A study in the journal Pain (Bortsov 2012) reports genetic variants increase the risk of developing chronic pain following a traumatic event. The study followed two groups that had undergone traumatic events, motor vehicle collisions and sexual assault. It looked at gene variations encoding FK506 binding protein 51 (FKBP5); a co-chaperone with heat-binding protein 90 (hps90),…
Angelina Jolie recently revealed she underwent a double mastectomy; a prophylactic measure to combat the risk of breast cancer associated with BRCA1 gene she carries. Like many other ‘disease’ genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 show evidence of positive selection, suggesting a fitness advantage. To understand how BRCA provides an evolutionary advantage we have to look at the other…
No. I haven’t abandoned this blog. I finally came up for air after literally eating and sleeping in the lab for over a month. Other than people at work and the takeaway/delivery guy I haven’t seen anyone outside that circle in several weeks. It’s possible that I’m still a little punchy from sleep deprivation and…
The Society for General Microbiology (#sgmman) is on for one more day so here is another quick post on viruses. Canine Distemper virus has a wide host range which include lions, tigers, hyenas, wolves, coyotes, raccoons, seals, martens, badger, bears and monkeys. But not humans, not yet Humans get measles, a closely related virus. So…
The Society for General Microbiology (#sgmman) is holding a conference in Manchester (March 25-28)so a short report on a new canine virus is on the menu. A previously unknown bocavirus has been isolated in the post-mortem examination of a dog’s liver (Li 2013). Bocaviruses have recently received increased attention thanks to the discovery of the first known…
Science and Dogs 
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