Year: 2022

MOLECULAR EVOLUTION. "Thus, it appears that resistance to snake venom α-neurotoxin has evolved at least four times among mammals through two distinct biochemical mechanisms operating at the same sites on the same receptor." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010115000690 View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS convergent evolution until next weekend. Seemingly improbable, it highlights the importance of selective pressures on an organism finding the best solution; that very different organisms find very similar solutions to selective pressures despite vast structural differences remains one of the fascinating aspects of the topic. It also reveals, surprisingly, that whole phenotypes sometimes may be controlled by only a few genes. View in LinkedIn

Near Galway this weekend. Priceless. View in LinkedIn

NOT GENE MUTATION. "Epigenetics” refers to covalent modification of DNA, protein, or RNA, resulting in changes to the function and/or regulation of these molecules, without altering their primary sequences. In some cases, epigenetic modifications are stable and passed on to future generations, but in other instances they are dynamic and change in response to environmental stimuli." https://lnkd.in/ewQi_y7 View in LinkedIn

EPIGENETICS. "The term epigenetics refers to heritable changes in gene expression (active versus inactive genes) that does not involve changes to the underlying DNA sequence; a change in phenotype without a change in genotype. This in turn affects how cells read the genes. Epigenetic change is a regular and natural occurrence but can also be influenced by several factors including age, the environment/lifestyle, and disease state." https://lnkd.in/eVaRKtt View in LinkedIn

SECOND LEVEL CONTROL. "Epigenetic plasticity enables an organism to respond to developmental and environmental signals without genetic changes." https://lnkd.in/epWXeBZ View in LinkedIn

FLEXIBLE. "Acting “above and beyond” the normally static genome, hundreds of epigenomes define the unique transcriptional programs of our cells throughout development and aging under the influence of stochastic and environmental factors." https://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/183/2/96.full View in LinkedIn

FLEXIBLE. "Acting “above and beyond” the normally static genome, hundreds of epigenomes define the unique transcriptional programs of our cells throughout development and aging under the influence of stochastic and environmental factors." https://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/183/2/96.full View in LinkedIn

EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. "At least three systems including DNA methylation, histone modification and non-coding RNA (ncRNA)-associated gene silencing are currently considered to initiate and sustain epigenetic change. New and ongoing research is continuously uncovering the role of epigenetics in a variety of human disorders and fatal diseases." https://lnkd.in/eVaRKtt View in LinkedIn

RANGE OF EFFECTS. "Common types of epigenetic regulation are DNA methylation and hydroxymethylation, histone modification, chromatin remodeling, and regulation by small and large non-coding RNAs." https://lnkd.in/ewQi_y7 View in LinkedIn