Recently, DNA from the wisdom tooth of a hunter-gatherer in a cave in Spain was analyzed and the data revealed some interesting new finds. The man exhibited a darker toned skin, although the exact shade is unpredictable due to many environmental factors. This is surprising, because it was thought that the Europeans of this time has already developed lighter skin. Furthermore, the man has blue eyes. The blue eye gene wasn’t thought to have developed for some time after this man lived. In many respects the analysis of this caveman’s DNA has changed the way we view people from the Neolithic time period. For more information about the DNA analysis you should definitely check out the article below.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12960.html

Ok, I don’t know what it is, but something about neurology is just absolutely captivating to me. The idea of a nerve working with a charge and being SO precise about it is just dumbfounding to me. I mean, how can nerves be that precise and consistent when they are working with a charge as tiny as -50 milliVolts? I mean in my high school robotics competition, we had voltage gradation for different parts of the robots that made it so they would only work within a 3 or 4 volt range. If the stuff that us humans make can only work within a precision of 3000-4000 mV and that seems stringent, how much more amazing is it that God can make something (and trillions of that something) that works very precisely at changes as small as this. I don’t know, but it’s amazing to me. Take a second to think about how wonderful this all is. I mean, how ridiculous it all is! Just saying, we’ve got amazing stuff we get to learn about and we are some of the only few in the world that will ever get the chance to look into stuff like this as their JOB. Don’t waste any opportunities, guys.

When we shared viruses the other day in class, we ran out of time before I had the chance to tell you all about the monkeypox virus. Made of double-stranded DNA, it is of the poxviridae family, putting it in the same family as cowpox and smallpox. This virus can affect animals, such as monkeys and prairie dogs, as well as humans. It can be transmitted through a bite or fluid contact, and its incubation period is ten to fourteen days long. It undergoes a lytic cycle for replication. While there have been very few cases of monkeypox in the US, it is something to watch out for while traveling in Africa.

I researched the polio virus last week. The polio virus is also called Poliomyelitis and it is in the genus Enterovirus. Being in the Enterovirus genus means that the polio virus is a relatively small virus, has a single stranded RNA genome, and thrives in the gastrointestinal tract. It occasionally attacks the nerves of the individual. The polio virus has been eradicated from the western hemisphere.

Here is a good website about the poliovirus:

http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowbook/2014/chapter-3-infectious-diseases-related-to-travel/poliomyelitis

I can’t wait for our genome to come back guys! So excited to start analyzing the genome.

(to the tune of Royals by Lorde)

I’ve never been an infection in the flesh

I put my DNA in amoebas of the Acanthamoeba genus

And I’m not proud of my assets,

With no ribosomes, only replication envy

But every virus is like sneezing, coughing, trippin’ in flu season

Weight loss, fever, look its AIDS,

We don’t care, we’ve got 1100 genes.

But virus is like fever, soreness, causing humans panic.

Headache, skin rash, infecting bacteria.

We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in their infection affair.

And we’ll never be royals.

It don’t run in our genes,

That kind of luxe just ain’t for us.

We crave a different kind of buzz.

Let me be your ruler,

You can call me queen Pandoravirus

And baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule.

Let me live that fantasy.

My friend and I—we’ve cracked the code.

We count our micrometers on the way to the amoeba.

And everyone who knows us knows that we’re huge like this,

We didn’t come from era.

But every virus is like sneezing, coughing, trippin’ in flu season

Weight loss, fever, look its AIDS,

We don’t care, we’ve got 1100 genes.

But virus is like fever, soreness, causing humans panic.

Headache, skin rash, infecting bacteria.

We don’t care, we aren’t caught up in their infection affair.

And we’ll never be royals.

It don’t run in our genes,

That kind of luxe just ain’t for us.

We crave a different kind of buzz.

Let me be your ruler,

You can call me queen Pandoravirus

And baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule.

Let me live that fantasy.

Ooh ooh oh

We’re bigger than they’ve ever dreamed,

And I’m in love with being queen.

Ooh ooh oh

Life is great without a care

We aren’t caught up in their infection affair.

And we’ll never be royals.

It don’t run in our genes,

That kind of luxe just ain’t for us.

We crave a different kind of buzz.

Let me be your ruler,

You can call me queen Pandoravirus

And baby I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule, I’ll rule.

Let me live that fantasy.

I’m pumped, I feel like this is where the actual ‘research’ begins, where we get into the real genetics and the true uncovering of something new. I was looking around to find some cool new thing about viruses and I actually found some stuff that really freaks me out

http://diabetes.diabetesjournals.org/content/early/2013/07/31/db13-0619

Who knew that the effects of a virus could be related to the onset of type 1 diabetes!? That’s crazy to me; between that and the possible effects that this phage stuff could have on treatment for tuberculosis, I’m really hoping we can find something new or actually discover something really important this semester. We’re going to do some cool stuff, guys!

I also found a pretty cool one about bacteriophages!

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/271113.php

Unfortunately, this one is a bit defaming to phages, as it tells of how a specific phage targets and kills, “preys upon,” a bacteria that is neceessary for fixing atmospheric nitrogen into the soil.

Hey y’all!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas break! It’s good to be blogging again! I did not have the chance to share the virus I researched in class, but I thought I would share it now. It is hands-down the coolest virus I have ever read about. It’s called the mimivirus and it infects amoeba. What is really interesting about this virus is the sheer size. It has a diameter of about 400 nm, which is the third largest capsid size ever discovered. It has an icosahedral shaped capsid, which contains lots of enzymes and the virus’ double stranded DNA genome.  The genome is large, at over a million base pairs! Its genes do not only code for the typical virus things, but also code for aminoacyl tRNA synthase, and other proteins involved in protein synthesis and metabolism.

What makes this virus even more incredible is how it replicates. After it is engulfed by the amoeba by receptor-mediated endocytosis, it uses its own enzymes to replicate its DNA and transcribe it to mRNA. Most dsDNA viruses send their DNA to the nucleus to be replicated and transcribed using the host’s mechanism, but the mimivirus uses its own. It has a viral core, which does not degrade in the host’s cytoplasm, that acts as the new nucleus of the cell. It has both RNA and DNA polymerases, which it uses in replication and transcription. After transcription, the virus uses the host’s ribosomes to make the necessary proteins for the capsid and enzymes inside the viral core. When more viral cores are made, those cores begin replication and transcription. This continues until the cell is lysed, releasing all of the new mimiviruses.

Crazy, right? This is one of the only known viruses that replicate in this manner!

If you want to know more about how the mimvirus works and how scientists discovered it, you should read this article:

http://www.pnas.org/content/107/13/5978.full

A man explores the deep recesses of Africa and inadvertently awakens a sleeping monster. He begins feeling feverish, vomiting blood. When he stumbles to the nearest hospital, the doctors witness a gruesome and horrifying death – his organs and brain slowly liquefies, with massive internal bleeding, till finally everything just spills out on the hospital floor, each drop of liquid carrying thousands of toxic poisonous particles.

Sound like the plot of a horror film? Truth is stranger than fiction. In 1980, a man in Africa contracted the deadly Marburg virus after exploring a mountain cave. The symptoms are even more scary than what I’ve described. Check out the book “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston, a book described as a “thriller” but is actually a dramatized nonfiction. Here are some excerpts from the case I’ve described:

Last week I decided to research the Borna Disease Virus (BDV), partially because I love neuroscience and partially because it isn’t a commonly known virus! BDV a neurotropic virus that is most common in horses and other animals that usually causes abnormal behavior and fatality. It is still controversial if BDV plays any role in human mental disorders, although there has been recorded linkage between BDV and bipolar and schizophrenia (present BDV antibodies detected). It is thought that it is transmitted through saliva or nasal secretions. Through experiments with rats, it appears that the virus causes learning impairments and altered social behavior (in some cases meningitis). Its been demonstrated that the virus infects the limbic system (emotion). As the disease develops, seizures, ataxia, paraplegia, and other neurodegenerative symptoms persist; the immune response usually results in immune-mediated death of infected and neighboring cells, thus degradation of mental processes.

BDV is non-segmented, negative-sense ssRNA virus with at least six identified orfs producing proteins N, P, M, G, L, and p10 (uses enzymes to create a + strand). It is known to replicate in the nucleus of neural cells. The method of transmission is still unclear.