"Science and Biotechnology Books Made Simple" |
"Science and Biotechnology Books Made Simple" |
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Taken from Fox News 9/29/00 Cloning Mechanism Solved Scientists have found that the enzyme called ISWI is important in the process of cloning that was used to make the sheep, Dolly. The cloning procedure is done by placing a cell nucleus that has the gene in question, in an unfertilized egg whose nucleus has been removed. ISWI that is produced by the egg 'erases' the nucleus' memory. This means that the information in the DNA which tells the cell whether it will become a liver cell or a muscle cell, etc.. is wiped out by ISWI (cells that have already reached their final form are known as differentiated cells). This will allow the new nucleus in the egg to divide and grow instead. The discovery of ISWI's mechanism will allow researchers to direct the growth of stem cells (undifferentiated cells) into specific types. Taken from The Wall
Street Journal 9/28/00 Gene Variation is Found In Adult Diabetes Scientists have found that variations in the gene that codes for protein called calpain-10 can triple the risk of developing adult diabetes- the most common form of the disease. The gene was found on chromosome 2. The gene variation does not cause the increased risk by itself. Another gene located on chromosome 15 in association with calpain-10 contribute to the increased risk of diabetes. Diabetes is caused by the failure of the pancreas to produce the correct amount of insulin to breakdown sugars in the blood. With the decoding of the human genome, many scientists will be able to identify genes that are involved in many diseases. Taken from Los Angeles
Times 9/22/00 Cloned Mice Do Not Have Premature Aging Cells Cloned mice that were copied through six generations do not show any premature aging. The study was reported in the prestigious journal Nature. This observation is in contract to the cloned sheep, Dolly, study that showed signs of early wear and tear because it was copied from DNA that was 6 years old. Researchers from the University of Hawaii and Rockefeller University in NYC found that the telomeres (protective tips of chromosomes) of some cloned mice were, even, longer than expected- which is a sign of getting younger. Taken from Fox News 9/23/00 Chemicals In Broccoli Are Good For You American and Chinese scientists have demonstrated that a chemical found in broccoli and cabbage, known as isothiocyanates, protected 18,000 men (both smokers and non smokers) in China, from developing lung cancer by 36%. The study, also, showed that patients who lacked genes that metabolize the chemicals, had more protection than those who carried the genes. Even though the chemicals lowered lung cancer in the study, smoking alone increases lung cancer risk by as much as 10 times. Scientists believe that isothiocyanates promote antioxidants (a cancer cell fighting compound) and inhibit enzymes that allow carcinogens in cigarette smoke to damage DNA. The lesson from scientists is "just eat your vegetables"!
Taken from BBC News 9/18/00 Scientists Develop Malaria Vaccine UK researchers have developed a new malaria vaccine that will go to human trials today in Africa. Dr. Adrian Hill, said that the vaccine is based on the malaria-causing parasite's genetic code. The parasite is known as Plasmodium and is transmitted through a mosquito bite. The vaccine targets the parasite once it had entered the body's cells. Tests on British volunteers infected with malaria have been successful. Malaria kills up to two million people each year. Most of infection occurs in Africa and a high percentage is among children. The disease is now threatening to spread towards Europe. Taken from Fox News 9/11/00 Scientists Answer Why You Can't Tickle Yourself Using a method called magnetic resonance imaging that scans brains, Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of the University College of London tested six volunteers using a robot to tickle their palms. When the stimulus was external (the robot ) the volunteers were tickled. But when the volunteers used the robot themselves to tickle their palms, there was no sensation. The secret lies in the cerebellum, a region at the back of your brain. The cerebellum warns the rest of the brain when you are about to tickle yourself. It sends signals telling the rest of the brain to ignore the tickling sensation. But when the tickling is done externally, the cerebellum is not able to send signals to the rest of the brain. Interestingly, when the robot used by the volunteers to tickle themselves delayed the action by a fraction of a second, the tickling sensation was there. So the brain can be fooled. "So it is possible to tickle yourself, but only by using robots," Blakemore said. But don’t bother getting a robot to tickle you, just ask your family or friends. ____________________________________________________
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