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Genetics and Health

Archive for the ‘Viruses’ Category

April 20th, 2008

Flu resevoir in Southern Asia source of flu virus evolution and dispersal

H3N2 flu virus (Courtesy www.primidi.com) 
Each year, somewhere between five and 15 percent of the world’s population becomes infected during influenza A epidemics. These flu outbreaks are linked to as many as a half a million deaths annually, according to WHO. While vaccinations can be effective, influenza viruses often evolve so rapidly that creating effective vaccines […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

April 5th, 2008

Helicos sequences virus with first ever single molecule sequencer method

 
Scientists from Helicos BioSciences, Ohio University, and Stanford University have published a paper in Science describing the first single-molecule sequencing of a whole genome.
The researchers used a single-molecule sequencing, sequencing-by-synthesis method, developed by Helicos, to sequence the roughly 7,000-nucleotide genome of the M13 virus.  In the company’s version of single-molecule sequencing, an approach first proposed in the […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

March 10th, 2008

Transfer RNA (tRNA) - a peek into the origin of life

‘Clover structure’ of Transfer RNA 
Transfer RNA (tRNA) is ancient. It is the most direct intermediary between genes and proteins. Like many other RNAs (ribonucleic acids), tRNA aids in translating genes into the chains of amino acids that make up proteins. The fact that tRNA is so central to the task of building proteins probably means […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

March 3rd, 2008

Flu virus has ‘coat’ which melts in the summer and makes it less virulent

(Photo credit: Flu viruses among cilia - National Geographic magazine http://www.nationalgeographic.com/)
US scientists have discovered a possible reason why the flu virus is seasonal and tends to infect people mostly in the winter. It has a jacket that melts in the summer causing the virus to die off, and stays hard in the winter, until it […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments

February 4th, 2008

Should men be vaccinated against HPV?

 Human Papilloma Virus 
Further to my article on UK school girls being vaccinated against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), there is mounting evidence that the HPV immunization program should be extended to males.
HPV is known to cause cervical cancer in women, and there are vaccination programs in many countries to immunize girls and young women against the […]

By Elaine -- 3 comments

January 20th, 2008

Virus linked to deadly skin cancer

(Merkel Skin Cancer - courtesy of DermIS, www.dermis.net)
US researchers have recently discovered a new virus they believe may be linked to a rare but extremely lethal type of skin cancer. Merkel cell carcinoma mostly afflicts the elderly and people with weaker immune systems, including AIDS and transplant patients. The newly discovered virus belongs to the […]

By Elaine -- 0 comments