Monthly Archives: March 2017

Environment, heritability and random mutation during stem cell replication

Posted on March 28, 2017 by DWN

It is “human” for us to search for explanations of catastrophic events and rule out mere “chance” or “bad luck.” When it comes to human cancer, the issue of “natural causes” vs “bad luck” was raised by Tomasetti and Vogelstein … Continue reading →

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Oxidative Signaling Response to Cadmium Exposure

Posted on March 27, 2017 by DWN

For those interested in reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation and subsequent downstream activation of redox-signaling pathways, the attached review is an excellent update/summary. The author elegantly reviews and updates changes in the intracellular thiol–disulfide balance –– which are considered major … Continue reading →

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Predatory publishing has become an organized industry

Posted on March 25, 2017 by DWN

Predatory publishing has become an organized industry. The [attached] article underscores the seriousness of these crimes against Real Science. As GEITP has shared before, an increasing number of academic journals do not aspire to Quality in Science; rather, they exist … Continue reading →

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Careful anlaysis of long non-coding RNAs in human genome reveals almost 20,000 potentially functional lncRNA loci

Posted on March 23, 2017 by DWN

Upon completion of the first rough draft of the human genome, it was realized approximately 20,000 protein-coding genes comprises only about 1.5% of the genome; this is now called “the exome”. Only one-fifth of transcription across the human genome is … Continue reading →

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Metabolite of malaria induces vector blood-seeking, feeding, and susceptibility of host to infection

Posted on March 23, 2017 by DWN

This is an interesting topic that some might question “where is the connection” between genes and the environment? Many examples are known, however, of co-evolution in which two (or more) organisms evolve together –– in adapting to their respective environments. … Continue reading →

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Potential new enzyme inhibition to treat mental depression

Posted on March 22, 2017 by DWN

The study just appeared in Molecular Psychiatry. During the past decade there has been increasing interest in studying the effects of oxidative stress on the central nervous system –– including how reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation might play a role … Continue reading →

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Genetic determinants of nose shape in response to climate adaptation

Posted on March 20, 2017 by DWN

This publication [attached] reminds me of a book I received (around 1996) as a gift from Anil Menon (at Univ Cincinnati), because he was aware of my interest in “evolution and migration of human tribes.” I studied every page of … Continue reading →

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Evidence of an ancient reptile (Dinocephalosaurus) that gave birth to live young

Posted on March 14, 2017 by DWN

Live birth has evolved many times independently in vertebrates –– such as mammals and diverse groups of lizards and snakes. However, live birth had not been known before in the major clade Archosauromorpha, a group that first evolved ~260 million … Continue reading →

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Chemical tags on RNA, as well as DNA, rediscovered and implying mechanisms involving epigenetics

Posted on March 14, 2017 by DWN

Chuan He (chemist at Uni­versity of Chicago in Illinois) had been studying a family of proteins that repair damaged DNA, and he began to suspect that these enzymes might also act on RNA. A colleague nearby in the same building, … Continue reading →

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FW: Seven temperate terrestrial planets found around the nearby ultra-cool dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 ….!!

Posted on March 14, 2017 by DWN

Most stars in our Milky Way Galaxy are much smaller and dimmer than the Sun. Low-mass stars that are about 80 times the mass of Jupiter have core temperatures that are just high enough to convert hydrogen into helium. The … Continue reading →

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