Why Identical Twins are Not Absolutely Identical

Identical twins are so-called because they have identical genomes, the full complement of genetic material that determines their sex and characteristics.  Despite the fact that they carry identical sets of chromosomes, identical twins still exhibit subtle differences in their physical appearance, behavior, personalities, and disease susceptibility.  Scientists are baffled.

A recently concluded eight-year study conducted by researchers from Sydney’s Garvan Institute of Medical Research and Queensland Medical Research Institute reveals that these subtle differences can be attributed to the methylation of the epigenome, a gene subset whose “voice” is either silenced or amplified by the attachment of methyl groups (hydrocarbon molecules).

Researchers Dr. Marcel Coolen and Professor Susan Clark, both epigeneticisists from Garvan, concentrated on a particular group of ‘imprinted’ genes, that are involved in controlling growth during early development, and their methylation profiles.  They found that even in identical twins, these imprinted genes have different methylation profiles, and they concluded that it is these differences that are probably giving rise to the differences between identical twins.

In the study, the researchers looked at and compared the methylation profiles of 128 identical twin pairs and 128 non-identical twin pairs to find out how closely their profiles matched.  Professor Susan Clark says that the study’s aim was to understand how genetics and environmental factors determine who we are.

“Our findings support the hypothesis that changes in the methylation reflect the interplay between the environment and genetics,” explains Professor Clark.  “We showed that methylation patterns are exquisitely inherited, and so the methylation patterns of identical twins are still very similar to each other.  This demonstrated that the DNA sequence does instruct the methylation pattern.  When that methylation pattern changes, however, it gives rise to potential changes in phenotype, or who we are.”

Study results also provide evidence that differences in methylation profiles of genetically identical people may be the cause of the differences in their susceptibility to diseases.  The findings are published online in the International journal, PLoS One.

Sharks Taught to Hunt Alien Lionfish on Honduras

Pieces of an unidentified meal drift from the toothy mouth of a shark off Honduras.Many shark populations are down significantly, and the animals remain vulnerable to fishing for fins, While it appears that lionfish in Caribbean, U.S. Southeast, and Gulf of Mexico waters are there to stay, the same can’t always be said for some local species—including the sharks themselves.

Unique and Funny Car Modifications

Unique and Funny Car Modifications....... Beautiful and Sensational

Fish oil found to kill leukemia cells

The many health benefits of fish oil have been well established. And latest research has discovered that an Omega-3 fatty acid compound, which is found in fish oil, has the potential to cure leukemia or, more specifically, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

Researchers from Penn State, led by Sandeep Prabhu, associate professor of immunology and molecular toxicology in the Department of Veterinary and Medical Sciences, discovered that the fish oil compound, delta-12-protaglandin J3 (D12-PGJ3) specifically target and kill the stem cells of CML in mice.

Prabhu notes,

“Research in the past on fatty acids has shown the health benefits of fatty acids on cardiovascular system and brain development, particularly in infants, but we have shown that some metabolites of Omega-3 have the ability to selectively kill the leukemia-causing stem cells in mice.”    

He explains that stem cells are the ones responsible for the division and production of cancer cells and the creation of more stem cells. The compound targeted the leukemia stem cells in the mice’s bone marrow and spleen. Prabhu adds that, after treatment with D12-PGJ3, the mice’s blood count tested normal and their spleen returned to its normal size; the leukemia did not relapse which meant that the mice were completely cured.

According to the researchers, the compound – which is derived from the Omega-3 fatty acid Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) – killed CML stem cells by activating a gene in the stem cell programs the leukemia cell’s own death.

Currently, treatment for patients with CML only delays the progression of the cancer, extending the patient’s life, by controlling the division of cancer cells, keeping their numbers low. Robert Paulson, associate professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences and the study’s co-author, adds that current leukemia drugs must be taken continuously, otherwise the disease relapses because they don’t target and kill the stem cells. “These stem cells can hide from the treatment, and a small population of stem cells give[s] rise to more leukemia cells. So, targeting the stem cells is essential if you want to cure leukemia.”

The next step in the study is to determine if D12-PGJ3 can also be used to treat patients with terminal stage CML, a stage that still has no available treatment.

City under the water in Ganvie Aftica

Ganvié is a water town situated on the northern edge of the Lake Nokoué in southern Benin. Marketed as the ‘Venice of Africa’, Ganvié is probably the most well-known and foremost among other lacustrine villages in the same region. Ganvié is a favourite among tourists to Benin with the government policy aimed at transforming the town into a major tourist attraction. As Ganvié is considered a rarity on the African continent, due to the fact that the town was built on a lake, information on socio-economic activities, the physical environment and the modern-day ecological effects of human settlements on the surrounding Lake Nokoué is readily available. Incidentally, I learnt of Ganvié from a magazine article on the impact of climate change on the region. Less information is readily available on Ganvié’s fascinating history; Ganvié was founded by people in an effort to escape captivity and enslavement in the Americas.

According to Elisée Soumonni, “little attention is paid to the ways in which local African populations resisted enslavement, giving the impression that any form of resistance began on board slave ships or in the Americas.” I believe this also fuels erroneous suggestions that all African ethnic groups were comfortable with slavery and enslavement, not knowing what they were heading to in the Americas and only revolting after their enslavement. The existence of Ganvié stands as a testament to resistance to the transatlantic slave trade within African shores.

The people of Ganvié are today known as the Tofinu. Today they are recognised as a unique and homogenous ethnic group; however, historically several groups of people across ethnic lines moved to the areas and marshlands around Lake Nokoué as refugees. They fled to escape slave raiding armies from the kingdom of Dahomey. Nowadays Dahomey is recognised as a powerful West African kingdom and is well-known among those who are interested in African history. Admiration is usually held for the kingdom, especially for the women that served in the Dahomean army, commonly referred to as ‘Dahomey Amazons’. It seems that the effects of the transatlantic slave trade to the kingdom of Dahomey is largely unnoticed for the most part; Dahomey was an important supplier of captives for enslavement in the Americas. It has been suggested that the Aja-speaking peoples, the people from which both the Tofinu and Dahomeans descended from, were among the largest captives in the transatlantic slave trade.

Million Dollars Otter

Because of the price on their furs they are called “soft gold otter”. People have came all the way from Europe to America just to hunt them. In marina’s dock in Monterrey there are many yachts anchored, but in the water below them, the whole new world is showing. Sea otters- Enhydra lutris, rare species from northern coast of the Pacific Ocean. When the yacht’s owners aren’t around you can easily see how otters are resting on the deck. That’s not a common behavior for a little mammals. Usually they spend most of their time under the water. On the square centimeter of skin they have about 400.000 hairs. Russian hunters almost exterminate them in Alaska 1741. From Californian coast they were also almost exterminated in 1900. The value of one fur was about 1000 dollars ( 36000 dollars today) . Hunting them was prohibited and they became protected by law in 1911.

Master of Discoveries

Though there was a word that Amerigo Vespucci discovered the whole American continent, now we all know it was Christopher Columbus. His idea originally was to find the way to India going to the west instead of to the east and thus demonstrate that the Earth is round. He didn’t find the way to India, he found way more than that – he found America. Because he was so persuasive and convincing, Spanish catholic Queen Isabella gave him money and all the supplies for all his voyages. He went to America and back to Spain four times from 1492 to 1504 and every time he discovered something new. It must’ve been great to be the man who discovered half of the world!