one, John Rinn and other current scientists hypothesize that lincRNAs are what differentiates us from other organisms and makes us, us.
chanon chiarnpattanodom

Genes an important factor in urinary incontinence - 1 views

www.sciencedaily.com/...110404142807.htm

Urinary Incontinence Genes

shared by chanon chiarnpattanodom on 11 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • chanon chiarnpattanodom on 11 Apr 12
     
    Scientists have studied how much is urinary incontinence controlled by genetics, rather than the environment by observing twins. 
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