Researchers Unlock How Cells Determine Their Functions
The synopsis of this article relates to how a group of researchers from Riverside, California have revealed a molecular mechanism that directs the chance and role of cells during the process of animal development. The researchers’ discovery shows remarkable findings that are promising in the advancement of cancer and stem-cell research. The hypothesis of this article relates to even though each individual cell contains the complete DNA code, only small portions of this DNA code are activated.
Therefore, the cell has a certain function instead of others. Every single gene in the DNA code is accountable for the construction of a specific protein. Activating certain genes as an alternative of others leads to the construction of a precise set of proteins and this leads to the cell acquiring a definite specific function. The strengths within the article address the overall context for their qualitative study.
First, the article states that researchers give an insight explanation of how the protein epigenetic activators, known as Ash1, which is extracted from the fruit fly Drosophila, attaches to their target DNA and trigger genes that control what function a cell will have inside the subject’s body. More specifically, after reviewing the article, the in-depth examination of how these proteins bind to target DNA elements, such as Trithorax-reponse elements (TREs) with produces Non-coding RNA that helps stimulate the appearance of the Ubx gene by inviting the protein Ash1 to the TREs.
The transgenic transcription of non-coding TRE RNA can change the type and function of cells within the body. Next, the article concludes that researchers are now focusing on how noncoding RNAs silence genes. The UCR researchers work, so far, have revealed that noncoding RNAs have an extensive range of functions than was previously known, and proposes a demonstration for how they can help activate, rather than silence, which is the fundamental regulator of animal development. Furthermore, this article shows an ample amount of weakness as well.
From the main article, there was not enough information about how or exactly what causes the change in cell function. However, the related articles went into more in-depth detail of the significance of the article. The relevancy that this article has to everyday life is that many people suffer from diseases such as, different cancers, Alzheimer’s, and Autism. Therefore, in my opinion I think that this research, if proven effective, can help many people fight the ongoing battle of these diseases through stem cell research and cell splicing.
The benefit of this research is that not only that researchers have identified that the activation of the mechanisms of epigenetic activators, such as Ash1, recognizes and binds these target genes and determine what functions a cell will have inside the body. The UCR researchers should perform a follow-up research on this discovery to be positive that the outcome that these researchers came up with is accurate in finding founding out how cells determine their function and if this is a step toward a cancer research.
