Daily Archives: November 7, 2014

Koala study reveals clues about origins of the human genome

Posted: November 7, 2014 at 7:44 am

Eight percent of your genome derives from retroviruses that inserted themselves into human sex cells millions of years ago. Right now the koala retrovirus (KoRV) is invading koala genomes, a process that can help us understand our own viral lineage and make decisions about managing this vulnerable species.

In a recent study, published in Molecular Biology and Evolution, scientists from the University of Illinois discovered that 39 different KoRVs in a koala's genome were all endogenous, which means passed down to the koala from one parent or the other; one of the KoRVs was found in both parents.

Koalas are the only known organisms where a retrovirus is transitioning from exogenous to endogenous. An exogenous retrovirus infects a host, inserts its genetic information into the cell's DNA, and uses the host cell's machinery to manufacture more viruses. When an exogenous retrovirus infects an egg or sperm cell and the viral genetic information is then passed down to the host's offspring, the virus becomes an endogenous retrovirus (ERV).

Becoming part of the koala genome

Like humans, koalas have evolutionary defenses against endogenization.

"During the early stages of endogenization, there are huge numbers of retroviruses. KoRVs are present all across koalas' genomes, with many thousands or tens of thousands of KoRVs in the population," said Alfred Roca, a Professor of Animal Sciences and member of the Institute for Genomic Biology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Over time most of them will disappear because these copies of the virus may be present in as few as one individual chromosome. If that one individual happens to not reproduce, or if it reproduces and the other chromosome is passed down, then that ERV will disappear."

In order to end up with 100 ERVs in an organism, the species may have to start with 10,000 ERVs in its ancestors, Roca said. It takes retroviruses, like KoRV, many thousands of years to become a fixed part of the koala genome, like the eight percent of retroviral DNA that all humans share.

The ERVs that are successfully passed down are protected by the koala's DNA repair mechanisms so that their rate of mutation is extremely low. Based on the dearth of mutations in the endogenous koala retroviruses, Roca's team was able to estimate that the KoRVs integrated into the host germ line less than 50,000 years ago. "This is quite recent compared with other ERVs that are millions of years old and have accumulated mutations," said first author Yasuko Ishida, a research specialist in Roca's lab.

Overcoming retroviral fitness effects

In koalas, KoRV has been linked to leukemia, lymphoma, and immune suppression, which can lead to increased susceptibility to chlamydia.

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Psoriasis | Facts and Keeping It Under Control – Video

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Psoriasis | Facts and Keeping It Under Control
If you have Psoriasis this video could help. I give a small introduction and how I keep mine under control! Me: Subscribe: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=theprincessofutube...

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2010-05-06. Frn brstcancer till psoriasis – Video

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2010-05-06. Frn brstcancer till psoriasis
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Tratamiento psoriasis Dermaoil – Video

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Gene for HDL cholesterol linked to longer life, study finds

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A new study lends additional evidence to the likelihood that genes associated with high levels of the so-called good cholesterol appear to contribute to exceptionally long life expectancy and resistance to age-related disease.

Sofiya Milman , an assistant professor of medicine in geriatrics and endocrinology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said her teams findings could open the way to finding drugs that target the gene and mimic its functions, thereby extending life.

These genotypes may explain the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial HDL, Milman said, saying further study of the genes could help unlock the secrets of what she called successful agers. One of the gene variants related to HDL cholesterol appeared to not only contribute to longer life, but to protect older people from age-related cognitive impairment, she said.

But Milman also cautioned that studies with larger sample sizes and more diverse populations should be conducted to validate the results.

Milmans research was one of several presentations on the science of aging offered Thursday at the annual meeting of the Gerontological Society of Americas annual scientific conference at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The conference, which opened Wednesday, draws about 4,000 researchers. More than 500 presentations of original research are scheduled before the conference ends Sunday.

The Einstein study focused on 300 women and 94 men who were at least 95 years old and living independently when the study began in 1998. All of the people were from the northeastern United States and all were Jews of European descent, a factor that was useful because of the relative homogeneity of their genetics.

Researchers then monitored the participants until the participants deaths, focused on their levels of HDL, which stands for high-density lipoprotein. HDL , helps the body regulate and maintain the level of cholesterol, an important component of health. Cholesterol, which is found in certain foods and created by the body itself, helps create hormones, synthesizes vitamin D, and builds and maintains cell membranes.

To transport and store cholesterol, the liver transforms it into lipoproteins. Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) carry cholesterol to the bodys cells; HDL moves through the bloodstream acting as a scavenger that returns cholesterol to the liver for excretion or recycling.

The Einstein team theorized that long life might be linked to high HDL levels and the presence of a gene variant of an enzyme known as CETP, or cholesterol ester transfer protein that transfers cholesterol between HDL particles and LDL particles circulating in the bloodstream.

The team also looked at a gene variant known as apolipoprotein 1 (APOA1), which codes for a protein that is a major component in HDL, to see whether that too might be a marker for exceptional longevity.

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Gene for HDL cholesterol linked to longer life, study finds

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Unnecessary Censorship – Assassin’s Creed 3 (Censored Parody) – Video

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Unnecessary Censorship - Assassin #39;s Creed 3 (Censored Parody)
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Muslim Facebook Censorship. – Video

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Trick or Treat Radio Episode 119 – Sick Little Censorship – Video

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Trick or Treat Radio Episode 119 - Sick Little Censorship
What #39;s up, cats and kittens? On Episode 119 of Trick or Treat Radio, we review the 2014 flick, Killers, directed by the Mo Brothers and produced by the man with the midas touch, Gareth Evans....

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Unnecessary Censorship in League of Legends Part 5 – Video

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Unnecessary Censorship in League of Legends Part 5
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Review: Rang Rasiya is an important film

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Rang Rasiyais not a consistent film, but one that tells a story of a pioneering artist and visionary, a story decidedly worth telling, says Raja Sen.

Censorship is an utterly pointless and regressive activity, and we Indians have always been good at it.

Good at said pointlessness, that is, not at actually establishing some sort of sensible organisation that knows the meaning of the word 'context'.

Ketan Mehta's film Rang Rasiya, a biopic of the artist Raja Ravi Varma, deals with artistic censorship, a subject that remains immensely relevant in a country where filmmakers are asked to cut out dialogues and trim scenes by 20 percent just cause the censor board said so.

The movie opens with a courtroom scene, one that reminded me of Howl, the James Franco-starrer about Allen Ginsberg's obscenity trial.A compelling film, it concentrated on the fascinating case -- recreating preposterous but real-life court transcripts -- and, on the side, explored the beat poet's life, love and history.

The story, however, was always the trial and I wish Mehta too had kept the courtroom front and centre in his film instead of trying to give us a concise life-and-times or a treatise on censorship instead of both.

That is the fundamental issue with Rang Rasiya: it starts off as a condensed biopic, theatrically moving from one milestone in the artists life to another, with scarcely any time to breathe.

It is a fascinating life, sure, but this narrative progression -- with long stretches devoted to mediocre songs and dramatic moments constantly underscored by overdone background music -- plays out like a school play, with bad costumes, clunky lines and no detailing.

Randeep Hooda, who plays Raja Ravi Varma, is solid but the film around him is eye-rollingly overdone. Like the books we see as background in a study, leatherbound hardbacks with nothing written on them to distinguish one from the other, the film appears spineless.

Thankfully, the second half of the film, where the courtroom battle comes more sharply into focus and the narrative of his life actually gets going, is genuinely interesting. Portions where the artist took an interest in the cinema, for example, bustle with energy. Even the background score gets jauntier.

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