Category: Genetics

2022-23, Cellular and Molecular Science, Genetics, Molecular Biology

A Genetic Change Delivered via Gel Treatment for Epidermolysis bullosa Patients Shows Promise

Melanie Karniewich ’25 Epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic condition that causes serious blisters to the skin from minor occurrences like rubbing or scratching the skin. In severe cases, blistering can happen inside the body like the mouth or lining of the stomach. Mutations in EB disable genes for the specific proteins that allow the layers of someone’s skin and the lining of organs … Continue reading A Genetic Change Delivered via Gel Treatment for Epidermolysis bullosa Patients Shows Promise

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2022-23, Cellular and Molecular Science, Genetics

When Twins Collide: The Role of Genetics in the Risk of Osteopathic Injuries

Peter Gillespie ’25 Why do some people experience one broken bone after another, while others could go their whole lives without a single fracture? Is the likelihood of an osteopathic injury just a coincidence, or is one’s genetic makeup rolling the dice for them? To answer this question, Hyo Geun Choi and his colleagues at Hallym University compared the histories of osteopathic injuries and bone … Continue reading When Twins Collide: The Role of Genetics in the Risk of Osteopathic Injuries

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2022-23, Artificial Intelligence, Biology, Genetics

Are Doppelgängers Really Just a Coincidence?

Lydia Wang ’26 Human faces and the ability to recognize different facial identities have played a key role in evolution. It has been observed that human faces have evolved to uniquely distinguish themselves from others. However, many people know someone they resemble; some comparisons are so similar that they are labeled as a doppelgänger, or a living double. Doppelgängers have been an ongoing phenomenon that … Continue reading Are Doppelgängers Really Just a Coincidence?

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2021-22, Cellular and Molecular Science, Evolution, Genetics, Natural World

Fish Out of Water: Uncovering the Mechanisms for Survival in Extreme Environments

Peter Gillespie ’25 Most fish, when left without water, will simply not survive. However, research from Dr. Chi-Kuo Hu from Stony Brook University reveals how the embryos of the African turquoise killifish can survive eight-month long droughts in a dormant state known as diapause. Diapause is a state of suspended animation during which a fully developed killifish may temporarily halt its development. Dr. Hu and … Continue reading Fish Out of Water: Uncovering the Mechanisms for Survival in Extreme Environments

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Genetics

Labeling High-ranking ADHD Genes for Future Diagnosis and Treatment

Yukta Kulkarni ’22 Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder prevalent in both children and adults with symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. The identification of certain genes associated with ADHD can improve both the understanding of the neural mechanisms that transpire and the ability to accurately diagnose and treat people with ADHD. By researching and integrating data from various research publications, … Continue reading Labeling High-ranking ADHD Genes for Future Diagnosis and Treatment

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Genetics

The Future of Synthetic Biology

Aditi Kaveti ‘23 Natural genetic processes can lose their function over long-term evolution if that function requires too many resources to continue throughout generations. Scientists have been studying evolutionary reversibility, which is the ability to regain a lost function, in order to repair natural systems that have lost such valuable evolutionary processes. To this end in the field of synthetic biology, researchers employ and manipulate … Continue reading The Future of Synthetic Biology

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Genetics

Neuroanatomical Variation in Dogs

Panayiota Siskos ’23 The selective breeding of dogs by humans has led to variation in the brain across different breeds. Selectively breeding dogs for traits and abilities has been a recent occurrence  in evolution, and genetic research shows behavioral variation is heritable. Behavioral specializations depend on neural specializations, and strong selection pressure exhibits that brain differences between dog breeds correlate with differences in behavior. Selection … Continue reading Neuroanatomical Variation in Dogs

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Genetics, Health and Medicine

Activating the Enzyme of Youth

Ashley Goland ’23 The cause of aging has long been one of mankind’s favorite mysteries to entertain, and as science advances, its secrets are gradually being stripped away. Studying chromosome structure revealed sections called telomeres, sequences of repeated nucleotides on the ends of a chromosome that serve to prevent its deterioration, and from this discovery came a revelation about age. Aging-related diseases such as dementia, … Continue reading Activating the Enzyme of Youth

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General Psychology, Genetics, Natural World, Psychology

Examining the Benefits of Unique Coloration for Male Trinidad Guppies

Fatin Chowdhury ’20 The predisposition of organisms in seeking certain phenotypic traits in mates is an oft-observed aspect of the natural world, with sexual selection being a well-studied phenomenon. However, unique coloration specifically often seems to be more linked to lessened survivability (due to an inability to camouflage in environments), or phenomena such as aposematism, where unique colors serve as a warning for predators. In … Continue reading Examining the Benefits of Unique Coloration for Male Trinidad Guppies

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Cellular and Molecular Science, Genetics, Molecular Biology

The Potential for Targeted Cancer Therapy

Aditi Kaveti ‘23 Human bodies rely on tumor suppressors to regulate cell production. The bromodomain-containing protein 9 (BRD9) RNA molecule is an important tumor suppressor for many types of cancer, including uveal melanoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and pancreatic cancer. BRD9 is extremely important because it represses abnormal cell reproduction and the formation of tumors. A mutation in the gene that produces the BRD9 RNA molecule … Continue reading The Potential for Targeted Cancer Therapy

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Disease, Genetics, Health and Medicine

Growth Factor Induces Methylation Changes in Lung Fibroblasts

Priyanshi Patel ’22 Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is an irreversible, chronic, and lethal disease of unknown etiology. IPF is characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix (ECM), which is secreted mainly by activated fibroblasts under certain stimuli. Recent studies have evaluated alterations with DNA methylation as a collective driver of IPF. Few studies explore global DNA methylation in lung fibrosis, but none focused on transforming … Continue reading Growth Factor Induces Methylation Changes in Lung Fibroblasts

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Cellular and Molecular Science, General Neuroscience, Genetics

The Genetic Role of Left-Handedness

Ellie Teng ’21 90% of the population are right- handed, so what is different about individuals who are left- handed? Handedness was previously known to be partially affected by the genome; twin studies showed that genes account for about 25% of the variation in handedness. Researchers at the University of Oxford sought to connect the genetic difference to areas of the brain that control language. … Continue reading The Genetic Role of Left-Handedness

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