DNA COCKTAIL

Music Ramble Music Website

2010-01-02T14:37:00.000-08:00

http://www.facebook.com/MusicRamble?v=wall

DECEMBER 8, 2009 We love John Lennon and his legacy!

2009-12-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

http://www.3dscience.com/#

2009-12-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

http://www.3dscience.com/index.php

http://www.thebeatles.com/

2009-11-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

Link

Old news (for me) but that's all right!

This is RIDICULOUS |CHEATING ON DEATH!

2009-10-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

Oxytocin

2009-01-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/science/sciencenews/4141574/Scientists-discover-why-some-people-are-better-with-faces-than-names.html

DNA

2008-09-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

http://www.nationmaster.com/encyclopedia

Trophy shark jaws

2008-08-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

DNA has been extracted from trophy shark jaws and teeth up to 40 years old, providing vital information about the genetic history of the endangered grey nurse sharks of eastern Australia
source:

http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/doctor-taken-in-by-grin-of-a-grey-nurse/2008/08/15/1218307227855.html

DNA faults hold key to schizophrenia?

2008-07-30T22:55:00.000-07:00

"We are beginning the work of trying to understand a disease of the most complicated organ in our body – the brain. It is the last frontier of biology," Dr Stefansson said. "Schizophrenia is a disorder affecting thoughts and emotions. It is therefore a quintessentially human disease, but one that is little understood biologically and which is difficult to diagnose."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/dna-faults-hold-key-to-schizophrenia-881392.html

Roots of the cocktail: Some modern mixologists trace all drinks back to a single source

2008-07-30T22:41:00.000-07:00

The Old Chestnut Makes 1 cocktail
2 ounces Plymouth Gin
1 ounce Manzanilla Sherry
2 dashes chestnut bitters
1 bar spoon vanilla & clove sugar syrup
Stir ingredients in mixing glass and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Fish House Punch Makes 1 cocktail
1 lemon, zest and juice
½ peach, crushed
½ ounce simple syrup
1 ounce Remy Martin Cognac V.S.O.P.
1 ounce Cruzan Single Barrel
1 ounce Creme de Peche
2 ounces strong cold Earl Grey Tea
Garnish: Fresh mint sprigs, lemon, orange and peach slices
Muddle, shake and strain into a punch coupe or a large wine goblet. Garnish with your choice of any or all of the following: fresh mint sprigs, lemon, orange and/or peach slices.

Garrick Gin Punch Makes 1 cocktail
1 lemon, zest and juice
½ ounce sugar syrup
1 ounce Plymouth Gin
½ ounce St. Germain Elder Flower liqueur
½ ounce maraschino liqueur
Grate of fresh nutmeg
Pinch dried lavender powder
Ginger ale
Shake all ingredients except ginger ale and strain into a large cocktail coupe. Top with ginger ale and garnish with a sprinkle of dried lavender powder.
Phil Ward's recipe contribution is this variation on the margarita.

The Silver Monk Makes 1 cocktail
2 ounces Blanco Tequila (Partida)
¾ ounce simple syrup
¾ ounce yellow chartreuse
Juice of 1 lime
Pinch of salt
2 slices of cucumber
Shake all ingredients except cucumber and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with cucumber.

http://blog.nola.com/judywalker/2008/07/roots_of_the_cocktail_some_mod.html

Yeti hair to be analyzed!

2008-07-25T09:00:00.000-07:00

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7525060.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7412636.stm

Million for DNA

2008-07-14T17:04:00.001-07:00

http://techblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/07/100-million-for-dna-sequencing.html

Hormones

2008-07-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

Growth hormone - Better Health Channel

The pituitary gland of the brain produces growth hormone, which governs height, bone length and muscle growth. Some people take synthetic growth hormone in the mistaken belief it will help them build muscle size and strength...

MRSA

2008-05-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Video

Science Today

Gene therapy trial for aggressive brain cancer

2008-05-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Last Updated: 9:01pm GMT 19/02/2008

Human trials are about to start of a form of gene therapy that shows great promise in treating one of the worst kinds of cancer.

Glioblastoma multiforme is one of the most common and most aggressive of the 100 or so types of brain cancers. The resulting tumours are a surgeon's nightmare, being irregularly shaped, with poorly defined borders. They spread easily and kill between six months and year of diagnosis, given that neither surgery, radiotherapy or drugs can halt the disease.

Now a study in laboratory rats, conducted at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, Los Angeles, supports a plan to launch a Phase 1 human trial of the gene therapy later this year on 20 patients.

Senator Edward Kennedy has brain tumor.
Doctors at the Massachusetts General Hospital said a malignant tumour, or glioma, was found on the 76-year-old's left parietal lobe during tests that followed a major seizure over the weekend.
His treatment will be decided after more tests but the usual course includes aggressive combinations of radiation and chemotherapy. Patients diagnosed with a glioma are commonly given one to five years to live.
Dr Lee Schwamm, vice chairman of the Department of Neurology at Massachusetts General Hospital, said in a statement that Mr Kennedy "remained in good spirits". "He has had no further seizures, remains in good overall condition, and is up and walking around the hospital," he said.

The duck-billed platypus is neither as scientists decode its DNA for the first time

2008-05-08T14:29:00.000-07:00

dailymail.com.u.k

Cheap diamonds on health issue

2008-05-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Source:

newscientist.com/article

Company markets DNA...

2008-05-07T11:20:00.000-07:00

An Ireland-based company that uses DNA technology to test and track meat to the original animal and prove that it's what the label promises is now targeting U.S. retailers.
Read more---
Source: KansasCity.com

New Brains from Old Genes

2008-04-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

Source:

Cerebelum

Brain

Human Genome

2008-04-14T09:24:00.000-07:00

Source:

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml
http://www.genome.gov/ Celebrate National DNA Day on April 25, 2008.

CA of the Pancreas

2008-04-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Stem Cells made to mimic disease?

2008-04-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

Scientists have taken skin cells from patients with eight different diseases and turned them into stem cells.
Read more---

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7334365.stm

A Cocktail for the Heart

2008-04-03T14:17:00.001-07:00

I love cranberries and have been an addict to it!
For those who are suffering from UTI cranberries is good for you.
Read more---

sciencenews

MITOSIS

2008-02-28T08:48:00.000-08:00

IAI Infection And Immunity

2008-01-26T17:01:00.000-08:00

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most common opportunistic disease and a potentially fatal complication among immunocompromised individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Effective vaccination against TB in persons with HIV has been considered unlikely because of the central role that CD4 cells play in controlling tuberculous infections. Here we show that the vaccination of CD8−/− mice with a TB DNA vaccine cocktail did not significantly enhance protective responses to a Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In contrast, immunization with a DNA vaccine cocktail or with the current TB vaccine, Mycobacterium bovis BCG, induced considerable antituberculosis protective immunity in immune-deficient mice lacking CD4 cells. In vaccinated CD4−/− animals, substantially reduced bacterial burdens in organs and much improved lung pathology were seen 1 month after an aerogenic M. tuberculosis challenge. Importantly, the postchallenge mean times to death of vaccinated CD4−/− mice were significantly extended (mean with DNA cocktail, 172 ± 7 days; mean with BCG, 156 ± 22 days) compared to that of naïve CD4−/− mice (33 ± 6 days). Furthermore, the treatment of DNA-vaccinated CD4−/− mice with an anti-CD8 or anti-gamma interferon (IFN-γ) antibody significantly reduced the effect of immunization, and neither IFN-γ−/− nor tumor necrosis factor receptor-deficient mice were protected by DNA immunization; therefore, the primary vaccine-induced protective mechanism in these immune-deficient mice likely involves the secretion of cytokines from activated CD8 cells. The substantial CD8-mediated protective immunity that was generated in the absence of CD4 cells suggests that it may be possible to develop effective TB vaccines for use in HIV-infected populations. Read more...
pubmedcentral.nih.gov/

What Genes Did We Lose to Become Human? Did we really?

2008-01-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

Genetics

Trace your Roots

2007-12-24T05:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.dnaancestryproject.com/

Snakes Venom

2007-12-24T04:59:00.000-08:00

Biology / Biochemistry News
Article Date: 22 Dec 2007
Venoms from different snake families may have many deadly ingredients in common, more than was previously thought. A study published in the online open access journal BMC Molecular Biology has unexpectedly discovered three-finger toxins in a subspecies of the Massasauga Rattlesnake, as well as evidence for a novel toxin genes resulting from gene fusion. Susanta Pahari from National University of Singapore, Singapore (currently working at Sri Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain College, Bangalore, India) used venom glands from a rare rattlesnake that lives in arid and desert grasslands. Known as Desert Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii), this pitviper is a subspecies of the North American Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus).

Together with Stephen Mackessy from the University of Northern Colorado, USA and R. Manjunatha Kini from National University of Singapore, Singapore, Pahari constructed a cDNA library of the snake's venom gland and created 576 tagged sequences. A cocktail of recognized venom toxin sequences was detected in the library, but the venom also contained three-finger toxin-like transcripts, a family of poisons thought only to occur in another family of snakes (Elapidae). The team also spotted a novel toxin-like transcript generated by the fusion of two individual toxin genes, a mechanism not previously observed in toxin evolution. Toxin diversity is usually the result of gene duplication and subsequently neofunctionalization is achieved through several point mutations (called accelerated evolution) on the surface of the protein. Pahari says "In addition to gene duplication, exon shuffling or transcriptional splicing may also contribute to generating the diversity of toxins and toxin isoforms observed among snake venoms." Previously, researchers identified venom compounds using protein chemistry or individual gene cloning methods. However, less abundant toxins were often missed.

The library method has now revealed new toxin genes and even new families of toxins. Taking low abundance toxins into consideration shows advanced snakes' venoms actually have a greater similarity than previously recognized. Snake venoms are complex mixtures of pharmacologically active proteins and peptides. Treating snake venom victims can be complicated because of the variation between venoms even within snake families. Kini says "Such a diversity of toxins provides a gold mine of bioactive polypeptides, which could aid the development of novel therapeutic agents." Read more...

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/92363.php

Is it true?

2007-12-01T07:03:00.000-08:00

By Ben Hirschler Fri Nov 30, 3:28 PM ET

LONDON (Reuters) - Genetic tests to assess disease risk are proliferating but many are a waste of money and tell people little more than they would know from studying family history, medical experts said on Friday.

A host of companies now offer tests, typically costing hundreds of dollars, to calculate genetic risks for common conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease that involve multiple genes.

But Christine Patch, a genetic counselor at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and a member of Britain's Human Genetics Commission, said most had little clinical relevance.

"My message is you are wasting your money," she told a news briefing.

People also faced either unnecessary anxiety, if a test showed a raised risk, or false reassurance, if they were given an all-clear, she added.

Paul Pharoah, from the Cancer Research UK department of oncology at Cambridge University, said real strides were being made in science but researchers still did not know enough about enough genes for tests to be really useful.

Scientists have linked a growing number of genes to common diseases but these genes typically interact in a complicated fashion and their ultimate effect is influenced by environmental factors in ways that are poorly understood.

GENOME-WIDE SEARCH

The field of genetic testing has traditionally involved looking at a few specific genes.

But that is changing with the launch of new genome-wide searches that promise a brave new world of targeted healthcare, in which each individual can see his or her genetic code.

Two companies, Iceland's Decode Genetics Inc and 23andMe, a U.S. firm funded by Google Inc, launched rival services earlier this month offering people a glimpse of their entire genome for just under $1,000.

A third unlisted U.S. company, Navigenics, is set to join the fray shortly.

Stuart Hogarth of the Institute for Science and Society at University of Nottingham said the entry of these new players, with substantial financial backing, highlighted the growing commercialization of the gene testing business.

The risk, however, was that business development plans were running ahead of science, while regulators were left floundering with an inadequate system of oversight.

"We still do not have a regulatory framework that can control this burgeoning field," Hogarth said.

"In the absence of such a regulatory system, we are in severe danger of losing public confidence in what is a very promising and very exciting field of science."

The field of genetic testing has been revolutionized not only by scientific breakthroughs but also by the development of smart chips from the likes of Affymetrix Inc and Illumina Inc, which can test DNA at various sites along a person's genome.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by Rory Channing)

Hepatitis - a killer disease!

2007-11-24T09:50:00.000-08:00

http://www-hepatitis.net/

Symptoms

http://www.hepctherapy.net/

How stupid!

2007-10-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

What? Just a scrape from the inside of your cheek, you can mail in the sample to a lab for the genetic analysis plus several hundreds of dollars! This is a scam! Beware!

Source:

theglobalmail.com

Cranberry Cocktail

2007-10-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

250 ml (1 cup) cranberry juice or cocktail one in the morning and one at night, to stave off such infections. like UTI- urinary tract infection.

Source:
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20030329/food.asp

DNA tests show hospital mixed up babies

2007-10-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

OMG! Your baby is not yours? I'm sorry, I got carried away with my emotion. Ah...negligence could be avoided if...

Source:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2188020,00.html

2007-10-10T11:57:00.000-07:00

Biological & Mechanical realms

2007-09-05T10:24:00.001-07:00

By A. Chris Gajilan
ROCKVILLE, Maryland (CNN) -- Biologist-entrepreneur J. Craig Venter is part of a new kind of scientific explorer whose uncharted territory was his own genes.
J. Craig Venter says knowing his DNA gives him incentive to stick to healthy habits.
Venter has just published almost all 6 billion letters, or 96 percent, of his own personal genetic code in the journal PLoS Biology. From diseases to personality traits, it's the most comprehensive human genome to date. Venter's gene map provides a new understanding of his genetic destiny, according to the DNA inherited from both his father and his mother.

Venter says it's just the beginning of a new era of personal genomics. "For the first time, we can answer almost any question of what's genetic, what's the environment. Our genes can tell us probabilities of what might happen and give us a chance to do something about it."
Today, Venter probably knows more about his own biology than any other human being. But as it stands now, the little that is understood about DNA is related to disease. For now, much of his insight is bad news.

His father's fatal heart attack may have been an early clue of heart disease risk, but his genome has now given him a glimpse of at least three genes linked to increased heart attack risk.
Venter says it gives him more motivation than just a simple family history. "In my case it gives me a little bit more motivation to try and persistently stick with healthy habits because you don't have the excuse of saying ... you know, I don't really have those traits. ... I know what is in my genetic code," he says. J. Craig Venter talks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the journey to mapping his own DNA. »

He's also identified a gene linked to Alzheimer's disease. It was a surprise to him, given that he had absolutely no family history of the illness. Now, he takes statins, or drugs that lower the cholesterol in the blood, because of their proven beneficial heart effects and possible memory protection.
Venter says he takes all the new discoveries in stride. "I'll be watching it obviously and looking for preventative ideas or hints of it. I'm not afraid of it in the sense that I feel it's a sentence, because I know that it is a statistical probability."
So far, he's found genetic proof of links to blindness, alcoholism, lactose intolerance, substance abuse, hypertension, obesity, even the type of earwax he has.

But the genome is far from perfect. He doesn't see it as an absolute, but rather as a clue. It's an indicator of risk, but not a certainty. For example, Venter has a normal risk for skin cancer, but still he recently battled melanoma.
The road to personal discovery has been long and contentious for Venter. In 2000, Venter led a private team that raced the publicly funded Human Genome Project to complete the first working drafts of the human genome, creating a blueprint for the DNA of all humanity. The public project eventually took 13 years and $3 billion to complete. It was a composite of 269 people's DNA.

As then-president of the private company Celera Genomics, Venter matched the public effort at a fraction of the cost and the time. Celera's genome was a composite of five people's DNA. Years later, it was revealed that much of the genome was, in fact, his own.
Don't Miss
· 360 Blog Venter reflects on seeing his own DNA

Then-President Bill Clinton declared the race a tie, pronouncing the result "the most important, most wondrous map ever produced by humankind."
Since then, Venter has left Celera and has started the J. Craig Venter Institute, which is looking for a faster way to crack the DNA code. Over the years, he has used the Celera work and $10 million to analyze DNA, including his own.

Given his past, Venter says he has carved out an unlikely place in history for himself. He says he almost flunked out of high school and spent most of youth surfing in California. He would later serve as a medic in Vietnam and eventually choose to become a scientist.
An avid diver and sailor, he's just finished a trip around the world. Between his adventure-seeking and high-risk business moves, he as well as his friends and family find it surprising that he doesn't have the gene type associated with risk taking.
He stresses that his genome is not so much about vanity, but understanding the complex balance between nature and nurture.

"It's not just straight-up determinism. The original thinking was we could really go into a preventive medicine paradigm," says Venter.
The idea is simple. Calculate the genetic probability of getting a disease and your chances at treating or beating it are better. Many genetic tests already exist for breast cancer, heart disease and diabetes, but they aren't always that reliable or predictive.

Your Health Tools
· MayoClinic.com: Health Library
· Healthology: Health Video Library
Venter and other geneticists think they're going to get exponentially better at providing more people a look at their genetic map. As the era of personal DNA sequencing evolves, several groups are racing to find new, cheaper and faster ways to map an individual's DNA. The nonprofit X Prize Foundation is offering $10 million to the first team that can sequence the DNA of 100 people within 10 days.

Dr. George Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School, is working on a DNA test that would identify for the consumer 1 percent of his or her DNA at a cost of $1,000. He says that someday soon, people may be checking their DNA maps as they do their stock portfolios -- constantly adjusting to everyday developments and new gene discoveries.

"You'll have all that information sitting at your desk and as the information flows in you'll say, 'I only want to know things of certain type. I don't want to know about Alzheimer's, or I don't want to know about heart disease, or I do, or I want to know about everything, as soon as it comes in," says Church.
It's a habit Venter already follows. As more genes are discovered, he says, he constantly checks his own genome.
"There will be a tipping point where everybody wants it to be part of their medical history," says Church.

But someday soon it may affect more than just your medical history.
"Maybe this will be the new mating information. Once we all have our genomes, some of these extremely rare diseases are going to be totally predictable," says Vente
Source:
CNN

Consumers warned about tainted meat

2007-08-30T23:19:00.000-07:00

CNN) -- Federal and state health officials issued a consumer alert Thursday after nine people were sickened by contaminated beef.

A day before the start of what historically is a popular weekend for grilling, officials urged consumers to check the beef in their freezers and make sure it doesn't include possibly tainted meat.

The 41,205 pounds (approximately 20 tons) of beef identified as possibly tainted is no longer on store shelves, because the sell-by dates have already expired.

But the alert was issued anyway in case the product remains in consumers' freezers, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture said.

Nine people have been sickened -- six in Washington, two in Oregon, and one in Idaho -- by the beef, which is contaminated with E. coli bacteria, state health officials reported.

The meat, processed between July 19 and July 30, according to the company, was also sold in Alaska, but no illnesses have been reported there.

Authorities identified the suspect products as 16-ounce packages of "Northwest Finest 7% Fat, Natural Ground Beef" with UPC code label "752907 600127" and 16-ounce packages of "Northwest Finest 10% Fat, Organic Ground Beef" with expiration dates between August 1 to August 8.

The beef was sold in Safeway, QFC, and Fred Meyer and other stores.

DNA tests confirmed that the nine people sickened by E. coli were infected with the same strain of the bacteria.

Federal and state health officials say that E. coli bacteria are killed if beef is cooked at 160

S0urce CNN

Frozen Bacteria Repair Own DNA

2007-08-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

Mason Inman
for National Geographic News

Bacteria can survive in deep freeze for hundreds of thousands of years by staying just alive enough to keep their DNA in good repair, a new study says. In earlier work, researchers had found ancient bacteria in permafrost and in deep ice cores from Antarctica.

These bacteria, despite being trapped for millennia, were able to be revived and grown in the lab.

Some researchers had thought that bacteria would have to turn into dormant spores to survive for so long.

But if bacteria merely went dormant, metabolism would stop and various environmental factors would begin damaging their DNA.

Like an ancient scroll that's crumbling apart, the DNA becomes so damaged that it's indecipherable after about a hundred thousand years. Then the cells can't ever reproduce and the bacteria are effectively dead.

"Our results show that the best way to survive for a long time is to keep up metabolic activity," said Eske Willerslev, lead study author and a researcher at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

Doing this "allows for continuous DNA repair," Willerslev added.

The work suggests that if bacterial life existed on Mars or on Jupiter's moon Europa, it might still survive locked in icy soils.

The new study appears this week in the online advance edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Living, Just Barely

The new study examined DNA from bacteria found in permafrost from Siberia in Russia and Canada. The permafrost dated back to about a half-million years ago.

-Read more-

Source:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/08/070827-frozen-dna_2.html

TAGC

2007-08-07T12:21:00.000-07:00

http://www.allaboutscience.org/dna-double-helix-video.htm

DNA Double Helix
DNA Double Helix: A Recent Discovery of Enormous ComplexityThe DNA Double Helix is one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time. First described by James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, DNA is the famous molecule of genetics that establishes each organism's physical characteristics. It wasn't until mid-2001, that the Human Genome Project and Celera Genomics jointly presented the true nature and complexity of the digital code inherent in DNA. We now understand that each human DNA molecule is comprised of chemical bases arranged in approximately 3 billion precise sequences. Even the DNA molecule for the single-celled bacterium, E. coli, contains enough information to fill all the books in any of the world's largest libraries.
DNA Double Helix: The "Basics"DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a double-stranded molecule that is twisted into a helix like a spiral staircase. Each strand is comprised of a sugar-phosphate backbone and numerous base chemicals attached in pairs. The four bases that make up the stairs in the spiraling staircase are adenine (A), thymine (T), cytosine (C) and guanine (G). These stairs act as the "letters" in the genetic alphabet, combining into complex sequences to form the words, sentences and paragraphs that act as instructions to guide the formation and functioning of the host cell. Maybe even more appropriately, the A, T, C and G in the genetic code of the DNA molecule can be compared to the "0" and "1" in the binary code of computer software. Like software to a computer, the DNA code is a genetic language that communicates information to the organic cell. The DNA code, like a floppy disk of binary code, is quite simple in its basic paired structure. However, it's the sequencing and functioning of that code that's enormously complex. Through recent technologies like x-ray crystallography, we now know that the cell is not a "blob of protoplasm", but rather a microscopic marvel that is more complex than the space shuttle. The cell is very complicated, using vast numbers of phenomenally precise DNA instructions to control its every function. Although DNA code is remarkably complex, it's the information translation system connected to that code that really baffles science. Like any language, letters and words mean nothing outside the language convention used to give those letters and words meaning. This is modern information theory at its core. A simple binary example of information theory is the "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere." In that famous story, Mr. Revere asks a friend to put one light in the window of the North Church if the British came by land, and two lights if they came by sea. Without a shared language convention between Paul Revere and his friend, that simple communication effort would mean nothing. Well, take that simple example and multiply by a factor containing many zeros. We now know that the DNA molecule is an intricate message system. To claim that DNA arose by random material forces is to say that information can arise by random material forces. Many scientists argue that the chemical building blocks of the DNA molecule can be explained by natural evolutionary processes. However, they must realize that the material base of a message is completely independent of the information transmitted. Thus, the chemical building blocks have nothing to do with the origin of the complex message. As a simple illustration, the information content of the clause "nature was designed" has nothing to do with the writing material used, whether ink, paint, chalk or crayon. In fact, the clause can be written in binary code, Morse code or smoke signals, but the message remains the same, independent of the medium. There is obviously no relationship between the information and the material base used to transmit it. Some current theories argue that self-organizing properties within the base chemicals themselves created the information in the first DNA molecule. Others argue that external self-organizing forces created the first DNA molecule. However, all of these theories must hold to the illogical conclusion that the material used to transmit the information also produced the information itself. Contrary to the current theories of evolutionary scientists, the information contained within the genetic code must be entirely independent of the chemical makeup of the DNA molecule.
DNA Double Helix: Its Existence Alone Defeats any Theory of EvolutionThe scientific reality of the DNA double helix can single-handedly defeat any theory that assumes life arose from non-life through materialistic forces. Evolution theory has convinced many people that the design in our world is merely "apparent" -- just the result of random, natural processes. However, with the discovery, mapping and sequencing of the DNA molecule, we now understand that organic life is based on vastly complex information code, and such information cannot be created or interpreted without a Master Designer at the cosmic keyboard.
Learn More Now!

Source:

http://www.allaboutscience.org/dna-double-helix.htm

DNA Double Helix Video

2007-08-03T17:06:00.000-07:00

Source:

http://www.allaboutscience.org/dna-double-helix-video.htm

PNA/DNA

2007-08-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Thermodynamic comparison of PNA/DNA and DNA/DNA hybridization reactions at ambient temperature

Source:

http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/27/24/4792

Where Broken DNA Is Repaired

2007-08-03T14:35:00.001-07:00

A cell nucleus is shown after irradiation by high-energy particles like those in cosmic rays. At top, the white arrow tracks one particle through regions of high-density DNA (blue) and low-density DNA.

Green signals are RIF, "radiation-induced foci," accumulations of proteins associated with radiation damage. Middle and bottom panels model DNA density topographically the higher the peak, the denser the DNA showing that RIF prefer low-density regions and tend to locate themselves at the interface between high and low density.

*"NASA has long been interested in the radiation hazards in space," says LSD's Sylvain Costes, who led the study. "On a trip to Mars, astronauts will be exposed to cosmic rays for as long as three years, so NASA has been trying to come up with a mechanistic model of DNA repair to estimate the increased risk of cancer. We are helping to develop such a model."

Source:
Link Science Daily

Kool Jokes!

2007-08-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

Source:

http://www.go-quiz.com/cocktail/cocktail.php

Unknotting DNA Clue To Cancer Syndrome

2007-08-02T16:19:00.000-07:00

Science Daily — A new UC Davis study that explains the actions of a gene mutation that causes early onset cancer provides a fundamental insight into the mechanism of DNA-break repair.

UC Davis microbiologist Neil Hunter used spaghetti as a model to explain the gene mutation that causes early onset cancer. (Credit: UC Davis)

-Read more-

Source:

Link

2 DNA variants linked to MS

2007-07-30T10:44:00.000-07:00

New Genes Linked With MS

CHICAGO, USA, July 30--After decades of dead ends, scientists have identified two genes that may raise the risk of multiple sclerosis, lending insight into the causes of the debilitating disease.

DNA Methylation Analysis

2007-07-19T15:22:00.000-07:00

DNA methylation analysis: a powerful new tool for lung cancer diagnosis

Department of Biochemistry, University of Southern California, School of Medicine, Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, NOR 6420, 1441 Eastlake Ave, Los Angeles, California, CA 90089-9176, USA.

Carcinoma of the lung is the most common cause of cancer death worldwide. The estimated 5-year survival ranges from 6-16%, depending on the cell type. The best opportunity for improving survival of lung cancer patients is through early detection, when curative surgical resection is possible. Although the subjects at increased risk for developing carcinoma of the lung (long-term smokers) can be identified, only 10-20% of this group will ultimately develop the disease. Screening tests of long-term smokers employed to date (radiography and sputum cytology) have not been successful in reducing lung cancer mortality. The application of molecular markers specific for lung cancer offers new possibilities for early detection. Hypermethylation of CpG islands in the promoter regions of genes is a common phenomenon in lung cancer, as demonstrated by the analysis of the methylation status of over 40 genes from lung cancer tumors, cell lines, patient sputum and/or serum. Determination of the methylation patterns of multiple genes to obtain complex DNA methylation signatures promises to provide a highly sensitive and specific tool for lung cancer diagnosis. When combined with the development of non-invasive methods to detect such signatures, this may provide a viable method to screen subjects at risk for lung cancer.

PMID: 12154407 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Human DNA, the Ultimate Spot for Secret Messages

2007-07-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

I should say right now that I am not talking about theology or the near theology known as intelligent design. The ability to stick a message in a cockroach does not make us the designers or creators of the cockroach — only evolution could be so kind or clever.

But I’m a sucker for secret messages. Once, long ago, I stayed up all night with my friends playing the Beatles’ “White Album” backward hoping to hear the words “Turn me on dead man,” referring to the rumored death of Paul McCartney. I’m ready to find Slartibartfast’s signature and rediscover my cosmic heritage.

The sad truth is, as others will tell you, this is a bit like writing love letters in the sand. “I don’t buy it,” said Seth Shostak, an astronomer at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., pointing out that DNA is famously mutable. “Just ask Chuck Darwin,” he added in an e-mail message.-Read More-

Source:

NYTimes

2007-06-27T09:47:00.000-07:00

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) A tearful apology from the prosecutor who handled the Duke lacrosse rape case. Mike Nifong (NY'-fawng) also announced that he would step down from his post as Durham County, North Carolina's district attorney. Nifong is facing an ethics trial for withholding critical D-N-A evidence in the case. The three athletes who were accused have since been exonerated.

Source:

http://www.kxmb.com/News/134129.asp

2007-06-10T04:14:00.001-07:00

http://www.scientific.org/tutorials/articles/riley/riley.html

2007-06-04T16:11:00.001-07:00

First Published: 12:23 IST(28/5/2007)
Last Updated: 12:52 IST(28/5/2007)

Latest research by a British scientist shows that a preservative used in cold drinks could switch off vital parts of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), causing serious damage to cells particularly in children.

Sodium benzoate or E211 has been used as a preservative for decades by the 74 billion pound global carbonated drinks industry. It is used to kill yeast, bacteria, and fungi in soft drinks, jam, fruit juice and salad dressing. When mixed with vitamin C it forms benzene, a carcinogenic substance. The preservative is also found naturally in cranberries, prunes, greengages, cinnamon, ripe cloves and apples.
Peter Piper, a molecular biology expert at Sheffield University studied the preservative and found it could damage an important part of DNA called mitochondria.

"These chemicals have the ability to cause severe damage to DNA in the mitochondria to the point that they totally inactivate it, they knock it out altogether," said Piper.
"The mitochondria consumes the oxygen to give you energy and if you damage it then the cell starts to malfunction very seriously," he said. "And there is a whole array of diseases now being tied to damage to this part of DNA. Parkinson's and quite a lot of neuro-degenerative diseases, but above all the whole process of ageing can be caused by the damage," added Piper.

However, makers of drinks like Coca-Cola, Fanta and Diet Pepsi insisted that experts had rigorously assessed the additive before it had been approved for use. Coca-Cola said all their ingredients have been approved as safe by the food regulatory authorities in Britain and the European Union (EU), from where they take their guidance.

A spokesman for Britvic, which makes Diet Pepsi said, "We will only use ingredients that are thoroughly tested and approved for use by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Britain and approved by the EU." Piper claimed that tests on sodium benzoate carried out by the European Union and the US Food and Drug Administration were too old to be reliable, the online edition of the Daily Mail reported on Sunday.

"By the criteria of modern safety testing, the safety tests were inadequate," he said.
"Like all things, safety testing moves forward and you can conduct a much more rigorous safety test than you could 50 years ago. My concern is for children who are drinking large amounts," said Piper. Norman Baker, the chairman of the British parliament's all-party environment group, endorsed Piper's call for further tests.

"Professor Piper has studied this for some years so we should be taking his concerns seriously. I will be writing to the FSA to ask them to carry out further investigation and I would advise parents to make sure there is no over-exposure to these drinks for their children," said Baker.
In India, the New Delhi based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) had earlier tested Pepsi and Coca-Cola products and had announced that it found four toxic residues after testing 12 of their major brands.

"Some of these residues were carcinogenic," claimed CSE director Sunita Narain. As a result OF

2007-06-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Study finds traces of Malathion in samples of softdrinks

A new study has claimed that traces of Malathion, a pesticide, which can have harmful effects on the human brain, were found in certain samples of soft drinks.
The report by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) on pesticide content in soft drinks said considerable traces of Malathion were found in at least 50 per cent of the samples it collected from the National Capital Region for the study.
"Malathion is a widely used pesticide in urban areas for controlling mosquito's and pests and we have found traces of the pesticide in at least 50 per cent of the samples collected in Delhi and its neighbouring areas," CSE Associate Director Chandra Bhushan said.
The study, Soft Drinks - Hard Truth II, which was released on August 2, also claimed that soft drink samples collected from the NCR contained a "pesticide cocktail" of Lindane, Heptachlor, Chlorpyrosis and Malathion and it was more than 20 times the approved BIS standards.
According to CSE's 2003 study, the average level of pesticide residues in Delhi samples were 34 times above the same BIS standards.
Nine samples of Coca Cola, Fanta, Limca and Thums Up were collected from various parts of the capital during December 2005 and April 2006.
They were produced in Gurgaon's Enrich Agro Food Products and Ghaziabad's Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages and were tested as part of CSE's all-India study, Bhushan said.
Malathion, a chemical inhibitor, is known for hindering transmission of signals to human brain

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Soft drink preservatives could damage children's DNA

2007-05-31T15:06:00.000-07:00

Spearmatozoan Animation

2007-05-14T16:59:00.000-07:00

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Link

3D DNA

2007-05-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

3D DNA Model with Phosphate Structure
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Effects of the chemotherapy cocktail

2007-05-11T09:37:00.000-07:00

Effects of the chemotherapy cocktail used to treattesticular cancer on sperm chromatin integrity.The incidence of testicular cancer has increased dramatically over the past 50 years. Advances in treatment, which include the coadministration of bleomycin, etoposide, and cis-platinum (BEP), have brought the cure rate to over 90%. More...

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TB DNA Cocktail

2007-05-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the DNA cocktail against an aerogenic challenge with M. tuberculosis. The TB DNA cocktail consisted of eight individual vaccines expressing the following TB antigens: antigen 85B, ESAT-6, KatG, MPT8.4, MPT12, MPT63, MPT64, and MPT83.

In previous studies, each of these single vaccines induced significant protective responses in a mouse aerosol challenge model (20, 24). Endotoxin-free plasmid DNA was prepared for each individual construct by using an Endo-Free maxi kit (Qiagen, Valencia, Calif.).

The eight-component DNA vaccine combination was prepared by combining equal amounts of the plasmids to a final concentration of 1 mg of DNA/ml in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS). For these experiments, pathogen-free WT C57BL/6, CD4-deficient (B6.129S2-Cd4tm1Mak), CD8-deficient (B6.129S2-Cd8tm1-Mak), gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-deficient (B6.129S7-Ifngtm1), and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor (p55)-deficient (B6.129-Tnfrsflatm1) female mice were obtained from the Jackson Laboratory (Bar Harbor, Maine).

Groups of mice were injected intramuscularly in all four limbs on days 1, 21, and 42 with 200 μg of the cocktail (25 μg of each individual constituent) or a single plasmid vaccine. The BCG Pasteur immunization was given subcutaneously on day 1 with 106 organisms. Five weeks after the final DNA vaccination, the mice were challenged aerogenically with 200 CFU of M. tuberculosis Erdman per mouse in a Middlebrook-type chamber (Glas-Col, Terre Haute, Ind.). Five mice were sacrificed after 24 h to confirm the size of the challenge dose.

A Cocktail of Three Targeted Drugs

2007-05-02T07:21:00.000-07:00

A cocktail of three targeted drugs may help women with a specific type of breast cancer far better than any of the drugs used alone, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.

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DNA Cocktail

2007-03-31T00:16:00.000-07:00

Ingredients: American Style

60 ml fresh pineapple juice. This must be fresh as protease activity is required to degrade the histones associated with the DNA.
Blue curaçao1.
Lime juice and icing sugar, to decorate.

Also required:
A blender2
Large test tubes or boiling tubes, for serving.

Method:
Moisten the rim of a large test tube with lime juice then dip the rim into icing sugar.Add about 10 ml3 of blue curaçao to the tube.
Tilt the tube then with great care, pour about 20 ml3 of ice-cold gin down the side of the tube to form a layer above the blue curaçao.
Blend the strawberries and pineapple juice for 10 seconds, then drop the purée on top of the gin. Wisps of strawberry DNA will precipitate into the gin. More

England Style:

8 frozen strawberries (about 68 g) – the variety ‘Cambridge Favourite’ is naturally the most appropriate.
London dry gin – the strongest you can find. This is necessary to precipitate the DNA.N.B. Chill this gin in the freezer for at least 2 hours before preparing the drink.

Sources:
Science in School
http://www.ncbe.reading.ac.uk/
Drink
“The DNA cocktail is at optimal sync ratio.

D.I.Y DNA

Kiwi fruit [a ripe one works best]
Salt (standard, pre-ground table salt works fine)
Washing up liquid (A supermarket own brand is perfect. The cheaper the better, as expensive brands have a lot of additives that interfere with the extraction)
Knife
Kitchen blender/liquidiser (or chop the Kiwi fruit into small pieces by hand).
Chopping Board.
Measuring Jug.
Set of Measuring Spoons.
Small Bowl.
Honey jar (or other wide mouthed, lidded container).
Bowl of warm water (about 60oC).
Container of ice.
Bottle of Methylated Spirits.
Champagne Flute (or any tall, skinny glass).
Paper clip or piece of fuse wire.
Cafetiere or Coffee Filter Papers and a Coffee Filter Holder or Small Kitchen Funnel.

Source: DNA Cocktail

DNA Cocktail

2007-03-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
2/3 oz gin
1/3 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
2 - 3 tbsp lime juice
2 oz pineapple juice
8 strawberries
2 - 3 tbsp powdered sugar
Direction:
Freeze the strawberries and chill the gin and blue curacao.
Use a test tube or if not available, a shot glass.

Moisten the rim with lime juice, then dip the rim into icing sugar. Add blue curacao.
Tilt the tube/glass with great care, then pour chilled gin down the side to form a layer above the blue curacao.

PurÃ©e the strawberries and pineapple juice in a bar blender for 10 seconds, then add the
purÃ©e on top of the gin. Wisps of strawberry D.N.A. will precipitate down into the drink