Scientists map proteins produced in human body

 

Thirteen years after the human genome was sequenced, two research groups have independently mapped the extent to which cells in various organs in the body turn many thousands of genes into proteins.

From bacteria to humans, genes are made up of units of DNA, called base pairs. The sequence of base pairs in genes tell a cell's molecular machinery what proteins to produce. Ultimately, it is the proteins that carry out a myriad processes essential for life.

Once the over three billion base pairs that make up the human genome were sequenced, analysis of that data indicated that there are about 20,000 protein-coding genes.

In a paper just published in Nature, an international team of scientists led by Akhilesh Pandey of the Johns Hopkins University in the U.S and Harsha Gowda at the Institute of Bioinformatics in Bangalore has drawn up a draft map of proteins produced from 17,294 genes.

There was evidence for proteins coming from 18,097 human genes, reported Bernhard Kuster of Technische Universitaet Muenchen in Germany and his colleagues in a separate paper published in the same issue of the journal.

The two papers marked a “major advance”, providing comprehensive data about proteins expressed in different human tissues, commented R. Nagaraj of the Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology in Hyderabad, who was not involved in either study.

Dr. Pandey and his colleagues examined proteins produced by normal cells in 30 tissue samples, adult and foetal as well as those found in blood. They found 'housekeeping proteins' from 2,350 genes that were produced in all tissues. On the other hand, proteins from 1,537 genes turned up in only one of the tissues. A number of proteins were expressed only during foetal development.

“The driving impetus for our work was to develop a reference of what is normal for human organs and cells,” said Dr. Pandey in an email. This information could provide clues to biologists seeking to elucidate the function of individual proteins. In addition, knowledge about organ-specific proteins could be used for detection of diseases arising in those organs.

“The day may not be too far when people have their protein profiles mapped, much like [personal] genome sequencing we have today. This could help us diagnose more diseases and diagnose diseases better too,” said Dr. Satish Chandra, Director of NIMHANS and a coauthor of the paper at a press conference in Bangalore.

In their paper, the researchers reported detecting proteins from 193 regions in the human genome that generally would not be expected to produce any, including genes considered dysfunctional. This suggested that “we do not yet have a thorough understanding of how our own genome works,” remarked Dr. Pandey.

Although proteins from about 84 per cent of all human genes had been found, those from the remaining genes may have eluded detection, remarked Dr. Gowda, a Wellcome Trust-DBT India Alliance Fellow. This could have occurred if the proteins were expressed in tissues or organs that had not been sampled. Alternatively, they might be expressed at very low levels, requiring special techniques to track down.

A large number of scientists at the Institute of Bioinformatics, a non-profit research organisation founded and headed by Dr. Pandey, contributed to the study. Researchers at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research in Chandigarh, the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune and the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences in Bangalore also participated.

In the other Nature paper, Dr. Kuster and his colleagues catalogued the proteins found in various human tissues, cell lines and body fluids. They found that approximately 10,000-12,000 proteins were ubiquitously expressed.

Hundreds of genes described in the human genome “apparently do not code for protein any more,” observed Dr. Kuster. One example was a family of proteins, involving some 800 genes, that are important for sensing smell and taste. But proteins could not be found from more than half of those genes.

“Our interpretation of that is that perhaps modern humans don't rely so much on their sense of smell and taste as we used to a long time ago. Therefore, evolution essentially gets rid of those surplus genes at some point,” he told this correspondent.

On the other hand, there were parts of the genome that had not been associated with protein-coding potential but for which proteins turned up. “So this could be a new playing ground, if you like, where nature tries out new proteins and we don't necessarily know what they do yet,” he remarked.

(with inputs from Divya Gandhi, Bangalore)

Keywords: human genome sequencing, genes, proteins, base pairs, DNA, mapping protein profiles

The Article 370

The controversy over Article 370, granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir, continued unabated on Wednesday with J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah asserting that it cannot be abrogated unless the State’s Constituent Assembly is recalled.

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological mentor, joined issue and asked Mr. Abdullah if he thought that the State was his “parental estate.” Sources close to Union Home Minister said that Rajnath Singh had declined to speak on the controversy, as he is scheduled to take charge on Thursday.

However, sources pointed out that Mr. Singh had made observations during election campaign on the subject, favouring a debate on the issue. Reacting to Omar’s remarks, RSS leader Ram Madhav said the state will always be an integral part of India with or without the provision.

“What a silly argument about Constituent Assembly! Indian Constitution too was made by Constituent Assembly but amended by Parliament 100 times. Article 370 and Instrument of Accession are two separate things six years apart,’’ Mr. Madhav tweeted.Talking to reporters after the National Conference core group meeting in Srinagar, Omar Abdullah asserted that nobody other than the State’s Constituent Assembly could revoke Article 370.

“How can BJP strengthen ties with people of J&K when they are hell-bent to damage the relation by virtue of Article 370?” Mr Abdullah asked. He also asked the Centre to make clear on who were the “stakeholders” it was talking to for repealing special status to the State. He said the move to re-open the issue would amount to re-opening the issue of the state’s accession with India.

Meanwhile, PDP President and Lok Sabha member Mehbooba Mufti said that the Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh had put his foot in the mouth on day one of assuming office.

She urged the Prime Minister to “discipline” his ministerial colleague.

Keywords: Article 370, Kashmir dispute, BJP, Narendra Modi, inheritance rights, secularism, J&K special status

Congress leaders repose faith in Sonia, Rahul’s leadership

 

 They are the most accepted leaders in all sections of the party. We will overcome all these difficulties under their leadership," Antony told reporters here. Source: Express Photo

Amid strong voices to bring Priyanka Gandhi to the forefront of politics, senior leaders A K Antony and Kamal Nath today reposed faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi at the helm of the party. “They are our topmost leaders. They will remain as our leaders. They are the undisputed leaders. Sonia Gandhi is the final authority in the party. Rahul Gandhi is second in command.
They are the most accepted leaders in all sections of the party. We will overcome all these difficulties under their leadership,” Antony told reporters here.
Reacting to questions on Priyanka Gandhi’s leadership role, Antony said she is part of the Congress party. Speaking separately, Kamal Nath, whose name is doing the
rounds for the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said Sonia Gandhi must take up the post, in the event of Rahul Gandhi is not to taking it up.
“I do not think he (Rahul Gandhi) should be reluctant because he wanted to be really on the forefront of the things in Parliament. Rahul Gandhi would be able to play a very effective role. If he decides not to be there, I think Sonia Gandhi should be the ideal choice,” Nath said.
He was replying to a query on whether Rahul Gandhi was reluctant to be become the Leader of Opposition.
Nath, however, offered to take up “any responsibility”, as per the wishes of the party president.
Asked about the voices against Rahul within the party after Congress’ rout in the Lok Sabha polls, Antony said, “We have a collective responsibility for the defeat. We can not single out somebody….It is meaningless.”
Admitting that there are “voices here and there” in the party against the leadership, he said “that is natural after electoral setback”.
Antony said BJP was successful in addressing the aspirations of youth and giving them assurances.

Moderate quake jolts Delhi NCR, Chennai, eastern India

Mmoderate earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale on Wednesday night jolted Delhi, National Capital Region, Chennai and parts of eastern and northern India including West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage to properties.
The quake struck 60 kms east of Paradip at a depth of 10 kms at 9.52 pm, said L S Rathore, Director General, India Meterological Department.
"The epicentre of the earthquake was in the Bay of Bengal with its coordinates being 18.1 degree north and 87.8 degree east, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale," said Ministry of Earth Science Secretary Shailesh Nayak.
A Chennai report said tremors were felt in parts of Nungambakkam, Porur and Triplicane where people rushed out of their homes.

Overnight success...NOT!

Overnight success...NOT!

Today we're going to talk about having big goals...but REALISTIC goals. SFI holds tremendous potential for those who will apply themselves, but it's not going to

 

happen overnight or without work. As the old saying goes, "the only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary."

We often hear from affiliates asking why they're not seeing a big commission check yet. But more times than not, the person asking hasn’t even been an affiliate for more than a few weeks and is only really beginning to even understand how the whole SFI system works. And frankly, even if the number was six months, it’s still much too early to be expecting a significant income stream to have developed.

We always say that if you’re not willing to give a business at least a year, don’t even bother getting involved. You must understand: It takes time to get to know all the nuances of a business. It takes time to get to know the products. It takes time to develop a game plan. It takes time to figure out what marketing activities will work best for you.

The fact is, anything worthwhile takes sustained effort. If that were not true, we'd all be the perfect weight, we'd all have perfect relationships, etc. It's the same thing with your own business. If you're thinking money's going to start pouring into your lap next month, you’ve set yourself up for failure.

But let’s look at some real examples and see if we can put some perspective on this. Let's start with SFI's own president and founder, Gery Carson. Gery explains:

 

"My success as a entrepreneur and business leader is widely known today. Yet what most people don’t know is that I LOST money my first two years. I only broke even in my third year. And it was only when I got to my fourth year did I finally start seeing profits. Oh, how I wish someone had invented an SFI for me back in the mid-80's when I was starting out! ; - )

So was all that effort worth it? ABSOLUTELY! Because I persisted, today I live a dream life, I have my dream home, drive my dream car, and I get to lead one of the most exciting Internet companies in the world. Yes, because I stuck with it, I am today truly blessed beyond my wildest dreams."

But let’s go farther. Let’s look at some of the actual home business superstars we've interviewed and featured on our Website in the past:

Note that amounts listed reflect declared earnings at the time their interview was published.

ROBERT BLACKMAN now earns as much as $85,000 per month. Yet it took Robert two years to see his first four-figure check ($1,000 or more), and it took him five years to see his first five-figure check ($10,000 or more).

CHARLES LESLIE’s monthly income exceeds $12,000 a month. It took Charles five months to see his first $1,000 check, and three and a half years to see his first $10,000 check.

TRACY DIETERICH earns $36,000+ monthly. But it took six months to hit that first $1,000, and a year to get to $10,000.

DALE CALVERT makes so much more than $100,000 a year that he won’t even divulge the amount. Yet Dale worked four months before seeing that first four-figure commission check...and two full years before hitting five figures.

DR. JOE RUBINO now cruises at over $62,000 each month. But that first $1,000 check took two months, the first $10,000 check, one year.

ROBERT BUTWIN drops $80,000 or more into his bank account each month. But would you believe that first $1,000 check took two years to reach, and a full FIVE years for Robert to reach the first $10,000 check? It’s true!

DAVID A. NELSON clears $40,000 in a month. But reaching that first $1,000 check took 18 months. Reaching the five-figure check took two years.

TONY KENT has exceeded $90,000 in monthly earnings. But exceeding $1,000 took Tony one year...and a year and a half to exceed $10,000.

In other words, even the most dynamic, highest-earning entrepreneurs took MONTHS to begin seeing an income of any real significance. And the real wealth, the $100,000+ income we all strive for, took an average of almost THREE YEARS to achieve!

Do you think ANY of these gentlemen don’t think the ends justified the means? Do you think for an instant that the months and years invested hasn’t been rewarded a thousand times over at least? You don't even have to think about it, do you?

If we told you that after two to three years of following our system, you could be making more in a month than you now make in a year, could you handle that? This is a genuine and realistic goal. But when you say you want to quit your job in six months and live off the income from your new business, well, that's just not realistic.

Not what you wanted to hear, right? But is what we're suggesting so tough to swallow? Of course not.

Can you think of any other endeavor where you could invest just five to 10 hours a week for a couple years and at the end of that time have that turned into a $3,000 to $10,000 residual monthly income stream? Money that keeps coming in month after month, year after year. Money that keeps coming in whether you work 10 hours a day or two. A commission check waiting for you in your mailbox when you return from yet another vacation. Money that when you’ve left this planet continues to provide for your spouse, children, or grandchildren.

Sounds extremely nice, doesn’t it? But again, these are likely not things you’re going to see in your first year. It's just not going to happen. Some of you—the go-getters—you WILL see it happen in your second year. For most of you, however, you need to be thinking two to five years. And you know what? When you get there, we guarantee you, you’ll say it was nothing!

BOTTOM LINE: We reap what we sow, but the harvest is never in the same season as the planting! Today you are planting...and will be at least for the next several months. Your harvest will come in time. Be persistent. Be patient. Work the Web using our proven SFI system. Think long term. Take action every day, (no matter how small) to build your business. And always remember, THE ONLY WAY TO FAIL IS TO QUIT.

TODAY'S LAUNCHPAD™ QUIZ

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