As we grow older we notice declines in our bodies ability to perform as it once did. This decline may refer to a physical or mental decrease. Neuroscientist Tony Wyss-Coray led researchers at Stanford University in a 2014 study that showed how older mice could fight the effects of cognitive and mental decline by receiving infusions of blood from younger mice.
The older mice were joined to the younger mice's circulatory system by a process know as parabiosis. This involved suturing the mice together so that they shared a circulatory system. The older mice who had been joined to a younger mouse started to see changes in the gene system in the hippocampus region of the brain. Not only did the genes start to show improvement the mice also showed increased connections and "increased synaptic plasticity". This increase helped to heal the learning and memory parts of the brain.
Plasma donations from younger mice were also given to the older mice along with the suturing. The improvement in learning and memory was so significant that Wyss-Coray and his colleagues went further and studied the effects that plasma from human umbilical cords and young adults has on the older mice. This breakthrough was significant as it proved to the researchers that humans could benefit from this research. As we are living longer the mental decline of the older generation has increased and become a serious health challenge. My family has suffered with devastating effects of dementia and Alzheimers. My sweet Grandma was the victim of this disease and I was lucky enough to take care of her and see how she hated what the loss of her memory had done to her.
During the study researchers wanted to find which proteins in the plasma were responsible for dramatic increases scientists were seeing when cord or young adult plasma was given to older mice. They were able to find a protein that had not been tested until now for its ability to reverse memory decline. TIMP2 when injected into elderly mice was shown to produce the same effects that cord plasma did on the hippocampus of the brain. The effects of TIMP2 were drastic and clear cut. TIMP2 is one of a family of proteins that regulate a certain class of enzymes that regulate many proteins. This showed the researchers that there was promise in reversing the effects of devastating mental decline in our aging population.
I am excited for this research and also for the hope that there will be a cure for dementia and Alzheimer's. Test studies have been conducted and further research studies are happening by Wyss-Coray. The doors that have been opened by this research are very promising to an aging population that is desperate to remember.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fountain-of-youth-young-blood-infusions-ldquo-rejuvenate-rdquo-old-mice/
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Friday, April 28, 2017
Number of Giraffe Species Quadrouples Overnight
Bryce Broadhead
Dr. Stofer
Thursday Class.
Contrary to my title the population didn't quadruple but our deeper knowledge of the species of giraffes did. In my article it discussed how through more advanced technology and a larger core sample for DNA testing scientists have found that there are four species contrary to the one we thought existed previously. A year ago we thought there was only one species of giraffe with 9 subspecies. The subspecies don't mate with each other however which is interesting as this leads to very distinct populations. Through this further research we have found that there are actually FOUR distinct species, with each having only two subspecies. From 9 subspecies to 8, while the population stayed the same, how is this possible? Through the genetic testing of skin tissue samples we found that two different species were actually genetically identical. I found this article most interesting mainly because it shows very well how little we actually know, and how much more we have to learn. If something this major can be discovered about giraffes, a species that has been in the scientific record for nearly 300 years, then imagine what we can learn about all the other species we currently know about. Leading to further thought in the realm of how little we actually know about ourselves,
Dr. Stofer
Thursday Class.
Contrary to my title the population didn't quadruple but our deeper knowledge of the species of giraffes did. In my article it discussed how through more advanced technology and a larger core sample for DNA testing scientists have found that there are four species contrary to the one we thought existed previously. A year ago we thought there was only one species of giraffe with 9 subspecies. The subspecies don't mate with each other however which is interesting as this leads to very distinct populations. Through this further research we have found that there are actually FOUR distinct species, with each having only two subspecies. From 9 subspecies to 8, while the population stayed the same, how is this possible? Through the genetic testing of skin tissue samples we found that two different species were actually genetically identical. I found this article most interesting mainly because it shows very well how little we actually know, and how much more we have to learn. If something this major can be discovered about giraffes, a species that has been in the scientific record for nearly 300 years, then imagine what we can learn about all the other species we currently know about. Leading to further thought in the realm of how little we actually know about ourselves,
Naked mole-rats “turn into” plants when oxygen is low!
“Deprived of oxygen, naked mole-rats can survive by metabolizing fructose just as plants do, researchers report this week in the journal Science.Understanding how the animals do this could lead to treatments for patients suffering crises of oxygen deprivation, as in heart attacks and strokes.“This is just the latest remarkable discovery about the naked mole-rat — a cold-blooded mammal that lives decades longer than other rodents, rarely gets cancer, and doesn’t feel many types of pain,” says Thomas Park, professor of biological sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who led an international team of researchers from UIC, the Max Delbrück Institute in Berlin and the University of Pretoria in South Africa on the study.”
I chose this article because I have had several family members suffer from strokes and heart attacks. Some of my grandparents and great grandparents have had to drastically change the way they lived their lives due to these tragic life alter events.
When the brain begins to lack oxygen it runs out of energy and starts to die, this happens in humans, lab rats, and all other mammals. Naked mole rats use another source of energy when this happens. Their brain cells begin to burn fructose as a “backup” for energy that produces energy anaerobically through a metabolic pathway that originally scientists thought only plants had.
To test this scientists placed the mole-rats in low oxygen conditions and saw that high fructose levels appeared in the blood stream. The fructose was transported by molecular fructose pumps that is found in all other mammals. The catch is it’s only found in the intestine. “The naked mole-rat has simply rearranged some basic building-blocks of metabolism to make it super-tolerant to low oxygen conditions,” said Park, who has studied the strange species for 18 years.”
Scientists believe that because the mole-rats live in unusual conditions they’ve been able to adapt to their environments. They live in burrows that have little to no ventilation with hundreds of their kind- not the best place to have a large supply of oxygen.
Once scientists can determine how the naked mole-rat “turns into” a plant when oxygen levels are depleted then progress can be made in providing research and help to patients who suffer from oxygen depleted crisis.
https://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=241777&org=NSF&from=news
“The research was supported by National Science Foundation (grant #0744979), the European Research Council (grant 294678), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft SFB 665, and the National Institutes of Health (grants HL71626 and HL60678).”
- Austin Daines
Sunday, April 9, 2017
23AndMe Disease Testing
BIOL 1610
After years of tug-of-war with the FDA, the ban on selling DNA tests has finally been lifted for unique genetic company 23AndMe. Individuals partaking in the tests can discover risks for developing 10 different disorders, using a simple at home genetic test.
Based in Mountain View California, 23AndMe is a unique service that individuals can order, and send back with a swap of saliva in hopes to receive interesting genetic information. Weeks later, users receive an email describing what their DNA says about them including traits and ancestral information. Beginning in 2006, 23AndMe could also release certain risk factors to developing 240 different health conditions based off of the DNA testing done. The FDA decided to stop this element in 2013, because they were concerned individuals would make important medical decisions based off of the test, regardless how uncertain they were.
Two years later, the FDA allowed results to share whether users children could develop any of 36 diseases. Test results however would not reveal risk factors of the individual's risk of developing each disease. The company vicariously continued their works in hopes to one day get the green light to sell actual DNA tests for specific diseases.
Today, the FDA has finally allowed 23AndMe to determine a person's own risk at developing certain diseases. Consumers can now know up to 10 genetic conditions they have a chance of receiving, including Alzheimers, Parkinson's Disease, Thrombophilia and Coeliac Disease. Such results should not be mistaken for a medical diagnosis, because given factors such as lifestyle and environment play a role in chances of development. This ruling is said to reduce the chances of other companies searching for loopholes around the US Governments requirements for genetic testing, showing that going through the FDA can be a step in the right direction and a way to move forward. 23AndMe will start selling DNA tests in the near months to come. Kathy Hibbs who is an officer at 23AndMe says,"We are really tired and really happy." The long-awaited action is finally in company's favor.
Hank Greely, a bioethiest at Stanford University worries individuals may need help from a genetic coach or counselor in order to correctly understand the information given from the test, as other companies begin to offer the same kind of tests.
When participating in a 23AndMe test, it tells users if any other of their siblings also partook in the program. I have a friend who sent in her swab of spit, and 6-8 weeks later found out her sister also took the test in search of her ancestry information. Except my friend wasn't aware she even had a sister, since she grew up as an only child. After she confronted her parents, it ended up being the best thing that happened to them and completely reunited the family!
- Lindsey Tanner
http://www.nature.com/news/23andme-given-green-light-to-sell-dna-tests-for-10-diseases-1.21802
After years of tug-of-war with the FDA, the ban on selling DNA tests has finally been lifted for unique genetic company 23AndMe. Individuals partaking in the tests can discover risks for developing 10 different disorders, using a simple at home genetic test.
Based in Mountain View California, 23AndMe is a unique service that individuals can order, and send back with a swap of saliva in hopes to receive interesting genetic information. Weeks later, users receive an email describing what their DNA says about them including traits and ancestral information. Beginning in 2006, 23AndMe could also release certain risk factors to developing 240 different health conditions based off of the DNA testing done. The FDA decided to stop this element in 2013, because they were concerned individuals would make important medical decisions based off of the test, regardless how uncertain they were.
Two years later, the FDA allowed results to share whether users children could develop any of 36 diseases. Test results however would not reveal risk factors of the individual's risk of developing each disease. The company vicariously continued their works in hopes to one day get the green light to sell actual DNA tests for specific diseases.
Today, the FDA has finally allowed 23AndMe to determine a person's own risk at developing certain diseases. Consumers can now know up to 10 genetic conditions they have a chance of receiving, including Alzheimers, Parkinson's Disease, Thrombophilia and Coeliac Disease. Such results should not be mistaken for a medical diagnosis, because given factors such as lifestyle and environment play a role in chances of development. This ruling is said to reduce the chances of other companies searching for loopholes around the US Governments requirements for genetic testing, showing that going through the FDA can be a step in the right direction and a way to move forward. 23AndMe will start selling DNA tests in the near months to come. Kathy Hibbs who is an officer at 23AndMe says,"We are really tired and really happy." The long-awaited action is finally in company's favor.
Hank Greely, a bioethiest at Stanford University worries individuals may need help from a genetic coach or counselor in order to correctly understand the information given from the test, as other companies begin to offer the same kind of tests.
When participating in a 23AndMe test, it tells users if any other of their siblings also partook in the program. I have a friend who sent in her swab of spit, and 6-8 weeks later found out her sister also took the test in search of her ancestry information. Except my friend wasn't aware she even had a sister, since she grew up as an only child. After she confronted her parents, it ended up being the best thing that happened to them and completely reunited the family!
- Lindsey Tanner
http://www.nature.com/news/23andme-given-green-light-to-sell-dna-tests-for-10-diseases-1.21802
Saturday, April 1, 2017
Cavefish May Help Humans Evolve to Require Very Little Sleep
Tyler Evans
Bio 1610
Every living organism needs sleep. Sleep is vital in success,health and happiness for everyone and everything. New technologies have lead us to groundbreaking information that humans can evolve and adapt to the sleeping habits of a little cavefish. The Pachón cavefish lives in deep and dark caves in central Mexico. These creatures eat little food and have scarcely any oxygen or light. The cavefish do not have eyes and they get around by lateral lines in the ocean and suppressing sleep.
Florida Atlantic University has been studying these cavefish and learning about the relationship between sleep and the sensory process. In their latest study they found suggests that the inability to block one's environment is one of the ways to lose sleep. Alex C. Keene a professor at FAU said, “ Our study suggests that differences and sensory systems may contribute to the sleep variability. It is possible that evolution drives sensory changes and changes in sleep or a secondary consequence, or that evolution selects for changes in sensory processing in order to change sleep.”
The Pachón cavefish have an environment that differentiates for typical surface fish. Cavefish have evolved to using enhanced sensory systems while having a reduction in sleep. A big reason for this is because nutritional availability and feeding behavior contribute to the evolution of a lack of sleep. If these fish sleep, they could miss out on rare opportunities to eat. Of the 29 different populations of cavefish that have been identified many of them evolved independently. The Pachón cavefish, the population a study, appear to have lost sleep due to increased sensory input, but not the other populations. James Jaggard, the first author on the graduation at FAU working with Keene said, “ this means that there are many different lose sleep or evolve a brain and we are going to search to identify these mechanisms.” This study of neural mechanisms generating this behavioral shift remained elusive.
For this study researchers recorded cavefish under inflated light setup in individual tanks. The video tracking told researchers the fish were inactive and they defined sleep as one minute of immobility. “ Humans block out sensory cues when we enter into sleep-like state,” said Keene he also gave us this example, “ We close our eyes and there are mechanisms in the brain to reduce auditory input. This is one of the reasons why a sensory stimuli like someone entering the room is less likely if you are asleep. Our thinking was that cavefish have to some degree lost this ability and this drives sleep loss.”
I have learned that our sensory inputs can alter our personal definition of sleep. These cavefish have evolved to a lack of immobility creating the same benefits of sleeping. While we sleep our bodies are recovering. It is more than just altering your sleeping environment it is teaching your body that sitting down and laying low is just as beneficial to your body compared to sleep. As humans we block out these sensory cues when we are sleeping. If we could sleep less but still be rested, think about how much we could accomplish.
Tyler Evans
Bio 1610
Every living organism needs sleep. Sleep is vital in success,health and happiness for everyone and everything. New technologies have lead us to groundbreaking information that humans can evolve and adapt to the sleeping habits of a little cavefish. The Pachón cavefish lives in deep and dark caves in central Mexico. These creatures eat little food and have scarcely any oxygen or light. The cavefish do not have eyes and they get around by lateral lines in the ocean and suppressing sleep.
Florida Atlantic University has been studying these cavefish and learning about the relationship between sleep and the sensory process. In their latest study they found suggests that the inability to block one's environment is one of the ways to lose sleep. Alex C. Keene a professor at FAU said, “ Our study suggests that differences and sensory systems may contribute to the sleep variability. It is possible that evolution drives sensory changes and changes in sleep or a secondary consequence, or that evolution selects for changes in sensory processing in order to change sleep.”
The Pachón cavefish have an environment that differentiates for typical surface fish. Cavefish have evolved to using enhanced sensory systems while having a reduction in sleep. A big reason for this is because nutritional availability and feeding behavior contribute to the evolution of a lack of sleep. If these fish sleep, they could miss out on rare opportunities to eat. Of the 29 different populations of cavefish that have been identified many of them evolved independently. The Pachón cavefish, the population a study, appear to have lost sleep due to increased sensory input, but not the other populations. James Jaggard, the first author on the graduation at FAU working with Keene said, “ this means that there are many different lose sleep or evolve a brain and we are going to search to identify these mechanisms.” This study of neural mechanisms generating this behavioral shift remained elusive.
For this study researchers recorded cavefish under inflated light setup in individual tanks. The video tracking told researchers the fish were inactive and they defined sleep as one minute of immobility. “ Humans block out sensory cues when we enter into sleep-like state,” said Keene he also gave us this example, “ We close our eyes and there are mechanisms in the brain to reduce auditory input. This is one of the reasons why a sensory stimuli like someone entering the room is less likely if you are asleep. Our thinking was that cavefish have to some degree lost this ability and this drives sleep loss.”
I have learned that our sensory inputs can alter our personal definition of sleep. These cavefish have evolved to a lack of immobility creating the same benefits of sleeping. While we sleep our bodies are recovering. It is more than just altering your sleeping environment it is teaching your body that sitting down and laying low is just as beneficial to your body compared to sleep. As humans we block out these sensory cues when we are sleeping. If we could sleep less but still be rested, think about how much we could accomplish.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Biochemists' discovery could lead to vaccine against 'flesh-eating' bacteria
Necrotizing Fasciitis, also known as 'flesh-eating' bacteria, is a bacterial infection that damages tissues in a short period of time. This infection can cause death in the individual. One of the most common bacteria that causes this infection is group A Streptococcus.
There are some treatments that can be done against this infection, but it mostly involves antibiotics and surgeries (Necrotizing Fasciitis, 2016)
As with other bacteria, group A Streptococcus has a protein coating, and the reason that there is not a vaccine for it is that group A strep has different types of strains. These strains have different protein coatings. The protein coating is called the M protein.
When bacteria enters the body, the immune response of the body immediately tries to fight against the bacteria by using antibodies. The antibodies have to be specific for that bacteria's protein coating. Since there are many strains of group A strep and each have different M proteins, then the body that armed up with antibodies specific to a strain of group A strep will not work for another strain of group A strep. That made it hard for scientists to find a vaccine that fights against this bacteria. However, a group of researchers discovered C4BP. This is a human binding protein. This binding protein binds to not just one M protein, but the majority of M proteins of the group A strep.
Knowing this, biochemist wanted to study the interactions between proteins of the M proteins and C4BP using computers. These studies allowed the biochemists to find patterns that were hidden between all the M proteins that they were studying.
These biochemists now have the idea that a vaccine can be developed that gives antibodies that act like the C4BP in that it recognized many M proteins.
A vaccine is know being developed by chemists at the UC San Diego, and with collaborations of Nizet, an infectious disease expert.
The biochemists' published paper can be found at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27595425
When I was younger I remember listening about a 'flesh-eating' bacteria on the news in Bolivia. I remember feeling really scared of it. For a while I was really scared that I would get something like that, or that anybody in my family would get it. Due to this worry of mine, I started reading all sorts of articles about it, but could not find a specific cure for it that does not include amputations. Seeing the title of this article then called my attention.
References
Biochemists' discovery could lead to vaccine against 'flesh-eating' bacteria. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2017, from http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/09/05/biochemists_discovery_could_lead_to_vaccine_against_flesheating_bacteria.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A%2Bbiologynews%2Fheadlines%2B%28Biology%2BNews%2BNet%29
Necrotizing Fasciitis: A Rare Disease, Especially for the Healthy. (2016, June 15). Retrieved March 27, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/features/necrotizingfasciitis/
Study Reveals How Ionising Radiation Damages DNA and Causes Cancer
This article is focused on how ionising radiation in gamma rays and x-ray, which we are frequently exposed to can damage our DNA and cause cancer. Previously, the unfortunate thing is what has yet to be figured out is how tumors are actually cause by these harmful forms of radiation.
From the article it says, "Dr Peter Campbell from the Welcome Trust Sanger Institute who led the study, said: "To find out how radiation could cause cancer, we studied the genomes of cancers caused by radiation in comparison to tumours that arose spontaneously. By comparing the DNA sequences we found two mutational signatures for radiation damage that were independent of cancer type. We then checked the findings with prostate cancers that had or had not been exposed to radiation, and found the same two signatures again. These mutational signatures help us explain how high-energy radiation damages DNA.' "
Often times when DNA is damaged, a mutational signature is shown. Dr. Peter Campbell, through these signatures was then able to track the patterns of the growth of tumors and how radiation reacted to the further growth of cancer is patients.
One type of mutation found is a deletion in the DNA. Another is called balanced inversion. What this means is the DNA is cut in two places and the cut strand of DNA then spins and connects in an opposite orientation. This type of mutation does not occur naturally in the body but high-energy radiation could be strong enough to have this happen.
Of these mutations, Dr Sam Behjati, clinician researcher at the Sanger Institute and the Department of Paediatrics, University of Cambridge, said: "Ionising radiation probably causes all types of mutational damage, but here we can see two specific types of damage and get a sense of what is happening to the DNA. Showers of radiation chop up the genome causing lots of damage simultaneously. This seems to overwhelm the DNA repair mechanism in the cell, leading to the DNA damage we see."
These mutations cause by radiation and the signatures they leave could provide insight into how these tumors would rapidly grow. By following the mutations and looking into the damages cause to the DNA scientists have been able to see the harmful affects of ionising radiation and the affects it has on the body and the risks of cancer it can cause.
-Chad Lords
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