Tag Archives: chromosomes

Fertility: Sacrificing eggs for the greater good

By Guest PostAugust 23, 2014Health4 th dimension, andre knie, carnegie, chromosomes, DNA, elch, elektronendynamik chiraler Systeme, eric song, fertility, flower power, gregor hartmann, jumping genes, lernende maschinen, maga, mutations, nanoparticles bioadhesive, roentgenstrahlen impulsen, sticky particles, trump dynasty

A woman’s supply of eggs is a precious commodity because only a few hundred mature eggs can be produced throughout her lifetime and each must be as free as possible from genetic damage. Part of egg production involves a winnowing of the egg supply during fetal development, childhood and into adulthood down from a large starting pool. New research by Carnegie’s Alex Bortvin and postdoctoral fellow Safia Malki have gained new insights into the earliest stages of egg selection, which may have broad implications for women’s health and fertility. The work is reported in the early on-line edition of Developmental Cell. (more…)

Selfish Gene may Undermine Genome Police

By Guest PostMarch 18, 2013Scienceaubergine, brown university, chromosomes, father of genetics, fruit fly, genome police, gregor mendel, humans, mammals, police gene, robert reeenan, sd, segregation distorter, selena gell, selfish gene, selfish genetic entity, sex cells, sperm, strings of biochemicals

Biologists have been observing the “selfish” genetic entity segregation distorter (SD) in fruit flies for decades. Its story is a thriller among molecules, in which the SD gene destroys maturing sperm that have a rival chromosome. A new study reveals a tactic that gives SD’s villainy an extra edge.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — For a bunch of inanimate chemical compounds, the nucleic and amino acids caught up in the infamous “selfish” segregation distorter (SD) saga have put on quite a soap opera for biologists since the phenomenon was discovered in fruit flies 50 years ago. A new study, a highlight in the March issue of the journal Genetics, provides the latest plot twist. (more…)

Aging Cells Lose Their Grip on DNA Rogues

By Guest PostFebruary 3, 2013Scienceabigail peterson, aging bodies, aging cells, balls of protein, barbara mcclintock, brown university, chromatin, chromosomes, computational biologist, desirable genes, DNA, edward peckham, eliza hamm, enzyme, essential genes, euchromatin formations, faire, genetic material, genome, genomic havoc, heterochromatin, heterochromatin prison system, high stakes warfare, hiv drugs, human fibroblast cells, human retrotransposons, jayameenakshi manivannan, jill kreiling, john sedivy, l1, marco de cecco, mobile strands, molecular parasites, nicola neretti, nobel prize, nucleosomes, parasitic strands, reverse transcriptases, rna, sara hillenmeyer, senescent, senescent cells, steven criscione, technique, transposable elements, transposons, transposons in maize, useful genes

Transposable elements are mobile strands of DNA that insert themselves into chromosomes with mostly harmful consequences. Cells try to keep them locked down, but in a new study, Brown University researchers report that aging cells lose their ability to maintain this control. The result may be a further decline in the health of senescent cells and of the aging bodies they compose.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Even in our DNA there is no refuge from rogues that prey on the elderly. Parasitic strands of genetic material called transposable elements — transposons — lurk in our chromosomes, poised to wreak genomic havoc. Cells have evolved ways to defend themselves, but in a new study, Brown University researchers describe how cells lose this ability as they age, possibly resulting in a decline in their function and health. (more…)

Better Way to Understand Plasmid Cloning from AddGene

By Guest PostJanuary 17, 2013Scienceaddgene, ailments, backbone vector, biologically engineered, chromosomes, circular fragments, cloning process, cloning vital organs, digestion, dna strands, double stranded dna, first successful cloning, gel purification, gene, manipulating genes, medical research, molecular cloning, molecular level, molecule cloning, molly the sheep, non profit repository, original chromosomal dna, pcr, plasmid cloning, plasmid land, plasmids, prolong human life, red, red cloning, repository, restriction enzyme digest, restructure diseases, scottish lambs, sub cloning, vector

Medical research has been studying molecular cloning for centuries. While many remember the Scottish lambs as the first successful cloning, there have been countless medical advances since then. Many of them are not as evident or dramatic as Molly the sheep, they have been blazing the trail for cloning vital organs, DNA strands and chromosomes in hopes of curtailing or even curing the maladies that plague the human race. Plasmids are at the forefront of this research in hopes they can learn how to insert DNA strands and restructure diseases or ailments on a molecular level.

It is difficult to describe what Plasmid is exactly. Plasmid is a biologically engineered DNA strands that are meant to be used in existing organisms as well as creating new ones. There are many aspects of it used in different ways from molecule cloning, manipulating genes or advancing medical research. Plasmids are circular fragments of double-stranded DNA. Plasmids are used in DNA strands and they can be replicated independently of original chromosomal DNA that created them. While they are mainly used for studying purposes at the moment in biological laboratories, they are meant to advance medical research and hopefully be used to prolong human life. (more…)

Offspring of Older Fathers May Live Longer

By Guest PostJune 17, 2012Healthaccidental death, biologists, cells and tissues, christopher w kuzawa, chromosomes, dan t a eisenberg, DNA, Environment, evolutionary perspective, genetic changes, geoffrey hayes, harmful mutations, live longer, miscarriage, molly mcelroy, northwestern university, offspring, older fathers, Philippines, telomeres, university of washington, wenner-gren foundation

If your father and grandfather waited until they were older before having children, you might experience life-extending benefits. Biologists assume that a slow pace of aging requires that the body invest more resources in repairing cells and tissues.

A new study suggests that our bodies might increase these investments to slow the pace of aging if our father or grandfather waited until they were older before having children.

“If your father and grandfather were able to live and reproduce at a later age, this might predict that you yourself live in an environment that is somewhat similar — an environment with less accidental deaths or in which men are only able to find a partner at later ages,” said Dan T.A. Eisenberg, lead author of the study published June 11 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. (more…)

Timely Ends: Telomere Length in Early Life Predicts Lifespan

By Guest PostJanuary 14, 2012Scienceblood cells, britt heidinger, cells, chromosomes, conditions, DNA, dna protection, environmental factors, exeter, function, genetic code, jon blount, lifespan, malfunction, plastic caps, predictor of longevity, telomere cap, telomere lengths, telomeres, universities of glasgow, zebra finches

New research by a team from the Universities of Glasgow and Exeter shows that a good indicator of how long individuals will live can be obtained from early in life using the length of specialised pieces of DNA called telomeres.

Telomeres occur at the ends of the chromosomes, which contain our genetic code.

They function a bit like the plastic caps at the end of shoelaces by marking the chromosome ends and protecting them from various process that gradually cause the ends to be worn away. This method of DNA protection is the same for most animals and plants, including humans, and the eventual loss of the telomere cap is known to cause cells to malfunction. This study is the first in which telomere length has been measured repeatedly from early in life of an individual and then for the rest of their natural lives. The results show that telomere length in early life is strongly predictive of lifespan. (more…)

Of Mice and Men

By Guest PostSeptember 18, 2011Sciencebret payseur, chromosomes, diseases, DNA, dna sequences, evolution of disease, evolutionary relationships, genetic codes, genomes, genomic information, identification of genes, madison, mice and humans, michael white, mouse strains, national science foundation, strains of common lab mice, university of wisconsin

*The genomes of 17 common strains of lab mice were sequenced to advance genetic studies of human diseases*

Scientists have sequenced the genomes (genetic codes) of 17 strains of common lab mice–an achievement that lays the groundwork for the identification of genes responsible for important traits, including diseases that afflict both mice and humans.

Mice represent the premier genetic model system for studying human diseases. What’s more, the 17 strains of mice included in this study are the most common strains used in lab studies of human diseases. By enabling scientists to list all DNA differences between the 17 strains, the new genome sequences will speed the identification of subsets of mutations and genes that contribute to disease. (more…)

When Plants Go Polyploid

By Guest PostSeptember 15, 2011Nature, Scienceanimal evolution, bananas, chromosomes, coffee, evolutionary biology, evolutionary gamble, genetic information, genome duplication, Israel, itay mayrose, karen magnuson ford, michael barker, microscope, peanuts, plant genomes, plant lineages, polyploid lineages, polyploidy, potatoes, sarah sally otto, shing h zhan, tel aviv university, tobacco

*Plant lineages with multiple copies of their genetic information face higher extinction rates than their relatives, researchers report in Science magazine.*

While duplication of hereditary information is a relatively rare event in animal evolution, it is common in plants. Potatoes, coffee, bananas, peanuts, tobacco, wheat, oats and strawberries, to name but a few, all carry multiple copies of their genetic material, in a condition called polyploidy.

In contrast, most animals including humans are diploid, meaning an individual carries only two copies of each chromosome, the carriers of genetic information, one from each parent. (more…)