The fact that adult Europeans are twice as likely as Asians to tolerate lactose in milk (no location yet) reflects a much longer history of dairy farming in the West; the ability to dehydrogenate alcohol (chromosome 4) is more common in people with a history of drinking fermented fluids; the prevalence of the blond -
hair gene in young northern Europeans (perhaps on chromosome 15?)
Not exact matches
Birds, for example, can regenerate
hair cells — and lately researchers have found a few similar effects
in mammals that used
gene and drug therapy.
Scientists have figured out the specific
gene mutation responsible for red
hair — and why it's more common
in beards than on heads.
While we both made use of the dominant
gene for
hair and eye pigment,
in us somewhere was the recessive
genes for blonde and blue.
In reality, the amount of
hair depends on the
genes your baby inherits.
Other factors such as hormones and
genes also cause
hair loss, but the key factor is the deficiency
in nutrients.
Another reason why a baby might have Heterochromia iridium or Heterochromia iridis is Waardenburg syndrome
in which a
gene mutation occurs, causing changes
in the pigmentation levels of the
hair, iris and skin.
Genetic variations most strongly associated with high scores were found near the GATA2
gene — involved
in the development of inner ear
hair cells and the inferior colliculus.
Another
gene, PCDH15, plays a role
in the
hair cells» ability to convert sound into brain signals (Molecular Psychiatry, DOI: 10.1038 / MP.2014.8).
Now David He at Creighton University
in Omaha, Nebraska, and colleagues have shown that the same
gene can repair guinea pigs» existing, damaged
hair cells — as long as you get to them
in time.
So far,
gene therapy attempts have only resulted
in partial improvements of hearing
in mouse models of specific human deafness forms that did not include severe anomalies
in hair cell structure.
With a single local injection of the USH1G
gene just after birth, the scientists observed a restoration of the structure and mechanosensory function of the inner ear
hair bundles — profoundly damaged before birth -, resulting
in a long - term partial recovery of hearing, and complete recovery of vestibular function
in these mice.
The researchers traced the white pattern to just two small changes
in a
gene associated with
hair color.
The team now plans to improve their
gene - delivery technique
in an attempt to reach an even greater proportion of
hair cells.
Since patients (and mice) with Usher 1c also have balance problems caused by
hair - cell damage
in the vestibular organs, the researchers also tested whether
gene therapy restored balance.
The participants» diverse backgrounds, which included African, European, and Native American ancestry, helped reveal relationships between
genes and
hair that would have been hidden
in more homogeneous populations.
The
gene variant linked to graying is found only
in people with European ancestry, and it has previously been associated with light
hair colors.
Now,
in a study that looked at the genomes of more than 6000 people from Latin America, researchers have identified 18
genes that appear to influence
hair traits, including the first ever to be associated with graying.
One clinical trial involves the drug CGF166, a one - time
gene therapy, which, if proven successful
in humans, could regenerate new
hair cells within the cochlea that can signal the part of the brain that processes sound.
The
gene IRF4 helps regulate melanin
in the body, which determines - among other things -
hair color.
«Switching off a
gene is of course feasible, the issue is whether it will have the desired effect and whether it's the right thing to do... But
in terms of trying to develop a therapy to delay or prevent
hair graying, that is something that is potentially feasible; yes.»
Sensory
hair cells
in the cochlea of a Beethoven mouse treated with TMC2
gene therapy.
This information could help researchers develop ways to restore the expression of more
genes involved
in hair growth and to increase the efficiency of the induction.
In addition, using methods for the analysis of regulatory networks developed by the Califano lab in the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Systems Biology, the researchers identified a number of transcription factors (gene regulators) that have the potential to mimic the environmental signals that trigger papillae to induce new hair growt
In addition, using methods for the analysis of regulatory networks developed by the Califano lab
in the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Systems Biology, the researchers identified a number of transcription factors (gene regulators) that have the potential to mimic the environmental signals that trigger papillae to induce new hair growt
in the Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, Department of Systems Biology, the researchers identified a number of transcription factors (
gene regulators) that have the potential to mimic the environmental signals that trigger papillae to induce new
hair growth.
In the early 2000s, cell biologists linked cyst formation to
gene mutations that affect the primary cilia,
hair - like projections from cells that seem to act as sensory antennae.
More than a hundred sites
in the genome showed strong evidence of recent selection, including
genes that affect muscle tissue,
hair, hearing, immune - system function, skin pigmentation, sense of smell, and the body's response to heat stress.
In the recessive deafness model, gene therapy with TMC1 restored the ability of sensory hair cells to respond to sound — producing a measurable electrical current — and also restored activity in the auditory portion of the brainste
In the recessive deafness model,
gene therapy with TMC1 restored the ability of sensory
hair cells to respond to sound — producing a measurable electrical current — and also restored activity
in the auditory portion of the brainste
in the auditory portion of the brainstem.
A team of scientists, led by academics from King's College London and Erasmus MC University Medical Center Rotterdam, have discovered 124
genes that play a major role
in determining human
hair colour variation.
The researchers found that the blond
hair commonly seen
in Northern Europeans is caused by a single change
in the DNA that regulates the expression of a
gene that encodes a protein called KITLG, also known as stem cell factor.
Researchers from the Eaton - Peabody Laboratories of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School have created a new mouse model
in which by expressing a
gene in the inner ear
hair cells — the sensory cells that detect sound and sense balance — protects the mice from age - related hearing loss (ARHL) and noise - induced hearing loss (NIHL), the two most common forms of deafness.
To deliver the healthy
gene, the team inserted it into an engineered virus called adeno - associated virus 1, or AAV1, together with a promoter — a genetic sequence that turns the
gene on only
in certain sensory cells of the inner ear known as
hair cells.
Christiano's lab uses specially bred mice to pinpoint
genes involved
in hair loss.
In addition, she and her colleagues think that they will be able to identify other genes that have an important role in hair cell functio
In addition, she and her colleagues think that they will be able to identify other
genes that have an important role
in hair cell functio
in hair cell function.
Joint lead author Professor Manfred Kayser from Erasmus MC said: «Besides substantially increasing our understanding of human pigmentation genetics
in general, finding these new
hair colour
genes is also important for further increasing the accuracy of
hair colour prediction from DNA traces
in future forensic applications, which can help to find unknown perpetrators of crime.»
In order to identify the previously unknown
hair colour
genes, researchers analysed DNA data from almost 300,000 people of European descent, together with their self - reported
hair colour information.
Still, by identifying the human hairless
gene as an important master switch
in regulating cell death
in a
hair follicle — a discovery that could lead to
gene therapies for unwanted
hair growth — Christiano emerged as a new star
in the field, and a glamorous one.
We found that women have significantly fairer
hair than men, which reflects how important cultural practices and sexual preferences are
in shaping our
genes and biology.»
«Scientists identify proteins crucial to loss of hearing: Proteins play key role
in genes that help auditory
hair cells grow.»
«To our knowledge, our model is the first
in which expression of a single
gene in postnatal
hair cells results
in hair cell survival and hearing preservation
in mice that otherwise suffer from age - related and noise - induced hearing loss,» Dr. Chen said.
They then used next generation sequencing — a state - of - the - art method to rapidly measure
gene expression — to sequence and quantify the thousands of
genes that are expressed
in hair cells,
in comparison with other cells
in the ear.
Based on the CT based anatomical observations
in probainognathians, it appears that the MSX2
gene underwent a significant change
in its expression 240 - 246 million years ago and triggered the evolution of many typical mammalian traits including
hair and whiskers, an enlarged cerebellum, complete ossification of the skull roof, and more importantly, the mammary glands, that define mammals today.
A possible fix arose
in 2003, when researchers discovered that certain
genes can transform the cells supporting the
hair cells into both types of
hair cell.
The full readout of what
genes are on and off
in dermal papilla cells has never been collected before, so researchers now have a new list of thousands of
genes to study further that may play key roles
in hair follicle development.
In its normal form, the
gene produces a hormone that inhibits eating and also influences
hair pigmentation.
In cells grown on flat culture dishes, the expression of thousands of
genes didn't match up with their normal patterns, explaining why the cells from those dishes had been unable to generate new
hair follicles.
New research suggests that fluid driven by tiny swirling
hairs called cilia may activate certain
genes in the growing embryo that lay the groundwork for this asymmetry.
After his team first observed
hair loss
in Treg - deficient mice, Rosenblum learned that the
genes associated with alopecia
in previous studies are almost all related to Tregs, and treatments that boost Treg function have been shown to be an effective treatment for the disease.
David Reed of the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida, US and collaborators then analysed the DNA of these parasites and compared the
gene mutations with those seen
in the Pthirus pubis lice, which can live
in the pubic
hairs of modern - day humans.
The Swiss researchers have demonstrated that, when EDA is malfunctioning
in lizards, they fail to develop a proper scale placode, exactly as mammals or birds affected with similar mutations
in that same
gene can not develop proper
hairs or feathers placodes.
«We identified that the peculiar look of these naked lizards is due to the disruption of the ectodysplasin - A (EDA), a
gene whose mutations
in humans and mice are known to generate substantial abnormalities
in the development of teeth, glands, nails and
hairs», says Michel Milinkovitch.