Human Genetic Variation Alters Anthrax Toxin Sensitivity
Martchenko, Candille et al., PNAS
Researchers at Stanford University School of Medicine show that genetic variation affecting capillary morphogenesis gene 2, or CMG2, dramatically alters toxin sensitivity in humans. In its analysis, the team reports on "a CMG2 single-nucleotide polymorphism occurring frequently in African and European populations [that they found] independently altered toxin uptake." The group goes on to suggest "testing of genomically characterized human cell populations may offer a broadly useful strategy for elucidating effects of genetic variation on infectious disease susceptibility."
Is Your Meat Tender? Proteomics May Provide the Answer
Using a mass spectrometry-based approach, researchers from Ohio State University performed a functional proteomics analysis that provides the most complete picture yet of the mechanisms involved in beef tenderness and that may eventually lead to a more precise method for predicting tenderness.
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