Mitochondrial genome mutates when reprogrammed

Posted by Biomechanism 

Max Planck researchers encounter genetic changes in the genome of the cellular power plants of human induced pluripotent stem cells.

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) are truly talented multi-taskers. They can reproduce almost all cell types and thus offer great hope in the fight against diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. However, it would appear that their use is not entirely without risk: during the reprogramming of body cells into iPS cells, disease-causing mutations can creep into the genetic material. The genome of the mitochondria – the cell’s protein factories – is particularly vulnerable to such changes.

This phenomenon has been discovered by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin. The scientists encountered mutations in the mitochondrial genome of iPS cells. Because such genetic mutations can cause diseases, the cells should be tested for such mutations before being used for clinical applications.

Mutations in the mitochondrial genome of iPS cells © MPI for Molecular Genetics

A lot of hope is riding on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells). Because they can be generated individually for every single person, they are expected to enable the development of tailor-made therapies that do not run the risk of triggering rejection reactions. iPS cells also offer a promising solution for drug screening, as researchers can generate different cell types such as liver cells from them, on which they can then test the effect of substances. iPS cells can be generated from adult body cells using the technique of “cellular reprogramming”. The method raises no ethical concerns as it does not involve the destruction of embryos.

However, these promising cells are also associated with certain risks. Disease-causing mutations can also arise during the reprogramming of the body cells. The genetic material in the mitochondria is particularly vulnerable to changes in the genetic code. The question as to whether such mutations arise as a result of the reprogramming process had not previously been investigated.

A cooperative research study involving two research groups from the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin has now carried out a search for mutations in the mitochondrial genome of iPS cells. James Adjaye’s research group recently discovered that the mitochondria rejuvenate in the course of reprogramming. Working in cooperation with Bernd Timmermann’s Next Generation Sequencing research group, Adjaye’s team has succeeded in showing that genetic mutations exist in the mitochondrial genome of all reprogrammed cells that were not present in the original cells. The amount of mutations varies significantly between the individual iPS cells examined. In all cases, the changes did not involve large-scale rearrangements but rather modifications of single letters in the genetic code.

“The mitochondrial genome undergoes random reorganisation during reprogramming,” explains James Adjaye. “Cell lines can arise in the process that carries disease-causing mutations. Genetic mutations in the mitochondrial genome may be responsible, for example, for various metabolic disorders, nervous diseases, tumours and post-transplant rejection reactions. Therefore, it is essential that cell lines intended for clinical use be tested for such mutations,” he adds.

One of the reasons why the mitochondrial genome is so vulnerable to mutations is that mitochondria do not have the ingenious molecular repair mechanisms found in the cell nucleus at their disposal. In addition, free radicals – particularly reactive molecules that can trigger mutations – arise in the cellular protein factories during cellular respiration.

For their study, the scientists generated iPS cells from human skin cells (fibroblasts). Based on a standard procedure, they used viruses as a vehicle for the infiltration of certain regulator genes into the skin cells. These genes, which are usually only active in the embryo, transpose the cell back to a juvenile state. As a result it gains the potential to differentiate into almost all of the cell types found in the human body, in other words, it becomes pluripotent.

As the researchers discovered, the observed mitochondrial mutations had no effects on the outcome of the reprogramming process: the reprogrammed iPS cells behaved like normal embryonic stem cells and their metabolism did not appear to have been impaired.

These findings are of enormous significance for the clinical use of iPS cells. The researchers hope that, one day, people with mitochondrial diseases will also be able to benefit from the skills of these multi-talented cells. It is estimated that one in 5000 people suffer from such diseases. “It may be possible to harvest mutation-free iPS cell lines for these patients and use them in treatment,” says Alessandro Prigione, first author and co-corresponding author of the study. “To achieve this, however, we must ensure that the mutation-free cells that have already been tested do not accumulate new mutations while we keep them in culture.”

Scientists take a giant step for people — with plants!

(“Biomechanism.com“) — Salk Institute and Dana Farber Cancer Institute researchers contribute to production of largest-ever map of plant protein interactions.

Science usually progresses in small steps, but on rare occasions, a new combination of research expertise and cutting-edge technology produces a ‘great leap forward.’ An international team of scientists, whose senior investigators include Salk Institute plant biologist Joseph Ecker, report one such leap in the July 29, 2011 issue ofScience. They describe their mapping and early analyses of thousands of protein-to-protein interactions within the cells of Arabidopsis thaliana -a variety of mustard plant that is to plant biology what the lab mouse is to human biology.

The four-year project was funded by an $8 million National Science Foundation grant, and was headed by Marc Vidal, Pascal Braun, David Hill and colleagues at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston; and Ecker at the Salk Institute. “It was a natural collaboration,” says Vidal, “because Joe and his colleagues at the Salk Institute had already sequenced the Arabidopsis genome and had cloned many of the protein-coding genes, whereas on our side at the Dana Farber Institute we had experience in making these protein interaction maps for other organisms such as yeast.”“With this one study we managed to double the plant protein-interaction data that are available to scientists,” says Ecker, a professor in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory. “These data along with data from future ‘interactome’ mapping studies like this one should enable biologists to make agricultural plants more resistant to drought and diseases, more nutritious, and generally more useful to mankind.”

In the initial stages of the project, members of Ecker’s lab led by research technician Mary Galli converted most of their accumulated library of Arabidopsis protein-coding gene clones into a form useful for protein-interaction tests. “For this project, over 10,000 ‘open reading frame’ clones were converted and sequence verified in preparation for protein-interaction screening,” says Galli.

Vidal, Braun, Hill and their colleagues systematically ran these open reading frames through a high quality protein-interaction screening process, based on a test known as the yeast two-hybrid screen. Out of more than forty million possible pair combinations, they found a total of 6,205 Arabidopsis protein- protein interactions, involving 2,774 individual proteins. The researchers confirmed the high quality of these data, for example by showing their overlap with protein interaction datafrom past studies.

The new map of 6,205 protein partnerings represents only about two percent of the full protein- protein “interactome” for Arabidopsis, since the screening test covered only a third of all Arabidopsis proteins, and wasn’t sensitive enough to detect many weaker protein interactions. “There will be larger maps after this one,” says Ecker.

Even as a preliminary step, though, the new map is clearly useful. The researchers were able to sort the protein interaction pairs they found into functional groups, revealing networks and “communities” of proteins that work together. “There had been very little information, for example, on how plant hormone signaling pathways communicate with one another,” says Ecker. “But in this study we were able to find a number of intriguing links between these pathways.”

A further analysis of their map provided new insight into plant evolution. Ecker and colleagues Arabidopsis genome data, reported a decade ago, had revealed that plants randomly duplicate their genes to a much greater extent than animals do. These gene duplication events apparently give plants some of the genetic versatility they need to stay adapted to shifting environments. In this study, the researchers found 1900 pairs of their mapped proteins that appeared to be the products of ancient gene-duplication events.

Using advanced genomic dating techniques, the researchers were able to gauge the span of time since each of these gene-duplication events – the longest span being 700 million years – and compare it with the changes in the two proteins’ interaction partners. “This provides a measure of how evolution has rewired the functions of these proteins,” says Vidal. “Our large, high-quality dataset and the naturally high frequency of these gene duplications in Arabidopsis allowed us to make such an analysis for the first time.”

In the July 29 issue of Science researchers from the Arabidopsis interactome mapping study reported yet another demonstration of the usefulness of their approach. Led by Jeffery L. Dangl of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, they examined Arabidopsis protein interactions with the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae (Psy) and a fungus-like microbe called Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis (Hpa). “Even though these two pathogens are separated by about a billion years of evolution, it turns out that the ‘effector’ proteins they use to subvert Arabidopsis cells during infection are both targeted against the same set of highly connected Arabidopsis proteins,” says Ecker. “We looked at some of these targeted Arabidopsis proteins and found evidence that they serve as ‘hubs’ or control points for the plant immune system and related systems.”The researchers found evidence that the Arabidopsis protein partnerships tend to change quickly after the duplication event, then more slowly as the duplicated gene settles into its new function and is held there by evolutionary pressure. “Even though the divergence of these proteins’ amino-acid sequences may continue, the divergence in terms of their respective partners slows drastically after a rapid initial change, which we hadn’t expected to see,” Vidal says.

Ecker and his colleagues hope that these studies mark the start of a period of rapid advancement in understanding plant biology, and in putting that knowledge to use for human benefit. “This starts to give us a big, systems-level picture of how Arabidopsis works, and much of that systems-level picture is going to be relevant to – and guide further research on – other plant species, including those used in human agriculture and even pharmaceuticals,”Ecker says.

பொக்கிஷங்கள்

1.பேசும்முன் கேளுங்கள்! எழுதும்முன் யோசியுங்கள்! செலவழிக்கும்முன் சம்பாதியுங்கள்! 2. சில சமயங்களில் இழப்புதான் பெரிய ஆதாயமாக இருக்கும்! 3. யாரிடம் கற்கிறோமோ அவரே ஆசிரியர். கற்றுக்கொடுப்பவரெல்லாம் ஆசிரியர் அல்லர். 4. நான் மாறும்போது தானும் மாறியும், நான் தலையசைக்கும்போது தானும் தலையசைக்கும் நண்பன் எனக்குத் தேவையில்லை. அதற்கு என் நிழலே போதும்! 5. நோயை விட அச்சமே அதிகம் கொல்லும்! 6. நான் குறித்த நேரத்திற்கு கால்மணி நேரம் முன்பே சென்று விடுவது வழக்கம். அதுதான் என்னை மனிதனாக்கியது. 7. நம்மிடம் பெரிய தவறுகள் இல்லை எனக் குறிப்பிடுவதற்கே, சிறிய தவறுகளை ஒப்புக்கொள்கிறோம்! 8. வாழ்க்கை என்பது குறைவான தகவல்களை வைத்துக்கொண்டு சரியான முடிவுக்கு வரும் ஒரு கலை. 9. சமையல் சரியாக அமையாவிடில் ஒருநாள் இழப்பு. அறுவடை சிறக்காவிடில் ஒரு ஆண்டு இழப்பு. திருமணம் பொருந்தாவிடில் வாழ்நாளே இழப்பு. 10. முழுமையான மனிதர்கள் இருவர். ஒருவர் இன்னும் பிறக்கவில்லை. மற்றவர் இறந்துவிட்டார். 11. ஓடுவதில் பயனில்லை. நேரத்தில் புறப்படுங்கள்! 12. எல்லோரையும் நேசிப்பது சிரமம். ஆனால் பழகிக்கொள்ளுங்கள்! 13. நல்லவர்களோடு நட்பாயிரு. நீயும் நல்லவனாவாய்! 14. காரணமே இல்லாமல் கோபம் தோன்றுவதில்லை. ஆனால் காரணம் நல்லதாய் இருப்பதில்லை! 15. இவர்கள் ஏன் இப்படி? என்பதை விட, இவர்கள் இப்படித்தான் என எண்ணிக்கொள்! 16. யார் சொல்வது சரி என்பதல், எது சரி என்பதே முக்கியம்! 17. ஆயிரம் முறை சிந்தியுங்கள். ஒருமுறை முடிவெடுங்கள்! 18. பயம்தான் நம்மைப் பயமுறுத்துகிறது. பயத்தை உதறி எறிவோம்! 19. நியாயத்தின் பொருட்டு வெளிப்படையாக ஒருவருடன் விவாதிப்பது சிறப்பாகும்! 20. உண்மை புறப்பட ஆரம்பிக்கும் முன் பொய் பாதி உலகத்தை வலம் வந்துவிடும்! 21. உண்மை தனியாகச் செல்லும். பொய்க்குத்தான் துணை வேண்டும்! 22. வாழ்வதும் வாழ்விடுவதும் நமது வாழ்க்கைத் தத்துவங்களாக ஆக்கிக்கொள்வோம். 23. தன்னை ஒருவராலும் ஏமாற்ற முடியாது எனச் செருக்கோடு இருப்பவனே கண்டிப்பாக ஏமாந்து போகிறான். 24. உலகம் ஒரு நாடக மேடை ஒவ்வொருவரும் தம் பங்கை நடிக்கிறார்கள்! 25. செய்வதற்கு எப்போதும் வேலை இருக்கவேண்டும் . அப்போது தான் முன்னேற முடியும்! 26. அன்பையும் ஆற்றலையும் இடைவிடாது வெளிப்படுத்துகிறவர் ஆர்வத்துடன் பணிபுரிவர்! 27. வெற்றி பெற்றபின் தன்னை அடக்கி வைத்துக்கொள்பவன், இரண்டாம் முறையும் வென்ற மனிதனாவான்! 28. தோல்வி ஏற்படுவது அடுத்த செயலைக் கவனமாகச் செய் என்பதற்கான எச்சரிக்கை. 29. பிறர் நம்மைச் சமாதானப்படுத்த வேண்டும் என்று எதிர்பார்க்காமல், நாம் பிறரைச் சமாதானப்படுத்த முயற்சிக்க வேண்டும். 30. கடினமான செயலின் சரியான பெயர்தான் சாதனை. சாதனையின் தவறான விளக்கம் தான் கடினம்! 31. ஒன்றைப்பற்றி நிச்சயமாக நம்ப வேண்டுமென்றால் எதையும் சந்தேகத்துடனே துவக்க வேண்டும்! 32. சரியானது எது என்று தெரிந்த பிறகும் அதைச் செய்யாமல் இருப்பதற்குப் பெயர்தான் கோழைத்தனம். நன்றி:பொக்கிஷங்கள்.காம் Engr.Sulthan

கிச்சனுக்குள் காத்திருக்கும் 'குபீர்' ஆபத்து ! கரப்பான் பூச்சி 'ஸ்பிரே' + சமையல் கேஸ்

'மகாராஷ்டிர மாநிலம், புனே நகரைச் சேர்ந்த அந்த இல்லத்தரசி, மே 13-ம் தேதியன்று வழக்கம்போல கேஸ் ஸ்டவ்வை பற்ற வைத்து சமையலை ஆரம்பித்தார். அப்போது, சமையல் மேடையில் அலைந்த கரப்பான் பூச்சியைக் கண்டவர், அதற்கான 'ஸ்பிரே’வை எடுத்து அழுத்தினார். அடுத்த நொடியே குபீரென தீப்பற்றி, கேஸ் சிலிண்டரும் வெடிக்க... 65 சதவிகித தீக்காயங்களுடன் மருத்துவமனையில் அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டிருக்கிறார். காப்பாற்றச் சென்ற கணவருக்கும் தீக்காயங்கள்’ - இப்படி ஒரு தகவல், இன்டர்நெட்டில் 'தீ'யாக உலா வருகிறது. ஆனால், நாம் பலமாக 'வலை' வீசி தேடியும் எங்கேயுமே 'செய்தி'யாக அது பதிவாகியிருப்பதைக் காண முடியவில்லை. அதேசமயம், 'கேஸ் ஸ்டவ் எரியும்போது கரப்பான் பூச்சிக்கான ஸ்பிரே அடித்தால் தீ விபத்துக்கான வாய்ப்பு இருக்கிறதா?' என்கிற கேள்வி நமக்கு எழ, சென்னை, எழும்பூரிலிருக்கும் தீயணைப்பு நிலைய அலுவலர் ராஜேஷ் கண்ணனிடம் அதைப் பற்றிக் கேட்டோம். ''கரப்பான் பூச்சிக்கான ஸ்பிரே என்றில்லை... சென்ட், பாடி ஸ்பிரே, ரூம் ஸ்பிரே, நக பாலிஷ் என்று ஆல்கஹால் கலந்த பொருட்களை கிச்சனுக்குள் பயன்படுத்தவே கூடாது. அனைத்து ஸ்பிரேக்களுமே 50 டிகிரி செல்சியஸ் வெப்பத்தி லேயே வெடிக்கக் கூடியவைதான். ஸ்பிரேக்களை சூரிய வெப்பத்தில் வைப்பதும் ஆபத்தானது. எளிதில் தீப்பிடிக்கும் பொருட்கள் என்று தெரிந்தும் இவற்றை கிச்சனுக்குள் அனுமதிப்பது எமனை வரவழைப்பதற்குச் சமம்!'' என்று எச்சரித்தவர், அடுப்படி ஆபத்து களைப் பற்றி பட்டியலே இட்டார்! ''கிச்சனில் சமையல் செய்யும்போது புடவை, சுடிதார், நைட்டி என்று எந்த உடை யானாலும், அதை காட்டனில் அணிய வேண்டும். ஒருவேளை ஏதேனும் தீ விபத்து ஏற்பட்டால், இந்த வகை துணிகள் உடம்போடு ஒட்டிக் கொள்ளும்; எளிதில் அகற்ற முடியாது. அது காயங்களை இன்னும் தீவிரமாக்கும். கிச்சன் பிளாட்ஃபார்ம் மேலாக ஒரு செல்ஃப் வைத்து, சமையல் பொருட்களை வைத்து, எடுப்பது கூடாது. கையை எட்டி மேலே இருக்கும் பொருட்களை எடுக்கும்போது, ஸ்டவ் எரிந்து கொண்டிருந்தால், உடையில் எளிதில் தீ பிடிப்பதற்கான சாத்தியங்கள் இருக்கின்றன'' என்று அறிவுறுத்திய ராஜேஷ் கண்ணன், ''கேஸ் சிலிண்டரை நூறு சதவிகிதம் பயன்படுத்த எண்ணி, படுக்கை வாட்டில் வைத்தெல்லாம் பயன் படுத்துவார்கள் சிலர். இது ஆபத்தானது. லீக்கேஜ் இருந்தால் வெடித்து விடும். அதேபோல பவர் கட் ஆனதும் மிக்ஸி, கிரைண்டர் ஸ்விட்ச்களை உடனடியாக ஆஃப் செய்துவிட வேண்டும். இல்லையெனில் நீங்கள் வெளியில் சென்றிருக்கும் சமயமாக பார்த்து கரன்ட் வந்தால்... மிக்ஸி, கிரைண்டர் தானாக 'ஆன்’ ஆகி, ஒரு கட்டத்தில் மோட்டாரின் வெப்பம் அதிகமாகி, வெடிக்கும் ஆபத்தும் உள்ளது'' என்று சொன்னார். ''குழப்பமான மனநிலையும் விபத்துக்கான காரணிகளுள் ஒன்றுதான்'' என்று சொல்லும் சென்னையைச் சேர்ந்த மனநல மருத்துவர் தாரா, ''குழப்பமான மனநிலையில் கிச்சனுக்குள் நுழைந்து பொங்கும் பாலை பார்த்துக் கொண்டேஇருப்பது, கேஸை 'ஆன்’ செய்துவிட்டு பற்ற வைக்க மறப்பது போன்றவையும் விபத்துக்கான விதைகளே. செல்போனில் மூழ்கியபடி சமைப்பதும் ஆபத்தே! ஒன்று சமைத்துவிட்டுப் பேசலாம். அல்லது, பேசிவிட்டு சமைக்கலாம். தூக்க மாத்திரைகள், அலர்ஜி மாத்திரைகள் சாப்பிட்ட பிறகு அலர்ட்னெஸ் குறைவாக இருக்கும். அது மாதிரியான சமயங்களில் கிச்சனில் நுழைவதைத் தவிர்ப்பதுதான் புத்திசாலித்தனம்'' என்று அக்கறையோடு டிப்ஸ்களைத் தந்தார் தாரா!

Tere Naam Ke Sahare - Aaya Hai Shirdi Se Humko Bulava

Guru pournami 1

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Tasting Scotch Whisky, Note By Vacuum-Distilled Note

Laboratory separation techniques pull out the various flavors in a single glass of whisky for individual study and/or enjoyment

By Paul Adams

Dave Arnold and his Rotary Evaporator courtesy The Glenlivet

As I write this, I'm sipping three aged Scotches that have been fractionated into some nine glasses. It's mid-afternoon. Yes, I am at the Tales of the Cocktail convention in New Orleans again -- one part learning and one part drinking, served straight up. Some people prefer to vary the proportions slightly.

When you drink whisky, you're drinking the wood it was aged in. That's easy to understand in concept, but friend of PopSci Dave Arnold is here to spell it out for our taste buds: He has set up his laboratory evaporator and physically separated out the flavor components in a glass of Glenlivet so they can be sipped individually.

As a basis for comparison, we start by tasting an unaged Glenlivet whisky. This is the "white dog" or "cleric," the spirit just as it comes out of the still, clear as water and with a floral, rough papery taste that's miles away from the familiar taste of Scotch. This stuff isn't typically supposed to leave the distillery: It stays there in oak barrels till it's hit its 12th birthday at least, and picked up its amber color, smooth contours, and recognizable flavor, all from the wood of the barrel. Indeed, the next glass we taste is the bestselling Glenlivet 12-year-old, with its vanilla roundness.

Now the fun begins -- or at least a more scientific sort of fun than just drinking Scotch. The evaporator uses a process of vacuum distillation at room temperature to separate liquids based on their relative volatility. Running a liter of Glenlivet 12 through the machine, Dave pulls off the first 600ml into one vessel and the remainder into a different one. We taste the two.

The elements drawn from the oak, including all of the brown color, are less volatile, so they remain in the 400ml batch. The 600ml batch Dave calls "gray dog," since it is a re-approximation of the white dog: a startling "deconstructed whisky" that's been aged for 12 years in oak and then had many of the effects of the oak removed. It also has the bulk of the alcohol, concentrated to 120 proof from the original Glenlivet's 80 proof. Its flavor is mellower than the white dog's, but that youthful papery flavor, which was imperceptible in the non-evaporated Scotch, is back in evidence. The vanilla tones that the oak contributed are deeply muted, leaving a soft, ill-balanced, cloying clear spirit that reminds me of souring milk.

Almost magically, the familiar Scotch of liquor stores and bars emerges from two components that aren't either really recognizable as Scotch.

The 15-year-old variety, however, makes a great gray dog. It's got back the balance that's lacking in the gray 12. The paper and grain flavors are offset by a melony, citrusy sweetness. Innovative bartender Eben Freeman, sitting next to me, insists he tastes a briny umami flavor that reminds him of seaweed, but I'm not sure it's there for me.

Side by side with the gray-dog component of the 15-year-old, we taste its other half, the amber-colored distillate that contains the woodiness. There's not much to it besides its vivid color, really -- a faint bitterness, a faint barkiness. It's very low in alcohol compared to the original, and since alcohol is a prime carrier of flavor, that doesn't help. Out of curiosity, I find an empty glass and mingle the 15-year-old gray dog with the 15-year-old wood component, reuniting the parts that have been separated. Almost magically, the familiar Scotch of liquor stores and bars emerges from two components that aren't either really recognizable as Scotch.

I would pay for a bottle of the separated-out 18-year-old. It's got more complexity than any of the younger ones, and I even taste that saltiness Eben mentioned, which I think comes from the used sherry casks in which a portion of this Scotch is aged. Dave Arnold has taken the wood component of the 18-year-old and made it, with cream and sugar, into an ice cream, which he freezes in a messy shower of liquid nitrogen before our eyes. The idea of oak ice cream is not the most appealing, but what comes through is the vanilla, spice, and maple notes of the wood -- as well as an inescapable flavor of briny lumber, like I'm eating an ice cream cone while strolling on an old sea pier. Wash down the wood ice cream with the matching gray dog whisky and the combination instantly comes together as a creamy aged Scotch on the tongue.

It's been an enlightening drinking session, and we've only separated each Scotch into two parts. The rotary evaporator is capable of much finer fractionation than that; carefully wielded it could in theory pull out just the flavor component of Glenlivet that's reminiscent of pear, or just the briny note, and so on. And that's just using the device for separation. It can also be used to combine flavors, as Dave demonstrated in another Tales session, when he put fresh mint and caraway into the receiving end of the evaporator, in a bath of vodka. The co-distillation of those elements resulted in a new liquor, melding the fresh, volatile flavors of the plants in a never-before-tasted way, while leaving behind their grassier, heavier flavor elements. The key flavor compounds in spearmint and in caraway are stereoisomers of each other, R-carvone and S-carvone, so they play together in the mouth in an intriguing three-dimensional way.

Such are the culinary adventures you can have with laboratory technology. I'm eager for more.

Tasting Rotavapped Scotches:  courtesy The Glenlivet

The Future of Elections: Startup "Americans Elect" Plans an Internet-Based Third-Party Convention in 2012

By Rebecca Boyle

Electronic Voting Machines is for insects via Flickr

American politicians have promised to return power to the people for as long as Americans have been voting. But anyone who pays attention knows that the average citizen has very little voice in Washington. Now a new startup that uses an Internet-sourced, social-media-inspired, American Idol-esque approach could be the change we can really believe in.

The new company, Americans Elect, is on the verge of submitting 1.6 million signatures, a prerequisite to secure a spot on the 2012 California presidential ballot. This is just the beginning of their ambitious 50-state campaign. What sets Americans Elect apart is their plan to host an open nominating process, a unique approach inspired by social media and American Idol. Their goal? To build a viable third party ticket in every state, a feat that could reshape the future of voting, as explained by Thomas Friedman at the New York Times .

The heart of Americans Elect's process lies in recruiting delegates. These delegates can be anyone with an interest in national government, regardless of ideology. They are then matched with others who share similar interests, allowing for open and democratic discussions on political priorities. This unique approach leads to the drafting of a candidate who truly represents the views of the delegates. Each candidate must present a video platform explaining their positions, and after a three-round tournament in April 2012, the candidate pool will be reduced to six, each of whom will have to pick a running mate.

While Americans Elect is a third party initiative, it is not seeking to replace the existing parties. In fact, it requires each potential ticket to include one member of each existing party. This means a Democrat would have to run with a Republican or independent, and a Republican with a Democrat or independent. This unique requirement, reminiscent of a Jack Lemmon/James Garner plotline, may seem to undermine the idea of a third party. However, it's an interesting idea that could potentially use the Internet to democratize the democratic process.

Friedman is quite excited about this idea, predicting that Americans Elect will do for our current gridlocked duopoly “what Amazon.com did to books, what the blogosphere did to newspapers, what the iPod did to music, what drugstore.com did to pharmacies.” (He does not include "what pets.com did for pet stores.)

This seems a tad optimistic given the state of national politics, but hey, the Internet can solve lots of other problems, so why not this?

In June, an online national nominating convention will choose a final candidate, who would then be on the ballot under the Americans Elect party in all 50 states.

Sorry, Stephen Colbert and the Super Pac — the rules say any nominee must be “considered someone of similar stature to our previous presidents.” (Although one could argue Colbert is more serious than some of them.)