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Tag Archives: Mouse

Skin bacteria regulate the immune response

25 Wednesday Sep 2013

Posted by sedeer in Bacteria, Disease, Mammals

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Bacteria, biology, Complement system, Health, Immune system, microbes, microbiome, Mouse, Popular science, science

E. coli (Photo credit: Wikipedia)The skin is one of our body’s first lines of defense, but it’s also home to a rich community of microbes — the skin microbiome.  These bacteria are important in protecting us from pathogens; changes in the skin microbiome are linked with conditions ranging from dermatitis to psoriasis.  In a paper published this month in the journal PNAS, a team of scientists from the University of Pennsylvania showed that these bacteria don’t just live on our skin, but also play a role in regulating our immune response. Continue reading →

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Correction: Plants micro-RNAs might not regulate animal genes

09 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by sedeer in Genetics, Humans, Mammals, Plants

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

biology, digestion, DNA, Gene expression, GMO, Health, horizontal transfer, Human, MicroRNA, Mouse, nutrition, Popular science, RNA, science

Around a year ago I wrote about a study which showed that micro-RNAs from plants that were eaten could regulate genes in the animal that ate them.  It was an exciting and important finding.  The study claimed that the miRNAs survived passage through the digestive tracts of mice, got into their bloodstream and traveled to their liver, where they regulated genes involved in cholesterol metabolism.  This week I read a post on Virginia Hughes’ blog Only Human where she discusses several follow-up studies which haven’t been able to reproduce the original results.  That doesn’t necessarily mean the study was wrong, but it certainly raises doubts.  In her post, Virginia also links to a rebuttal letter she received from the author of the original study, so it looks like the debate is on!  I’ll try to keep an eye on the subject and report back about it as things develop, but in the meantime read Virginia’s excellent summary of the current state of affairs.  Showing that creatures can directly regulate genes in organisms of another kingdom of life would be a major finding, so I’m really glad that there’s debate about it.  That’s how science should work: we should try to repeat studies, remain critical and open-minded, and challenge each other.

Through the gut: how plants in food regulate genes in animals

27 Sunday May 2012

Posted by sedeer in Genetics, Humans, Mammals, Plants

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

biology, digestion, DNA, Gene expression, GMO, Health, horizontal transfer, Human, MicroRNA, Mouse, nutrition, Popular science, RNA, science

In an exciting discovery reported last year, a team of Chinese researchers found that some of the genetic material in our food might survive digestion and go on to regulate our genes and affect our physiology.  This new mechanism for genetic interactions between very different species raises interesting evolutionary questions and will probably have implications for the study of health and nutrition, but it’s important to understand what the study was actually about, particularly since this will likely affect the debate around GMO foods. Continue reading →

Gut bacteria may cause diabetes

13 Friday Apr 2012

Posted by sedeer in Bacteria, Mammals

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

animals, biology, diabetes, Education, Health, Immune response, insulin, microbes, microbiome, Mouse, Popular science, science, TLR2

Laboratory mouse (Photo credit: Wikipedia)According to a recent study, your chances of developing adult onset diabetes may depend on what kind of bacteria are living in your gut.  It’s been known for some time that type 2 diabetes can be caused by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors; over the past few years, it’s become clear that these factors somehow interact with the microbiome, but the nature of this interaction and the microbiome’s role in determining susceptibility to diabetes hasn’t been properly explored.  Last year a team of scientists from Brazil published results showing that changes in the community composition could completely reverse the effect of genetic factors.
Continue reading →

Excessive hygiene lets the immune system run amok

29 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by sedeer in Bacteria, Immunology, Microbiology

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Allergy, animals, Asthma, biology, colitis, Health, Hygiene Hypothesis, Immune system, Mouse, Popular science

Since moving to Finland, I’ve become accustomed to asking guests whether they have any allergies before I prepare dinner.  I grew up in the developing world where allergies and asthma seem to be much less common than they are here; in fact, various studies have found higher rates of allergy and autoimmune conditions in developed than developing countries.  One explanation for this is the “hygiene hypothesis“, which proposes that excessive hygiene early in life can affect the development of the immune system and result in allergic conditions and autoimmune diseases in later life. In a recent study appearing in Science, a team of scientists in Germany and the United States present evidence supporting the hygiene hypothesis and the importance of an early challenge to the immune system.
Continue reading →

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