Genetics & Molecular Biology

Why are some people willing to take risks by gambling on "longshot" payoffs while, on the other hand, taking the opposite tack by buying insurance to reduce their risks? An international team of economists and molecular geneticists says the answer can be found in our genetic makeup. In an article recently published online in PLoS ONE, researchers combined the tools of experimental economics and molecular genetics to examine the role of a well-characterizedgene, monoamine oxidase A (MAOA), in predicting whether subjects are more likely to buy the lottery or insurance (or both) under well-…

The latest issue of Cell has some goodies on synthetic and systems biology: "Engineering Static and Dynamic Control of Synthetic Pathways, by William Holtz and Jay Keasling: Maximizing the production of a desired small molecule is one of the primary goals in metabolic engineering. Recent advances in the nascent field of synthetic biology have increased the predictability of small-molecule production in engineered cells growing under constant conditions. The next frontier is to create synthetic pathways that adapt to changing environments. And Luis Serrano, with Christina Kiel and Eva Yus,…

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that calcium channels on the tongue are the targets of compounds that can enhance taste. In addition to molecules that directly trigger specific taste buds (salty, sweet etc.), there are other substances which have no flavor of their own but can enhance the flavors they are paired with (known as kokumi taste in Japanese cuisine). The results appear in the January 8 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Exploiting this enhancement could have practical uses in food modulation; for example, creating healthy foods that contain minimal…

Here is a molecular biology discovery that we can chalk up to our increasing love of lean bacon: "ZBED6, a Novel Transcription Factor Derived from a Domesticated DNA Transposon Regulates IGF2 Expression and Muscle Growth", in PLoS Biology. If you're a bacon lover, you may not realize how much your culinary satisfaction is intertwined with genetics. The drive to breed leaner pigs has led to the search for genetic variants that affect muscle mass and fat deposition in pigs. Some years back, in order to find such genetic variants, a Swedish research group crossed European Wild Boars and Large…

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic and the University of Iowa say that the key to bringing obesity under control is to make our muscle a little less efficient and they may have found a way to do it. In a new study in the January issue of Cell Metabolism, the team discusses the possibility that treatments designed to disrupt so-called sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive K+ (KATP) channels specifically in muscles might allow us to control our weight by increasing the number of calories our muscles will burn with regular activity or exercise. "The channels sense even minor changes in nucleotide energy and…

According to a new study published in this month's Genomics journal, so called 'junk' DNA may  help doctors diagnose breast and bowel cancer. Researchers from the University of Nottingham discovered that a group of genetic rogue elements--called chimeric transcripts--produced by 'junk' DNA sequences are more common in breast cancer cells. Five were only present in breast cancer cells while two were found in both normal and breast cancer cells. These chimeric transcripts are produced by DNA sequences called LINE-1 (L1). Despite being labelled as 'junk DNA' it is clear that some of these…

Getting back on my feet after the holiday rush and the expansion of our family: A meeting was held in mid-December to examine "The Impact of Modeling on Biomedical Research." This was held under the umbrella of the IMAG and the MSM Consortium. The acronyms stand for Interagency Modeling and Analysis Group and the MultiScale Modeling Consortium, which are being operated by various federal science agencies, with the goal of helping the biomedical sciences get serious about modeling. The main idea being IMAG is to get funding agency program officers together to think about how to promote the…

The autotrophic cell is the one who is able to produce, by it self, its own energy and structural components. It corresponds, in the natural world to the vegetable cell. We call to this process photosynthesis and the wonderful -and truly amazing feature- of this natural phenomena, is that while the income needed for it is inorganic, the final product corresponds to the organic biochemistry world. Every one of us knows, since the basic education, that the needs for this process are water, CO2 and sun light (please notice that some exceptional organisms can produce organic molecules with out…

(based on So, S., et al. "Autophosphorylation at serine 1981 stabilizes ATM at DNA damage sites." Journal of Cell Biology, early release - published December 21, 2009, 10.1083/jcb.200906064)             We're all familiar with ATMs - automated teller machines - giving us our hard-earned money and accepting checks and deposits. But deep inside all of our cells, a different kind of ATM is called upon to save DNA, the currency of life. This ATM - ataxia telangiectasia mutated (try saying that three times fast!) - is a protein that is one of the first…

(Hopefully 1st in a series of molecular biology topics, explained)                        Let’s face it – science is confusing. So many unfamiliar terms and acronyms, it’s impossible to keep up. Especially if your college major didn’t require you to wear a lab coat. Biology can be the worst offender of the weekend science enthusiast, and with good reason. By its very nature, the study of life involves details – how things survive. That detail lends itself to a rather complex maze of DNA, genes and…