Daily Archives: March 4, 2015

Rob Phillips (Caltech): The Genome as the Modern Rosetta Stone
http://www.ibiology.org/ibiomagazine/rob-phillips-genome-modern-rosetta-stone.html Talk Overview: Despite living in the age of genomics, Rob Phillips argues ...

By: iBioMagazine

Read the original post:
Rob Phillips (Caltech): The Genome as the Modern Rosetta Stone - Video

Cobalt Cry - "Genome" Official Music Video
http://www.KrankTV.com - Cobalt Cry - "Genome" - Like this video? Come see thousands more at the Net #39;s largest, uncensored, completely d.i.y. music video site, KrankTV.com! We #39;ve got News,...

By: BlankTV

The rest is here:
Cobalt Cry - "Genome" Official Music Video - Video

The more copies of an organism's genome in its cells, the more those cells seem to benefit in terms of growth and adaptation.

So says a study completed with the help of Creighton University microbiologist Anna Selmecki, Ph.D., which will be published in the journal Nature this month. Using populations of yeast, Selmecki and a team of researchers from around the country determined that polyploidy -- having more than two copies of an organism's genome in one cell -- greatly aids in the cells' ability to adapt to their environments. The study may have implications for the study of cancer cells, which are often polyploid and aneuploid (having an abnormal chromosome number).

"Having extra copies of the genome does seem to allow for faster adaptation in yeast," said Selmecki, who began this research as a postdoctoral fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School. "It seems like such a simple study, but we were able to compare the rate of adaptation of diploid cells, like those which make up most of the human body, to genetically identical polyploid cells, and then sequence the entire genome of about 75 individuals to see how they adapted during the experiment."

Selmecki said she was fascinated by the multiplicity she observed in the yeast populations that started out polyploid. In cancer, she said many tumor cells undergo a genome doubling, and become tetraploid (having four copies of the genome). From there, many mutations can manifest, often with irregularities that develop quickly. Getting a handle on those adaptations could help in cancer diagnosis and treatments.

Using genomics, cell biology, evolutionary theory, and mathematical modeling, Selmecki's research captured the attention of the American Cancer Society, which helped fund a portion of the present project through a postdoctoral fellowship. Selmecki's long-term scientific goal is to continue researching genome evolution to aid in finding new treatments for cancer and other diseases.

"It's very interesting to see the diversity that unfolds in our experiment," she said. "There are still many questions out there: Why has evolution seen fit for mammals to be mostly diploid and other species, like plants, to become polyploid? How often does genome doubling occur in other organisms and what are the consequences? We're continuing to take this research into that next series of explorations."

Story Source:

The above story is based on materials provided by Creighton University. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Originally posted here:
Genome replication may hold clues to cancer evolution

Contact Information

Available for logged-in reporters only

Newswise (MEMPHIS, Tenn. March 4, 2015) The St. Jude Childrens Research HospitalWashington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project found that melanoma in some adolescent and adult patients involves many of the same genetic alterations and would likely respond to the same therapy. The research appears in the March issue of the Journal of Investigational Dermatology.

The similarities involved adolescents with conventional melanoma tumors and included the first genetic evidence that sun damage contributes to melanoma in children and adolescents as well as adults. The findings stem from the most comprehensive analysis yet of the genetic alterations responsible for pediatric melanoma, which is the most common skin cancer in children and adolescents.

This study shows that unlike many cancers, conventional melanoma is essentially the same disease in children and adults. That means we need to make it easier for adolescents to access promising therapeutic agents being tried in adults, said co-corresponding author Alberto Pappo, M.D., a member of the St. Jude Department of Oncology. These results also underscore the importance of starting sun protection early and making it a habit for life.

Researchers also identified distinct genetic alterations associated with other pediatric melanoma subtypes, including those associated with large congenital nevi (CNM) and spitzoid tumors. The alterations include a mutation that might help identify spitzoid patients who would benefit from aggressive therapy as well as those who could be cured with less intensive treatment.

Until now the genetic basis of pediatric melanoma has been a bit of a mystery, said co-corresponding author Armita Bahrami, M.D., an assistant member of the St. Jude Department of Pathology. With this study, we have established the molecular signatures of the three subtypes of this cancer, signatures that have implications for diagnosis and treatment.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimates that melanoma is diagnosed in 425 U.S. residents age 19 and younger each year. While the cancer remains rare in young people, the incidence has risen about 2 percent annually in recent decades, primarily in those ages 15 to 19. That age group makes up the majority of current pediatric melanoma patients. For the 75 percent of pediatric patients whose disease has not spread, long-term survival rates now exceed 90 percent.

We were surprised to see that so many of the pediatric melanomas had genetic changes linked to UV damage, said co-author Richard K. Wilson, Ph.D., director of The Genome Institute at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. This in-depth look at the genomics of pediatric melanoma is extraordinarily important for diagnosis and for selecting treatments that give young patients the best chances of a cure.

This study included 23 melanoma patients ranging in age from 9 months to 19 years old. Researchers used whole genome sequencing and other techniques to compare the normal and tumor genomes of patients with three different types of melanoma for clues about the genetic alterations that underlie their disease. The genome is the blueprint for life that is encoded in the DNA found in almost every cell.

See the original post here:
Sun Damage Causes Genetic Changes That Predispose Children and Adolescents to Melanoma