Genetic diversity enables coral species to adapt to threats from climate change, so researchers have designed an aquarium coral “family tree” to help maintain and promote genetic diversity.
Category: genetics – Page 184
Glaucoma impacts tens of millions of people globally, and is the second leading cause of blindness, after cataracts. Now, Purdue University researchers have developed smart contact lenses that may help save people’s sight.
Glaucoma is a multifactorial optic degenerative neuropathy characterized by the loss of retinal ganglion cells. It is a combination of vascular, genetic, anatomical, and immune factors. Glaucoma poses a significant public health concern as it is the second leading cause of blindness after cataracts, and this blindness is usually irreversible. It is estimated that 57.5 million people worldwide are affected by primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG). People over 60 years of age, family members of those already diagnosed with glaucoma, steroid users, diabetics, as well as those with high myopia, hypertension, central cornea thickness of.
Watch any episode of “CSI,” and a character will use forensic DNA profiling to identify a criminal. A new study from San Francisco State University suggests that these forensic profiles may indirectly reveal medical information—perhaps even those of crime victims—contrary to what the legal field has believed for nearly 30 years. The findings, now published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could have ethical and legal implications.
“The central assumption when choosing those [forensic] markers was that there wouldn’t be any information about the individuals whatsoever aside from identification. Our paper challenges that assumption,” said first author Mayra Bañuelos, who started working on the project as a San Francisco State undergraduate and is now a Ph.D. student at Brown University.
Law enforcement uses the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), a system organizing criminal justice DNA databases that uses specific genetic markers to identify individuals. Crime labs from national, state and local levels contribute to these databases and provide profiles from samples collected from crime scene evidence, convicted offenders, felony arrestees, missing persons and more. Law officials can use the database to try to match samples found in an investigation to profiles already stored in the database.
Sea anemones are seemingly immortal animals. They seem to be immune to aging and the negative impacts that humans experience over time. However, the exact reasons for their eternal youth are not completely understood.
The genetic fingerprint of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis reveals that members of this incredibly ancient animal phylum employ the same gene cascades for neural cell differentiation as more complex organisms. These genes are also in charge of maintaining the balance of all cells in the organism during the anemone’s lifetime. These findings were recently published in the journal Cell Reports by a group of developmental biologists headed by Ulrich Technau of the University of Vienna.
Almost all animal organisms are made up of millions, if not billions, of cells that join together in intricate ways to create specific tissues and organs, which are made up of a range of cell types, such as a variety of neurons and gland cells. However, it is unclear how this critical balance of diverse cell types emerges, how it is regulated, and if the different cell types of different animal organisms have a common origin.
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Ever wonder why some 90-year olds don’t seem to slow down and seem. to retain the mental and physical capacity of someone half their age?
Do they have good genes? Or is there a way that all of us can get older without getting old?
That’s what Dr. Nir Barzilai, founder of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, set out to answer in his book, Age Later.
Dr. Nir joined us for a live Q + A discussion on Zoom.
Whether you’ve read Age Later or not, you won’t want to miss this. Because by the end of the discussion, you’ll know how to turn back the clock on aging.
Listen to the Longevity by Design podcast episode with Dr. Nir’s on genetics and lifestyle factors of centenarians here: https://hubs.li/Q01rqsV-0
😀
A Paris-based startup has created a genetically engineered houseplant that can literally clean the air within your home. The plant builds off the natural purifying properties that houseplants already offer. So, while it adds some color to whatever room you put it in, it’s also actively keeping the air cleaner than 30 air purifiers.
The company, called Neoplants, modified both a pothos plant as well as its root microbiome to pump the plant’s natural air-cleaning properties up quite a bit. Called Neo P1, the genetically engineered houseplant recently hit the market, and you can purchase it right now.
Plants can offer quite a bit to your home. Not only can they boost your mood and help reduce anxiety, according to researchers, but they can also clean the air thanks to their natural air-purifying properties. With this genetically engineered houseplant, though, you’re getting more than that basic level of purifying. In fact, Neoplants say that the Neo P1 is 30 times more effective than the top NASA plants.
Summary: The epigenetic clocks of those who indulged in unhealthy behaviors as teens were 1.7 to 3.3 years older than individuals who reported more healthy lifestyles as teens.
Source: eLife.
Biological aging results from damage to cells and tissues in the body that accumulates over time. The results of the study could lead to new ways of identifying young people at risk of developing unhealthy habits that are associated with accelerated biological aging and suggest interventions to prevent poor health outcomes later on.
Babies born with infantile-onset Pompe disease typically have enlarged hearts and weak muscles. But 1-year-old Ayla has a normal heart and walks.