Could Saliva be the Key to Unlocking the Door to Early Intervention?

 Is the current system of disease detection and identification sufficient?

It is not hard to see the value in early detection and intervention of disease. It is well known that early detection of cancer significantly increases treatment success rates. Many diseases progress “silently” for a period of time in the cells of the body before the infected person has physical manifestations that would prompt an evaluation by their physician. In other worlds the only way to detect the presence of disease before the phenotypical characteristics are noted is by screening the biological tissues at a cellular level. The analysis of blood and urine are a common way that doctors identify genetic markers for disease, chemical imbalances, or the presence of pathogens. Unfortunately, most people do not typically see a physician regularly for these types of tests. A person who feels generally healthy, may never see a physician at all. Parents are encouraged to take their children to their pediatrician once a year for a “well-child” visit. But even these visits do not include the gathering of genetic material unless there is a cause for concern.

• I know a 4-year-old girl with Leukemia. Her parents had taken her to all of her routine doctor’s visits. No one had any reason to draw her blood and check her DNA for markers of this cancer. One night she got a bloody nose that wouldn’t stop bleeding. After a few hours they took her to the emergency room where they drew her blood and analyzed it. As soon as the doctors received the results of the test they rushed her and her parents onto a helicopter and flew her to Primary Children’s Hospital. When they got there, the doctors told the parents that she had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and that they wanted to start treatment immediately. They spent the next week in the hospital grappling with the thought that they might lose their daughter. There is no one to blame for not detecting the cancer earlier. But imagine the difference it would have made for the family to know before it came to an emergency situation and battling advance stage cancer. (This little girl is responding well to the treatments and doctors are hopeful she will recover.) 

So, what can be done about this problem? Everyone could benefit from routine biological screening. But it is not currently the standard of care for medical doctors to recommend these tests. In addition, blood samples are invasive, and many people have anxiety about needles. Having blood drawn usually involves going to a lab separately from a doctor’s visit, and the cost to patients is considerable. And even if doctors did start recommending routine screenings, there is still the issue that most people do not see a physician regularly. There is an emerging field of science that may have the solution. Salivary diagnostics may be the answer.

Retrieved from http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/7/1/7/htm

Researchers have been making great strides in the field of salivary diagnostics. Biomarkers in saliva are very similar to the biomarkers in blood, except that blood contains more of them. Biomarkers in blood are measured in micrograms and in saliva they are measured in picograms. This has been a limiting factor for salivary diagnostics until technology advancements that have made measurement in picograms not only possible, but reliable. Dr David Wong, Director of UCLA Center for Oral/Head & Neck Oncology Research, has assembled teams of researchers to develop a point of care salivary testing unit that can analyze a small amount of saliva in less than an hour. In 2016 Dr Wong and associates Austin Wang, Chris P. Wang, and Michael Tu, published a review of their research in the article titled Oral Biofluid Biomarker Research: Current Status and Emerging Frontiers. Point of care means that a clinician can gather the saliva and run the test in the office without having to send a sample to a lab and wait for results. But that doesn’t solve the problem of how to screen patients who do not see a physician for regular examinations. What type of medical professional sees patients on a regular basis throughout their lifetime regardless of age? A dentist.

Not only are salivary diagnostics able to detect biomarkers for diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease but saliva can also detect a myriad of oral disease pathogens indicating periodontal disease and dental caries making this point of care technology ideal for a dental office. Currently there are no point of care salivary diagnostic units approved by the FDA for use in clinical practice. But there are clinical trials being produced that will soon bring this technology to the public. 

SW

China's Fast-Track Drug Approval

With well over a billion people, the medicinal needs of China are humongous.  They are in need of many different medications to cover their people's needs.  The government is concerned with protecting their country from dangerous medications.  They have set up a rigorous process to get medications approved for sale, but in doing so, have caused there to be a very large backlog of orders.  

In this article, they talked about the new process that China will now be doing in approving pharmaceutical drugs.  They now allow pharmaceutical companies to use trial data from other countries.  This will allow them to then use the research provided by other countries to get the approval rather than start from scratch every time.  This will help ease the backlog or medicines awaiting approval.  Many vaccines that have been around for over a decade, finally got approved within the last year or so in China.

The reason that this is so important is they don't have to try to translate results of animal test subjects to humans.  They can now see how clinical trials have worked on other populations and use that information for their own population.  Animals will no longer be used as often as test subjects.  

The reason that I chose this article is that I work in the medical field.  I see first hand the side effects of some medication.  I see the benefits of having alternative medications available.  Pricing is also a very big factor in which medications people will use.  If their insurance doesn't cover it, they will ask for an alternative.  If the alternative isn't available, then it often comes at great cost to the patient who may not be able to afford it.  This causes problems, especially if the condition is fatal if left untreated.

http://www.nature.com/news/china-announces-plans-to-fast-track-drug-approval-1.22888

Chemistry provides a new supply of a promising cancer and HIV treatment

For many years the natural product Bryostatin has been used a promising treatment for cancer. However, the product has been rapidly decreased recently. THE world’s supple of the chemical is about half of what it was at in 1990. This is because it is hard to extract in large qualities from the sea creatures which produce it. On October 6, Stanford researches reported to, The Journal Science, they have discovered a more efficient way to make this compound, in the lab. This new synthetic supply will be used to treat clinical trials for: cancer immunotherapy, treating Alzheimer’s disease, and treat HIV.

The process of trying to extract sufficient amounts of Bryostatin began almost 50 years ago with a chemist at Stanford, Paul Wender, coming across a happy accident in the Gulf of Mexico. It started with a fishing expedition when scientists discovered marine life contained many of the pharmaceuticals, like bryostatin, they were looking for. Because of this a marine biologist, Paul Wender, collected a vast number of marine organisms from the Gulf of Mexico and sent them to Natio Cancer Institute for analysis. Researches then discovered an organism, brown bryozoan, contained the active ingredient bryostatin 1. However, bryostatin 1 is very hard to come by; NCI scientists gathered up 14 tons of the organism and only managed to extract 18 grams of bryostatin. Another issue they ran into is the organism (brown bryozoan) only grows in specific conditions and at certain times of the year.

After decades of experimenting and experience with bryostatin analogs, a team of scientists from Stanford could synthesize bryostatin 1 substantially simpler and more efficient than extracting it from organisms. Scientist Paul Wender says, “The talent and dedication of this group made possible an achievement which many had thought impossible … We are so fortunate to have people who are undeterred by that”. The team has now produced over 2 grams of bryostatin 1 and once the production scale is increased many believe over 20 grams could be produced per year. This would be enough to help clinical/research needs and more than enough to treat around 20,000 cancer patients or 40,000 Alzheimer’s patients. Bryostatin 1 has also been used as HIV/AIDS research, so this major chemical discovery will help several people in this world.

The reason why I chose this article for my blog post is because I thought it was interesting how scientists made something that seemed nearly impossible at one point a reality. I think it goes to show how quickly science is advancing along with the speed of technology. This is just the first of many scientific discoveries, I believe there will be many more to come.

Collins, N. (2017 October 12). New method developed by Stanford chemists may replenish dwindling supply of a promising cancer and HIV treatment. https://news.stanford.edu/press/view/16706

Drug-Carrying "Nanoswimmers"...Past the Brain's Cellular Defenses

      Imagine if you had a life threatening diseases and disorders. Imagine if conventional medicine would not treat it without damaging other parts of your body, or not being able to treat it at all. Suddenly, your disease becomes terminal or your treatment has severe side-effects, that is until now.
      Scientists at University College London have successfully developed self-driven "nano-swimmers" that mimic the cell membrane. The significance behind this development is found in the structure of the nano-swimmers. They are created out of lipid polymers that are similar to the cell membrane, allowing them to penetrate the membrane by repelling water on one end and attracting it on the other. Because of this, the nano-swimmers can become optimal carriers for doctors to administer enzymes, genes and medications to normally inaccessible areas of the body, such as the brain.
      Researchers conducted an experiment to test the carrying abilities of the nano-swimmers. Researchers combined the nano-swimmers with a endothelial cell abundant protein called LRP1 that is the primary building block in the brain's blood barrier. Due to the ability of LRP1 to bind to barrier's membrane, the nano-carriers that were combined the the LRP1 protein were able to get past the blood barrier and penetrate the brain. This allows the nano-swimmer to localize the drug that it is carrying, delivering it straight to the affected area as opposed to conventional treatments such as chemo and radiation that, while targeted, still affect a wide area of healthy cells.
      I found this article interesting because I know several people who are affected by brain tumors and brain disorders, me being one of them. For us, we could have a more normal life. Treatment would no longer have to be administered in a way that allows it to be metabolized by the entire body as opposed to the affected area. Instead, treatments and medications would be able to be sent a targeted, specific part of the brain, making treatments more localized and effective. These nano-swimmers are revolutionary and can one day, with further testing, help those who face life threatening disorders and diseases receive localized treatment.

Source:
Costandi, M. (2017, August 07). Drug-Carrying "Nanoswimmers" Could Slither Past the Brain's Cellular Defenses. Retrieved October 22, 2017, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/drug-carrying-ldquo-nanoswimmers-rdquo-could-slither-past-the-brain-rsquo-s-cellular-defenses/

JG

Link between adolescent pot smoking and psychosis strengthens

Formerly from Colorado, where legalization has occurred, and currently living in Utah, the subject of marijuana legalization and pot smoking by teenagers is in the news on a regular basis. I found this interesting article, "Link between adolescent pot smoking and psychosis" and I hope that more individuals will understand the detrimental effects of smoking, marijuana or tobacco, on young developing brains. 

Marijuana for medical use in both Europe and the United States has become quite popular for treating a variety of illnesses such as nausea and pain. With legalization increasing, access by adolescents is also increasing. The study presented in the article at the World Psychiatric Associations World Congress earlier this month focused on people suffering with schizophrenia. The results showed an earlier diagnosis of the disease in people who used marijuana as teenagers, leading to the claim that smoking pot increases the likelihood of schizophrenia as an adult. Also reported were the strengths of the marijuana used; increased potency, increased risk. The researchers involved do see a correlation but not necessarily a cause and effect relationship as there have not been reports of increased psychosis diagnosis.

            Marijuana effects a teenager’s brain by interrupting the signals that normally take place within the brain. Naturally occurring endocannabinoids keep the nervous system excitation in homeostasis. A system out of balance can lead to depression and anxiety disorders. Smoking pot introduces external cannabis to the system contributing to this imbalance.

            I chose this article because I not only have two susceptible teenage brains in my house but also because I do believe in the benefits of cannabis as a medical treatment. I am interested in following this topic to see where the research progresses. Just as the article says that marijuana is becoming as popular in the home as “Johnny Walker and Yellow Tail,” I can see where the same problems arise when trying to regulate it, or keep it out of the hands of teens. Regulating and understanding the dangers of opioid drugs, in Utah and across the nation, haven’t deterred adolescents from stealing them.

Fields, R. Douglas (20 Oct 2017). “Link between adolescent pot smoking and psychosis strengthens” Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/link-between-adolescent-pot-smoking-and-psychosis-strengthens/ 

Biochemists' discovery could lead to vaccine against 'flesh-eating' bacteria McKenna Murphy

Something called the, "flesh-eating disease" as well as the toxic shock syndrome has cause at least 50,000 deaths in a year. Some biochemists from the University of California have been working on some studies that could potentially lead to a vaccine to help decrease these deaths. This could save many lives in the future. Currently there is not a vaccine that fights against the group A Strep. What these scientist do know is that there is a hidden sequence that patterns and these patterns are what could lead to the making of this helpful vaccine. A set back from making this vaccine has been that the bacteria is fluctuating of the M protein.

When our bodies become infected especially with A Strep, our immune action takes place to fight against the M protein caused by this bacteria. The immune system only fights off the infection so we still have a chance of infection by other A Strep's that have other kinds of M proteins. Another set of researchers found a protein call C4BP and it helped the biochemists with their research. This C4BP is brought to its surface because of A Strep and it reduces the immune reaction. The California biochemists wanted to make a vaccine to control the C4BP by the M proteins so they could not be a pathway to lead to these deaths.

Two students by the name of Cosmo and Sophia studied the interactions within C4BP and M protein. A key part to their study was carefully studying four crystal structures of four different M protein types that were each restrained to human C4BP. This research showed that even if the contrasting M protein forms seemed to be irrelevant, there were still little patterns that were hiding inside the contrariness that associated the M proteins together. These regular examples are what is utilized to select C4BP to the surface of gathering A Strep by the distinctive M protein sorts.

The thought now is to have antibodies do an indistinguishable thing from C4BP which is, perceive a wide range of M protein sorts. In this occurrence, the antibody reaction won't be constrained to one M protein sort and one strain of gathering A Strep. The University of California biochemists along with Nizet currently are still figuring out a way to create a vaccine that will shelter from the pressure of group A Strep.

I find this article fascinating because it shows that there is hope for those thousands of people who are suffering. There are scientists out there that care and want to find things to help people. Discovering this vaccine would benefit individuals and families, it could save lives of those who deserve to fight against these diseases. The scientists give me hope that when I have children of my own that there are people out there trying to help those in need because you never know when a tragedy can hit someone in your own family. These scientists are also very brilliant. It is amazing to read about how they came to certain discoveries and the way they think is a another level that most individuals.

University of California - San Diego “Biochemists' discovery could lead to vaccine against 'flesh-eating' bacteria” Biology News Net, 5 Sept. 2016,
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/09/05/biochemists_discovery_could_lead_to_vaccine_against_flesheating_bacteria.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+biologynews%2Fheadlines+%28Biology+News+Net%29

Brian circuit that drives sleep-wake states, sleep-preparation behavior is identified

     The article I chose to write about was "Brain circuit that drives sleep-wake states, sleep-preparation behavior is identified". It is about a group of researchers at Stanford University of Medicine who have found a brain circuit that is necessary for our sleep-wake cycle. Our sleep-wake cycle is the body's circadian rhythm that acts as our internal clock that is located in our brain. The researchers have also found that the circuit for our sleep-wake cycle is the same circuit for our reward system. They explain how this makes sense giving an example that one cannot look for food, which is necessary for life, while they are sleeping.
     To test their new findings and its relevance to human life, the researchers got male mice that had been bioengineerd in many ways so they researchers could excite, suppress, and monitor the dopamine-secreting nerve cells found in the mice's VTA (ventral tegmental area) found in the brain. When the researchers suppressed the dopamine levels in the nerve-cell the mice fell asleep, even though it was a time where the mice were typically active. They then placed the mice in a unfamiliar cage. Like most mice, the VTA-suppressed mice stayed awake for a majority of their time in the new cage. Rather than exploring their new cage, like the controlled group of mice did, the suppressed mice spent their time building their nests carefully. Once the mice had finished building their nest, they climbed inside and fell asleep.
     This experiment showed that the mice that were VTA-suppressed spent their time preparing to sleep by building their nests. They then hypothesized that humans have this need to prepare for sleep as well. Lecea, one of the researchers stated "If we're disrupting this preparation by, say, reading email or playing videogames, which not only give off light but charge up our emotions and get our VTA dopaminergic circuitry going, it's easy to see why we're likely to have trouble falling asleep." The researchers believe they can use these new finding to help people that have trouble with falling asleep at night, rather than just giving them a drug that knocks out the entire brain, such as Valium.
     I found this article interesting because I often think about the causes for why I can't fall asleep on some nights, and I know that I am not the only one that experiences these problems. After reading this I realized that maybe it is what I am doing right before bed that could be causing me to stay awake. Although I don't intend to get medication for helping me, like this article suggested, I do think it's good to be aware that our activities and preparation for bed does play a big role on how well we are able to fall asleep at night.
   

Safely Releasing Genetically Modified Genes Into The Wild

Many diseases can be controlled from a large outbreak, but infectious diseases transmitted by insects are hard to control, as they can’t be contained. Researchers have been trying to find ways of controlling the transmission of diseases from insects like mosquitoes, with one common disease carried by them being malaria. To decrease the likelihood of diseases being transmitted, researchers have found a way to genetically modify genes in organisms and releasing them into the wild, such as malaria-resistant mosquitoes.

Our ecosystem is very organized and balanced and introducing a genetically engineered species into the wild can have consequences. Therefore, the release of the genetically engineered species needs to be safely controlled and planned. As Tanaka mentions, “an accidental or premature release of a gene drive construct to the natural environment could damage an ecosystem irreversibly” (Burrows). The researchers therefore inserted weaknesses in the gene drives that would balance the genetically modified genes. These weaknesses act as an on and off switch of the gene drive that protect against a premature release and uncontrollable spreading.

Introducing a genetically modified species also doesn’t guarantee that its genes will be inherited by offspring. To counteract that, researchers developed the CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing system, which allowed researchers to create a system that increases the likelihood of a desired trait to be inherited to almost 100% even if that trait is disadvantageous. This means that when introducing malaria-resistant mosquitoes, the genetically engineered genes that make mosquitoes resistant to malaria could replace the wild-type genes in only a few generations instead of being only partially distributed throughout the mosquito population.

I chose this article for two reasons, first because there is a lot of controversy with genetically modified organisms where a lot of people believe it is bad even though it has many positive effects. I also chose it because recently there has been more news on mosquitoes carrying diseases like Zika. Transmitted diseases like Zika introduce fear into our communities because it seems as something impossible to protect oneself from. Our world has been hit with many deadly diseases that are transmitted by insects or other animals and the spread of these diseases are hard to control.  This would allow us to proactively fight against some of these diseases instead of having to reactively treat them.

Burrows, Leah. “Safely releasing genetically modified genes into the wild.” Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, National Science Foundation, 1 Aug. 2017, www.seas.harvard.edu/news/2017/08/safely-releasing-genetically-modified-genes-into-wild.

An Inner Look into the Minds and Brains of People with OCD

I have been around multiple people in my life who have OCD (Obsessive compulsive disorder). One of which is a close cousin of mine. While I always thought very highly of him and consider him to be much smarter than me I always new certain things were much harder for him. OCD, like any condition varies in it severity, for some it may make it difficult to go about daily life, while others simply appear to be extremely organized. We often hear people toss it around in conversations when someone is up tight or a "clean freak". This article goes into what is really happening in the minds of those who have been diagnosed with OCD. It presents a study that shows a link between belief and action that is broken to some extent in people with OCD. As a consequence, what they do conflicts with what they know.

The Study was led by graduate student Vaghi and Fabrice Luyckx at the University of Cambridge. Supervised by neuroeconomist and senior author Benedetto De Martino at University College London. They recruited 24 volunteers with OCD and 25 people without the disorder and had them play a video game in which they had to move a target (the “bucket”) around a circle to catch colored dots (“coins”) emitted from the center of the circle. The article itself has the game embedded into the website if you would like to get a more visual look at how the game works. Most of the time the average destination of the coins was more or less the same, varying only slightly, but there was a one-in-eight chance each time that this position would dramatically shift.The groups did not differ as far as how many coins were caught. However those with OCD normally would adjust the bucket to exactly where the last coin had landed. Where as those without OCD would not. 

Where they were able to prove their hypothesis of OCD patients having a disconnect between what they know and their actions in the result regarding the confidence the patient had in their placement. The results between the OCD patients and those without were indistinguishable, suggesting the patients developed as accurate a sense of what was going on as the healthy volunteers. But their actual bucket placements showed they were not using this knowledge to guide their actions. “This study shows that [in OCD] actions are dissociated from thoughts, in a sense,” Vaghi says. “It's very much related to the clinical manifestation, when (those with OCD) say: “I know it’s unlikely I’m going to get contaminated by touching the door handle, but even so, I will wash my hands.’”

My cousin is often referred to as the smartest one in the family. With a perfect ACT score and 4.5 GPA his OCD does not seem to be slowing him down in anyway. However, I have seen him become very frustrated at simple tasks like setting the dinner table. He will pick up and set down the silverware ten times or more and still seem to be unsatisfied. It is very interesting to me the way our brains function. I love the idea that our brain can learn in so many different ways. This article is evidence that our understanding of the brain and its functions is growing. With that new knowledge I believe we will close barriers that exist in our current society between those with mental disorders and those of us who consider ourselves normal. 

GT 

Source: Scientific American: An Inner Look into the Minds and Brains of People with OCD

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/an-inner-look-into-the-minds-and-brains-of-people-with-oc

Chip Reprograms Cells to Regenerate Damaged Tissue

Accidents and tragedies occur everyday in the world. Some of these have a very broad area of that it affects, while others affects a small few. Both scenarios are equally as impactful and tragic. These tragedies may include natural disasters and war which affect many people worldwide while others may include car accidents which only affect a select few. The consequences of these accidents are devastating and unexpected. They may even be life changing for some. For example, a common consequence of these unintended mishaps could be losing the function of a limb. This is undoubtedly life changing and severe that can affect the individual as well as their family and friends. Recently, however, scientists have created a new method by which they are able to convert or “reprogram” cells to function as other cell types for regenerating damaged limbs and organs.

In the past, existing methods, regarding this subject, have been risky and inefficient and have only been tested on laboratory animals. These methods include the process of reprogramming the cells using injected mixtures of DNA, RNA, and Proteins. Scientists used viruses as the delivery vehicle in order to transport the DNA, RNA and Proteins into the cell. This was risky and ineffective due to the virus potentially infecting unintended cells, disrupting the immune system, and even turn cells cancerous. In the past, Bulk Electroporation, poking holes in individual cells to expose it to genetic material and protein, has been used as an alternative to viruses as transporters. This may seem like a great fix to our problem. However, the downfall to this is that due to the uncontrolled amount of electroporation, it may cause stress and kill the cells rather than benefit. As we can see, something had to change in order to make this a viable method to curing damaged cells.

Tissue Nanotransfection, a newly discovered method, involves a chip containing an array of tiny channels that apply electrical fields to individual cells. These electrical fields are able to target the correct cells and decreases the risk of damaging unintended cells. With this method, a controlled, small area of the cell is affected without damaging surrounding cells. This is unlike the previous method. With this method, the cells are not damaged or killed. Essentially, a tiny hole is created in the cell and because of the chip, we are able to control the amount of DNA injected into each cell.

The Genetic material injected into these cells rapidly converts skin cells into endothelial cells which are the main component in blood vessels. This method is able to help patients who have had limbs or organs that have been damaged by loss of blood flow due to a severed artery. With this method, new blood cells form, blood flow increases, and the limbs and organs are healed completely. So far, this has only been tested on animals, but the team of scientists who developed this method hope to start human trial in a year.

In my own opinion, I see this as a huge breakthrough in regenerative methods. It has the potential to save and bless many lives. It is interesting to me to read about this topic because it is directly related to what we have been learning in class. A great understanding of DNA and genetic processes opens the door to a vast number of opportunities of curing and blessing others in many different ways; as we see in this example. I myself have a high respect for those who are working diligently to continually discover new ways to make lives better. They share their talents to help those around them. This article and discovery is a great example to helping people who have been disabled not by their own choice. The understanding, hard work and research in genetics gives these affected individuals hope for a better future.

Makin, Simon. “Chip Reprograms Cells to Regenerate Damaged Tissue.” Scientific American, www.scientificamerican.com/article/chip-reprograms-cells-to-regenerate-damaged-tissue/. Accessed 2 Oct. 2017.

Promoting Antiseptic procedures in Healthcare

The article I used gives details on a book written by by Lindsey Fitzharris The Butchering Art, giving an insight on the early years of medicine practice involving the doctors and practices during surgeries. 
Fitzharris mentions how people believed that pain and death were just normal after surgical procedures.
She also touches on how one surgeon, Joseph Lister (1827-1912) was one of few who started looking into precautionary treatments practiced might inhibit some illnesses. 

In a time when so many diseases and deaths were easily accepted as a "normal" outcome of surgeries, Lister's reputation in antiseptic techniques and practices was established by his patient Queen Victoria.
Now, precautionary cleanliness in healthcare has become one of the greatest parts of providing “quality” services. With companies now creating and capitalizing on sterile and compliant products to use during surgeries or regular doctor visits. Compliant in the fact that we now have laws and regulations on how to wash hands and or clean items for use in procedures.

 Once I began working in a hospital I realized how strict these regulations have become to prevent bacteria or contaminations from being spread. Its also interesting to me how they never thought of using sterile items in the eighteenth century like the article states. To think they would have surgeries with many spectators aside from those preforming the surgeries, they could have any type of disease and not even be aware they could be airborne illnesses being spread to the patient. Along side with reusing the same items used on other patients,  new patients were doomed from the start. In the article it mentions how in the 1800’s “most surgeons…regarded infection as unavoidable” and one surgeon recorded a 300% mortality rate. Where an assistant somehow had a finger dismembered, the patient died and an observer died of a heart attack. Thank goodness I was born in the later years of improved medicine practices. Where we now have only those qualified to be in the same room, wearing and dawning proper attire to prevent infections. Not everything is guaranteed to be 100% affective but the results and standards have become much higher in patient care.


References:
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v550/n7674/full/550036a.html?foxtrotcallback=true

The Zika virus is a virus that has captured the attention of many pregnant women, families with newborns, medical doctors, and researchers for its detrimental effects on the heads of newborn babies. This virus can cause microcephaly, in which the brain does not fully develop thus causing a small head in newborns. This disease has become very dominant across the Americas.  Researchers specifically have been wondering why the Zika virus has become more prevalent the past couple years, whereas it has been discovered for more than 60 years.

 In the year 2013 researchers in China were studying the Zika virus DNA specifically the amino acid sequence versus its ancestral strand. They were comparing the mutation that has occurred, and they found there was a single amino acid mutation on the fundamental protein, serine to asparagine. Thus their point is that a single amino acid mutation from the ancestral strand has been the cause of great strife, called the S139N alteration. To prove their discoveries they began experiments on lab mice. They created different Zika virus strains, and they realized that the strain with the S139N substitution caused the greatest mutilation to the mice’s brain cells. To help prove their hypothesis they tested the other strains of lab created Zika virus that did not contain the S139N mutation. They found that those strands did not cause nearly as much damage to the brain cells.

The scientists are still unaware of how the mutation creates a stronger strain of the Zika virus, but they are alluding to the fact that is it dealing with the structural component of the protein. This relating to the strength of binding with itself and with other cells, consequently to its function affecting other cells. Although this has proven that the mutation of S139N is a damaging cause of microcephaly, the scientists stated that there are also other mutation causes at the time that are unknown.

I have been very interested in the Zika virus and how it has suddenly affected so many people in a short span of the past couple years. But also how this virus’ mutation caused such a difference compared to its previous generations, and why all of sudden this change occured. This article furthermore became interesting to me because we have been studying and understanding the amino acid sequences in proteins and exactly how they define the function of a protein. We as well have studied the folding and binding of a protein with itself and within its environment. There are many proteins and they each in a specific order specify a function, and if one mere mutation or change of an amino acid can cause a drastically different outcome than desired. Likewise that this one mutation has a domino effect with its following bindings.

Victoria Hooper 

Reference:

 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-single-mutation-helps-modern-zika-cause-birth-defects1/

Long-Awaited Landscape: studying ancient DNA

First large-scale study of ancient DNA in sub-Saharan Africa lifts veil on recent prehistory.

An international research team headed by Harvard Medical School did a large-scale study of ancient DNA in sub-Saharan Africa. The study looked at the movement of populations and how they replaced each other around 8,000 years ago. The study looked at the details about sub-Saharan African ancestry including genetic adaptations from the hunter-gatherer lifestyle and population distribution before farmers and herders moved about the continent over 3,000 years ago

 “Ancestry during this time period is such an unexplored landscape that everything we learned was new” said David Reich, professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School School. With new types of technology, DNA that has been subject to rapid degrading in warm climates is now able to be extracted from things like ear bones which are smaller bones are more dense than other bones and are able to hold genetic material better.

Teams from 11 countries in Europe, The U.S. and Africa compared 15 ancient sub-Saharan Africans to modern African and Non-African populations. The results showed that when agriculture was spreading across Europe and Asia, farmers spread into hunter gatherer groups. In the horn of Africa genetic migration went from the east coast to the west coast. In other areas, groups completely disappeared on the genetic record. Tracing these migration patterns, researchers at MIT were able to track mutations in two different regions on the genome of Southern Africans that underwent natural selection. First was an adaptation to UV light and the other was an adaptation in the taste buds leading to help detect poison in plants.

I find studies like these interesting because we are products of our environment. Being able to track our genetic drift and migration patterns can tell us about where we came from genetically. It makes the world a small place and show us that genetic variation is always on the go. Our adaptations also tell us a lot about history we wouldn't have known otherwise.

References
Long-Awaited Landscape. Harvard Medical School. 2017 Sep 21 [accessed 2017 Aug 2]. https://hms.harvard.edu/news/long-awaited-landscape

Are You a Magnet for Mosquitoes?

"Are you a magnet for mosquitoes?" asks Dina Maron, an editor at Scientific American. This is a very interesting question. People around the world have often wondered what makes them more attractive to these pesky little critters. James Logan, a medical scientist that studies insects, says, "We know very little about the genetics of what makes us attractive to mosquitoes." Thus Logan and his team of researchers are going to investigate if these human genetics actually do play a role in alluring mosquitoes.

"Scientists that study human odors and genetics have previously suggested scent cues associated with genetics are likely controlled via the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes. Those genes appear to play a role in odor productions and also in mammals' mating choices...," says Maron. In this specific study, Logan and his team plan on collecting used socks from 200 identical and nonidentical twins from the UK and the Gambia in Africa, putting the socks in a wind tunnel, and seeing where the mosquitoes are more attracted to. The researchers are hoping to analyze the odor that comes from the socks, whether it has attractive or repellent chemicals. Identical twins tend to smell alike more than nonidentical twins, so ideally they would have the same attractive or repellent chemicals. "If we can identify important genes, perhaps we could develop a pill or medication that would allow the body to produce natural repellents to keep mosquitoes away," says Logan. 

A previous study was done in 2015 to determine what mosquitoes tend to be more attracted to. They seem to be more attracted to those that exhale more carbon dioxide and consequently to taller, larger people, whether because of the greater body surface area or the tendency to exhale more carbon dioxide. Pregnant women and those infected with malaria are also targets for mosquitoes.

I mainly chose this article because I seem to be one of those magnets for mosquitoes. I have always wondered why they tend to eat me up as opposed to my acquaintances, who seem to escape outdoor outings with zero suffering. If scientists, like Logan, can study the behavior of mosquitoes and come to a conclusion, I would be more likely to enjoy my time spent outdoors. As Logan explained, a medication or something similar could be produced that helps our bodies produce mosquito-repelling chemicals. Society as a whole would benefit greatly. Just imagine being able to enjoy nature without smelling like you bathed in chemicals and looking like you rolled through mosquito-infested field. KE

Works Cited

Maron, D. F. (2017, June 20). Are You a Magnet for Mosquitoes? Retrieved October 02, 2017, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-you-a-magnet-for-mosquitoes/