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Hi all!
So... I'll be blogging some sciency stuff in this group during the next weeks. I'm a PhD graduate student in biomedical and veterinary sciences, and here you can see me working in the lab:
I'll be posting mostly about my thesis and related subjects, which has to do with generating induced pluripotent stem cells from livestock species such as the cow... cool stuff! And before I forget, English is not my 1st language, so please excuse the mistakes <3 Feel free to correct.
But this isn't about stem cells. I have recently been studying about exosomes -small vesicles that our cells secrete into the extracellular environment- that are actually more important than scientist used to believe.
Until some years ago, people used to think they were some kind of trash bags our cells used to get rid of stuff they don't need. However, during the past years evidence has shown that they actually carry all kinds of useful components such as proteins and RNA.
Cell secreting exosomes, by Keith Kasnot
So what is the problem?
Well, virus can also pack their own RNA into exosomes and send it to other cells, making these cells more vulnerable to viral infection. It particularly struck me reading a paper that described how the cells of people that asymptomatically carry HIV are in fact secreting exosomes with HIV signals (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23…)
Even more: cancer cells can also do the same. When I first learned about how cancer generates metastasis, the theory was that some cancer cells would leave the main tumor, go into the blood stream, and then end somewhere else in the body. Now we know that cancer cells can pack their RNA into exosomes and ship it around our body. I have to say the idea made me feel uncomfortable.
What are the good news then?
Scientists are trying to develop methods to use exosomes as non invasive markers for diseases. In other words, because the content of the exosomes changes depending on what is happening with the cells, they could be used to early diagnose diseases just by taking a blood sample. Also, it may be possible to use them to deliver drugs for treating diseases. The same that cancer cells and viruses do to transmit disease, but in this case to transfer beneficial molecules.
Want to know more? Check out this short video (easy language and less than 4 minutes ^^)
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think or if you want to add something.
So... I'll be blogging some sciency stuff in this group during the next weeks. I'm a PhD graduate student in biomedical and veterinary sciences, and here you can see me working in the lab:
I'll be posting mostly about my thesis and related subjects, which has to do with generating induced pluripotent stem cells from livestock species such as the cow... cool stuff! And before I forget, English is not my 1st language, so please excuse the mistakes <3 Feel free to correct.
But this isn't about stem cells. I have recently been studying about exosomes -small vesicles that our cells secrete into the extracellular environment- that are actually more important than scientist used to believe.
Until some years ago, people used to think they were some kind of trash bags our cells used to get rid of stuff they don't need. However, during the past years evidence has shown that they actually carry all kinds of useful components such as proteins and RNA.
Cell secreting exosomes, by Keith Kasnot
So what is the problem?
Well, virus can also pack their own RNA into exosomes and send it to other cells, making these cells more vulnerable to viral infection. It particularly struck me reading a paper that described how the cells of people that asymptomatically carry HIV are in fact secreting exosomes with HIV signals (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23…)
Even more: cancer cells can also do the same. When I first learned about how cancer generates metastasis, the theory was that some cancer cells would leave the main tumor, go into the blood stream, and then end somewhere else in the body. Now we know that cancer cells can pack their RNA into exosomes and ship it around our body. I have to say the idea made me feel uncomfortable.
What are the good news then?
Scientists are trying to develop methods to use exosomes as non invasive markers for diseases. In other words, because the content of the exosomes changes depending on what is happening with the cells, they could be used to early diagnose diseases just by taking a blood sample. Also, it may be possible to use them to deliver drugs for treating diseases. The same that cancer cells and viruses do to transmit disease, but in this case to transfer beneficial molecules.
Want to know more? Check out this short video (easy language and less than 4 minutes ^^)
Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think or if you want to add something.
DA Science Academy - Needing New Management!
Hey everyone! I've been pretty busy with other things lately, and I just don't think I can make the time to give this group the love it deserves! I'd love to hand it off to more capable hands. If you're interested in taking over management and have some ideas for how to improve this group, please drop me a note!
Cheers! Happy New Year everyone!!
P.S. Sorry if your submissions expired...that's another reason that finding a new manager would be a good thing! :)
Genetic selection, happening now
Hi all!
I have been quite busy with many things these weeks, including some stressful deadlines and meetings (some still going on :S). Anyway, today I wanted to show you this video from CBS News's 60 min program aired last month: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/breeding-out-disease-with-reproductive-genetics/
It is a bit sensationalist but the science presented is real. While watching it, it reminded me on some science fiction books I used to read years ago, like Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World", or the movie GATTACA.
What are your thought about this?
Personally I have mixed feelings when it comes to this kind of technology. I do believe that
Epigenetics: The sins of the father
Today I want to share with you an interesting review article that came out in Nature.com last March.
Maybe some of you have played the video game Assassin's Creed. If so, the term "genetic memory" may sound familiar to you. In the game, some researchers discovered that we actually carry the memories of our ancestors, and so they developed a machine that could look for those memories and revive the life events of our ancestors. That's why Desmond could "see" Altair's or Ezio's life.
Epigenetics is actually not too far from that idea.
Over the past decade, scientists have discovered that genes are not the only thing we inherit from our paren
Spare pieces from your own cells? One step closer.
Regenerative medicine and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), what is so special about them? In simple terms, it's the promise of being able to repair/replace damaged tissues in our bodies with our own cells.
Think of it like a transplant not from another person, but from your own cells (for example skin cells) that were induced to form the tissue/organ that needs to be replaced (heart cells, liver cells, etc). No immune rejection or such a thing.
Still, the process is very complex and we are still a long way of making this a routine treatment. However, for "simpler" tissues there are some advances: last Friday, it was announced that in
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Very nicely done, Azifri! I hope there will be more posts soon. Take care and stay frosty.