(Ethical) Food for Thought

People for Ethical Treatment of Animals has recently announced that it is putting up a US$1,000,000 prize for the person or organisation that can develop a way to grow In Vitro meat, as in test tube meat, ham in a can anyone?

"The reward would go to the participant who got a test-tube chicken into commercial production by 2012 and sold it in at least 10 US states at a competitive price.

A team of 10 PETA jurors would taste the entries to make sure they matched the texture and flavour of chicken, and they must score at least 80 out of 100 points to win the prize."

The idea is to use genetically altered stem cells that will only grow muscle tissue and no other bodily tissues, to be placed in a medium that can promote the growth of the muscle tissue, that can then be mass produced, sold and consumed in the manner that meat is today.

source: "Chicken - from test tube to table"
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23578965-23109,00.html

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Cancer cure through the canine?

Cancer Cure through the canine?

Have we finally found a link between the human and the dog that can possibly help us determine a cure for cancer?
From a recent article in ‘Science News’ from March the 2^nd of this year talks about a Genetic Link between humans and dogs that has recently been discovered. Researchers from the University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University unearthed that humans and dogs share the same genetic basis for some types of cancer. Professor Breen says that ‘forms of human cancer are associated with specific alterations to the number or structure of chromosomes and the genes they contain’. From this they have also found that the same structures occur in some canine cancers. The only types of cancers that they have tested in both the human and the canine are the blood and bone marrow, including chronic myelogenous leukaemia, Burkitt’s lymphoma, and chronic lymphocytic. It was found that these same genetic structures are near same of that of the humans with the same cancers. To some degree it is believed that the cancer is inevitable to humans and dogs with the way that our genomes have developed since the separation of the common ancestor.

Not concrete as of yet, the researchers believe that they can study these forms of cancer through the genomes and chromosomes in dogs and hopefully apply these studies to humans as well and create a better understanding of the risks and diagnosis’ applied in humans. Even though the number of chromosomes is almost double in that of the human amount, researchers found that the same translocation that occurs from the duplication process of cells was found for three blood and bone marrow cancers that they had tested.

Therefore, this has been a key factor in the research for cancer and can be the start of the process of research to continuous observations of the changes in the genomes of dogs that can also be found in humans and have the same consequences as in humans and dogs and is yet to be tested on various other dog breeds and with different forms of cancer.

So future studies and further research maybe it is possible that anything may happen. If researchers have found this much who knows what else they will be able to unearth, and inevitably, maybe a cure.

For further information you can go to the article:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080228112011.htm

Genomes in Medicine

The once considered far fetched idea of using gene sequencing for personalised medical treatment in routine clinical care has recently become a realistic possibility. Contemporary scientific research in gene sequencing has uncovered the possibility to search the genomes of large numbers of individuals for statistical associations between genetic variation, single nucleotide polymorphisms and the occurrence of disease. Currently, the technology to sequence and interpret human DNA requires a lot of time and is at a high cost. However, it is seen as a plausible and scientifically possible way to understand, diagnose and treat various genetic diseases. There is has been a significant interest in this developing technology as it would allow for potential inherited diseases to be distinguished early on in a persons life. This information would allow for lifestyle adjustments and early detection or treatment of disease which would vastly increase curing probabilities.
The focus of such technology currently lies on its use to identify and help prevent chronic disorders including diabetes, heart disease, Crohn disease, following the discovery of such illnesses there is a potential for drug development and enhanced tests, diagnosis and prognosis. Although there seems to be numerous advantages to such technology there is also many obstacles that need to be overcome before it is a reality. Such obstacles include it’s the current high cost and possibility of genetic discrimination. Although the technology is not advanced enough for gene sequencing for personalized medical treatment it is evident that this is a promising technique that will be gratefully accepted into the medical industry in future years.
By
Celeste White
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References:
Feero, Gregory, Francis S. Collins, and Alan E. Guttmarch. "The Genome Gets Personal—Almost." JAMA 299 (2008). 16 Apr. 2008 .

Other interesting websites:
http://www.labtechnologist.com/news/ng.asp?id=84047-applied-biosystems-dna-sequencing
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/317/7172/1568
http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/179_04_180803/mat10736_fm.htm

New Drug Targets Leukaemia Trio

by Erin Crighton

In 2005, a genetic mutation that causes three types of leukaemia was discovered. Now only 3 years later, a new drug has been developed that inhibits the gene mutation, and is already being moved into clinical trials.

The mutated gene, JAK2, is the cause for most cases of the three types of leukaemia; polycythemia vera, essential thrombocytosis, and primary myelofibrosis. These diseases cause the body to overproduce white and red blood cells, and platelets, which result many complications such as blood clotting. The JAK2 gene produces a specific enzyme (from the ‘tyrosine kinases’ enzyme family) that causes any extra blood cells to be transferred into the bone marrow. In the mutated version of this gene, the enzyme gets stuck in a certain position, which causes blood proliferation to run out of control because it is no longer regulated, therefore causing the overproduction of the white and red blood cells, and platelets.

The most promising drug, a compound called TG101348, specifically inhibits JAK2, but leaves the related enzymes unaffected. It is soluble in tissue which also allows it to be distributed throughout the body, and can simply be taken as a pill rather than an injection. Along with these benefits, this drug has a long half-life, meaning it will stay in the body for a sufficient amount of time, and doesn’t show non-specific toxicity.

The compound was first tested on mice, which proved the compound to be very affective, resulting in all mice induced with polycythemia vera that were given high doses of TG101348 survived. It actually reversed the symptoms, making the blood cell count return to normal, and proving the mice healthy. The results showed the drug eliminates clinical manifestation of the three types of leukaemia, without any toxicity.

Human clinical trials for the drug were approved based on the results of the studies performed on mice and more preclinical data, and began in March this year. Small doses will first be given to leukaemia patient to make sure no toxicities appear.

Research news article can be found at: http://www.hhmi.org/news/gilliland20080407.html

Postmenopausal women keeping abreast of tipsy genes!

First it was diet coke, now it seems that alcohol could possibly increase the chances of breast cancer in women. This was recently determined via a study by Dr Peter Shields, professor of medicine and oncology based at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington DC, and Dr Jo Freudenheim, chair of social and preventive medicine at the State University of New York in Buffalo. It was found that two genes that code for enzymes that breakdown alcohol, ADH1B and ADH1C, are possibly linked to increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who favour a drink or two. Lead author of the study, Dr Catalin Marian stated the obvious, saying: "The higher their alcohol consumption, the higher their risk."(Medical news today, 2008).
The study showed that the variations in the DNA sequences of the two genes caused significant susceptibility towards the risk of breast cancer. In the case of the ADH1B gene, women who consumed alcohol whilst possessing the gene variant were twice as susceptible to breast cancer compared to the women who abstained from drinking alcohol. Alternatively, the ADH1C gene actually protected the subjects from breast cancer, but as alcohol consumption increased, the effectiveness of this protection decreased, thus causing a contrasting, but nevertheless significant increase in the risk of breast cancer.
“The results showed that increased breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women was linked to variations in DNA sequences in two genes: ADH1B (sequence rs1042026) and ADH1C (sequence rs1614972).Among postmenopausal women with the ADH1B (sequence rs1042026) gene variant, the risk of breast cancer for the alcohol drinkers was nearly double that of the abstainers.Among women with the ADH1C (sequence rs1614972) gene variant, there was a protective effect against breast cancer risk that varied inversely with the amount of alcohol: the more alcohol a woman with this gene variant consumed, the less protection offered, and the higher the risk of breast cancer. (Conversely, this could be viewed as the protection conferred by the gene appeared to get stronger as alcohol consumption dropped).” (Medical news today, 2008).
In light of this obviously depressing news, there maybe some cause for celebration, in that the aforementioned Dr Catalin Marian implied that more research was needed to validate the findings and show that the genes are more than just ‘linked’ to the risk of breast cancer, and have yet to be proven to be a potential cause of breast cancer. "We have to keep in mind that the gene sequence variations we observed are not located directly in coding regions, but they may be associated and inherited together with other variations that have this effect on the enzyme function." Says Marian

Nathan Crouch (41453627)
References:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103911.php
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/14/health/webmd/main4014147.shtml http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/817586~Blood-Alcohol-Posters.jpg

Postmenopausal women keeping abreast of tipsy genes!

First it was diet coke, now it seems that alcohol could possibly increase the chances of breast cancer in women. This was determined by Dr Peter Shields, professor of medicine and oncology based at Georgetown University's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center in Washington DC, and Dr Jo Freudenheim, chair of social and preventive medicine at the State University of New York in Buffalo. It was found that two genes that code for enzymes that breakdown alcohol, ADH1B and ADH1C, are possibly linked to increased risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women who favour a drink or two. Lead author of the study, Dr Catalin Marian stated the obvious, saying: "The higher their alcohol consumption, the higher their risk."(Medical news today, 2008).
The study showed that the variations in the DNA sequences of the two genes caused significant increases in the susceptibility towards breast cancer. In the case of the ADH1B gene, women possessing the gene variant who consumed alcohol were twice as susceptible to breast cancer compared to the women who abstained from drinking alcohol. Alternatively, the ADH1C gene actually provides some protection against breast cancer; but as alcohol consumption increases, the effectiveness of this protection decreases, thus causing a contrasting, but nevertheless significant increase in the risk of breast cancer.
“The results showed that increased breast cancer risk in postmenopausal women was linked to variations in DNA sequences in two genes: ADH1B (sequence rs1042026) and ADH1C (sequence rs1614972).Among postmenopausal women with the ADH1B (sequence rs1042026) gene variant, the risk of breast cancer for the alcohol drinkers was nearly double that of the abstainers.Among women with the ADH1C (sequence rs1614972) gene variant, there was a protective effect against breast cancer risk that varied inversely with the amount of alcohol: the more alcohol a woman with this gene variant consumed, the less protection offered, and the higher the risk of breast cancer. (Conversely, this could be viewed as the protection conferred by the gene appeared to get stronger as alcohol consumption dropped).” (Medical news today, 2008).
In light of this obviously depressing news, there maybe some cause for celebration, in that the aforementioned Dr Catalin Marian implied that more research was needed to validate the findings and show that the genes are more than just ‘linked’ to the risk of breast cancer, and have yet to be proven to be a potential cause of breast cancer. "We have to keep in mind that the gene sequence variations we observed are not located directly in coding regions, but they may be associated and inherited together with other variations that have this effect on the enzyme function." Says Marian

Nathan Crouch (41453627)
References:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/103911.php
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/14/health/webmd/main4014147.shtml
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/images/pic/153/817586~Blood-Alcohol-Posters.jpg

Healing faster

Have you ever wished a cut or burn would heal faster and leave no scars? Research from the University of Bristol suggests that this can happen in the future by simply applying a gel. When a cut or burn occurs, blood vessels constrict to decrease the amount of blood loss. After a blood clot is formed by the platelets, in response to the completion of the clot the blood vessel enlarges to allow white blood cells to fight off the foreign invaders In addition the white blood cells bring collagen to help heal the skin, which also produces the scar. One of the genes responsible for scars is the osteopontin (OPN). Therefore by creating a gel that suppresses this gene, it could accelerate healing and leave no scar.

Reference:
University of Bristol (2008, January 24). Skin Care: Scar-free Healing Shown With Gene Suppression. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 16, 2008, from
http://www.sciencedaily.com¬ /releases/2008/01/080121080355.htm

http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Skin_cuts_and_abrasions?Open

Hung Le
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