Saturday, December 20, 2008

How Genes and Proteins Interact……

If we think back how, the killer illnesses such as cancer and Alzheimer's begin and are they anything to do with fundamental mechanisms of epigenetic control ? Dr. Stephen Michnick and group says, "control of genes is subject to both inherited and environmental factors, so that genes may be read differently and up to what a person eats or even what their grandmother ate” - something we all, try to find comparisons between our children with our parents.

In the PLoS study, the researchers identified proteins they described as gene grammarians. Gene grammarians are linked to a larger complex of proteins that determine whether a gene can be read – or not – based on DNA structure. The scientists found gene grammarians can determine whether cells have different functions and can identify the different levels of susceptibility – or resistance – individuals could have to specific diseases.

The study provides insight into the fundamental mechanisms of epigenetic control – gene expression that are controlled by heritable but potentially reversible changes in DNA – which provides a new avenue towards understanding environmental effects on the human genome and I hope this study will have some impact on genetically transmitted deceases……

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