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POPSNew way to make stem cells is safe Hochedlinger's team used a much more harmless virus, called an adenovirus, to carry into the cells the four transformative genes, called Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc. They used mouse skin cells and also liver cells from fetal mice and got both types to look and act like iPS cells As the cells divide, they dilute the virus until it disappears, he said. But the genetic changes remain. To test the cells they made chimeras --- a blend of two separate animals. They injected their newly made cells into mouse embryos and when the pups were born, they carried visible evidence that the cells had indeed transformed them And so far, these chimeric mice have not developed any tumors If it works, some day doctors may be able to make tailor-made transplants to treat diseases in people by removing a few cells, transforming them in the lab and transplanting the new tissue or organs back in
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POPSOpenning the door for genetic markets 1) The new regulations do not cover cloned animals, most pets or research animals. The FDA has already determined that clones -- genetic replicas -- are safe. Pets and research animals are unlikely to enter the food chain 2) Only one genetically engineered animal is now being sold in the United States, the glow-in-the-dark zebra fish for aquariums. The FDA approved it because it is not eaten and its need for warm water effectively precludes its escape into the wild 3) Technically, it is not the modified animals but the added DNA segments that are considered drugs
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POPSBody exhumed in fight against flu Professor John Oxford, the Professor of Virology at St Bartholomew's and the Royal London Hospital who is leading the project, explained earlier this year that the body would provide "virus imprint, a genetic footprint". He added: "If we can get samples, that would be a wonderful opportunity for my team and for science in general.
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POPSNC Study finds parenting affects genetic effects on physiology This study has tremendous import for active parenting, particularly in responding to the Newsweek's Aug 9 article "But I did everything right!" that overplayed the role of genetics in affecting anti-social behavior. Nature AND nurture both play important roles in child development.
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POPSEvolution in a Bottle Over time the bacteria evolved to better suit their environment, adapting to replicate faster on the all-glucose diet. But one colony suddenly took off, consuming the previously indigestible citrate - a molecule that literally would not fit through the original bacteria's membrane. A new breed of E. Coli had evolved to consume the available resources and, over a multi-generational evolutionary battle, came to outperform the original glucose eaters. Because of the daily samples, there is now a complete genetic paper trail of the changes (although full identification and understanding of the changes will take a little longer). This is an incredible breakthrough in evolutionary research, and a pretty nice argument to break out in the creationism 'debates' ("Prove evolution!" "Okay, I've got it right here IN THIS BOTTLE!")
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POPSHow genes pick our mates for us Instead of smelly T-shirts, Chaix and colleague Peter Donnelly of the University of Oxford studied previously gathered genetic data on 30 Caucasian couples from Utah and 30 Yoruba couples from Nigeria. The researchers analysed about 9000 genetic differences within the MHC genes, as well as more than 3 million differences dotted across the rest of their genomes. This suggests that the American couples are selecting mates, in large part, based on MHC genes. Not so for Yoruba couples, who seemed to pick mates with MHC genes no more different than would be expected for any two people picked at random from the population. One explanation for the different findings could be diversity. Overall, Yoruba people had more differences in their MHC genes than Americans, so there could be less evolutionary pressure to find a mate with new genes.
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POPS How do you make the object of your affections fall in love with you? A person's smell provides clues about their genetic make-up. We are programmed to sniff out those whose genes are different to our own. This apparently helps ensure any children born will have broad immunity against disease. Those looking to impress should also keep conversation to a minimum and concentrate on their appearance. Research shows that 55 per cent of first impressions are based on how we look rather than what we say. Getting off the sofa and out and about is also important. 'Meeting a lot of people is key,' Mr Robinson said. 'Sitting there moping and eating chocolate is not going to get you anywhere.
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POPSThe Genetic Early Adopters Knome is at the forefront of the push toward so-called personalized medicine. Scientists and physicians hope that when sequencing costs come down enough, genetic analysis will become a ubiquitous part of health care, helping doctors choose the best treatments for a specific patient, or helping individuals take steps to prevent diseases for which they are at risk.
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POPSHappy? "Economic gains that bring more food, clothing, shelter, medical care and longer life can result in a substantial increase in subjective well-being for poor societies, he says. But once a society reaches a certain threshold, further economic growth brings only minimal gains. Among the richest societies, increases in income are only weakly linked with higher levels of subjective well-being. While economic growth helps promote happiness for some, democratization and rising social tolerance contribute even more. Democracy provides more choice, which promotes happiness. Support for gender equality and tolerance of people who are different from oneself are also strongly linked, not just because tolerant people are happier, but because living in a tolerant society enhances everyone's freedom, Inglehart says."
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POPSThe Teen Brain Human and animal studies, Jensen and Urion note, have shown that the brain grows and changes continually in young people—and that it is only about 80 percent developed in adolescents. The largest part, the cortex, is divided into lobes that mature from back to front. The last section to connect is the frontal lobe, responsible for cognitive processes such as reasoning, planning, and judgment. Normally this mental merger is not completed until somewhere between ages 25 and 30—much later than these two neurologists were taught in medical school. There are also gender differences in brain development. As Urion and Jensen explain, the part of our brain that processes information expands during childhood and then begins to thin, peaking in girls at roughly 12 to 14 years old and in boys about two years later. This suggests that girls and boys may be ready to absorb challenging material at different stages, and that schools may be missing opportunities to reach them.
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POPSCancer Redefined The studies have also revealed to scientists looking to treat these diseases just how difficult their challenge really is. "For the first time, these are giving you the complete picture of these two cancer types," Velculescu says. "This is important, because if we ever want to cure cancer, we have to know what's wrong with it. And unfortunately, what appears to be wrong with most cancers is more complicated than we may have anticipated."
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POPSThe Broad- science free trade zone “My rough estimate is that a scientific paper emerges about once every three days from collaborations that have come out of this institute,” Dr. Lander said. (Eric S. Lander, the founding director of the institute and a leader of the Human Genome Project, which sequenced the human genome.) Collaboration is possible...
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POPS"Honey it's not you...it's my genes." I don't really know what I think about this. Seems like a lot of studies coming out are just finding something to blame. Genes? Really? Wasn't it just reported that men were happier longer or later in life than women? What next?
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POPSScientists identify childhood cancer gene They are beginning to find genes that are believed to be involved in a number of types of cancer. The study of these genes may not only tell us how they work, but why they are there, and how they are related to some essential, and regular metabolic functions, what exactly can turn a regular/benign cell cancerous, so potential sufferers can be Identified early.
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