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Wiki-Post #1- Genetics March 25th, 2013

__ No-Fingerprint Disease __ Fingerprints are usually formed 24 weeks after fertilization, and they will never change for the rest of our lives. However, there are currently four known families who are affected with a rare disease known as adermatoglyphia. Because of a rare mutation in the DNA, this disease causes them to be born without fingerprints. It is also known as the "Immigration-Delay Disease", considering having no fingerprints would make it difficult to cross international borders. Example of adermatoglyphia disease.

__Research__ Dermatologist Eli Sprecher wanted to find the cause of the disease, so he took the DNA of 16 members of one family who had this disease. Seven from this family had normal fingerprints, while the other nine had none. They compared those who had fingerprints, to those who didn't to find where the alteration occurred.

Person with adermatoglyphia disease versus someone who doesn't.

__Discovery__ They found the root of the problem occurred in a gene named SMARCAD1. The larger version of this gene is found through the body, but the smaller version of the gene only affects the skin. It was found that the nine family members with no fingerprints did in fact have mutations in that gene. The mutation was found in the regions of the gene within chromosome 4, near the key splicing site, which causes the SMARCAD1 protein to be formed incorrectly, which is causing these families to lack fingerprints. They concluded that this disease doesn't happen because one single gene has been affected but rather the mutation is making the copies of this gene unstable.

Demonstrating where in the fourth chromosome the disease affects.

There are other disease that have been found to cause a lack of fingerprints, but those are caused by a different problem all together. This specific disease is actually harmless, compared to the other diseases. The only characteristic that is different is a reduction in the number of sweat gland openings, therefore reducing the sweating of the palms and soles.

On left, fingerprinting of someone without disease. On right, fingerprinting of someone with disease.

media type="youtube" key="Nn-2ZEIl494" height="315" width="420" Interview with researchers about adermatoglyphia

__Sources:__ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/08/110809-fingerprints-skin-disease-health-science-weird/ http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/SMARCAD1#normalfunction http://www.science20.com/news_articles/adermatoglyphia_no_fingerprints_disease_linked_smarcad1_gene-82762 http://www.science20.com/curious_cub/mutation_erases_fingerprints-81470

__Further Reading:__ The theory that fingerprints improve grip is proven false by scientists. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8093134.stm

More discussion of the mutated gene within an article. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/09/science/09obprint.html?_r=0

A commonly-used cancer drug that may be making fingerprints disappear. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8064332.stm

About SMARCAD1 gene. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/56916

Wiki Post #2-Genetics April 11th, 2013

__Color Blindness__ Color Blindness is a condition that makes it so the individual has trouble distinguishing between various colors. Most people who have this condition have trouble with either green or red. A person with deuteranopia has trouble seeing the difference between oranges, browns, greens and pale reds. A person with protanopia sees all reds as very dull. It’s very rare for someone to have trouble distinguishing blues, and this is called tritanopia and is either inherited or caused by damage done to the retina. A fourth type of color blindness is where the individual can only see in black, white and grey, which is extremely rare is called monochromatism.

How colours look with different conditions of color blindness.

__What makes people color blind?__ In the area at the back of the eye you have your retina. It contains cells called “cones” which are the ones that respond to the colors we look at. We have three different types. One type responds to red, another to green, and the last to blue. If one of these doesn’t work properly, this is when the person will develop a color blindness for that color.

Picture of eye showing retina, which is where color blindness affects.

__Genetics of Color Blindness__ Color blindness has been researched and it’s been shown that 8% of Caucasian men are color blind while less than 1% of Caucasian women are color blind. This shows that men are much more prone to inherit color blindness than women. People inherit color blindness from a defect on the gene for color which is located on the X chromosome. This is why men inherit it much more frequently than women do, because men only have the one X chromosome. Since women have two X chromosomes, a healthy gene on one will over power the unhealthy gene of the other, because color blindness is recessive. They would need an unhealthy gene to appear in both chromosomes in order for it to affect them. However, this would make the women a carrier for the trait of color blindness, so if she were to have children, she has a 50% chance of passing the gene on to her children. Demonstrating the possibilities of children affected by color blindness.

Punnett square demonstrating children affected by color blindness if female is the carrier.

media type="youtube" key="9f0-RerFUco" width="560" height="315" Video with discussion about color blindness.

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Further Reading

Scientist believes to have found cure for coloor blindness. []

Scientists create 300$ glasses that cure color blindness. []

Facts about color blindness. []

Color blindness test. []

Wiki post #3- Evolution, May 15th, 2013 The Evolution of Television It has been nearly 80 years since the first public demonstration of television took place in a crowded laboratory in London. Since then, the television has evolved from a blurry black and white picture, to systems as impressive as the 3D television sets we have today.



__Television Then and Now__ Televisions were first available in the 1930s and were usually used as entertainment and news. Since the 1970’s, we now have things available to us like video cassettes, DVD’s, and now the most advanced, blu-ray disks. At first, people were skeptical about tv’s, but there are now statistics saying that in the average American home, there are 2.71 televisions and 2.55 people.

Showing when countries began using television.

The first tv sets inb the 1930s were very large sets of equipment with 12 inch screens, and they cost about 400-500 dollars. In the 1950s was when is got really popular, with more than 8 million tv sets in the united states. There was also a larger selection of programs to watch for entertainment. Color and remote controls were invented at this time, but hardly anyone had one. At this point in time, a black and white set cost about 200$, while a color set cost about 500$. The first television set ever invented

__Technological Advancements__ Technology continued to advance, and we can now clearly see how the television has evolved. We now have LCD and Plasma technology, and we’ve increased the size of the screen immensely, while continuing to make the tv set flatter. We now have a huge selection of programs to watch such as reality shows, and shows that get you involved in the program, such as American Idol. A television set from back then compared to the ones we use today.

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Related links: The inventor of the television. []

Video about 3D televisions. []

Article about how television has changed our lives. [|http://www.mademan.com/mm/how-television-changed-our-lives.html#vply=0]

How television affects children. []

The invention of televisions. media type="youtube" key="y6O_I9l1kok" width="560" height="315"

Wiki post #4- Neurological, June 12th, 2013 Alzheimer's disease is a non-reversible disorder within the brain, which is also age related, therefore most common in elders. It is the most common form of dementia. It develops over a period of years, with early symptoms being memory loss and confusion. However, as this disease progresses, a person's behaviour and personality can change, and they can lose decision making and language skills. The very worst being the inability to recognize family and friends. Difference between healthy brain, and brain with the disease.
 * __Alzheimer's disease__**

__Types__ There are two types of this disease, one being genetic and one being sporadic. The genetic form of the disease is carried from one generation to the next, and it more commonly known as "Familial Alzheimer's". Fortunately, only 5 percent of all cases are associated with genetics, while the other 95 percent is complete random occurrences within the population.

Healthy cells vs. Alzheimer cells

__Symptoms and Causes__ As it worsens, people with this disease lose the ability of bodily functions because of the severe loss of mental function. This happens because the connections between certain neurons in the brain will begin to break down and continue worsening until the these neurons eventual death.

There are three major parts in the brain that are connected with the development of Alzheimer's disease. 1. Amyloid plaques: made up of fragments of a protein called beta-amyloid peptide. This is also mixed with other various proteins, the remains of neurons and pieces of other nerve cells. 2. Neurofibrillary tangles: are abnormal collections of protein called tau, which is found inside the neurons. All neurons needs a normal amount of tau to function properly, but when someone has Alzheimer's disease, tau clumps together. This causes the neurons to be unable to function normally which eventually causes them to die. 3. Loss of connections between neurons for memory and learning: Neurons can't survive without their connections to other neurons, and as other neurons are dying throughout the brain, certain areas begin to shrink. By the final stage, brain tissue has shrunk significantly. Demonstrates what's affected within the brain

__Possible Prevention__ Although there is no proven method of preventing Alzheimer's disease, specialists recommend: -Physical activity -Cardio respiratory fitness -Healthy diet Demonstrating the earlier explained shrinkage of the brain tissue with devere Alzheimer's disease

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Related links: __Institute researching cures for disease.__ https://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/neurology/subspecialties/alzheimers_dementia.html

__A brain tour about Alzheimer's disease.__ http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_4719.asp

__Latest treatment options.__ http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_treatments.asp

__Statistics.__ http://www.alzheimertoronto.org/ad_Statistics.htm

__ Video: Challenges for patient and caregiver __ media type="youtube" key="q1BkfV2h09g" width="560" height="315"

Wiki Post #5- Neurological, June 13th, 2013 The cerebellum, which in Latin means "little brain" is found at the base of the skull, above the brainstem and beneath the occipital lobes and cerebral cortex. In the evolutionary aspect, it seems to be much older than the cerebrum. This part of our brain is in charge of things like fine movement coordination, balance and equilibrium and muscle tone. It also is found to store learned sequences of movements and puts that together with the fine tuning and co-ordination of movements, and produces movements so harmonious that we aren't even aware of them. Damage to this section of the brain can lead to jerky movements and sometimes even paralysis. Photo showing the location of cerebellum.
 * __ The Cerebellum __**

The cerebellum is divided into three regions, and each are connected to a specific part of the brain. 1. The Archicerebellum- This actually first appeared in fish. It's connected to the vestibule of the inner ear, so it in involved in maintaining our balance. 2. The Palaeocerebellum- This is the second oldest part of the cerebellum. It is connected to the spinal cord and controls the postural muscle activity. In order to maintain body posture, a muscle must be tensed. Therefore, it controls muscle tension at all times. 3. The Neocerebellum- This is the newest part of the cerebellum. It is connected to the cortex and contributes to the co-ordination of voluntary movements. It ensures that when one set of muscles begins a movement, the opposing set will act as a brake so that the body part will arrive where it's aiming to go precisely.
 * __Parts of the Cerebellum__**



Anatomy of the Cerebellum.

There is new research that states the cerebellum is no longer believed to be purely a motor control device. It appears that the cerebellum contributes a lot to cognitive processing and emotional control. Studies, both anatomical and physiological, have revealed that there is the primary sensorimotor region in the anterior lobe, and a secondary in the posterior lobe. There are reciprocal connections between the cerebellum and the hypothalamus, and these pathways allow cerebellar incorporation into the neural circuits that control intellect, emotion and autonomic functions, as well as it's sensorimotor control. Histology of Cerebellum (400x)
 * __New Research__**

Another photo demonstrating location.

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Related links: __Boy born without a cerebellum amazes doctors.__ []

__Facts about the brain.__ []

__Histology of the cerebrum and cerebellum.__ []

__Cerebellar Mutism article.__ []

Video: Boy born without cerebellum media type="youtube" key="TCisaP09yFU " width="560" height="315"