Malignant cells have extremely disordered patterns of methylation, and thus DNA methylation within cancerous cells has been under intense research in recent years (Das et al, 2004). There are two forms of methylation that are witnessed within malignant cells, these are hypomethylation and hypermethylation.
Basically speaking the universe is composed of everything that exists. Planets, galaxies, stars, atoms and all matter you can think of. A common question that is asked is “how big is the universe?” Well it’s huge, not much is known about the exact size of the universe, but scientists hypothesize that the size is possibly trillions of light years across, but there are large discrepancies between different scientists.
The southern blotting technique was first developed in 1975 by Ed Southern and is typically employed for the high salt capillary transfer of DNA to a nylon membrane. The steps for southern blotting are outlined below:
The atom is nature’s building block, all matter whether it be the screen you are looking at or the seat you are sitting on is made up of atoms. Scientists initially thought that atoms are the smallest component of life, however after closer inspection and advances in chemistry. We were able too see even smaller subunits within the atom. These components are neutrons, protons and electrons. Within the centre of the atom is a structure called the nucleus which is made up of protons and neutrons.
During my time in the laboratory I learnt that there are certain pieces of equipment that I can not live without and regardless of what experiment I was conducting, they always played an important part in helping me to achieve results. This list is generated in respect to genetics as this is the area in which I specialised in. Some of the tools listed are universal for all fields of science others are exclusive used by geneticists. These are my top five tools for laboratory experiments.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system. It tends to be characterised by inflammation and degradation of myelin. Dr. Jean Martin Charcot (1825 – 1893), was the first person to scientifically explain and document this disease. Myelin affects roughly 1 in 600 people and there are 85,000 sufferers in the U.K today. Symptoms of MS tend to be seen between the ages of 20 and 40. This disease is more prevalent in women rather than men (NHS 2006). Multiple sclerosis can have affects on action potential conduction, as described below. Read the rest of this entry »
Myelin was first discovered by the French Histologist Louis-Antoine Ranvier in 1878. This discovery was the foundation of understanding how the process of myelination occurs and its importance in the nervous system. Myelination is the term used to describe the coating of neurones and dendrites with myelin to form a myelin sheath. This process starts at the cranial nerves during the fifth month of pregnancy and continues throughout a person’s life (Barkovich 2000).
The haemophilias are disorders that affect the blood clotting system. Roughly 85% of haemophilia sufferers are affected by haemophilia A this translates into roughly 1 in 5000 males. Haemophilia B affects roughly 1 in 30,000 male. Haemophilia is a disease which has been in the spotlight in recent years due to it being an ideal candidate for gene therapy. Some have stated that if gene therapy cannot be implemented with haemophilia it is unlikely to work in other diseases.
Research into a number of future therapies to aid treatment of haemophilia suffers has yielded good results. Certain future treatments such as gene therapy if successful in haemophilia could pave the way for treatment of other diseases.
Thomas Edison once stated that sleep was a waste of time. In addition some of the greatest minds only slept for 4 hours each night. So what is sleep, why do we need it and why does the media continuously talk about how important it is.
Sleep is a state of rest observed in many organisms which include mammal’s amphibian’s, birds and reptiles. It is a mechanism which is needed for survival and maintenance of ones health. It allows us to remain sane and keep normal levels of human cognition.
During sleep there is a decreased reaction to any external stimuli, a loss in consciousness, an increase in anabolism and a decrease rate of catabolism. Read the rest of this entry »
Psychodynamics is a branch of psychology which attempts to explain human behavioural patterns in regards to motivation and emotional drive. Neurology and Neuroscience along with the basic principles of thermodynamics underpin the transient function associated with psychodynamics. Sigmund Freud initially developed the theory of Psychodynamics in the 1870’s. Read the rest of this entry »
