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FRAGMENT FROM NATURE continues from last weekend with selected examples of convergent evolution in nature, ranging from snake venom toxicity resistance to bat and whale echolocation, and fish antifreeze molecules. There are many more well documented examples. View in LinkedIn

Family kicked off flight over peanut allergy. View in LinkedIn

THE QUESTION. "It has to be considered that the biological activity of microRNAs does not necessarily correlate with their abundance but rather with their presence in exosomes. However before comprehensive food microRNA data bases are released, it needs to be assured if and to what extent microRNAs are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract." https://lnkd.in/erkHGt5 View in LinkedIn

OPEN QUESTION. "Foods provide fats, carbohydrates, and proteins as well as vitamins, minerals and trace elements. These dietary factors may influence cellular processes by regulating endogenous microRNA expression. It has been shown that plant and animal derived foods also contain microRNA. Yet, it is unclear if and to what extent plant and animal food derived microRNAs are absorbed by mammals." https://lnkd.in/erkHGt5 View in LinkedIn

FETAL TRANSFER. "The presence of plant miRNAs in fetal umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid suggests that exogenous miRNAs could transfer through the placenta to the fetal side. Plant miRNAs were also found in the mouse fetuses by quantitative RT-PCR." https://lnkd.in/eA6-J-S View in LinkedIn

miRNA PLACENTAL TRANSFER. "Small non-coding RNAs transfer through mammalian placenta and directly regulate fetal gene expression...we were surprised to find exogenous plant miRNAs in human umbilical cord blood and amniotic fluid. In conclusion, the present study provides the first evidence that small non-coding RNA can be transplacentally transmitted from the mother to the fetus." https://lnkd.in/eA6-J-S View in LinkedIn

MILK YES, RICE NO? "While the evidence in support of bioavailability of milk miRNAs is unambiguous, a recent report that mammals can also absorb plant miRNAs (e.g. miR-168a) from rice was met with widespread skepticism." https://lnkd.in/ej7XF-E View in LinkedIn

"MARINE MAMMALS from different mammalian orders share several phenotypic traits adapted to the aquatic environment and therefore represent a classic example of convergent evolution. Our comparative genomic analyses found that convergent amino acid substitutions were widespread throughout the genome and that a subset of these substitutions were in genes evolving under positive selection and putatively associated with a marine phenotype." https://lnkd.in/eBMUXjN View in LinkedIn

"EXOSOMES are small extracellular vesicles released by cells and play important roles in intercellular communication and pathogen transfer. Exosomes have been implicated in several neurodegenerative diseases, including prion disease and Alzheimer’s disease." https://lnkd.in/ea-rNpb View in LinkedIn

SHIFT IN MODALITY. "Many of these changes are in genes that may be associated with the shift in primary sensory modality (between vision and echolocation), either directly or through the associated complex changes in ecology and natural history." https://lnkd.in/epGtvrz View in LinkedIn