Advances in the studies of gene sequencing have taken genetics far beyond the discipline my ol' Dad knew. Here in the Rockhouse, we don't know the specifics of all the advances in hardware / software in support of genetics science since the fifties and sixties when my ol' Dad did the main body of his research but we know the advances are substantial. For example, an astronaut, a comely lass on the International Space Station, sequenced a million or maybe even a billion genes in days ... in a damn spaceship. My ol' Dad saw many things but he only saw things of that nature in Heinlein novels.
The astronaut lady said she was doing it in case of anything unusual in the ISS and she only glanced off the idea of sequencing the DNA in a BEM (i.e. Bug-Eyed Monster, standard cartoon sci-fi terminology for space aliens). Maybe we're missing something but we thought the primary purpose of space stations and the like was finding BEMs and possibly sequencing their DNA.
Note: if you're thinking the purpose of spaceships is to move humans to another planet after we trash this one, do consider using a calculator the next time you think about moving ten billion humans so much as across the street.
There's an outpouring of research on genomic themes and I survey science articles submitted on any given day to select a number which could be interesting here on Ithaka. Of about seven today, three were on themes in genetics. If this were about prospecting for gold, genomics is in 1849 California and there may not be gold in them thar hills but there's a whole lot of science.
For me it's like going to Baskin Robbins since I can have whichever flavor of ice cream I want and I hardly have to do anything to get it. Holy mackerel, an alligator didn't change for eight million years. How did that reptilian ex-dinosaur pull off that odd trick. (Ithaka: The One Thing Which Changes Slower than the Republican Party: Alligators)
(Ed: so what if alligators ever change?)
Everything changes and it's the nature of life ... except with American alligators and, well, Republicans. That's some seriously dry knowledge but it's all part of the Great Circle and break into Kumbaya any time.
It's not so much whether alligators change or they don't but rather there's so much science flying about on related topics. For example:
DNA accumulates 'junk' over time and this is one of the processes of aging except that doesn't always happen. (Science Daily: Youthful DNA in old age)
The DNA of young people is regulated to express the right genes at the right time. With the passing of years, the regulation of the DNA gradually gets disrupted, which is an important cause of aging. A study of over 3,000 people shows that this is not true for everyone: there are people whose DNA appears youthful despite their advanced years. These are the findings of 34 researchers from six collaborating institutes led by Dr Bas Heijmans from the Leiden University Medical Center (the Netherlands), reported in Genome Biology.
The treatment, described in a paper published in the journal Nature Communications, uses microRNAs -- small noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression -- to control metastasis.
The therapy could be used alongside chemotherapy to treat early-stage breast cancer tumors before they spread, according to Natalie Artzi, a principal research scientist at MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) and an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who led the research in collaboration with Noam Shomron, an assistant professor on the faculty of medicine at Tel-Aviv University in Israel.
The astronaut lady said she was doing it in case of anything unusual in the ISS and she only glanced off the idea of sequencing the DNA in a BEM (i.e. Bug-Eyed Monster, standard cartoon sci-fi terminology for space aliens). Maybe we're missing something but we thought the primary purpose of space stations and the like was finding BEMs and possibly sequencing their DNA.
Note: if you're thinking the purpose of spaceships is to move humans to another planet after we trash this one, do consider using a calculator the next time you think about moving ten billion humans so much as across the street.
There's an outpouring of research on genomic themes and I survey science articles submitted on any given day to select a number which could be interesting here on Ithaka. Of about seven today, three were on themes in genetics. If this were about prospecting for gold, genomics is in 1849 California and there may not be gold in them thar hills but there's a whole lot of science.
For me it's like going to Baskin Robbins since I can have whichever flavor of ice cream I want and I hardly have to do anything to get it. Holy mackerel, an alligator didn't change for eight million years. How did that reptilian ex-dinosaur pull off that odd trick. (Ithaka: The One Thing Which Changes Slower than the Republican Party: Alligators)
(Ed: so what if alligators ever change?)
Everything changes and it's the nature of life ... except with American alligators and, well, Republicans. That's some seriously dry knowledge but it's all part of the Great Circle and break into Kumbaya any time.
It's not so much whether alligators change or they don't but rather there's so much science flying about on related topics. For example:
DNA accumulates 'junk' over time and this is one of the processes of aging except that doesn't always happen. (Science Daily: Youthful DNA in old age)
The DNA of young people is regulated to express the right genes at the right time. With the passing of years, the regulation of the DNA gradually gets disrupted, which is an important cause of aging. A study of over 3,000 people shows that this is not true for everyone: there are people whose DNA appears youthful despite their advanced years. These are the findings of 34 researchers from six collaborating institutes led by Dr Bas Heijmans from the Leiden University Medical Center (the Netherlands), reported in Genome Biology.
- Science Daily
Maybe now the genetics gets interesting, Brazil Glamor Babe??
Note: Terry Gilliam directed "Brazil" and he had the most outrageous parodies of old rich matrons after their plastic surgeries.
To whatever extent researchers can determine regarding reduction of DNA disruption over time should be the extent to which we retain our youthful features and don't end up looking like Silly Putty in our old age.
Maybe now that science isn't so boring??
(Ed: it's still boring but that part is interesting)
Fair enough and probably the best deal I will get.
Maybe we can get your attention by preventing metastasis in breast cancer. (Science Daily: Gene therapy technique may help prevent cancer metastasis)
The spread of malignant cells around the body, known as metastasis, is the leading cause of mortality in women with breast cancer.
Now, a new gene therapy technique being developed by researchers at MIT is showing promise as a way to prevent breast cancer tumors from metastasizing.
The therapy could be used alongside chemotherapy to treat early-stage breast cancer tumors before they spread, according to Natalie Artzi, a principal research scientist at MIT's Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES) and an assistant professor of medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, who led the research in collaboration with Noam Shomron, an assistant professor on the faculty of medicine at Tel-Aviv University in Israel.
- Science Daily
Read the rest of their article for more of the mechanics of microRNAs but you may get enough for the gist of it from that abstract. If you ever get thinking science isn't hammering into this research, take a look sometime.
Here's another regarding cancer research and this one turns bacteria into cancer dive bombers with incredible selectivity for their targets. The biggest problem in cancer is how to kill it without killing the patient and these bacteria go right for the center of the tumor. (Science Daily: Swarms of magnetic bacteria could be used to deliver drugs to tumors)
The general problem with nanobots is the devices are delivered by the blood stream and most get filtered out by the body before they ever do anything. The bacterial 'bots in the paper's discussion are drawn to the target magnetically and then released to function as they normally would plus deliver the bomber payload to the center of the cancer.
The bacteria are a type which seeks areas of low oxygen concentration because that's their evolutionary niche. The areas of highest possibility of metastasis in cancer also have a low oxygen concentration. Therefore the scientists reasoned we should be able to use these bacteria to deliver the payload to take out the cancer without too much destruction of healthy tissue.
Check out the paper for details as they have discovered a high degree of success with this approach.
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