NCBI [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/%5D has this database for years, where everyone can search for genes, proteins, etc.
Will you be able to do Google search for a gene on the Google web site instead of doing BLAST search?
Sequencing individual's genome doesn't mean that you'll be able to tell if a person has 2% chance of heart disease - you have to analyze the sequence data to find out which diseases you might have - the gene expression might tell you that. These kinds of analysis (eg microarray-genechips) are expensive as well, so people should figure out how to do this cheaper at the same time with sequencing (nanotech is promising, but still costly, and would remain so for maybe at least 10 years).
..of antimicrobial drug resistance fall into three main types.(from genomebiology.com) First, simply develop new drugs. The post-genomic era has led to the discovery of a whole host of essential genes in bacteria whose products might represent targets for novel antimicrobial drugs.
The second approach is to stop using a particular drug and reintroduce it when resistance levels have fallen. This idea derives from the assumption that resistance mechanisms come with a fitness cost and that in the absence of selection, resistant strains will be out-competed by sensitive strains.
The third strategy is to learn more about the resistance mechanisms themselves. This area of research is focused on degradative enzymes and efflux pumps.
see http://genomebiology.com/2005/6/13/243
That's exactly how it works! microbes live in communities - so fungi, algae, bacteria all live in the same spot. They occupy different ecological niches though - they eat different 'foods', excrete chemicals, that other microbes consume, etc. There's always a sort of an equillibrium in the community. Excreting antibiotics is a form of self-defense.
As in the case of weeds, genetic engineering solved the problem by producing GM crops/foods etc, so the next thing is humans, being resistant to harmful bugs! just wait for another 10 years or so..
First, according to that study, many, not all microbes tested are resistant to antibiotics. Secondly, we haven't found all antibiotics yet, which are, by the way, produced by soil fungi and bacteria. Also, I was a bit confused that G.Wright et al just 'threw 21 different antibiotics at the bugs to see if they could survive' - at those Streptomyces, who actually produce antibiotics! Of course they are not resistant to all of them, but..
And, our body is far from being "easy-to-live-in" by the way:) - just think of your pH 2 stomach! Isn't that an extreme environment?
there are many ways of 'crossing', ie exchanging of genetic material - through viruses (transduction0, by free DNA(transformation), cell-to-cell contact + plasmid(conjugation).
guys! it's just to not make students bored!
on
Singing Science
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· Score: 2, Interesting
Our professor brings his electric guitar to the lab, and plays blues, rock, along with songs about DNA and cloning. He gives extra points for writing haiku about DNA as well. It's not for memorising, but to have fun and like the class. Once you are not bored you really learn something!
A Man named Taq:
Let me tell ya story 'bout a man named Taq
Always priming forward never looking back
Amplifying sequence for the research mind
Extending off the primers on the PCR line
Born near a thermal vent in Yellowstone Park
Livin' in a hot spring, his life was a lark
A surfer guy named Mullis saw what he could do
Now he's amplifying DNA for me and for you...etc
another nice book which I'm reading now is by Ray Kurzweil- "live long enough to live forever", ~50% of which is dedicated to a proper diet, helping not only getting rid of fat, but increasing your life span (???)
i'm suprised to see the only one comment like this! Indeed, why use microbes when we have a lot of stuff to create energy.
One advantage of microbes is that they're ubiquitous and actually are able to metabolize everything. But how much biomass will we need to power a cell phone? Tons??
Slashdot Mirror
NCBI [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/%5D has this database for years, where everyone can search for genes, proteins, etc. Will you be able to do Google search for a gene on the Google web site instead of doing BLAST search?
Sequencing individual's genome doesn't mean that you'll be able to tell if a person has 2% chance of heart disease - you have to analyze the sequence data to find out which diseases you might have - the gene expression might tell you that. These kinds of analysis (eg microarray-genechips) are expensive as well, so people should figure out how to do this cheaper at the same time with sequencing (nanotech is promising, but still costly, and would remain so for maybe at least 10 years).
..of antimicrobial drug resistance fall into three main types.(from genomebiology.com) First, simply develop new drugs. The post-genomic era has led to the discovery of a whole host of essential genes in bacteria whose products might represent targets for novel antimicrobial drugs. The second approach is to stop using a particular drug and reintroduce it when resistance levels have fallen. This idea derives from the assumption that resistance mechanisms come with a fitness cost and that in the absence of selection, resistant strains will be out-competed by sensitive strains. The third strategy is to learn more about the resistance mechanisms themselves. This area of research is focused on degradative enzymes and efflux pumps. see http://genomebiology.com/2005/6/13/243
That's exactly how it works! microbes live in communities - so fungi, algae, bacteria all live in the same spot. They occupy different ecological niches though - they eat different 'foods', excrete chemicals, that other microbes consume, etc. There's always a sort of an equillibrium in the community. Excreting antibiotics is a form of self-defense.
As in the case of weeds, genetic engineering solved the problem by producing GM crops/foods etc, so the next thing is humans, being resistant to harmful bugs! just wait for another 10 years or so..
First, according to that study, many, not all microbes tested are resistant to antibiotics. Secondly, we haven't found all antibiotics yet, which are, by the way, produced by soil fungi and bacteria. Also, I was a bit confused that G.Wright et al just 'threw 21 different antibiotics at the bugs to see if they could survive' - at those Streptomyces, who actually produce antibiotics! Of course they are not resistant to all of them, but.. And, our body is far from being "easy-to-live-in" by the way :) - just think of your pH 2 stomach! Isn't that an extreme environment?
there are many ways of 'crossing', ie exchanging of genetic material - through viruses (transduction0, by free DNA(transformation), cell-to-cell contact + plasmid(conjugation).
Our professor brings his electric guitar to the lab, and plays blues, rock, along with songs about DNA and cloning. He gives extra points for writing haiku about DNA as well. It's not for memorising, but to have fun and like the class. Once you are not bored you really learn something! A Man named Taq: Let me tell ya story 'bout a man named Taq Always priming forward never looking back Amplifying sequence for the research mind Extending off the primers on the PCR line Born near a thermal vent in Yellowstone Park Livin' in a hot spring, his life was a lark A surfer guy named Mullis saw what he could do Now he's amplifying DNA for me and for you ...etc
another nice book which I'm reading now is by Ray Kurzweil- "live long enough to live forever", ~50% of which is dedicated to a proper diet, helping not only getting rid of fat, but increasing your life span (???)
i'm suprised to see the only one comment like this! Indeed, why use microbes when we have a lot of stuff to create energy. One advantage of microbes is that they're ubiquitous and actually are able to metabolize everything. But how much biomass will we need to power a cell phone? Tons??