Science Daily — The ability to dream is a fascinating aspect of the human mind. However, how the images and emotions that we experience so intensively when we dream form in our heads remains a mystery. Up to now it has not been possible to measure dream content. Max Planck scientists working with colleagues from the Charité hospital in Berlin have now succeeded, for the first time, in analysing the activity of the brain during dreaming.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Ancient Parenting Guide
 “Mother Yashoda saw that her child felt sleepy, and to give Him all facilities for sleep, she lay down with the child, and when He was peaceful, she got up to attend to her other household affairs.” (Shrila Prabhupada, Shrimad Bhagavatam, 10.7.5 Purport)
It’s strange to think that you can get advice on parenting from a book written around five thousand years ago. Stranger even yet to get the information from a book which was originally passed on through the hearing process in an assembly focused on meeting the spiritual needs of a dying king. This king wasn’t debilitated in his hearing or moving abilities, but he knew that he didn’t have much longer to live. Pressed for time, to taste the fruit of his existence, to relish all that life had to offer in the remaining hours of his time within his body, he wanted to hear about the most important subject matter, information that would delight his heart both in the moment and in the future. The discussion that resulted became known as the Shrimad Bhagavatam, and its most confidential and heartwarming message could be found in its tenth canto.
Why wait until the tenth section before uncovering the precious gem, the good stuff? Well, is the best part of a movie revealed at the beginning? Is the climax of a frenzied plotline situated at the beginning of the story? As further background information is provided, as familiarity with the characters increases, the audience member’s interest increases, with the story catching hold of their attention. Once that attention is there, the heart of the story can be understood and enjoyed that much more. If we were to walk into a movie theater playing the last scenes of a movie, what could we gain by watching the screen? But later on, if we were to watch the movie from the beginning, the same exact scene viewed by the same exact pair of eyes would provide much more meaning.
 For context reasons the “good stuff” about the hero of the Bhagavatam, who also happens to be the fountainhead of all energies and the reason for our existence, for our having a life breath and the ability to express emotion, wasn’t fully revealed until the tenth canto. As good things come to those who wait, one who reaches the tenth canto relishes the childhood pastimes of Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the foremost worshipable figure for every person. The atheists will claim that man created God out of a need for coping with the realities of life. Krishna, to them, is just a folk hero, a tribal leader whose qualities were later exaggerated to mythological proportions through storytelling and tradition. Yet regardless of man’s spiritual inclination, the troubles of life will be present. Even if out of ignorance one takes Krishna to be a tribal hero, hearing about Him and following the teachings of those who safeguard the information of the Vedic texts provide benefits. The same can’t be said of the reverse situation.
What does this mean exactly? The atheists will posit their own theories about life and what it should focus on. Since there is no absolute authority figure amongst such speculators, each person’s guess is as good as another’s. By rule, this means that both the thief and the honest man not following authorized spiritual traditions can claim to be correct in their assertions. The thief lives off of stealing while the pious person respects other people’s property. This is just one example of a dichotomy, but with many more people added to the mix, you get a bevy of conflicting systems of maintenance, religions in their own right.
One who is inclined towards spirituality, however, cannot benefit from the recommendations put forth by the gross materialists, those who have no desire to understand God or follow His teachings. The recommendations calling for satisfying the senses through illicit sex,gambling, intoxication and meat eating have no applicability to those looking to hear the sweet nectar that is Krishna-katha, or talks about God. In a similar manner, the opposite end of the materially concocted systems of maintenance, full renunciation, also has no appeal to the devotees of God. One side indulges in sense gratification with relative moral principles, while the other wholly rejects sense indulgence. One side looks for pleasure in a night club filled with smoke and alcohol, while another wants a life akin to seclusion, not having any contact with material nature whatsoever.
Neither of these extremes alone can provide pleasure to the soul, which is always looking for ananda, or bliss. The same atheists will continue searching for that elusive pleasure, the lasting peace of mind so desperately craved. They will keep turning over different stones in the form of new systems of maintenance, only to fail every time by following them. On the other hand, with devotion to Krishna comes knowledge of the ancillary aspects of life, which help to maintain happiness. Both the atheist and the devotee like to praise others, but only the devotee praises Shri Krishna, whose attributes are limitless. Both the atheist and devotee like to eat, but only the devotee eats Krishnaprasadam, food in the mode of goodness first offered to the deity of Shri Krishna. Both parties indulge in hearing, for the mind takes pleasure in learning about the activities others take part in. Only the devotee, however, hears about Krishna regularly and thus finds no limit to the amount of pleasure they can derive, day after day.
 In this way, even if the flawed assumption of man creating God is accepted, the path of the devotees is always superior. Man must act after all; he must seek pleasure. This is true regardless of one’s spiritual inclination. Through accessing the sacred texts like the Shrimad Bhagavatam, one purifies the hearing process and remains satisfied within the mind. From bhakti-yoga, or devotional service, comes the ability to remain peaceful, calm, satisfied in eating, healthy, and generally of good cheer. Who isn’t looking for these qualities? Moreover, knowledge of even important topics like child rearing is found through devotion.
Does the Bhagavatam contain a section on this specifically? No, but through hearing about Krishna such information automatically descends upon those who need it. As the Supreme Lord of all, Krishna comes to earth whenever He sees fit. In the Dvapara Yuga, He came in His original self, while outwardly imitating the growth cycles of an ordinary human being. His childhood years were spent in the farm community of Vrindavana, with Yashoda, the wife of the king Nanda, acting as Krishna’s foster mother.
Yashoda was the ideal mother. She followed the Vedic traditions tied to the rearing of a child. The soul is the essence of identity, and the human form of life is meant for the recognition of that fact. Once we have knowledge of the proper identity, we can act upon it and thus achieve a most suitable end. Every prescribed Vedic regulation is meant to further that goal of enlightenment, to increase the chances that the soul will no longer have to take birth in a temporary realm. At the same time, by following the prescribed guidelines, man will have less hesitancy and find pleasure at every step in life.
Rather than reference a book on how to raise her child, Yashoda just used her knowledge of Vedic traditions and her supreme love for her beloved Krishna, who was the darling of Vrindavana. When young Krishna reached three months old, she held a bathing ceremony in his honor, to mark the first time her sweetheart would leave the house. After the ceremony, she stayed with Krishna until He became sleepy. She lay down with Him and waited for Him to fall asleep. After that, she got up to attend to her household chores.
 Only when the child was peacefully asleep, seeing His mother right before closing His eyes, did Yashoda get up to take care of the rest of her duties. It should be noted that this is a standard practice followed by mothers who learn the ropes with their young children, but it’s interesting to see that one can also learn about it from hearing Krishna-katha. The benefit of learning the tips of parenting in this way is that when one has their own child, they can liken their experiences with them to what Mother Yashoda shared with Krishna. By remaining with Krishna until He fell asleep, Yashoda ensured that when she would take on the rest of her work for the day, she would be constantly tied to the Supreme Lord in consciousness. As this is the aim of yoga practice, we can understand that the queen of Vraja was the perfect yogi in every respect.
This incident also shows that Krishna purposefully acts in such a way that the sincere souls are forced into yoga, even if they are not explicitly trying for it. Indeed, Krishna is the order supplier for every type of desire, even those of the atheists. Those desiring to forget the Supreme Lord are cast into the material ocean of nescience, where they get to repeatedly attempt to extract the juice out of tired and decayed activities. The theories of there being no God or God being created by man are also Krishna’s grace, as He is both the forgetfulness and remembrance of man.
If Shyamasundara can aid the atheists in their intense desire to associate with material nature, why shouldn’t He help the sincere souls who not only acknowledge God’s presence, but look for ways to connect with Him? This brings up a tricky part about spirituality. If we are fortunate enough to know that God exists and that He is all-powerful, what do we do after that? Do we continue with our ways and just try to remember that God is watching? Do we follow perfunctory rituals and regulations and then hope that in the afterlife everything will be alright?
 The bhakti-yoga formula allows for constant connection with the Supreme Lord through activities we are already accustomed to. Someone can even act as God’s mother if they should be so desirous. And in that role they will get a son who is perfect in every respect, knowing just how to act to extract the loving sentiments that the mother or father is itching to release. Bhakti begins with the hearing process, where one listens to discourses about the Supreme Lord and His activities from authorized sources, those who themselves follow bhakti as a way of life. Then to continue the hearing process, to stay connected with Krishna in even circumstances where it seems difficult, one can chant the holy names, “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare, Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare”.
Sincerity in purpose does wonders in bhakti. The more one is sincere to remain in yoga, the more they are helped by the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His representatives. The more desirous one becomes to occupy Krishna’s time through gaining His attention and association, the more knowledgeable they become of how to keep that link going. Mother Yashoda remained in perfect yoga by tending to her beloved young child, who cannot be captured solely by meditation, sacrifice, penance, study of Vedanta, or the acquisition of material opulence. Only through transcendental love offered in full sincerity can Krishna remain within the mind and heart at all times.
In Closing:
Yashoda’s beloved son past three months old today,
Brahmanas came to the house to celebrate the day.
While He falls asleep, Yashoda with Krishna stays,
Remembering His lila and how on field He plays.
She tends to her chores after her son has fallen asleep,
Then vision of the Supreme Lord in her mind does she keep.
As a perfect mother Yashoda sets the example,
Of her endless glories from Bhagavatam we get a sample.
Regardless of your persuasion, to Krishna-katha lend an ear,
Of the Supreme Lord’s activities and bhakti do you hear.
You will benefit even if man created God you think,
Immersed in transcendental nectar your ignorance will sink.
 |
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Scientists Measure Dream Content for the First Time: Dreams Activate the Brain in a Similar Way to Real Actions
Top: Patient in a functional magnetic resonance imaging machine. Bottom: Activity in the motor cortex during the movement of the hands while awake (left) and during a dreamed movement (right). Blue areas indicate the activity during a movement of the right hand, which is clearly demonstrated in the left brain hemisphere, while red regions indicate the corresponding left-hand movements in the opposite brain hemisphere. (Credit: © MPI of Psychiatry)
The research is published in the journal Current Biology.
They were able to do this with the help of lucid dreamers, i.e. people who become aware of their dreaming state and are able to alter the content of their dreams. The scientists measured that the brain activity during the dreamed motion matched the one observed during a real executed movement in a state of wakefulness.
Methods like functional magnetic resonance imaging have enabled scientists to visualise and identify the precise spatial location of brain activity during sleep. However, up to now, researchers have not been able to analyse specific brain activity associated with dream content, as measured brain activity can only be traced back to a specific dream if the precise temporal coincidence of the dream content and measurement is known. Whether a person is dreaming is something that could only be reported by the individual himself.
Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich, the Charité hospital in Berlin and the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig availed of the ability of lucid dreamers to dream consciously for their research. Lucid dreamers were asked to become aware of their dream while sleeping in a magnetic resonance scanner and to report this "lucid" state to the researchers by means of eye movements. They were then asked to voluntarily "dream" that they were repeatedly clenching first their right fist and then their left one for ten seconds.
This enabled the scientists to measure the entry into REM sleep -- a phase in which dreams are perceived particularly intensively -- with the help of the subject's electroencephalogram (EEG) and to detect the beginning of a lucid phase. The brain activity measured from this time onwards corresponded with the arranged "dream" involving the fist clenching. A region in the sensorimotor cortex of the brain, which is responsible for the execution of movements, was actually activated during the dream. This is directly comparable with the brain activity that arises when the hand is moved while the person is awake. Even if the lucid dreamer just imagines the hand movement while awake, the sensorimotor cortex reacts in a similar way.
The coincidence of the brain activity measured during dreaming and the conscious action shows that dream content can be measured. "With this combination of sleep EEGs, imaging methods and lucid dreamers, we can measure not only simple movements during sleep but also the activity patterns in the brain during visual dream perceptions," says Martin Dresler, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry.
The researchers were able to confirm the data obtained using MR imaging in another subject using a different technology. With the help of near-infrared spectroscopy, they also observed increased activity in a region of the brain that plays an important role in the planning of movements. "Our dreams are therefore not a 'sleep cinema' in which we merely observe an event passively, but involve activity in the regions of the brain that are relevant to the dream content," explains Michael Czisch, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry.
Building Better HIV Antibodies: Biologists Create Neutralizing Antibody That Shows Increased Potency
The increased potency of a new HIV antibody (green and blue) is explained by an insertion (pink) that contacts the inner domain of the HIV gp120 spike protein (yellow).
Science Daily — Using highly potent antibodies isolated from HIV-positive people, researchers have recently begun to identify ways to broadly neutralize the many possible subtypes of HIV. Now, a team led by biologists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has built upon one of these naturally occurring antibodies to create a more potent version they believe is a better candidate for clinical applications.
"NIH45-46 was already one of the broadest and most potent of the known anti-HIV antibodies," says Pamela Bjorkman, Max Delbrück Professor of Biology at Caltech and senior author on the study. "Our new antibody is now arguably the best currently available, broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies."
Current advances in isolating antibodies from HIV-infected individuals have allowed for the discovery of many new, broadly neutralizing anti-HIV antibodies directed against the host receptor (CD4) binding site -- a functional site on the virus's surface that allows for cell entry and infection. Using a technique known as structure-based rational design, the team modified one already-known and particularly potent antibody -- NIH45-46 -- to target the binding site differently and more powerfully. A study outlining their process was published in the Oct. 27 issue of Science Express.
By conducting structural studies, the researchers could identify how NIH45-46 interacted with gp120 -- a protein on the surface of the virus required for the triumphant entry of HIV into cells -- to neutralize the virus. Using this information, they created a new antibody (dubbed NIH45-46G54W) that is better able to grab onto and interfere with gp120. This improves the antibody's breadth -- or the extent to which it effectively targets many subtypes of HIV -- and potency by order of magnitude, according to Ron Diskin, a postdoctoral scholar in Bjorkman's lab at Caltech and the paper's lead author.
"Not only did we design an improved version of NIH45-46, our structural data are calling into question previous assumptions about how to make a vaccine to elicit such antibodies," says Diskin. "We hope these observations will help guide and improve future immunogen design."
By improving the efficacy of antibodies that can neutralize HIV, the researchers point to the possibility of clinical testing for NIH45-46G54W and other antibodies as therapeutic agents. Understanding effective neutralization by potent antibodies may be helpful in vaccine development.
"The results uncover the structural underpinnings of anti-HIV antibody breadth and potency, offer a new view of neutralization by CD4-binding site anti-HIV antibodies, and establish principles that may enable the creation of a new group of HIV therapeutics," says Bjorkman, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.
Other Caltech authors on the study, "Increasing the Potency and Breadth of an HIV Antibody by Using Structure-Based Rational Design," include Paola M. Marcovecchio, Anthony P. West, Jr., Han Gao, and Priyanthi N.P. Gnanapragasm. Johannes Scheid, Florian Klein, Alexander Abadir, Michel Nussenweig from Rockefeller University, and Michael Seaman from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston also contributed to the paper. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and the German Research Foundation funded the research.
Do Bacteria Age? Biologists Discover the Answer Follows Simple Economics
When a bacterial cell divides into two daughter cells and those two cells divide into four more daughters, then 8, then 16 and so on, the result, biologists have long assumed, is an eternally youthful population of bacteria. Bacteria, in other words, don’t age—at least not in the same way all other organisms do.
But a study conducted by evolutionary biologists at the University of California, San Diego, questions that longstanding paradigm. In a paper published in the November 8 issue of the journal Current Biology, they conclude that not only do bacteria age, but that their ability to age allows bacteria to improve the evolutionary fitness of their population by diversifying their reproductive investment between older and more youthful daughters. This week, an advance copy of the study appears in the journal’s early online edition.
“Aging in organisms is often caused by the accumulation of non-genetic damage, such as proteins that become oxidized over time,” said Lin Chao, a professor of biology at UC San Diego who headed the study. “So for a single celled organism that has acquired damage that cannot be repaired, which of the two alternatives is better—to split the cellular damage in equal amounts between the two daughters or to give one daughter all of the damage and the other none?”
The UC San Diego biologists’ answer—that bacteria appear to give more of the cellular damage to one daughter, the one that has “aged,” and less to the other, which the biologists term “rejuvenation”—resulted from a computer analysis Chao and colleagues Camilla Rang and Annie Peng conducted on two experimental studies. Those studies, published in 2005 and 2010, attempted unsuccessfully to resolve the question of whether bacteria aged. While the 2005 study showed evidence of aging in bacteria, the 2010 study, which used a more sophisticated experimental apparatus and acquired more data than the previous one, suggested that they did not age.
“We analyzed the data from both papers with our computer models and discovered that they were really demonstrating the same thing,” said Chao. “In a bacterial population, aging and rejuvenation goes on simultaneously, so depending on how you measure it, you can be misled to believe that there is no aging.”
In a separate study, the UC San Diego biologists filmed populations of E. coli bacteria dividing over hundreds of generations and confirmed that the sausage-shaped bacteria divided each time into daughter cells that grew elongated at different rates—suggesting that one daughter cell was getting all or most of the cellular damage from its mother while the other was getting little or none. Click this link to watch the time-lapse film of one bacterium dividing over 10 generations into 1,000 bacteria in a period of five hours and see if you can see any differences.
“We ran computer models and found that giving one daughter more the damage and the other less always wins from an evolutionary perspective,” said Chao. “It’s analogous to diversifying your portfolio. If you could invest $1 million at 8 per cent, would that provide you with more money than splitting the money and investing $500,000 at 6 percent and $500,000 at 10 percent?”
“After one year it makes no difference,” he added. “But after two years, splitting the money into the two accounts earns you more and more money because of the compounding effect of the 10 percent. It turns out that bacteria do the same thing. They give one daughter a fresh start, which is the higher interest-bearing account and the other daughter gets more of the damage.”
Although E. coli bacteria appear to divide precisely down the middle into two daughter cells, the discovery that the two daughters eventually grow to different lengths suggests that bacteria do not divide as symmetrically as most biologists have come to believe, but that their division is really “asymmetrical” within the cell.
“There must be an active transport system within the bacterial cell that puts the non-genetic damage into one of the daughter cells,” said Chao. “We think evolution drove this asymmetry. If bacteria were symmetrical, there would be no aging. But because you have this asymmetry, one daughter by having more damage has aged, while the other daughter gets a rejuvenated start with less damage.”
________________
Biomechanism.com is an online resource site regularly publishing the latest research news and events in biology, science, engineering, agriculture, health, and much more. If you are interested in current research studies, check out the two most popular research topics below:
Scientists identify first stem cell key to lung regeneration
“Working together, scientists and clinicians make research breakthrough that paves the way for novel therapies for respiratory diseases”
Scientists at A*STAR’S Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) and Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), have made a breakthrough discovery in the understanding of lung regeneration. Their research showed for the first time that distal airway stem cells (DASCs), a specific type of stem cells in the lungs, are involved in forming new alveoli to replace and repair damaged lung tissue, providing a firm foundation for understanding lung regeneration.
Lung damage is caused by a wide range of lung diseases including influenza infections and chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Influenza infection induces acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) which affects more than 150,000 patients a year in the US, with a death rate of up to 50 percent. COPD is the fifth biggest killer worldwide.
The team took a novel approach in tackling the question of lung regeneration. They cloned adult stem cells taken from three different parts of the lungs – nasal epithelial stem cells (NESCs), tracheal airway stem cells (TASCs) and distal airway stem cells (DASCs). Despite the three types of cells being nearly 99 percent genetically identical, the team made the surprising observation that only DASCs formed alveoli when cloned in vitro.
“We are the first researchers to demonstrate that adult stem cells are intrinsically committed and will only differentiate into the specific cell type they originated from. In this case, only DASCs formed alveoli because alveolar cells are found in the distal airways, not in the nasal epithelial or tracheal airway”, said Dr Wa Xian, Principal Investigator at IMB. “This is a big advancement in the understanding of adult stem cells that will encourage further research into their potential for regenerative medicine.”
Using a mouse model of influenza, the team showed that after infection, DASCs rapidly grow and migrate to influenza-damaged lung areas where they form “pods”. These “pods” mature to new alveoli which replace the alveoli that were destroyed by the infection, leading to lung regeneration.
“We have harvested these “pods” to provide insight into genes and secreted factors that likely represent key components in tissue regeneration.
These secreted factors might be used as biological drugs (biologics) to enhance regeneration of the lung and airways,” said Dr Frank McKeon, Senior Group Leader of the Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at GIS.
The research was jointly led by Dr Frank McKeon from GIS and Dr Wa Xian from IMB in collaboration with scientists at the National University of Singapore (NUS), and clinicians at the Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Prof Birgitte Lane, Executive Director of IMB, said, “This groundbreaking work is a fine example of collaborative research, which has brought us new insight into lung epithelial stem cells. This will have breakthrough consequences in many areas.” Dr Edison Liu, Executive Director of GIS, added, “We will continue to seek impactful collaborations and build upon this research area where there is a need for novel therapies, which will offer hope for patients suffering from respiratory diseases.”
________________
Biomechanism.com is an online resource site regularly publishing the latest research news and events in biology, science, engineering, agriculture, health, and much more. If you are interested in all current research studies, check out the two most popular research topics below:
Chromosome chaos in serial killer
“Deadly parasite juggles the number of its chromosomes”
Scientists found a deadly parasite with some of its chromosomes in duplicate, others in triplicate, while still others are present four or even five times. Moreover, the copy number varies between individuals. Such a bizarre occurrence has never before been found in nature, in any organism. As a rule, chromosomes should come in couples. The scientists, from the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITG) and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, made the striking discovery while deciphering the genetic code of a series of Leishmania-parasites. Their findings are reported in the respected journal Genome Research.
Leishmania, a unicellular parasite of humans and animals, is reputed amongst biomedical scientists as a bit of a character, being an expert in adaptation to its environment and manipulation of its host cell, the macrophage. The micro-organism causes leishmaniasis, one of the most important parasitic diseases after malaria: transmitted by a mosquito bite, it affects about 2 millions of persons in 88 countries (including Southern European countries) and annually kills more than 50,000 people worldwide.
Caption: Chromosomes always come in pairs, so the laws of biology say. But the Leishmania parasite is unique in not obeying that rule. Horizontally 17 Leishmania parasite strains that were sequenced, vertically the serial number of the chromosome. The color indicates in how many copies that chromosome appears. No two individual parasites have the same pattern! With ‘normal’ organisms all individuals have the same pattern. Credit: Antwerp Institute of Tropical Medicine, Wellcome Trust Sanger institute
The chromosome juggling should be weird enough for one organism, but ITG and Sanger scientists also discovered that individual parasites of Leishmania donovani (the species causing the deadly disease, visceral leishmaniasis) that are genetically very close, still react completely differently to the same medicine. The researchers studied parasites from Nepal and Bihar (India), all descending from a few survivors of the DDT-campaigns in the sixties and therefore having little genetic variation.
Taking advantage of the most recent developments in DNA sequencing technologies (also known as next generation sequencing), they deciphered the complete genome of 17 L. donovani strains that differed in their response to drugs. The investigators compared the 17 genomes, looking for mutations (termed single nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs, in biomedicine) that could explain why some strains were resistant to drugs, and others weren’t. They found only a few.
But they did find two other things. They discovered circular pieces of DNA that had extricated themselves from the chromosomes and could correspond to ‘first aid kits’ allowing the parasite to adapt to the drug pressure. But most important: the chromosomes of the parasites did not occur as pairs, as is customary in nature. In laboratory strains under experimental conditions it was already demonstrated that Leishmania parasites can survive with ‘unnatural’ numbers of a few chromosomes, but the ITG and Sanger scientists now showed that the parasites do the same in real life – and to an unexpected extent.
Up to now, it was assumed that the cellular machinery of a cell could not function correctly with chromosomes that are present in a different number of copies. Chromosomes ought to occur in pairs, the sex chromosomes X and Y also forming a pair. Some plants have them in fours, but then all chromosomes appear in fourfold. In exceptional cases an organism survives with a single or a triplicate chromosome. As reminded by Dr Jean-Claude Dujardin, senior author from ITM, “most of the time abnormalities in chromosome number are problematic for the organism. For instance, people with Down’s syndrome have three specimens of chromosome 21. More radical deviations are not viable.
Or at least this was the rule until now. Leishmania can live perfectly well with several chromosomes in triplicate, others in quadruplicate and even a few in fivefold. And with each of the 17 examined strains the numbers were different!”
It is not completely clear why this parasite behaves so differently from other living organisms, but investigators believe that juggling with the copy number of chromosomes could be a weapon in the unremittingly harsh battle of the parasite against the huge stresses imposed by drugs and the minefield of the human immune system.
“Our work highlights how genomic research changes our perspectives about these parasites,” says Dr Matt Berriman, the senior author from the Sanger Institute. “We show that the evolution of these organisms is driven not only by single-letter changes in their genetic codes, but also by larger mutations in the copy numbers of genes and entire chromosomes. The findings have enabled us to discover more about its natural variation and genetic structure which is vital for the further development of effective treatments.”
At the moment, clinicians in Nepal and India are isolating hundreds of new strains of the parasite which will ultimately be all sequenced for analysis of their chromosome content among others. This long-term multidisciplinary work is of uppermost importance for health professionals worldwide.
As highlighted by Dr Shyam Sundar (Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India), co-author of the study and authority in clinical research on visceral leishmaniasis in the Indian sub-continent: “genome sequence will lead to better understanding of drug targets and designing of new approaches to chemotherapy, it will help in identification of parasite genetic variations leading to drug resistance, ultimately leading to better control of the visceral leishmaniasis epidemic.”
__________________
Biomechanism.com is an online resource site regularly publishing the latest research news and events in biology, science, engineering, agriculture, health, and much more. If you are interested in current research studies, check out the two most popular research topics below:
FIVE EASIEST WAYS TO GET PROMOTED
It may seem tough to get promoted, but even in this economic climate there is room for growth. The way there…showing you want it and deserve it. These great tips will lead you in the right direction to moving up the ladder in your career. Get the tips here!
Career Success for Newbies suggests…
ATTITUDE
1. Put Pride, Passion and Belief In Everything You Do
People who get promoted are those that have a sense of pride in their work. And they take pride in their work. They are driven by genuine enthusiasm and desire to do their best no matter how small the job.
1. Put Pride, Passion and Belief In Everything You Do
People who get promoted are those that have a sense of pride in their work. And they take pride in their work. They are driven by genuine enthusiasm and desire to do their best no matter how small the job.
They believe in themselves and they believe in the bigger goals of their unit or department and company. How to get promoted? Ask yourself; do you conduct yourself with pride, passion and belief?
2. Back it Up with Skills/Knowledge, Direction and Action
Having pride, passion and belief is only part of how to get promoted. It must be backed upskills and knowledge. That means having the necessary skills and knowledge to do a superb job. Having a direction is important to guide that energy generated by your passion. Otherwise, effort is wasted. Without action which is the actual completion of the task, all else is academic. You will be judged by what you do.
Having pride, passion and belief is only part of how to get promoted. It must be backed upskills and knowledge. That means having the necessary skills and knowledge to do a superb job. Having a direction is important to guide that energy generated by your passion. Otherwise, effort is wasted. Without action which is the actual completion of the task, all else is academic. You will be judged by what you do.
ACTION
3. Do Your Best NOW
I consider this as one of the most important tip on how to get promoted. Do your best NOW. Today. This week’s tasks and projects. Do not bask in the glory of your previous work. That is gone. In all likelihood, no one else cares about it especially your bosses.
I consider this as one of the most important tip on how to get promoted. Do your best NOW. Today. This week’s tasks and projects. Do not bask in the glory of your previous work. That is gone. In all likelihood, no one else cares about it especially your bosses.
Do not think too much about future projects that are not implemented yet. That is in the future. It is not here yet. Focus on DOING your best NOW. It determines how you are being judged. When you reflect too much on the past and think too much about the future, you forget to focus on the NOW.
4. Do More Than Necessary
If you want to know how to get promoted, do more than the necessary. That means volunteering for work and taking the initiative to make a job better. It also means not sitting around waiting for work to come to you.
If you want to know how to get promoted, do more than the necessary. That means volunteering for work and taking the initiative to make a job better. It also means not sitting around waiting for work to come to you.
Bosses like people who can help them solve problems. Even if the problem is not yours, but if you feel you can be of help and have the expertise to solve it, then volunteer to help. You become the team’s competitive advantage when you do that. And bosses like people who give their unit an advantage over the others. Helping your team stay ahead is then helping you stay ahead too.
5. Do Work from The Next Level Up
If you continue doing work for your current position then you truly deserve your current position. People who know how to get promoted know that if you want the position next level up, you start doing some of those work from that level now. If you are a senior executive now, do some work that is only expected of an assistant manager (assuming that is the next level up). This allows you to demonstrate that you are capable of that position already.
If you continue doing work for your current position then you truly deserve your current position. People who know how to get promoted know that if you want the position next level up, you start doing some of those work from that level now. If you are a senior executive now, do some work that is only expected of an assistant manager (assuming that is the next level up). This allows you to demonstrate that you are capable of that position already.
Obviously, there are zillions of tips out there on how to get promoted. These are some of those that I deem to be obvious and not practiced enough by career success seeking newbies. Putting these into practice would greatly increase your chances of a promotion.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)