Clipmarks | wildcat's 'genetics' clips

New discovery proves 'selfish gene' exists

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 10:45:47 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

A new discovery by a scientist from The University of Western Ontario provides conclusive evidence which supports decades-old evolutionary doctrines long accepted as fact.

Since renowned British biologist Richard Dawkins ("The God Delusion") introduced the concept of the 'selfish gene' in 1976, scientists the world over have hailed the theory as a natural extension to the work of Charles Darwin.

In studying genomes, the word 'selfish' does not refer to the human-describing adjective of self-centered behavior but rather to the blind tendency of genes wanting to continue their existence into the next generation. Ironically, this 'selfish' tendency can appear anything but selfish when the gene does move ahead for selfless and even self-sacrificing reasons.

"This basically provides a validation for a huge body of socio-biology," says Thompson, who adds the completion of Honey Bee Genome Project in 2006 was crucial to this discovery.

Tags: selfish gene, genetics, bees, genomes

Healthy lifestyle triggers genetic changes

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:32:22 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: back on diet and exercise..

Clip Source: news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

In a small study, the researchers tracked 30 men with low-risk prostate cancer who decided against conventional medical treatment such as surgery and radiation or hormone therapy.

The men underwent three months of major lifestyle changes, including eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and soy products, moderate exercise such as walking for half an hour a day, and an hour of daily stress management methods such as meditation.

As expected, they lost weight, lowered their blood pressure and saw other health improvements. But the researchers found more profound changes when they compared prostate biopsies taken before and after the lifestyle changes.

Tags: health, lifestyle, genetics

parts of earliest genetic material may have come from the stars

Sun, 15 Jun 2008 08:47:08 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

Scientists confirm that parts of earliest genetic material may have come from the stars

Scientists have confirmed for the first time that an important component of early genetic material which has been found in meteorite fragments is extraterrestrial in origin, in a paper published on 15 June 2008.

The finding suggests that parts of the raw materials to make the first molecules of DNA and RNA may have come from the stars.

The scientists, from Europe and the USA, say that their research, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters, provides evidence that life's raw materials came from sources beyond the Earth.

The materials they have found include the molecules uracil and xanthine, which are precursors to the molecules that make up DNA and RNA, and are known as nucleobases.

The team discovered the molecules in rock fragments of the Murchison meteorite, which crashed in Australia in 1969.

Tags: genetics, meteors, stars

The World’s First GM Human Embryo Could Dramatically Alter the Future

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:24:48 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

“The advance of genetic engineering makes it quite conceivable that we will begin to design our own evolutionary progress.”

~Isaac Asimov, famous thinker and sci-fi writer

Cornell University researchers in New York revealed that they had produced what is believed to be the world’s first genetically altered human embryo—an ironic twist considering all the criticism the US has heaped on South Korea over the past several years for going “too far” with its genetic research programs. The Cornell team, led by Nikica Zaninovic, used a virus to add a green fluorescent protein gene, to a human embryo left over from an in vitro fertilization procedure. The research was presented at a meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine last year, but details have emerged only after new controversy has emerged over the ethics and science of genetically modifying humans.

Tags: genetics, human, embryo, engineering

The Stupidity of Dignity

Sun, 11 May 2008 11:27:22 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Steven Pinker, a modern most advanced thinker, a must read

Clip Source: www.tnr.com

This spring, the President's Council on Bioethics released a 555-page report, titled Human Dignity and Bioethics. The Council, created in 2001 by George W. Bush, is a panel of scholars charged with advising the president and exploring policy issues related to the ethics of biomedical innovation, including drugs that would enhance cognition, genetic manipulation of animals or humans, therapies that could extend the lifespan, and embryonic stem cells and so-called "therapeutic cloning" that could furnish replacements for diseased tissue and organs. Advances like these, if translated into freely undertaken treatments, could make millions of people better off and no one worse off. So what's not to like? The advances do not raise the traditional concerns of bioethics, which focuses on potential harm and coercion of patients or research subjects. What, then, are the ethical concerns that call for a presidential council?

Tags: steven pinker, bioethics, genetics, dignity

How to Build a Human 1 of 4 (BBC)

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 08:16:34 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: watch all of it

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

Tags: human, engineering, genetics

Building Baby From the Genes Up

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:56:47 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: this clip refers to the original article critiqued in this clip" http://clipmarks.com/clipmark/3C7641BA-74C9-42AB-809F-4081B49D1A3B/

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

With knowledge comes power. If we understand the genetic causes of obesity, for example, we can intervene by means of embryo selection to produce a child with a reduced genetic likelihood of getting fat. Eventually, without discarding embryos at all, we could use gene-targeting techniques to tweak fetal DNA sequences. No child would have to face a lifetime of dieting or experience the health and cosmetic problems associated with obesity. The same is true for cognitive problems such as dyslexia. Geneticists have already identified some of the mutations that contribute to this disorder. Why should a child struggle with reading difficulties when we could alter the genes responsible for the problem?

Will our ability to choose our children's biological inheritance lead parents to replace unconditional love with a consumerist mentality that seeks perfection?

Does it amount to a forbidden and prideful "playing God"?

Tags: genetics, babies, enhancement

Genetically Modified Humans? No Thanks.

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:32:24 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: the question of course is the following:what does it mean for humanity to have a common ongoing human adventure? do we have one at present?

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

In an essay in Sunday's Outlook section, Dartmouth ethics professor Ronald Green asks us to consider a neo-eugenic future of "designer babies," with parents assembling their children quite literally from genes selected from a catalogue. Distancing himself from the compulsory, state-sponsored eugenics that darkened the first half of the last century, Green instead celebrates the advent of a libertarian, consumer-driven eugenics motivated by the free play of human desire, technology and markets. He argues that this vision of the human future is desirable and very likely inevitable.

To put it mildly: I disagree. Granted, new human genetic technologies have real potential to help prevent or cure many terrible diseases, and I support research directed towards that end. But these same technologies also have the potential for real harm. If misapplied, they would exacerbate existing inequalities and reinforce existing modes of discrimination

Tags: genetics, engineering, designer babies, enhancement

Homo Superior

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:08:19 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: The risks may be great, but so too are the rewards.

Clip Source: www.scienceagogo.com

Genetic engineering is getting serious. Recently researchers have shown that otherwise "hardwired" or innate responses, such as fear, can be manipulated and even reversed, that extreme muscle growth is possible, and that sexual preference can be changed. Genetic manipulations like these go well beyond the promised cosmetic enhancements – such as changing skin and eye color – and may in fact allow us to become the drivers of our species' evolution.

But are we capable of handling our newfound god status? If we could create a fearless, well-fed, disease-free world, would this lead to a golden age of peace, love, and understanding, or will it be business as usual?

add to these developments the recent experiments in what you could call "directed selection" – the ability to knockout certain genes to produce a change in behavior or physiology – and we're well on the way to becoming masters of our own destinies.

But what would a world without depression, anxiety, or fear be like?

Tags: human, v2, h+, transhumanism, genetics

Body 2.0: Changing the Nature of Genetic Data

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:37:29 GMT

clipped by: wildcat
clipper's remarks: Worries that gene testing could create more problems than it solves are reasonable in the short term. Over the long run, however, gene testing and therapy will likely be viewed as "equalizing technologies" just like the Internet or cheap laptops. Body 2.0 is on its way and the nature of genetic data is about to change.

Clip Source: www.technewsworld.com

Worries that gene testing could create more problems than it solves are reasonable in the short term. Over the long run, however, gene testing and therapy will likely be viewed as "equalizing technologies" just like the Internet or cheap laptops. Body 2.0 is on its way, and the nature of genetic data is about to change.

The next generation of parents is set to embrace genetic testing of kids for diseases that may occur later in life, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medical Genetics. This is big news given that many medical professionals oppose the practice and there is a movement in Congress to secure genetic privacy. This raises a key question: What is the nature of genetic data?

"The next generation may be more comfortable with genetic testing," she said. "This could be because their generation grew up with genetics, learning about it in school or from the news, unlike their parents."

Tags: dna, testing, genetics

Three-parent embryo formed in lab

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 12:31:47 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Scientists believe they have made a breakthrough in IVF treatment by creating a human embryo with three separate parents.

The Newcastle University team believe the technique could help to eradicate a whole class of hereditary diseases, including some forms of epilepsy.

The embryos have been created using DNA from a man and two women in lab tests.

It could ensure women with genetic defects do not pass the diseases on to their children.

The technique is intended to help women with diseases of the mitochondria - mini-organs that are found within individual cells.

They are sometimes described as "cellular power plants" because they generate most of the cell's energy.

Faults in the mitochondrial DNA can cause around 50 known diseases some which lead to disability and death.

About one in every 6,500 people is affected by such conditions, which include fatal liver failure, stroke-like episodes, blindness, muscular dystrophy, diabetes and deafness.

Tags: ivf, embryo, genetics

One Common Ancestor Behind Blue Eyes

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:53:50 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

People with blue eyes have a single, common ancestor, according to new research.

A team of scientists has tracked down a genetic mutation that leads to blue eyes. The mutation occurred between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Before then, there were no blue eyes.

"Originally, we all had brown eyes," said Hans Eiberg from the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Copenhagen.

"A genetic mutation affecting the OCA2 gene in our chromosomes resulted in the creation of a 'switch,' which literally 'turned off' the ability to produce brown eyes," Eiberg said.

"What they were able to show is that the people who have blue eyes in Denmark, as far as Jordan, these people all have this same haplotype, they all have exactly the same gene changes that are all linked to this one mutation that makes eyes blue," Hawks said in a telephone interview.

"This gene does something good for people. It makes them have more kids."

Tags: genetics, blue eyes

E.coli a future source of energy?

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 11:52:16 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: physorg.com

For most people, the name “E. coli” is synonymous with food poisoning and product recalls, but a professor in Texas A&M University’s chemical engineering department envisions the bacteria as a future source of energy, helping to power our cars, homes and more.

By genetically modifying the bacteria, Thomas Wood, a professor in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, has “tweaked” a strain of E. coli so that it produces substantial amounts of hydrogen. Specifically, Wood’s strain produces 140 times more hydrogen than is created in a naturally occurring process, according to an article in Microbial Biotechnology, detailing his research.

Though Wood acknowledges that there is still much work to be done before his research translates into any kind of commercial application, his initial success could prove to be a significant stepping stone on the path to the hydrogen-based economy that many believe is in this country’s future.

Tags: e.coli, energy, genetics

Gene vs. Gene: The Programming Language of Life

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:29:25 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

Gene identification is big business, a vital step in ongoing research into the programming language of life itself - chasing down the diseases and even starting to look at improving the design. Current gene detection techniques require microliters of genetic material, which may not sound like much but when the stuff you're interested in is measured in molecules it adds up to a whole hell of a lot of very fragile material.

Deoxyribonucleic acid might be a big long name, but the stuff itself is pretty small, hard to produce to order and not something you want to waste.

Why go to all the bother of building nanomachines from the ground up when there's a super-advanced system that's been running just fine for millions of years?

Also note the phrase " scaffolded DNA origami", which proves that no matter how much awesome stuff you hear about, science can and will come up with something even crazier sounding.

Tags: genetics, nanotech, genes

Incest Not So Taboo in Nature

Fri, 18 Jan 2008 12:29:14 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

This recent story went wide: British fraternal twins who were adopted separately at birth later married without realizing they were brother and sister. Why does this make us so instantly and overtly squeamish?

Incest is considered taboo in nearly every human culture around the world, researchers have found. Yet as the 21st century waxes, questions about the behavior remain unanswered.

Where does our aversion to incest come from — genetics or society — and what's so bad about it, anyway?

Incestuous ancestry

"Asexual reproduction is [like] the ultimate in incest because you're breeding with yourself," Wheelwright told LiveScience. "You can still see species asexually reproducing, or cloning themselves, in situations where there is no advantage to [sex]," he said, "and you can see species that commit incest where there is no penalty to inbreeding."

"Sex results in ... diverse offspring and maintains a diversity of genes," he said.

Tags: evolution, reproduction, genetics