BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Author: hirschybar13

HeLa Cells Sequenced!

Photo By: University of Arkansas
Wellcome Trust

The immortal cell, also known as HeLa cells, have been used by scientists for years for various medical research. But, until today the genome of HeLa cells was never known. Jonathan Landry and Paul Pyl, from the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, performed the study to sequence Henrietta Lacks‘ genome, and what they found was quite remarkable. They found striking differences between her cells and the cells of a normal human being. The genome had abnormalities in both chromosome number and structure. They also found that countless regions of the chromosomes in each cell were arranged in the wrong order and had extra or fewer copies of genes, all telltale signs of chromosome shattering. Chromosome shattering has recently been found to be linked to 2-3% of cancers. Seeing as how Henrietta Lacks’ cells were taken from a cervical tumor, this is not a surprising find. However, because her genome had never been sequenced this was all new to Landry and Pyl. They said, “The results provide the first detailed sequence of a HeLa genome. It demonstrates how genetically complex HeLa is compared to normal human tissue. Yet, possibly because of this complexity, no one had systematically sequenced the genome, until now.” Another scientist, Lars Steinmetz, who led the project, added, “Our study underscores the importance of accounting for the abnormal characteristics of HeLa cells in experimental design and analysis, and has the potential to refine the use of HeLa cells as a model of human biology.” Although this study is nowhere near groundbreaking, it still helps to highlight the importance of the extensive differences that cell lines can have from their human references.

For more information on this study and HeLa cells in general, you can go to:http://www.science20.com/news_articles/genome_hela_cell_line_sequenced-106181

 

A True Medical Miracle!

Baby

Flickr
Photo By: Espen Faugstad

What would you do if your newborn baby had been HIV positive? Well this sad truth was given to more then 330,000 parents last year alone. Up until now there had never been a way of curing infants with this deadly disease, but due to a new radical treatment there may be hope for these babies. Thanks to Dr. Deborah Persaud this is now a possibility. She had a patient whose baby had been born with HIV. After the child had only been alive for about 30 hours her team started an aggressive treatment with antiretroviral drugs. After months of nonstop treatment the baby was no longer HIV positive. Dr. Deborah said,”It’s proof of principle that we can cure H.I.V. infection if we can replicate this case.” Although this is a breakthrough case for HIV doctors, there are still some people who are suspicious of the results. Dr. Daniel R. Kuritzkes, chief of infectious diseases at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, was quoted as saying, “The one uncertainty is really definitive evidence that the child was indeed infected.” One hypothesis of way the treatment worked for the child is that the drugs killed off the virus before it could establish a hidden reservoir in the baby’s body. One reason older people cannot be cured now is that the virus hides in a dormant state, out of reach of existing drugs. When drug therapy is stopped, the virus can emerge from hiding. Although HIV is far from being cured altogether, this new information and research is a step in the right direction of a world where no one has to die of HIV or AIDS.

For more information on this subject please visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/04/health/for-first-time-baby-cured-of-hiv-doctors-say.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&ref=science

 

That Song’s Stuck In My Head!

 

 

Has there ever been a song that you just can’t seem to stop humming?

Well thats due to stuck song syndrome. This syndrome is caused by earworms in your brain. Not to worry though, these are not actual worms! New research by Simon Brown of Simon Fraser University is shedding some light on this phenomena. In the last five years, earworms have become the subject of peer-reviewed scientific studies. In 2008, Finnish researchers published a study that used the Internet to survey age, gender, personality and musical competence of 12,420 countrymen who experienced the endless loops in their heads. The study also included an analysis of 271 responses to online questionnaires from BBC sites as well as radio networks in the U.S. and Australia. The results demonstrated that almost any thought or sensory perception can hit the “on” switch. Hearing The Village People’s “YMCA” can get the mental loop rolling. Other head music may be induced by a memory from summer camp, the stresses of work or simply the boredom of school. So, next time you can’t get a song out of your head you can thank your earworms!

For more information on the subject please go to: http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Researcher-confirms-existence-of-earworms-98-2561479.php

Massages Actually Relieve Stress!

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Photo by FoundryParkInn

When people say that they are taking a spa day, people are skeptical. But, according to a new study massages lower levels of stress hormones in the body. According to this study, people who have regular massages have substantially lower levels of cortisol and higher levels of white blood cells compared to people who do not get massages regularly.

Dr. Mark Hyman Rapaport, the chairman of psychiatry and behavioral neurosciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said, ” […] the findings are very intriguing and exciting, and I’m a skeptic!”

The study consisted of 53 adults. 29 of these adults were given a 45 minute Swedish massage once or twice a week for 5 weeks. The other 24 adults in the study were given light touch massages for the same time period. After the 5 week trial, the adults who had received the Swedish massages had significantly lower levels of cortisol, significantly higher levels of oxytocin, and slightly higher levels of white blood cells than those who had received the light touch massages.

The Mayo Clinic points out that regular massages can help to alleviate stiffness, pain, anxiety, depression, and maintain a regular blood pressure. The health benefits of massages are endless!

For more information on the health benefits of massages go to: http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/cortisol.htm

 

Drowsy Dogs

Flickr
Photo By: recompose

When a person sees another person yawning, they are more prone to yawn as well. As it turns out, so are puppies. According to a new study, puppies are susceptible to human yawns as well!

Elaine Alenkær Madsen, PhD, and Tomas Persson, PhD, researchers at Lund University, have been studying the yawn contagion, specifically between different species. They were able to determine that puppies above the age of seven months were susceptible to yawning when a human yawned. But, they also found that the puppies under the age of seven months did not yawn when the humans in the experiment yawned.

These findings are similar to those found for human beings. Children only begin to become susceptible to yawning at around the age of four. These results help to prove that there is a general developmental pattern, concerning empathy, that is shared by humans and other animals. These results could help other researchers in discovering more about the developmental processes of human beings and other animals similar to them, like monkeys, apes and now dogs.

 

For mor information on this subject please check out:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0028472

The Great Barrier Reef Not So Great?

 

Image By Paul Holloway, Flickr

The first adjective I use when thinking about the Great Barrier Reef is great. But, according to a new study published by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville, Australia, it is rapidly shrinking. The shrinking is due in part to the recent storms, an increase in the number of crown of thorns starfish in the reef and coral bleaching.

The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its coral in just over 27 years. John Gunn, the CEO of AIMS, said that we must “… adapt to the challenges of rising sea temperatures and ocean acidification.” He goes on to say, “We can’t stop the storms but, perhaps we can stop the starfish.”

Another concern for the Great Barrier Reef is that if this trend of shrinking continues at the rate it is going, then by 2022 the coral could shrink in half again.

But, there is some good news for the reef. It is able to regenerate itself. It will take about 10-20 years for the reef to fully recover, that is if it does not shrink in size anymore than it has already. This is quite near impossible though because there is no way to stop storms or ocean warming, which causes coral bleaching. The ocean warming stems from Global Warming, which is an epidemic in itself. The only thing that we can help to prevent is the crown of thorns starfish from destroying the reef. Scientists can continue to study them to find out how to reduce their numbers in the reef. Without the crown of thorns the reef with increase by 0.89% per year, a small recovery for the Great Barrier Reef. The whole process will take time, but if successful we can save the Great Barrier Reef from becoming a thing of the past.

 

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