|
A
|
Source-
Yahoo Online
6/28/01
No
More Sneezing From Cats!
| Researchers
have removed allergens (molecules that causes allergies) from
cats. The cats are known as transgenic cats.
The procedure requires removing the gene
in a cat's skin cells and egg cells, fusing both cells together, and
finally growing the cloned cells in an embryo in a surrogate mother
cat.
However, other US biotechnology
companies are planning to do more than transgenic pets: cloning pets
entirely, so that owners have perfect replacements when their pets
die! |
Source-
Boston Globe Online
6/28/01
DNA
Testing of Death-row Inmates
| DNA testing
of inmates who are on death-row is increasing in popularity among
law-makers.
Testing will help exonerate innocent
inmates who are on death-row. The testing requires taking a blood
sample from the prisoner and extracting the DNA from the cells.
Isolated DNA is then compared to the evidence sample, through a
procedure known as DNA typing or DNA fingerprinting.
The use of DNA testing helped clear
nearly 100 convicted people. |
Source-
NY Times
6/22/01
Malaria
is Not as Old as Once Thought
| Scientists
at the University of Maryland have concluded that the parasite that
causes malaria dates only to the beginning of agriculture.
Malaria
is transmitted by mosquitoes and it affects about 300 to 500 million
people in the world. About two million people die of the disease.
The geneticists have studied the changes
in a human gene that confers resistance to the disease. These changes
can be dated to 8,000 years ago in a variant gene in Africa and to
4,000 years ago in another variant that is common in people around the
Mediterranean, India and North Africa.
The gene that confers resistance to
malaria is known as glucose-6-phosphate (G6PD).
The above conclusion was controversial
because malaria was thought to be an ancient disease. However, Dr.
Frank Livingstone has suggested in 1958 that the introduction of
slash-and-burn agriculture in West Africa about 3,000 years ago made
malarial disease common. |
Source-
LATIMES Online
6/15/01
No
Link Between Gene-Modified Corn and Allergies
| Health
officials found no evidence of StarLink corn as causing allergic
reactions in people.
Although StarLink corn was approved only
for animal use, it accidentally got into human food supply, such as
taco shells and corn chips, last year.
About 51 people reported illnesses
related to the corn, and blood samples from only 17 affected
individuals were tested for antibodies
to Cry9C protein. This protein is supposed to be allergenic. None of
the 17 people showed antibodies to the protein.
That was good news to Aventis
CropScience, the maker of StarLink corn. Biotechnology leaders say
that the results add to their confidence that genetically
modified crops are safe for human consumption. However, environmental
groups and other activists are not convinced because the study needs
to be done on more people. |
Source-
Bangor News Online
6/9/01
Gene
Involved in Longer Life
| Scientists
from the University of Michigan and the University of Texas identified
a gene that is responsible for extending the life of a dwarf mouse.
When the gene, known as Pit1, is present
in the mouse, life expectancy is extended by 25 to 50 percent, and the
aging process is delayed.
Pit1 may lead to the discovery of drugs
for humans what will help in slowing the aging process. |
Source-
Yahoo Biotechnology Online
6/8/01
A
Fast Way to Identify Genes
| Scientists
found a new way to identify disease-causing genes in a matter of
seconds.
Researchers at the Roche Group in
Switzerland developed a computational system that contains a single
gene differences among 15 various subspecies of mice.
The gene differences that have genetic
links to disease are known as single gene polymorphisms (or SNPs).
The above technique may be applied to
humans since mice share most of their genes with them. |
Source-
Yahoo Biotechnology Online
6/8/01
DNA
Testing of Embryos
| Chicago
physicians announced the birth of a baby who, as an embryo and before
implantation, underwent DNA testing for a mutation that causes certain
cancers.
The father's family had the mutation for
two generations. The mutation is a gene for Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a
genetic predisposition to cancers, such as breast cancer and leukemia.
The procedure involves fertilizing the
egg outside the mother's womb and then implanting it back into the
same mother.
According to the doctors, this method
offers an alternative to prenatal diagnosis.
However, this procedure raises certain
ethical issues concerning manipulation of the gene; such as DNA
testing of the fertilized egg only for the purpose of changing a
particular trait, such as the height of a child. |
Source-
Virtual NY.com
6/4/01
This
Animal Did It!
| The
Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at University of California, Davis is
helping detectives solve many crimes.
The laboratory helped detectives in the
United States and around the world identify many dogs that attacked
humans.
Clues from the attacks are collected and
the DNA is extracted and compared to the DNA taken from blood samples
of suspected animals.
Many requests come in to help solve
crimes, such as murder, dog abuse, cattle rustling and assault.
Researchers need to match 24 DNA markers
to identify a dog. In humans, only 10 markers are enough. The reason
for this is that dogs have been inbred for a long time that their
genetic diversity have been reduced. |
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