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Category: genetics – Page 321

Brain Cells Snap Open Their DNA To Make Memories – Extent of DNA Double-Strand Breaks Is “Surprising and Concerning”

To quickly express learning and memory genes, brain cells snap both strands of DNA in many more places and cell types than previously realized, a new study shows.

The urgency to remember a dangerous experience requires the brain to make a series of potentially dangerous moves: Neurons and other brain cells snap open their DNA in numerous locations — more than previously realized, according to a new study — to provide quick access to genetic instructions for the mechanisms of memory storage.

The extent of these DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in multiple key brain regions is surprising and concerning, says study senior author Li-Huei Tsai, Picower Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and director of The Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, because while the breaks are routinely repaired, that process may become more flawed and fragile with age. Tsai’s lab has shown that lingering DSBs are associated with neurodegeneration and cognitive decline and that repair mechanisms can falter.

Biological space race: NASA doctor reveals the future of genetically edited astronauts

One of the scientists prodding and poking the Kelly brothers is Prof Christopher E Mason, the lead geneticist on the Twins Study. Mason’s lab at Cornell University is nothing if not ambitious. Its work centres on a “500-year plan for the survival of the human species on Earth, in space, and on other planets.”

As well as studying what happens to astronauts, it involves laying the genetic groundwork for humans to live among the stars. Mason envisions a future in which the human genome can be bioengineered to adapt to almost any environment, augmented with genes from other species that allow us to explore and settle the farthest corners of the Universe.

Scientists produce first genetically engineered marsupials

We probably at this point should make all animals immortal: 3.

The advance promises to unlock new insights into human biology and disease, aiding in the study of everything from the developing immune system to tissue regeneration to skin cancer.

“Studying biodiversity is not just about exploring the biology of a bunch of interesting organisms, but ultimately for a better understanding of human biology,” developmental biologist and lead study author Hiroshi Kiyonari said via email.

Five years ago, his team began to systematically work out the problem that had so long plagued the opossum field. The first barrier was to collect zygotes (fertilized eggs) at the right time. Ideally, that would be before they began dividing, when they are still a single cell. If you inject CRISPR at this stage, you can be sure all the resulting animals’ cells will carry whatever DNA changes you make. Doing it later can mean some cells but not others will be edited — a less ideal outcome known as mosaicism. Another benefit of collecting fertilized eggs as early as possible is that the shell coat hasn’t had time to thicken.

Brain ‘Noise’ Keeps Nerve Connections Young

The findings, published in Nature Communications, could have important implications for human health: minis have been found at every type of synapse studied so far, and defects in miniature neurotransmission have been linked to range of neurodevelopmental disorders in children. Figuring out how a reduction in miniature neurotransmission changes the structure of synapses, and how that in turn affects behavior, could help to better understand neurodegenerative disorders and other brain conditions.

Summary: Study reveals how miniature release events help to keep neurons intact and preserve motor neuron function in aging insects.

Source: EPFL

Neurons communicate through rapid electrical signals that regulate the release of neurotransmitters, the brain’s chemical messengers. Once transmitted across a neuron, electrical signals cause the juncture with another neuron, known as a synapse, to release droplets filled with neurotransmitters that pass the information on to the next neuron. This type of neuron-to-neuron communication is known as evoked neurotransmission.

However, some neurotransmitter-packed droplets are released at the synapse even in the absence of electrical impulses. These miniature release events — or minis — have long been regarded as ‘background noise’, says Brian McCabe, Director of the Laboratory of Neural Genetics and Disease and a Professor in the EPFL Brain Mind Institute.

Dr. Jean M. Hebert, Ph.D. — Replacing Aging — Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Replacing Aging — Dr. Jean M. Hebert, Ph.D. Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Dr. Jean M. Hebert, Ph.D. (https://einsteinmed.org/faculty/9069/jean-hebert/) is Professor in the Department of Genetics and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

He’s also the author of the book Replacing Aging, which describes how regenerative medicine will beat aging.

With a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Hebert’s current lab’s projects fall into two groups.

First, they focus on using the mouse neocortex as a platform for testing the ability of multi-cell type grafts (increasingly resembling normal neocortex) to integrate with host tissue.

Continue reading “Dr. Jean M. Hebert, Ph.D. — Replacing Aging — Albert Einstein College of Medicine” | >

The virus trap

To date, there are no effective antidotes against most virus infections. An interdisciplinary research team at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has now developed a new approach: they engulf and neutralize viruses with nano-capsules tailored from genetic material using the DNA origami method. The strategy has already been tested against hepatitis and adeno-associated viruses in cell cultures. It may also prove successful against corona viruses.

Why identical mutations cause different types of cancer

“Our studies in mice revealed how genes co-operate to cause cancer in different organs. We identified main players, the order in which they occur during tumor progression, and the molecular processes how they turn normal cells into threatening cancers. Such processes are potential targets for new treatments”.

Why do alterations of certain genes cause cancer only in specific organs of the human body? Scientists at the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the University Medical Center Göttingen have now demonstrated that cells originating from different organs are differentially susceptible to activating mutations in cancer drivers: The same mutation in precursor cells of the pancreas or the bile duct leads to fundamental different outcomes. The team discovered for the first time that tissue specific genetic interactions are responsible for the differential susceptibility of the biliary and the pancreatic epithelium towards transformation by oncogenes. The new findings could guide more precise therapeutic decision making in the future.

There have been no major improvements in the treatment of pancreatic and in the last decades and no effective targeted therapies are available to date. “The situation for patients with pancreatic and extrahepatic bile duct cancer is still very depressing with approximately only 10% of patients surviving five years,” says Dieter Saur, DKTK Professor for Translational Cancer Research at TUM’s university hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar, DKTK partner site Munich.

DKTK is a consortium centered around the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg, which has long-term collaborative partnerships with specialist oncological centers at universities across Germany.

Reverse Aging of 54% Study Extension — Dr. Harold Katcher’s E5 Project Update July 2021

Encouraging Mid Trial data update! Great to know Dr. Katcher is applying for IRB approval for their human clinical trial for E5.

In this video we provide an update on Dr. Katcher’s experiment where he is treating rats with E5 (formerly called Elixer) on a regular schedule to see how long they will live for. Dr Katcher’s team have kindly provided some intermediate updates that we share in the video.
0:00 — 00:50 Introduction.
00:51 — 04:02 Project Background/Overview.
04:03 — Project Update.

Papers referred to in this newsletter.
The original study is documented here:

Reversing age: dual species measurement of epigenetic age with a single clock.
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.07.082917v1

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Continue reading “Reverse Aging of 54% Study Extension — Dr. Harold Katcher’s E5 Project Update July 2021” | >

Researchers unlock secrets behind liver regrowth and regenerative medicine

NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) researchers have uncovered a code that sets the genome of the liver to account for the remarkable ability for this organ to regenerate. This finding offers new insight into how the specific genes that promote regeneration can be activated when part of the liver is removed. These findings have the potential to inform the development of a new form of regenerative medicine that could help non-regenerative organs regrow in mice and humans.

While other animals can regenerate most organs, humans, mice, and other mammals can only regenerate their liver in response to an injury or when a piece is removed. NYUAD researchers hypothesized that the that drive in the liver would be controlled by a specific code that allows them to be activated in response to injury or resection. They home in on the epigenome, which is the modifications on the DNA that alter the gene expression, as opposed to changing the itself.

Using a mouse liver model, the team of NYUAD researchers, led by Professor of Biology Kirsten Sadler Edepli, identified the elements of the present in quiescent liver cells—cells that are currently not replicating but have the ability to proliferate under the right conditions—that activate to regenerate. Genes involved in liver cell proliferation are silenced in livers that are not regenerating, but the surprising finding was that they reside in parts of the genome where most genes are active. The researchers found that these pro-regenerative genes were marked with a specific modification—H3K27me3. During regeneration, H3K27me3 is depleted from these genes, enabling their dynamic expression and driving proliferation.

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