Science Refutes Creationism

New discoveries change our understanding of genes and their purposes http://jonlieffmd.com/blog/new-complexity-in-dna-regulation Highlights: "But, now multiple vast networks of regulation have been found that include more than forty different types of tags placed on both DNA and the protective histone proteins that allow access to DNA strands. All of these tags alter genetic function and are based on the actions of protein enzymes." Another type of regulation involves the shape of the DNA both in small loops and large placement inside of highly structured nucleus scaffolds with dramatic influence on genetic functions. The very complex editing of messenger RNA can make up to 500 different proteins from a single strand of DNA—what used to be called a gene, but now is hard to define. Genes can overlap and triggers of regulation can happen in the gene or in the regulatory strand. What is equally amazing is that mental events—thought—almost instantly triggers large networks of man

Epigenetic information layers are established by macromolecules - Embryo-uterine crosstalk guided by RNA molecules from extracellular vesicles http://www.cell.com/trends/molecular-medicine/fulltext/S1471-4914(17)30080-1 Excerpts: "Once considered a simple medium for sperm and embryo transport, the functional spectrum of uterine fluid is now expanding. Novel molecular players, such as extracellular vesicles and mobile RNAs, have been detected in the uterine fluid of livestock, rodents, and humans. These novel molecules, together with previously known ions and proteins, ensure uterine fluid homeostasis and facilitate embryo–maternal interactions. Here, we propose that these molecules may also carry information that mirrors maternal environmental exposure and possibly relay such information to the embryo via uterine fluid, generating long-term epigenetic effects on the offspring via embryonic and placental programming . ...Extracellular vesicles (EVs) that carry a variety of macromol

One in five 'healthy' adults may carry disease-related genetic mutations http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/one-five-healthy-adults-may-carry-disease-related-genetic-mutations Excerpt: " The first genome screening study looked at 100 healthy adults who initially reported their family history to their own primary care physician. Then half were randomly assigned to undergo an additional full genomic workup, which cost about $5000 each and examined some 5 million subtle DNA sequence changes, known as single-nucleotide variants, across 4600 genes—such genome screening goes far beyond that currently recommended by the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG), which suggests informing people of results for just 59 genes known or strongly expected to cause disease. Of the 50 participants whose genomes were sequenced, 11 had alterations in at least one letter of DNA suspected to cause—usually rare—diseases , researchers report today in The Annals of Internal Me

Eating raw veggies best for balancing your genome https://medicalxpress.com/news/2017-06-sulforaphane-broccoli-glucose-diabetics.html Excerpt: "A team of researchers from Sweden, the U.S. and Switzerland has found that treating rat liver cells with a compound called sulforaphane, which is found in cruciferous vegetables, reduced production of glucose. In their paper published in Science Translational Medicine, the group outlines the methods they used to isolate the compound and what they found when testing it with liver cells and in human patients. Type 2 diabetes has been in the news a lot in the past several years due to its ties to the obesity epidemic in several countries, particularly the U.S. Prior research has shown that it is a condition in which the body mishandles glucose—cells fail to use insulin properly, leading to higher glucose levels, which can cause a wide variety of health problems. Current treatment includes modifying the diet and taking drugs such as metformin.

Physicists find no sign of the particle that made the universe explode So, what caused it? https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-find-no-sign-of-the-particle-that-made-the-universe-explode Excerpt: "A recent attempt to find a theoretical particle responsible for the Universe's early rapid expansion has come up empty handed, throwing a question mark over whether it really exists. While there is still a low chance that the particle could be heavier than expected, or look a little different, physicists are preparing themselves for going back to the drawing board on one of the Universe's biggest mysteries. Physicists from the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Polish Academy of Sciences and the University of Zurich hunted for traces of a light form of a particle dubbed the inflaton in data collected during experiments using the Large Hadron Collider at CERN near Geneva in 2011 and 2012. Much as its name suggests, inflatons are particles that, well, inflate space. To be more

Father's lifestyle affects his child's epigenome https://skinner.wsu.edu/documents/2017/05/5_2017_jama_pressarticle.pdf Excerpt: "Researchers now understand that sperm contains a memory of a male’s life experiences, ranging from his nutritional status to his exposure to toxic chemicals, said Michael Skinner, PhD, a professor in the school of biological sciences at Washington State University. This information is captured in alterations to the epigenome, the suite ofmolecular on-off switches that regulate gene expression. Epigenetic information can be embedded in sperm in the form of changes in DNA methylation—the addition of chemical “tags” that switch genes “on” or “off”—or histone modifications—chemical tags on histone proteins, which regulate how DNA is condensed. In addition to these epigenetic marks, researchers also have become increasingly interested in changes in noncoding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), which are involved in gene silencing and can be present in

Several bacterial senses point to Intelligent Design and Creation You may have heard about an idea that complex life forms evolved from simple life forms such as bacteria. Does observed biology support such claim? No, because actually bacteria are not simple life forms. In my previous posts, I have told about MO-1 marine bacterium that has seven ion flow motors synchronized with a 24 gear-wheel planetary gearbox. http://sciencerefutesevolution.blogspot.fi/2017/01/seven-ion-flow-motors-synchronized-with.html Bacteria also have different kind of sensors by which they are able to sense the surrounding environment. The assortment of different senses within bacteria might be surprising: 1. Sense of smell https://www.technologynetworks.com/proteomics/news/scientists-investigate-bacterial-sense-of-smell-288948 2. Sense of magnetic field http://schaechter.asmblog.org/schaechter/2015/03/the-attraction-of-magnetotactic-bacteria.html 3. Sense of sound https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12501293

Anticancer effect of curcumin inhibits cell growth through miR-21/PTEN/Akt pathway in breast cancer cell Excerpt from abstract: "Curcumin is a polyphenol extracted from turmeric, which that belongs to the Zingiberaceae family. Curcumin has numerous effects, including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, anti-oxidative and antimicrobial effects. However, the effects of curcumin on human breast cancer cells remain largely unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the anticancer effects and the mechanisms by which curcumin affects breast cancer cells.  The anticancer effect of curcumin on cell viability and cytotoxicity on human breast cancer MCF-7 cells was analyzed using 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2, 5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide and lactate dehydrogenase assays, respectively. Cell apoptosis of MCF-7 cells was detected using flow cytometry, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindolestaining assay and caspase-3/9 activity kits. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chai

Over 100,000,000 h istone modifications maintain stable epigenetic inheritance http://www.aging-us.com/article/100792/text Excerpt: "In multicellular organisms, specificity of cell types is maintained by mitotically heritable differences in gene expression, which are in part regulated by epigenetic mechanisms. These include RNA-based mechanisms, histone modifications, and DNA methylation. The full range of epigenetic marks is currently unknown but is potentially enormous, considering that the diploid human epigenome contains > 10 8  Cytosines (of which > 10 7  are CpGs) and > 10 8  histone tails that can all potentially vary. DNA methylation is one of the best understood epigenetic modification and has an important role in several biological processes such as genome imprinting, defence against viral sequences, inhibition of recombination, as well as assembly of heterochromatin. Aberrant DNA methylation patterns have been linked to genomic instability and increased mutatio

These 6 Common Vegetables Are Actually All The Same Plant Species Excerpt: "You may not have heard of the plant Brassica oleracea, but you've definitely eaten it. Many common vegetables that many people buy and eat on a regular basis are actually all derived from this plant, and are considered the same species. Over the last few thousand years, farmers have bred Brassica oleracea into 'cultivars' (also known as subspecies) that eventually became these veggies:    Brassica is also known as the wild mustard plant. "The wild plant is a weedy little herb that prefers to grow on limestone outcroppings all around the coastal Mediterranean region," Jeanne Osnas, a researcher at Purdue University who blogs as "The Botanist in the Kitchen," writes of Brassica oleracea. "It is a biennial plant that uses food reserves stored over the winter in its rosette of leaves to produce a spike of a few yellow flowers at the end of its second summer before dying. Th

A comparison of two models of the origin of life and biodiversity Darwinian tree of life Creation orchard A hypothetical model. Never observed. Observational science. Requires increase of biological information, new structures and functions. Never observed. Genetic mutations are mostly harmful errors and result in degradation and loss of biological information. Genes are driven by life(style). Observed science. Based on an assumption that organisms experience positive changes through random mutations and selection. Genes are drivers. Never observed. Variation of organisms is based on existing information = Epigenetic mechanisms are induced by nutrition, climate, stress and other environmental factors. Observed science. Not supported by the fossil record. A serious lack of the most important transitional fossils. Still missing link between apes and humans. The assumed ancestor of primates? Confirmed by the fossil record. Fossils po