Monthly Archives: January 2017

mRNA “quality control” can sometimes be ignored — when the cell needs to respond immediately to STRESS signals

Even though the model system here [attached] is Yeast Culture, cells (everywhere, even among individual cells of the same cancer, or bacteria in an infection or in the gastrointestinal tract) “grow well and are happy” –– only in a remarkably … Continue reading

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Rapid repeated evolutionary adaptation to severe toxic pollution in Atlantic killifish (wild) populations

Why can some species adapt rapidly to environmental adversity, while other species do not?  In fact, there easily could be inter-individual differences, even among one species (e.g. human, mouse, fish, bacteria, tumor cells within the same cancer) in which one … Continue reading

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In India, even “scientists” from so-called “elite institutes” are publishing in shady predatory journals

India is a hotbed of these “open-access online, predatory journals” –– which has become one of the themes of these GEITP emails [i.e. weeding out, and identifying, fraud and corruption in science –– which clearly (and sadly) is becoming more … Continue reading

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Genomic analysis implicates limited peripheral adipose storage capacity in pathogenesis of human insulin resistance

The phenotype “insulin resistance” is often a manifestation of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental adversity.  How much is “the genetics” of a person? An how much is the “signal being received” from the environment? Insulin resistance is a key mediator of … Continue reading

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Transient transcription in early embryo — sets up an epigenetic state that programs postnatal growth

The potential for “what happens during early embryonic events to program epigenetic states –– that influence adult physiology” –– remains an important question in health and vertebrate development. In the attached report, authors have chosen the imprinted Zdbf2 locus (zinc-finger … Continue reading

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What genes and genetic cross-talk lead to flatfish asymmetry ???

Flatfish have the most extreme asymmetric body morphology of any vertebrates. During metamorphosis –– one eye migrates to the contralateral side of the skull, and this migration is accompanied by extensive craniofacial transformations and simultaneous development of body pigmentation that … Continue reading

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GWAS for PERSONALITY TRAITS identify six genomic loci showing correlations with psychiatric disorders

Now –– it seems like we are going into the Twighlight Zone. Or beyond the world of what is scientifically possible to measure. “Personality” is influenced by genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors –– as well as being associated with mental … Continue reading

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GWAS of susceptibility loci for oral cavity and pharyngeal CA. And GUESS WHO shows up ???

Authors (see attached report) conducted a very exciting genome-wide association study (GWAS) of oral cavity and pharyngeal cancer in 6,034 cases and 6,585 controls from Europe, North America and South America. They detected eight significantly associated loci (P <5 × … Continue reading

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General rules for functional microRNA targeting — VERY interesting

I find this paper [see attached] to be extremely interesting and timely.  It wasn’t long ago that this whole crazy idea was soundly rejected by many. How on earth could small RNAs (18-22 nucleotides) be proposed to target and block … Continue reading

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Understanding “unspecific vague complaints” through genetics. With the example of “Elevated basal serum tryptase identifies a multisystem disorder associated with increased TPSAB1 copy number”

Practicing physicians are well aware of “the patient with vague complaints –– who keeps insisting there must be something wrong and it’s not just in their head.”   Attached are two combined files.  The first is a News’N’Views editorial, and … Continue reading

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