The prevailing theory of the evolution of aging holds that aging is
a side effect of genes that promote growth and development of organisms that have a low likelihood of continued survival in the wild once they have reproduced.
The two big ideas Ying Kai Chan is tackling in science — reducing the harmful
side effects of gene therapy and developing better vaccines to protect against viruses — might seem wildly different from one another.
Not exact matches
One
of the
side -
effects of this therapy is autoimmune intestinal inflammation — analogous to the inflammation that occurs in patients with the CTLA - 4
gene mutation.
They found that people with the
gene variant had the highest risk
of side effects when they were given a statin called simvastatin, but this risk was much lower when they took pravastatin.
A parallel paper in the same journal by researchers from the University
of Liverpool shows that this same
gene also caused the peppered moth to turn black during the mid-19th century, when it evolved to find new ways to camouflage itself; a
side -
effect of industrial pollution at the time.
When implanted into mice, the pool
of altered cells maintained their
gene edits long - term, with no signs
of side effects.
By studying this process, geneticists at the University
of California, Irvine, are learning how to slip
genes into patients without harmful
side effects.
``... Mr. and Mrs. Smith, a couple
of 70 years, both have undergone heart transplantation using
gene - edited pigs... because the aging
genes have been replaced... will extend life spans... no known
side effects... plan to conduct in all mankind....»
In a March 2009 study published in
Genes and Immunity, researchers at the National Center for Computational Toxicology compared the genetic signatures
of 16 people who experienced smallpox vaccine
side effects, including fever, rashes and enlarged lymph nodes, to 45 people who did not.
One person takes a drug and has a set
of side effects, all
of which could involve different
genes.
By tweaking the ingredients
of the zinc finger in the new study they were able to extend its
effects to several months, repressing the disease
gene over that period without seeing any harmful
side effects.
Pharmacogenomics — the study
of how
genes affect responses to drugs — is becoming more important in drug - development research and clinical trials, with a view toward decreasing
side effects and increasing the efficiency and efficacy
of drugs in patients with the right genetic profiles.
Unfortunately, it will be more like hundreds, if not thousands
of genes that play roles in different
side effects.
In other words, some mice experienced a particular
side effect because
of genes they got from their mother.
The
genes increased their egg - laying ability but with the unfortunate
side effect of boosting sexual attractiveness to a level where males wouldn't leave them alone.
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — A new study suggests a potential new way to block one
of the most common cancer - causing
genes, without causing severe
side effects.
According to Andreassen, the study's senior author, some think
of schizophrenia as a «
side effect» arising from advantageous variants in
genes that are related to the development
of human traits, such as cognitive and language skills, that may have increased risks for developing psychoses.
If an athlete managed to get
genes to inject, he or she would need someone to inject them — a crooked coach, teammate or doctor — and because
of the medical risk, monitor him or her for
side effects.
Cancer metabolism, it seemed then, was a mere
side effect of what happened in
genes.
Years after receiving a single dose
of gene therapy, patients on the hemophilia B trial continued to produce their own clotting factor from the normal transferred
gene with minimal
side effects.
The co-delivery
of small molecular drugs with nucleic acids can improve
gene transfection efficiency, reduce
side -
effects of these drugs, and achieve the synergistic
effect of drug and
gene therapy for the more effective treatment
of cancer.
Size could just be a byproduct — reorganization
of the brain might be the main thing, and the
genes for reorganization might have had the
side effect of increasing size at the same time, not being versatile enough to hold size constant while rearranging things).