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Category: genetics – Page 466

Genetic correlations between pain phenotypes and depression and neuroticism

Correlations between pain phenotypes and psychiatric traits such as depression and the personality trait of neuroticism are not fully understood. In this study, we estimated the genetic correlations of eight pain phenotypes (defined by the UK Biobank, n = 151,922–226,683) with depressive symptoms, major depressive disorders and neuroticism using the cross-trait linkage disequilibrium score regression (LDSC) method integrated in the LD Hub. We also used the LDSC software to calculate the genetic correlations among pain phenotypes. All pain phenotypes, except hip pain and knee pain, had significant and positive genetic correlations with depressive symptoms, major depressive disorders and neuroticism. All pain phenotypes were heritable, with pain all over the body showing the highest heritability (h2 = 0.31, standard error = 0.072). Many pain phenotypes had positive and significant genetic correlations with each other indicating shared genetic mechanisms. Our results suggest that pain, neuroticism and depression share partially overlapping genetic risk factors.

How sunlight on the skin directly affects the gut microbiome

New research from a team of Canadian scientists has for the first time demonstrated how exposure to Narrow Band Ultraviolet B light (UVB) can directly influence gut microbiome diversity in humans. The research hypothesizes that this result is modulated by vitamin D and presents evidence of a novel skin-gut communication pathway.

Autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and multiple sclerosis are thought to be caused by a number of environmental and genetic factors. Gut bacterial diversity, exposure to sunlight and vitamin D levels, have all been observed as influential factors for inflammatory disease, however a new study is asserting a causal chain may link all three of these elements.

The new research examined 21 female subjects who were all administered three 60-second full-body UVB exposure sessions across one week. Blood and fecal samples were taken from all subjects at the beginning and end of the study to track changes to vitamin D levels and gut bacterial diversity. Half of the subjects were noted as having taken vitamin D supplements across the prior three winter months.

Genetic testing

The low cost of genetic testing has prompted a slew of Chinese companies, including 23Mofang and Shenzhen-based WeGene, to enter the market and tap growing demand in the world’s second largest economy, which is expected to reach US$4.3 billion by 2023. Compared to the US, China remains a fairly nascent market for direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

The low cost of direct-to-consumer genetic testing has prompted a slew of Chinese companies to enter the domestic market, which is expected to reach US$4.3 billion by 2023.

New gene editing technology could correct 89% of genetic defects

Scientists have developed a new gene-editing technology that could potentially correct up to 89% of genetic defects, including those that cause diseases like sickle cell anemia.

The new technique is called “prime editing,” and was developed by researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, who published their findings Monday in the journal Nature.

Prime editing builds on powerful CRISPR gene editing, but is more precise and versatile — it “directly writes new genetic information into a specified DNA site,” according to the paper.

The Ouroboros Code: Bridging Advanced Science and Transcendental Metaphysics

By contemplating the full spectrum of scenarios of the coming technological singularity many can place their bets in favor of the Cybernetic Singularity which is a sure path to digital immortality and godhood as opposed to the AI Singularity when Homo sapiens is retired as a senescent parent. This meta-system transition from the networked Global Brain to the Gaian Mind is all about evolution of our own individual minds, it’s all about our own Self-Transcendence. https://www.ecstadelic.net/top-stories/the-ouroboros-code-br…etaphysics #OuroborosCode

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Gut instincts: Researchers discover first clues on how gut health influences brain health

New cellular and molecular processes underlying communication between gut microbes and brain cells have been described for the first time by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell’s Ithaca campus.

Over the last two decades, scientists have observed a clear link between and a variety of psychiatric conditions. For example, people with autoimmune disorders such as (IBD), psoriasis and multiple sclerosis may also have depleted gut microbiota and experience anxiety, depression and mood disorders. Genetic risks for autoimmune disorders and psychiatric disorders also appear to be closely related. But precisely how gut health affects brain health has been unknown.

“Our study provides new insight into the mechanisms of how the gut and brain communicate at the molecular level,” said co-senior author Dr. David Artis, director of the Jill Roberts Institute for Research in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, director of the Friedman Center for Nutrition and Inflammation and the Michael Kors Professor of Immunology at Weill Cornell Medicine. “No one yet has understood how IBD and other chronic gastrointestinal conditions influence behavior and mental health. Our study is the beginning of a new way to understand the whole picture.”

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