Genetics & Molecular Biology

Nuclear reprogramming is changing one kind of cell to that of another unrelated cell type. Techniques have included direct reprogramming, somatic cell nuclear transfer, cell fusion and induction of pluripotency by ectopic gene expression. Obviously the ability to derive a specialized cell, like a brain cell, from skin tissue would eliminate immunosuppressive issues between genetically different individuals and eliminate ethical issues such as in fields like human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, which has been limited in federal funding during the Bush and Obama administrations.…

Researchers have discovered that the protein resistin, which is secreted by fat tissue, causes high levels of "bad" cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein or LDL), increasing the risk of heart disease.  High blood cholesterol is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. It can lead to a buildup of plaque in the artery walls and narrowing of the arteries, causing atherosclerosis, which can make it more difficult for blood to flow through the heart and body.  The research presented today at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress shows that resistin increases the production of LDL…

Watching single strands of DNA being prepped for repair may help researchers understand the origins of breast cancer. In a new study, graduate student Jason Bell imaged individual strands of bacterial DNA as they were coated with a protein called RecA. Studying how this process works gives insights into the "mediator" proteins responsible that facilitate it. In humans, one of those mediators is the protein BRCA2, which is strongly associated with breast cancer. RecA, called Rad51 in humans, helps the single strand of DNA find its complementary, matching strand elsewhere in the chromosome. The…

Researchers have successfully created a human heart cell model of arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), an inherited heart muscle disorder that puts carriers at high risk of developing life-threatening arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Genetic mutations in ARVC typically affect the function of desmosomes, which are structures that attach heart muscle cells to one another. Desmosomes provide strength to the heart muscle and play a signalling role between neighbouring cells. Without normal desmosomes, the heart muscle cells will detach from one another and die,…

Unfortunately, junk science can be generated by people with agendas, and the editorial process does not always prevent it from getting the undeserved legitimacy of publication.  In extreme cases the legitimate scientific community responds, but can it undo the damage?   Recently a group of scientists led by Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen published a feeding study which purported to find tumorigenic effects of GMO corn and glyphosate. It was so blatantly flawed in design and interpretation that it elicited a rapid and overwhelmingly negative…

We humans take great pride in our ability to come together and cooperate as a society.  Interestingly, many microbes cooperate as well.  A central conundrum among scientists studying microbial cooperation has been how bacteria manage to prevent cheaters from taking over their population, even without jails or stocks or scarlet letters.  Now, a new study finds a surprising genetic mechanism that manages to punish cheaters by depriving them of a private good. Bacteria manage to punish cheaters, even without overloading their prison system.  (Apologies to SolieLInitiative and…

An international research effort has resulted in an integrated physical, genetic and functional sequence assembly of the barley genome, which could lead to higher yields, improved pest- and disease-resistance and enhanced nutritional value of crops. First cultivated more than 10,000 years ago, barley belongs to the Triticeae family, which includes wheat and rye, and that together provides around 30 percent of the calories consumed worldwide. It is the world’s fourth most important cereal crop both in terms of area of cultivation and in quantity of grain produced. At 5 billion nucleic…

Even today, landmines planted as far back as World War II are still being discovered, posing a serious threat to civilians in 69 countries worldwide. Approximately 70 people are killed every day as a result of a landmine explosion in accidents that should be avoidable; a lack of efficiency in clearing out areas which have been covered with landmines and the difficulty of detecting hidden and buried landmines make them a persistent threat to innocent men, woman, and children. Over the past few years, however, landmine detection methods have slowly become more sophisticated, and researchers are…

In a landmark essay published in 1872, the physician George Huntington was the first to articulately describe a condition which he referred to as 'hereditary chorea'. Of his experience with hereditary chorea, which clearly left a strong impression on him, he wrote: "The hereditary chorea, as I shall call it, is confined to certain and fortunately a few families, and has been transmitted to them, an heirloom from generations away back in the dim past. It is spoken of by those in whose veins the seeds of the disease are known to exist, with a kind of horror, and not at all alluded to except…

Scientists have used a three GeV synchrotron radiation facility to visualize an interaction between gluten and T-cells in the human immune system, providing insight into how celiac disease is triggered. And it will lead to a vaccine, they believe. An increasingly diagnosed chronic inflammatory disorder, celiac disease affects the digestive process of the small intestine. When a person with celiac disease consumes gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, their immune system triggers T-cells to fight the offending proteins, which damages the small intestine and inhibits absorption of…