Wanted: Dead or Alive?

So, as I’ve blogged about several times, I really appreciate being on the Metagenomic research project.  When one of the papers from this research is published, I have to blog about it, right? Right!

Initially, this research was very different from the sampling methods I've previously described that we currently use. The cadavers that were studied were sampled at two times during decomposition: pre-bloat and post-bloat. The purpose of this was to identify bacterial shifts during significant changes in the decomposing process.  It was found that there are clear shifts in the bacterial community, but the data presents itself as just a portion of what may one day be a large data set of information.

A very interesting point that is brought up in this research is the idea of the decomposing human body as an ecosystem. Although the organism is dead, the body is actually very full of life in the form of microorganisms and bugs.  My question to all of you, is how do you view the cadaver: living or dead? And why do you think that way?

"Wild" Genomic Engineering

As I searched for an interesting blog topic (no news-related topic this week, I feel like I've lived under a rock while studying), I came across what I believe to be a controversial scientific advancement. Scientists are “creating” novel genomes in bacteria.

These scientists are completely recoding E.coli to have an entirely new genome. Through this, the bacteria are able to produce proteins which are not naturally produced by E. coli. For this portion of the project, all 321 instances of a particular codon were replaced with a different codon that encoded a different amino acid than the one originally encoded.

In a second project, the scientists removed every instance in which 13 codons occurred in 42 different E. coli genes. These codons were replaced with similarly functioning codons from different organisms. In total, 24% of the DNA in these genes had been changed, but because the codons were similarly functioning replacements, the bacteria produced the same exact proteins as it did originally.

So the second project, not so controversial. It seems as though this sort of information could be useful through a broad spectrum of scientific applications. The first project, on the other hand, seems to be more questionable to me. If this sort of thing fell into the wrong hands, mass “superbug” outbreaks could occur or genetically altered bacteria could be used in bioterrorism. (Even moreso than bacteria have already been used in biological weaponry.)

On a completely unrelated sidenote, a high school kid found a baby dinosaur skeleton in 2009. I am insanely jealous as I am completely geek-ily obsessed with dinosaurs. They nicknamed the skeleton “Joe.” How lame! ( I mean I am jealous so..) I would've named it something cool like Mike or something! Haha! 

Hangovers: Who Needs 'em!

Yet again, the news initiated my blog this week. After hearing about a hangover “cure,” I thought the topic would make for an interesting and relevant blog post seeing as we’re all college students. This news cast where I first heard about the study was a few days ago, so I searched for an article which talked about the study a little more in depth. You can read it for yourself here.

                This study tested several commonly used and recommended hangover “cures.” Some of those tested were tea, coffee, and other various foods, beverages, and remedies. The study found that Sprite was the most successful at treating the various symptoms of a hangover. When someone drinks, the ethanol in the beverage is broken down in two steps, first into acetaldehyde, which gives the common hangover symptoms, then into acetate. Sprite was found to have certain compounds which sped up this process, thus decreasing the intensity and amount of hangover symptoms which occur.

                Despite thinking that tea, coffee, or other highly caffeinated beverages would help to treat the symptoms of a hangover, it seems as though they really just do the opposite. Herbal supplements and herb-based beverages showed to slow down the breakdown of ethanol, prolonging the hangover symptoms.

                So, next time you find yourself facing the symptoms of a hangover, grab a Sprite!

A Followup to Once Bitten, Twice Shy

A few of us have discussed mosquitoes through these blogs over the last few weeks. I happened to stumble upon this news article online today when looking for my next blog topic. A few weeks ago I posted about how pesky mosquitoes are and how there are new studies showing that our skin may produce repelling compounds. These compounds are masked, however, by the attracting compounds found in our sweat that mosquitoes happen to love. The old post also mentioned that scientists have shown these repelling compounds have been used in cosmetics and perfumes.

Well, now scientists are saying that grape scented compounds may just repel mosquitoes. How great is this?!?! Personally, I love Juicy Couture perfumes, and one of them just so happens to have a grape-like undertone to the scent. So maybe if I just always wear this one perfume mosquitoes will leave me alone. Right? Eh, maybe not..  These scientists are saying that the mosquito repellent just so happens to smell like grapes, not that the grape-scent itself is the repellent. Darn! At least new repellents created from these compounds may not smell like the icky repellent we all grew up using.

These compounds that are under development into commercial insect repellents have also been noted to being safer than DEET products (as previously discussed in Lori’s blog last week). Scientists are working on targeting plant or animal produced compounds such as those discussed in this article to develop these repellents. 

Bigfoot... does exist?

I’m sitting here, minding my own business as a do my cell biology writing assignment. The news is on in the background, and I hear something about the Bigfoot Genome Project. That’s right. The Bigfoot Genome Project. Thus, blog post #2 for the day. This is the news article about the topic.  

This project includes scientists who claim they have DNA evidence that Bigfoot exists, and is actually doing quite well. These scientists say that Bigfoot is a human-animal hybrid. Last I checked, all human-animal “things” had all pretty much gone extinct millions of years ago. So my question is how has this hybrid between a human and an animal survived so long without actual proof (let's be real, claims to have DNA, fuzzy pictures of animals in the forest, and fur collections does not count as proof of existence) and why has this specific “species” (just go with it for now..) made it through evolutionary sweeps that other human-animal-things did not make it through?

So no, this isn’t quite molecular (with the exception that the scientists claim to have DNA proof and their various testing on this DNA), but it’s really interesting to say the least. I want to know everyone else’s opinions about this topic. Bigfoot or no Bigfoot? Why or why not?

Oh, and is it Bigfoot, or Sasquatch?!?!

Metagenomic Research

So, as requested, I will introduce my part in the metagenomic project that I wrote about last week. First of all, you all can read my blog from last week entitled “Cutting Edge Research RIGHT Here at Sam!” to learn what the basics of the project it about. In a nutshell, we are working to determine how fluctuations in the human microbiome may occur during decomposition. We work with a couple of teams of scientists to analyze the bacterial composition of both skin and soil samples.

                The minute I heard about this project, I was game. I’ve wanted to become a crime scene investigator since I was 14, but have learned through the years that I will likely only work in a lab due to police politics (UNLESS I find a loophole, then I’m all over it!). When I realized this was as close as I may get to crime scene investigating (and yes any and all the gore involved – so sue me?), I immediately wanted in on this research. It’s cutting edge (hence the title from last week, hehe..), deals with decomposition, and it an amazing opportunity. I went right to Dr. Lynne and asked how to get on the project. I was pretty much shot down immediately. There was no current need for any additional members on the team. So, instead, I bugged him throughout the semester about it. Last January, I joined Dr. Lynne’s research lab on a completely unrelated project and got my foot in the door.

                 In April, I joined the metagenomic project when additional help was needed. At first, I was an assistant to the team, meaning I handed the sample tubes to those taking the samples. It wasn’t even necessary to step inside the plot where the cadavers were placed. Bummer, huh? NO! I was still completely stoked. This quickly led to my learning about how we take the samples. We take roughly 32 body site samples for each body, along with roughly 10 soil samples. I’ve worked on the project since April, meaning I was here on campus nearly every day this summer. The most recent cadavers we had were placed out in late July. We began a new protocol of sampling for that set, meaning we had to take samples 4 times a day: 1:30am, 6:30am, 1:30pm, and 8:30pm. I was responsible for the daily samplings for the entire body and soil samples, along with the 1:30pm face sampling (this is a side project we hope to dig into more later, but we have samples from the July Cohort saved back for when we get to this). We will receive the next cohort of cadavers in November, where I will be one of the team members of the sampling team. It’s a really interesting project, and I am really appreciative of being a part of it.