Blogs

The idea of GDSL-lipases/esterases as modulators of immunity is relevant not just in Oryza sativa but also Arabidopsis and hot pepper (Gao et al., 2017). As such, it won’t be out of place to predict that our protein is involved in the modulation of immunity. The plant and subcellular localization patterns are also interesting because they suggest that the same might be the case for our protein. However, we can not draw conclusively on where our protein is expressed; it might be different.

Introns are common in eukaryotic genes but are rare in bacterial genes. For a number of years after their discovery, introns were thought to be entirely absent from prokaryotic genomes, but they have now been observed in archaea, bacteriophages, and even some bacteria. Introns are present in mitochondrial and chloroplast genes as well as the nuclear genes of eukaryotes. Among eukaryotic genomes, the sizes and numbers of introns appear to be directly related to organismal complexity: yeast genes contain only a few short introns, Drosophila introns are longer and more numerous, and most vertebrate genes are interrupted by long introns. All classes of eukaryotic genes—those that encode rRNA, tRNA, and proteins—may contain introns. The numbers and sizes of introns vary widely: some eukaryotic genes have no introns, whereas others may have more than 60; intron length varies from fewer than 200 nucleotides to more than 50,000. Introns tend to be longer than exons, and most eukaryotic genes contain more noncoding nucleotides than coding nucleotides. Finally, most introns do not encode proteins: an intron of one gene is not usually an exon for a different gene.

Comparing the summed chi squared values for the average number of eggs per individual bean to the chi squared distribution, we reject the null hypothesis that the mass of individual beans does not affect the egg count. This is seen more clearly as the average number of eggs drastically varied among the bean types for individual beans. There were most eggs on each of the lima beans on average, and lesser for black-eyed peas, and least for mung beans. This corresponds to the mass of the individual beans as well, as the average mass of a lima bean is 1.25g, for a black-eyed pea is 0.21g, and for mung bean mass it is 0.07g.

The coverings of the spermatic cord include the external spermatic fascia, cremaster muscle, and internal spermatic fascia. The coverings are originally part of the abdominal wall. The external spermatic fascia is part of the external abdominal oblique and contains the dartos muscle. The dartos muscle is a layer of smooth muscle and is responsible for the wrinkling of the scrotal skin. The cremaster muscle is part of the internal abdominal oblique. The role of the cremaster muscle is to pull the scrotum in towards the body when it is cold. The body heat would ensure that the testes are at the right temperature for sperm production. When it is too warm the cremaster muscle would relax and the scrotum would be further from the body. The internal spermatic fascia is part of the transversalis fascia.

We conducted a survey taken by 40 students at UMass Amherst, which collected their thoughts about how gene therapy should be used and regulated in the medical field, pertaining to ethics. The survey consisted of 5 questions. Answer options included: strongly agree, somewhat agree, neutral, somewhat disagree, and strongly disagree. The data was collected and condensed into pie charts. 

Another bad SNP—this one associated with a medical condition—is rs3793784, which is connected to age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). Macular degeneration is the loss of central vision caused by damage to and degeneration of the macula on the retina, and can be caused by aging. rs3793784 has been linked to age-related macular degeneration both on its own and in conjunction with another SNP. Individually, both heterozygotes and homozygotes have an increased risk of developing ARMD, with a ratio of 1.51 for the C/G genotype, and 1.60 for the G/G genotype. This individual has the C/G genotype, which puts them at a x1.5 increased risk of developing ARMD. However, there are many factors that can cause ARMD besides genetics, many of which are controllable. For example, smoking, being overweight, and high blood pressure, as well as long-term exposure to the sun without eye protection can all contribute to an increased risk of developing ARMD. If the individual knows they have a higher than average risk of developing ARMD, they can take steps to mitigate some of these known factors.

SNPs that are “not set” have no distinct “good” or “bad” repute. One of these identified in the Promethease report is rs11803731(A;A), a  SNP on the Trichohyalin (TCHH) gene which is associated with hair curliness. A study of Australians of European ancestry determined that the TCHH gene accounts for an estimated 6% of the hair morphology variance. The genotype that is homozygous for the “T” allele is associated with curlier hair, whereas the homozygous “A” genotype is associated with straighter hair. One of the popular SNPs identified on SNPedia is a SNP in the oxytocin receptor which influences social behavior and personality. The rs53576 SNP in this individual was identified as having the A/G variation, which is classified as “bad” because the G to A change in the “good” G/G genotype is associated with a potential lack of empathy. According to studies, individuals with the G allele are more sensitive and empathetic than those with even a single A allele, and may even handle stress better.

Food webs are conceptual models of trophic interactions of organisms. Food webs can be simple or complex and sued for a variety of purposes. Food webs are typically more complex because more species are involved. As models they are limited in that they are static, don’t account for population fluctuations, competition, facilitation, mutualisms, etc. They can be used to better understand energy flows, if we know something about interaction strengths. Robert Paine studied an intertidal food web to study the effects removing the starfish from the ecosystem so see its effect on local diversity. The starfish is a top predator that promotes species diversity by preventing competitive exclusion by the mussels. This makes it an excellent example of a keystone predator.

Another good SNP  identified is rs9264942(C;T), which has implications in HIV viral load. The viral load is the quantity of a virus in a given volume, and the set point is the viral load reached after the immune system begins to attempt to fight the virus. This genetic link to a reduced viral load means that The C/C genotype has the most significant impact, as its correlated with a 90% reduction in viral load compared to other polymorphisms, however the C/T variation identified in this individual is associated with a 60% reduction in HIV viral load. It also reportedly accounts for 6.5% of the 15% variation in the viral load set point in HIV infected individuals who are asymptomatic, and can also be associated with a reduced viral load set point in HIV. This means that should this individual contract HIV, they will likely have a lower viral load than individuals without the variation.