Bird watchers and RNAs in cancers

By: James V. Kohl | Published on: October 13, 2015

First comprehensive profile of non-protein-coding RNAs in human cancers

Excerpt:

Our study provides convincing evidence that dysregulation of lncRNAs takes place at multiple levels in the cancer genome and that these alterations are strikingly cancer-type specific,” Zhang concludes. “We have laid the critical groundwork for developing lncRNA-based tools to diagnose and treat cancer in new ways. We expect that additional important lncRNA discoveries will be enabled by our work.

My comment: I thought the plant microRNA work might be linked to the lncRNAs by Lin Zhang, but this published work is not by the same Lin Zhang.

Exogenous plant MIR168a specifically targets mammalian LDLRAP1: evidence of cross-kingdom regulation by microRNA

Excerpt:

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), a class of 19-24 nucleotide long non-coding RNAs derived from hairpin precursors, mediate the post-transcriptional silencing of an estimated 30% of protein-coding genes in mammals by pairing with complementary sites in the 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs) of target genes1,2. miRNAs have been widely shown to modulate various critical biological processes, including differentiation, apoptosis, proliferation, the immune response, and the maintenance of cell and tissue identity1,2. Dysregulation of miRNAs has been linked to cancer and other diseases3,4.

See also: From hummingbird to owl: New research decodes bird family tree
Excerpt:

“There is so much diversity in birds that you have to look at a large number of species to really get a clear picture,” said Alan Lemmon, associate professor of scientific computing.

My comment: Bird-watching by population geneticists has never given a clear picture of how avian biodiversity arises and is maintained in the context of nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled RNA-mediated ecological adaptation.
For example, see: Estrogen receptor α polymorphism in a species with alternative behavioral phenotypes
Excerpt:

…our results illustrate a detailed chain of events linking a chromosomal rearrangement to changes in overt social behavior.

My comment: It is obvious that the bird watchers are not paying attention to what serious scientists have learned about RNA-mediated cell type differentiation. If they had learned anything during the past few decades, bird-watchers would not still be trying to link dinosaur diversity and the evolution of avian diversity.
No experimental evidence of biologically-based cause and effect suggests any species evolved from any other. The problem is that virus-driven mutations contribute to genomic entropy, and only the nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled physiology of reproduction links chromosomal rearrangements to vertebrate biodiversity.
 


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