Česká Genetická Banka

NATURE: 17. - 24. 1. 2013

NATURE: Mammalian heart renewal by pre-existing cardiomyocytes

"Although recent studies have revealed that heart cells are generated in adult mammals, the frequency of generation and the source of new heart cells are not yet known. Some studies suggest a high rate of stem cell activity with differentiation of progenitors to cardiomyocytes¹. Other studies suggest that new cardiomyocytes are born at a very low rate^{2, 3, 4}, and that they may be derived from the division of pre-existing cardiomyocytes. Here we show, by combining two different pulse–chase approaches—genetic fate-mapping with stable isotope labelling, and multi-isotope imaging mass spectrometry—that the genesis of cardiomyocytes occurs at a low rate by the division of pre-existing cardiomyocytes during normal ageing, a process that increases adjacent to areas of myocardial injury. We found that cell cycle activity during normal ageing and after injury led to polyploidy and multinucleation, but also to new diploid, mononucleate cardiomyocytes. These data reveal pre-existing cardiomyocytes as the dominant source of cardiomyocyte replacement in normal mammalian myocardial homeostasis as well as after myocardial injury."

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7432/full/nature11682.html

 

NATURE: Neuroscience: Memory and the single molecule

"Sustained activity of the brain-specific enzyme PKM-ζ is thought to underlie the maintenance of long-term memories. Studies in PKM-ζ-deficient mice, however, cast the importance of this protein into question."

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7432/full/nature11850.html

 

NATURE: Court lifts cloud over embryonic stem cells

"The US Supreme Court’s decision last week to throw out a lawsuit that would have blocked federal funding of all research on human embryonic stem cells cleared the gloom that has hung over the field for more than three years. Yet the biggest boost from the decision might go not to work on embryonic stem (ES) cells, but to studies of their upstart cousins, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, which are created by ‘reprogramming’ adult cells into a stem-cell-like state. (...)"

http://www.nature.com/news/court-lifts-cloud-over-embryonic-stem-cells-1.12215

 

NATURE: Hearing restored with new hair cells

"An experimental drug can restore hearing in deaf mice by regenerating sound-sensitive cells in the inner ear. Excessive noise permanently damages hair cells that conduct sound to the brain and are found in an inner-ear structure called the cochlea. (...)"

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7432/full/493274d.html

 

NATURE: Migration from India to Australia

"A genetic analysis indicates that humans migrated from India to Australia around 4,000 years ago. This contradicts the prevailing view that, after its initial colonization, Australia had little contact with the rest of the world before the late eighteenth century. (...)"

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v493/n7432/full/493274c.html

 

SCIENCE: The Complexities of Genomic Identifiability

"Sharing research data has long been fundamental to the advancement of science. In today's scientific culture, making research data available broadly and efficiently via the internet has become the standard for many data types, including genomic and some other "omic"-type data produced by high-throughput methods. The acceleration of research progress and the resulting public benefit achieved through such broad data-sharing have been transformative for the scientific enterprise (1–3). However, sharing data generated from human research participants must be done in a manner that appropriately protects participant interests."

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6117/275

 

SCIENCE: Genealogy Databases Enable Naming of Anonymous DNA Donors

"By applying an algorithm to anonymized genomes from a research database and doing some online sleuthing with popular genealogy Web sites, researchers were able to guess the true identities of DNA donors. Privacy concerns have been raised about publicly accessible genome data before, and managers of a popular repository were aware of the risks posed, but few people had guessed how easy deanonymizing the data was. As genealogy databases and other resources improve, how can individuals be protected, and what are the implications?"

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6117/262.summary