Kayley+M.

=Genetics: Stem Cells Use Signal Orientation to Guide Division!=



Each and every cell in the body needs to be aware of what is going on around it. Depending on where the signal comes from the cell can act completely differently to it. If it comes from one direction it will react differently then if it was to come from the opposite direction. When researchers would take the cell from it's original environment these cues on where the signals were coming from would be lost. Now, we have found a way to examine this and much more.

Researchers at Stanford University have come up with a way to directly copy the signals the cells experience. They have found where the division occurs in the cell ( using mouse embryonic cells ) as well as which daughter cell becomes a stem cell and which one remains to repair tissues. Now, in real time, researchers are able to see how and when division takes place as well as what each daughter cell becomes.

Roeland Nusse, researcher at Stanford University involved in this study of stem cells.

Mouse embryonic stem cell. Used in the study of stem cell signal orientation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMI3w06DHQs This is a video that explains embryonic stem cells in detail, so as to give a little more insight on what an embryonic stem cell actually is.

http://med.stanford.edu/ism/2013/march/nusse.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NewsFromStanfordsSchoolOfMedicine+%28News+from+Stanford%27s+School+of+Medicine%29

http://www.sciencenewsline.com/summary/2013032122340061.html

http://article.wn.com/view/2013/03/21/Stem_cells_use_signal_orientation_to_guide_division_study_sh/#/related_news

http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/pages/basics3.aspx

=Wolves to Dogs, Carbs are the Key!=



Years ago, wolves started to hang around humans and their environments, this fueled their evolution into dogs. Geneticists say they have found what has turned a wild wolf to a tame dog we call out pet. Carbohydrates are the answer. It was found that dogs are able to turn starch into sugars and release it into the bloodstream. Wolves can not do this that easily. When compared, wolf DNA and dog DNA there were many differences in the sugar-processing genes. The fact that they began to give up their lifestyle in the pack and started to hang around humans more ofter because it was easy to get food. They began to eat the human food and were tamed in the process. No one really knows when or where or how dogs actually came to be, but they suspect it was from wolves and the food that was thrown away by humans. This is the enzyme alpha amylase. It breaks down starch into sugar and makes shorted carbohydrate strands. They found that dogs have way more of these in their genes and they are five times stronger then that in a wolf.



The DNA of 12 grey wolves and the DNA of 60 domesticated dogs was taken and studied for various differences. Also, they looked at what the dogs had in common with each other. They found 122 genes that showed to be important in the evolution from wolves to dogs including; an enzyme for carbohydrate digestion. They found that this gene was 12 times more active in dogs then in wolves and produced twice as fast.



This shows turning maltose into glucose, which is what the enzyme does for carbohydrate digestion in dogs.

media type="youtube" key="heMftb760vs" width="425" height="350"

This is a video in more depth about the evolution from wolves to dogs. It also goes back further and talks about earlier wolves and focuses more on how humans affected the wolf to dog evolution.

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jan/23/science/la-sci-how-dogs-evolved-20130124

http://vitahound.com/dog-health-library/dogs-health/dog%E2%80%99s-metabolism/

=Computer Chips Supercharging the Nervous System?=

An engineer from Sweden has built the worlds first ion transistor computer chip. This chip uses biological molecules to carry charged molecules instead of electrons. We now have the ability to build computer chips that directly effect the cells within our bodies.

How does it work? In other transistors there are three main components; source, drain and gate. When a charge is sensed at the gate the electrons move from the source to the drain hence, electrons are the charge carrier. In the new and improved transistor acetylcholine is the molecule that carriers the charge which, is a neurotransmitter. Essentially, it is still the main three components in this transistor except when the gate is turned on acetylcholine flows across the transistor.

Acetylcholine

So, Why is this really important? Well, since this chip is wired into the nervous system it could act as a backup for a neurotransmitter if something happened to go wrong. This chip has the potential to give flexibility and muscle accuracy that the nervous system can't. Also, that this chip may have the capacity to give paralyzed individuals their movement back.

Ion transistor being placed in brain (not real person)

This chip does not only have the ability to act on acetylcholine. It may be possible to measure things like adrenaline and serotonin in result, maybe acting as an anti-depressant or giving you options instead of automatic responses.

Transistor to ion channel

media type="youtube" key="iBnGeDzTYD4" width="560" height="315" This is a really quick video that just describes a little more about how the nervous system works so, it's easier to connect how this chip works in regards to the actual nervous system.

Hey! if you think this article was cool you should check these sites out:

[] [] [] []

Source: []

=Stress Causing Infertility?=

At the University of California, researchers think they have found a missing piece of evidence to prove that stress can result in infertility and can take a negative toll on the reproductive systems of both males and females.

It is already obvious to researchers that stress increases levels of stress hormones. Glucocorticoids hinder the function of the bodies main sex hormone gonadotropin, which can result in a lower sperm count and supress ovulation.

Gonadotropin

Also, researchers have found that stress causes an increase in a reproductive hormone called, gonadotropin-inhibitory. This hormone was first seen in birds about nine years ago and is present in humans as well. It directly effects that reproductive system by attacking the gonadotropin hormone. Stress hormones raise the levels of gonadotropin-inhibitory and decrese the levels of gonadotropin, which is working completely against the reproductive system in more ways than one.

This shows how stress effects the two sex hormones together.

Stress over-time can lead to infertility. Women who take infertility medication can get stressed out about taking the medication and it has been shown to eliminate the effectiveness of the medication. So, taking this medication is essentially useless if there is stress involved.

This shows how stress effects the stress hormones in the brain.

media type="youtube" key="7QlnRnske64" width="560" height="315"

Does Stress Make You Infertile? : A really brief video on how stress effects the repsoductive system.

One way to decrease the effects of stress on the reproductive system is the removal of RFRP neurons. These neurons release stress hormones from the adrenal glands. Removal of the adrenal glands will decrease the amount of stress on the body. Although this may be a drastic procedure it is a way to shield the reproductive system from stress.

Location of adrenal glands.

Other sites to visit: [] [] [] []

Source: []

=New Explanation for Diabetes and Poor Growth=

Researchers have made a big step in understanding diabetes and growth hormone deficiency. Their findings center on specific types of hormones. People who suffer from diabetes or poor growth probably have issues with a protein called the PICK1. This protein aids in the formation of growth hormones and insulin. By doing studies on fruit flies and mice they were able to clearly see that failure in the PICK1 protein made the mice fat, small and less able to tolerate sugar. Therefore, it lead to the mice not being able to produce as much insulin as the non-effected mouse and made it smaller than the average mouse as well.

Animated PICK1 protein

These studies have lead researchers to believe that the effects on mice and flies are the same as they would be in humans.

Picture of how insulin is resisted in type 2 diabetes.

Different cells produce different hormones and up until now this has been a mechanism that has not been well understood. Now that researchers know about the PICK1 protein they are able to understand more about diabetes and poor growth and what went wrong in the people that suffer from them.

How insulin targets a cell

Insulin

media type="youtube" key="sTgBvJsHcCk" width="560" height="315" Although I would have liked to have a video about the PICK1 protein I could not find one so, this is just an overview of diabetes.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423172714.htm

Other sites to check out: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100901121526.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130502081745.htm http://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=PICK1 http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/g/growth_hormone.htm