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Did a recent scientific study just change the way we should think about the safety of genetically modified foods? According to Ari Levaux at the Atlantic, the answer is a resounding yes.
The study in question, performed by researchers at China’s Nanjing University and published in the journal Cell Research, found that a form of genetic material — called microRNA — from conventional rice survived the human digestive process and proceeded to affect cholesterol function in humans.
Levaux argues that this new study “reveals a pathway by which genetically modified (GM) foods might influence human health” which should cause us to completely revisit the question of GM crops’ safety. And he’s right to be alarmed, just a little off on the reasoning.
Let’s take a closer look at how this study applies to current GM technology, shall we?
I would argue that several studies have already suggested that existing GM foods might present a health risk. For example, this study in The International Journal of Biological Sciences found evidence that Monsanto’s Bt corn causes organ damage in lab animals. Then there’s this one which showed that GM soybeans can alter mice on the cellular level — an indication that genetically modified material survives digestion and is active in animals that consume it.
Of course, advocates of genetically modified foods will observe that the phenomenon of genetic transfer through consumption applies to all plants and that GM foods are therefore “substantially equivalent” to non-GM foods. As Levaux explains at length, this concept of substantial equivalence has been used by the biotech industry as well as our government to push GM foods through safety testing with minimal scrutiny. What’s Monsanto’s defense of all this? On its website, the company claims:
There is no need to test the safety of DNA introduced into GM crops. DNA (and resulting RNA) is present in almost all foods … DNA is non-toxic and the presence of DNA, in and of itself, presents no hazard … So long as the introduced protein is determined to be safe, food from GM crops determined to be substantially equivalent is not expected to pose any health risks.
So the fact that the Chinese team found active genetic material going from plants to humans isn’t really new and doesn’t really change what we know about how existing genetically engineered crops might affect us.
But what is new — and what Levaux missed — is that the Chinese study happens to involve exactly the kind of genetic matrieral — microRNA — that biotech companies hope to use in their next generation of genetically modified foods.
Today’s GMOs are almost entirely based on adding new genes to crops like corn, soy, and cotton in order to alter the way the plants function. And even then new functions are mostly limited to making plants either able to tolerate herbicides or to produce their own. But if biotechnology companies are successful in their efforts, there may soon be genetically modified foods that use microRNA — simply put, snippets of RNA whose potency were only discovered around a decade ago — to target, and block the function of specific genes in pests.
Thus the news that plant microRNA can survive digestion and affect human systems brings into question the wisdom of pursuing this kind of technology in food.
As explained to me by Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists and expert in genetically modified foods, microRNA technology is an area that biotech companies are actively pursuing. Monsanto itself has a whole web page devoted to the technology, which they call RNA interference.
Gurian-Sherman notes that the Chinese study — though requiring confirmation and follow-up research — raises “an initial red flag.” It calls into question “any general statement that [microRNA] technology would be inherently safe,” he adds.
He observes that humans and insects share a surprising amount of DNA material — evolution favors reusing and recycling genes even among creatures as different as insects and humans. If this research bears out, then it’s entirely possible that microRNA meant to target a specific insect gene will also have an effect — possibly unpredictable — in humans. This is especially true because, for technology like this to work as a pesticide, the microRNA must be present in high levels in the plant, which makes it even more likely the genetic material will make it all the way into the human gut.
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UPDATE: Dr. Michael Hansen, Senior Scientist at Consumers Union wrote to me after this post was published with an important point about the significance of the Chinese study. While he agreed that the main implications relate to the possible risk from microRNA-based GM foods, he also felt that this study did make a new and somewhat startling finding regarding how plant genetic material affects humans. As he put it, the study “showed that the miRNA not only survived digestion [in humans] but also was taken up and moved to other parts of the body where a specific impact was noted. The studies you cited — from Seralini’s lab and Malatesta’s lab — only show that GE crops can have an adverse effect on animals.”
more at the linkDid a recent scientific study just change the way we should think about the safety of... more
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If Oregon allows GM sugar beets to be deregulated, we may not stand a chance against full federal deregulation of all GM crops.
(SALEM, Ore.) - A public hearing is being held in Corvallis, Oregon this Thursday, November 17th to determine if Genetically Modified sugar beets will be deregulated in Oregon.
Meanwhile, the public comment period maybe just a local distraction giving way to full federal deregulation without any representation of organic and conventional crop farmers.
Let us not forget that the U.S House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture held a formal hearing on Genetically Modified (GM) Alfalfa on Jan 20, 2011.
The hearing corresponded with an open 30-day comment period, designed to provide relevant testimony with regard to deregulation of Genetically Modified Alfalfa.
The democratic process neglected to include a single organic or conventional farming representative. Throughout the two hour hearing various legislators publicly humiliated the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsak for even suggesting any compromise through talks with the organic and conventional communities. They all but ordered him to stand down his conversations with anyone but pro-GM enthusiasts (1:43:16).
Representatives left no seed unturned in honor of their allegiance to biotech crops and complete penetration into all foreign and domestic markets. In fact, Minnesota's Representative Collin Peterson referred to organic producers and consumers as "our opponents"[1](12:29).
Vilsak, even with his ties to Monsanto, was attempting negotiation with "so called Option 3" containing a minimal stop gap as an alternative to absolute contamination of organic and conventional alfalfa. In essence, planting barriers would have been implemented to maintain protective measures for the integrity of all seed varieties. Legislators blatantly mocked him and even pulled rank, saying that the Secretary of Agriculture does not have the authority to do anything but fully deregulate the crop without further ado. (35:38, 1:25:50, 1:29:15, 2:18:47)
It can be noted that Vilsak testified no less than three times that we were in the midst of the 30 day comment period, and in his opinion, the talks among all sides were providing necessary elements worthy of analysis for all agricultural markets concerned. (29:00, 1:44:00, 1:51:54)
The theme of the hearing centered around the economic burden of GM farmers if full deregulation didn’t go forth immediately (1:44:00). It was insisted by every representative that their loyalties were to the biotech community and that full deregulation was unquestionable without consideration for any form of barrier to protect other crops from cross contamination.
In regard to preservation of non GM crops, Texas Representative Michael Conaway begs the question, "how much of this is a definitional issue"? He questions organic standards and even insists that he "suspects that Genetically Engineered seeds will become the new organic". He blatantly suggests that legislative steps be considered to modify the language and thus re-define organic standards so that Genetically Modified crops can freely contaminate without restriction. He insists that it is merely a marketing issue and not an issue of health and safety. Conaway asks if we are just "hung up on the phrase organic, meaning something we grew ourselves in the backyard with whatever?"(2:33:00).
Concern was expressed by a number of speakers that GM crops are being promoted throughout the world as being no different than conventional crops, and if word got out that we established restrictive planting barriers, then it might be assumed that the GM crops were somehow different. That could put a damper on GM producers and their marketing potential. (30:45, 1:58:17, 2:18:47)
It was apparent, by the end of one sided discussion, that full deregulation and contamination remains unquestionable from the perspective of our democratic leaders. In other words, it is most notably a flagrant case of Contamination without Representation.
If Oregon allows GM sugar beets to be deregulated, we may not stand a chance against full federal deregulation of all GM crops. Public comments are being heard on Thursday from 4 PM – 9 PM at LaSells Stewart Center Construction and Engineering Hall 875 Southwest 26th St., Corvallis, Oregon.
Please see the full length video of the U.S House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture forum on GM Alfalfa, Jan 20 2011.
http://agriculture.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetails.aspx?NewsID=1269If Oregon allows GM sugar beets to be deregulated, we may not stand a chance against... more
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A pair of 12-year-old girls who discovered they were accidentally switched at birth want to stay with the mothers who have been raising them rather than go to their real parents.
The girls have grown up just a few miles away from each other in the town of Kopeisk in the Ural Mountains of eastern Russia.
Their mothers gave birth in the same maternity ward just 15 minutes apart in 1999, and their infant daughters were inadvertently given the wrong name tags.
Their true identities were revealed after the ex-husband of Yuliya Belyaeva, one of the mothers, refused to pay for child care because his daughter, Irina, looked nothing like him. After conducting several DNA tests it emerged that neither adult was Irina’s biological parent.
“The judge couldn’t believe it,” Belyaeva told the BBC. “She said she’d only seen cases like this on TV and didn’t know what to advise us.”
The DNA tests sent Belyaeva on a search for her own daughter. She remembered that when she was giving birth, another woman was also in labor in the same ward. ...read more http://www.factoverfiction.com/article/4674A pair of 12-year-old girls who discovered they were accidentally switched at birth... more
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If you're convicted of a crime you didn't commit, good luck getting compensation for your time behind bars.
Take the case of Eric Caine. Last week, I wrote about Caine, a Chicago man tortured by police under the command of Lt. Jon Burge, wrongfully convicted of a double murder, and finally freed last March after 25 years of prison hell -- only to be legally screwed once again.
The latest travesty: a Cook County judge on October 12th rejected Caine's request for the certificate of innocence necessary to ensure compensation for his unjust imprisonment, a tidy sum of $199,000 that would have helped the penniless Caine start a new life.
Judge Michael McHale's interpretation of the state law governing such certificates was worthy of the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Wonderland. "Petitioner [Caine] must prove his innocence independent of the fact that the State currently has no evidence against him for the crimes for which he was originally tried," McHale opined. Caine's lawyers may ask the judge to stop reading Lewis Carroll and reconsider his decision, or file an appeal.
Unfortunately, Caine is not alone. Meet Nathson Fields.
Fields and another man were charged with a 1984 double homicide on Chicago's South Side. The trial judge, Thomas J. Maloney, didn't care whether Fields and his co-defendant were innocent. But the judge was perfectly willing to find them not guilty -- in exchange for a $10,000 bribe from the co-defendant's lawyer. The lawyer delivered the cash, and things were looking up.
Trouble was, Maloney discovered he was under investigation by the FBI and prudently returned the money. To further cover his tracks, Maloney found Fields & Co. guilty -- and sentenced them to death.
It turned out poorly for everyone. As the two men languished on Death Row, Maloney was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion and obstruction of justice for fixing cases, and the lawyer was convicted of bribery.
The principals remained locked up until Fields won a new trial. He eventually was released on bond, breathing free air for the first time in 18 years. In 2009, a judge finally acquitted Fields in a bench trial. This time the verdict was legit.
Seeking restitution, Fields requested a certificate of innocence to qualify for the six figures he was owed under state law. The not guilty verdict convinced a Cook Co. judge to approve the certificate, and last year Fields got his check from the state.
But unhappy prosecutors appealed, and on September 30th a three-judge panel ruled that finding reasonable doubt at Field's re-trial wasn't good enough for him to collect. Now Fields will have to prove his true innocence -- or he could be forced to return the money.
Under the circumstances, what are wrongfully convicted prisoners like Eric Caine and Nathson Fields supposed to do? Confined most of their lives for crimes they did not commit, should they be saddled with law enforcement's job -- to track down the actual killers? From eight-by-twelve prison cells?
As for DNA, the magic bullet in undisputed exonerations, expecting to find it at most crime scenes is a television myth. (Sorry, CSI fans.) New alibi evidence is unlikely to emerge decades later. Recanting witnesses? Cook Co. prosecutors are threatening them with perjury for changing their stories.
Judges like Michael McHale in Caine's case, and the appellate justices in Fields' case, say they are simply following the letter of the law that compensates exonerated prisoners. Prove your innocence (or starve).
To some extent, they are right. Illinois lawmakers must amend the statute by guaranteeing funds to prisoners who are found not guilty, or whose convictions are vacated, or whose indictments are dropped. It would be inexcusable not to enact these simple remedies.
On the other hand, judges shouldn't be so quick to pass the buck. The current law recognizes that "... the court, in exercising its discretion... shall, in the interest of justice, give due consideration to difficulties of proof caused by the passage of time, the death or unavailability of witnesses, the destruction of evidence or other factors not caused by such persons or those acting on their behalf." So judges, many of whom were prosecutors (including McHale), are selectively interpreting the law.
The result is that only a handful of certificates of innocence have been approved in Cook Co., while many who should qualify are deterred from filing because of the way our state's law has been written and applied.
Nationally, the situation is worse. Only 27 states compensate innocent prisoners, and many of these states have laws with more hurdles than Illinois'.
What can you do? Plenty. Judges are elected in Illinois. If you don't believe they are acting "in the interest of justice," remember them when you go to the polls. State legislators are also elected. Support those who vote for legislation that is just. For a litmus test, tell your elected representatives about the plight of Eric Caine and Nathson Fields. More broadly, demand passage of the model legislation proposed by The Innocence Project.
Meanwhile, scream about a system that pays torturer Jon Burge his monthly $3,000 police pension while he is in prison, but robs the innocent of the restitution they deserve.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-protess/illinois-wrongful-conviction-restitution_b_1014368.html?ir=CrimeIf you're convicted of a crime you didn't commit, good luck getting... more
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Two brothers, both alike in heritage, but as different as black and white. Ebony and ivory. Night and day. You get it. If one thing's clear about 18-year-old British twins James and Daniel Kelly, it's that they never get confused for one another.
James and Daniel are the human version of a black and white cookie. Born to Alyson and Errol Kelly, an interracial couple, they display the unusual characteristic of being a pair of one dark-skinned and one-light skinned twins, reports the Guardian.
(MORE: Why DNA Isn't Your Destiny)
So how did this genetic anomaly occur?
Dr. Jim Wilson, a population geneticist at Edinburgh University, tells the Guardian that the cause is the father's heritage. Errol, Jamaican by background, holds the genetic key to skin color variations among offspring.
"It wouldn't really be possible for a black African father and a white mother to have a white child, because the African would carry only black skin gene variants in his DNA, so wouldn't have any European DNA, with white skin variants, to pass on," he explains.
However, Wilson also tells the Guardian that people of Caribbean descent are often likely to carry European DNA. Which, if you can remember back to your high school biology unit on genetics, is enough to create a striking difference.
"The Caribbean father will have less European DNA than African DNA, so it's more likely he'll pass on African DNA – but rarely, and I've worked it out to be around one in 500 sets of twins where there's a couple of this genetic mix, the father will pass on a lot of European DNA to one child and mostly African DNA to the other. The result will be one white child and one black."
Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/27/surprising-siblings-black-and-white-brothers-are-actually-twins/#ixzz1ZACxvWLO
http://newsfeed.time.com/2011/09/27/surprising-siblings-black-and-white-brothers-are-actually-twins/?xid=rss-politics-huffpoTwo brothers, both alike in heritage, but as different as black and white. Ebony and... more
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Perhaps it's the power of social media--or the power of Kim Kardashian--but an aggressive social media campaign led by the reality show queen and other stars has helped to grant a delay in the execution of Troy Davis today, according to reports from "USA Today."
Davis, whose supporters say was handed down a death sentence for the 1989 killing of a Savannah, Ga. police officer despite no DNA, no gun and no physical evidence, was scheduled for execution at 7 p.m. est. today.
But thanks to stars like Kim Kardashian, Outkast's Big Boi, Heavy D, other celebrities, and a grassroots Twitter campaign, his advocates helped to persuade a judge to grant a temporary stay moments before he was to meet his end.
Observers on Twitter are calling it a miracle.
http://www.star941fm.com/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html?feed=438810&article=9144460Perhaps it's the power of social media--or the power of Kim Kardashian--but an... more
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Scientists in Scotland have discovered a "missing link" which helps them understand how human cells decode genes important for cell growth and multiplication.
The University of Dundee researchers are studying the process of transcription, in which cells copy the DNA of genes into Ribonucleic acid or RNA, ultimately leading to the manufacture of proteins.
RNA is one of the three major macromolecules - along with DNA and proteins - that are essential for all known forms of life.
Transcription must be tightly controlled because otherwise the cells can die or grow and multiply without restraint, as seen in certain human diseases including cancer.
Dr Joost Zomerdijk and his team have discovered a previously hidden link within the components of the transcription machinery.
He said: "My lab and I are extremely excited to have discovered this important missing link.
"Furthermore, this research, funded primarily by the Wellcome Trust, advances our understanding of how normal transcription is maintained and controlled in human cells, which will help us to work out how transcription becomes deregulated in certain diseased cells and, potentially, how we can reverse such deregulation."
Human cells contain three separate transcription machineries, each of which is important for transcription of a subset of genes within the cells.
Each of the three is made up of one specific RNA polymerase enzyme and several other groups of proteins that direct and control transcription activity.
While TFIIB proteins, or similar proteins, were found in the transcription machineries containing RNA polymerases II and III, a similar protein had not been identified as a component of the RNA polymerase I transcription machinery.
However the scientists have now discovered that the protein TAF1B, one of a group of proteins that directs the RNA polymerase I enzyme, is similar to TFIIB in structure and function.
Dr Zomerdijk said: "This discovery indicates that the three transcription machineries of human cells, which are likely to have evolved from a common ancestor, are even more similar than previously realised."
He and his colleagues work at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression in the College of Life Sciences at Dundee University.
Details of their findings are being published in a research paper in the journal Science.Scientists in Scotland have discovered a "missing link" which helps them... more
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WWH, That still doesn’t explain Rick Perry!
tgdaily.com - Our ancient human ancestors interbred with other early hominids as well as Neanderthals, new research indicates.WWH, That still doesn’t explain Rick Perry!
tgdaily.com - Our ancient human... more
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A type of fungus that's been lurking underground for millions of years, previously known to
science only through its DNA, has been cultured, photographed, named and assigned a place on
the tree of life.
link:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/08/110811142819.htmA type of fungus that's been lurking underground for millions of years,... more
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CNN...
August 11th, 2011
09:17 AM ET
DNA discovered in meteorites
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NASA researchers have found the building blocks of DNA, the genetic molecule that is essential to all life forms, in meteorites, pieces of space rock that have fallen to Earth. The discovery suggests that similar meteorites and comets may have impacted Earth and assisted in life formation here.
With minimal chance for contamination of the meteorite samples, scientists are confident that these meteorite specimens were formed in space. “People have been discovering components of DNA in meteorites since the 1960's, but researchers were unsure whether they were really created in space or if instead they came from contamination by terrestrial life,” Michael Callahan, lead author of the study on the discovery, said in a statement.
The research team analyzed twelve carbon rich meteorites, nine of which were from Antarctica, to positively identify the basic elements of the chemical compounds they extracted from the samples. Testing revealed adenine and guanine, two fundamental components of DNA called nucleobases.
DNA is shaped like a double helix, or twisted ladder, and the rungs of that ladder are each comprised of two nucleobases, either a pairing of adenine and thymine or of guanine and cytosine. The ladder is essentially a long string of genetic code that tells cells in an organism which proteins to make. Those proteins then play critical roles in organism growth and function, making everything from hair to enzymes.
Scientists also found hypoxanthine and xanthine, two other chemicals used in biological processes and found in muscle tissue.
The meteorites also contained trace amounts of three molecules associated with nucleobases, called nucleobase analogs, but two of those are almost never seen in biology, providing the necessary proof that these DNA components were actually created in outer space.
In fact the only record of any of these nucleobases in biologic processes is within a virus. Callahan said in the NASA press release that “if asteroids are behaving like chemical 'factories' cranking out prebiotic material, you would expect them to produce many variants of nucleobases, not just the biological ones, due to the wide variety of ingredients and conditions in each asteroid,” and that is exactly what these researchers found. He says the nucleobases found, biological or not, can also be created in a lab setting, using the basic compounds hydrogen cyanide, ammonia, and water.
This finding contributes further to the growing collection of evidence that asteroids and comets are comprised of the proper chemicals to generate the building blocks of life. Some seem to have the ideal internal chemistry for the job.
“In fact, there seems to be a ‘goldilocks’ class of meteorites,” Callahan said in a statement, “the so called CM2 meteorites, where conditions are just right to make more of these molecules.”
.CNN...
August 11th, 2011
09:17 AM ET
DNA discovered in meteorites
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NASA researchers have found the building blocks for life on earth in meteorites, indicating that the components for life on Earth may have originated in outer space.
According to the findings from a group of NASA-funded researchers, the scientists found that ready-made DNA parts could have crashed to earth's surface on objects like meteorites, and then assembled under earth's early conditions to create the first DNA.
The researchers, from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, made their discovery using samples from 12 carbon-rich meteorites, nine of which came from Antarctica. Then, the team extracted small fragments of the meteorite and ran them through a process to determine their structure. What they found, was adenine and guanine. These are two of the nucleobases needed to make DNA that form the rungs of the ladder (in addition to thymine and cytosine, which were not present in the sample).
(read all about it at link)
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The Panspermia theory seems more and more to be absolutely correct. So, we are all Aliens, every single one of us!NASA researchers have found the building blocks for life on earth in meteorites,... more
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I really hope this South Korean report is false: Chinese pharmaceutical companies are buying baby corpses from hospitals, grinding them into pills, and then selling them as stamina boosters. Feel free to gag uncontrollably now and then keep reading.
According to the documentary created by South Korean SBS TV, the baby material comes from stillborn births and abortion clinics, and is produced by a microwave drying process. Well! Time to retch again.
The dead baby pill trade is also bringing in a lot of cash for those involved—understandably, as I would imagine it takes a lot of hush money in the Can I take these dead baby fetuses from your hospital and sell them exchange. And it's apparently not such a new industry—rumors (and purported videos) of Chinese baby meals have circulated for years, with reports like this one from 2003 lending further credence to the illicit infant trade.
SBS claims a DNA test found 99.7% human stuff crammed inside the tablets—which Google disturbingly translates as "man capsules"—and was fresh enough to distinguish gender. This is probably the most revolting thing I've ever read, so hey, we can all go to sleep tonight knowing we accomplished at least that much. Now if only there were a baby pill that would erase my brain and destroy everything involved in this story.
http://gizmodo.com/5828137/are-chinese-companies-selling-pills-made-of-dead-babiesI really hope this South Korean report is false: Chinese pharmaceutical companies are... more
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Using the latest gene sequencing tools to examine so-called epigenetic influences on the DNA makeup of colon cancer, a Johns Hopkins team says its results suggest cancer treatment might eventually be more tolerable and successful if therapies could focus on helping cancer cells get back to normal in addition to strategies for killing them.
In a report published June 26 in Nature Genetics, the investigators focused on a particular epigenetic biochemical signature known as methylation, which silences genes. Although not part of a gene's central DNA sequence, it is copied when a cell divides, perpetuating its activity.
http://aurmoth.blogspot.com/2011/06/epigenetics-cancer-therapies-silencing.htmlUsing the latest gene sequencing tools to examine so-called epigenetic influences on... more
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In a new study published June 15 in the journal Nature, scientists discovered an entirely new way to change the genetic code. The findings, though early, are significant because they may ultimately help researchers alter the course of devastating genetic disorders, such as cystic fibrosis, muscular dystrophy and many forms of cancer.
The genetic code is the set of instructions in a gene that tell a cell how to make a specific protein. Central to the body's protein production process is messenger RNA, or mRNA, which takes these instructions from DNA and directs the steps necessary to build a protein. For the first time, researchers artificially modified messenger RNA, and in doing so changed the original instructions for creating the protein. The end result: A different protein than originally called for.
"The ability to manipulate the production of a protein from a particular gene is the new miracle of modern medicine," said Robert Bambara, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. "This is a really powerful concept that can be used to try to suppress the tendency of individuals to get certain debilitating, and sometimes fatal genetic diseases that will forever change their lives."In a new study published June 15 in the journal Nature, scientists discovered an... more
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At this site you will find action items and ways you can get involved with getting GMO labelling on the ballot in California in 2012. This will hopefully be the beginning of a nationwide effort to do what Europe did years ago due to citizen action. Labelling GMOs in our food will give us a choice in what we purchase and what we consume. Of course, Monsanto and the biotech lobby have their money, big guns and political connections, but we the consumer have the power of the purse and the voices to drown them out and it is time we used them.
More at the link.At this site you will find action items and ways you can get involved with getting GMO... more
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A blood test that can show how fast someone is aging – and offers the tantalising possibility of estimating how long they have left to live – is to go on sale to the general public in Britain later this year.A blood test that can show how fast someone is aging – and offers the... more
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A blood test that will tell users how long they have left to live will go on sale in Britain later this year. The test - which will offer people the opportunity to estimate their lifespan will go on sale for £435.
The controversial technology has come under fire because critics say insurance companies will insist on them before offering policies. But scientists say the test could be vital in the study of age-related illnesses like Alzheimer's and Cancer.
Boffins working on the technology say they will be able to read a person's "biological age" by measuring structure on people's chromosomes called telomeres. The test cannot predict exactly how long a person will live for - but scientists are confident it can offer a reliable estimate.
Maria Blasco, from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre in Madrid, who invented the test, said: "We know that people who are born with shorter telomeres than normal also have a shorter lifespan.
"But we don't know whether longer telomeres are going to give you a longer lifespan. That's not really known in humans.
"What is new about this test is that it is very precise. We can detect very small differences in telomere length and it is a very simple and fast technique where many samples can be analysed at the same time.
"Most importantly, we are able to determine the presence of dangerous telomeres - those that are very short."A blood test that will tell users how long they have left to live will go on sale in... more
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Theoretical physicists have proposed an explanation for how bacteria might transmit electromagnetic signals: Chromosomes could act like antennae, with electrons traveling gene circuits to produce species-specific wavelengths.
link: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/04/bacterial-radio/Theoretical physicists have proposed an explanation for how bacteria might transmit... more
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