The identification of previously unknown proteins is a difficult task and often requires to follow unconventional thinking. In my previous post, I have described how the TRPV1 ion channel (formerly known as the capsaicin receptor) was discovered by combining the construction of a cDNA library from primary afferent neurons (DRG neurons) and the functional selection […]
Doing research in molecular biology is not straightforward, because most of the experimental work is based in the study of molecules which cannot be seen by the unaided eye. Instead, we rely on indirect evidence given by methods which are specific for each area of research. Let’s focus here as an illustrative example at someone […]
Celiac Disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease that is developed in susceptible individuals when the gluten is present in their diet. As consequence, there is an inflammation of the small intestine, what has different effects, such as pain and diarrhoea, and the only effective treatment known is a gluten-free diet. A great portion of the […]
Since we were kids (unless under the spell of a creationist education), we have been told that genetics is the reason for the colour of our eyes, our hair, our height and whether we look more like mum or dad. In the last few years, it might seem to many that gene association studies have […]
Autism is a highly prevalent spectrum disorder of the neurodevelopment. It is characterized by impaired social interaction, alterations in verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviors. Considering these main differences, it had been difficult to have good animal models since these interactions were initially defined for humans but scientists are nowadays developing different […]
Laboratory mice are one of the most valuable tools scientists rely on to understand how pathologies work. In order to find a cure for a disease, we need to have comprehensive knowledge of the physiological processes which are impaired. For instance, we can manipulate mice genetically to assess the effect of either the deletion, overexpression […]
Around 80% of the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated to many human diseases map to non-coding regions. Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent a large portion of non-coding regions across the genome, however the link between the disease-associated SNPs on lncRNA expression or function, and the implications for disease, remain uncharacterized. Celiac disease is complex immune […]
Stammering, stuttering or alalia literalis is a speech disorder characterized by involuntary repetition and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words or phrases and involuntary silent pauses or blocks where the affected person is unable to produce sounds. Around 1-in-20 children aged 2 to 5 years old will stammer at some moment, but most grow out of […]
Anthropology • Biology • Evolution • Genetics
Neanderthals ( Homo neanderthalensis ) were a species –some say a subspecies although most authors consider there is enough evidence to consider them as a separate species– of human closely related to us. They were firstly discovered in a cave in the Neander Valley («Tal» in German), about 12 km east of Düsseldorf. There is […]
The finding that modern humans coexisted and mated with Neanderthals 50000 years ago was a breakthrough when it was announced in 2010. As a result of interbreeding, the genomes of all modern Eurasians contain a small Neanderthal DNA load that has been calculated to be between 1.5% and 4%. Most Africans, however, lack this DNA […]