Genetics & Molecular Biology

Scientists at deCODE genetics have completed the largest study of ancient DNA from a single population ever undertaken. Analyzing mitochondrial DNA, which is passed from mother to offspring, from 68 skeletal remains, the study provides a detailed look at how a contemporary population differs from that of its ancestors. The results confirm previous deCODE work that used genetics to test the history of Iceland as recorded in the sagas. These studies demonstrated that the country seems to have been settled by men from Scandinavia – the vikings – but that the majority of the original female…

The pharmaceutical industry is currently facing some key challenges, like an increase in drug development costs, a decrease in the number of drugs being approved and scrutiny from regulatory authorities. Patients themselves are also demanding more effective and safer drugs. Pharmacogenomics says they can help to guide drug development and therapy by correlating gene expression with a drug's efficacy. Personalized medicine is the result of individualized pharmacotherapy, which allows the formulation of drugs that offer appropriate treatment to the right person as needed. Recent reports of…

Forsyth Institute scientist Peter Jezewski, DDS, Ph.D., says that duplication and diversification of protein regions ('modules') within ancient master control genes is key to the understanding of certain birth disorders. Tracing the history of these changes within the proteins coded by the Msx gene family over the past 600 million years has also provided additional evidence for the ancient origin of the human mouth.  Jezewski published the study examining the Msx family that has ancient roots as a master control gene for patterned embryonic growth. Previous work identified mutations…

Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker's genome is being sequenced as part of the Personal Genome Project, and he's been gazing at the results, attempting to divine some meaning in the A''s, T's, G's and C's. He shares his musings in a Sunday Times Magazine essay that captures both the excitement of personal genomics and its pitfalls. Personal Genomics and DiseaseIf someone sequenced your genome, what is the first thing you'd look for? Most of the personal genome services out there are currently focusing their analyses on disease risk. One of the big selling points that these companies are…

How did life begin?   A pair of Scripps Research Institute scientists say they have taken a significant step toward answering that question because they have synthesized RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of any proteins or other cellular components - and the process proceeds indefinitely.  In the modern world, DNA carries the genetic sequence for advanced organisms, while RNA is dependent on DNA for performing its roles such as building proteins. But one prominent theory about the origins of life, called the RNA World model, postulates that because RNA can…

If you put 'genomics' on the end of a word, you can gain instant credibility, so it makes sense that someone would come up with 'nutrigenomics' and say they can make a diet that corresponds to your genetic profile. It's tough to know what they mean by 'genetic profile' though obviously some people have a different metabolism than other so they can eat more.   A customized diet consisting of 'eat fewer calories' wouldn't seem to require genomics.   But 'nutrigenomics', they say, is something better because it aims to identify the genetic factors that influence the body's response to…

Since 1899, when acetylsalicylic acid was named "aspirin" in Germany, the emphasis has been placed on its properties. There is a new wind on the subject -- a medical cyclone seems to be brewing in the United Kingdom. John R. Patterson and colleagues report their new findings in the Dec. 24 issue of ACS' biweekly Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Humans (and other animals, and plants) can make their own salicylic acid (SA), the principal metabolite of aspirin. "It is, we suspect, increasingly likely that SA is a biopharmaceutical with a central, broadly defensive role in animals as…

Researchers have what they think may be a basic recipe for capturing and maintaining indefinitely the most fundamental of embryonic stem cells from essentially any mammal, including cows, pigs and even humans. Two new studies reported in Cell, show that a cocktail first demonstrated to work in mice earlier this year, which includes inhibitory chemicals, also can be used to successfully isolate embryonic stem cells from rats. Authentic rat embryonic stem cells had never before been established. The new discovery made in labs at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of Southern…

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) have, for the first time in history, derived authentic embryonic stem (ES) cells from rats. This breakthrough finding will enable scientists to create far more effective animal models for the study of a range of human diseases.  The finding brings scientists much closer to creating "knockout" rats—animals that are genetically modified to lack one or more genes—for biomedical research. By observing what happens to animals when specific genes are removed, researchers can identify the function of the gene and whether it is linked to…

A groundbreaking study of popularity by a Michigan State University scientist has found that genes elicit not only specific behaviors but also the social consequences of those behaviors.  According to the investigation by behavioral geneticist S. Alexandra Burt, male college students who had a gene associated with rule-breaking behavior were rated most popular by a group of previously unacquainted peers. It's not unusual for adolescent rule-breakers to be well-liked – previous research has made that link – but Burt is the first to provide meaningful evidence for the role of a specific…