OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS IN BRAZIL – Video

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OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS IN BRAZIL
Science in Brazil exploded in the last forty years. We trained tens of thousands of students in the Country and abroad. As consequence Brazil that produced i...

By: Wanderson Alves do Nascimento

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OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS IN BRAZIL - Video

Viruses – Element of natural selection of cancerous cells

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Viruses have been the major life threatening microorganisms since time immemorial. All viruses are infective unlike all bacteria that can also be beneficial. Viruses are known to cause various types of cancers also such as Hodgkin’s, non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas, cancers of the throat and liver. Viruses basically cause cancer by mutating a critical gene for replication in the host DNA leading to an uncontrolled cell division. A team of scientists led by Preet M. Choudhary, M.D., Ph.D., and professor of medicine at University of Pittsburgh have proposed that viruses in a way, act as elements of natural selection. The theory of natural selection put-forth by Charles Darwin can simply be stated as, fixation of a desirable mutation of a gene. Similarly, viruses have been found to kill normal cells that favour the replication of viruses, leaving behind the defective cells. Repetition of this process over and over causes cancer. ‘We believe, a separate mechanism may be at play in which a cellular insult, such as infection with the virus, selects a few pre-existing mutated clones of cells promotes their further growth and multiplication, eventually leading to the emergence of fully cancerous cells, consequently, similar to the role played by natural selection during evolution, excessive cell death, rather than its absence may be the defining force that drives the initial emergence of cancer,’ said Dr. Choudhary. Since, notably the cancerous condition arises from the ‘ashes’ of dead cells, Dr.Choudhary calls it ‘Phoenix Paradigm’. A study was conducted wherein, cells were infected with Kaposi’s sarcoma associated Herpes Simplex Virus (KSHV) also called Human Herpes Simplex Virus-8 (HHV-8) and examined the K13 cell-signaling pathway. They observed that cells with low K13 levels, favoured KSHV replication and subsequently died, but up regulating K13 gene expression in the existing cells and down regulating two key proteins involved in promoting cancer. Image via : CBCnews

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Flu vaccine developed from caterpillar cells

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Scientists have for the first time developed flu vaccine from the yellow striped caterpillars instead of the hen eggs. While the current method of using hen eggs is a lengthy procedure, the new method is quicker and easier. In the method currently used, live flu viruses injected into the eggs multiply, then the eggshells are broken, the viruses are inactivated and are treated to create flu vaccine. It takes about nine months to prepare the vaccine and also depends on the availability of the eggs which could be a hindrance when a large scale pandemic strikes. In the new method, scientists replace a gene from that virus with a flu virus gene, and then inject it into the caterpillars found abundantly in nature, where it makes more flu virus. This vaccine was tested on about 450 adults during the flu season and was found that two thirds of the participants who were given a high-dose injection had a strong immune response and did not develop flu that season. Further studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of the new vaccine, and if successful, large scale cases of flu could be treated effectively and cheaply especially in developing countries where thousands of people die ever year for not receiving timely treatment. Image Source

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India emerging as a global hub for stem cell research

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Who said India lags behind in the arena of stem cell research? The country is growing at the rate of fifteen percent per year in the stem cell market arena and will reach the figures of $ 540 million by 2010. India has around fifteen centers which are undertaking research in the arena of stem cell. Of them five centers are involved in undertaking extensive trials in the arena of cardiology. India has all the strength to emerge as a global hub for undertaking stem cell research. Since U.S has banned stem cell research India can surely prosper in this field as it has both knowledge and technology for undertaking research in this area. With medical field making rapid moves researchers are opting for advanced techniques which can help in targeting the root cause of the diseases rather than just treatment of the symptoms and in this respect stem cell research is gaining a stronger position. One questions which is troubling my mind is if India emerges as a hub for stem cell research how will it handle the sensitive topics such as cloning and breeding of human cells. Via prminds

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