Parents can Influence New Genetic Mutations in Children !

A new study has investigated how mothers and fathers cause new genetic mutations in their children, and how some of these mutations may lead to negative outcomes.

Characteristics that we inherit from our parents - starting with very basic features such as eye color or hair texture - shape not just our identity, but also the state of our health, both earlier and later in life.

That being the case, the study of genetics has become central to understanding who and what we are, as well as how our bodies are likely to develop in time, and how we might respond to internal or external factors.

For instance, recent studies have revealed the importance of genetic factors to conditions including Alzheimer's disease, brain cancer, and diabetes.

Given the importance of understanding the role of genetic factors to our health profile, scientists are constantly striving to decipher the mysteries of the human genome.

Researchers are looking at how the parents' age and sex determine
new genetic mutations in the offspring.

Read more: How do parents influence new genetic mutations in children?

Genetic Mutations in Parents May Increase Risk of ALS in Children

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Source: MSN Health

Written in Blood

A tour of evolving strategies for identifying circulating disease biomarkers

Blood is the only tissue that makes contact with every organ in the body. Theoretically, probing the DNA, RNA, vesicles, and cellular debris it carries could help diagnose or monitor conditions from placental disorders to Alzheimer’s disease.

The first application of this approach was prenatal genetic screening—which analyzes fragments of fetal DNA in an expectant mother’s blood—available to clinicians since October 2011. So far, these tests have largely focused on identifying chromosomal abnormalities such as Down syndrome. But expanding their utility to monitoring other circulating biomarkers, such as RNA and the contents of membrane-bound microvesicles and exosomes, is on the rise.

Read more: Written in Blood

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Source: theScientist

Plasma Levels Investigated as Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers

The relationship between plasma levels of two amyloid beta peptides (Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42), brain volumetrics and cognitive performance has been investigated.

Since amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides are the main component of the amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer patients' brains, changes in levels of Aβ in blood plasma may provide a biomarker for detecting increased risk or early diagnosis of disease.

Scientists at the University of New South Wales (Sydney, Australia) examined 126 age-matched cognitively normal controls, 89 individuals with amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI,) from the Center for Healthy Brain Aging (CHeBA) Sydney Memory & Aging Study (Sydney MAS), as well as 39 individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) recruited from a specialty clinic.

Read more: Plasma Levels Investigated as Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers

A diagram of the formation of amyloid plaques in the brain of an Alzheimer brain compared
with a normal brain

Source: Junji Takano