by Sinjin St. James on November 19, 2009
IF WE acknowledge that DNA, the acid found in the nucleus of the living cell, is the repository of hereditary factors, then the way is open for the development of a genetic chemistry. Such is the prediction of Robert L. Sinsheimer, professor of biophysics in Iowa (Science, vol 125, p 1123).
Some of the questions which he poses are as follows: what differentiates the DNA related to various hereditary characteristics; with what chemicals is DNA associated in the living cell and how do these associations change during the cycle of cell division; how is the information built into the DNA transmitted to guide the growth of the organism?
Recommended Reading:
- Genetic Chemistry and the Future of Medicine by Arthur Kornberg, (San Diego State University Press, 1988).
and;
- Basic Human Genetics by Mange and Mange, (2nd edition. Sinauer Associates Inc., 1999).
- Human Genetics, Concepts and Applications 3rd edition by Lewis, (W.C. Brown, 1998).
- Emery’s Elements of Medical Genetics by Mueller and Young (10th. edition, Churchill and Livingstone 1998).
- Medical Genetics by Jorde, Carey, Bamshad and White (2nd edition Mosby, 1999).
- Essential Medical Genetics by Connor and Ferguson-Smith (5th edition Blackwell Science Ltd. 1997)
- Genetics in Medicine by Thompson, McInnes and Willard (5th edition, Saunders 1992).
Genetic Chemistry
The study of genetic chemistry is laying a groundbreaking foundation for discussion of hereditary factors in human evolution as provided for by chemical research, which first and foremost examines DNA and RNA chemistry from an entirely scientific viewpoint. Investigations into DNA, chemistry, proteomics, enzyme engineering, regulation of gene expression in mammalian systems, and the correlation of complex biological structures in relation to function in human pathology and disease states and approach to rational therapy are yielding fascinating results and application of this research to a study of the causes and treatment of cancer, heart disease, and brain disease are well underway.
by Duane Flowers on January 26, 2010
For a short anwser yes. But, it’s like the lottery. Your chance of reproducing the exact characteristic well known are minimal. To be in context, bonsai enthusiast often praise a specific species for it’s characteristics that adpat well to bonsai growing techniques. For example, small leaves and small internodes are quality sougth after.You can find these specific characteristics present in all japanese black pine’s (Pinus thunbergiana). But some growers have found a certain plant, that as even more pronunciated specific characteristics. From that plant, they have reproduce it by cloning technique such as cuttings or layering. This plant was attributed a name, wich is called “cultivar”.To continue our example, the common name of japanese black pine is Pinus thunbergiana, but a cultivar would be Pinus thunbergiana ‘yatsubusa’. This yatsubusa is a cultivar of the japanese black being known for it’s short needles and short internodes compare to the general japanese black pines. Another example of a cultivar would be ‘Nishiki Matsu’ which is known to offer a japanese black pine with a cork like bark.But can growing bonsai from seeds reproduce these characteristics ? Yes and no. We say yes and no, because, you cannot reproduce 100% the same genetics as the known cultivar but you can reproduce another genetic sets that will have the same characteristics, ie: short needles or cork bark. Furthermore, you can produce an even more pronounced dwarf plant, or with leafed tree’s, a new color of leaves perhaps.Bonsai seeds, as in seeds from a bonsai tree dont exist. Growing seeds from a bonsai tree will not guarantee a bonsai. All seeds are tree seeds since a bonsai is fundamentally a tree. But some tree’s have been found to produce seeds that will mimic the parent characteristic’s. The yatsubusa tree seeds are one of them. Yatsubusa, which is japanese for witch broom, is a genetic disease caused by a fungi. When a tree is affected by this disease, it will produce dwarf shoots, and seeds produce will inherit the disease because it is genetics. Chinese elms, Trident maples and japanese black pines are three known species that have this yatsubusa disease.
Avid full time hobby bonsai grower. As been practicing bonsai and gardening for more then 8 years. Owner of http://www.mishobonsai.com , a website with ressource for bonsai seeds and tree seeds.
by Duane Flowers on January 25, 2010
Hemophilias are a group of disorders, which are among the most common and serious inherited bleeding disorders. Hemophilia is actually a collection of several different genetic disorders passed on by heredity. The two most common types are hemophilia A and hemophilia B. Hemophilia generally affects men. In fact, one third of 10000 men is born with hemophilia A. About 17000 Americans are born with the genetic disease that causes the disease. Globally, an estimated 500000 people are living with a form of hemophilia.
Two main varieties of hemophilia exist. Hemophilia A is responsible for eighty percent of all cases. The genetic disorders responsible for hemophilia A result in low levels or abnormal production of the clotting protein factor VIII (FVIII). Hemophilia B, the second most common form of hemophilia, affects factor IX proteins (FIX) and accounts for almost twenty percent of hemophilia cases.
Hemophilia is genetic disorder that affects over 18,000 people (most of whom are males) in the United States alone (National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute 2006). Hemophilia is caused by a deficiency in a gene on the X chromosome coding for a specific coagulating factor (National Heart, Blood, and Lung Institute 2006) or the development of antibodies that destroy coagulating factors (Green 2006).
The types of treatment methods available today are plasma-derived products, recombinant coagulating factors, and gene therapy. Patients who develop an immune response to therapy or have acquired hemophilia are extremely difficult to treat (Mannucci 2003). The treatment options for these patients include prothrombin complex concentrates, activated recombinant factor VII therapies, and immunosuppressive drugs.
Patients with hemophilia should receive integrated care as soon as the diagnosis is made to reduce complications of hemophilia. Patients who suffer from mild to moderate hemophilia A will benefit with the use of intravenous DDAVP or intranasal DDAVP. Factor VIII replacement remains the mainstay of therapy for patients with hemophilia A for minor and major bleeding, whether it is plasma-derived or recombinant. The availability of factor VIII concentrates that are stable in home refrigerators have lead to the development of home care programs. Such programs have resulted in improved preservation of joint function. Hemophilia B is treated with purified factor IX for major and minor hemorrhages.
Hemophilias Treatment and Prevention Tips
1. Gene therapy is useful treatment of this condition.
2. Aminocaproic acid is commonly used for oral bleeding.
3. Plasmapheresis may help reduce the antibody load in those patients.
In general, the treatment of hemophilia for moderate and severe patients is either a plasma-derived concentrate, and we’ll talk about that in some detail, or now available for both VIII and IX deficiency, recombinant factor VIII or factor IX concentrates. The benefits of gene cloning. These concentrates of either VIII or IX are extremely effective and if I don’t leave you clearly with this message, there really is no doubt about their efficacy and currently in this day and age, they are extremely safe.
Antifibrinolytic Therapy.
Antifibrinolytic therapy is used to stabilize a clot by inhibiting the normal process of clot lysis by the fibrinolytic system. It is, therefore, very useful ancillary treatment in patients with hemorrhagic disorders. These agents provide important adjunctive therapy for the prevention or treatment of oral hemorrhage because saliva is a rich source of fibrinolytic enzymes. Two drugs are available: (1) epsilon aminocaproic acid (EACA) (Amicar) and (2) tranexamic acid (Cyklokapron).
by Duane Flowers on January 24, 2010
If parents are obese is there a chance for the kid also to maintain the lineage? Giving an exact answer to this question is pretty difficult. The child might be overweight but you cannot bet on it if the child is lean and skinny. But one confirmation can be derived regarding this matter. If the child of the weighty parents is also fatty somewhere there is a gene connection between the two. Thus body weight has a close link with the genetic factor that cannot be denied.
Gene: The basic identity mark
All of us know that gene is the most genuine identity mark of your birth. Everything can be found out through the DNA test. Similarly the body weight factor has also a close connection with the gene. How is this possible?
* Consider a familial block. The familial traits are passed down the generations one after the other by bringing in some kind of variation in the genetic factor. That is why the child is not the clone of his parents but an individual identity.
* Why do looks resemble similar of persons belonging to the same family? It is obviously due to the genetic factor. In the very same way sometimes this obesity factor or the health structure is passed from the parents to their child.
* Genetic studies have also shown that from father to the child the particular factor might stay dormant but can grow prominent in the grand children. Thus weight gain can be very much hereditary apart from all other common causes.
Control over genes
Genes behind extra pounds might have already become a nightmarish thought for you. But if you are given an option that as you can diet to reduce your weight, you too can have a control over the genes and hence achieve the same. Don’t you feel it to be mind blowing?
* Well the research is on to give you the right solution for gene control to put down your weight.
* But the Medical Science has reached to this point that weighty people due to genetic defects can very much lead a stable and healthy life.
* The only thing they must take care of is to prohibit all other external sources that can be reason for gathering fat.
* Regular exercise and healthy diet can keep them fit from within. If the level of cholesterol is maintained your heart, kidneys and blood pressure are in a safe state. You might not become Tom Cruise or Kate Winslet, but you can remain a healthy and beautiful you.
by Duane Flowers on January 23, 2010
