Word: proteins
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...that's present in 47% of the population - is associated with an increased risk of autism. People with two copies of the gene have twice the average risk of autism; those with one copy face a slightly increased risk. The gene is intriguing because it codes for a protein that's active not only in the brain - the organ most affected by autism - but also in the immune system and the gastrointestinal tract, two systems that function poorly in many people with autism. Levitt estimates that anywhere from five to 20 genes may underlie the vulnerability to autism. There...
...stage of life and those who overindulge fish cravings. But even they should only be wary of “fish that are particularly high in mercury like swordfish or king mackerel,” according to Rimm. The study also shows pronounced alimentary rewards from fish, mainly their protein and omega-3 fatty acids. The researchers emphasized two statistics related to seafood intake: a 36% decrease in the risk of death from heart disease and a 17% reduction in total mortality. Only two servings of fish a week are requisite to garner these benefits. Though this study may give...
After decades spent unraveling the secrets of human DNA, Harvard alum Roger D. Kornberg ’67 received the Nobel Prize last week for uncovering the crystal structure of the protein necessary to make DNA more than just a blueprint. Kornberg, who is currently a professor at Stanford University, presented a frame-by-frame view of RNA polymerase interacting with DNA——a conversion that leads to the construction of proteins necessary for life. Kornberg’s discovery, published in the journal Science in 2001, showed in atomic detail the chemical construction...
...individualize treatment for breast cancer patients and provide additional options for those patients resistant to drugs currently used for treatment, according to the senior author, Harvard Medical School (HMS) Associate Professor of Medicine Myles A. Brown. Estrogen contributes to tumor cell growth via its role in binding to a protein net known as the estrogen receptor (ER), located in the nucleus of 70 percent of breast cancer cells. When estrogen attaches to this receptor, the binding initiates a flurry of activity in genes directly related to cell growth and division. Many cancerous cells have a disproportionately high number...
...most dramatically from chimps to humans, known as HAR1, turns out to be part of a gene that is active in fetal brain tissue only between the seventh and 19th weeks of gestation. Although the gene's precise function is unknown, that happens to be the period when a protein called reelin helps the human cerebral cortex develop its characteristic six-layer structure. What makes the team's research especially intriguing is that all but two of the HARs lie in those enigmatic functional noncoding regions of the genome, supporting the idea that much of the difference between species happens...