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    Category Health/Medical

    Genes find their Partners without Matchmakers

    July 22, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Schematic of the looped dsDNA unfolding experiments for the case of (a) no pairing and (b) complete pairing. The construct is built from 50 kb λ-phage dsDNA ligated at the end to a 10 kb homologous fragment (for details see the main text). Here, the red lines represent the part of dsDNA which is not identical in sequence to the 10 kb fragment. The two 10 kb sequences which are identical to each other are shown in green to yellow shading to indicate which way the two sequences run (the yellow indicating the end sequence of the λ-phage DNA). When the constructs are fully extended the two homologous pieces run in opposite directions, but when folded any paired tracts will run in the same direction. Shown in (b) is a coil–expected form for the DNA – where the magnification shows that, where pairing occurs, two sections may align so that their identical sequences read in the same direction. (c) Is a representative result showing the extension versus force curves (decreasing force only) in 150 mM NaCl–PBS at 25°C for a dsDNA construct (solid) and a control curve for a 60 kb dsDNA in the same ionic conditions (dashed). The y-axis is normalized to L19, the measured extension of the controls at 19 pN. Further experimental data curves for different ionic conditions are given in the electronic supplementary material, S1. (d) The solid line shows the difference between the two curves (here, defined as the extension of the construct minus the experimentally measured control) shown in (c), multiplied by L19, resulting in negative values since the extension of the paired dsDNA is shorter than the 60 kb control. The dotted line shows the standard deviation for 25 controls. At forces less than 2 pN, the constructs containing homologous regions show significant variation, but even at 5 pN the difference between the constructs and controls is more than 10 times the standard deviation in the controls. The results indicate a significant interaction between identical DNA tracts, which affects the extension–force curve even when the applied force exceeds 10 pN. Experiments for higher temperatures (37°C and 40°C) have also been performed that are not shown here; they demonstrate qualitatively similar effect of ‘homology recognition’; the data for these temperatures are treated in the electronic supplementary material, S5. (Online version in colour.)

    Schematic of the looped dsDNA unfolding experiments for the case of (a) no pairing and (b) complete pairing. The construct is built from 50 kb λ-phage dsDNA ligated at the end to a 10 kb homologous fragment (for details see the main text). Here, the red lines represent the part of dsDNA which is not identical in sequence to the 10 kb fragment. The two 10 kb sequences which are identical to each other are shown in green to yellow shading to indicate which way the two sequences run (the yellow indicating the end sequence of the λ-phage DNA). When the constructs are fully extended the two homologous pieces run in opposite directions, but when folded any paired tracts will run in the same direction...

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    Exercise Therapy is as effective as Surgery for Middle aged Patients with Meniscal tear finds BMJ

    July 22, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    what does a torn meniscus look like

    what does a torn meniscus look like

    The researchers suggest that supervised exercise therapy should be considered as a treatment option for middle aged patients with this type of knee damage. Every year, 2 million people worldwide undergo knee arthroscopy (keyhole surgery to relieve pain and improve movement) at a cost of several billion US dollars. Yet current evidence suggests that arthroscopic knee surgery offers little benefit for most patients. So researchers based in Denmark and Norway carried out a randomised controlled trial to compare exercise therapy alone with arthroscopic surgery alone in middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tears.

    They identified 140 adults (average ~50 years) with degenerative meniscal tears, verified by MRI scan, at 2 public hospitals and 2 physio...

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    Stop the rogue ADAM gene and you stop Asthma

    July 21, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Schematic representation of the contribution of soluble ADAM33 (sADAM33)...

    Schematic representation of the contribution of soluble ADAM33 (sADAM33) as a local tissue susceptibility gene in asthma pathobiology.

    A potential novel way of preventing asthma at the origin of the disease has been found, a finding that could challenge the current understanding of the condition. Insight, analysed the impact of the gene ADAM33, which is associated with the development of asthma. ADAM33 makes an enzyme, which is attached to cells in the airway muscles. When the enzyme loses its anchor to the cell surface, it is prone to going rogue around the lung causing poorer lung function in people who have asthma.

    The studies in human tissue samples and mice, led by A/Prof Hans Michel Haitchi suggests that if you inhibit ADAM33 or prevent it from going rouge, the features of asthma – a...

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    Discovery may lead to a Rx to slow Parkinson’s disease

    July 20, 2016, Categories  Health/Medical, Biology/Biotechnology

    Primary hippocampal neurons from mice express G2019S-LRRK2. The neurons were treated with alpha-synuclein fibrils, and 18 days later immunofluorescence was performed. The magenta shows phospho-alpha-synuclein inclusions in the cell bodies and throughout the axons, which are visualized as green. Credit: UAB

    Primary hippocampal neurons from mice express G2019S-LRRK2. The neurons were treated with alpha-synuclein fibrils, and 18 days later immunofluorescence was performed. The magenta shows phospho-alpha-synuclein inclusions in the cell bodies and throughout the axons, which are visualized as green. Credit: UAB

    A team has shown the most common genetic cause of Parkinson’s disease – a mutant LRRK2 kinase enzyme – contributes to the formation of inclusions in neurons, resembling one of the hallmark pathologies seen in Parkinson’s disease. These inclusions are made up of aggregated alpha synuclein protein, which – the research also shows – can be prevented from forming by using 2 LRRK2 kinase inhibitor drugs now being developed for clinical use.

    The interaction between mutant LRRK2 kinase and alph...

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