Showing posts with label Biology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Biology. Show all posts
Saturday, January 26, 2013
"Quadruple helix" DNA discovered in Humans Also, "Quadruple Helix" DNA is a Thing, Sort of
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| Digital rendering of the "crystal structure of parallel quadruplexes from human telomeric DNA." (Image credit: Wikipedia Commons) |
As I have attempted to make clear many times in the past, I know nothing. Meaning, I have no scientific education or expertise beyond the trivial bits of knowledge I learned in school, and the things I have managed to shove into my own brain over the years. But, obviously, I have a thing for science. And my interest in biology and genetics ranks just behind my fascination with all of the various forms of physics in the world. So usually I could at least say; Oh ya. That's a thing I heard about before, but wound up loosing somewhere in the background noise of my brain. But other than some vague recollections of futurist postulations about potentially engineering such a thing, or speculations about the genetics of as of yet unknown alien species, this time around- I got nothin. So my first thought upon reading the headlines "Quadruple helix DNA found in humans" was- well, that can't possibly be right. And, as is often the case, if you took the headline to mean the same thing I did anyway, it isn't what you think.
As you (hopefully) already know, DNA is the molecule which carries the genetic instructions that make you what you are. Fish, sheep, person, plant, virus, we all become what we become, because our DNA tells us too. DNA itself, is built from the pairing of four base chemicals, adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Once bonded together, these base pairs in turn attach themselves to a sugar molecule and a phosphate molecule, to form a nucleotide. Those nucleotides are in turn strung together along a sugar-phosphate backbone, forming the typical double stranded sequence of genetic information that is our DNA. Because these chemical bases always form specific parings -A to t and C to G- that
means, that as long as either side of the helix is copied during cell
division etc, the other half can always be replicated.It's all admittedly more complicated than that, obviously. But for our purposes here, I think that description pretty well illustrates why one might find the notion of 4 stranded DNA sequences... Surprising. Because, it's this redundancy of the double helix structure of our genetic code, that gives DNA superiority over it's likely predecessor RNA, as a means of successfully replicating complex biological sequences. So, taking all of the above into consideration. What the hell then is a quadruple helix? And what does IT do?
Previously seen only under laboratory conditions, a paper just published in the journal Nature Chemistry, based on a study conducted by scientists at the University of Cambridge, describes the first identification of these structures within human cancer cells. Unlike the double helix which controls our genetic development, G-quadruplexes appear to be non-coding genetic structures built from four guanine bases, which join together to form a square planar structure called a guanine tetrad.
Obviously, little is yet known for certain about the absolute purpose and function of these genetic structures. But The findings of the study seem to indicate a correlation between high concentrations of G-quadruplexes, and the process of cell division and replication; a theory which is supported by the finding that these structures appear more likely to occur in the genes of rapidly dividing cells, such as cancer. If their apparent genetic function proves true, researchers hope that removing the structures could potentially turn off the ceaseless replication that occurs within cancer cells, and experiments have already begun using specific molecules to isolate and capture the structures, so that they can do exactly that.
So, if like me, your initial reaction upon reading a headline containing the phrase "quadruple helix DNA" was to immediately start wondering about chromosome counts, evolutionary origins, and what not. First- we both REALLY need to get out more. Second, try not to be too disappointed. Because, while the actual nature of G-quadruplets is, admittedly, not as exciting as discovering an entirely new structure of DNA, potentially curing cancer is pretty good too, I think. And it' still undeniably cool, either way.
-CAINE-
Sources: Nature Chemistry, Phys.org
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Harvard Researchers Create "Cyborg Flesh"
Posted by YouTube user: BlankTV
According to an article in last month's Harvard Gazette, researchers at the university recently managed to successfully merge human tissues with embedded nanoelectronics, effectively creating what's being described as "cyborg flesh". I prefer the term "Terminator Meat", personally. But I doubt that phrase will catch on, given the scientific community's stubborn refusal to admit it's intention to build cybernetic death machines; not to be confused with Austrian Death Machine (see above). Also, now that I've read it back to myself, I've remembered how easy it is to make any phrase involving the word "meat", into something unintentionally dirty. Still, I think either term is technically correct, so use at your discretion.
Whatever you decide to call it, the tissue in question was created by developing what is essentially a rudimentary artificial autonomic nervous system, in the form of "Macroporous nanowire nanoelectronic scaffolds"; from the Harvard Gazette:
"Beginning with a two-dimensional substrate, researchers laid out a mesh
of organic polymer around nanoscale wires, which serve as the critical
sensing elements. Nanoscale electrodes, which connect the nanowire
elements, were then built within the mesh to enable nanowire transistors
to measure the activity in cells without damaging them. Once completed,
the substrate was dissolved, leaving researchers with a netlike sponge,
or a mesh, that can be folded or rolled into a host of
three-dimensional shapes."
The most immediate use for the nanoscaled network of silicone wires and electrodes designed by the team, according to research leader Charles M. Lieber, is in the pharmaceutical industry, where it could be used to more precisely study how newly developed drugs act in three-dimensional tissues. But the development of even a basic electronic sensory system small enough, not only to be embedded into human tissues without distorting cell structure, but that could potentially be an early precursor to a system capable of being integrated directly into the body's own electrical and sensory system, is a pretty spectacular thing.
"The current methods we have for monitoring or interacting with living systems are limited," said Lieber. "We can use electrodes to measure activity in cells or tissue, but that damages them. With this technology, for the first time, we can work at the same scale as the unit of biological system without interrupting it. Ultimately, this is about merging tissue with electronics in a way that it becomes difficult to determine where the tissue ends and the electronics begin."
Whatever it's intended practical use or current level of functionality, with even the Harvard Gazette itself throwing around words like "cyborg flesh", one can't help but imagine some future iteration of the technology in question, one day finding it's way on and into the human body in some way, shape, or form. Because one of the main hurdles in trying to fully merge mechanical systems into organic ones, is finding a way to integrate artificial control and sensory systems into the body's own biological ones. And while something that advanced is a far cry from the basic, research based functions of the nanoscale silicone network developed for this project, the idea that we live in a world in which "cyborg flesh" is a reality on any scale, is a pretty amazing thing to consider.
Also, our robot-death-cheetahs look cold, and they want skin.
Posted by YouTube user: BostonDynamics
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Creationsm vs Evolution: Watching Evolution Go
But first, a quick reset.
In case I wasn't clear before, there is no question amongst scientists as to weather or not evolution took place, either in our own genetic past, or that of every other living thing on the planet. We know this because, contrary to creationists arguments, fossil records alone -though certainly not "complete*"- are enough to confirm that evolution is a real process responsible for the forming of all species, and almost certainly life itself. Modern genetic studies have gone even farther in mapping, not only the relation of all species to one another, but the points at which specific biological mutations led to their diversification; the point at which one genetic makeup changes (evolves) enough to become another. But in the monkey bill entry, I brought up the idea that evolution was not only a scientific reality of our biological past, but that it was still an ongoing process in the world today. One of the things that makes this, as well as the idea of evolution in general a hard fact for may people to accept, is that evolution happens too slowly in complex, long living organisms, to be observed in real time. But that doesn't mean it can't be observed at all.
Because of their rudimentary genetic makeup and brief lifespans, which can allow for the passage of thousands of generations in a relatively short amount of time, single celled organisms like bacteria, are invaluable in the study of evolution. The E. coli bacteria in particular, has played an integral role in it's study.
Arguably one of the most definitive and direct observations of evolution ever made, was published in the 2009, result of a research experiment conducted at Michigan State University. The experiment was conducted by Professor Richard Lenski, on a sum total of 40,000 generations of E. coli bacteria, grown over the course of 20 years. By the 20,000-generation midpoint, researchers discovered 45 mutations among surviving cells. Mutations, which, in accordance with the theory of Darwinian evolution, afforded those generations of the bacteria distinct survival advantages over their ancestors. One of the the most dramatic examples of the evolution of the bacterial colonies in Lenski's experiment, was one population of bacterias development of the ability to utilize a carbon source other generations and populations could not.
The Michigan state experiment is just one of the many examples of E.coli in particular, being used to directly study and observe the evolutionary process as it takes place, and there are countless other examples of similar experiments to choose from. A recent favorite of mine -What? How could you not know by now that I'd be the kind of guy who'd have a list of favorite scientific experiments?- was a result published just this year.
In an experiment lead by researchers Travisano and William Ratcliff , brewers yeast was successfully coaxed into evolving into a multi-cellular organism. The yeast was grown in flasks of nutrient rich broth. Those flasks were shaken once a day, and the yeast which sank to the bottom of the flasks was removed, leaving the free-floating yeasts behind. After just 60 days, the yeasts which clumped together had grown into permanent clumps of individual yeast cells, displaying all the tendencies associated with “higher” forms of life, including: a division of labor between specialized cells, juvenile and adult life stages, and multi-cellular offspring. Now, because the yeast was exposed to artificial pressures to grow larger, including artificial selection at the hand of the researchers involved, it could be argued that this was not a "natural" evolutionary process. But it does show that seemingly complex traits like multicellularity, can actually develop astonishingly quickly under the right conditions.
But let's be honest, all the bacterial experiments in the world, no matter how unambiguous the result, aren't about to convince the hardcore evolution denier; which is the only proper way to describe someone who chooses to ignore the factual reality of evolution, in case you disagree with my usage of the term.
-CAINE-
* The incomplete fossil record is something of a logical fallacy. Not only because most creationists choose to ignore the existence of transitional fossils, but because it implies 1) That all the steps in the evolutionary process from point A to point B, have been identified. And 2) That such a thing could even exist, since, given that many creatures would not have left any physical evidence behind, it could not.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Russian Scientists Breach Ancient Antarctic Lake
After roughly twenty years of effort, a team of Russian researchers announced last Sunday, that they had officially broken through to the surface of Lake Vostok; a large body of freshwater that has been isolated from the world above for the past 20 million years or so, by over 2 miles of Arctic ice. Samples to be taken from the lake later this year could potentially reveal the presence of microbes or other more complex organisms, living in the ancient lake's dark icy waters. If they do, such a discovery would not only expand our understanding of life on our own world, but could potentially provide insight into alien life as well. As Jupiter's moon Europa, and Saturn's Enclades, are both believed to posses similar sub-surface bodies of water.
-CAINE-
VIA: Popsci
Monday, September 5, 2011
How to Make "Bullet Proof" Skin From Spider Silk
Image credit:Luc ViatourNamed 2.6g 329m/s, after the maximum weight and velocity of a .22 calibre Long Rifle bullet from which a Type 1 bulletproof vest is meant to protect you; the skin was created by first acquiring the protein which makes the spider silk itself -which is several times stronger than steel- from the milk of goats genetically modified to produce the protein in their milk. Once extracted, the protein was then woven into a lattice work of fibers, which was in turn sandwiched between two layers of otherwise normal human skin cells grown on top of the silk matrix.
As for the goats themselves -since I'm sure you're curious- they were created using a method developed by researcher Randy Lewis and his team from Utah State University, in which the gene responsible for producing the silk is extracted from the spiders which would naturally create the substance, and ultimately inserted into a goat's egg.
While Essaidi's final product was ultimately unable to reach the minimum standard for modern bullet proof vests by stopping a .22 cal riffle bullet shot at normal speed, and the notion that we might someday replace the keratin in our skin with this silk using the same methods as those used to create the modified goats, though entirely plausible, is at best, a distant dream. In the short term, Lewis asserts that the most exciting part about Jalila's experiment is that they were able to grow the skin cells on top of the fibers in the first place, and the potential applications for the skin today in skin grafts and other treatments.
-CAINE-
Source: techcocktail.com
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Lantern Shark Glows to Become Invisible
While the description may at first sound counter-intuitive, like many deep dwelling sea creatures the Splendid Lantern shark, a rare type of dogfish shark found mostly in the East China Sea and off the coasts of Taiwan and Japan, has evolved bioluminescence as a means of defense from predators.Like the bobtail squid, this small variety of shark, which only grows to around 30 Cm (11.8 inches), uses this ability to replicate the light shining down from the oceans surface on the underside of it’s body, effectively rendering it’s silhouette invisible to predators below.But unlike the bobtail squid, which produces it’s light through a symbiotic relationship with a particular species of bacteria. The splendid lantern shark seems to control it’s photosphores, the organ responsible for producing the light, using nerves and hormones, as well as pigments moving within the organ’s cells. Source: Discovery News
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Some of The Building Blocks of DNA May Have Come From Space
Artist concept credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith
By grinding up and analyzing samples of twelve carbon-rich meteorites, nine of which were recovered from Antarctica, a research group from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md, found both adenine and guanine; two of the primary nucleobases contained within our DNA, as well as hypoxanthine and xanthine; neither of which are used in the construction of DNA, but are utilized by other biological processes.
In two of the meteorites, the team also discovered for the first time, trace amounts of three molecules related to nucleobases (nucleobase analogues), purine, 2,6-diaminopurine, and 6,8-diaminopurine; two of which rarely appear in biology. According to Dr. Michael Callahan, lead author of a paper on the discovery appearing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America;
"You would not expect to see these nucleobase analogs if contamination from terrestrial life was the source, because they're not used in biology, aside from one report of 2,6-diaminopurinecyanophage S-2L,"
While the presence of molecules not known to commonly appear in biology was a strong indication that the findings were not the result of contamination. Callahan's group further confirmed this fact by analyzing a sample of ice taken from Antarctica, where most of the meteorites in the study were found. The result showed much smaller concentrations of the nucleobases, as well as xanthine and hypoxanthine, all of which appeared in parts per trillion in the ice sample, as oppose to the parts per billion generally found within the samples taken from the meteorites. None of the Nucleobase analogues were discovered in the sample. Analysis of the soil taken from the surrounding area where one of the meteorites used in study fell in Austraila, also failed to detect those analogs.
In one final experiment designed to rule out terrestrial contamination and confirm the extraterrestrial origin of the molecules. Callahan's team was able to successfully generate all of the nucleobases and analogues found within the meteorite samples in a completely non-biological chemical reaction in the lab, using hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and water. Showing not only that the find was almost certainly not the result of contamination, but more importantly, that chemical processes taking place within certain types of asteroids could potentially produce all of the molecules detected in the study.
If confirmed by further research, the findings of Callahan and his team could be a major step towards understanding the true origins of life on Earth. Particularly when considered along with previous research conducted by the team which detected amino acids, the molecules responsible for building proteins, within similar samples; as well samples taken from the Comet Wild 2 during NASA's stardust mission. All of which, adds to the growing body of evidence supporting the theory that the chemistry taking place within comets and asteroids is capable of generating the basic building blocks of essential biological molecules, and that life may owe it's existence, at least in part, to materials delivered from space via meteorite and comet impacts.
-CAINE-
Source: NASA
Image credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Chris Smith
For a deeper explanation of the Nucleobases and nucleobase analogues, as well as the findings of his research, check out the following video from NASA, featuring Dr. Callahan.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Rainbow Toad Found After 87 Years
Image Credit: Indraneil DasView this post on tumblr
First described in 1920, and last seen by European explores in 1942, the Sambas stream toad or Bornean rainbow toad, was recently rediscovered and photographed for the first time by a team from the University Malaysia Sarawak, lead by herpetologist Indraneil Das.
First described in 1920, and last seen by European explores in 1942, the Sambas stream toad or Bornean rainbow toad, was recently rediscovered and photographed for the first time by a team from the University Malaysia Sarawak, lead by herpetologist Indraneil Das.
3 of the tiny, toxic amphibians, ranging in size from one to two inches, were discovered during the expedition, an adult male and female, as well as a juvenile. Each was found living in a different mature tree, along the ridges of the Gunung Penrissen range of Western Sarawak, a boundary between Malaysia’s Sarawak State and Indonesia’s Kalimantan Barat Province, on the island of Borneo.
The Bornean Rainbow toad is the second species on Conservation International's “World’s Top 10 Most Wanted Lost Frogs" list to have been rediscovered since the list was compiled in 2010.
Source: Wired Science VIA:GGB on Tumblr
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Cephalopods In Space!
Which is why, amongst the various cargo carried into space by Endeavor on it's final flight, is a sample of juvenile Bobtail squid. These baby cephalopods were sent up by microbiologist Jamie foster, to determine what effect, if any, the environment has on helpful bacteria, like those which give the squid the ability to generate bioluminescence.
Bobtail squid are a tiny variety of cepholopods which have evolved their ability to generate bioluminescence by forming a symbiotic relationship with a particular species of bacteria called Vibiro Fischeri, the juvenile squid are exposed to this bacteria shortly after hatching, which take up residence in the animals light organs. Fed on a solution of sugar and amino acids by the squid, the bacteria in turn helps the animal to avoid predators by matching the amount of light hitting the top of it's mantle, thus helping to hide it's silhouette from predators below. Because the animal is not born with the bacteria in it's system, and because the process only involves a single species, unlike the symbiotic relationships human beings form with the thousands of species of bacteria which inhabit our digestive and immune systems, The Bobtail squid seems an ideal candidate for this sort of test.
Preliminary experiments conducted in simulated microgravity on Earth appear to have shown problems with the uptake of bacteria by the squid. And if the shuttle study shows the same result, it would suggest that astronauts' relationships with their own microbes might also be affected.
-CAINE-
Source: New Scientist.com VIA: GGB on tumblr
Image credit: Jenny Huang
For more about the Bobtail squid, check out this video from Science Nation:
Posted by Youtube user: VideosatNSF
Posted by Youtube user: VideosatNSF
Monday, March 28, 2011
Auto-appendectomy in the Antarctic
On November 5th, 1960 a Soviet Antarctic expedition team set sail to the ice shelf on the Princess Astrid Coast where they were tasked with constructing a new Antarctic polar base inland at Schirmacher Oasis. Nine weeks later, on February 18th 1961, the new base, called Novolazarevskaya, was completed just in time for the onset of the polar winter. With the sea now frozen over, and months of sustained darkness, snow storms, and extremes frosts setting in, the team would have to remain on the base, isolated from the outside world, until the ship which brought them to the site was able to return the following year.Unfortunately for the team’s doctor, then 27 year old Leningrad surgeon Leonid Ivanovich Rogozov, it didn’t take long for things to take a turn for the worse.
By April, Just a few weeks into the their extended isolation on the base, Leonid had begun to fall ill, suffering symptoms of weakness, nausea, malaise, and later, a pain which began in the upper part of his abdomen before ultimately shifting down to it's lower right quadrant. The symptoms were unmistakable, and by April 29th Rogozov was certain of the diagnosis, writing in his journal:
“It seems that I have appendicitis. I am keeping quiet about it, even smiling. Why frighten my friends? Who could be of help? A polar explorer’s only encounter with medicine is likely to have been in a dentist’s chair.”
The surgeon knew that his only chance for survival was an operation, but transportation at this point was clearly impossible, and as the only doctor on the team, Rogozov new his only option was to perform the operation on himself. Preparations began the following day.
After having several members of the team help prepare a make-shift OR in his room, Leonid assigned each of his new assistants specific tasks and showed them how to administer artificial ventilation and injections with the drugs he had prepared in case he lost conscientiousness during the procedure. Once these preparations were complete, and the doctor had helped to properly sterilize his assistants, as well as his operating room, at 2am local time, Rogozov began to perform his own appendectomy.
Lying in a semi reclined position, Leonid began the operation, first injecting himself with the anesthetic procaine before making a 10-12 cm incision into his abdomen with the aid of a small mirror. Though he would turn to the mirror throughout the procedure to try and get a better look at what he was doing, Rogozov worked primarily by feel, using his ungloved hands to feel around inside of his abdomen in order to locate and remove the inflamed organ. Which he did, fighting through weakness and vertigo, and working mostly blind, in just an hour and forty-five minutes.
Leonid went on to make a full recovery in just two weeks, and returned home the following year, where he would live a full life up until his death from stomach cancer in September of 2000.
-CAINE-
To read more excerpts from Leonid's Journal, as well as a more detailed description of the procedure itself, be sure to read the original article from the British Medical Journal’s (BMJ) website.
This story was also posted on: Compendium oF Strange.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis And Zombie Ants
Image by: Erich G. ValleryEarlier this month, scientists David P Hughes, Simon L. Elliot , and Harry C. Evans, published an article in the online journal Plos one describing their discovery of four new species of Ophiocordyceps unilateralis, or the "Zombifying" fungus, as many of us have now come to know it.
Ophiocordyceps is just one of literally hundreds of endoparasitic species of fungus belonging to the the genus Cordyceps, which can be found throughout the world, but are particularly abundant in humid areas like tropical forests. These endoparasites thrive by infecting a host animal, or in some cases other fungi, which they then begin to grow inside of and ultimately kill in order to complete their own life cycles. But what makes Ophiocordyceps unique amongst other cordyceps, is its ability to control the behavior of it's chosen host, in this case various species of ants.
Infection with these parasitic organisms begins with the host coming into contact with it's spores, which then gain access to the animals inner body cavity. As to the exact method of entry, I was unable to find a definitive answer, so I suspect it depends on the particular species of fungi you're dealing with. But what ever the method, once inside the spores continue to grow, extending fungal filaments called mycelia throughout the ants body and into it's brain.
Though the exact nature of how the plant manages to manipulate the animals behavior is unknown, it's at this point that the fungus manages to take control, driving it's host down from the canopy where the colony lives and onto the underside of leaves sprouting from the northwest side of plants growing on the forest floor where the colony forages. Once the Ant has reached this very specif destination, it is then compelled in the final moments of it's life to clamp its jaws down on the central vein of the leaf, where it will remained anchored even after it's death. This final resting place is purposely located in an ideal position to allow the fungi to continue to grow, ultimately erupting through the ants head and producing a spore pod, which eventually releases it's spores onto the forest floor below, allowing the cycle to begin once again.
-CAINE-
Image credit: Erich G. Vallery
Source: gaurdian.co.uk, PLos one.org, Livescience.com also posted on: Compendium oF Strange
Finally, a nice little clip from the "Planet Earth" Documentary via BBC Worldwide with a brief description of Cordyceps and some really amazing images of various insects infected by the fungus.
Posted by Youtube user:BBCWorldwide
Posted by Youtube user:BBCWorldwide
Friday, December 3, 2010
NASA Press Conference Disappoints Many, But it Really Shouldn't Have
[*UPDATE*]Turns out, not only have NASA's observations NOT been confirmed by any other researchers, but there's also been no shortage of scientists coming forward to criticize the conclusions as well as the methods of NASA scientists. Some have even gone so far as labeling the entire thing one big publicity stunt and given this new information, I largely agree. So maybe we should have been disappointed after all. [*UPDATE*]In case you missed it, yesterday NASA held a press conference to announce the discovery of a bacteria (GFAJ-1 of Halomonadaceae) living in the highly alkaline waters as well as in the mud surrounding Mono Lake in California. Lab tests showed that this bacteria is capable of not only surviving in an environment saturated with arsenic, but that it can actually incorporate the normally highly toxic chemical into it's DNA and use it in place of phosphorous.
One would be hard pressed to exaggerate the "wow-factor" of this discovery from a biological stand point as it is a real life living breathing example of an organism capable of sustaining it's existence by utilizing a biochemistry unlike any other organism on the planet. As far as the impact this finding will have on astrobiology- The search for life on other worlds has to begin by looking for the conditions necessary to sustain life as we know it and this discovery helps to expand our understanding of the conditions under which life can exist. In short, the space agency made good on it's promise to deliver something which would impact the field of astrobiology and this organism itself is an astonishing discovery well worth the attention it received.
However-
To the average person, this discovery probably doesn't mean much, and it certainly isn't as cool as it would have been if this same discovery had been made on another planet; which is obviously what the majority of people thought was going to be the case. I myself was aware of the existence of organisms capable of surviving on arsenic ( the part about the DNA is new microbes living on arsenic is not) and that the subject of the press conference would most likely focus primarily on some terrestrial finding. But even I assumed that the topic would be somehow tied to a specific discovery on another world and it is, in a fundamental non-specific sort of way. But still, a lot of people were both disappointed and even irritated by the subject of the conference and quite frankly, I don't blame them.
To be fair, 99% of the hype about alien life came from outside NASA. But when the general public(right or wrong) sees your organization's primary mission as the search for extraterrestrials, you have to know that holding a special event to share an announcement relating to astrobiology is GOING to generate hype, speculation, and ultimately resentment when reality doesn't live up to their expectations.
-CAINE-
Source: Bad Astronomy
For more about the true significance of this find check out Nancy Atkinson's article on Universe Tody.
Among those deeply disappointed by the way NASA handled the release of this information, Justin from Weird Things TV:
Posted by YouTube user:weirdthingsTV
Friday, October 29, 2010
Biotech Company Begins First Human Embryonic Stem Cell Trial
Earlier this month the Geron Corporation began the first Human embryonic stem cell trial. This trial, which began October 8th in the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia, is expected to involve 10 patients, all of whom must have severe spinal cord injuries and begin treatment within 14 days after sustaining their injuries.
Participants in the trial will receive a single injection containing 2 million of Geron's GRNOPC1 cells and will then be monitored for a year to look for any sign of negative side-effects or regained function or sensation in their lower extremities. Assuming this initial group is found to suffer no ill-effect from the treatment, Geron plans to seek FDA approval to extend the study and increase the dose of GRNOPC1 patients receive, as well as including
"as broad a range of severe spinal cord-injured patients as medically appropriate."
Geron ultimately hopes to be able to inject GRNOPC1 directly into the spinal cord lesions of injured patients prompting the regrowth of damaged nerve cells and restoring function and sensation to patients suffering paralysis.
Trials like this one are long overdue and have been unnecessarily delayed due to what I personally view as the largely manufactured controversy surrounding embryonic stem cells. But if treatments like this prove successful, it will no doubt fuel the public's desire to see such treatments made available to patients with debilitating injuries and will help to remove the unfortunate and - in my opinion - completely unjustified bans and restrictions currently placed on embryonic stem cell research here in the US.
-CAINE-
Source:Discovery News
On a semi-related note, it remains impossible for me to hear the words "embryonic cells" without getting this song stuck in my head, but it's one of my absolute favorites, so I'm okay with that.
Posted by YouTube user:roadrunnerrecords
Friday, May 28, 2010
Synthetic Life...sort of
A research team led by Dr Craig Venter of the J Craig Venter Institute(JCVI) in Maryland and California, have successfully created the first Self-Replicating, Synthetic Bacterial Cell, Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0. (Follow the link above or click HERE to read the Institute's official press release.)
While technically correct, I think the over emphasis being placed on the word synthetic in every headline and article about this story gives the average reader the wrong impression. While Dr. Venter's group has achieved something amazing and ground breaking, this so called synthesized life form is not the sc-fi micro-monster that most main stream reporting implies it to be. I'll explain.
Researchers created this "synthetic" cell by first digitally replicating the entire genome of an existing bacteria, M. Mycoides. That digital copy was then artificially synthesized using a sequencer and inserted into another existing species of bacterium whose own genome had been removed, Mycoplasma capricolum. The Mycoplasma in turn followed the new genetic "Software" it had received and turned itself into a M. Mycoides cell, ultimately resulting in the creation of, "Mycoplasma mycoides JCVI-syn1.0", the worlds first "synthetically" created self-replicating cell.
In other words, the only part of the cell that was "artificial" was the genome it received, which was in fact just a copy of an existing genome from a separate species of bacteria. Point being, JCVI-syn 1.0 is not some entirely new and artificially created species of anything as most mainstream articles seem to imply.
But this is an important advancement regardless of the details. Not only could artificially produced bacteria be engineered to carry out worth while tasks like reducing some of the damage to the environment by capturing Carbon monoxide, as suggested by Dr. Venter In an article from the BBC. But the steps that were necessary to successfully synthesize and implant the genome of one species to another, creating a viable copy of the original. Means more exacting work can begin on understanding the genomes themselves, as stated by Dr Venter in the JCVI press release: "We can now begin working on our ultimate objective of synthesizing a minimal cell containing only the genes necessary to sustain life in its simplest form. This will help us better understand how cells work."
-CAINE-
Links and Additional Content
First, if you did not click through to read the article from the BBC should do so now, it has loads of info on this story including video of Dr Venter as well as a Q&A section and was my primary scource of info on this subject outside of the JCVI press release which you should also go read.Next, Dr. Venter's TED talk video. (more on TED another day)
Image Credit:Nate Beeler
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