Nutrigenomics

Epigenetics: microRNAs effect an integrative pathway

May 9, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Alternative Splicings, Diseases & Disorders, Ecology, Human Brain, Human Pheromones, Light Energy, Model Organisms, Neuronal Plasticity, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, Physics, RNA Directed, Variations, What's in the News
One Comment

Global Developmental Gene Programing Involves a Nuclear Form of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-1 (FGFR1) Excerpt 1) The accumulation of hypoglycosylated nuclear FGFR1 (nFGFR1) is stimulated by a variety of developmental signals, including various growth factors, hormones, and neurotransmitters as well as a reduction in cell contact. This is the reason that this pathway is referred to as integrative [1, 15]. Reported as: Master orchestrator of the genome is discovered, stem cell scientists report Summary: New research shows how a single…

Read More

From gut bacteria to breast milk and back

May 8, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Alternative Splicings, Ecology, Model Organisms, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, Physics, RNA Directed, Variations
One Comment

Breast milk may alter behaviour of babies Milk contains sugars designed to feed gut bacteria that affect brain Excerpt:  Breast milk contains a lot of sugars that infants can’t digest, but that feed bacteria that live in human intestines. Those bacteria don’t just help digest food, said Hinde. “They can release chemical signals that travel to the infant’s brain and shape neurodevelopment.” Studies in mice and rats show that signals released by bacteria in the gut can affect how sociable and…

Read More

Chance mutations — not natural selection

May 7, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Diseases & Disorders, Ecology, Model Organisms, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, RNA Directed
No Comments

A Surprise for Evolution in Giant Tree of Life Excerpt (with my emphasis): Each variant adapted to suit a different ecological niche. But Blair Hedges, a biologist at Temple University in Philadelphia, has proposed a provocative alternative: Adaptation had little to do with it. It was simply a matter of chance and time. See also: The Surprising Origins of Evolutionary Complexity July 16, 2013 Excerpt: Some argue that life has a built-in tendency to become more complex over time. Others…

Read More

Viruses in gut microbes

May 6, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Ecology, Nutrigenomics, RNA Directed
No Comments

Histone H3.3 is required for endogenous retroviral element silencing in embryonic stem cells 5/4/15 Excerpt: Extended Data Figure 3 | Generation of H3.3-isoform-specific antibodies. Related to Fig. 1. a, Schematic of amino acid sequence differences for the canonical histones H3.1 and H3.2 versus the histone variant H3.3. H3.3 differs from H3.2 or H3.1 at only 4 or 5 amino acids, positions 31, 87, 89, 90 and 96, as indicated. My comment: The difference in amino acid substitutions can be linked…

Read More

Finding odor and taste receptors everywhere

May 4, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Diseases & Disorders, Ecology, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, RNA Directed, Variations
No Comments

Bitter taste receptor agonists elicit G-protein-dependent negative inotropy in the murine heart was published in October 2014 and reported in May 2015 as: Researchers find bitter taste receptors on human hearts Excerpt: “While the underlying physiology behind this phenomenon remains unclear, this is now a major area of ongoing investigation.” For a historical perspective on this major area of ongoing investigation, see also: From ion channel to organismic phenotype: An example of integrative translational research into cardiac electromechanics (2013) and…

Read More

pH, water, amino acids and protein folding

May 3, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Alternative Splicings, Diseases & Disorders, Ecology, Human Brain, Human Pheromones, Light Energy, Model Organisms, Neuronal Plasticity, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, Physics, RNA Directed, Variations
One Comment

Solubilities of amino acids in water at various pH values under 298.15 K and Translational tuning optimizes nascent protein folding in cells link what is currently known about the biophysically constrained chemistry of nutrient-dependent RNA-mediated protein folding to cell type differentiation in all genera via conserved molecular mechanisms.  Mutations are linked from perturbed protein folding to pathology. See for example: From “Science Mission” 5/2/15 at 12 pm Water diffusion and neurodegenerative disease linked to Hydration water mobility is enhanced around tau…

Read More

Effect and affect of a single base-pair change

April 30, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Ecology, Human Pheromones, Model Organisms, Neuronal Plasticity, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, RNA Directed, Variations
No Comments

Junk DNA: A Journey Through the Dark Matter of the Genome Hardcover – April 14, 2015 by Nessa Carey New Book on “Junk DNA” Surveys the Functions of Non-Coding DNA Review by Casey Luskin Excerpt: “We now know that in some cases just a single base-pair change in an apparently irrelevant region of the genome can have a definite effect” (p. 201) My comment: A single base-pair change “… appears to result in species-specific organism-level changes in skin, glands, and…

Read More

Tet3 regulation of nutrient-dependent cell type differentiation

April 30, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Diseases & Disorders, Ecology, Nutrigenomics
No Comments

Tet3 regulates synaptic transmission and homeostatic plasticity via DNA oxidation and repair was reported as: Neurons constantly rewrite their DNA Excerpt: “The scientists say they have discovered another mechanism used by neurons to maintain relatively consistent levels of synaptic activity so that neurons can remain responsive to the signaling around them. If synaptic activity increases, Tet3 activity and base excision of tagged cytosines increases. This causes the levels of GluR1 at synapses to decrease, in turn, which decreases their overall…

Read More

Thermodynamics and protein folding landscapes

April 29, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Ecology, Model Organisms, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, Variations
No Comments

The map of the body’s proteins Excerpt 1) Around half of our proteins are present in all of the body’s cells; these are known as ‘basic proteins’. Other proteins most commonly occur in one organ, but the researchers discovered that there are relatively few proteins which are unique to a certain tissue. Excerpt 2) ‘Our role in the project is above all linked to the medical and clinical aspects. Medical background knowledge is required to interpret what we see in…

Read More

Re-inventing a completely new thing

April 25, 2015
James Kohl
Adaptations, Ecology, Human Pheromones, Model Organisms, Nutrigenomics, Pharmacogenomics, Physics, RNA Directed
No Comments

Ancient Viruses, Once Foes, May Now Serve as Friends Excerpt 1) “A new study published in the journal Nature on Monday suggests that endogenous retroviruses spring to life in the earliest stages of the development of human embryos. The viruses may even assist in human development by helping guide embryonic development and by defending young cells from infections by other viruses.” Excerpt 2) “Dr. Wysocka acknowledged that the evidence she and her colleagues had gathered was only suggestive at this…

Read More
RSS Perfuming the Mind