Y-CHROMOSOME

Sure that you, gentleman, will surprise if I tell him that in some moment of his existence she was … a lady please, do not take me for frivolous. During the first days of the embryonic development, the morphologic boss is the feminine one. It is necessary that a gene, named SRY is activated, so that this boss is blocked and a baby begins forming. This gene, SRY, is in a very particular chromosome, the so called Y-chromosome that, unlike the rest of 22 couples of chromosomes that we have two paired to two, a couple does not form “well agreed” with his partner, the X-chromosome.

98.5 % of similarity between the human genome and that of chimpanzees

Apparently, the Y-chromosome was separating, losing genetic material and desemparejándose of the Xth it already does approximately 100 milloncejos of years. It ended up by being a third of the size of the Xth and, according to recent studies, it might go so far as to disappear. Of course, do not ask me what will be of the masculine sex when that happens. Neither you nor I will live through it.

The man began diverging of the chimpanzee approximately 6 million years ago and, nevertheless, only a 1.5 % of his genomes is different. For it, he asks about it that they appear from the Technological institute of Massachussets, in a study published in Nature and coordinated by David Page it is: why does the human Y-chromosome defer 30 % of his homologous chimpanzee? This mystery, which discovered after secuenciar genes of the Y-chromosome of the intimate relatives of the scientists (human beings, are not thought badly) and of several primates, does not have, for the time being, explanation. Some shy attempts speak about the different mechanisms of production of sperm or about the sexual behavior between both species (several chimpanzees can be shared the same female in cycle ovulatorio).

Be as it will be, this mystery seems to give to the poor Y-chromosome, an important role in the evolution and separation between both species. Clearly, with the permission of the feminine X-chromosome …

JAL. CBMSO

In memory of our partner Maria Rodríguez Mateos

On December 24, 2009 there died Maria Rodríguez Mateos, who was supporting a position of Postdoctoral in the laboratory of Structure and Function of the Ribosoma in the CBMSO. Maria fought during the whole period of his doctoral thesis against the illness that in the end, in an unexpected way for those that we her were surrounding, took it forever.

Maria Rodríguez Mateos

It was a hard struggle that she supported with enormous energy and with a spirit so happy that all that we knew it were astonished by it to us. In spite of his serious problems of health, his enormous motivation allowed him to carry out a magnificent research work that took shape of a Doctoral Thesis that the extraordinary Award of Doctorate has deserved on the part of the Autonomous University of Madrid. Also, it has given place to several articles in magazines of high prestige and has opened a new investigation line in the Laboratory, focused on the study of the assembly of the ribosoma.

As his interest in the Science, initiative, critical spirit and working capacity, Maria had ahead a promising scientific career that has turned out to be suddenly truncated. All that we share with her these hard years of work and sacrifice we wanted it and were admiring, and we will always lack it.

The partners of the laboratory 103 of the CBMSO.

Association of Food and agriculture Journalists

From the Association of Food and agriculture Journalists (APAE), his new Executive Secretary, Helen F. Guiral, tries to give a new impulse so that the key role of the food and agriculture informers is recognized in all the forums, at the same time that one helps to create union connections between the important work arisen from the Research centers and the society of rigorous and effective form …

Association of Food and agriculture Journalists of Spain

In the above mentioned sense, Helen F. Guiral, in open letter does to us to come the following thing:

“We begin a modest project, but there us remain the illusion and the good ideas. For it we put ourselves at your disposal to help you in everything what you need: to give diffusion to any initiative that you consider of interest, to look for joint collaboration in events or activities, to take part like speakers in days and conferences …

On the other hand, if some of you you develop works of journalistic information and have interest to collaborate, we will be pleased of that you are part of our project, since our principal target is to assemble the sufficient critical mass so that our voice is heard”. You can find more information and the application form in www.apae.es.

Also, next Wednesday, the 10th of February I Day will develop on Agriculture and Journalism: from the agrarian information to the food and agriculture journalism, which will take place in the 36th edition of the International Fair of Agricultural machinery (FIMA) of Saragossa and which the APAE has organized with the patronage of the FIMA. The day will celebrate in the room 1 of the Fair. Along the above mentioned informative day, it will be counted, between others, with Fernando Moraleda, ex-General Secretary of UPA and ex-Secretary of Communication, who of course will share with all the interesting assistants experiences and anecdotes. The access is free and free, but it is necessary to register in the APAE web indicated previously, where also it will be possible to unload the complete program to obtain the free passes of entry to the Fair.

JAL. CBMSO

Download Til Death S04E20 The New Neighbors online

Horizontal transference in our life

The horizontal gene transference consists of the phenomenon of step of a fragment of genetic material from an organism to other and his fixation, of the last one, by means of natural selection. For the scientists who work in filogenia it is a problem, since the analyses that they realize do them assuming a linear descent (in vertical). But day by day also it affects us …

Driveling photosynthetic Elysia Chlorotica

In the hospitals there is common the fear of the resistances of antibiotics. Many pathogenic microorganisms have the competition capacity, that is to say, the possibility of acquiring the genetic material of the ambience in certain conditions, so that, if a vine (pathogenic or not) has the aptitude to resist certain antibiotic it is "easy" that this new capacity ends up by coming to pathogenic vines that are being treated by the antibiotic - in this case the antibiotic is the selective pressure that it determines that the resistance is selected-. Once this one remains fixed in the genome of the pathogenic bacterium, the antibiotic treatment becomes useless.

This is an example of how it operates the horizontal gene transference; there are genes that codify a property and that can go on to another microorganism. A selective pressure exists and the new genes remain fixed in the genome of the host. And not only properties of resistance are transferred to antibiotics, but a lot of other metabolic capacities codified in the genome, or also in mobile elements as plásmidos, that are small ADN fragments with aptitude to answer independently of the genome and with many more mobility between related microorganisms.

All this comes to story of news that he was reading it is for a long time that describes that scientists of the University of South have described Florida how a marine slug, Elysia chlorotica, is capable of synthesizing chlorophyll. Although I have not been capable of obtaining the publication, of the reading of the news it is possible to infer that there is a genes step between the seaweed that completes the slug and this one. We would have the case of an animal that makes a vegetable pigment by means of a gene transference between Kingdoms, but it does not stop remaining clear in the news.

In any case, I would take this news with precaution since, I insist, I have not taken access to the scientific publication as what I cannot value until point the experiments are adapted and, científicamente speaking, I have left doubts. But this has served to me to remember this curious phenomenon of horizontal heredity that yes is very real and with a big evolutionary potential.

Olga Zafra

CAB

It notices: Recording in Between Burettes (I remove 5, RNE) on this topic

Direct differentiation. Obviating to the cells mother

During last two years, 2008 and 2009, it was considered to be one of the principal scientific milestones. The connection with clinical treatments and effective therapies seemed imminent (and it continues it seeming, this has not changed). Nevertheless, the investigation in cellular differentiation and rescheduling (do they remember the famous cells iPS?) it has given a new draft again towards the glory …

5 extends the news with Radio

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

According to the study coordinated by Marius Werning, of Stanford's University, in California, already it is possible to turn straight fibroblastos, adult cells of mice or of human beings, in other differentiated adult cells; functional neurons. The cellular differentiation, therefore, has stopped being this final station of the biological railroad.

If they remember (and if not already it is me who is here to do memory), the so called iPS are multipotencial cells that come from adult cells (hair, for example) that after the introduction of several external factors (some of them potentially tumorogénicos) they were turning into something similar to embryonic cells capable of generating any textile. Nevertheless, in the study of the team of Werning, published recently in Nature, by means of the introduction of 3 genes (Asc11, Brn2 and Myt11) it was possible to obviate the intermediate step and to go on straight of fibroblastos to completely functional neurons, with his action potential, axones and sinapsis, between other molecular characteristics …

Certainly, these new cells, baptized like iN or induced neurons, they might have, according to the authors and the one that speaks to them, important implications for the study of the development neuronal and, of course, new models in regenerative medicine. But skylight, this informative explosion, to the rhythm that the investigations advance, it will be necessary to enjoy it rapidly … little Can last ….

JAL. CBMSO

MI+dTV Programa first. Direct differentiation

X-Cell

I realize of dangerous that the desperation becomes. Before a serious illness, any hope handhold can make us come across of unscrupulous that, like vultures, do of the foreign pain a fruitful business. As scientist also I am tempted to move as soon as possible my achievements from the laboratory up to the Society. Although presupposing a beginning of kindness to me, it should never puentear the current regulations: legislative or ethical. Or does he believe that, in health, the end and the desperation justify the means?

In this diffuse companies field with supposed base in biotechnology or biomedicine for that they look, let's call the things by his name, the lucre offering false hopes to many patients and his relatives, it would be necessary to place X-Cell, German company with base in Cologne and that offers, supposedly and according to his web page, that I do not think to spread, treatments for illnesses like párkinson, Alzheimer's disease, tetraplejías or diabetes. This is, illnesses that, saying is of step, they keep on being studied in the laboratories since, enclosed, there is not known the etiology of most of them. There are illnesses which treatment with cells mother of the proper patient, who is what they say to offer X-Cell, might be a legal reality in the future, but not in the present, as points out the Spanish Agency of the Medicine, which watches the above mentioned company but, on not having had head office in Spain, hardly it is possible to go further away.

The one who yes has done it, has been the Community of Madrid who, with good criterion, suspended the presentation in the above mentioned Community of X-Cell, company that was receiving a minimum for 7000 euros for certain treatments that, as I have indicated, are prohibited in our country.

And meanwhile, promising clinical essays with cells mother continue his legal currency inside and out of our borders. Since it must be …

JAL. CBMSO

In memory of the partner Miguel A. Rodríguez

All that we devote ourselves to the world of the science we do it with the conviction of which this is an activity that allows you to exercise and develop your freedom. In case of Miguel Ángel, this conviction was established to his personality since I meet him, already enough years ago, when after having finished a brilliant "residence" in Internal Medicine in the Clinical Door of Iron, he decided to exercise his freedom of a slightly understandable way for many and to the one that he was accustoming to us with the time to few ones. Miguel Ángel declined an excellent labor offer the science risked in an adventure to which it could not resist; that was the center of his life, which was exciting him, in whose integrity believed firmly against the skeptics, and that was lucky to share with Maria Luisa, with whom also he shared the rest of the life.

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Marcos

An adventure that began in that small laboratory of “the clinic” and in that Carlos, undoubtedly, had enough that to see; adventure that CBM of that time continued in, after our famous "landing" in the CX, to continue of independent form in Paris in the Institute Pasteur and, later, back in the CBMSO, in the building of “biological“. The lymphocytes B were the excuse, the development of the system hematopoyético the strategy, and his passion for the unknown thing and his avidity of knowledge his engine. An adventure, nevertheless, unjustly short and turbulent, that he prevented him from developing like him was deserving his pioneering ideas on the embryonic hematopoyesis, which had already taken shape of brilliant form of excellent scientific contributions in his postdoctoral beginnings.

I was lucky to share with Miguel Ángel good and bad moments; of being provided with his opinion, never obliging; but, especially, of having a big friend. Always with time to speak with you and to transmit his exquisite cultural baggage; to cheer up to keep on conquering your doubts, because “this is worth it and is what you like”; to send to you for email the last publication of Nature, which he had already read himself and you had not even seen; to give you an integrated explanation of your scientific problem, for too concrete him and, often, for increparte for being excessively "conventional", not strangely at all coming from a doctor especially atypical with a sweeping personality. Miguel Ángel, you do not know how much you have taught me of the science … and of the life … and how much lacked you.

Miguel Ángel Rodríguez Marcos, Scientific Investigator of the CSIC in the CBMSO, left us on December 19, 2009, after 16 years of quiet and brave struggle against his illness.

Marisa Toribio (CBMSO)