One more reason for infertility in women

There are many reasons for a man or woman to be infertile. A recent finding adds one more to this list for infertility in women. A joint research in Germany, by Professor Dr. Walter Stöcker of the Institute of Zoology at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and a team led by Professor Dr. Willi Jahnen-Dechent of the Helmholtz Institute for Biomedical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, have found a new mechanism involving a protein Fetuin-B secreted by liver for infertility and the discovery has a potential therapeutic value.

The joint venture of the two teams, have found out for the first time that premature hardening of ovum may prevent the entry of sperms leading to infertility.

Soon after fertilization, a cascade of reactions called as “cortical reaction” sets in that makes the outer most region the Zona Pellucida (ZP) of the fertilized ovum hard. Normally, this hardening of ZP is essential to prevent subsequent sperm penetration of the ovum, in other words the hardening of ZP stops a condition called polyspermy. Polyspermy results in the death of the embryo and thus leads to infertility. 

Team headed by Professor Dr. Walter Stöcker has already been working on the mechanism of the cortical reaction. They found out that the hardening of the ZP is triggered by a proteolytic enzyme called ovastacin stored in small vesicles within the ovum. When a sperm enters an ovum for the first time, the entry triggers an explosive release of ovastacin into the gap between the egg cell and the zona pellucida which ultimately makes ZP hard. The story doesn’t stop there, normally there is a constant low level release of the enzyme ovastacin. If the action of this ‘background’ ovastacin is not prevented, then it may lead to the hardening of ZP. This premature hardening of ovum may prevent the entry of sperms leading to infertility. 

The team led by Professor Dr. Willi Jahnen-Dechent, discovered that female mice lacking a protein called fetuin-B were infertile even though they had a normal functional ovaries. They could successfully restore fertility by restoring normal fetuin-B production.

Jointly both the teams have found out a new role for Fetuin-B which is formed in the liver and released into the blood stream in low quantities. They discovered that Fetuin-B is actually an inhibitor of ovastacin which prevents the background ovastacin activity so that oocytes does not become hard even before fertilization.

After a sperm has penetrated an egg cell, the cortical reaction will trigger the release of huge amounts of ovastacin that will overwhelm the inhibitory capacity of fetuin-B and initiate the hardening process of ZP to prevent polyspermy.

-Dr. P. Kumarasamy

Further reading:

http://www.sciencenewsline.com/summary/2013042415120010.html 

http://www.cell.com/developmental-cell/abstract/S1534-5807(13)00132-9

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580713001329

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120402124335.htm

http://www.uscnk.com/directory/Fetuin-A(FETUA)-1860.htm

http://www.biolreprod.org/content/early/2013/04/12/biolreprod.113.110171.abstract

PLAGIARISM BY AN INDIAN IMMUNOLOGIST

Read this article that appeared in Bio Techniques about an Indian Immunologist Dr. Sunil K. Manna, Head of Immunology at the Center for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in Hyderabad, who indulged in manipulation of data/figures/images of his publications.

Beware of such frauds..

- Dr. P. Kumarasamy

 http://www.biotechniques.com/news/Seven-Retractions-for-Indian-Immunologist/biotechniques-341840.html?utm_source=BioTechniques+Newsletters+%26+e-Alerts&utm_campaign=30517e44a8-weekly&utm_medium=email#.UWoSMbXfAgv

NIUMBAHA – THE STORY OF A NEW BAT GENUS

Recently there was a news about Dr. DeeAnn Reeder at Pennsylvania's Bucknell University uncovering a new genus of bat collected from South Sudan an African country.  So far only five specimens of this species have been caught including the latest recapture by Dr. DeeAnn Reeder.

The first specimen discovered in 1939 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was placed in the genus Glauconycteris under the name Glauconycteris superba.

Dr. DeeAnn Reeder’s careful scrutiny showed that her pricy find is unique in the shape, size of its skull and unique stripes and hence she sent the specimen to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., for analysis. The institute after a careful examination found that the specimen is a misfit to be categorized in the genus: Glauconycteris. Later it was announced that this specimen belongs to a new, so far unknown, genus "Niumbaha”.

The term Niumbaha has its origin from the South Sudan’s tribal language Zande which means "rare" or "unusual". Hence forth the new specimen formerly known as Glauconycteris superba has been christened as Niumbaha superba.
This new species has marking patterns on its back similar to the Proboscis bat (Rhynchonycteris naso) found in southeastern Mexico and northern part of South America.

I think this is the only species that has a variety of common names,

The Pied bat
The Butterfly bat
The pied butterfly bat
The Panda bat 
The skunk bat
The badger bat

- Dr. P. Kumarasamy 

Further reading: http://www.pensoft.net/J_FILES/1/articles/4892/4892-G-3-layout.pdf 
http://www.bucknell.edu/X81336.xml?utm_source=NewsRelease&utm_medium=NewsRelease&utm_campaign=NewsRelease 
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.list/tagNo/1738/tags/species-discovery/

FISHY TALES OF FOOD ADULTERATIONS

Know what you are eating!
Food adulteration has now become rampant internationally!
Those mindless mongers!!

In recent times there have been reports of frauds in consumable goods. Wiljo Import en Export BV and Vleesgroothandel Willy Selten, owned by a Dutch, sold beef mixed with horse meat, a scandal that cheated consumers from UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Switzerland, Sweden and Germany.

This horse meat scandal has opened up a Pandora’s Box on food security, food safety and on consumer fraud, which is totally unacceptable. 

Food Adulteration is a global problem involving not only the Underdeveloped Nations but also the so called developed Nations.

The Horse Meat Scandal is only the tip of an iceberg!

Such type of fraud is also common for other consumable products such as juices, spices, milk, vegetable oils, seafood, fruit juices, and even ice creams.

According to a news bulletin published in January 2013, nearly 800 new records of food fraud spanning between 2011 and 2012 were added to the US Pharmacopeial Convention’s Food Fraud Database.

These fraudulent acts might have existed long back, thanks to the recent technological development that has started to expose them. 

Since proteins in meat undergo denaturation while processing/cooking, DNA based techniques become handy in testing adulteration in organic foods. PCR based techniques, DNA Finger printing, DNA barcoding techniques are now being used to test and confirm the validity of the claim by manufacturers.

Some of the scandals that have been recently exposed:

• In the UK, Sweden, and France, where beef products have been found to contain as much as 29% horsemeat. 
• The coffee supposed to be from the beans of Coffea arabica were found to be from another variety Coffea robusta and it even contain powders derived from twigs, corn, rye flour, or acorns. 
• 
  
• In UK, the fruit present in an ice cream labeled as ‘raspberry ripple’, a vanilla ice cream containing thin swirls of raspberry syrup was found to contain strawberry instead. People who are allergic to strawberry are actually been taken for a ride! Without honest labeling, consumers with allergies remain at risk! 
• 
  
• In February 2013, the ocean conservation group Oceana found that fully one-third of the 1215 canned fish samples tested from 21 different states in US were mislabeled and 54% of retail establishments tested were selling mislabeled fish. 

- Dr. P. Kumarasamy

Visit this site to find out shocking information on organic food adulterations.

http://www.foodfraud.org 

I searched the site for meat adulterations and the results are here!
http://www.foodfraud.org/search/site?search_api_views_fulltext=meat

Novartis linked to dubious research

Valsartan (Diovan) manufactured by Novartis company is a drug given for treating high blood-pressure. It was one of the best-selling drug for Novartis’s Japanese subsidiary in 2011, fetching about $1.3 billion dollars. There was a boom in the sale of Valsartan following a research publication from Hiroaki Matsubara’s group at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine (KPUM).The published 'research work'suggests that valsartin can reduce the risk of stroke and heart attack. Novartis subsequently used this 'research' publication in their advertisements for the drug. The publication was pulled back by the Japanese Circulation Society in December 2012 and by the European Society of Cardiologists in February 2013, following the critical analyses of the research data published. The irony is that the 'research' was funded by Novartis! Business-men misusing scientists and science in the name of scientific funding. Eroding values of ethics in science is totally unacceptable. 

-Dr. P. Kumarasamy

Further reading:

http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/34931/title/Novartis-Linked-to-Retracted-Papers-/

http://blogs.nature.com/news/2013/03/novartis-blockbuster-linked-to-retracted-papers.html

"How Dengue Virus Infects?" a nice animation

http://www.dnatube.com/video/12225/Life-Cycle-of-Dengue-Virus

Here it is

Vanishing Frogs

தினமலர் 24-03-2013
click the image to enlarge

INTERESTING LINKS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8593000/8593396.stm
http://heavenawaits.wordpress.com/frogs-predicting-earthquakes/; 

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/12/01/toads-earthquakes-frogs-disasters-earth-seismic-science-nature_n_1123441.html 

http://www.united-academics.org/magazine/earth-environment/frogs-detect-earthquakes/

- Dr. P. Kumarasamy