Source- Yahoo.com/Nature Genetics Online 2001, October 29;10.1038

10/30/01 

A Mutation that Causes Nerve Disorder is Found

Researchers have discovered a mutation involved in a disorder known as 'hereditary spastic paraplegia' (HSP). It is a group of genetic disorders that causes weakening and stiffness of the legs.

In a study of families affected by HSP, scientists, at the University of Ann Arbor, found that mutations in the gene SPG3A occurred in individuals with the disorder.  The gene is important in making proteins involved in communicating between nerve cells.

The information could be used to counsel individuals from affected families. Furthermore, understanding how the disease works, could lead to therapeutic interventions.

Source- The San Diego Union Tribune

10/18/01

DNA Test Reveals That Tomb Holds Luke's Remains

DNA analysis shows that the remains in an ancient coffin are possibly those of the Apostle Luke, author of the New Testament's third gospel and the book of Acts. 

Scientists at the University of Ferrara in Italy have extracted DNA from a tooth found on the floor of the coffin. Mitochondrial DNA analysis showed that it was typical of people living near Antioch. In addition, radiocarbon dating indicates that it belonged to someone who died at some time between A.D. 72 and 416. It is known that the Apostle Luke was born in Antioch and died in 150 A.D. in Thebes, Greece. The coffin contained the skeleton except for the head. The head was removed by the Emperor Charles IV in 1354 and was taken from Padua,  Italy to Prague. The skull fit perfectly to the topmost neck bone of the skeleton and the tooth fit into the right socket in the jawbone.

Source- Reuters Health

10/12/01

New Method to Detect Early-Stage Cancer Cells

Scientists at the University of Alabama at Birmingham were able to spot human ovarian cancer cells transplanted in mice using a technology called fluorescence stereomicroscopy.  Dr. Tandra Chaudhuri and colleagues inserted a fluorescence-causing gene into the cancer cells.  The gene produced a green fluorescent protein that allowed the cancer cells as small as 0.2 millimeters to be detected from outside the body.  Today, diagnosis of early-stage ovarian cancer is very difficult.  This new technology has the potential to detect the cancer early, as well as other cancers such as breast and prostrate cancer.  The researchers hope to begin human clinical trials in a few years.

Source- Yahoo Online

10/03/01

Bubonic Plague Gene is Found

Scientists from Britain have decoded the genetic make-up of the microbe that causes the bubonic plague. The plague killed a third of Europe during medieval times.

The plague is caused by the bacterium, known as Yersinia pestis, which has mutated to withstand an antibiotic in 1997.

The microbe is transmitted to humans by fleas that feed on the blood of rats. It is also spread by droplets when infected people cough. The infection is treated by antibiotics if diagnosed very early.

Y. pestis adapts very quickly. It mutates to become hardier and more infectious. It used to be a gut-dwelling microbe and has changed to a blood-borne pathogen.

The sequence is published in the prestigious Journal Nature.

Source- BBC News

10/03/01

A Gene Involved in Speech

Scientists in Britain have discovered a gene involved in the development of speech.

According to Professor Anthony Monaco, this is the first evidence of a specific gene that has pinpointed as having a mutation leading to language disorder.

The gene was discovered after studying three generations of a family affected by language disorders.

The gene involved is known as FOXP2. It is found on chromosome 7.  The new gene could lead scientists to other genes involved in speech and language problems, which are present in about 4% of the population. It could also shed light on how humans came to speak.

Source- Yahoo Online

10/03/01

Lou Gehrig's Disease Gene

Studies on inbred families from North Africa and the Middle East have shown that a new gene is involved in the inherited form of Lou Gehrig's disease.

The gene is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was also discovered. The disease is characterized by destroying nerves that control muscle movement.

About 30,000 Americans have the disease. People with ALS generally die within two to five years after being diagnosed.

The first gene was found in 1993. The gene protects cells from some damaging agents and is found in about 20% of people with ALS. 

Understanding how the gene works in controlling nerve cell survival will help in the development of drugs to protect these neurons in ALS, as well as other diseases, such as Parkinson's.

Source- Unisci.com

9/19/01

Discovery of Cleft Palate Gene

Scientists from Imperial College, London- England, have identified a sex-linked gene that causes a rare form of cleft palate. The mutation is found in the gene called T-box 22.

Cleft palate is a birth defect that affects about 1 out of 1,500 births. Affected newborns have problems with feeding, speech, and psychological development. Corrective surgery is usually done.

Females who carry a mutation in their X chromosome do not show the full disorder, except for a condition called 'ankyloglossia', in which the flap of the skin under the tongue extends to the tip of the mouth. There is a 50% chance for  affected mothers of passing the gene to their male progeny. Male progeny with the mutation have the full-blown disorder.

The T-box 22 gene makes a protein, known as 'transcription factor', which is important in cell regulation during embryological development. The studies may offer important understanding into human development and eventually therapeutic intervention for cleft palate.

Source- Unisci.com

9/12/01

Functional Transgenic Placentas in Monkeys

Scientists from Wisconsin have inserted a gene from a jellyfish and inserted it into the fertilized eggs of rhesus monkeys. They discovered that the inserted gene in the " transgenic" placentas worked the same as in the jellyfish.

The gene causes the jellyfish cells to produce a green glow. This activity was also shown in the placental cells of pregnant monkeys.

The infant monkeys did not have the gene in their DNA, however, they produced large amounts of the transferred gene in their placentas during pregnancy.

Placentas are important during pregnancy, as it provides nourishment to the developing fetus and transfers fetal wastes to the maternal circulation.

These studies will provide insights on the role of genes that are important during pregnancies, and will shed more light into infertility problems, recurrent spontaneous miscarriages and fetal development.

Source- BBC News

9/03/01

"Safe" Genetically Modified Tomatoes

German researchers have found a method to prevent new genes in genetically modified plants from passing to other crops.

The new method involves inserting the genes into the small amount of DNA found in plastids- cellular compartments which are part of chloroplasts in the plants. This technique is different from the traditional method, where the foreign genes are inserted into nuclear DNA. Unlike nuclear DNA, the chloroplast DNA is not transmitted in pollen. This eliminates possible contamination of other crops by undesirable genetically modified DNA.

This system paves the way to efficient production of edible vaccines and antibody production in tomatoes.

 Top of Page 

__________________________________________________