ARE TELOMERES THE KEY TO AGING AND CANCER?

Inside the center or nucleus of a cell, our genes are located on twisted, double-stranded molecules of DNA called chromosomes. At the ends of the chromosomes are stretches of DNA called telomeres, which protect our genetic data, make it possible for cells to divide and hold some secrets to how we age and get cancer.

Telomeres have been compared with the plastic tips on shoelaces because they prevent chromosome ends from fraying and sticking to each other, which would scramble an organism's genetic information to cause cancer, other diseases or death. Yet, each time a cell divides, the telomeres get shorter. When they get too short, the cell no longer can divide and becomes inactive or "senescent" or dies. This process is associated with aging, cancer and a higher risk of death. So telomeres also have been compared with a bomb fuse.

What are telomeres?

Like the rest of a chromosome and its genes, telomeres are sequences of DNA - chains of chemical code. Like other DNA, they are made of four nucleic acid bases: G for guanine, A for adenine, T for thymine and C for cytosine. Telomeres are made of repeating sequences of TTAGGG on one strand of DNA bound to AATCCC on the other strand. Thus, one section of telomere is a "repeat" made of six "base pairs."

In human blood cells, the length of telomeres ranges from 8,000 base pairs at birth to 3,000 base pairs as people age and as low as 1,500 in elderly people. (An entire chromosome has about 150 million base pairs.) Each time a cell divides, an average person loses 30 to 200 base pairs from the ends of that cell's telomeres.

Cells normally can divide only about 50 to 70 times, with telomeres getting progressively shorter until the cells become senescent, die or sustain genetic damage that can cause cancer. Telomeres do not shorten with age in tissues such as heart muscle in which cells do not continually divide.

Why do chromosomes have telomeres?

Without telomeres, the main part of the chromosome - the part containing genes essential for life - would get shorter each time a cell divides. So telomeres allow cells to divide without losing genes. Cell division is needed so we can grow new skin, blood, bone and other cells when needed.

Without telomeres, chromosome ends could fuse together and degrade the cell's genetic blueprint, making the cell malfunction, become cancerous or die. Because broken DNA is dangerous, a cell has the ability to sense and repair chromosome damage. Without telomeres, the ends of chromosomes would look like broken DNA, and the cell would try to fix something that wasn't broken. That also would make them stop dividing and eventually die.

Why do telomeres get shorter each time a cell divides?

Before a cell can divide, the chromosomes within it are duplicated so that each of the two new cells contains identical genetic material. A chromosome's two strands of DNA must unwind and separate. An enzyme (DNA polymerase) then starts to make two new strands of DNA to match each of the two unwound strands. It does this with the help of short pieces of RNA. When each new matching strand is completed, it is a bit shorter than the original strand because of the room needed at the end by this small piece of RNA. It is like someone who paints himself into a corner and cannot paint the corner.

Does anything counteract telomere shortening?

An enzyme named telomerase adds bases to the ends of telomeres. In young cells, telomerase keeps telomeres from wearing down too much. But as cells divide repeatedly, there is not enough telomerase, so the telomeres grow shorter and the cells age.

Telomerase remains active in sperm and eggs, which are passed from one generation to the next. If reproductive cells did not have telomerase to maintain the length of their telomeres, any organism with such cells soon would go extinct.

What role do telomeres play in cancer?

As a cell begins to become cancerous, it divides more often, and its telomeres become very short. If its telomeres get too short, the cell may die. It can escape this fate by becoming a cancer cell and activating an enzyme called telomerase, which prevents the telomeres from getting even shorter.

Studies have found shortened telomeres in many cancers, including pancreatic, bone, prostate, bladder, lung, kidney, and head and neck.

Measuring telomerase may be a new way to detect cancer. If scientists can learn how to stop telomerase, they might be able to fight cancer by making cancer cells age and die. In one experiment, researchers blocked telomerase activity in human breast and prostate cancer cells growing in the laboratory, prompting the tumor cells to die. But there are risks. Blocking telomerase could impair fertility, wound healing, and production of blood cells and immune system cells.

What about telomeres and aging?

Geneticist Richard Cawthon and colleagues at the University of Utah found shorter telomeres are associated with shorter lives. Among people older than 60, those with shorter telomeres were three times more likely to die from heart disease and eight times more likely to die from infectious disease.

Rest of artickle here: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/traits/telomeres/

What YOUR Brain can do

Your Brain's Potential

In the brain there are 1,000,000,000,000 (a million million) individual neurons or nerve cells.

If each neuron can interact with anywhere between 1 and 100,000 other neurons then the brain's potential for pattern forming (the number of possible permutations) is a massive number that even in normal text would require 10.5 million kilometres of space to write one after the other!

That means that your brain has an almost infinite capacity for storing information.

What are you going to learn today to start realising your potential?

Prominence eruption from sun is seen

A prominence eruption from the sun is seen in this image taken by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) on March 30, 2010. NASA released the first publicimages from the SDO on April 21, 2010.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/NASA-releases-images-sun/ss/events/sc/042210nasasun#photoViewer=/100422/ids_photos_wl/r938069384.jpg

Best Camera Prices in South Africa

Highly Recommended: Looking for the best value and service for cameras in South Africa?

One sees cameras advertised all over. If you are a beginner photographer looking for start-up or a Pro looking for an upgrade, there is really only one place we can recommend with all good faith. In stead of providing a link to the main website (which will require you to register and go through a lengty process) we will give you the shortcut. Send a mail to the link below and provide your requirements and they will mail you back with exact details on how to get hold of what you really need.

In the first place, we have bought many cameras from the company without ever having a single hitch in order nor delivery. Their cameras are sources internationally as well as having an international warrenty. We had one camera that had a simple problem and the money was refunded even before the camera was returned to them (then I may add we have a long relationship with the dealer so there were mutual trust) and neither have they ever received any complaints on their service from buyers to the best of our knowledge.

One of the big electronic stores in SA which are advertising low prices has a few catches which you are not told about: 1) Their products are Grey Market and  2) there is no exchange policy (which is why it is Gray Market). Meaning, if you bought the camera today, get home, find a problem and take it back the following day, they do not replace or refund you, they send it in for repairs and you can wait up to six weeks to get the repair back, if it has been fully repaired.

So with years of experience in the photographic field we recommend this one single dealer in SA and if you now or ever require a camera of any model or photographic equipment, we recommend sending an email and you will in all likelyhood get what you want at the best price you can pay anywhere. All equipment are sent via overnight courier so you have to wait just one day.

We do not publish the name of the dealer since they advertise in other media and it could constitute a conflict of their agreement with their normal sales channels to be listed somewhere else and we would not want that. At 2012survivornet.com we aim to help people in all communities and countries and thus this is a service we offer our subscribers and readers.

eMail address: sales@eezeehost.com

Note: We have no affiliation of any nature with the seller neither do we receive any compensation for this recommendation. In fact we have not contacted the seller beforehand advising that we will publish this post.

If you are a dealer of any type of commodities that benefit the community and help the person on the street, you are welcome to mail us for consideration of including your service or product in future posts.

The government has your baby's DNA!

(CNN) -- When Annie Brown's daughter, Isabel, was a month old, her pediatrician asked Brown and her husband to sit down because he had some bad news to tell them: Isabel carried a gene that put her at risk for cystic fibrosis.

While grateful to have the information -- Isabel received further testing and she doesn't have the disease -- the Mankato, Minnesota, couple wondered how the doctor knew about Isabel's genes in the first place. After all, they'd never consented to genetic testing.

It's simple, the pediatrician answered: Newborn babies in the United States are routinely screened for a panel of genetic diseases. Since the testing is mandated by the government, it's often done without the parents' consent, according to Brad Therrell, director of the National Newborn Screening & Genetics Resource Center. In many states, such as Florida, where Isabel was born, babies' DNA is stored indefinitely, according to the resource center. Many parents don't realize their baby's DNA is being stored in a government lab, but sometimes when they find out, as the Browns did, they take action. Parents in Texas, and Minnesota have filed lawsuits, and these parents' concerns are sparking a new debate about whether it's appropriate for a baby's genetic blueprint to be in the government's possession." We were appalled when we found out," says Brown, who's a registered nurse. "Why do they need to store my baby's DNA indefinitely? Something on there could affect her ability to get a job later on, or get health insurance."

According to the state of Minnesota's Web site, samples are kept so that tests can be repeated, if necessary, and in case the DNA is ever need to help parents identify a missing or deceased child. The samples are also used for medical research.

Video: Government has your baby's DNA Art Caplan, a bioethicist at the University of Pennsylvania, says he understands why states don't first ask permission to screen babies for genetic diseases. "It's paternalistic, but the state has an overriding interest in protecting these babies," he says. However, he added that storage of DNA for long periods of time is a different matter. "I don't see any reason to do that kind of storage," Caplan says. "If it's anonymous, then I don't care. I don't have an issue with that. But if you keep names attached to those samples, that makes me nervous."

DNA given to outside researchers

Genetic testing for newborns started in the 1960s with testing for diseases and conditions that, if undetected, could kill a child or cause severe problems, such as mental retardation. Since then, the screening has helped save countless newborns. Over the years, many other tests were added to the list. Now, states mandate that newborns be tested for anywhere between 28 and 54 different conditions, and the DNA samples are stored in state labs for anywhere from three months to indefinitely, depending on the state. (To find out how long your baby's DNA is stored, see this state-by-state list.) Brad Therrell, who runs the federally funded genetic resource consortium, says parents don't need to worry about the privacy of their babies' DNA. "The states have in place very rigid controls on those specimens," Therrell says. "If my children's DNA were in one of these state labs, I wouldn't be worried a bit." The specimens don't always stay in the state labs. They're often given to outside researchers -- sometimes with the baby's name attached. According to a study done by the state of Minnesota, more than 20 scientific papers have been published in the United States since 2000 using newborn blood samples. The researchers do not have to have parental consent to obtain samples as long as the baby's name is not attached, according to Amy Gaviglio, one of the authors of the Minnesota report. However, she says it's her understanding that if a researcher wants a sample with a baby's name attached, consent first must be obtained from the parents.

More Empowered Patient news and advice

Scientists have heralded this enormous collection of DNA samples as a "gold mine" for doing research, according to Gaviglio.

"This sample population would be virtually impossible to get otherwise," says Gaviglio, a genetic counselor for the Minnesota Department of Health. "Researchers go through a very stringent process to obtain the samples. States certainly don't provide samples to just anyone."

Brown says that even with these assurances, she still worries whether someone could gain access to her baby's DNA sample with Isabel's name attached.

"I know the government says my baby's data will be kept private, but I'm not so sure. I feel like my trust has been taken," she says.

Parents don't give consent to screening

Brown says she first lost trust when she learned that Isabel had received genetic testing in the first place without consent from her or her husband. "I don't have a problem with the testing, but I wish they'd asked us first," she says.

Since health insurance paid for Isabel's genetic screening, her positive test for a cystic fibrosis gene is now on the record with her insurance company, and the Browns are concerned this could hurt her in the future.

"It's really a black mark against her, and there's nothing we can do to get it off there," Brown says. "And let's say in the future they can test for a gene for schizophrenia or manic-depression and your baby tests positive -- that would be on there, too."

Brown says if the hospital had first asked her permission to test Isabel, now 10 months old, she might have chosen to pay for it out of pocket so the results wouldn't be known to the insurance company.

aplan says taking DNA samples without asking permission and then storing them "veers from the norm."

"In the military, for instance, they take and store DNA samples, but they tell you they're doing it, and you can choose not to join if you don't like it," he says.

What can parents do

In some states, including Minnesota and Texas, the states are required to destroy a baby's DNA sample if a parent requests it. Parents who want their baby's DNA destroyed are asked to fill out this form in Minnesota and this form in Texas. Parents in other states have less recourse, says Therrell, who runs the genetic testing group. "You'd probably have to write a letter to the state saying, 'Please destroy my sample,'" he says. He adds, however, that it's not clear whether a state would necessarily obey your wishes. "I suspect it would be very difficult to get those states to destroy your baby's sample," he says.

Source:  http://www.naturalnews.com/028651_government_DNA.html

Antidepressants: Best for Severe Depression?

Jan. 5, 2010 -- Some antidepressants may work best for people with very severe depression, according to a new analysis, but may provide little or no benefit over placebo for those with mild, moderate, or severe depression.



''For patients with very severe depression, the medication did have a potent effect compared to placebo," says Jay C. Fournier, a psychology graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and lead author of the analysis, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

But, he says, ''the effects of the active ingredients of the medication were pretty small or nonexistent for patients with mild or moderate depression or even into the severe range."

However, the analysis only looked at two antidepressants.

Effects of Antidepressants: Study Details



Fournier and his colleagues pooled the results of six previously published studies that compared the effects of antidepressants to placebo for 718 adults with varying levels of depression.

Three of the studies looked at paroxetine (Paxil) and the others looked at imipramine (Tofranil).

Paxil is a type of antidepressant known as an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor), which is thought to boost mood by making more of the neurotransmitter serotonin available in the brain. Other popular SSRIS include citalopram (Celexa), fluoxetine (Prozac), and sertraline (Zoloft).

Tofranil is an older medication, known as a tricyclic antidepressant, which works by making more of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine available.

In the new analysis, Fournier's team only included studies that met their criteria. Studies, for instance, had to have individual patient data, not just overall results.

And the patients evaluated had a broader range of depression severity than those in most studies. Although many other studies only look at severely depressed patients (with a score of 23 or above on a commonly used scale known as the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale), Fournier's team evaluated studies that included patients with scores in the low teens, considered mild or moderate depression, through the 30s, or very severe.

Effects of Antidepressants: Study Results


''We were looking for differences between placebo and medications," Fournier tells WebMD. "We were interested in whether there was a clinically meaningful difference." One way the researchers defined ''clinically meaningful" was to have an improvement of three or more points on the Hamilton scale between placebo takers and medicine users.


''The main finding is that the benefit of medication, over and above the placebo, varied as a function of the severity of the depression," he says. "The effect of the medication for the mild, moderate, and even severe fell below this three-point difference that would be clinically significant."


The analysis suggests that some depressed people do respond to placebo, he says, and that severely depressed people are most likely to benefit from antidepressants.

Even so, he tells WebMD, individual treatment decisions should be made in consultation with a physician.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/depression/news/20100105/antidepressants-best-for-severe-depression

Acupuncture could help period pain, researchers say

Acupuncture may be an effective way of easing severe period pain, a South Korean review of 27 studies suggests.

Researchers said there was "promising evidence" for acupuncture in treating cramps, but that more work was needed.

In the British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, they noted two studies found little difference between real and sham acupuncture in treating pain.

Acupuncture is a less contentious form of complementary medicine than some, but its value is still disputed.

Period pain can be severe in some women and may be accompanied by nausea, diarrhoea, migraine and backache. Common treatments include pain killers, applying heat and exercise - although a recent study questioned the efficacy of the latter.

This latest review involved 27 studies - which included nearly 3,000 women. They addressed a variety of forms of acupuncture - from classical to acupoint injection. Traditional acupuncturists insert needles in acupuncture points located along what they describe as "energy meridians" - a concept for which many scientists say there is no evidence. Sham acupuncture places needles away from these points.

It is not clear whether either form alleviates pain as a result of the placebo effect - the very ritual of undergoing acupuncture - or cause subtle changes in the nervous system and brain activity which can be beneficial.

Nice backs needles

The analysis by the team from Kyung Hee Medical Centre found that patients with severe period pain reported a greater reduction in their symptoms when using acupuncture compared with pharmacological treatments.

But they stressed there were methodological flaws in some studies, and that the findings did need to be interpreted with caution. Nevertheless, there was "promising evidence", they wrote.

In the UK, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) has backed the use of acupuncture in the treatment of low back pain - a move welcomed by some but criticised by those who say there is little evidence for its efficacy.

The editor-in-chief of the BJOG, Professor Philip Steer, noted that some women had period pain, also known as primary dysmenorrhoea, so badly they were "unable to function normally".

"Women with primary dysmenorrhoea should consult their GPs or gynaecologists on the best treatment available to them. Complementary therapies should not be used exclusively, at the expense of conventional treatment, unless significant improvements have been made and your doctor tells you otherwise."

Source of Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8518745.stm