Quantcast
Channel: Biotechnology Forums - All Forums
Viewing all 2695 articles
Browse latest View live

Latest Discoveries in Treatment of Damaged Articular Cartilage

0
0
In human organism there are three types of cartilage (articular or hyaline cartilage, fibrocartilage and elastic cartilage). Articular cartilage (AC) has the main focus in this article. Hyaline or articular cartilage is white, avascular, smooth tissue which lies on the ends of the bones. It has very smooth surface and provides very low percent of friction. The hydrophilic property of this cartilage provides cushion needed for shock absorbency. Because of avascularity, this tissue has no ability of self- renewal. Another property of this tissue is low cell turnover and low cellularity as well.

Chondrocytes are the most dominant cell type in AC. They present 95 percent of the cell population. Chondrocytes also present the main resource of the self- renewal. However, they slowly replicate themselves, even when tissue is damaged. Scientist and clinicians have tried to support chondrocytes division through many tests, because even a small cartilage injury can lead to severe osteoarthritis.

Current treatments

Many treatments are tested, but only two tests have shown best results. These test are microfracture and autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI). These two treatments of cartilage are not perfect solution because these treatments give fibrocartilage instead of hyaline cartilage. The main obstacle with this fibrocartilage treatments is lack of quality and usually patients have further operations and treatments. Stem cells are ideal for regeneration and repairing damaged cartilage tissue as long as they can fill the defect with cells. These cells have to be able to differentiate later. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are possible solution, because they can differentiate in many different cell types. These embryonic stem cells can have successful differentiation in presence of bone morphogenic protein 2 and 4 (BMP2 and BMP4). Also, when these cells are exposed to transforming growth factor B3 there is an increase of glycosaminoglycan and collagen amount 14 days later. Another promising type of cells is adult mesenchymal stem cell (MSC). MSCs are very good alternative in articular cartilage restoring. They adapt very good because of their plasticity and multilineage potential. Another benefit of MSCs usage is their various location. These cells can be isolated from adipose tissue, muscles and bone marrow. Likewise, MSCs are less tumorigenic cells than ESCs.

Specifications of various adult mesenchymal stem cells

Stem cells gathered from bone marrow, adipose tissue, muscle, synovial membrane and peiosteum are several types of adult mesenchymal stem cells. Of course, these cell types are not clonal populations and they are heterogeneous. Usually fetal bovine serum is widely added to culture medium for culture expansion. However, zoonotic infection and immune reactions are not excluded in these method.

Stem cell from bone marrow (BMMSC) was discovered in past and it was sensational discovery because scientist have found out cell which can divide and differentiate in osteoblasts, chondrocytes and adipocytes. This type of stem cells is most studied to induce chondrogenesis in tissue cultures. The most responsible factors are TGF-β family. TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3 and members of BMP family like BMP-2, BMP-6 and BMP-7 are the most promising factors in chonrogenesis induction. These factors in cooperation have shown that they can increase collagen II expression more than single growth factor. Stem cells from adipose tissue (ATMSC) has inferior chondrogenic potential in comparison with stem cells from bone marrow. These stem cells are not producing satisfying results when treated with both growth factors separately or growth factors in synergism. Despite their preferences, scientists are interested in them, because they can be easily obtained from fat tissue in comparison with painful obtaining of BMMSC.

Stem cells from muscle tissue (MDSCs) have controversial chondrogenic potential in comparison with stem cells harvested from bone marrow. However, muscles stem cells have shown different chondrogenic potential in traumatized muscle and in normal muscle. MDSCs in traumatized muscle has bigger chondrogeniic potential than MDSCs from normal muscle.

Periosteum stem cell (PMSC) is not so promising method, but it exists as an option, and the last are stem cells from synovial membrane. Synovial membrane have two types of cells, but only fibroblast like cells are used as stem cells. They have similar chondrogenic potential as BMMSC, but they are much more easily obtained from the tissue.

Newest method of treatment with peripheral blood stem cells

Cartilage defects are very problematic in orthopedics, because even a tiny cartilage lesion can lead into a deliberating osteoarthritis. The new method is really based on one of the oldest known methods. This method is microfracture. This method is just a little bit changed, but it appears to be maybe the best way of treatment. After this microfracture, patient received intra- articularly an injection of 8 ml of harvested autologous peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) and 2 ml of hyaluronic acid. Five more injections were given on a weekly basis, and later, arthroscopy confirmed existence of true hyaline. This technique is not so complicated, but recovery is very long, up to two years until patient is fully recovered even for sports activities. However, this research is indicated in treatment of localized cartilage fractures only, thus it cannot be used in treatment of widespread arthritis.

Limitations in cartilage stem cell renewal therapy

Chondrogenesis with different stem cells has been investigated for many years in past. Despite, there are questions and limitations in these therapies. For example, tissue specific mesenchymal stem cells are well known to scientists, but their growth factor response is different. Also, mesenchymal stem cells harvested from same the tissue have different properties in differentiation and proliferation. One of the big things for future treatments could be sorting the MSCs by their surface markers. On the other side, there are doubts connected with embryonic stem cells. Despite their excellent dividing ability, their oncogenic potential is one of the biggest worries between scientists. In conclusion, optimization of morphogens like BMPs and growth factors is key of success in treatment of articular cartilage regeneration with stem cells.

Proteasome Regulation in Cancer

0
0
The proteasome is a large complex found in eukaryotic cells, as well as archaea and some bacteria, which functions to break down and recycle old, damaged, or unnecessary proteins. Damaged proteins are targeted to the proteasome for degredation by binding of a protein called ubiquitin. Once the protein has been completely broken down, the amino acids can be recycled by the cell and used to make new proteins. Being able to break down proteins when they are no longer needed is an essential regulatory function that the cell uses. The proteasome is needed to control the cell cycle, gene expression, and prevent deleterious effects from improperly folded or over expressed proteins. Improper regulation of the proteasome has been linked with many diseases, from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases, demonstrating how important proper function of the proteasome is to the cell.

Over expression and over activation of the components of the proteasome has been associated with some diseases however. Multiple myeloma is a cancer of bone marrow cells. Excessive expression and activation of the proteasome has been noted in multiple myeloma cancer cells as well as many other cancers. Blockade of proteasome function has been shown to be harmful to these cancer cells in vitro as well as in clinical trials. Cancer results from an accumulation of various mutations to genes that help control the cell cycle. Some of these mutations may intensify proteins that increase replication in the cell, and some mutations may inactivate proteins that stop replication. Together, these mutations increase the rate of replication of the cell, which results in uncontrolled cell growth. When enough mutations accumulate, the cells become cancerous, and can cause damage to the host. The proteasome appears to be upregulated in cancer cells, with more proteasomes being assembled and activated. This may help the cancer cells remove all the excess, unnecessary proteins that develop when the cell cycle becomes disrupted.

Proteasome inhibitors have been studied in clinical trials for patients with cancer. One protein inhibitor, called Velcade, has been approved by the FDA for treatment of cancers including multiple myeloma. These proteasome inhibitors have been shown to selectively kill cancer cells and other rapidly replicating cells, while leaving normal cells relatively unharmed. While the proteasome inhibitor can be effective therapeutically, side effects include peripheral neuropathy , due to the effect of decreased proteasome function in normal cells. In addition, drug resistance to these proteasome inhibitors can pose a problem for patients that require multiple treatments or that have recurrent cancer. Drug resistance is a big problem for patients with incurable cancers such as multiple myeloma, where long term treatment is indicated.

Researchers have identified an enzyme, known as tankyrase, as a regulatory factor for the proteasome. Tankyrase is able to inhibit proteasome assembly. Tankyrase is upregulated when the cell is stressed, providing more active proteasomes to help degrade unnecessary and potentially harmful proteins and clean up the cell. In addition, researchers have discovered a small molecule, which is termed XAV939, can specifically block the function of tankyrase. By blocking tankyrase, the assembly of the proteasome would be inhibited. However, proteasomes that have already been assembled and are active would not be affected. This means that excessive proteasome activation, such as what has been demonstrated in multiple myeloma and other cancer cells, would be prevented. Researchers believe that normal proteasome function in healthy cells would not be as severely affected. In fact, they have shown in vitro that treatment of multiple myeloma cells with XAV939 does not affect the basal level of proteasomes in the cell. This would prevent the side effects seen during treatment with conventional proteasome inhibitors that completely block the function of the proteasome in all cell types.

In addition to potential cancer therapeutics, research regarding regulation of the proteasome could also be used as a treatment against muscle wasting and neurodegenerative disorders. Excessive activation of the proteasome in these disorders causes the cell to break down necessary proteins, leading to loss of muscle cells. Again, by inhibiting the proteasome through tankyrase inhibitors, scientists hope to prevent or reduce muscle loss in these patients. Indeed, understanding how the proteasome is regulated will have far reaching impacts in many areas of biology, biotechnology, and medical science.


References:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...114644.htm

Food Biotechnology: Educational, Industrial & Career Prospects

0
0
Numerous times in the last few years, we have heard about recession hitting most of the industries leading to job cuts and unemployment. Considering the regular rise in population, educational awareness and stagnant growth of almost every industry, the situation becomes quite dicey in choosing the field of choice to lay the foundation of your education & career. So, in this article, I have made an effort to throw some light on the bright prospects of the emerging field of Food Biotechnology as a platform for education and career. I’ll discuss industrial case study of SABMiller to bring into focus the success story of now industry giant in the field of Beverages, giving us a good reason to think wisely over the needs of the market and choosing this field.

Industrial Status
IT might fall, Automotive might saturate, Telecom might cease, Electronics might downgrade; but there’s one industry that has consistently developed and will never cease to grow—that’s Food Industry! And, when nobles like Biotechnologists start adding the icing of life sciences’ fundamentals to this field, it is bound to leap high and sky! People knew how to make curd for ages. But when a Biotechnologist brought into picture the real story behind the process, the industry rose crazy with myriad of milk products (Probiotics, Therapeutic yoghurt, hundreds of classes of cheese to name a few). People knew how to make beer/wine since time as old as of Sumerians and Babylonians. But when a Biotechnologist dictated the concept behind the practice, the world went crazy with setting up Breweries in numbers more than cities per state!

SABMiller: Story of Success
SABMiller, world’s leading brewery has it’s story dated back as long as to 1895, when it started selling a very simple beverage popularized as “Small Wonder Beer”, consisting of raw potato spirit mixed with tobacco juice and pepper. The start of the venture was to the capacity of just 50,000 barrels per annum at that time. Bearing the grunt of war induced disruption, the company held strong and by 1911, revolutionized the business thinking by supplying imported seeds of Barley free of cost to the farmers to stimulate the cultivation of the crop, and promising to buy the crop at market price! Understanding the importance of Hops in fermentation, SAB collaborated with rivals to raise the production of Hops. Despite the industry shut down due to world war I, SAB didn’t quit on the business and revived by 1925, only to expand it’s empire further by taking over glass manufacturing companies and hops fields. By 1960, SAB started the era of R&D in developing variety of flavors through research in Viticulture (study and production of grapes). It expanded it’s horizons to food industry by investing in tea and coffee production (another wise step out of realization of world’s routine and growing needs). By 1986, SAB held a grip over the industry of fruit juices too! Catching the nerve of health consciousness of the people and supplying them packaged fruit juices of all varieties in all seasons! There was no turning back after that. Mergers occurred, acquisitions took place, SAB Miller has grown all over the world satisfying 9% of world’s total beverage needs! Just to catch the nerve of you people, let me mention that the very popular Haywards 5000, Royal Challenge, Foster’s Lager, Indus Pride etc are none other than SABMiller’s products.
The following video is both interactive & informational about SABMiller’s way of brewing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pV_dnISv7Jk

Educational Prospective:
Food Biotechnology is not just about the beverages and fermentation. There’s a lot in it to learn that can make you realize the possible wonders one can do in this domain. As an aspiring food biotechnologist, your education (a typical Masters degree) would consist of following sub-domains:

[Image: Course_structure_Food_Biotech.png]

In India, following institutes offer high quality programs in Food Technology (not as per rank):
• Anna University-Chennai (Both B.Tech & M.Tech)
• Harcourt Butler Technological Institute, Kanpur (Both B.Tech & M.Tech)
• IIT Kharagpur (Dual Degree)
• Jamia Hamdard, New Delhi (M.Tech)
• Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture Technology & Science, Allahabad (B.Tech, M.Tech, BSc, MSc)

These institutes expose the students to very nice training periods and practical course contents, with good reputation of placements. (As per experience of people connected in these institutes).

Career Prospective
Though SABMiller’s story should give a clear message that an entrepreneurship idea in this field will never fall back when coupled with determination & innovation, there are plenty of successful players in the market to offer a good job to a good candidate (which are very few in the market; you may find numerous Masters in Biotechnology, but rarely you will strike one with specialized Masters in Food Biotechnology).
Following is the list of prospective job opportunities in this field:
• Quality Control/QC (the most common one)
• Analytical testing (a step ahead of QC)
• Production (the operation handler, working on big reactors, packaging units and sterilizers)
• Research & Development ( many options : Therapeutic research, GMOs, Biopesticides, Biofertilizers, Flavor research etc)
• Marketing

Now, let’s move on to the big names in Indian Food Biotech Industry:

Nestle
Probably the biggest name. Hires Nutrition Officers quite frequently throughout the year.

Britannia
Another big name. First you have to crack a chance to become a trainee there, and then there’s no stopping you to be a recruit.
Check: http://www.britannia.co.in/be_brit_management.htm

Dabur
Quite a household name since years. Plenty of opportunities in marketing.

Pepsico
Another brand very common in the country (rather world). Not easy for Biotechnology people to get in. A good experience of upto 5 years is good to make a mark in this company.

Hindustan Unilever
Bru, Kissan, Taj Mahal are none other than HUL’s products. They keep seeking production engineers and marketing people.

Amul
Another household name indeed. Opportunities are not very common with this company. You can always submit your resume for a consideration at http://www.amul.in/hrm/index.htm

Coca-Cola
A world renowned name. Looks for marketing people and production engineers. More opportunities in Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi area.

FCI
The Indian Govt. Holding. It conducts exam every year to recruit Technical Cadres in different grades. Salary starting around Rs 20,000 pm.

And, the list can go very long if I start counting the names of MNCs and R&D Institutes like Kellogs, KFC, Yakult, IARI, PAU etc.

The important message is that if you go for a Bachelor’s degree in Life Sciences, choose a specialized field rather than general Biotechnology or Biology. And, if you already have pursued a general Biotech degree in Bachelors, then correct it by pursuing a specialization rather than M.Tech in Biotech. And, in those terms, Food Biotechnology is the hottest field of industrial prospectives and research, especially in a market like India.

So, I hope your food soon inspires you to make a venture out of it, with a tinge of Biotechnology!


Thanks

If GATE BIOTECH is your target, this is A MUST READ!

0
0
It won’t be wrong if we start calling India, the country of competitive exams! There won’t be a single government funded institute whose student intake for the higher degree courses might be independent of a competitive exam. And, when it comes to seeking admission in Class A institutes of the country, the competition gets stiff as stones!

If CAT (Common Admission Test) is the lord for MBA seekers in India, GATE is the God for those seeking M.Tech (and even PhD). Lakhs of students appear for the exam every year, but only few thousands make it to the IITs (the literally worshipped institutes in India). So, in this article, I’ll share some pointers about this exam, which might help change your perception about GATE BT, and strategize in a better way. The obvious question that might have been clicking your nerves would be, “Who am I to give you the tips?” Well, in that case, all I would like to say is that currently I’m pursuing MS(Research) in Biochemical Engineering & Biotechnology at IIT Delhi (India); I would pass out from here by July 2013 (couple of months); I first qualified GATE BT 2010 (while I was in 3rd year of B.Tech) with 99.6 percentile, followed by GATE BT 2011 (4th year) with 99.2 percentile; and meanwhile I also managed to qualify for CSIR UGC NET 2010 LS( AIR 87) and DBT JRF 2011 (AIR 87 List B); I cleared IIT Bombay’s selection process too, but decided to join IIT Delhi in July 2011. So, I just hope that maybe I could share some tips that could help anyone amongst you aiming an eye on GATE BT this year/coming years.

Though all of you should feel free to ask any question about the exam, my article will focus on following:
1. MUST KNOW THE PATTERN
2. MUST KNOW THE HOST & THE BLUE PRINT
3. MUST KNOW THE CUT-OFF
4. MUST KNOW THE FOOT FALL
5. GATE IS NOT GHOST!

MUST KNOW THE PATTERN
People might start shedding tips on exams by asking you to know the syllabus of the exam very well, but if you really trust my opinion, you should better know the pattern than the syllabus. By pattern, I mean really simple things like How many total questions are there? How many 1 mark questions are there? How many 2 mark questions are there? How many 4 mark/linked questions are there? If you really consider GATE a battle (though you ought not to), then the best way to start preparation for the battle is not by knowing the details of the warriors but by ascertaining the number of them! And, once you come to know that there are just 65 opponents (65 questions are asked in GATE BT), you should feel very relaxed! This is too small a number for 3 hours of battle!

Now, the next information you should target is the grouping of questions of different weightage. There are total 30 questions of 1 mark each. So, out of 65, 30 questions are such that they can be finished in 15 minutes (no matter you know the answers or not). So, the brilliant news is that you have over 160 minutes for just 35 questions to solve!
Out of remaining 35 questions, 10 are made by 5 linked questions (each linked question has one passage and two questions related to that passage), the five linked questions can give you 20 marks. Remaining 25 questions are of 2 marks each.

So, this makes up the total weightage of the exam to 100 marks.

MUST KNOW THE HOST & THE BLUE PRINT
The blue-print of the exam greatly depends upon the host institute. The right to host the exam keeps shuffling between the 7 top IITs of the country i.e IIT Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Chennai, Guwahati, Kharagpur & Roorkee. Once you have gathered the information on who’s going to conduct GATE for the prospective year (like 2010 was by Guwahati, 2011 by Chennai, 2012 by Delhi, 2013 by Bombay), collect all the previous year papers of the GATE exam conducted by the host institute. Now, don’t get confused by the fact that GATE BT started in 2010 only, so how to find the papers? You need to collect all GATE XL (i.e GATE LIFE SCIENCES) papers of all previous years and focus on section J i.e Biotechnology of the paper(s).

Following links should help you:
http://www.4shared.com/file/t14i5O9a/Lif...on_Pa.html
http://www.respaper.com/gate/#s847
http://gate.iitm.ac.in/gateqps.php

Believe me or not, the questions repeat! Sometimes the same question is asked exactly the way it was asked in the previous year(s), and mostly the repetition is by changing the statement. And, good thing is that, pick up any previous year exam, the blue-print shall remain the same:

Q 1-25 are 1 mark each
Q 26-40 are 2 mark each
Q 41-50 are linked questions (4 marks per pair, no marks for 2nd question if 1st is left blank or wrong)
Q 51-55 are 1 mark each aptitude questions
Q 56-65 are 2 mark each aptitude questions

The consistency of the blue-print really gives you a good feeling about how the paper would be and how to strategize the attempts.

MUST KNOW THE CUT-OFF
An estimate of cut-off really tells you the extent to which you may take risk in the exam. GATE BT’s cut-off has hardly touched 40 marks in past so many years. Now, if you see the cut-off and the maximum marks (i.e 100) you should get a feeling that if attempted wisely, GATE is not at all a big deal!

There are 30 questions of 1 mark each! They are often the simplest ones (that’s why they are one mark each). Most people do the blunder on this simple part! They attempt almost all of them, even if they are confused over the answers. My advice is, attempt only those 1 mark questions, whose answer you can reach to in 30 seconds. Leave the rest, there’s 1/3 negative mark for wrong attempt. So, even if you manage to attempt 15 questions, it’s indeed a big achievement! You have already made almost 15 marks out of 50 (for top 500 rank) needed. Now, you have 35 questions to score 35 marks more. So, even if you manage half of them correct, you are through to top 500 rank (qualifying at 40 marks is way more easy!!!). But the irony is that people hardly manage even 40 marks, all due to the blunderous and surplus attempts! There’s 2/3 negative marking for each wrong attempt in 2 mark questions.

Know your target and attempt wisely!
During my first attempt in GATE BT 2010, I had attempted just 42 questions out of 65, and scored 55 marks (cut-off was around 34). That fetched me an AIR 44! I had attempted 20 questions of 1 mark each and 2 linked questions (made 4 questions), and 18 two mark questions.
In GATE 2011, I had attempted 51 questions, and scored 62 marks (cut-off was 41). That fetched me an AIR 143!
So, it’s not the number of questions you attempt, but how many of them are correct, that matters.

MUST KNOW THE FOOT FALL
Now, the next thing you should be aware about is that “NOT MANY PEOPLE ATTEND GATE BT”. Hardly 11000-18000 students appear for GATE BT every year. This should again let you feel the relaxation in competition in GATE BT. Even if you manage a rank in top 1500, you may find a seat in IITs! Different departments have varying GATE SCORE cut-off. There are some departments like CTARA of IIT Bombay, where you can get admission even at GATE Rank of over 2000!! (People who manage near cut-off marks, get such ranks). So, even if you qualify with low marks, it doesn’t take away the hope of finding a seat in IITs. So, again, stay relaxed and attempt wisely!

GATE IS NOT GHOST!
Most of you are always scared of GATE. Get rid of this thought!
Ask yourself one question, “Who attempts GATE?”
And the answer is,” Students like you only! They are also from sub class colleges and aspire for getting into IITs. Rather, each of the GATE aspirant is equally nervous as you are. You are not competing in GATE with some KOTA trained students as in JEE, but normal B.Tech qualified people who want to upgrade their qualification. ” A simple, calm and normal application of your knowledge in Biotechnology, gained through four years of B.Tech, can easily lead you through this Exam. Practice the previous year papers and explore their questions in details rather than scrolling the books as per GATE syllabus. It not only saves time but conditions your mind in a better way to attempt the similar patterned questions in the exam.

My best wishes to all the GATE aspirants. May the gate of GATE opens for you soon!

Thanks

Biotechnology In Sub-Saharan Africa

0
0
Sub Saharan Africa includes all countries in Africa that lie to the South of the Sahara. Initially, these sub Saharan countries have managed to gamble with conventional biotechnology methods in livestock and crop production practices. For instance, Kenya has for a long time appreciated the use of Kenya mtama sorghum, rinderpest vaccines and Katumani Mpya maize. However, these practices have been considered primitive in the world of modern biotechnology.

Since there is an urgent need for improved food production for the African people, appreciation of biotechnology serves as the best solution to challenges facing agriculture and disease therapy. Amalgamation of biotechnological solutions to solve biotic and abiotic setbacks in agriculture could help in reducing the general costs of agrochemicals thus maximizing profits and production of surplus for exportation to other countries in the world.

Kenya is one of the sub Saharan countries that has put the efforts to curb these challenges facing her. She has put structures in place to improve productivity through application of both conventional and modern biotechnology. Noticeably, Kenyan scientists have embarked on the use of molecular markers to build specific linkage maps. In essence, this has helped her to extract genes that promote livestock and crop breeding in sub Saharan countries. These mapped markers are used to select traits useful in cross-breeding practices. For instance, development of disease resistant strains especially maize streak virus and generation of pests, insects and drought tolerant crops.

These countries have also put every effort to develop Specific programs and capacities in the development of transgenic crop varieties through genetic modifications. Application of tissue culture techniques is now common place in most of these countries. This has also generated disease-free seedlings and highly productive crops. Crops like banana, potato, pyrethrum, cassava, flowers and sugarcane have been commercialized because of the profits gained due to tissue culture. To confirm the strides made by these countries, Egypt has developed transgenic potatoes, beans, maize and tomato, Kenya has come up with transgenic sweet potatoes resistant to viruses, a project carried out by Monsanto Company and also use of Rhizobium inoculants in the production of leguminous crops, while South Africa has developed tobacco species that are resistant to herbicides.

In the fight against crop pests and diseases, the use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is widespread in these countries. Bacillus thuringiensis is a naturally occurring soil bacterium that is toxic to crop pests. It has been used in most of these countries to control African armyworm, Bean armyworm, Cabbage looper, African bollworm, Beet armyworm, Cabbage moth, Spotted bollworm, Cabbage webworm, Diamondback moth, Cotton leafworm, Green looper, Giant looper, Tomato loope, Pod borers and Spiny bollworm. The use of this bio-pesticide has been considered efficient organic farming. It is easy to apply, environmental friendly and cheap. Bacillus thuringiensis is sprayed on the plant coverings. When it is ingested by these insects, it paralyzes their digestive system leading to starvation and death.

Recombinant DNA vaccines have also got their way into these countries to remedy livestock diseases. The most controlled livestock diseases are the Rift Valley fever and rinderpest in Kenya. This encourages livestock farmers since they cheaply buy these vaccines and also promote international livestock export business networks.

[Image: Sub-Saharan-Africa.png]

Why resort to Biotechnology.

- These countries face a myriad of challenges in the dynamic world of Agriculture, a field that is considered to be a backbone in their economies. These challenges, which include biotic and abiotic, have seen per capita food output decline significantly.

- Shortage of arable land for farming: Soil erosion and desertification due to topography and human industrial activities have consumed arable lands. Additionally, due to population increase, land in these countries has been subdivided into small plots for settlement and small scale farming. This has not augured well to large scale agriculture. Therefore, due to this shortage of arable farming, intensive biotechnological techniques are required to energize this main economical field for these countries.

- Shortage of rainfall: Studies have revealed a consistent drying trend over years in these countries. Drought has become a common occurrence in most of African Sub-Saharan countries. Poor and primitive agricultural practices are the main reasons that have precipitated this trend. Development of early maturing livestock breeds and crops and drought resistant crops is essential. Modification of crops and livestock is important so as to develop adaptability to these unprecedented climatic changes in Africa. This can be achieved through genetic engineering and tissue culture.

- Soil infertility: Inadequate rainfall that is enormously experienced in these African countries is always compounded with soil infertility. The sandy soils of these regions are prone to soil degradation and erosion which in turn makes it deficient of important soil minerals and nutrients. They consequentially lack phosphorus, sulfur and have insufficient organic matter.

This situation calls for application of chemical fertilizers that are sold expensively in these countries due to increased taxes in farm inputs. However, those who afford these fertilizers use them sparingly in such a way that does not meet crops’ requirements. Additionally, the application of these fertilizers modifies soil PH and structure leading to soil erosion. Eutrophication is also a common happening in these areas. Therefore, a call for development of new methods of production of farm inputs through biotechnology is necessary.

- Pests and diseases: The measure of pest and disease infection in Sub-Sahara Africa is manifest in the high demand farmers have for pest and disease control chemicals. Kenya is an epitome example in this situation. It records the highest rates of purchase of insecticides, fungicides, plant hormones and herbicides. The highest losses to crop and animal damage due to pests and diseases are also recorded in some of these countries. Application of biotechnological means can effectively solve these issues that threaten the progress of agricultural activities. It can allow development of disease and crop resistant crops and animals.

However, in their quest to domesticate biotechnology, these African countries face few hurdles that need to be addressed. This involve establishment of national regulatory structures and policies that govern biosafety measures and protection of intellectual property, lack of political goodwill in the implementation of these policies and poor biotechnological knowledge base in the African higher learning and research institutions.

Eyelashes Tranplant Using Hair From Head

0
0
Joanne underwent an eye lashes transplant using her hair from head after she lost it suffering from TRICHOTILLOMANIA.

Joanne, a nurse from Manchester suffered from trichotillomania (TTM), a condition that cause person to pull their hairs at the time of stress in the age of five to fifteen. This condition affected her both physically and mentally and led her to separate herself from the hub of life around her. Joanne used eyeliner and artificial eyelashes to temporarily hide her missing eyelashes. Even after recovering from trichotillomania the effect of it still remain.

Her nightmare of missing eyelashes ended up after two consecutive hair transplant done using her own hair from her head carried out by hair transplant surgeon ASIM SHAHMALAK, from crown clinic at Manchester.

Hair was implanted into her eyelids from her head after giving a local anesthesia into her eyelids. Since the implants are of head hair they continue to grow naturally and require a regular trimming. The procedure took around four hours and patient undergoing the procedure can go home the same day as told by Joanne.

According to Dr. Asim eyelashes transplant have been a common trend in America and growing number of women are interested in this treatment due to loss or damage of their natural hair follicle of their eyelashes.

Some women want fuller eyelashes while some seek for bigger eyelashes due to fashion trend other are seeking transplant due to effect of trichotillomania.

Hair transplant surgery may seem like a radical solution, but in many cases it is the only way of restoring eyelashes’ as said by Dr. Shahmalak.

Effects of Drug Patents and Various Perspectives

0
0
There is no denying to the fact that the process of drug discovery and it’s scrutiny to enter the consumer market is so long and investment intensive, that a patent seems the only and rather indispensable way to make-up for the effort in the form of tangible profits, without the fear of competitor(s) intervention. But, the monopoly incurred by the patent to the inventor of the drug, does negatively influence the under developed and developing countries, where a large chunk of diseased people thrive, who find themselves helpless in front of the soaring prices of the lifesaving drugs. For them, the newly launched drug remains yet to be discovered, until the patent expires. These dilemmic effects of patents for drugs have been the hot topics of discussion for more than a century! This article focuses on highlighting the various effects of drug patents in different frames of references ranging from Inventor’s perspective to Patient’s perspective to Competitors’ Perspective to Research’s Perspective.

Inventor’s Perspective:
Having spent over 10 years on the discovery, clinical trials, and federal approvals and crossing all the tiring hurdles for launching the drug, including the long process of filing and approving the patent itself, a patent comes as a huge sigh of relief to the inventor(s). With over 15 years in hand for the right of producing the drug, the effort made in the discovery pays big dividends during the patent period. Upto $800 million of investment turns gradually into billion dollars profits. Such is the charm in being the ruler of the market in producing a lifesaving drug, that inventors leave no stone unturned in getting the extensions on patents even after one and a half decade of monopolism.

Patient’s Perspective:
If we talk about patients, patents might seem a foe to them. The high costs levied by the sole producer of the lifesaving drug(s) take a heavy toll on the budgets of even the middle class people, let alone the poors! A cruel truth of the patent effect is rather that the patent holders avoid supplying the drugs in the poor countries considering the huge costs of shipping adding to the drug cost, and a fear of reverse engineering and IP violation by the pharmaceutical companies of the underdeveloped world. As an instance, Novartis’s Gleevec (the drug which lost recent patent extension battle in India) is an effective cure for some forms of leukemia, costs the patients in patent effected areas as high as $70,000 a year! Whereas Indian generics provide the variant of the same at $ 2500 a year! One can easily see and feel the difference I guess.
But, just a different frame of reference in analyzing the effect of patents on patients shall make you realize that it’s the patents only that are motivating the Pharmaceutical giants to do the cost intensive R&D and come-up with new life saviors for the patients at the brink of death! If the law of patents wasn’t there, no body might have been interested in investing their intellect and money for others to party over it.

Competitors’ Perspective:
For competitors, the patenting of a drug might come has a huge loss not only in terms of the loss of rights for over 15 years, but also in loosing the race for launching the drug first in case of parallel research. Such losses are huge, considering the time and money invested for the research on a drug. But for the dormant competitors (those who spend least on R&D), patents are rather motivation to modify the chemical form of patented drug, and come-out with a generic form that might not violate the rights of the inventor. After the patent expiry, almost every dormant competitor joins the party in launching the generic forms of the then patented drug and thus they bank on the research conducted by the patent holders, though after a long wait of 15-20 years. India has long been called the pharmacy of the poors, owing to the large number of generic producers in the country, which produce the low cost generics to the high cost patented drugs, and supply them to the poor nations (and rather rich too!). The practice of generics in India has always been a thorn in the eye of Pharmaceutical giants. Their concern is apt, but Indian pharmaceuticals aren’t committing a crime either.

Research’s Perspective
I’ve brought this point in notice earlier in the article too—Patents are the triggers to research! The only reason giant pharmas like Novartis, GlaxoSmith, Merck, Pfizer etc have retained the “Giant” status despite huge investment in R&D (which asks for billions of dollars), is the patent effect! The returns out of Monopoly in market obtained out of a patent are in the scale of Multi-billion dollars! And, that’s an enough reason to spend a decade and a billion dollars on conducting research for a new form of life-saving drug , that would be more efficient and unique than the earlier variants in the market. The battle for patents rather hastens the pace of research too.

So, in nutshell, the effects of patents are myriad. But, effectively, patents are necessary part of the system. Their role in motivating the research can never be undermined, though their effect on poor countries is equally alarming. A differential application of patent laws in the developing countries could be a solution, wherein the inventor might be allowed to set-up a unit for production of the drug with exclusive rights, but at subsidized prices. The subsidized drug could be prohibited for export to developed nation(s) and would be exclusively for the citizens of the poor nation In any case, generics will emerge, so a differential policy can rather enable the patent holders to keep the generic producers at bay.

A report on “PATENT TERM EXTENSION and the PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY” can be found on:
Ota.fas.org/reports/8119.pdf

It’s a highly enriching piece of information on patent regimes of various drugs, the companies which were active in yester years, current status of the companies, the US patent laws, the process of patenting and the Patent-Industry relationship. Any one interested in this filed of study will find this report really useful.
Thank you

Successful Use of Gene Therapy for Treatment of Type I Diabetes in Dogs

0
0
Dogs are considered human’s best friend, and many pet owners are willing to go to extreme lengths to take care of their companions and provide medical care. Gene therapy has become a popular treatment option for veterinary medicine. In dogs, one of the main conditions treated is osteoarthritis. The gene therapy treatments have helped ease pain and improve quality of life for many pets. Even though many companion animals have benefitted from the results of gene therapy, there have been few scientific studies performed assessing the therapy. However, a recent study has shown successful maintenance of blood glucose levels in dogs with Type I diabetes mellitus.

Researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Spain had previously demonstrated efficacy of gene therapy treatments in mice with diabetes. However, being able to demonstrate similar efficacy in an large animal, such as dogs, is a big step in moving from pre-clinical mouse studies to clinical trials in humans. Because of differences in body size and life span, it can be difficult to directly correlate results found in mice to humans. Large animal studies can be a good predictor of the potential success of gene therapy in humans. For example, a previous study in dogs that showed promising results for treating hemophilia has been successfully adapted to humans. The long life span of dogs compared to mice also allows researchers to determine potential long term effects of the therapy before moving into clinical trials.

The scientists used an attenuated adenovirus vector to transport genes expressing insulin, a protein that helps cells take in sugar from the blood stream, and glucokinase, a protein that helps increase and decrease insulin production in response to blood glucose levels. The genes were inserted into skeletal muscle cells. Because skeletal muscle cells do not replicate, the genes remain in the cell long term, and the proteins are expressed consistently at low, but effective levels. The gene therapy was efficacious in dogs for as many as four years, which indicate that humans could also be treated long term by the transfer of insulin and glucokinase genes into skeletal muscle cells. The researchers did note that both proteins were required for the dogs to maintain proper blood sugar levels.

The next step for the researchers will be to perform clinical testing in companion animals. All of the dogs used in the study were beagles, and were maintained in a lab. Companion animals will have greater genetic variation, representing more breeds. These clinical studies using companion animals will help determine if gene therapy transplantation of insulin and glucokinase can be effective in a larger variety of dogs. If these trials are successful, the treatment could potentially be translated into humans. While gene therapy would not be a cure for Type 1 diabetes mellitus in dogs or humans, it would provide a long term treatment. Proper glucose levels are important in a diabetic patient, as consistently high levels can cause kidney damage, neuropathy, and other problems associated with diabetes.

While the studies in dogs have demonstrated that insulin and glucokinase genes can help control blood sugar in patients with diabetes, the actually treatment may need to be altered before being used in humans. The vector used to help insert the genes was an attenuated adenovirus. Adenovirus is a causative agent of the common cold. This means that patients may have previously developed immunity against the vector. If a patient is already immune to the vector, his or her immune system would attack and kill the virus before it is able to insert the genes into the cells. In addition, if follow up therapy is needed, a patient would have a high likelihood of having developed immunity against the vector during the primary therapy. This would cause difficulties with follow up injections of the virus. Another problem with using a viral vector to insert genes is that the insertion may occur in random locations. This could cause mutations in the cells, and lead to cancer. While the transfer of insulin and glucokinase genes may indeed be a method to control blood glucose levels in patients with Type I diabetes mellitus, the method of transferring these genes into the patient will likely require more research.


References:

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/51635817#.UX6HckqGY4J

What Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Can Tell Us About Disease

0
0
Updates From Experimental Biology Expo 2013

For many years, stem cells have been touted as a potential cure for a variety of human diseases and injuries. Stem cells are immature cells that are able to mature into a wide variety of fully developed cells. There are two main types of stem cells considered for medical research. Embryonic stem cells are obtained from early stage embryos. Adult stem cells are obtained from tissue from adults, such as bone marrow. Embryonic stem cells are more plastic than adult stem cells, which means they have the potential to mature into a broader range of cell types. However, because obtaining embryonic stem cells involves destruction of a human embryo, there are many ethical concerns to using embryonic stem cells. Because adult stem cells can be obtained from a living person, there is no such ethical concern. In addition, adult stem cells can be obtained from a patient, matured into the desired cell type, and re-injected into the patient, removing any possibility of transplant rejection.
The use of stem cells has been controversial, largely due to the use of embryos to produce the stem cells. Originally, cloning of embryonic stem cells was performed as a way for scientists to learn about diseases. In order to study these diseases, scientists began trying to understand the process of therapeutic cloning. The first successful cloning of a mammal was Dolly the sheep in the 1990s, an achievement that paved the way for researching the growth of embryonic origin cells from mammals. This achievement also proved that animal egg cells could be manipulated to help develop stem cells that could develop into every type of body cell.
One of the original goals researchers had was to be able to eventually grow organs in tissue culture to study disease states. Another long term goal of cloning was to be able to produce organs for human transplant. However, because of the nature of obtaining stem cells from embryos and the controversy involved, studies such as these were not widely accepted by the public. Researchers also wanted to grow stem cells in tissue culture dishes in order to study how normal tissue develops. Understanding how these developments occur can help researchers determine what goes wrong during the disease process.
In the past few years, researchers have discovered how to reprogram matured adult cells into a less mature state. These cells are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The reprogramming involves sending signals to the nucleus of the cell that tells the cell to revert to an immature, undeveloped state. iPSCs can be developed into many more types of cells than adult stem cells, and are therefore more versatile. iPSCs are very similar to embryonic stem cells, but because of their adult origin, production of these cells does not have as many ethical considerations.
iPSCs have many advantages to both embryonic stem cells as well as adult stem cells. As mentioned above, iPSCs do not pose any of the ethical dilemmas that embryonic stem cells do. In additional, because of Bush era funding restrictions, many of the embryonic stem cell lines in use today have been around for many years. These cell lines were grown with mouse origin feeder cells, meaning they are no longer consider pure human cell lines. Because of this, any mature cells derived from these embryonic stem cell lines would not be suitable for human transplantation. In addition, because of their rapid replication and the large number of generations they have been grown in culture, embryonic stem cells are prone to mutations. These mutations may also cause problems when transplanted into humans, as the cells would be highly prone to developing cancerous tumors. Because iPSCs could be developed directly from cells obtain from the patient, they would not been grown for long periods of times in mouse feeder cells, and they would not have had a chance to acquire as many mutations. This would make adult stem cells matured from iPSCs much safer for use in transplantation than cells matured from embryonic stem cells. In addition, many scientists now believe that instead of growing entire organs, such as a kidney or liver, in tissue culture, they can simply inject matured iPSCs into the patient in order to repair damaged organs. The overall desire to use stem cells to treat a multitude of human diseases remain the same, but the methods being explored have changed a great deal since studies of therapeutic cloning began.


References:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...153449.htm

Epigenetics Linked to Autism

0
0
Epigenetics is the study of how DNA expression is controlled. DNA is stored by being wrapped around proteins called histones. The histones have different arms that can be modified, normally by the addition of a methyl group, a phosphate group, or an acetyl group. When specific points on the histone arms are modified, the DNA is either more tightly wound around the histone, which results in decreased gene expression, or the DNA is opened up, resulting in increased gene expression. Epigenetics can help explain why individuals with the same genes may have different expression patterns. Epigenetic changes may even be heritable, meaning they can be passed from parent to offspring. The changes caused by the different histone modifications can be induced by environmental factors. In addition, the changes may be reversible, although scientists have not fully discovered how to do this in cells.

Autism spectrum disorder is a series of disorders associated with symptoms involving difficult social interactions, repetitive behaviors, and impaired language development. Different patients that have been diagnosed with autism have varying levels of severity of the disease, and may present with different symptoms in the three affected areas. The incidence of autism spectrum disorder has increased significantly in recent years. This may be in part due to improved diagnostic standards, and a larger range of symptoms included in diagnosis. Indeed, many patients who have been diagnosed with Autism in recent years would not likely have been diagnosed many years ago due to the different standards.

A genetic component has been associated with the development of autism spectrum disorders. A major piece of data supporting the hypothesis that Autism spectrum disorders have a genetic component comes from data from identical twins. If one identical twin has autism spectrum disorder, the other twin has a 70% chance of also having autism spectrum disorder. However, this also means that if one identical twin has Autism spectrum disorder, there is a 30% chance that the other twin does not. This implies some type of environmental or non-genetic component to the disease.

Researchers from King’s College London examined DNA histone methylation at 27,000 sites in the genome from fifty sets of identical twins. Methylation of the histone proteins generally results in decreased expression of the DNA. Out of the fifty sets of twins studied, eleven pairs were both healthy, five pairs both had autism spectrum disorder, and the remaining thirty four pairs had different autism spectrum disorder diagnoses. The research team found patterns they were able to link to both the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder as well to the severity of the disease. In all of the patients that had an autism diagnosis, specific sites in the DNA had histone methylation. In addition, different symptoms of autism spectrum disorder were linked to methylation at specific sites of the genome. Some of these sites occurred at locations associated with early brain development and the development of autism spectrum disorder, which may be contributing factors to autism.

The research into epigenetic modifications at specific locations in the genome is a big breakthrough in autism research. Because some of the epigenetic histone modifications can be influenced by environmental pressures, this research helps bridge the gap between a genetic cause of autism spectrum disorder and an environmental cause. This information could help improve diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, helping clinicians find more definitive data in determining their diagnoses. Clinicians could diagnose autism earlier in some patients, or perhaps even find interventions to help delay the progression of the disorder. Early diagnosis and therapy for autism spectrum disorder results in better outcomes for the patients. In addition, because epigenetic changes may be reversible, it is possible that researchers might find ways to help reduce the symptoms associated with autism. While scientists do not fully understand exactly how histone modifications occur, or what causes them, research is constantly advancing and this information may one day be available. If scientists can manipulate the genes affected by histone modification in autism, they might be able to provide therapeutic benefits in this manner as well. The research linking specific epigenetic histone methylation to autism symptoms and disease severity indeed will be followed by many groundbreaking advancements in autism research. With the rising incidence of autism, these advancements will be very welcome to many parents and patients alike.


References:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...091113.htm

Cannabinoid related compunds used to battle HIV

0
0
HIV, the causative agent of AIDS has long presented a problem for treatment, showing extraordinary resilience to any kind of drugs. It has long been known that it infects an organisam and persists in certain cells, despite any attempts to drive it out.. But researchers at Temple University School of Medicine's Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine and Center for Substance Abuse Research (CSAR) have discovered that synthetic anti-inflammatory substances derived and somewhat related to the active ingredient of marijuana may be able to tackle HIV while inside one of its major hideouts, immune cells known as macrophages.

"Powerful antiretroviral drug cocktails have allowed many HIV patients to live longer," explained Servio H. Ramirez, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Temple University School of Medicine (TUSM), and first author on the study. This breakthrough comes at a crucial time in HIV research. But the main problem with living longer with an HIV infection is the low level of replication and ever-present week inflammation which eventually causes much damage to the organism, predominantly nerve tissue. In the central nervous system, this inflammatory process is thought to be the main underlying cause of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND), a syndrome that appears after more than 10 years of the advent of an HIV infection.

To be able to better study the connection between inflammation and neurocognitive conditions linked to long-term exposure to HIV, Ramirez and colleagues turned specifically at the CB2 receptor, a protein located on the surface of the immune cells macrophages. CB2 is a binding site for cannabinoids, the primary active compounds of cannabis(marijuana), and it may potentially play a role in blocking inflammation in the central nervous system. Unlike its twin and counterpart, the CB1 receptor, which is found primarily on neurons in the brain, which is its primary target, CB2 does not mediate the psychoactive effects for which cannabis is popularly known.

Ramirez says that there has been much pharmacological interest in developing agents that selectively target CB2 over the recent years. In an ideal system, these compounds would help limit and alleviate chronic inflammatory responses and would not bind to CB1, not causing any adverse reactions. The most promising compounds are those derived from THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the main active substance in cannabis.

The potential development of such drugs, however, depends largely on knowing which cells exactly harbor HIV. Earlier studies suggested that T cells, integral components of the immune system, are among the main HIV reservoirs. The Temple research team, however, chose to focus on macrophages, which are a type of white blood cell that primarily performs phagocytosys, it engulfs and destroys foreign agents. Macrophages function in both non-specific defense as well as help initiate specific defense mechanisms of vertebrate animals.

According to Ramirez and the study's senior investigator, Yuri Persidsky, MD, PhD, Chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at TUSM, macrophages likely present the primary reservoir for HIV. They are among the first cells to become infected following sexual transmission of the virus, largely due to their primary function, and they are found in every organ of the human body and circulate in the blood and move more-less freely though tissues.. It is currently thought that macrophages may be responsible for introducing HIV into the brain, eventually initiating HIV-associated cognitive decline.

The research teams made this discovery by conducting a series of experiments in a well-established, often used and non-clinical HIV macrophage cell model. The experiments began by treating the HIV-infected cells with one of three different synthetic CB2-activating compounds. The cells were then sampled and tested periodically to measure the activity of an enzyme called reverse transcriptase, which is essential for HIV replication. After seven days, the team found that all three compounds had successfully attenuated HIV replication, slowing it down considerably.

The results suggest that selective CB2 agonists could potentially be used in tandem with existing antiretroviral drugs, opening the door to the creation of new drug therapies for HIV/AIDS. The data also supports the idea that the human immune system could be utilized to fight HIV infection.
"Our study suggests that the body's own natural defenses can be made more powerful to fight some of the worst symptoms of HIV," Persidsky said. He also noted that stimulating CB2 receptors in a similar manner in white blood cells could produce similar benefits against other viral infections.
The new research further highlights the important work being carried out at Temple's Center for Substance Abuse Research. "The compounds we had available through CSAR formed an important aspect of this research," Ramirez said, "From our perspective we were in a better position for in vitro research. We have interesting models and were able to take advantage of our colleagues' knowledge of receptors and cannabinoids to make a unique contribution."

The team plans next to perform further screening studies using other novel CB2 agonists in parallel with studies that can help uncover the molecular events within the cell that regulate the effect of CB2 on HIV.


The experiments and findings are detailed in the May issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology.

Leading institutes for Bioinformatics in India

0
0
Want to pursue a career in Bioinformatics? Here are some of the leading colleges and universities in India - Written by Maitree Baral

Bioinformatics is a multi disciplinary approach that involves computational, mathematical and statistical methods to decipher the biological information. It is an emerging field having a lot of scope for research. Currently students and researchers are showing more interest in getting deep into this new arena of biology, where mathematics, statistics and computer science knowledge is being implemented for deciphering biological concepts. And since the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP), the importance and demand has become more imperative in this field.

Bioinformatics has reached its adulthood in India! Since its inception into the curriculum of Indian Institutes, there hasn’t been a setback for this course. It has been accepted more vehemently, than it was supposed to be. It is because of the fact that, it is something beyond the stereotypical biological researches. What excites researchers more is the application of computer science and mathematics throughout the research. And all these factors make Bioinformatics one-of-its-kind in the entire research world.

There are a number of Institutes in India offering courses in Bioinformatics, basically at graduate and post graduate levels (B.Sc., M.Sc., B.Tech and M.Tech). The minimum eligibility criterion for getting admitted into a professional degree course (B.Sc. and B.Tech) of Bioinformatics is a pass in 10+2 with a biology back ground. Similarly for getting enrolled into a postgraduate course (M.Sc. and M.Tech) in bioinformatics, one needs to have a biology background with a pass in graduation. These eligibility conditions are uniform throughout all the institutes of the country. Along with these, Diploma courses are also available in bioinformatics.

Given below are some of the best Indian institutes providing courses in bioinformatics:

B.Sc. Bioinformatics
• Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Madhya Pradesh
• Pondicherry University, Puducherry
• Mahatma Gandhi University, Kerala
• Manipal University, Maharashtra
• Guru Nanak Dev University, Punjab
• Punjab University, Chandigarh
• Shivaji University, Maharashtra
• Bharathidasan University, TamilNadu
• Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Maharashtra
• Awadhesh Pratap Singh University, Madhya Pradesh
• Sardar Patel University, Gujarat

M.Sc. Bioinformatics
• Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya : School of Biotechnology, Madhya Pradesh
• Sri Ramachandra University College of Biomedical Sciences, Tamil Nadu
• IFTM University, Uttar Pradesh
• Bharathidasan University, TamilNadu
• Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Maharashtra
• University of Pune : Bioinformatics Centre, Maharashtra
• Pondicherry University : Bioinformatics Centre, Puducherry
• University of Calcutta, West Bengal
• Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi

B.Tech Bioinformatics
• Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Uttar Pradesh
• Amity University, Uttar Pradesh
• Dr. D.Y. Patil Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Institute, Maharashtra
• Dr. M.G.R. Educational and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu
• IASE University, Uttar Pradesh
• Jaypee University of Information Technology, Himachal Pradesh
• Karunya University, Tamil Nadu
• Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Madhya Pradesh
• SRM University, Tamil Nadu

M.Tech Bioinformatics
• SRM University, Tamil Nadu
• Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Madhya Pradesh
• Karunya University, Tamil Nadu
• Poonaiyah Ramajayam Institute of Science and Technology, Tamil Nadu
• NIIT University, Rajasthan
• University of Pune, Maharashtra

Diploma in Bioinformatics
• Bharathiar University, Tamil Nadu
• Assam University, Assam
• Haryana Agricultural University, Haryana
• Banasthali University, Rajasthan

Bioinformatics has ample of scope in India. Fields like sequence analysis, database design maintenance, proteomics, genomics, pharmacogenomics, pharmacology, drug designing, 3D structure modeling are being researched extensively. One can go for research in the leading research institutes of the country, hospitals, private research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies and industries as Research Associate (RA), Junior Research Fellow (JRF), Senior Research Fellow (SRF) and Project Assistants. One can also go for Doctoral in bioinformatics, immediately after getting the Masters degree by clearing national level exams like Bioinformatics National Certification Examination (BINC) and National Eligibility Test (NET). Moreover since the current trend in the employment sector requires the knowledge of computer science in addition to the mainstream career, having a professional degree in bioinformatics help the students in finding a job in any IT sector (Wipro, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Accelrys, Inc., etc.) as well. The computational aspect of Bioinformatics proves to be very beneficial for students as it opens up job prospects in other sectors, like banking.

Finally, in a nutshell, bioinformatics initiated as an effort to digitalize the biological research area which eventually proved to be a milestone in the research sector.

Continued Rise of Childhood Food Allergies

0
0
The incidence of food allergies has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Some of the most common allergenic foods include soy, eggs, milk, shellfish, peanuts, and tree nuts. Most food allergies appear early during childhood, particularly allergies to milk, nuts, and eggs. Many children that are allergic to peanuts, eggs, and milk will outgrow the allergy, and eventually be able to consume these foods normally. Approximately five percent of children in America experience food allergies, which is an increase from three percent of American children being affected ten years ago. In addition, skin allergies, such as eczema, have increased in recent years. At the same time, scientists have not noticed an increase in allergic rhinitis, or allergies that affect the respiratory tract in children. This difference is most likely because allergic rhinitis develops later than food allergies and skin allergies.

There are many potential reasons why food allergies are on the rise in children. The most commonly held idea regarding the cause of allergies is the hygiene hypothesis. The hygiene hypothesis states that the increased sanitation and hygiene in developed nations means that young infants and children are not exposed to as many parasites, including helminthic worms. If the developing immune system is not exposed to these parasites, then it will not produce an adaptive response against the parasite. Instead, the developing immune cells may begin to recognize ordinarily harmless proteins as being foreign invaders. These proteins are termed allergens, as they cause the allergic response to be initiated by the immune system.

This hypothesis is supported by the fact that many allergies are mediated by a type of CD4+ helper T cell term T helper 2 (Th2) cells. Th2 cells normally play a role in defending the host against large, extracellular pathogens, such as worms. When the Th2 cells are improperly activated by harmless particles such as food proteins, the result is an allergic response. In addition, certain white blood cells are activated by IgE antibodies. All of these components of the immune system are normally activated to help remove pathogens. However, activation by an allergen, instead of protecting the host, can cause allergic symptoms that can potentially be life-threatening. The symptoms manifested will be determined by the route of introduction of the allergen. For example, inhaled allergens, such as pollen, will initiate a response in the upper respiratory tract, causing runny nose, sneezing, and possible breathing problems. Food allergies will begin in the digestive tract, but symptoms can quickly be distributed systemically by the immune response. Contact allergies will appear on the skin, as rashes or hives.

While the hygiene hypothesis offers an explanation of why allergies in general are on the rise, it does not explain how specific people develop specific allergies. Some families seem to have a higher prevalence of food allergies than others, indicating a possible genetic component. Many families that have a history of food allergies tend to be cautious about introducing allergenic foods into their children’s diets. The American Association of Pediatricians recently updated recommendations on introducing food to children to help reduce the risk of allergies. Originally, pregnant and nursing women with a familial history of food allergies were advised against eating foods such as eggs, milk, nuts and shellfish. In addition, the AAP suggested that introduction of foods containing these allergens be delayed in at-risk children. The new guidelines have changed all of these recommendations. Research demonstrates that maternal diet during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as the timing of introducing allergenic foods, has had little effect on the development of childhood food allergies. The AAP now only recommends waiting until a child is four to six months old to begin introducing solid foods. The only recommendation that did not change was that mothers try to breastfeed as long as possible. Exclusive breastfeeding for the first four to six months has been linked to a lower risk of food allergies. However, when mothers are unable to breastfeed, the AAP recommends that children at high risk for developing food allergies be fed formula that has been extensively hydrolyzed, meaning the proteins have been broken down more than in regular formulas.

As the prevalence of food allergies continues to rise in children, researchers and clinicians must find ways to test for the likelihood of developing allergies, and learn how to help those children who have already developed allergies. Some food allergies can very severe, potentially even lethal, so parents and caregivers must be aware of these potential effects. By studying the causes of food allergies in children, scientists might be able to prevent or treat these severe allergies, taking away at least one major source of anxiety for parents.



References:

http://news.yahoo.com/childhood-food-all...56071.html

http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/res..._allergies

Understanding Flow Cytometry in a Simple Way!

0
0
What is Flow Cytometry?
It's a 'Tool' that can isolate specific types of cells from a pool of cells. It is usually done by suspending cells in a stream of fluid and passing them by an electronic detection apparatus.
[Image: flow_1.jpg]

How does it look like? What are it’s components?
Well, a typical flow cytometer looks like this:
[Image: flow2.png]

How does it Function?
It sorts the cells based upon their size, shape, color of light they fluoresce.
Once the cells are bombarded with energy, detector starts making following measurements:
1. Changes in Light Scattered (Decided by Shape and size)
2. Changes in Light Absorbed (Decided by Shape and Size)
3. Changes in Light Emitted (Decided by nature of cells and kind of fluorescent tag they are having)

Based on these measurements, specific types of cells are recognized and sorted by the sorter by manipulating their charge.
[Image: flow_3.jpg]
Image Source: Introduction to antibodies, 2nd Edition, Chemicon International, Page 28

HOW DOES THIS CELL SORTING COME TO USE?
Well, the applications are many, but let me explain two very basic and most frequent applications of Flow Cytometry:

1. POSITIVE SELECTION AND ISOLATION OF CLONES
Imagine a situation where you have inserted the gene of your interest in the target cell with a GFP reporter. Now, flow cytometry can come handy in this situation to select and isolate all the positive clones expressing the GFP and hence your gene of interest! And it does so extremely fast and precisely!
The practice is very common for positive selection of transfected mammalian cells.
2. DIAGNOSIS OF DISEASED STATE ( CANCER etc)
Now, Imagine another situation, where you want to diagnose a disease like cancer. All you need to do is take the sample of the patient’s body cells. Add a flourochrome labeled antibody to the sample, specific to the epitopes of the diseased state cells. The detector will detect the signal intensity of light emitted by the antibody labeled cells. Cell sorter will sort out the diseased state cells for further verification. So, this solves the dual purpose: intensity of signal gives the idea of condition of disease, and sorter gives the pool of diseased cells for further verification.

SOME DETAILS ON DETECTION?
All kinds of light signals (mentioned above), be it emitted/scattered/absorbed are transformed into digital signals using a computer program. The most common way of presenting the signals is through a single parameter graph of INTENSITY versus NUMBER OF CELLS (see figure below):
[Image: flow4.png]
Courtesy: Introduction to Antibiotics by Chemicon

Such plots as depicted above indicate the fluorescence intensity detected against the number of times it was detected.

It is worth mentioning here that there are two kinds of flourochromes commonly used in Flow Cytometry:
1. Fluoroisothiocyanate (FITC)
2. Phycoerythrin (PE)
The reason they are the most preferred fluorescent tags is that both of these tags can be excited with the same laser wavelength i.e 488nm and both these have a well separated / distinguishable emission spectra i.e FITC having green spectra (530nm) and PE having orange emission spectra (570-575nm).

POSSIBILITY OF MULTIPLE KINDS OF DETECTIONS?
The best thing about Flow cytometry is that it can detect and sort multiple kinds of characteristics of a single type of cell. During multiple parametric detection, the signals are recorded in 2 dimensional or 3 dimensional diagrams, where in the intensity of one parameter’s response is plotted against the other (X vs Y plot i.e 2D) and cell is sorted based upon the response of combined intensity of the two parameters. So, if a population of cells is expressing two kinds of abnormal traits, then they can be labelled for both the characteristics and passed through the flow cytometer. It will detect the relative intensity of two signals from every cell and plot it as XY scatter/dot plot, giving an idea about the intensity of expression of the two traits in the cell in terms of which trait is expressed more and in how many cells.

Concluding
Flow Cytometry is thus a really simple yet very significant tool in scientific world, offering it’s services in wide range of applications like clinical research, disease diagnosis, routine scientific research (cloning, cDNA library preparation, toxicity profile monitoring, detection of pollutants and their effects etc). The ease of analysis and detection of the signals makes it a strong choice of both the naïve and experienced researchers. Hardly any submission of publication based on Flow Cytometry data goes unpublished, owing to the uniqueness and precision of the data generated by this high throughput tool! A basic understanding of this wonderful tool in Biotechnology is thus always expected of every biotechnologist, and I hope this article helped you in some way.
Thanks

Introduction

0
0
Hey every one. I am new to the forum. I like discussions and this forum suits me best. I would love to spend quality here.

Engineering a Printable Ear

0
0
Hearing and vision problems can decrease quality of life for many patients. Difficulty hearing effects communication and learning for individuals. Conventional hearing aids can help improve hearing, but may not completely restore hearing to a normal level. Cochlear implants, which involves putting an electronic device into the ear and connecting it to the brain, can dramatically improve hearing, but the cost of nearly $100,000 per ear is inhibitive to many patients. For patients who have had hearing difficulties since birth, or who have lost hearing due to accidents or injuries, finding a way to restore hearing would help improve how they can interact with the world.

Tissue engineering generally involves seeding cells onto a synthetic scaffolding. The process is used to help with reconstructive surgery. However, building the tissue is not always easy, and getting and maintaining appropriate structure has proven to be very difficult. Human tissues are complex, and scientists have not yet mastered how to reproduce the complex structures of these tissues. Scientists from Princeton University recently developed a method of engineering a functional bionic ear using computer assisted design and three dimensional printing. It was the team’s first attempt to produce an organ that could function in a human, and even improved upon normal human hearing.

Producing functional bioengineered organs and tissue has been difficult in the past. Merging organic tissue with electronic devices is not straightforward. Generally, the tissue is built onto a synthetic scaffold, and then merged with the electronic components. This is difficult for many reasons. Electronics are solid, and made from metallic components. Cells are fluid filled sacs, and can take a variety of shapes. These different chemical and physical factors make it difficult for the two components to effectively merge and work together.

The team of researchers at Princeton University opted to try building the tissue and electric components together in a three dimensional format. Amazingly, this process was completed using a simple, off-the-shelf three dimensional printer costing approximately $1000. To do this, the researchers used three dimensional printing. The printers, with the assistance of computer assisted design machines, layer materials, including cells and electronics parts, into the desired structure. The ear was cultured in a solution to help mature the cells. The cells, which originated from calf, then matured and developed into cartilage cells to provide support for the bioengineered ear. The electronics included a silver nano-particle receiver to help pick up the sound, and silicone surrounding the electronics for insulation and protection. Importantly, the ear maintained the proper structure throughout this process of development.

The bioengineered ear is formed from cartilage surrounding an antenna. A cochlea-like structure, which can sense sound, is connected to electrodes. The electrodes can then be attached to nerve endings in the human, functioning in a way similar to a hearing aid. While the ear the researchers produced uses an antenna to pick up radio signals, the team hopes to next make an ear that can pick up acoustic vibrations, functioning more similarly to a human ear.

This process can be used in the development of future cybernetic devices, which are engineered organs and tissues that can function as well as or better than human organs. With these developments, people who have no sight, hearing, or who have been injured and lost sensory organs, would be able to have new tissues developed that would be able to restore the function. This would be a major breakthrough for reconstructive surgery. In addition, improved sensory functions, such as sight or hearing, could potentially be used to help improve a human’s ability to take in information. This could be useful for national defense products, allowing soldiers to see or hear better, and be safer in combat zones when completing missions.

Although it will take more time and research to produce an ear that can be used clinically to pick up sound waves and transmit the information to the human brain, this advancement is exciting for many reasons. It demonstrates an efficient, inexpensive, and reliable method of producing bioengineered tissues that can function as well as or better than human tissues. In addition, the structure of the tissue was maintained through the whole process of developing the ear, which has been an obstacle to tissue engineering in the past. Many patients could benefit from this technology.



References:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...193208.htm

http://www.latimes.com/news/science/scie...4581.story

Activation of Cannabinoid Receptors May Fight HIV Reservoirs

0
0
One of the hardest challenges to curing human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is removing the viral reservoirs in the host. HIV is a retrovirus. This means that unlike normal cells which use a DNA genome to store information, HIV uses an RNA genome to hold its genetic information. Once the virus has entered the cell, the RNA is reverse transcribed into DNA by viral proteins. The DNA is then inserted into the host cell’s genome, becoming a more or less permanent part of the cell. The HIV DNA is replicated along with the host cell DNA, and passed into new daughter cells. In addition, the HIV DNA is transcribed by the host cell’s enzymes into messenger RNA, which is then used to direct translation of HIV proteins. New viral particles are assembled and released from the host cell to find new cells to infect. Because the HIV genome can remain quiescently in the host cell’s genome, it is possible that viral reservoirs continue to exist, even after aggressive antiretroviral therapy reduces detectable viral loads in plasma to zero.

Antiretroviral drugs can keep plasma virus levels low and delay the progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in HIV positive patients. However, because the virus is not completely removed from the body, antiretroviral medications are needed indefinitely. The constant presence of the virus in the body can cause excessive inflammation and immune cell exhaustion. The best way to combat HIV infection would require removing viral reservoirs from cells. The constant inflammation caused by low level HIV replication can cause problems in many parts of the body, including the central nervous system (CNS). Inflammation of the CNS appears to be involved in the development of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). When viral mediated inflammation of the CNS occurs, patients develop varying levels of dementia.

Researchers at Temple University School of Medicine wanted to determine if activation of the cannabinoid receptor CB2 could prevent inflammation of the CNS seen during HIV infection, and thereby prevent neurocognitive defects. They chose to study macrophages, which are a type of cell that could act as a reservoir for HIV. Macrophages are found throughout the body, and are believed to be the cells that transport HIV to the brain. They hoped that by treating infected macrophages with CB2 activators, they could prevent low level viral replication and associated inflammation.

Macrophages grown in vitro and infected with HIV were treated with one of three synthetic CB2 activators. The researchers measured levels of reverse transcriptase, to use as a measurement of how actively the virus was replicating in the cell. All three of the receptors decreased reverse transcriptase activity in the cells. This indicates that CB2 activators could potentially be used to prevent replication of HIV in cellular reservoirs. By inhibiting replication, associated inflammation would also be controlled, and HAND could potentially be prevented in patients.

While this study provides interesting preliminary data about the use of synthetic agents, there is still a great deal of research that needs to be performed, and many questions are left unanswered. Using reverse transcriptase activity as a marker of viral replication is not an ideal choice. As mentioned above, reverse transcriptase is an enzyme used to change the viral RNA genome into DNA. This is an indirect measure of how efficiently HIV is infecting new cells. It might be more accurate to measure production of a viral protein, such as the envelope protein, to determine how well new HIV particles are being produced. However, reduced activity of reverse transcriptase does indicate that fewer new cells are becoming infected with HIV, which translates into fewer reservoirs. In addition, the mechanism by which CB2 activation inhibits HIV replication would need to be studied as well. CB2 is a cannabinoid receptor, which is normally activated by the active components in marijuana. While it is known that activation of these receptors does reduce inflammation, it is not at all clear how this could result in reduced HIV replication. Researchers would also need to determine if CB2 activation can indeed decrease dementia symptoms in HIV infection. During these studies, it would also be beneficial to determine if CB2 activation inhibits viral replication throughout the body. This could be a potential adjunctive therapy to current retroviral treatments available to help slow disease progression even further.



References:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/201...132053.htm

http://neurology.about.com/od/ID/a/HIV-A...orders.htm

Insights Into Human Cloning and Technologies Involved

0
0
Two technologies possible for human cloning include Artificial embryo twinning and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer.

Cloning is the developing of an organism that has a complete genetic makeup of another. The two organisms, the clone and the original organism could be explained better by a scenario of identical twins. Identical twins have similar composition of all their genes therefore, giving them the characteristic of similarity. Over years, clones of different organisms like mice, frogs and pets have been developed. Actually, cloning is dated back to early 1970’s. The cloning of these organisms some of which include mammals has given insight to a notable ability to develop human clones. Actually the prospect of human cloning first came to lame light after the successful cloning of Dolly the lamb in 1997. The implementation of human cloning has not been done due to imbalance in its pros and cons. Nevertheless, clones of numerous other organisms have been developed.

Many clones and the technology itself have proved beneficial and have been accepted in the society. Clones have provided disease models. When infected with disease causing agents they are efficiently used in acquiring insight of the disease. Clones of stem cells have been sufficiently used in repairing of tissues that are damaged. Cloning again has enabled to generate great numbers of transgenic organisms. These are organisms that produce commercially viable products such as proteins. Another applicable advantage of cloning would be in reviving extinct organisms and sustaining species that face danger of extinction. However, reviving the extinct organisms would rather be theoretical than practical, unless undamaged and properly kept DNA samples of the organism are available.

Two technologies possible for human cloning include artificial embryo twinning and Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer. Artificial embryo twinning technique is similar to the natural procedure of formation of identical twins. Naturally, a zygote divides into two or more cells in the same embryo. Each cell then develops resulting to identical individuals since they are genetically similar. The major difference between artificial embryo twinning and natural procedure lies in the environment used in developing the embryo. The latter occurs in a mother’s body while artificial embryo twinning is done in a Petri dish. Twinning is then done to the embryo resulting to two cells which are then allowed to grow individually in surrogate mother. The developed individuals are genetically identical since they originate from the same zygote.

Somatic cell nuclear transfer yields similar results to artificial embryo twinning although it makes use of ultimately different procedure. Somatic cells are all cells apart from the reproductive cells, the egg and sperm. The nucleus of a somatic cell is isolated and transferred to an egg cell whose nucleus is also removed prior. The egg cell, with its new nucleus develops into an embryo which is placed in surrogate mother for development. The resulting individual or the clone is genetically similar to the nucleus donor. However, it should be noted that the number of chromosomes inherited by the clones in both technologies is different. In artificial embryo twinning, both the sperm and egg donate a chromosome each. The embryo inherits two chromosomes and therefore, the clone ends up with two chromosomes. In somatic nuclear cell transfer, the nucleus of the recipient egg is removed prior to introduction of a new nucleus. Therefore the clone bears only a single chromosome.

These procedures give insight in the ability and possibility of developing human clones. However, the ultimate decision to clone human depends on the pros and cons of the same, which are discussed below. Human cloning would greatly help in medical research by providing absolutely actual environments to study certain medical conditions that have been of concern over years such as, growth of tumors and cancer. The study of cells would again give an insight to human aging. The study of human genetics would be easier and probably more effective, given that models similar to their counterparts are used. Considered a great benefit of this technology would be the ability to replace deceased underage humans, especially children. Children who die in accidents and acute diseases could be replaced. Using the somatic cell nuclear transfer method, nucleus of a somatic cell of the deceased could be isolated and used in developing a clone. Equally, celebrities and people who made great contributions in this world could be sustained by developing clones and therefore, help sustain talents and man power. Infertile couples would be able to bear children of their own kind through Somatic cell nuclear transfer. Again the bearing of twins would be out of human will other than nature. From an unbiased point of view, these benefits outwit the disadvantages of human cloning.

Challenges related to human cloning include; high chances of failure, problems during a later stage in development and abnormal expression of genes. These could probably be fixed as practice goes on. The chances of failure could be attributed to; first, incompatibility between a nucleus and the host egg cell. Secondly, it is not guaranteed that an egg induced with a foreign nucleus could definitely divide. Thirdly, failure could occur in introducing an embryo to the surrogate mother and/or further development in the surrogate mother could fail. Assuming that a certain clone is delivered, its normality cannot be predicted. Most clones suffer from “Large Offspring Syndrome’’. This is a condition whereby, a clone at birth will have larger organs than their natural counterparts. Organ malformations are also rampant hence severe complications later in life. Another challenge is that a clone could fail to express a required gene at the right place and in the right time. Failure to express the right gene at the right place and time could cause complications such as untimely aging and death. Therefore, there is never any estimated lifespan of a clone.

Prospects in human cloning face several challenges which include; legal, social and ethical issues. However, any technology that relieves human pain and trauma would be much welcome to the society. As the technology become successful, human would probably drop criticism and embrace it. It is recommended that, before arguing against human cloning and terming it as impunity, the positive impacts of this technology should be considered.

Application of Genetically Modified Organisms

0
0
A genetically modified organism is an organism whose genetic material or sequence has been altered. They are the sources of genetically modified foods. Genetic alteration can occur naturally or artificially. Naturally, genetically modified organisms occur as an impact of other factors apart from human will. For instance, the penetration of a gene into a foreign cell could result to development of a naturally genetically modified organism. Artificially, genetically modified organisms have been developed depending on desired characteristic. Numerous genetic engineering techniques have been developed and used in the development of these genetically modified organisms. These techniques which are based on circumstances which could occur naturally include; deletion, insertion and mutation of specific genes. Some organisms whose genetic makeup has been successfully modified include bacteria, yeasts, plants, fish and mammals. Other than food, genetically modified organisms have been used in the production of other commercially products like proteins.

Genetic engineering has accrued numerous benefits. They provide excellent tools for medical and biological researches. Deletion, insertion or mutation of certain genes to an organism gives insight to the function of these genes. Another commonly used and powerful tool is the use of promoters. Promoters cause an over expression of a gene of a group of genes. The phenotypes formed as a result of manipulating these genes enable researchers to determine the functions of the genes in question. Microorganisms, particularly bacteria were the first organisms to be manipulated due to their simple and well know genetic makeup. Genetically modified bacteria have numerous benefits. For instance there has been production of large amounts of commercially viable human proteins that is used in production of medicine. Insulin, a protein used to treat diabetes has been easily produced by these bacteria. Human growth hormone, used to treat dwarfism has also been produced. Other genetically modified organisms have been used in production of enzymes and clotting factors. For instance, a drug Atryn, an anticoagulant has been obtained from the milk of a genetically modified goat.

Out of genetic engineering, pharmaceutical drugs have been developed. Organisms that are of medicinal value have been cultivated in bioreactors rather than in the fields. Proper examples include; Chlamydomonas reinhardtii which is an alga and Physcomitrella patens which is a moss. Cultivating of organisms in bioreactors allows close monitoring so as to provide the required results. Other genetically modified organisms have been used as models in researches that are vital in the development and establishment of treatments for different ailments.


In agriculture, crops with better traits like yield, vigor and resistance to pests and diseases have been developed through genetic engineering. A good example is the genetically modified papaya grown in Hawaii. This papaya is resistant to the Ring spot virus and it also produces the Bacillus thuringiensis toxin which is considered not harmful to human but plays a great role as an insecticide. Crops have been engineered to produce greater yield with longer shelf life. Plants for instance corn and the poplars have been genetically modified and used to produce biofuel which have been used as an efficient substitute of petroleum products. There is development of animals with traits that are desirable compared with their natural counterparts. For example, Yorkshire pigs have been genetically modified to produce a type of pig that digests plant phosphorus. They are capable of producing enzyme phytase in their saliva, which digests phosphorous unlike their counterpart pigs.

Notably, these are just some of the many achievements accrued through genetic engineering. However, the disadvantages and negative impact of genetically modified organisms to human and the environment cause great controversies over the technology. Especially genetically modified foods have caused controversies whether they are safe for human consumption and whether they are should be used to address the needs of food worldwide. Here, some major disadvantages of genetically modified organisms and food stuffs are discussed.

Genetically modified corn has been suspected to be toxic. This disapproves claims that there is no difference between genetically modified and normal corn. Studies show that some elements absent in normal corn have been detected in the genetically modified corn in relatively high quantities. These include; glyphosate, formaldehyde and chloride which are potentially toxic. Although formaldehyde and chloride are potentially lethal, great interest has been bestowed on glyphosate. Glyphosate, organic phosphate is known to immobilize elements such as copper, zinc, iron, cobalt and manganese. These are some of the major elements required for vital physiological processes in animals, plants and soil. Glyphosate has been revealed to coat the genetically modified corn. It could be argued that this could be a major cause of certain cell disorders when it immobilizes other elements in the cell.

Genetically modified foods have been associated with development of allergy from foods that previously did not cause elegy previously. For example, if a person with a known allergy to beef takes pork that has a gene derived from cattle, considerably, the person would suffer allergy complications. This has put human health at risk especially where the ingredients of food stuffs are not well labeled. Equally, these foods have been related to the increased development of tumors and cancer in human beings. For instance, GH, is an hormone that when injected to the pituitary gland of a cow leads to increased production of milk. However, this protein hormone increases the level of IGF, a chemical that causes breast and colorectal cancer.

Another negative impact of genetically modified organism, specifically corn, has been expressed in the Bt corn. This corn was developed by insertion of a gene from Bacillus thuringiensis into its genome to express a toxin which is lethal to insect pests. It is favorable to many non target organisms such as pollinators and human beings. However, the bacteria genes have caused the plant to produce crystalline pollen grains which are toxic to other plants. Greatly affected are the monarch caterpillars which feed on the milkweed that grow around field corns. As a result of feeding on the milkweed dusted with toxic pollen, the caterpillars have been found to suffer higher mortality rates and slow growth rate. Other pests have been found to undergo faster rate of evolution and mortality rate as a response to increased toxicity in the corn fields. Notably, the massive disappearance of bees which are efficient pollinators can be related to the presence of genetically modified pollen in the fields. This as a result has led to loss of original species of different organisms.

As much as genetic engineering is very beneficial, it is recommended that, before authorization of any genetically modified product, all the pros and cons should be critically evaluated.

Re-sensitizing Bacteria to Antibiotics

0
0
Antibiotic resistant bacteria are on the rise across the country. Many types of bacteria have become resistant to first line treatments due to misuse and overuse of antibiotics. This resistance occurs from natural selection. If a full course of the prescribed antibiotic is not taken, bacteria that have some natural resistance will survive and multiple, increasing the number of resistant bacteria. These resistant bacteria would then be unresponsive to future antibiotic treatments. The spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria is of great concern in many areas of the healthcare field. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is on the rise in hospitals, and represents a major nosocomial infection. Other resistant bacteria are on the rise worldwide, including various forms of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (mTB), the causative agent of tuberculosis (TB). Some strains, termed multi drug-resistant TB are resistant to first line antibiotics. Other strains, termed extremely drug-resistant TB are also resistant to second line antibiotics. Recently, strains of mTB have been identified that are resistant to all available antibiotics. This is representative of the major problems of antibiotic resistance worldwide.

Finding ways to combat antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria has been difficult. In a hospital setting, it can be very difficult to completely sterilize instruments. Movement of patients, visitors, and personnel can cause spreading of antibiotic resistant bacteria throughout the hospital. The problem of resistant bacteria is becoming a major source of spending for health care, as the number one complication patients can have in a hospital is infection. Very few new antibiotics have been discovered in recent years to replace those that have become ineffective. Many of the second line therapies used in resistant bacteria have unpleasant side effects, or require extensive therapy, making compliance difficult. The rise of antibacterial hand soaps, household cleansers, and other items has increased the number of bacteria being exposed to these drugs, also potentially increasing resistance.

Rather than focusing on new methods to kill drug resistant bacteria, researchers at the University of Buffalo are looking for adjunct therapy that can help current antibiotics function more effectively, even in drug resistant strains of bacteria. The researchers found that a protein-lipid complex in human breast milk, termed HAMLET (human alpha-lactalbumin made lethal to tumor cells) was able to sensitize MRSA to methicillin. Other antibiotic resistant bacteria were also made sensitive to various antibiotics, including vancomycin, erythromycin, and gentamycin. These studies were performed in an animal model, and were the first such studies to show an effective in vivo therapy to help antibiotics function properly against drug resistant strains of bacteria. This demonstration is important, as bacteria may react differently to therapy when treated in vitro as opposed to in vivo.

HAMLET was first produced in the 1990s by combing protein and lipid components from human breast milk. The protein-lipid complex was found to help destroy tumor cells by compromising the membrane of the mitochondria, the organelle responsible for providing energy to the cell. When the mitochondrial membrane is compromised, a pathway for cell death is initiated, thereby killing the tumor cell. HAMLET was later shown to kill Steptococcus pneumoniae bacteria via a similar mechanism of membrane disruption. The group then went on to determine if HAMLET could effectively weaken drug resistant strains of bacteria to a point where antibiotics could be used to fight the bacteria. In the research referenced above, HAMLET was able to not only prevent growth of antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria, but to effectively allow the bacteria to be killed by the antibiotics.

While finding ways to make first line antibiotic therapies effective against drug resistant strains of bacteria has major implications for the healthcare field, researchers warn that HAMLET is not a perfect solution. In order to treat systemic infections, high concentrations of HAMLET would be required, and this might be difficult to produce. However, for open wounds, a topical application of antibiotics and HAMLET could be effective at preventing or treating infections. In addition, even if HAMLET itself is not an appropriate solution for helping re-sensitize bacteria systemically, the research shows another potential mechanism to help fight antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria. Finding an adjunct therapy to assist the antibiotic could assist in destroying antibiotic resistant bacteria, thus preventing the spread of these lethal microbes.


References:

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.v...-Bacteria/
Viewing all 2695 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images