Cloning humans

Dr. Hwang and clone that never existed "could be the title of a work of fiction, but it is the true story of a new chapter of scientific fraud.

As is known, the world of science was shaken by the scandal: Hwang Woo Suk, a South Korean scientist and a team of 25 investigators signatories had announced during 2004 and 2005 in two articles published in Science magazine for the first time have cloned cells human. After a conclusive report of the investigation Commltee of the Seoul National Universlty, January 12, 2006. Donald Kennedy, director of Science, inserted into the electronic edition of the magazine in an unusual retraction stating that in the two-scientific papers were produced "no real results and that therefore there had been a fraud. The first human clone never existed!

Now, several months after that science itself make self-criticism about the case. Spain has adopted a Law Research Biomedici-na. so that we can say that the rule is brought forward to the progress of science, which is usually not normal. It is one of the positive consequences of the Hwang case.

But, like what happened has cast doubt on the process of scientific publishing, has also led to questioning the process of transmission of news through the media. The case of Dr. Hwang is a proof that scientific journalism se basa en un then overly uncritical of everything that is published in the "prestigious" scientific journals.

The sources used by journalists to learn about science are essentially scientific journals Nature and Science type. But as reflected in the wake of the case The New York Times a few months ago in an article "Now, editors are starting to look at the information that comes from scientific journals with more skepticism."

Roy Peter Clark, professor at the Poynter Institute in Florida, believes that reporting on scientific discoveries mean greater difficulty, since it often requires some prior knowledge of the journalist, followed up with interviews with experts and some indication of how to give meaning to highly technical material.

"It seems clear-Clark concludes that this scandal will generate the need to increase the capacity level of critical journalists and probably also new communication protocols between scientists and disseminators."

If so. both the momentum of a law to investigate in biomedicine as requiring a higher level of scientific journalism have been positive corollaries of a memorable fraud in the history of science.

The complete sequence of the human chromosome

A group of scientists completes the sequence of the chromosome 1, associated to 350 illnesses

An international team of scientists has completed the sequence of the chromosome 1, the one bigger than all and associated to some 350 illnesses, according to those responsible for the investigation.

The complete sequence of that chromosome that contain 8% of the whole genetic human information and 3.141 genes, was published in the last number of the scientific British magazine Nature.


This attainment is the last chapter of the human genome, according to the scientists that have participated in the investigation, to the front of which figure the Institute Wellcome Trust Sanger in Hinxton, in Cambridgeshire (southeast of England), and the University Duke in Durham, in New Carolina (EE UU).

Several types of cancer and Alzheimer

Some 350 illnesses are related with modifications of the chromosome 1, among them several types of cancer and neurological problems, as the wrong of Alzheimer or the Parkinson's disease, the investigators indicated. In fact, the complete published sequence this Wednesday you have already been used to identify more than a thousand of new genes and the scientists hope you contribute to find new treatments and diagnostics of illnesses.

"The publication of the sequence of the last and human bigger chromosome completes the history of the human" genome, Simón explains to Gregory, in charge of the project in the Institute Wellcome Trust Sanger. "The chromosome 1 contain fascinating histories of the biology of the chromosomes, of our evolution and our health", you have assured.

Ten years to complete the studio

Each human chromosome is compound for a molecule of DNA in form of a double helix and integrated by millions of chemical bases represented by the letters TO, C, T and G. In short, the Chromosome 1 contain 223.569.464 bases of the genetic code that, in the event of being treated mecanográficamente, they would occupy 60.000 pages.

The investigation team, formed by about 150 British and American scientists, you have taken ten years in completing the studio.

Believe viral defence in lab

A team of Canadian scientists of the University McGill has discovered in a lab the way to potentialize the natural defense system of an organism against the viruses, making potentially to the immune cells to the flu and other attacks humans.

In spite of the good apparent notice, the scientists assure that for the moment this process cannot be carried out in human cells, but in spite of this, they assure that the technique could help to the development of antiviral new therapies.

The key of the process is the stimulation of the protein interferon that are in the battle front that you have each cell against the virus attack. To boost your production, the investigators were able to delete two key genes in mice that allowed a bigger interferon production, that that in turn blocked the virus playback, especially those responsible for the flu.

This fed the expectations about the possibility of combatting a variety of strains responsible for the lives of millions of people, the famous pandemics, as the one that currently threatens us, the famous flu to prepare.

Now, the following step is to achieve it with human, maybe with another technique but with the same results. Also, abnormalities or side effects were not detected so in the lab mice the scientists they are already hands to the work to design a drug that can behave in the same way in the gene human.

The Factor RH in the Pregnancy

It is advisable that when being pregnant, the couple's members are made a studio to know to what blood type they belong, since their compatibility is very important for the health of the or of the future children.

Of all the physician-examinations that are made during the pregnancy, the blood test is one of the most important, because the blood type is not only determined, but rather also the factor RH that is the one that decides the couple's sanguine compatibility practically already from a start.
In experiments made with cute Rhesus, he/she was discovered that these animals have certain particularities in their blood (factor RH) that they can show up or (in which case one speaks of positive RH) not (negative RH) in the human blood. Around our population's 85% he/she has factor positive RH; therefore, 15% only enters a negative RH. The unborn boy's life is in danger if the mother has a negative RH and the father has it positive. 13% of the couples is in this case. If the boy inherits the mother's RH, that is to say, if his RH is negative, there is not problem; but if it inherits that of the father, its positive RH it is incompatible with that of its mom.
Some red globules of the blood of the fetus pass the mother and they cause in her the formation of substances that you/they are about neutralizing the boy's RH; those substances call themselves antibodies (anti RH), and they pass to the fetus destroying their red globules. The consequence of this destruction of red globules is the anaemia and the icterus.

Habitually in the first pregnancy there is not time like so that the mother has produced antibodies in enough quantity as to cause the anaemia or the icterus of the fetus, for what the first son is usually normal in these circumstances.
If the mother, in any moment of their life, he/she had received a transfusion with blood RH +, the first pregnancy will already have antibodies (anti RH), and the first son will enter alterations almost with surety.

In successive pregnancies, if they belong to children RH., the quantity of antibodies in the maternal blood will be every bigger time and each son will enter more serious alterations: icterus, anaemia and other different ones that are even incompatible with the life, for what the boy is born dead or he dies forthwith. Other times the pregnancy is discontinued precociously, giving place to an abort.
Knowing the problem before the beginning of the pregnancy, you can monitor the increase of antibodies in the maternal blood and even to discontinue the pregnancy to the eight months, in case the increase of those antibodies is very high, and before it causes serious disturbances in the fetus.
The most usual thing is that at the end of the pregnancy or during the same one, a change of the blood of the newly born one is made by another compatible one, free of antibodies anti RH. This treatment called exanguinotransfusión is some of those more employees, and with him it has been possible to save many children.