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Understanding bat evolution could lead to new treatments for viruses and aging

Understanding bat evolution could lead to new treatments for viruses and aging | Longevity science | Scoop.it

Scientists believe the genes of virus-resistant and long-living wild bats might hold clues to treating cancer and infectious diseases in humans.

 

The theory is that when bats started flying millions of years ago, something changed in their DNA that provides resistance to viruses and helps give them a relatively long life. The researchers hope a better understanding of bat evolution could lead to new treatments for disease and aging in humans.

 

 

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New Study Shows Gene Therapy For HIV Safe After A Decade | Singularity Hub

New Study Shows Gene Therapy For HIV Safe After A Decade | Singularity Hub | Longevity science | Scoop.it

A clinical trial testing a gene therapy for HIV patients is now 11 years old. Recently, the researchers running the study published an examination of the patients after all this time.

 

Of the study’s 43 patients, all were healthy, and 41 of them confirmed that their immune cells which received a genetically-altered boost were still performing as hoped more than a decade after the initial infusions...

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GenomeTV: Biotech Video Collection and Lecture Series

The Genomics in Medicine Lecture Series is sponsored by NHGRI, in collaboration with Suburban Hospital and Johns Hopkins. Each lecture takes place at Suburban Hospital's lower level auditorium at 8600 Old Georgetown Road in Bethesda, Md.

 

All are welcome to the hour-long lectures, which begin at 8 a.m. on the first Friday of the month, from December 2011 through June 2012.

 

Plus, check out the video collection for How-To Genome Sequencing and more.


Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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Hospital Throws Down $25,000 Prize To Decode Genomic Information | Singularity Hub

Hospital Throws Down $25,000 Prize To Decode Genomic Information | Singularity Hub | Longevity science | Scoop.it

Impulse Buy? When getting genetic information is no longer a cost issue… what do you do with it?


“for the development of an interpretation and communication system that can deliver genomic information from the lab to physicians and patients.” As genomic testing becomes much less expensive, we struggle to make good use of the information.

 

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The Plot Thickens: New Layer of Genetic Information Uncovered

The Plot Thickens: New Layer of Genetic Information Uncovered | Longevity science | Scoop.it

Scientists have long thought that part of our genetic code was redundant. Further, they thought that the redundant code contained only duplicate information. A new discovery indicates that the redundant bits contain unique and speed-related instructions for protein formation.


“By measuring the rate of protein production in bacteria, the team discovered that slight genetic alterations could have a dramatic effect. This was true even for seemingly insignificant genetic changes known as “silent mutations,” which swap out a single DNA letter without changing the ultimate gene product. To their surprise, the scientists found these changes can slow the protein production process to one-tenth of its normal speed or less.”


“This new discovery challenges half a century of fundamental assumptions in biology. It may also help speed up the industrial production of proteins, which is crucial for making biofuels and biological drugs used to treat many common diseases, ranging from diabetes to cancer.”

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Designer Babies – Like It Or Not, Here They Come

Designer Babies – Like It Or Not, Here They Come | Longevity science | Scoop.it

Long before Watson and Crick famously uncovered the structure of DNA in 1953, people envisioned with both horror and hope a day when babies could be custom designed — free of inherited disease, yet equipped with superior genes for good looks, intelligence, athleticism, and more. Now the beginnings of the day of designer babies have finally come.

 


Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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A world within a tumour – new study shows just how complex cancer can be

A world within a tumour – new study shows just how complex cancer can be | Longevity science | Scoop.it

Cancer is a puzzle of staggering complexity. Every move towards a solution seems to reveal yet another layer of mystery. For a start, cancer isn’t a single disease, so we can dispense with the idea of a single “cure”. There are over 200 different types, each with their own individual quirks. Even for a single type – say, breast cancer – there can be many different sub-types that demand different treatments. Even within a single subtype, one patient’s tumour can be very different from another’s. They could both have very different sets of mutated genes, which can affect their prognosis and which drugs they should take.


Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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To find mutations, read the whole exome - Futurity: Research News

To find mutations, read the whole exome - Futurity: Research News | Longevity science | Scoop.it

"Whole-exome sequencing reads only those parts of the human genome that encode proteins, leaving the other 99 percent of the genome unread..."


Via Brian Shields
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Will we ever reveal all the secrets of life from DNA? It's very, very hard!

Will we ever reveal all the secrets of life from DNA? It's very, very hard! | Longevity science | Scoop.it

We may have sequenced the human and other species’ genomes, but we are still nowhere near predicting how this creates a living, breathing organism. Here’s why:

 

In 2001, the Human Genome Project gave us an almost complete draft of the 3 billion letters in our DNA. We joined an elite club of species that have had their genome sequenced, one that is growing with every passing month. As our technologies and understanding advance, will we eventually be able to look at a pile of raw DNA sequence and glean all the workings of the organism it belongs to? Just as physicists can use the laws of mechanics to predict the motion of an object, can biologists use fundamental ideas in genetics and molecular biology to predict the traits and flaws of a body based solely on its genes? Could we pop a genome into a black box, and print out the image of a human? Or a fly? Or a mouse? Not easily. In complex organisms, some traits can be traced back to specific genes. If, for instance, you’re looking at a specific variant of the MC1R gene, chances are you’ve got a mammal in front of you, and it has red hair. Indeed, people have predicted that some Neanderthals were red-heads for precisely this reason. But beyond that, predicting if something is a mouse or a whale or a armadillo, we still can't do it.

 

Bernhard Palsson from the University of California, San Diego agrees. “Sequencing a woolly mammoth will not predict its properties,” he says. “But you might be able to do a lot better with bacteria.” Their simpler and smaller genomes should in theory make it easier to predict the basic features of their metabolism, or whether they grow using oxygen or not. But even though we can sequence a bacterial genome in under a day, and for just $80, we would still struggle to determine important traits, like how good a disease-causing microbe is at infecting its host.

 

Finding all the genes even in a small genome is hard. Earlier this year, scientists discovered a new gene in a flu virus whose genome consists of just 14,000 letters (small enough to fit into 100 tweets), and had been sequenced again and again. So it should be unsurprising that our own genome, with 3 billion letters, is full of errors and gaps, despite ostensibly being “complete”. In May, another group showed that the reference human genome is missing a gene that may have shaped the evolution of our large brains. “There’s no genome that is completely understood even in terms of the genes within it,” says Markus Covert from Stanford University. “Typically, no function is known for a fourth to a fifth of the genes, even in smaller genomes.”

 


Via Dr. Stefan Gruenwald
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Gene therapy for aging-associated decline tested | KurzweilAI

Gene therapy for aging-associated decline tested | KurzweilAI | Longevity science | Scoop.it

Research extended mouse lifespan by up to 24% using gene therapy.

 

The therapy also decreased the signs of aging. For example, it improved muscle health and delayed the diseases of aging such as osteoporosis and insulin resistance.

 

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Twin study isolates key ageing genes

Twin study isolates key ageing genes | Longevity science | Scoop.it

In a study at Kings College London using groups of identical twins, genes were identified that are switched on or off by epigenetic factors - natural mechanisms other than the underlying DNA which change the gene expression, and could include external factors such as...

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Scientists Link Rare Gene Mutations to Heightened Risk of Autism

Scientists Link Rare Gene Mutations to Heightened Risk of Autism | Longevity science | Scoop.it
Scientists have for the first time identified several gene mutations that they say sharply increase the chances of autism, and have found that the risk increases with the age of the parents, particularly the father.
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The Biobank is Now Open

The Biobank is Now Open | Longevity science | Scoop.it
Anyone interested in combing through 20 terabytes of data on more than half a million aging Brits will have their chance beginning today, when the UK...
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New Type of DNA Discovered? | The Scientist

New Type of DNA Discovered? | The Scientist | Longevity science | Scoop.it

A newly identified form of DNA—small circles of non-repetitive sequences—may be widespread in somatic cells of mice and humans, according to a study in this week’s issue of Science. These extrachromosomal bits of DNA, dubbed microDNA, may be the byproducts of microdeletions in chromosomes, meaning that cells all over the body may have their own constellation of missing pieces of DNA.

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With Extra Gene, Mice are Footloose and Cancer Free

With Extra Gene, Mice are Footloose and Cancer Free | Longevity science | Scoop.it

Since when is boosting fat an anti-aging secret? Well, there is finally good news on the fat front. Brown fat is hyperactive and burns energy. Yes, it's true! These researchers learned more about tumor suppressors and suggest future treatments may boost brown fat to fight aging and cancer.

 

"In a perfect world, we could eat to our heart's content without sacrificing our health and good looks, and now it appears that maybe we can. Mice with an extra dose of a known anti-cancer gene lose weight even as their appetites grow."

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