Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa have discovered that a virus, FloV-SA2, encodes one of the proteins needed to make ribosomes, the central engines in all cells that translate genetic information into proteins, the building blocks of life. This is the first eukaryotic virus (a virus that infects eukaryotes, such as plants, animals, fungi) found to encode such a protein.

The research is published in the journal npj Viruses.

Viruses are packets of genetic material surrounded by a protein coating. They replicate by getting inside of a cell where they take over the cell’s replication machinery and direct it to make more viruses. Simple viruses depend almost exclusively on material and machinery provided by the host cell, but larger, more complex viruses code for numerous proteins to aid in their own replication.

Research utilizing AI tool AlphaFold has revealed a new protein complex that initiates the fertilization process between sperm and egg, shedding light on the molecular interactions essential for successful fertilization.

Genetic research has uncovered many proteins involved in the initial contact between sperm and egg. However, direct proof of how these proteins bind or form complexes to enable fertilization remained unclear. Now, Andrea Pauli’s lab at the IMP, working with international collaborators, has combined AI-driven structural predictions with experimental evidence to reveal a key fertilization complex. Their findings, based on studies in zebrafish, mice, and human cells, were published in the journal Cell.

Continue reading “AI Protein Discovery Unlocks Secrets of Life’s Beginning” »

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PHOENIX — Mayo Clinic announces the results of an innovative treatment approach that may offer improvement in overall survival in older patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma while maintaining quality of life. Glioblastoma is the most lethal type of primary brain cancer due to its aggressive nature and its treatment-resistant characteristics. It is the most common form of primary brain cancer. Each year an estimated 14,500 people in the U.S. are diagnosed with the disease. Results of Mayo Clinic’s phase 2, single-arm study are published in The Lancet Oncology.

Sujay Vora, M.D., radiation oncologist at Mayo Clinic, led a team of researchers investigating the use of short-course hypofractionated proton beam therapy incorporating advanced imaging techniques in patients over the age of 65 with newly diagnosed World Health Organization (WHO) grade 4, malignant glioblastoma.

Results showed that 56% of participants were alive after 12 months and the median overall survival was 13.1 months.” As compared to prior phase 3 studies in an older population having a median survival of only six to nine months, these results are promising,” says Dr. Vora. “In some cases, patients with tumors that have favorable genetics lived even longer, with a median survival of 22 months. We are very excited about these results.”

Eddie Gonzales Jr. – AncientPages.com – Despite awe-inspiring diversity, nearly every lifeform – from bacteria to blue whales – shares the same genetic code. How and when this code came about has been the subject of much scientific controversy.

Image credit: Adobe Stock – Diatomic

Taking a fresh approach at an old problem, Sawsan Wehbi, a doctoral student in the Genetics Graduate Interdisciplinary Program at the University of Arizona, discovered strong evidence that the textbook version of how the universal genetic code evolved needs revision. Wehbi is the first author of a study published in the journal PNAS suggesting the order with which amino acids – the code’s building blocks – were recruited is at odds with what is widely considered the “consensus” of genetic code evolution.

PlantRNA-FM, an AI model trained on RNA data from over 1,100 plants, decodes genetic patterns to advance plant science, improve crops, and tackle global agricultural challenges.

A groundbreaking Artificial Intelligence (AI) model designed to decode the sequences and structural patterns that form the genetic “language” of plants has been launched by a research collaboration.

Named Plant RNA-FM, this innovative model is the first of its kind and was developed by a partnership between plant researchers at the John Innes Centre and computer scientists at the University of Exeter.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute (Duncan NRI) at Texas Children’s Hospital and collaborating institutions have gained new insights into the molecular changes leading to Rett syndrome, a severe neurological disorder caused by mutations in the MeCP2 gene encoding methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2).

The team reports in the journal Neuron that loss of MeCP2 in adulthood causes immediate progressive dysregulation of hundreds of genes—some are activated while others are suppressed—and these changes occur well before any measurable deficiencies in neurological function.

The MeCP2 protein is most highly expressed in neurons— brain cells where, like an orchestra conductor, MeCP2 directs the expression of hundreds of genes. When mutations produce a nonfunctional MeCP2 protein, the conductor is no longer present to direct the harmonious expression of genes needed for normal brain function. The resulting discord in gene expression leads to Rett syndrome.

Infectious diseases can have very different effects on different people; some individuals may have virtually no symptoms from COVID-19, for example, while others are killed by the viral disease. Scientists have now learned more about one genetic mechanism that can lead to variations in immune responses in different people. The findings, which have been reported in Cell, describe a kind of tuner that can dial the immune response up or down, and has been encoded in human DNA for millions of years.

The human genome contains bits of ancient viruses known as retrotransposons, which were once able to move around the genome, like so-called jumping genes, but have since been brought under control. They are thought to compose a major part of the genome. Researchers have identified instances where retrotransposons can become active again, however, such as in some types of cancer. Now even more consequences of these trasnposons are being identified.

Recent scientific efforts have advanced the development of a comprehensive primate evolutionary timetree, filling significant gaps in our understanding of primate biodiversity and evolutionary history.

The primate order includes not only humanity’s closest relatives—the seven great apes—but also more than 450 species of monkeys, lemurs, lorises, and galagos. This group is remarkably diverse, ranging from 400-pound gorillas to tiny mouse lemurs (Microcebus) that weigh just one ounce. Primates display some of the most fascinating behaviors in the animal kingdom: chimpanzees use sticks to ‘fish’ for termites in hollow logs, while orangutans fashion leaf gloves to handle prickly durian fruit.

Despite being among the most thoroughly studied animals on Earth, primates still lack a complete molecular phylogenetic tree—a comprehensive evolutionary map detailing when different species emerged and how they are related. A robust phylogenetic tree would use genetic data to trace the timing of species’ appearances and identify their closest evolutionary relatives. Currently, the largest molecular timetree for primates includes just over 200 species. Even the most extensive synthetic timetree, based on more than 4,000 published studies, covers only about 400 species, leaving roughly one-fifth of the primate evolutionary tree unresolved.