Cold genes promote longer life

It has been known for quite some time that cold blooded animals live longer when they are in a cold environment. Apparently, a cold temperature changes the behaviour of genes and preserves the body, promoting longevity. Scientists have found the genetic program that responds to cold temperatures and correspondingly helps animals to live longer. And the best part is that the temperature sensitive genes found in cold blooded animals are also present in warm blooded animals like ourselves. That means that manipulating these genes may help us live longer.

Tuning gene expression up and down in individual cells

Control of biological mechanisms starts with modifying the action of genes. Genetics provides the blueprint for the production of all the cell's molecules and therefore determines cellular behaviour to a great extent. Scientists have found ways to shut genes off, or to make them more active. By doing that, we are able to treat diseases, or modify stem cells to behave the way we want them to. But sometimes, this is not enough; it would be handy if we had a mechanism that allowed us to precisely tune how much of an individual gene needs to be expressed in a particular cell. Such a refined piece of equipment has now been made available for human cells.

Why the heart is different between men and women

Men and women are different at heart; not figuratively, but literally. It is known that there are functional differences between the physiology of the heart between men and women, This can be observed by looking at the prevalence of certain heart diseases: some are more frequent in men, while others are more frequent in women. Geneticists from the Washington University in St. Louis have found an explanation for such phenomenon.

Scientists find entirely new DNA structure

All life forms on earth are based on DNA, the building blocks that hold the information that cells need to produce the necessary proteins to keep themselves alive and functional. In 1953, scientists finally elucidated the structure of the DNA, that became henceforth known as the double helix structure. Basically, it looks like two spiralling and entwining staircases that are made up of four different building blocks. All DNA that we know pretty much looks like a double helix, but now it appears that there may also be something now known as a quadruple helix. This discovery regarding a fundamental new structure of the DNA begs the question what kind of hidden information we have yet to discover in our genetic code.

Epigenetics may explain sexual preferences

After homosexuality was recognized as a natural phenomenon in the scientific world, researchers have begun looking at the origins of same-sex preferences. Structural differences in the brain tell us that sexuality is something that is developed early in life, and is not something that can be learned, as religious institutes often like to exclaim. This biological background lead to the belief that there must be genes that influence homosexuality, but a group of European and American scientists shows that differences in the structure of the DNA are more suited towards explaining this phenomenon.

Genetic variation influences sensitivity to pain

Sensitivity towards pain is not the same in all humans. Some of us are more sensitive to painful stimuli, while others are less affected. In order to find out why some people are more sensitive than others, a research consortium of Chinese and British scientists tried to unravel whether there are genetic factors that are of underlying influence. They found that there is a strong relationship between certain genes and sensitivity to pain. This may eventually lead to novel painkillers and ways to prevent chronic pain.

Scientists device a new computational model of the cell

Our bodies, and those of other animals, consist of many cells that all interact with each other in order to acquire the necessary complexity that makes us who we are. This network of cells is incredibly sophisticated, but there is also a lot going on inside an individual cell. Perhaps the insides of a single cell are even more complex than all of them working together. Cells create proteins to perform various functions, and they do so by reading the information present on the genes on our DNA. In a new attempt to uncover the relationships between genes, their output and their associated hierarchy, scientists from the University of California in San Diego created a computer model that automatically gathers this information.

Genetic modification yields biological pacemakers

Our heart pumps around blood by beating around 50-60 times per minute. It is controlled by electrical signals that come from the brain, and they have the capability to make the heart go faster or slower, depending on the required blood flow. If those signals do not work anymore, the heart stops. In the case of heart failure, patients often get an implant that we call a pacemaker. This is a device that provides rhythmic electrical signals in order to keep the heart going. Obviously, implanting an electric device has its downsides. A study by the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute shows that we may actually be able to recruit the body's own cells as pacemakers.

Engineered bacteria sacrifice themselves for others

Altruism is a form of behaviour thought only to exist in animals that are highly intelligent, such as us human beings. It is defined as having concern for the welfare of others, without having a certain moral obligation. Sacrificing your own life for the well-being of someone else could be considered the ultimate form of altruism, although scientists are still debating whether true altruism exists at all, evolutionary speaking. Scientists have now found such behaviour in bacteria, although this required a bit of modification.

Pig DNA unraveled, helps us cure diseases

In various animals, including humans, the DNA sequence is completely known. That means we know exactly, on average, how a genome is built up. Knowing the structure of the DNA helps us to decipher the function of individual genes as well as what it means when we find variations in genetic structures. Because we use various animals as models for human research, it is worthwhile to unravel their genomes as well. This has now been done for the pig, an animal that looks very much like us; we have already been able to harness their organs for transplantation into human beings, which means that genetic research in the pig could very well help us learn more about human disease, leading to cures.

Human genetic catalog seeks the origin of disease

In 2003, the first ever complete sequence of the human genome was published. This marked a huge milestone in biology and has lead to lots of post-hoc analysis to discover clues about our evolution, genes and their function and other bits of our DNA. Nowadays, it is a lot faster and cheaper to unravel the entire sequence of a person's DNA, but the costs are still too high to allow large-scale sequencing. Nevertheless, we have accumulated a rather large collection of human genomes, and a group of researchers has just started a project to use this catalogue in the search of the origin of disease.

The search for DNA on Mars

Our tools to analyze the DNA of living beings has rapidly improved in the last decade, which has resulted in scientists unravelling the genome of various animals, including us human beings. This has lead to a flood of information regarding our genes and function, increasing our understanding of how the body creates its functionality and building blocks. As far as we know now, all existing life is based on DNA. Therefore, in the search of extraterrestrial life, it makes sense to see if we can find traces of genetic material on other planets. DNA pioneer Craig Venter, who was involved in the sequencing project that lead to the first human genome being unravelled, wants to send machinery to Mars, to analyze whether the soil contains traces of DNA, thereby showing that Mars harbours life, either in the present or in the past.

Finding reveals cause for failure of transplanted organs

Organ transplantation has the potential to save people's lives. One of the major hurdles, in addition to actually acquiring the necessary organs, is rejection. That means the body rejects the transplanted organ because it is recognized as foreign, and therefore unwanted. Nowadays, we are able to suppress the acute form of rejection that is associated with organ transplantation, but chronic rejection, that develops over the course of many years, has proven to be a lot harder to get rid of. Patients have to take drugs that suppress the immune system to maintain usability of their newly acquired organ, something which is not beneficial for the body's ability to fight off infections. In the search of ways to improve organ compatibility, scientists stumbled upon a small genetic variant that may prove to be important for the success of a transplant.

A healthy diet also matters before pregnancy

It is common knowledge that unhealthy behaviour during pregnancy can be harmful to the unborn child. Therefore, many prospective mothers quit smoking and drinking while carrying a child. New research shows that a healthy diet and behavioural pattern is also important before getting pregnant. The study, conducted by scientists from the Nutrition Research Institute at the University of North Carolina indicates that prospective mothers should not wait with adapting their behaviour until they get pregnant.

Scanning the genome for disease in unborn children

Some people have the misfortune to be born with a disease or disability. Such congenital diseases are often of a genetic origin, which means there is something wrong on the DNA. This results in an incorrect blueprint for certain proteins and that can cause life-long problems. With congenital diseases, things go wrong in an early stage: during the embryonic phase of life. While most genetic mistakes result in, often unnoticed, abortions, some children are born with the most horrible dysfunctions. It can be argued that in such cases, it is better to opt for an abortion before an unborn foetus gets the potential to live, although this is still highly controversial. Nevertheless, genetic techniques have made it possible to scan for various of the most life-impeding disabilities, allowing parents to terminate such pregnancies. A review in New Scientist discusses the current state of research in this particular field.

Highly detailed map of the human genome created

In 2003, scientists presented the first complete sequence of the human genome, comprising over 6 billion individual DNA building blocks. Of course, by just knowing the code, you know nothing about its function. That is why shortly after completing the code sequence, scientists started working on the interpretation of the genome. A project called Encode is devoted to unravelling the complete picture of the blueprint that our DNA forms for all life's building blocks. It is known that individual parts of the genetic code can function as genes, each providing the instructions for production of a single protein, but there are many other ways DNA can do its job. The Encode project has so far attributed a function to 80 percent of the genome, which is fairly impressive.

Scientists find mania gene

In the past, psychological diseases were often regarded as something that cannot be explained on a biological level. Advances in our knowledge of the human body have made clear that this view is incorrect, as many disorders of a psychological nature have a biological background. Perhaps the most famous example is schizophrenia, of which a large portion can be explained by genetic effects. Now, scientists have uncovered the function of a gene that seems to be related to bipolar disorder, a disease characterized by heavy mood swings, varying from depression to mania. They showed that this particular gene is a causal factor for the manic episodes.

Folding DNA like a trojan horse

DNA is normally shaped like a double helix, which basically looks similar to a spiralling staircase. By building DNA in this particular way, it is possible to form endless chains of genetic material, suitable for read-out by cellular machinery, in order to derive the required information for protein production. However, by changing chemical properties, it is possible to give DNA a different shape, and fold it in ways similar to the way proteins are folded into their unique shape. DNA folding has been used by a group of scientists to create something similar to a trojan horse, in order to help kill cancer cells.

Writing a book with DNA

Living beings almost exclusively use DNA to store information necessary to produce the building blocks for biological components. We human beings use bits to store data used for a computer. Scientists from Harvard Medical School sought to combine the two, and managed to 'write' an electronic book by encoding it with DNA. It is one of the first practical applications of genetic code as a substitute for bits and bytes.

Fruit fly can be upgraded with artificial DNA

Genes are individual packets containing instructions to produce a specific protein, and they form the foundation of life and evolution. A lot of genetic functions have been discovered by investigating fruit flies: they function as a so-called model organism which scientists have freely used to experiment with. Inducing genetic changes lead to visible, or invisible, changes, and that has helped us a great deal in genetic research. Now, British scientists have managed to modify fruit flies by adding DNA to their genome. This made the little flies produce a modified protein, paving the way for 'DNA upgrades'.