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In a recent study, scientists discovered a relationship between depressive symptoms and a decline in cognitive function during midlife. Sussex psychologists analyzed data from a child development study that followed 15,000+ babies from birth through adulthood. The psychologists found that the increased depressive symptoms were a strong indicator of a linear decrease in memory function in older adults. The psychologists recommended in order to protect future memory function that mental health interventions need to be promoted in younger adults. Although these scientists found associations between depressive symptoms and cognitive decline before, it was the first time they were able to find this relationship represented in a large amount of data.

In the event that a retrovirus is killing domestic dogs and we are only able to save one breed, the breed of dog that we should save should be the breed that provides the most utility benefit to us humans. Currently domestic dogs provide us with a lot more than just being house pets and have roles that can greatly effect human lives. Dogs can directly help us with public services us as the Fire department, and search and rescue which directly help save the lives of humans. They also help in many services that help indirectly save human live including working with the police to help catch criminals and with the military. Dogs are also used to help people with medical problems and also help save their lives such as Guide or hearing dogs, and Dogs that alert to seizures. These services that dogs provide for use have an immense benefit on our lives. 

The dog breed I choose to save was the German Shepherd. In order to maximize on the benefit we receive from our relationship with dogs I choose a breed of dog that is able to preform a variety of different services. This results in use losing as little of these life saving services as possible when we lose the rest of the dog population. German Shepherds are currently found in use for a variety of different services includes in the Police, Military, use in search and rescue, Use as Guide and hearing dogs and Use a seizure alert dogs. Compared to other breeds I researched the German shepherd was the breed commonly used in the broadest numbers of different services. This broad range of services provided allows for us to keep saving as many lives as possible with the rest of the dog species dying. On top of all the lives saved by picking the German Shepherds to save, they still make great house pets so dog loving home owners won't have to sacrifice the ability to have a dog in their family in order to keep these services active.

    In current society, there lies a stigma against socialism as if it goes against capitalism and democracy in the United States. In reality, socialism does not go against either of these, and in fact can exist happily with both. Socialism is the idea that people who earn a greater salary, get taxed more in order to help pay for programs that are beneficial for society. These taxes are relative to a person’s income, therefore everyone is taxed roughly the same percentage off their paycheck. These programs include programs such as medicare, medicaid, free higher education, free health care, and more. The main argument against socialism argues that the reward from earning a higher salary is diminished due to higher taxes, and instead “punishes the rich”. Although it is true that the more a person makes, the more they are taxed, but that does not mean that everything they are earning is being put into taxes. The social programs are also beneficial to society as a whole, and people of all wealth classes benefit from them being free. It is understandable that multi-millionaires might be getting taxed a couple thousand, if not tens of thousands of dollars more than the average worker making minimum wage, but that money is being put into good use. It does not mean that those who earn more will eventually earn the same amount as everyone else--socialism is not communism, they’re severely different.

If all domestic dogs were to go extinct except for a single breed of our choosing, the breed that should be saved is the Welsh Corgi because they are adaptable, affectionate, and adorable. Corgis are often thought of as “big dogs on short legs” because although they average a height of between 25 and 30cm, they have personalities reminiscent of bigger dog breeds. Corgis are playful and energetic, yet not so energetic that they are impossible to tire out, which—along with their smaller stature—makes them a versatile breed that could be suited to almost any owner. They are very friendly and attentive dogs that love to play and enjoy being involved, which makes them great pets. They are small but not spindly—they are stocky dogs and are very athletic. Corgis also highly adaptable: they can live in a variety of housing arrangements provided that they are able to get at least a moderate amount of exercise, and are comfortable in a wide range of temperatures, so they can live in most areas of the world with no major problems. Corgis were originally bred to be herding dogs, so they are intelligent, independent, and easily trainable. They still have herding instincts and so could be put back into work herding livestock on farms, and, because of these herding origins, they are highly alert and aware of their surroundings, which makes them good watchdogs. Overall, the Welsh Corgi is a well-rounded breed that can suit a variety of different environments, which makes it an ideal candidate to be saved should the rest of the world’s dogs go extinct.

“The guardian of the genome” or p53 is essentially a gene that codes for a protein that regulates the cell cycle. One may categorize p53 as a tumor suppressor as many of the genetic mutations could lead to uncontrolled cell proliferation. The protein itself was discovered in the 1970’s and ever since has been well-studied as its key role in the pathogenesis of human cancers is fundamental. The gene converts incoming signals into alternate cell fate decisions by changing the expression of hundreds of target genes. With its wide range of function in activity of interacting pathways and various types of stimulus that is generated, the p53 system has the ability to generate multiple responses. This lab aims to explore the cellular responses of the p53 pathway given different forms of genotoxic stress. Genotoxins are destructive chemical agents that result in a negative effect on cells genetic material. These genotoxins can be mutagens, carcinogens or teratogens, in which they all result in some type of damaged genome. 

When a geneticist is given an unknown DNA sequence and is tasked with finding out its function, there are two approaches.  Ab initio, or “from the beginning” involves using programs that analyze the sequence for known trends in gene expression.  These trends include translation initiation occurring at ATG, and intron boundaries being defined by GT at the beginning and AG at the end.  Stop codons include TAG, TAA, and TGA.  Using these in combination with more complex trends of gene expression, ab initio programs can make a prediction about the coding sequence and protein sequence of a gene.  The other method is homology-based searches.  These include comparing a query sequence to sequences of nucleic acids of a known origin.  One database includes expressed sequence tags (ESTs), which are sequences derived from cDNA clones.  A set of ESTs can be joined together to form a consensus “contig” sequence, which can then be used to find an mRNA for the gene.  In this lab, we begin by building two predictions of the protein our gene encodes: one using ab initio methods and another using homology-based methods.  For the ab initio method, we use the program FGENESH.  For the homology-based searches, we use Phytozome and NCBI BLAST.  Both programs output predicted intron-exon boundaries as well as a predicted protein sequence.  We compare the two predictions and finalize our working map with intron-exon boundaries and a predicted protein sequence, keeping in mind the differences between ab initio and homology-based searched.  We then proceed to research our gene of interest and provide an assessment of function of our gene. 

After modeling two reserves after the example C, I wanted to increase the heterozygosity while increasing the number of runs without a lost of alleles. The best way to do this was to increase the size of the individual populations. I went from four to three habitats to achieve this and was successful. As you can see in the table above, the heterozygosity went up from 0.18 to 0.23, and there was one run more than the Reserve C that did not lose an allele. Out of 20 runs, these are very impressive results. This makes Reserve 1 the “best” fit reserve for the population of ferrets and will promote the success of more and more generations. In comparison to reserves A and B, Reserve 1 is much more successful. It is clear that the best reserve uses parts of each example to achieve a better grouping of habitats. In Reserve A, the size of the population was a successful way to promote the movement of genes through a population, however it reached fixation many times. In Reserve B, the generation of ferrets was represented in 4 separate habitats. This was not very successful as the habitats heterozygosity was minimized and fixation was reached very fast with such small populations. However, the idea to promote different alleles by separating the generation gave inspiration for genetic drift in Reserve C. As explained before, this reserve gave inspiration to both custom reserves, but itself was not successful enough because the distribution of populations was still too small. To avoid sampling error from small populations, and to still achieve the flow of diversity throughout the populations, Reserve 1 was the best model to save the ferrets with successful genetic drift.

There are multiple methods to identify the protein coding portions of a gene. Ab initio, meaning “from the beginning,” methods use general rules about coding versus non-coding regions to predict the structure of new genome sequences with no given information. On the other hand, homology-based methods give a more reliable interpretation of an unknown gene, matching the gene to known sequences to predict its structure. The unknown gene is matched to expressed sequence tags (ESTs), short sequences derived from cDNA clones; ESTs that perfectly or almost perfectly match the unknown can then be integrated to create a consensus sequence called a “contig.”

The function of an unknown gene can also be predicted thorough research. Because there is such an extensive library of sequenced genomes, there is almost always a close sequence match when comparing an unknown gene; however, the function of these genes are still a mystery. Through bioinformatics, genomics data is accessed and similar DNA and protein sequences are matched to the unknown. By exploring the types of organisms the unknown sequence matches with, the conserved domains among the matches, and the functions of the related proteins, the unknown protein’s function can be hypothesized.  

Clostridium difficile is the inflammation of the colon caused by the clostridium difficile bacteria. The symptoms occur when there is a lack of healthy bacteria in the body. Symptoms often include diarrhea, stomach pain, and fever. The common method for treatment, as with most bacterial infections, is to use antibiotics; however, even with antibiotics, the risk remains for the infection to come back. In recent years, researchers and scientists have consulted a different treatment approach with fecal transplant. The fecal matter from a healthy person can potentially restore the healthy bacteria in the infected colon of a patient with C.diff, or Clostridium difficile. It is an effective combination of antibiotics destroying bacteria, both healthy and infectious, and the fecal matter restoring only the healthy bacteria to reduce the risk of the disease resurfacing. So far, this process has been shown to be successful, however, critics are concerned about the pricing for patients. Additionally, while not necessarily a concern, rather an unknown, the methods are still under review by the FDA. This breakthrough has helped patients feel better within hours after a single treatment, and can be administered via colonoscopy or capsules containing fecal matter.