"Science and Biotechnology Books Made Simple" |
"Science and Biotechnology Books Made Simple" |
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Yahoo Online 8/27/01 Longevity Genes Researchers have found genes that give certain people a long span of life into the age of 100. The study appearing in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) analyzed the DNA of 137 people ages 91 to 109 (the volunteers were sets of two or three siblings). Most were of European decent. The scientists, led by Louis Kunkel of Children's Hospital in Boston and the Howard Hughes Medical Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Thomas Perls of of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, used 400 markers that cover the entire human genome to find common genes between the subjects. They found that chromosome 4 has the genes that confer longevity. Scientists will try to understand the biochemical pathways that are involved in longevity. This could then lead to drugs that can improve the quality of life in the aging population. Source-
Yahoo Online 8/20/01 The Death Gene Researchers have found that middle-aged white men under the age of 55 with certain variation of a gene are about twice as likely to die from cardiac arrest than those without the variant. The gene, known as HPA-2 Met, is involved in making the blood stickier- promoting clots. It is found in 20% of white male population. However, many patients who die suddenly from heart attacks have other risk factors such as high cholesterol levels and are smokers. Source-
Boston Globe Online
8/17/01 Studies that help in Autoimmune Disorders Scientists at Biogen Inc. have found that a protein known as B-cell activating factor, or BAFF, is involved in autoimmune diseases, such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Autoimmune disease develops when the body's immune system raises an immune response against its own tissue. BAFF is important in the development of B cells which produces antibodies (molecules that fight germs, such as viruses and harmful bacteria). People with lupus and rheumatoid arthritis have high levels of BAFF in their blood. Another molecule that was recently found is known as BAFF-R (R- for receptor) which binds BAFF on the cell surface and helps in B development. Mice that lacked the BAFF or had an abnormal form of the gene for BAFF-R did not produce enough B cells. These mice could not fight infections well. Scientists hope that the study will help them design drugs that will block BAFF-R and stops the body from producing too much B cells, such as seen in autoimmune diseases. Source-
BBC Online 8/15/01 Easier to Clone Humans than Animals? Scientists
at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina have shown that one
specific gene, responsible for controlling the way cells grow, can cause
cancer tumors in animals. Normally,
a copy of this gene is passed from each parent to the offspring. However, in
many animals, one of these genes is turned off- which does not happen in
humans. Cloning
affects the active gene, when it cannot work properly, a cloned embryo grows
in an uncontrolled way. This happened to the first cloned sheep, Dolly. It is
aging rapidly and is overweight because of a defect in the gene. These
conclusions have been criticized by many scientists in Britain. More than one
gene may behave abnormally and cause problems in a growing cloned human
embryo. Source-Yahoo
Online 8/9/01 Genes Tied to High Blood Pressure Scientists
have found mutations in two genes that cause a rare form of elevated blood
pressure. The
mutations were found in either chromosome 12 or chromosome 17. Researchers isolated the mutated genes by
studying 20 families around the world who had this type of hypertension known
as pseudohypoaldosteronism type II (PHAII). After
isolating the piece of DNA with the mutation from chromosome 12, scientists
used the human genome database to identify a similar sequence in the middle
of chromosome 17. The
mutation in chromosome 17 has been linked to hypertension where the kidneys
are forced to absorb more salt, causing its volume to increase and adding
stress on the heart. This discovery may lead to the development of new therapies to treat hypertension. Source-Yahoo.
Online 8/3/01 The New Definition of Disease Wright
and his colleagues (Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada) proposed a
new definition of “disease” in light of the Human Genome Project: “a state
that places individuals at increased risk of adverse consequences.” People
carrying mutations should not be considered diseased. Source-BioSpace.com
8/1/01 Heart and Insulin-Producing Cells From Human
Embryonic Stem Cells Scientists at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology for the first time are able to grow precursors of heart cells from human embryonic stems cells. These cells will eventually grow into heart muscle cells that will help repair diseased hearts. Another team at the same institute showed that human embryonic stem cells could produce insulin, which would help in treating type 1 diabetics.
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