Posts tagged biology
Oh Yeah, Developmental Biology!
Life-extending drug without the negative side effects
It was a bittersweet discovery: a drug that extends life but at the cost of causing diabetes. Now the drug’s dual nature has been teased apart, raising the prospect of a new life-prolonging drug without the harmful side effects.
Rapamycin is regularly given to prevent transplant rejection and treat cancer. Previous studies have also shown that it extends the life of animals, but simultaneously causes glucose intolerance – a side effect reported in humans, too.
David Sabatini of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and colleagues, gave the drug to strains of mice that had genes for certain proteins silenced. They found that rapamycin acts on two important nutrient-sensing proteins called MTORC1 and MTORC2. Its effect on the gene for MTORC1 prolongs life, while its action on MTORC2 causes diabetes.
Sabatini’s team is now developing variants of rapamycin that act only on the gene for MTORC1. “If we could just target MTORC1, we could preserve longevity effects and get rid of the unwanted side effects,” he says.
A montage of fluorescent microscopy images depicts pluripotent mouse stem cells that have been encouraged to develop into various kinds of specialized tissues by a mix of chemical signals. Each color combination represents a new cell type emerging from a previously uniform cell population.
what do you call a fish without eyes?
Follicle-stimulating hormone
Still funny
Development mouse embryo over time. I made this gif from this beautiful video.
embryos of Drosophila melanogaster
‘From Fertilisation to Implantation’
An inside look into early human development! This video explores fertilisation to implantation.
Is cloning an organism the same as cloning a gene?
You’ve heard about cloning animals - sheep, mice, even house pets - in the news. From time to time, you may have also heard about researchers cloning, or identifying, genes that are responsible for various medical conditions or traits.
What is the difference?
Cloning an animal, or any other organism, refers to making an exact genetic copy of that organism. The techniques used to clone organisms are described on this page.
Cloning a gene means isolating an exact copy of a single gene from the entire genome of an organism. Usually this involves copying the DNA sequence of that gene into a smaller, more accessible piece of DNA, such as a plasmid. This makes it easier to study the function of the individual gene in the laboratory.
Gel Electrophoresis Virtual Lab
Have you ever wondered how scientists work with tiny molecules that they can’t see? Here’s your chance to try it yourself! Sort and measure DNA strands by running your own gel electrophoresis experiment.
Synthetic Windpipe Is Used to Replace Cancerous One
Surgeons in Sweden have replaced the cancerous windpipe of a Maryland man with one made in a laboratory and seeded with the man’s cells.
Lizards may be made smarter by warming world
When the heat is on, lizards become smarter – potentially giving them a competitive edge as the world warms.
Click link to read more.
