Clipmarks | Gene Clips

Evolution stops here ?

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:12:34 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: This is an interesting read, yet biological evolution is only part of the story of human evolution, perhaps a tiny part at that. Moreover, biodiversity in human populations have new sources that are not considered in this article. Many genomes that would have been selected out of the gene pool in older days are now propagated. Made a clip about that a while ago.

Clip Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

For centuries, writers have attempted to predict the future of the human race.

Some have argued that we are destined to evolve into super-beings, others that we are turning into dim-witted goblins incapable of anything more demanding than watching TV.

But according to a leading geneticist, both visions are wrong because human evolution has ground to a halt.

Professor Steve Jones, of University College London, says the forces driving evolution - such as natural selection and genetic mutation - no longer play an important role in our lives.

The people living one million years from now, should Man survive, will resemble modern-day humans.

We now know so much about the process of evolution that we can make some predictions about what might happen in future,' said Professor Jones in a lecture on Monday.

Evolution is driven by natural selection and mutation.

Genetic mutations create traits which, if helpful, give individuals a competitive edge over rivals.

Tags: evolution, modern human

Inflammatory bowel gene uncovered

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:26:03 GMT

clipped by: A53GG4

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Inflammatory bowel gene uncovered

Genetic variations which predispose people to a common inflammatory bowel condition have been uncovered by a team of German and UK researchers.

Ulcerative colitis is caused by inflammation in the intestines

It was known that ulcerative colitis, which affects around 100,000 people in the UK, runs in families.

Now researchers have linked the condition with the gene that encodes for interleukin 10 (IL10) - a compound which regulates inflammation.

IL10 therapy has been tested in early studies, Nature Genetics reported.

Ulcerative colitis normally appears in people aged 15-30 and symptoms include bloody diarrhoea, abdominal pain, a frequent need to go to the toilet and weight loss.

Although symptoms can be mild, it can kill in severe cases if surgery is not performed in time.

Individuals with first-degree relatives who are affected are known to be at higher risk, but the individual genes involved had not been determined.

Tags: health

'Old-boy's club holding back innovation

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 08:42:24 GMT

clipped by: pokkets
clipper's remarks: We all now have access to a vast amount of research and data on the net. a Few people would have absolutely no hope, but the networks being created on the web, are places where anyone can comment, or include findings, so the pieces can start coming together more quickly. It isn't what we know that is important. it's what we do with the knowledge

Clip Source: www.abc.net.au

Anna Salleh

Science needs to break free of its power-brokers and embrace a participatory web-based culture to boost innovation, says one expert.

John Wilbanks, of Science Commons - a project of Creative Commons - says the plethora of machine-generated data, that characterises today's scientific activity, needs the power of open networks to make sense of it properly.

"The value of any individual piece of knowledge is about the value of any individual piece of lego," Wilbanks said in a keynote address to the Open Access and Research Conference held in Brisbane last week.

"It's not that much until you put it together with other legos."

He says the ability to connect knowledge brings scientific revolutions. For example Watson and Crick's breakthrough on the structure of DNA involved them reading all the scientific papers on nucleotide bonding and encoding it in the form of a physical model, says Wilbanks.

"For example, we have 45,000 papers about one protein or one gene," says Wilbanks.

Despite 21 Month Tree-Sit Berkeley Oaks Cut Down

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:00:19 GMT

clipped by: deadcowkid

Clip Source: www.indybay.org

Despite 21 Month Tree-Sit Berkeley Oaks Cut Down

As of Monday morning, all of the trees that the University plans to cut were down except for a redwood that still has four tree sitters in it. Five people were arrested as they peacefully pleaded with arborists not to destroy the trees.

Tree-sitters fought for the trees for 21 months. Some regarded the Memorial Oak Grove as a sacred place to Native American people. The California Native Plant Society CNPS stated that the Memorial Oak Grove was "an important gene bank for the Coast Live Oak."

Read More With Photos | UC Berkeley commits 1st hate crime against WWI Veterans | UC Berkeley Begins Destruction of Berkeley Oak Grove and Shell Mound Site

U.C. Increases Attacks On Berkeley Tree-Sit | As Judge Rules For University, Protesters Demand Appeal | New Developments at U.C. Berkeley's Memorial Oak Grove | Judge Upholds Temporary Injunction Preventing Development | UC Berkeley Starts To Remove Tree-Sits

Tags: tree sit, protest, uc

Plants have Inherent Dignity -- Swiss

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:23:43 GMT

clipped by: iulawboy
clipper's remarks: I'm all for respecting life and to not destroy it arbitrarily, but this may go too far.

Clip Source: www.practicalethicsnews.com

The Swiss federal Gene Technology Law stipulates that any scientific research should respect the "dignity of creation". All plant biotechnology grant applications must now state how they take plant dignity into consideration

The guidelines give a fine overview of ethical considerations related to the value of plants in themselves (rather than to humans or in relation to anything else)

The main problem is the lack of clear examples of plants being handled in undignified ways.

One of the few examples given is "terminator technology", modifying plants so that their offspring are sterile. Does this imply that seedless grapes or any of the other commonly used agricultural plants that do not reproduce sexually are an affront to the dignity of creation? Should researchers try to help naturally asexually reproducing species to reproduce in a more dignified manner?

Tags: switzerland, plant dignity, research, ethics

MicroRNAs Found In Animals That Appeared A Billion Years Ago

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:42:18 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

MicroRNAs, the tiny molecules that fine-tune gene expression, were first discovered in 1993. But it turns out they've been around for a billion years.

Evidence reported in Nature on October 1

provides a window into the early evolution of these key regulators, placing their origin within the earliest of animal lineages. The research also suggests that microRNAs present early on have undergone extensive changes, which likely have altered their functions across various lineages.

This is the first evidence that microRNAs were present within the earliest animal lineages and are not just characteristic of more complex animals

Remarkably, we discovered their presence within sponge, a member of the earliest diverging group of animals

It appears that both microRNAs and piRNAs have been available to shape gene expression throughout the evolution of animals and perhaps even helped to usher in the era of multicellular animal life," says Bartel.

Tags: microrna, molecular biology, evolution

Is it a fear? Is it real? no, it's just a protein

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 08:43:53 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Interesting discovery. Fear has been feared for so many years, that the protein is an important discovery, yet surely not enough.

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

'Hub' Of Fear Memory Formation Identified In Brain Cells

Scientists have found that a protein required for the earliest steps in embryonic development also plays a key role in solidifying fear memories in the brains of adult animals

beta-catenin could be a potential target for drugs to enhance or interfere with memory formation.

The protein beta-catenin acts like a Velcro strap, fastening cells' internal skeletons to proteins on their external membranes that connect them with other cells

If mice are electrically shocked just after they hear a certain tone, they gradually learn to fear that tone, and they show that fear by freezing.

genetically engineered virus paired with mice that had the DNA around their beta-catenin genes modified. Once a cell is infected, the virus deletes the beta-catenin gene

injected the virus into the amygdala

their fear doesn't seem to be retained

moving memories from short-term to long-term is complete, beta-catenin doesn't appear to be necessary anymore

Tags: memory, fear, protein

Hot offspring!

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:52:23 GMT

clipped by: pcmkrfn

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

Bryce Dallas Howard (Ron Howard)

Odds of Hotness Based on Gene Pool:

Daisy Lowe - (Gavin Rossdale, lead singer of crap '90s band Bush)

Sofia Coppola (Francis Ford Coppola)

Odds of Hotness Based on Gene Pool: Not good at all, but way to overcome the odds, Sofia! The fat, hairy, hideous odds. Luckily, the Oscar-winning gene wasn't connected to the "beaten in the face with an ugly stick" chromosome.

Papa Was a Rolling Stone - Jade & Elizabeth Jagger, Theodora & Alexandra Richards, Leah Wood

Odds of Hotness Based on Gene Pool: Straight 50-50 shot. When horrific, albeit talented, skeleton men with bad teeth and skin like a crocodile's ass seduce hot models, we're never sure how it's gonna turn out. But knowing that gorgeous genes can overcome even Keith Richards' decrepit, heroin-riddled semen proves that Darwin should be taught in schools.

Clip Source: www.cracked.com

Zoe Kravitz (Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Bonet)

"Penicillin bug genome unravelled"

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:25:59 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Penicillin bug genome unravelled

Dutch researchers have decoded the DNA sequence of the fungus which produces penicillin.

It is hoped that uncovering the genome of Penicillium chrysogenum will boost the development of new antibiotics to overcome problems of resistance.

The findings come just in time for the 80th anniversary of the discovery of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming.

Full details of the 13,500-gene sequence will be published in Nature Biotechnology in October.

Penicillium chrysogenum is used in the production of antibiotics such as amoxicillin, ampicillin, cephalexin and cefadroxil.

If we understand the genome we might be able to manipulate the genes

Professor Hugh Pennington

Brain's Hub of Fear Found

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 18:08:10 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: The results of the study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and the Yerkes Center, are detailed in the October issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

The genetically engineered virus was injected into the amygdala of the mice by Emory graduate student Kimberly Maguschak. The amygdala is a part of the brain thought to be important for forming memories of emotionally charged events.

"We found that after beta-catenin is taken out, the mice can still learn to fear the shocks," Maguschak said. "But two days later, their fear doesn't seem to be retained because they spend half as much time freezing in response to the tone."

So it appears that beta-catenin is turned on in the amygdala to help in signaling during the learning process, Maguschak said.

Clip Source: www.livescience.com

Scientists may have found the glue that keeps fearful memories stuck in the brain, a discovery that could be useful in new treatments for Alzheimer's disease and post-traumatic stress disorder.

That glue seems to be a protein that is key to maintaining the structure of cells and also is essential to embryonic development, a new study suggests.

Previous studies have found other factors that govern our feelings of fear:

One study found a 'fear factor' gene that controls how neurons fire in the brain when mice are faced with impending danger.

Another found that the brain can learn to fear something, such as a bee's sting, when we view someone else's fear.

Another recent study detailed how primates and other mammals learned to fear and avoid snakes.

During long-term memory formation, structural changes take place in the connections between neurons in the brain, or synapses

Tags: neuroscience, fear, brain

Richard Dawkins- the believer

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:33:37 GMT

clipped by: wildcat

Clip Source: www.believermag.com

Dawkins has achieved not only recognition but considerable notoriety—the result, it sometimes seems, of having proposed or defended one controversial idea after another. Over the course of his career he has become associated with, and at times served as a spokesperson for, views and positions including sociobiology, biological reductionism, the gene-centered view of evolution, memetics, atheism, and secular humanism. While he is a prominent Darwinist, Dawkins entirely eschews so-called “Social Darwinism.” He is deeply committed to a progressive agenda that aims to decrease violence and oppression and improve the quality of people’s lives, not only by employing the means of science but by encouraging a better understanding of science.

THE BELIEVER: Why do you think it is that in the United States in particular, the level of ignorance about, and resistance to, Darwinian evolution is so high?

Tags: richard dawkins, believer

Death Penalty Protest in New Hampshire

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:44:48 GMT

clipped by: nedhamson1

Clip Source: www.nashuatelegraph.com

Staff photo by Karen Lovett

Members of The New Hampshire Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty stand in front of the Statehouse Friday during a “silent vigil.” The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, New Hampshire’s Episcopal bishop, second from right, participated in the demonstration.

Tags: death penalty, humane, human rights

heroin gene cure

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 02:43:59 GMT

clipped by: alidah

Clip Source: www.virtualpaincentre.com

Scientists have not only identified a critical gene involved in heroin addiction relapse, but they have also successfully blocked it, eliminating cravings for the drug.

Cheating Husbands - What His Genes Tell Us

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 18:26:59 GMT

clipped by: edwardmasen9
clipper's remarks: Genes may be able to predict how likely your husband will cheat on you. Would you still stay with him if you had that kind of information?

Clip Source: brainblogger.com

If you knew that your husband was twice as likely to be unfaithful in your marriage than another man, would you still marry him? Scientists have discovered a gene that may be able to tell just that. The question is: would you want to know if he had the gene?

Tags: activity, behavior, bonding, brain, divorce, emotions, formation, genes, genetic predisposition, husband

A Switch to Turn Off Autism?

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:04:59 GMT

clipped by: tabsey
clipper's remarks: I won't mind if this goes ahead in leaps and bounds.

Clip Source: www.sciam.com

Scientists say they have pinpointed a gene in the brain that can calm nerve cells that become too jumpy, potentially paving the way for new therapies to treat autism and other neurological disorders.

"It's exciting because it opens the field up," says Michael Greenberg, a neurobiologist at Harvard Medical School. "Nobody has [found] a gene that controls the process in quite that way before."

THE BRAIN'S BRAKES: Scientists have fingered a gene that calms brain cells down when they get too excited.
© ISTOCKPHOTO/KIYOSHI TAKAHASE

The brain is continually trying to strike a balance between too much and too little nerve cell activity. Neurologists believe that when the balance tips, disorders such as autism and schizophrenia may occur. They are not sure why neurons (nerve cells) go berserk. But Greenberg says he and his colleagues located a gene in mice and rats that helps keep neural activity in check—and may one day be manipulated to prevent or reverse neurological problems.

Tags: medical