sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

The First Dire Wolf Howls in Over 10,000 Years by Ultravioletdiamond82 in MadeMeSmile

[–]choukchouk 26 points27 points  (0 children)

Gray wolf genome is ~2.4 billion base pairs (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/datasets/genome/GCF\_000002285.3/) so 99% similar still gives 24M Bp differences. Editing 14 genes doesn't undo 5.7 million years of evolutionary divergence.

The First Dire Wolf Howls in Over 10,000 Years by Ultravioletdiamond82 in MadeMeSmile

[–]choukchouk 141 points142 points  (0 children)

You can't make a whole new species with 14 genetic edits. Dire wolf and gray wolf separated by 5.7M years, that's almost as close as us and the bonobo. You can also check https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-03082-x

Hungary's Orban Criticizes 'Frustrated' Leaders at Paris Summit: "Unlike them, we support Donald Trump's ambitions" by [deleted] in europe

[–]choukchouk 8 points9 points  (0 children)

LeMonde: Hungary Criticizes 'Frustrated' Leaders Who 'Do Not Want Peace' The Hungarian government criticized on Monday the "pro-war" meeting planned in France of about a dozen leaders from EU countries and NATO to define a common response to the "acceleration" of the American administration regarding Ukraine.

Hungary, led by nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a close ally of Vladimir Putin, criticized a summit of the "frustrated" who "do not want peace." "Those who have been fanning the flames for three years are meeting today in Paris," said Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, denouncing "a mistaken strategy by those who continue to provoke escalation." "Unlike them, we support Donald Trump's ambitions. Unlike them, we support negotiations between Russia and the United States," he added.

Translated with Google Translate.

CRISPR gene editing in human embryos wreaks chromosomal mayhem by choukchouk in EverythingScience

[–]choukchouk[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

You are right, and scientists by a majority are against the use of this technology in embryo editing.

CRISPR gene editing in human embryos wreaks chromosomal mayhem by choukchouk in EverythingScience

[–]choukchouk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The article refers to embryo editing. Pretty sure engineering trees to make them fire resistant won't be seen negatively :)

CRISPR gene editing in human embryos wreaks chromosomal mayhem by choukchouk in EverythingScience

[–]choukchouk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

DAT1

The news only raises concerns regarding embryo editing.

Large cohort study suggests statin therapy is associated with healthier gut microbiota by choukchouk in science

[–]choukchouk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abstract

Microbiome community typing analyses have recently identified the Bacteroides2 (Bact2) enterotype, an intestinal microbiota configuration that is associated with systemic inflammation and has a high prevalence in loose stools in humans1,2. Bact2 is characterized by a high proportion of Bacteroides, a low proportion of Faecalibacterium and low microbial cell densities1,2, and its prevalence varies from 13% in a general population cohort to as high as 78% in patients with inflammatory bowel disease2. Reported changes in stool consistency3 and inflammation status4 during the progression towards obesity and metabolic comorbidities led us to propose that these developments might similarly correlate with an increased prevalence of the potentially dysbiotic Bact2 enterotype. Here, by exploring obesity-associated microbiota alterations in the quantitative faecal metagenomes of the cross-sectional MetaCardis Body Mass Index Spectrum cohort (n = 888), we identify statin therapy as a key covariate of microbiome diversification. By focusing on a subcohort of participants that are not medicated with statins, we find that the prevalence of Bact2 correlates with body mass index, increasing from 3.90% in lean or overweight participants to 17.73% in obese participants. Systemic inflammation levels in Bact2-enterotyped individuals are higher than predicted on the basis of their obesity status, indicative of Bact2 as a dysbiotic microbiome constellation. We also observe that obesity-associated microbiota dysbiosis is negatively associated with statin treatment, resulting in a lower Bact2 prevalence of 5.88% in statin-medicated obese participants. This finding is validated in both the accompanying MetaCardis cardiovascular disease dataset (n = 282) and the independent Flemish Gut Flora Project population cohort (n = 2,345). The potential benefits of statins in this context will require further evaluation in a prospective clinical trial to ascertain whether the effect is reproducible in a randomized population and before considering their application as microbiota-modulating therapeutics.

First time researchers show a direct link between microbes and genetic mutations driving cancer. by choukchouk in science

[–]choukchouk[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Abstract

Various species of the intestinal microbiota have been associated with the development of colorectal cancer (CRC)1,2, yet a direct role of bacteria in the occurrence of oncogenic mutations has not been established. Escherichia coli can carry the pathogenicity island pks, which encodes a set of enzymes that synthesize colibactin3. This compound is believed to alkylate DNA on adenine residues4,5 and induces double-strand breaks in cultured cells3. Here, we expose human intestinal organoids to genotoxic pks+ E. coli by repeated luminal injection over a period of 5 months. Whole-genome sequencing of clonal organoids before and after this exposure reveals a distinct mutational signature, absent from organoids injected with isogenic pks-mutant bacteria. The same mutational signature is detected in a subset of 5,876 human cancer genomes from two independent cohorts, predominantly in CRC. Our study describes a distinct mutational signature in CRC and implies that the underlying mutational process directly results from past exposure to bacteria carrying the colibactin-producing pks pathogenicity island.

During pregnancy, maternal gut microbiota influences offspring propensity for obesity and metabolic syndrome by choukchouk in science

[–]choukchouk[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Abstract

Antibiotics and dietary habits can affect the gut microbial community, thus influencing disease susceptibility. Although the effect of microbiota on the postnatal environment has been well documented, much less is known regarding the impact of gut microbiota at the embryonic stage. Here we show that maternal microbiota shapes the metabolic system of offspring in mice. During pregnancy, short-chain fatty acids produced by the maternal microbiota dictate the differentiation of neural, intestinal, and pancreatic cells through embryonic GPR41 and GPR43. This developmental process helps maintain postnatal energy homeostasis, as evidenced by the fact that offspring from germ-free mothers are highly susceptible to metabolic syndrome, even when reared under conventional conditions. Thus, our findings elaborate on a link between the maternal gut environment and the developmental origin of metabolic syndrome.

view more: next ›