Category Archives: Transhuman News

Gene Details Page Brief With an Issue in the Genome Page

By: ToxoplasmaDreamer

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Gene Details Page Brief With an Issue in the Genome Page - Video

genome 2010-02-12 15-22-38-55

By: psquare12

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genome 2010-02-12 15-22-38-55 - Video

March 28, 2013

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The western painted turtle (Chrysemys picta bellii) is one of the most widespread species of turtle in North America. This creature is found in fresh, slow-moving waters from southern Canada to northern Mexico and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. And because this species has been widely studied, it only makes sense for researchers to sequence its genome, and that theyve done.

Publishing the work in this weeks Genome Biology, researchers describe that much like the turtle itself, the rate of genome evolution is very slow. Their data show that turtle genomes evolve at a rate that is about a third that of the human genome and a fifth that of the python, the fastest genome analyzed to date.

Through extensive research, scientists have discovered many interesting facts about these abundant North American reptiles. They are long-lived, can withstand low temperatures and can survive long periods with no oxygen. The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperature at which the egg develops rather than through genetics. The painted turtle can survive up to four months under water depending on the temperature.

Previously, analyses of fossils have shown that the painted turtle has existed for more than 15 million years, and four regionally based subspecies have evolved during the last Ice Age. The western painted turtle is by far the largest of the four subspecies and can grow to 10 inches long.

The painted turtle is the first of its genus to have its genome fully sequenced, and only the second non-avian reptile to undergo the analysis. Data has revealed some very interesting insights about the bizarre features and adaptations that exist only in the turtle genome.

Bradley Shaffer, of The Genome Institute at Washington University, St. Louis (WUSTL), and colleagues discovered through genome mapping that turtles are more closely related to birds and crocodilians than to any other vertebrates. They discovered 19 genes in the brain and 23 in the heart whose expression is increased in low oxygen conditions. Furthermore, they found one gene whose expression changes nearly 130 fold. They also discovered through experiments with hatchlings that common microRNA was involved in freeze tolerance adaptation.

Their work indicates clearly that common vertebrate regulatory networks, some of which have analogs in human diseases, are often involved in the western painted turtle achieving its extraordinary physiological capacities.

Shaffer and his team believe that the painted turtle may offer significant insights into human health disorders and the way they are managed and cared for. They particularly see the turtle genome offering important insights into conditions such as anoxia and hypothermia.

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Unraveling The Bizarre Features Of The Turtle Genome

One of the world's most prestigious laboratories is frantically trying to resolve a row over its decision to publish the genome of one of the world's most studied human cell lines a set of cervical cancer cells.

The cells were taken in 1951 from a woman called Henrietta Lacks, without her consent. Her descendants argue that the published genome may reveal genetic traits of family members.

The HeLa cells, as they are dubbed, are exceptionally easy to grow in the lab and have become the cellular equivalent of lab rats. For decades, scientists have worked with these cells to unravel the secrets of cancer and develop new vaccines and treatments.

After publishing the HeLa genome in the online journal G3: Genes, Genomes and Genetics, researchers led by Lars Steinmetz at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, withdrew the data following a barrage of objections.

"It shouldn't have been published without our consent That is private family information," said Lacks' granddaughter Jeri Lacks-Whye, quoted in The New York Times in a commentary on the dispute by Rebecca Skloot, whose biography of Lacks, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, appeared in 2011.

EMBL has apologised to the family and is in talks with them to try to resolve the situation.

"As soon as we learned of this we removed our data from the internet out of respect for the family," says EMBL spokeswoman Raeka Aiyar. "We take their concerns very seriously and have reached out to them with our apologies, and to express our determination to work with them towards an appropriate course of action for handling the availability of this data. We are currently awaiting their response."

EMBL also gave the G3 journal a statement on why the researchers withdrew the data.

The paper revealed that the genome of HeLa cells is chaotic. That is as might be expected in cancer cells, which undergo abnormal genetic reorganisation.

Steinmetz found numerous regions where chromosomes are arranged in the wrong order, for example, as well as missing genes and surplus copies of others.

Read more:
Storm erupts over publishing of Henrietta Lacks genome

Researchers at the University of B.C. have decoded the genome of the mountain pine beetle, an insect that has ravaged millions of hectares of the province's lodgepole pine forests.

It is the first time the pine beetle's genome has been sequenced, and scientists from UBC and the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre say the new information will help to manage the infestation in the future, according to a report published Tuesday in the Journal Genome Biology.

"We know a lot about what the beetles do," said Christopher Keeling, a research associate at the centre. "But without the genome, we don't know exactly how they do it."

The research revealed wide variation among individuals of the species, about four times greater than the variation among humans, the report said.

The researchers isolated genes that help detoxify defence compounds found under the bark of the tree, where the beetles live. They also found genes that degrade plant cell walls, which allow the beetles to get nutrients from the tree.

The study also involved researchers from the University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Alberta.

(c) CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.

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Researchers map genome of insect

One of the world's most prestigious laboratories is frantically trying to resolve a row over its decision to publish the genome of one of the world's most studied human cell lines a set of cervical cancer cells.

The cells were taken in 1951 from a woman called Henrietta Lacks, without her consent. Her descendants argue that the published genome may reveal genetic traits of family members.

The HeLa cells, as they are dubbed, are exceptionally easy to grow in the lab and have become the cellular equivalent of lab rats. For decades, scientists have worked with these cells to unravel the secrets of cancer and develop new vaccines and treatments.

After publishing the HeLa genome in the online journal G3: Genes, Genomes and Genetics, researchers led by Lars Steinmetz at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, withdrew the data following a barrage of objections.

"It shouldn't have been published without our consent That is private family information," said Lacks' granddaughter Jeri Lacks-Whye, quoted in The New York Times in a commentary on the dispute by Rebecca Skloot, whose biography of Lacks, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, appeared in 2011.

EMBL has apologised to the family and is in talks with them to try to resolve the situation.

"As soon as we learned of this we removed our data from the internet out of respect for the family," says EMBL spokeswoman Raeka Aiyar. "We take their concerns very seriously and have reached out to them with our apologies, and to express our determination to work with them towards an appropriate course of action for handling the availability of this data. We are currently awaiting their response."

EMBL also gave the G3 journal a statement on why the researchers withdrew the data.

The paper revealed that the genome of HeLa cells is chaotic. That is as might be expected in cancer cells, which undergo abnormal genetic reorganisation.

Steinmetz found numerous regions where chromosomes are arranged in the wrong order, for example, as well as missing genes and surplus copies of others.

View post:
Storm erupts over publishing of HeLa genome