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Genetics
Below are the latest entries in the Genetics channel.
We have 35 results for Genetics.
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Wednesday 19th of November 2008 08:59:53 AM
For all of man’s scientific prowess and evolutionary advancement, we are the helpless victims of this sneaky little villain. Cold viruses have very few genes, so they have one purpose and one alone - to make our lives miserable!
So we hack, snort, sneeze and feel awful until this prokaryote decides it has enough of us. There is no cure. We can treat the symptoms, sure, but we’re not fighting the virus. We’re simply "letting it run its course" and that really sucks, right? Here is man, the mighty Goliath, and this puny David of a virus swings at us and down we go, crying for our mommies.
The latest research found that it’s not the rhinovirus that causes the cold symptoms. Rather our immune response goes into "overdrive" because this viral infection. Great. The scientists believe the ideal treatment should "maintain body’s natural antiviral response while normalizing the inflammatory response."
Cool. Meantime, excuse me for the infrequent posting while my body goes into overdrive as the cold virus continues to taunt and bring havoc to my existence.
image: Wikimedia
Tags: common cold, Genes, immune system response, rhinovirus, RNA
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Tuesday 18th of November 2008 12:47:38 AM
Genetically modified corn was found to lower the fertility and body weight in mice, reports an study (translated in English) commissioned by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety.
Austrian scientist found that mice who were fed for over 20 weeks with GM corn developed by Monsanto decreased their liter size around the third-fourth generation compared to the control group.
The Institute for Responsible Technology immediately issued a "moratorium" on the distribution of GM food products until their "safety are undeniably established". Monsanto responded to the news and statements made by Greenpeace about their products, and I quote:
Tags: austria, genetics and health, GM products, monsantoThe Greenpeace press statement is inconsistent with over a decade of reputable, peer-reviewed, scientific studies, including multi-generational studies, which demonstrate and confirm the safety of GM crops.
“These products have been proven to be safe. This report does not provide any basis to conclude otherwise,” said Jerry Hjelle, Ph.D., Vice President of Monsanto’s regulatory group.
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Sunday 16th of November 2008 06:28:52 AM
(Continuing Genetics and Health Series on Living with genetic disorder:
Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome)
Beth Hopkins danced before she walked, and sang before she talked. Her mom said she was one of those little kids who just knew what she wanted. Beth was dancing until two years ago, when her condition worsened and her joints were dislocating everywhere.
Beth Hopkins has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a group of rare and life-threatening genetic disorders that affect connective tissues. There are six major types in the syndrome, and all affect the joints and skin. Symptoms include easy bruising, loose joints, weakness of tissues and skin that stretches easily. Beth has experienced all these growing up.
Beth’s jaws would dislocate while sleeping, and it must be pushed back in again. Sometimes, her fingers or toes would slip out of joint. Once while traveling to Vancouver, her sternum dislocated. Beth’s knees would dislocate after warming up for ballet, a dance she has enjoyed since she was young. Two years ago, she had to give that up as the condition worsened. These days, Beth is in a wheelchair.
For more information about Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), visit the EDS support site.
Tags: , eds, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, hyperelasticity, joints, laxity, loose joints
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Saturday 15th of November 2008 04:33:53 AM
Did you know that Angelina Jolie is a distant cousin of Camilla the Duchess, Madonna, Shania Twain AND Hilary Clinton?
Man has an innate itch to find out where he came from, be it by evolution or ancestry. In a way it helps us connect with people from our past and gives us roots. So it’s no surprise that DNA testing for ancestry or population of origin has mushroomed in the past few years with the growth of direct-to-consumer companies.
Now, the American Society of Human Genetics is concerned about the implications of carrying out such tests without guidelines and oversight. The society presented a recommenda tion paper to the academe, and to the 30 companies involved in ancestral genetics testing.
Image credit: Newscom
Some of those concerns include accuracy of markers used in testing, the methods of interpreting results, the power of the tests, and that there is no quality assurance guarantee in the DTC ancestry industry. Another concern relates to the presence of diseases and other risk factors associated with one’s ancestry and race.
I’m sure there are other means to finding out one’s ancestry with more accuracy, and physical genealogy records may give better, more detailed clues. The ancestral family tree of Angelina Jolie? That was discovered when old Canadian family tree records were published. The report said they all share the same nose. Who knows… you may be related to someone famous too, if you look up old manuscripts, and you don’t need DNA testing for it too.
Tags: american society of human genetics, ancestral dna testing, angelina jolie, camilla, canada, direct-to-consumer, family tree, french, hilary clinton, madonna, shania
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Friday 14th of November 2008 09:21:22 AM
Inspired by Diabetes Notes’ "Puttin g a Face on Diabetes", I wanted to do the same and show how people with genetic disorders - rare or common - manage their condition and live their lives to the full.
I found a feature article about a teenager named Lizzie Tinney, living with Xeroderma Pigmentosa or XP. Lizzie is only 13 years old and yet she already had to undergo surgeries to remove skin cancer sores. Even while wearing protective clothing from head to tow, Lizzie still has to carry around a meter to measure how much UV light she receives.
"It’s way hard. Its way still hard because I love the sun," says Lizzie. "But now that I know that I have XP, I can just go out with my hood on and I go out and play."
Xeroderma Pigmentosa is a rare genetic disorder in which the skin is unable to repair the damage caused by ultraviolet radiation, such as such exposure. The skin becomes so sensitive to UV rays that it gets thin and pigmented. The DNA damage accumulates with age and is so irreversible that risk for skin cancer is 2000-fold.
To find out more about Xeroderma Pigmentosa, visit the Xeroderma Pigmentosum Society website.
Tags: genetic disorders, life, Skin cancer, ultraviolet radiation, xeroderma pigmentosa
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Friday 14th of November 2008 05:16:49 AM
A new theory has emerged about the genetic basis of mental disorders, and it has to do with our parental genes fighting for dominance.
The theory outlines that genes from the father’s sperm are in an evolutionary tug-of-war with genes from the mother’s egg. Whichever becomes dominant tips brain development that direction. An excerpt from the NY Times -
A strong bias toward the father pushes a developing brain along the autistic spectrum, toward a fascination with objects, patterns, mechanical systems, at the expense of social development. A bias toward the mother moves the growing brain along what the researchers call the psychotic spectrum, toward hypersensitivity to mood, their own and others’. This, according to the theory, increases a child’s risk of developing schizophrenia later on, as well as mood problems like bipolar disorder and depression.
A support of the theory are the sister syndromes Angelman and Prader-Will. The Angelman syndrome is characterized by jerky movements, frequent laughing or smiling and an unusually happy disposition. The syndrome is caused by a deletion of genes on the maternally inherited chromosome 15. Contrast that to Prader-Willi syndrome, where individuals are placid, compliant and low-maintenance. The syndrome is caused by a deletion in the same region of a paternally inherited chromosome 15.
Image: Flickr
Tags: angelman syndrome, imprinting, maternal genes, mental disorders, paternal genes, prader-willi syndrome
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Thursday 13th of November 2008 06:37:43 PM
It’s not too often in genetics that we hear about finding evidence that a gene lowers the risk of disease.
This latest news must have been greeted with cautionary hope at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting in Philadelphia. According to the Scientist, a large-effect allele that provides protection against autism was found on chromosome 5 near the semaphorin 5A (SEMA5A) gene, which is involved in guiding neural axons during development. The same group also found two genes not previously linked to autism, one at the tip of chromosome 20’s short arm, and one at the end of chromosome 6’s long arm.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins University used the "the cleanest best set of SNP markers you can imagine" so presumably these results are accurate. Of course, as with most genetic studies, the findings have to be replicated and validated.
Tags: american society of human genetics, autism genes, human genetics, protective allele, semaphorin 5a
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Wednesday 12th of November 2008 06:51:03 AM
For the first time, US researchers have dec oded all the genes of a woman who died of myeloid leukemia, and they found 10 mutations that contributed to the development of her cancer.
This finding is significant on several fronts. It’s the first time that a cancer genome has been sequenced. The scientists took samples of both cancer and normal skin cells from the same woman, and sequenced the DNA on both samples. Previous to this, the focus was on select regions of the genome, called candidate regions, suspected of carrying genes that cause or contribute to cancer.
The study also found that 8 of the 10 mutations have never been suspected as contributing to the disease. The researchers found them on every cancer cell and none in the normal samples, which suggests that these mutations play as-yet unknown roles in skin cancer.
The research is focused on skin cancer, but scientists are enthusiastic about finding similar or the same genes in other types of cancers.
At her request, the woman’s identity is kept secret, but this is also the first time that a woman’s genome has been sequenced. Previous to her, only James Watson and Craig Venter’s DNA have been decoded.
Tags: cancer dna, craig-venter, james-watson, Leukemia, Skin cancer
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Tuesday 11th of November 2008 07:34:50 AM
I chanced upon this article - Genetic testing under the microscope - in the Los Angeles Times of an interview with the President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, Angela Trepanier, and she presents an interesting perspective on the future of personalized medicine.
In the near future, Trepanier says that genetic testing will become a routine part of healthcare. Right now, access to one’s genetic information can be had for at least $400, and one is able to find out which diseases and conditions your genetic makeup may be association with. But the company doesn’t offer any medical opinion or diagnosis, obviously. Trepanier asks rhetorically, "If your only source of information is the company selling the test, is that really the most credible source of information?"
What’s the potential harm?
The emotional harm of finding out something that completely blindsides you, like Alzheimer’s disease. There’s the financial harm of doing a lot of screening tests and then finding out five years later you never needed to do that. If you find out you’re at low risk for heart disease, then you don’t cut back on that extra hamburger, you don’t exercise. What if that’s against the medical advice you’ve gotten from your physician? That’s a potential harm.
Yup. Having a high genetic risk for something does not necessarily mean developing the disease, and corollary, having a very low genetic risk does not mean escape. Complex diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and even alzheimer’s are so dependent on the environmental component (and gene-environment interactions) that it’s hard to separate risks and variations. That’s why it’s called "risk" and at best it is only an estimate, a probability. There is still so much of the unknown in the equation.
Maybe I should really talk to someone from the inside of personal genome to understand what they’re offering.
Tags: complex diseases, gene environment interaction, genetic risk estimate, genetic-counseling
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
Monday 10th of November 2008 11:22:52 PM
Thanks to everyone who joined the Genetics and Health give-away of "Go! Go! Beauty lotions". Go! Go! Beauty is a natural plant-based skin lotion that are themed to celebrate the world’s beautiful diversity, and I think the participants had fun choosing a scent.
And now we have winners! By random number generation -
Congratulations! I will email you for instructions to receiving your prize.
For those who didn’t win, no fret. I have another give-away this week, and this one’s a real prize!
image: morguefile
From geneticsandhealth.com by Grace Ibay Research This Blog Entry
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