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Biotechdaily - Low MicroRNA Activity Characterizes Inflamed Lung Tissues - 0 views

www.biotechdaily.com/...zes_inflamed_lung_tissues.html
shared by Nitchakan Chaiprukmalakan on 13 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • A recent study examined the interaction between a specific microRNA (miRNA) and the activity of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin 13 (IL-13).
  • In the current study, investigators at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (Ohio, USA) examined the effect that stimulation of IL-13 activity has on microRNAs, particularly miR-375
  • They reported in the March 28, 2012, online edition of the journal Mucosal Immunology that IL-13 induced changes in epithelial gene and protein expression including the consistent downregulation of miR-375 in IL-13 stimulated human esophageal squamous and bronchial epithelial cells.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Analysis of miR-375 levels in a human disease characterized by IL-13 overproduction - the allergic disorder eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) - revealed downregulation of miR-375 in EE patient samples compared with control patients. Low levels of miR-375 expression levels indicated disease activity.
  • “MiR-375 is proof of principle that microRNAs are involved in fine-tuning IL-13-mediated responses, which opens up a set of new possibilities for novel therapeutic targets for treatment of allergic disease.”
  • “The identification of a microRNA that regulates IL-13-induced changes and inflammatory pathways is a significant advancement for the understanding and future treatment of allergic disease,
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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.
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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.
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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
  • Errors accumulate.
  • 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
  • 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.
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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.
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Breaking the Silence: The Rise of Epigenetic Therapy - 0 views

jnci.oxfordjournals.org/...874.full cancer DNA genetics research epigenetic
shared by adisa narula on 12 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • adisa narula on 12 Apr 12
     
    Cancer epigenetics is hot. At the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in April, once-obscure principal investigators were feted by gaggles of admirers and many poster presenters mobbed by the curious. "It's one of the hottest areas of basic biology," said Paul Workman, Ph.D., director of cancer therapeutics at Cancer Research U.K.
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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.
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lincRNA: A recently discovered RNA organizes stem cell differentiation - 0 views

scitechstory.com/...izes-stem-cell-differentiation RNA lincRNA
shared by Kaoko Miyazaki on 11 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Kaoko Miyazaki on 11 Apr 12
     
    Organizing how proteins assemble in embryonic cells and taking control over/deciding whether a stem cells stays pluripotent or not are only two of the main functions of the recently discovered lincRNAs. These new discoveries of lincRNAs and ongoing experiments only help researches such as Mitchell Guttman from the Broad Institute widen up the study of genetics and the human genome to a new field.
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Study Says DNA's Power to Predict Illness Is Limited - 0 views

www.nytimes.com/...ct-is-limited-study-finds.html DNA disease research gene
shared by Changul Louis Yeum on 11 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Changul Louis Yeum on 11 Apr 12
     
    The answer, according to a new study of twins, is, for the most part, "no." While sequencing the entire DNA of individuals is proving fantastically useful in understanding diseases and finding new treatments, it is not a method that will, for the most part, predict a person's medical future.
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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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Genes an Important Factor in Urinary Incontinence - 1 views

Scientists have studied how much is urinary incontinence controlled by genetics, rather than the environment by observing twins.  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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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
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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.
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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.
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  • 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. 
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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.   
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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
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Heart Failure Gene Discovered...In the Kidney - St. Louis News - Daily RFT - 0 views

blogs.riverfronttimes.com/...ure_gene_prevention_kidney.php
shared by pet-chompoo sa-ngarmangkang on 07 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • risk for heart failure
  • e high blood pressure
  • t's related to the kidney.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • "It also makes hormones involved in maintaining blood volume."
  • So they began sequencing the kidney gene, looking for problems.
  • "The CLCNKA polymorphism decreases the kidney's functionality by about half,"
  • gene remains silent with no effect on the body until there's an injury to the heart
  • the blood flow to the kidney decreases and the kidney secretes the hormones angiotensin and aldosterone which lead to a high risk of heart failure."
  • More blood with less space to move leads to high blood pressure
  • puts more pressure on the heart.
  • presence of the gene drives the risk of heart failure from 20 percent to 27 percent for people with one copy and 54 percent for people with two
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Craving Coffee? It Might Be in Your Genes - Slashfood - 0 views

www.slashfood.com/...ffee-it-might-be-in-your-genes
shared by pet-chompoo sa-ngarmangkang on 07 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • 3 o'clock caffeine craving can also be traced back to your gene
  • depending on whether you carry a "high-consumption" variant or "low-consumption" variant of either gene determines just how fast or slow you metabolize caffeine
  • genetics plays a big role in a lot of behaviors, such as smoking and alcohol consumption
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • how much caffeine we drink."
  • CYP1A2 and AHR,
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BBC News - 'Tipsy' alcohol gene 'could help curb alcoholism' - 0 views

www.bbc.co.uk/...health-11572894
shared by pet-chompoo sa-ngarmangkang on 07 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • people who react strongly to alcohol are less likely to become addicted
  • the gene we have found tells us a lot about how alcohol affects the brain
  • Most of the alcohol people consume is broken down in the liver, but some is metabolised in the brain by an enzyme which the CYP2E1 gene
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • "tipsy" version of CYP2E1 break down alcohol more readily, which explains why they feel the effects of alcohol much quicker than others
  • CYP2E1 on chromosome 10 appears to dictate whether a person can hold their drink better than others.
8More

Biotechdaily - Human Mitochondrial Mutations Repaired by New Technique - 2 views

www.biotechdaily.com/...repaired_by_new_technique.html
shared by Nitchakan Chaiprukmalakan on 01 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • researchers have identified a generic approach to correct mutations in human mitochondrial DNA by targeting corrective RNAs,
  • In adults, many aging disorders have been associated with defects of mitochondrial function, including diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, cancer, heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease.
  • The introduction of nucleus-encoded small RNAs into mitochondria is critical for the replication, transcription, and translation of the mitochondrial genome,
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • The study defined a new role for a protein called polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPASE) in regulating the import of RNA into mitochondria. Reducing the expression--or output--of PNPASE decreased RNA import, which impaired the processing of mitochondrial genome-encoded RNAs. Reduced RNA processing inhibited the translation of proteins required to maintain the mitochondrial electron transport chain that consumes oxygen during cell respiration to produce energy. With reduced PNPASE, unprocessed mitochondrial-encoded RNAs accumulated, protein translation was inhibited, and energy production was compromised, leading to stalled cell growth.
  • Geng Wang developed a strategy to target and import specific RNA molecules encoded in the nucleus into the mitochondria and, once there, to express proteins needed to repair mitochondrial gene mutations.
  • First, the researchers had to find a way to stabilize the reparative RNA so that it was moved out of the nucleus and then localized to the mitochondrial outer membrane. This was accomplished by modifying an export sequence to direct the RNA to the mitochondrion. Once the RNA was in the area of the transport machinery on the mitochondrial surface, then a second transport sequence was required to direct the RNA into the targeted organelle. With these two modifications, a wide range of RNAs were targeted to and imported into the mitochondria, where they worked to repair defects in mitochondrial respiration and energy production in two different cell line models of human mitochondrial disease.
    • Nitchakan Chaiprukmalakan
      Nitchakan Chaiprukmalakan on 03 Apr 12
       
      This article shows the importance of the RNAs in making proteins for the mitochondria to work efficiently.  The article summarizes a method in repairing the mitochondria that is still being worked on.
  • wasin kusakabe on 01 Apr 12
     
    Mutations in the mitochondrial genome inflicts diseases
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