Stem cells: hopes and fears. International Human Genome Project Review Questions and Assignments

Candidate of Biological Sciences Larisa Aksenova.

Science and life // Illustrations

Participants of the meeting at the High Technologies media club.

Replacing a single “letter of DNA” most often does not affect the functioning of a gene, but a number of genetic diseases are known in which such a replacement causes a serious disruption of biochemical processes in the body.

Many companies today offer services for partial genome decoding.

Science and life // Illustrations

Ethanol and acetaldehyde (a toxic intermediate) are broken down by enzymes in the body. Representatives of different ethnic groups work at different speeds.

How does a person’s fate develop, what does his future depend on? Some, relying on the saying “what goes around comes around,” believe that the future is the fruits of systematic personal labor. Others, trusting in God's providence, believe that everything is predetermined and will somehow work out. There are also those who do not mind having their future predicted. But if we are to predict, then, of course, in a scientific way. A new area of biomedicine - individual genotyping - allows you, with some degree of probability, on a completely scientific basis, to “tell fortunes” about what diseases you are predisposed to, whether you are fit to be an athlete or a banker, as well as find out what places your ancestors came from, and even identify a criminal or frivolous father. But there are no ideal methods. What is the degree of reliability of the results? Is it possible to understand the test results yourself, without the help of a medical geneticist and attending physician? Is it affordable? Will genetic “fortune telling” really “come true” if it promises illness and sadness in the future? Should a suspicious person tempt fate and undergo genetic testing and then worry? Or are there cases in which testing is necessary? These questions became the subject of the discussion “Genome and individual genotyping”, which took place on March 1, 2012 in the editorial office of the journal “Science and Life” as part of the “High Technologies” media club.

Assess the amount of information

We are rapidly and at the same time imperceptibly - thanks to computer technology - accustomed to huge amounts of information. At first they joked that one megabyte contains 1024 kilobytes of information, not 1000, then they did not notice how terabyte storage devices have become everyday attributes of our lives. Eight years ago, it was believed that deciphering the complete genome of at least one person was a difficult task, for which all molecular biologists in the world would have to join forces for several years, and states would have to spend billions of dollars on this project. Today, devices have been created—sequencers—that can cope with this task in four days. The cost of such an analysis is approximately $5,000, and it is rapidly decreasing and, according to experts, will be $1,000 by the end of this year.

When a large-scale international project to decipher the human genome began - and this was more than 20 years ago - no one could have imagined how much information would have to be analyzed and comprehended (although the DNA of a small number of anonymous donors was selected for analysis and a certain combined genome). By 2003, the project was largely completed, and in 2006, the DNA sequence of the “last chromosome” was published in the journal Nature. It was initially assumed that there are about 200 thousand genes in the human genome, but, as it turned out thanks to this project, there are only 20-25 thousand of them (1.5% of the total DNA of the cell). However, this is also a lot: work on interpreting the data obtained is at the very initial stage.

“The Human Genome Project has answered many questions, but also generated new ones related to how to use the information obtained. Every person is genetically unique, says Natalya Zhuchenko, Candidate of Medical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Medical Genetics at the First Moscow State Medical University. I. M. Sechenov. - In addition, all properties acquired by a person, including health, depend 70% on the external environment and only 30% on the genotype. Hereditary diseases account for 1.5% of all diseases.”

Genome - epigenome - variome - ...?

To understand the key individual differences in DNA and to analyze the variability (variability) of the genome, additional research was required. In particular, in 1999, the open-ended Human Epigenome Project was launched, which studies the role of DNA methylation in gene function. The process of DNA methylation occurs constantly in the body; the amount of methylated DNA increases with age and under the influence of environmental factors, and this in turn significantly affects gene activity.

In 2002, as part of the HapMap project (from the English haploid - haploid and map - map), geneticists began to study the similarities and differences between people, comparing single substitutions of DNA “letters” (nucleotides) in their genomes. Replacing a single “letter” of DNA most often does not affect the functioning of a gene, but a number of genetic diseases are known in which such a replacement causes serious disturbances in biochemical processes in the body.

And finally, most recently, in 2011, the Human Variome project was launched, which aims to study the genetic diversity of people. By 2015, it is planned to collect (and share) an extensive database of gene variability for 1 million cases of genetic diseases. The project participants place special hopes on the fact that in the process of its implementation, an understanding of the nature of the so-called multifactorial diseases (MFDs) will arise. The peculiarity of such diseases is that their clinical symptoms appear only under the combined action of genetic factors and environmental conditions. Multifactorial diseases are controlled by a whole group of genes, which is why they are sometimes called polygenic. Among them are diabetes, cancer, atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease, bronchial asthma, osteoporosis and other common diseases, in the treatment and prevention of which we have not yet achieved the desired success. The manifestations of these diseases, among other things, depend on the age and gender of the person.

Obviously, we are still far from a complete understanding of how genetic characteristics (genotype) are realized in external characteristics (phenotype), but some undoubted successes have already been achieved thanks to genome research.

Genomics - help in diagnosis and treatment

The use of genetic testing data is the main strategy of modern medicine, and an active process of introducing these latest advances into clinical practice is already underway. “On the basis of the clinic of the First Moscow State Medical University named after. I.M. Sechenov, we have performed more than 1000 such studies for patients with various pathologies,” says Natalya Zhuchenko and immediately clarifies: “But such testing can only be recommended by the attending physician. Interpretation of test results should be carried out in close contact with a medical geneticist. After all, the main task is not to scare the patient, but to preserve his health!”

According to the definition of Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences V.S. Baranova, “susceptibility genes are mutant genes (or alleles - different forms of one gene) that are compatible with birth and life, but under certain unfavorable conditions contribute to the development of a particular disease.”

Genetic testing to identify hereditary predisposition to multifactorial diseases, the early prevention of which is especially important, is just beginning in Russia. In Western Europe and America, the list of such diseases includes 75 nosological forms, in Russia there are currently 25, but our scientists are actively working in this direction.

A number of diseases “go hand in hand”: these are so-called syntropies - a non-random combination of two or more diseases in an individual. In 2006, 21 “cardiovascular continuum” genes were identified, which include hypertension, coronary disease, dyslipidemia, stroke, obesity, metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes. Modern technologies make it possible to conduct genetic testing to identify predisposition to these pathologies.

Natalya Zhuchenko illustrated the principles of diagnosing diseases using advances in genomics using the example of osteoporosis, a disease that is often detected in its later stages, with dramatic frequent bone fractures. Sometimes your doctor can detect the disease earlier and order a clinical examination, which can determine your bone density and measure the levels of calcium and phosphorus in your urine and blood. Genetic testing helps to take preventive measures. There are reliable markers of the disease - the genes VDR3 (vitamin D receptor), COL1A1 (type 1 collagen), CALCR (calcitonin), ESR1 (estrogen receptor), BGLAP (osteocalcin gene).

Deficiency of vitamin B 9 - folic acid - leads to a number of serious health problems, including birth defects (neural tube defect - NTD; cleft lip - cheiloschisis; cleft palate - palatoschisis). This relationship was discovered back in the 50s of the last century. Recent studies have shown that if a woman takes folic acid supplements before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy, it helps prevent 50-70% of cases of such defects.

Folic acid deficiency is also associated with the risk of coronary heart disease. Folic acid supplements help lower homocysteine levels in the blood (high levels of this amino acid in the blood cause damage to the inner wall of the coronary arteries, making cholesterol plaques and blood clots more likely to form.) In addition, homocysteine levels tend to be elevated in people with renal failure.

But if we consider the problem at the molecular level, then a lack of folic acid affects the process of DNA methylation. In addition, in people who do not absorb folic acid well, the functioning of one of the enzymes in the “folate cycle,” methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR), may be impaired. There are many “variants” (alleles) of the MTHFR gene present in the human population. The effectiveness of the absorption of folic acid by the body depends on which of the “options” were inherited from parents. Changing just one DNA “letter” in the MTHFR gene can seriously disrupt this process.

In this case, genetic testing will help to identify the root cause of impaired absorption of folic acid and eliminate possible consequences, adjust the diet, and prescribe the necessary medications in a timely manner.

Genetic diet

Another example of the practical benefits of genetic testing is that it can help you choose the optimal diet. A new direction in dietetics is being developed, called “nutritional genomics”. Currently, it is quite well studied how the chemical components of food (directly or indirectly) affect the human genome, changing the functioning of genes. In other words, for a certain genotype, diet may be an important risk factor for certain diseases. There are a number of genetic markers, such as genes regulating fat metabolism (APOE, APOCIII, PON1, NOS3); responsible for the absorption of calcium and other mineral components of nutrition (VDR, CALCR); controlling blood pressure (ACE, AGT, AGTR1, AGTR2,
BDKRB2) and many others that a doctor can take into account when creating an individual “genetic” diet.

In the process of evolution, people have developed certain biochemical characteristics associated with traditionally consumed food. Digestive enzymes and other proteins involved in the digestion of food are very diverse, they have a wide hereditary polymorphism. Knowing the genetic characteristics of a particular person, you can predict the correct diet. Such testing is especially relevant for diseases that have become increasingly common in our lives and are quite difficult to diagnose. We are talking about celiac disease - intolerance to wheat proteins (glutens) and lactase deficiency - the inability to digest milk sugar, lactose, which is found in dairy products. Both of these diseases lead to serious digestive problems and affect the absorption of other nutrients.

In addition, symbiont microorganisms living in the intestines also make an important contribution to the proper absorption of food. Genetic testing will help determine whether they are working correctly and, if necessary, provide recommendations on how to correct the problem. Sometimes we may not even realize that the cause of the feeling of fatigue and muscle weakness is not a disease, but “wrong” microorganisms.

What genotype - what are the drugs?

Medicines affect different people differently. The same drug can be very effective, ineffective, and in some cases even have a negative effect. This depends not only on the patient’s age, diet, taking other medications, concomitant diseases, but also on the genetically determined biochemical characteristics of the person, which affect the metabolization of the drug in the body.

Pharmacogenetics (the branch of genetics that studies differences in the human body’s response to drugs) arose more than half a century ago, but only recently, thanks to genomic research, has it received a reliable method for predicting possible side effects of drugs. In 2007, the World Health Organization certified and officially approved the first and so far only predictive genetic test for the anticoagulant (prevents blood clots) drug warfarin. This is one of the most effective and at the same time dangerous drugs, the side effects of which can cause serious disorders in the body.

Geneticists believe that the effectiveness of drugs is determined not by one gene, but by an entire association of certain forms of genes. If genetic testing carried out before prescribing a drug predicts a weak or even negative response of the body to its action, then the doctor can choose another one that is more appropriate in the given situation. Many studies are being conducted around the world aimed at studying the effect of genetic polymorphism on the effectiveness of drugs. There is such information about other drugs besides warfarin. For example, genetic predictions look quite convincing, which should be taken into account when prescribing metoprolol, a drug with hypotensive and antiarrhythmic effects.

Pharmacogenetics is actively developing, and, obviously, in the near future it will be possible to approach the prescription of new effective potent drugs in a more balanced manner, taking into account the individual genetic characteristics of the patient.

Genes and sport

“They used to think that a person’s fate was determined by the stars. Now we know that it is written in genes,” quoted James Dewey Watson, one of the discoverers of the structure of DNA, Oleg Glotov, Candidate of Biological Sciences, leading researcher at the NIIAG named after. D. O. Otta SZO RAMS (St. Petersburg), researcher at St. Petersburg State University.

Together with his twin brother Andrey, Oleg has been interested in human genetics since school. Having entered the university, the brothers began to actively engage in sports and achieved some success. It so harmoniously happened that the area of their scientific interests became sports genetics. Since 2002, they have been conducting research aimed at studying human physical abilities and genetic predisposition to various sports. Self-knowledge is part of these studies. Oleg Glotov was quite successful in kettlebell lifting, but after testing himself with the help of genetic markers, he realized that athletics was more suitable for him: he discovered the makings of a stayer in himself.

What is the scientific basis for predisposition to various sports? An important milestone in the development of sports genetics is considered to be the work of the English biologist Human Montgomery, who approximately 15 years ago conducted the first research on genetic testing of athletes. Montgomery examined the DNA of climbers who conquered peaks of seven and eight thousand without oxygen masks, the most resilient soldiers of the British army and ordinary, average Englishmen who did not suffer from cardiovascular diseases. In 1989, based on the results of his research, Montgomery published an article in the scientific journal Nature in which he reported that the ACE gene - angiotensin-converting enzyme - is responsible for the endurance of athletes. An enzyme with such a complex name is involved in the regulation of the lumen of blood vessels, which ultimately affects blood pressure and affects the efficiency of blood supply to skeletal muscles.

The activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) in body tissues is determined by “variants” (polymorphism) of the gene for this enzyme, which are designated as I (from the English insertion) and D (from the English deletion - loss). So it turned out that genotype I/I is the hardiest. It is precisely this genotype, as the studies of the Glotov brothers show, that “disposes” to the best achievements among cyclists and long-distance runners. The D/D genotype is optimal for sprinters, wrestlers, and weightlifters.

Sports qualities are only 25-30% determined by environmental conditions. The main contribution is made by genetics.

Currently, more than 200 genes have been identified that are associated with hereditary human physical abilities. Among them are 27 genes for “endurance”, 14 genes for “muscle strength, reaction speed and coordinated response”, 10 genes for “increased performance” and 13 genes indicating the presence of contraindications to sports. Genetic testing allows for preliminary selection of children with pronounced hereditary athletic abilities. In addition, based on the test results, it is possible to create individual training programs for professional athletes. And one more important point: testing allows you to identify people with hereditary contraindications to sports and prevent undesirable health consequences.

Oleg and Andrey Glotov are actively involved in the development of the “athlete’s genetic passport”. “We have more than 30 genetic markers at our disposal that allow us to assess genetic inclinations and give specific practical recommendations,” says Oleg.

Currently, famous Russian athletes Andrei Arshavin, Nikolai Valuev, Nina Abrosova, and Yulia Bereznikova have received genetic passports. In the spring of 2011, the Coordinating Genetic Council was formed under the All-Russian Tennis Federation, which included five leading genetic centers in the country.

Genomic technologies for history, criminology and life in Russia

Genomic technologies are of great importance for conducting various examinations. Thus, in 2008, the Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On State Genomic Registration in the Russian Federation” was adopted, according to which the creation of a federal database of genomic information within the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation began. A research group of biologists from nine leading research centers under the leadership of the director of the Institute of General Genetics. N.I. Vavilov, corresponding member of the RAS Nikolai Yankovsky examined 17 populations with a total number of 1156 people from various regions of Russia - the European part, the North Caucasus, the Volga-Ural region, Siberia. Among them are representatives of various linguistic groups and anthropological types, including Komi, Mari, Khakass, Bashkirs, Tatars, Chuvash, Dargins, Avars, Lezgins, Ukrainians, Belarusians, as well as the urban Russian population of Moscow, Belgorod, Orel, Orenburg, Yaroslavl and Tomsk.

DNA analysis in medical forensic examination is carried out in two stages. DNA from samples is first analyzed and then compared to DNA from suspects or relatives. If the genotypes do not match, it means that the samples under study do not belong to the intended person (with some probability). If the genotypes coincide, then the probability of their random coincidence must be taken into account. To do this, genetic analysis data are compared with genetic markers of so-called reference groups of people, which are used as a standard. And information about reference groups is taken from specialized databases.

So far, our country uses the US genetic database as a standard. But a study by scientists from the Institute of General Genetics. N.I. Vavilova RAS revealed significant differences between Russian populations and American ones. As the leading researcher of the genome analysis laboratory of the Institute of General Genetics named after. N.I. Vavilova RAS Svetlana Borinskaya, work on creating a federal database of genomic information helped to establish the identity of the criminal who committed a terrorist attack at Domodedovo airport in January 2011. “We were sent the DNA of the terrorist for examination, and we compared it with our database. The results of the genetic analysis pointed to a certain village in the Caucasus,” she explained.

DNA analysis methods were also used to identify the remains of members of the Romanov royal family. These works, carried out under the guidance of Doctor of Biological Sciences E. I. Rogaev, head of the laboratory of molecular genetics of the brain at the Scientific Center for Mental Health of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, were published in the scientific journals “PNAS”, “Science”, “Acta Naturae” in 2009.

DNA networks

Having outlined the range of questions that genomics is able to answer today, and having outlined the underwater part of the iceberg, which prompts some geneticists to exclaim in despair: “The genetic information in the chromosome lives some kind of stormy life of its own, which we have yet to understand!”, Let us turn our attention to those , who, looking into the future, prepares the ground for systematizing the accumulated data.

A recent graduate of MIPT, Sergei Musienko, having completed an intensive course of study at Singularity University - an educational center based in the very center of Silicon Valley, California, on a NASA base - in 2011 he organized a startup for creating social networks based on genotyping results, which he called “Primerlife”. " Recently, the project was officially awarded the status of a resident of the Skolkovo IT cluster.

The goal of the project is to unite people based on the similarity of DNA analysis results.

Based on genome analysis, Sergei Musienko believes, people could easily unite into interest groups. “If you believe the growing number of scientific reports that molecular biologists have identified genes for predisposition to various diseases, sports achievements, and even discovered a “gene for the ability to stock exchange speculation,” then,” says the project leader, “people will want to unite in social groups, this is for them.” characteristic."

Sergei Musienko also understands the ethical aspects that should be taken into account when creating such a project. As a negative illustration, he cited the plot of the film “Gattaca”: “Donate your blood for analysis - and then work as a cleaner for the rest of your life. This shouldn't happen. In the USA, for example, there have already been precedents, and the government adopted an act “On the prohibition of discrimination based on the results of genetic analysis.”

At the moment, funding for the project has not yet begun, the developers are still using personal savings, but they have already made significant progress - the closed beta testing stage has begun. The first version of the product will be released in English.

At the meeting, this project was actively discussed by researchers, journalists, and representatives of the business community. In particular, everyone was interested in the question of whether the creation of such genetic services would lead to the opposite result - desocialization of the population as a whole. Opinions were divided. Obviously, in this case only practice can become a criterion of truth. We will eagerly watch the rapid development of the new branch of biomedicine.

There are approximately 75 trillion cells in the human body. All DNA molecules in one cell contain about 3.3 billion nucleotide pairs. If you build a chain of these molecules, you will get a thread 2 meters long. The total length of all DNA molecules in the human body is approximately 10 11 kilometers!

It is known that acute, and even more so chronic stress increases the risk of developing cardiovascular, cancer and some mental diseases. It was recently discovered that people with a certain genotype (scientists called it the IL6 GG-174 genotype) under stress significantly increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and cancer, as well as Alzheimer's disease. Without stress, this genotype does not manifest itself. In addition, a genetically predetermined type of reaction to psychological stress increases the risk of developing hypertension by up to 30%.

Video materials for the article are on the portal of the journal “Science and Life” in the “Video” section

The events of the High Technologies media club are supported by the Skolkovo Foundation.

Information partner is the Prosveshcheniye TV channel.

Gregg Braden reports astounding information about three DNA experiments that prove that a DNA molecule can be healed by a person's "feelings" (Experiment #3). In his recently developed program, Healing Hearts - Healing Nations: The Science of Peace and the Power of Prayer, Gregg Braden says that in the past we have lost a lot of information about ancient spiritual traditions: after the fire at the Library of Alexandria, at least 523,000 documents were lost. But perhaps there is information related to those ancient teachings that could help us understand some of the secrets of science. Gregg Braden, a scientist and engineer, reports three very interesting experiments.

Experiment No. 1

A specialist in the field of quantum biology, Vladimir Poponin, published the results of an experiment he conducted at the Russian Academy of Sciences together with colleagues, including Pyotr Garyaev. The article was published in the USA. It describes the direct impact of human DNA on physical objects, carried out, according to the authors, through some new energy substance 8. I think that this energetic substance is not so “new”. It has existed from time immemorial, but it was not recorded by previously available instruments.

Poponin repeated his experiment in one of the American laboratories. This is what he writes about the so-called “phantom DNA effect” he discovered: “In our opinion, this discovery has enormous potential for explaining and deeper understanding of the mechanisms that underlie subtle energetic phenomena, in particular, those observed in alternative medical practices.” 9 .

Human DNA samples were then placed into the tube. And then the photons behaved in a completely unexpected way. It seemed that DNA, thanks to some invisible force, was organizing them into ordered structures. There was no explanation for this phenomenon in the arsenal of classical physics. And yet, the study showed that human DNA has a direct impact on the quantum basis of the material world.

Another surprise awaited the scientists when they extracted DNA from the tube. It was logical to assume that the photons would return to their original chaotic arrangement. According to Michelson-Morley's research (their experiment was described above), nothing else could have happened. But instead, scientists discovered a completely different picture: the photons exactly preserved the order specified by the DNA molecule 10.

In the final part of the article, Poponin writes: “My colleagues and I are forced to accept the working hypothesis that during the experiment the action of some new field structure was excited.” Since the observed effect was associated with the presence of living material, this phenomenon was called the “phantom DNA effect.” The field structure found by Poponin is very reminiscent of Planck’s “matrix”, as well as the descriptions found in ancient texts.

What conclusion can we draw from Polonin's experiment? The main characters of this experiment are a man and his DNA, which at the quantum level is capable of influencing the world around us and the entire Universe.

Summary of the experiment № 1. This experiment is important for us for a number of reasons. First of all, it shows the direct connection between DNA and the energy from which the world is created. Here are the most significant conclusions that can be drawn based on the phenomenon observed in this experiment:

There is an energy field that has not yet been detected.
Through this energy field, DNA influences matter.

So, under the strictest laboratory control conditions, it was demonstrated that DNA changes the behavior of particles of light - the basis of all things. We have become convinced of what has long been discussed in spiritual literature - our own ability to influence the world around us. In the context of the next two experiments, this conclusion will take on even greater significance.

Experiment No. 2

In 1993 the magazine Advances published a report on research conducted in the US Army 12. The purpose of these studies was to determine the influence of a person's feelings on samples of his DNA placed at a distance 13. A tissue sample containing DNA was taken from the subject's mouth. The sample was placed in another room of the same building in a special chamber equipped with electrical sensors that recorded what changes occurred in the observed material in response to the feelings of the subject located several hundred meters away.

Then the subject was shown a special selection of video materials that evoked the strongest feelings in a person - from brutal war documentaries to comedic and erotic stories.

At the moments of emotional “peaks” of the test subject, samples of his DNA, which, we repeat, were located at a distance of hundreds of meters, reacted with strong electromagnetic excitations. In other words, they behaved as if they were still part of the host organism. But why?

Shortly after returning, I was scheduled to speak at a conference in Los Angeles. It was clear that in such a situation very few people would come to the conference, but its organizers decided not to change the program. Our fears were justified on the first day: it seemed that the speakers were speaking for each other.

My talk was about the interconnectedness of things, and as a final example I referred to an experiment in the US Army. During lunch, a man who introduced himself as Dr. Cleve Baxter approached me, thanked me for my talk, and told me that he was the designer of this DNA experiment as part of a larger research project. His research in the military field began after pioneering work on the effects of human feelings on plants. Dr. Baxter told me that after the US Army closed the research project, he and his team continued the same research at much greater distances.

They started from a distance of 350 miles, using an atomic clock in Colorado to measure the time between the subject's emotional stimulus and the reaction of his DNA sample. So, there was no time gap between the emotional stimulus and the electrical stimulation of DNA, separated by hundreds of miles. Everything happened simultaneously] Regardless of the distance, the DNA samples reacted as if they were still part of the subject's body. As Baxter's colleague, Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, so eloquently put it, "There is no place where our body really ends or begins."

So-called common sense tells us that such an effect is impossible. Where does he come from? After all, the experiment of Michelson and Morley in 1887 showed that there is no field connecting all things to each other. From a common sense point of view, if any tissue, organ or bone is physically separated from the body, there will be no connection between them. But it turns out that in reality this is not the case.

Summary of the experiment № 2. Baxter's experiment makes you think about serious and even a little scary things. Since we cannot completely separate even the smallest part of the human body, does this mean that after an organ is transplanted from one person to another, they become connected to each other?

That's why this experiment is so important to us. It also makes you think about the following: if the test subject's DNA sample responds to his feelings, then there must be something that serves as a conductor for such signals, right?

Maybe yes, maybe not. It is possible that the results of Baxter's experiment lead to a completely different conclusion - so simple that it is easy to miss. It is likely that the subject's emotional signals were not supposed to move anywhere. Why not assume that the subject's feelings arose not only in his mind, but also all around him, including in a sample of his DNA removed at a great distance? In saying this, I'm briefly highlighting some amazing possibilities that we'll talk about in more detail in Chapter 3.

Be that as it may, Baxter's experiment proves the following:

Experiment No. 3

Despite the fact that the effect of feelings on human health and immunity has been noted by various spiritual traditions since time immemorial, it has only recently been scientifically proven.

In 1991, staff at the Institute of HeartMath developed a program to study the effects of feelings on the body. At the same time, the main attention of researchers was directed to the place where feelings arise, namely, to the human heart. This pioneering research has been published in prestigious journals and is frequently cited in scientific papers 15 .

One of the most striking achievements of the Institute was the discovery of an energy field concentrating around the heart and extending beyond the body, having the shape of a torus with a diameter of one and a half to two and a half meters (see Fig. 2). Although it cannot be said that this field is prana, described in the Sanskrit tradition, perhaps it originates precisely from it.

Rice. 2. The illustration shows the shape and approximate size of the energy field around the human heart. (Courtesy of the HeartMath Institute.)

from the book by Gregg Braden

The Divine Matrix: Time, Space and the Power of Consciousness

...here the description of Experiment No. 3 in the book is interrupted and I found its description on another site (author's note).

EXPERIMENT #3

The third experiment was conducted by the Institute of Heart Mathematics, and the report written about this experiment is called "Local and Non-Local Effects of Coherent Heart Frequencies on DNA Conformational Changes." (Don't mind the title! The information itself is amazing!)

This experiment is directly related to anthrax. Some placental DNA (the oldest form of DNA) was placed in a container in which its changes could be measured. Trained participants in the experiment, each of whom was capable of experiencing strong emotions, were given 28 vials of this DNA. All participants in the experiment were instructed how to reproduce and experience the “necessary” feelings.

It was found that depending on the feelings of the researchers DNA CHANGED ITS SHAPE.

When researchers FELT gratitude, love and appreciation, the DNA TENSION DECREASED and the spiral straightened out and became longer.

When researchers FELT fear, anger, disappointment or were experiencing stress, then the DNA TWISTED and DENSIFIED. It became shorter and TURNED OFF many of our DNA codes! If you have ever felt "switched off" by negative emotions, now you understand why your body was "switched off" in the same way.

The DNA codes were turned on when participants again experienced feelings of love, joy, gratitude and admiration.

Later, this experiment was carried out with HIV-positive patients. It was found that experiencing feelings of love, gratitude and admiration increased the body's RESISTANCE by 300,000 times. Here lies the answer that will help you always feel good, no matter what terrible virus or bacteria is around you. Remain in a state of joy, love and admiration!

These emotional changes go far beyond known electromagnetic phenomena. People who know how to experience feelings of deep love are able to change the shape of their DNA. Gregg Braden says this illustrates the recognition of a new form of energy that connects all of creation.

This energy appears to be a DENSELY WOVEN NETWORK that connects everything material. Essentially, we are able to influence this web of creation through our VIBRATIONS.

CONCLUSIONS:

What do these experiments have in common with the current situation? There's science behind it all that determines how we can choose the right time to stay safe, no matter what's going on around us.

As Gregg Braden explains in The Isaiah Effect, time not only has linear characteristics (past, present and future), it also has depth. The depth of time consists of all possible prayers that could ever be and have been offered. In fact, all our prayers have already been answered. We only activate one of them, experiencing it with our FEELINGS. THIS IS HOW we create our reality - we choose it with our feelings. Our senses activate time through the web of creation that connects all energy and matter in the Universe.

Remember the Universal law that we attract to ourselves what we focus our attention on? If you focus on fear, you are sending a signal to the Universe to give you what you fear. But if you tune in to feelings of joy, love, gratitude or admiration, and focus on bringing more of these qualities into your life, then you will automatically be able to avoid all the negativity.

With your feelings you will choose a different TIME INTERVAL.

You can prevent the possibility of getting anthrax or the flu, and other viral and other diseases, if you strive to experience only positive feelings that can keep your immune system at an incredibly high level.

This way you get protection from anything: find something that will make you happy every day, or hour, or just a few minutes a day. This is the easiest and best protection you can have.

TWO WOLVES

The old Indian told his grandson how he experienced the tragedy. He said: “I feel as if two wolves are fighting in my heart. One wolf is vengeful, angry and cruel. The other is loving and compassionate.”

The grandson asked: “Which of the wolves will win this fight in your heart?”

The old man replied: “The one I feed.”

Gregg Braden

Human DNA and its influence on human destiny

Today I would like to provide you with very interesting information about human DNA and its influence on a person’s destiny. Get acquainted with materials from the book by Gregg Braden - “The Divine Matrix: Time, Space and the Power of Consciousness.”

Experiment No. 1

A specialist in the field of quantum biology, Vladimir Poponin, published the results of an experiment he conducted at the Russian Academy of Sciences together with colleagues, including Pyotr Garyaev. The article was published in the USA. It describes the direct impact of human DNA on physical objects, carried out, according to the authors, through some new energy substance. I think that this energetic substance is not so “new”. It has existed from time immemorial, but it was not recorded by previously available instruments.

In the experiment of Poponin and Garyaev, the effect of DNA on particles of light (photons) - the quantum building blocks that make up everything in our world - was studied. All the air was pumped out of the glass tube, creating an artificial vacuum in it. It is traditionally believed that vacuum means empty space, but at the same time it is known that photons still remain there. Using special sensors, scientists determined the location of photons in the tube. As expected, they chaotically occupied all of her space. Human DNA samples were then placed into the tube. And then the photons behaved in a completely unexpected way. It seemed that DNA, thanks to some invisible force, was organizing them into ordered structures. There was no explanation for this phenomenon in the arsenal of classical physics. And yet, the study showed that human DNA has a direct impact on the quantum basis of the material world.

Poponin and his colleagues had a difficult task - to explain what they observed. What continues to affect the photons when the DNA is removed from the tube? Maybe the DNA molecule left something behind, some kind of force that retains its effect even after its physical source has moved? Or maybe the researchers encountered some mystical phenomenon? Is there some connection left between DNA and photons after their separation that we are unable to detect? In the final part of the article, Poponin writes: “My colleagues and I are forced to accept the working hypothesis that during the experiment the action of some new field structure was excited.” Since the observed effect was associated with the presence of living material, the phenomenon was called the “phantom DNA effect.” The field structure found by Poponin is very reminiscent of Planck’s “matrix”, as well as descriptions found in ancient texts. What conclusion can we draw from Polonin's experiment? The main characters of this experiment are man and his DNA, which at the quantum level is capable of influencing the world around us and the entire Universe.

Summary of Experiment No. 1.

This experiment is important for us for a number of reasons. First of all, it shows the direct connection between DNA and the energy from which the world is created. Here are the most significant conclusions that can be drawn based on the phenomenon observed in this experiment:

There is an energy field that has not yet been detected.

Through this energy field, DNA influences matter. So, under the strictest laboratory control conditions, it was demonstrated that DNA changes the behavior of particles of light - the basis of all things. We have become convinced of what has long been discussed in spiritual literature - our own ability to influence the world around us. In the context of the next two experiments, this conclusion will take on even greater significance.

Experiment No. 2

In 1993, Advances magazine published a report on research conducted by the US Army. The purpose of these studies was to determine the influence of a person's feelings on samples of his DNA placed at a distance. A tissue sample containing DNA was taken from the subject's mouth. The sample was placed in another room of the same building in a special chamber equipped with electrical sensors that recorded what changes occurred in the observed material in response to the feelings of the subject located several hundred meters away.

Then the subject was shown a special selection of video materials that evoked the strongest feelings in a person - from brutal war documentaries to comedic and erotic stories.

In connection with this experiment I must make one remark. During the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I was on tour in Australia. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, it became clear to me that I had returned to a completely different country from which I had left ten days earlier. No one was traveling - the airports and parking lots in front of them were empty. Shortly after returning, I was scheduled to speak at a conference in Los Angeles. It was clear that in such a situation very few people would come to the conference, but its organizers decided not to change the program. Our fears were justified on the first day: it seemed that the speakers were speaking for each other.

They started from a distance of 350 miles, using an atomic clock in Colorado to measure the time between the subject's emotional stimulus and the reaction of his DNA sample. So, there was no time gap between the emotional stimulus and the electrical stimulation of DNA, separated by hundreds of miles. Everything happened simultaneously. Regardless of the distance, the DNA samples reacted as if they remained part of the test subject's body. As Baxter's colleague, Dr. Jeffrey Thompson, so eloquently put it, "There is no place where our body really ends or begins."

Summary of Experiment No. 2.

Baxter's experiment makes you think about serious and even a little scary things. Since we cannot completely separate even the smallest part of the human body, does this mean that after an organ is transplanted from one person to another, they become connected to each other?

Every day, most of us come into contact with dozens or even hundreds of people. And every time we shake a person’s hand, their skin cells and DNA remain on our palm. We, in turn, pass on our DNA to him. Does this mean that we maintain a connection with all those people with whom we happen to come into physical contact? And if so, how deep is this connection? We must answer the first question in the affirmative: yes, the connection remains. As for its depth, here, apparently, the whole point is how much we are aware of it. That's why this experiment is so important to us. It also makes you think about the following: if the test subject's DNA sample responds to his feelings, then there must be something that serves as a conductor for such signals, right? Maybe yes, maybe not. It is possible that the results of Baxter's experiment lead to a completely different conclusion - so simple that it is easy to miss. It is likely that the subject's emotional signals were not supposed to move anywhere. Why not assume that the subject's feelings arose not only in his mind, but also all around him, including in a sample of his DNA removed at a great distance? In saying this, I'm briefly highlighting some amazing possibilities that we'll talk about in more detail next.

Be that as it may, Baxter's experiment proves the following:

Living tissues are connected by a previously unknown energy field.
Through this energy field, the cells of the body and the isolated DNA samples maintain communication with each other.
Human feelings have a direct effect on the isolated DNA samples.
This effect is equally evident at any distance.

Experiment No. 3

Despite the fact that the effect of feelings on human health and immunity has been noted by various spiritual traditions since time immemorial, it has only recently been scientifically proven. In 1991, staff at the Institute of HeartMath developed a program to study the effects of feelings on the body. At the same time, the main attention of researchers was directed to the place where feelings arise, namely, to the human heart. This groundbreaking research has been published in prestigious journals and is frequently cited in scientific papers. One of the most striking achievements of the Institute was the discovery of an energy field concentrating around the heart and extending beyond the body, having the shape of a torus with a diameter of one and a half to two and a half meters (see Fig. 1).

Rice. 1. The illustration shows the shape and approximate size of the energy field around the human heart. (Courtesy of the HeartMath Institute.)

Although it cannot be said that this field is the prana described in the Sanskrit tradition, it is possible that it originates from it.

The experiment was carried out between 1992 and 1995. Scientists placed a sample of human DNA in a test tube and exposed it to what are called coherent senses. Leading experts on this experiment, Glen Raine and Rolin McCarthy, explain that a coherent emotional state can be induced at will “using a special self-control technique that allows you to calm the mind, move it to the heart and focus on positive experiences.” The experiment involved five subjects specially trained in this technique.

The results of the experiment are indisputable. Human feelings actually change the shape of the DNA molecule in a test tube! Participants in the experiment influenced her with a combination of “directed intention, unconditional love and a special mental image of a DNA molecule” - in other words, without physically touching her. According to one scientist, “different feelings have different effects on the DNA molecule, causing it to twist and unwind.” Obviously, these conclusions are completely inconsistent with the ideas of traditional science.

We are accustomed to the idea that the DNA in our body is unchanged, and we consider it a completely stable structure (unless we influence it with drugs, chemicals or electromagnetic radiation). They say, “what we received at birth is what we live with.” This experiment showed that such ideas are far from the truth. And here is the information Mark Ifraimov posted on his blog.

blind service

In 1983, American Barbara McClintock received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the discovery of mobile elements of the genome (transposing genetic systems).”

Thirty years before the award, in 1951, she was able to clearly formulate a model of the genetic system. If you are interested in describing this discovery in scientific language, you can read about it here. I will describe this discovery to you in simple language. Before Barbara McClintock's discovery, there was a common idea of the genome as a STATIC set of rules passed on from generation to generation.

Genome - the totality of hereditary material contained in the cell of an organism. The genome contains the biological information necessary to build and maintain an organism.

McClintock proved that DNA contains migratory genes that, under the influence of stress, can change their location and thereby regulate the survival of the species. In her Nobel lecture, McClintock said that “shocks” to genetic material—everything from cellular insults and viral infections to environmental changes—“caused the genome to rearrange itself” to cope with the threat. Our own emotions and beliefs, as well as those we inherit from our ancestors, influence our DNA...

In the simplest terms, our genes react to emotions and mutate as a result, passing on information about the mutation to subsequent generations so that they can survive.

So that you can transfer this knowledge to your life, I will give a simple example that clearly demonstrates why many women cannot create a relationship with a man. 1943 A woman receives a funeral for her beloved husband. She experiences grief, the collapse of all her feminine hopes for happiness in the family. I don’t want to live, the pain in my soul crushes me like a stone, and there is no way out: there are children left who, no matter what, must be raised and raised. A woman’s body experiences enormous stress, her cells mutate, remembering information: When you lose a man, it becomes unbearably painful.

Having lost her breadwinner and the hope of being a happy woman, she herself becomes the main breadwinner in the family, working, working, working. This makes it easier to survive loneliness, forget yourself and not think about yourself.

Years go by and her daughter grows up and finds a life partner, gets married, and has children. It would seem that everything bad was forgotten along with the war. Children grow up enjoying the gaze of their parents and the heroine of our story, who has already become a grandmother.

Grandmother, as before, gives all of herself to her children and grandchildren. She did not marry, believing that a woman should devote time to her family, and not to her boyfriends. And there weren’t really any, to be honest.

The time has come for my granddaughter to get married, and she seems fine and stately, but her relationship with her chosen ones is not working out. This one doesn’t suit her, the other one runs away on its own, and the third one is absolutely neither fish nor fowl. And now she’s 36. There’s fear in her soul, she doesn’t want to spend her life without a family. Most of all, she dreams of giving her love to her only and desired one, but...

Every time a relationship arises, she... becomes dumb. It’s as if a somnambulist becomes confused and freezes, although without noticing it. And when a man tells her that she is indifferent, he begins to reproach him for being like that himself. Like, he can’t accept her for who she is and everyone demands something from her. “Men have become weaker, they have become weaker“, she complains to her elderly grandmother.

If they both knew that grandma's decision: “When you lose a man, it hurts unbearably” now controls the fate of her granddaughter, But the decision was made so long ago that it is forgotten in the depths of the subconscious and... DNA chains.

Outside is what's deep inside. Many people have heard this truth, but they do not know what their genes conceal. Again and again, wishing for a bright, happy life, thinking about our dreams, we seem to begin to light up with enthusiasm, but after a second or two something vague and incomprehensible puts us into a stupor and we begin to switch to current affairs, as if they are more important than our dreams .

So we faithfully serve the one who once before us, the first in our family, forbade himself the same dream. His beliefs have become ours, we carry his DNA within us.

He doesn’t really need our childish blind service to this ancestor. The grandmother does not need her granddaughter to be lonely like she is, but the grandmother’s decision is the inevitability of the granddaughter’s fate.

The familiar becomes inevitable because it is part of our being. We are made up of it with our DNA, our genetic building blocks.

The inevitability of the granddaughter's lonely fate will continue until she resents her confusion, until she wants to deal with the reason why she cannot get what she wants.

Every time, looking at things that are familiar to you: salary, relationships, health, your own status in society, ask yourself: Does this suit me?

And through the tight control of your DNA, clouding your mind, feel that maybe inside you there is a protest against the usual and inevitable?

And if there is still a protest, just tell yourself: I can get what I want. I can start a different life.

Just think like this. Say it out loud. Begin to “sculpt” your soul, consciously, making efforts, voluntarily making the decision to develop and become WHAT YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO BE.

There are already ways in the world to correct DNA mutations. You need to find that ancestor who refused to be happy and became a victim of circumstances. Find him and accept him into your heart. Because you already love him. You serve him all your life. But only unconsciously. So now serve for real. With love in my heart. Doing what he failed.

This ancestor will begin to help you and now the two of you together with him will achieve your common goal. The path will become both happier and faster.

In the program “Secrets of the World with Anna Chapman” dated 08/01/2013,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmkytxVmHWs

scientists have convincingly shown that words and DNA are created according to the same principles. That is, DNA chains are “sentences” that record, like words, a person’s experience.

In the video, pay attention to the words of Peter Garyaev: “The chromosomes themselves are built on the principle of human speech.” In other words, chromosomes consist of “letters” that can be used to rewrite records of fate DURING LIFE. And these altered records (mutations) will influence the younger ones, making life easier or more difficult for them.

It turns out that DNA is a kind of Book of Fate, which not only stores information about the experiences of elders, but is CONSTANTLY REWRITTEN, depending on the emotions experienced by a person.

Watch the video, a lot will become clear.

I would like the reader to understand the main idea: Feelings and emotions cannot be suppressed. Repressed feelings become negative programs for your children.

Live your feelings, share your experiences with loved ones, talk about what worries you.

Remember: what the ancestors suppressed is revealed by the children. Do you want what is hidden deep inside your subconscious to become the reality of your children?

DNA changes throughout life! With your feelings, you yourself write programs for children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, who will be forced to relive your feelings and the feelings of your parents, grandparents, if you are not aware of your experience.

And finally, the good news: if DNA is influenced by feelings and changes throughout life,

And in conclusion

...A scientific discovery made in the late 90s of the twentieth century. This discovery was considered very (simply very!) significant - that’s why it was awarded the Nobel Prize (for 2002)

We are talking about the discovery of the death gene.

Relieve tension. This is just an unpleasant name, in fact, the gene discovered by scientists is more responsible for life - after all, it regulates a mechanism called “apoptosis” *, without which the process of regeneration (tissue renewal) is impossible.

*Apoptosis is a phenomenon without which life itself would be impossible.

Apoptosis begins to work already in human embryos, when, in the process of formation, in accordance with higher logic, the cells of the gills, tail and other rudimentary organs disappear. In the process of life, apoptosis acts as a wise orderly - it removes old cells, and directs their bioenergetic material to the construction of new cells. The discovery of the death gene (what can you do - that's what they called it) caused two opposing emotions in scientific circles: some experienced panic fear, while others experienced passionate hope.

Why were the only ones scared? And why were others so inspired? But we just thought about the topic of the natural mechanisms of behavior of “spent” cells.

... It is known that a cell, which, as they say, has outlived its usefulness, can leave this world according to one of two scenarios.

First scenario- this is apoptosis, which we have already discussed, when the death of an old cell brings maximum benefit to the offspring - the dying cell gives its biomaterial to its children, and even provides them with powerful energy, which arises in large quantities during the disintegration of the cell nucleus. Agree - truly selfless behavior. Truly parental - perish yourself, and provide for the offspring.

Second scenario– this is cell necrosis. In this scenario, the old cell is NOT commanded to die "apoptotic". During necrosis, the cell is deprived of power - it is, as it were, turned off. And from this the cell begins to decompose. And there is no longer any selfless feat in the name of the lives of others, there is no energy, but there is pure pathology - a cell that dies in the scenario of necrosis becomes a source of infection. Such a cell lays the foundation of the disease.

...In itself, information about apoptosis and necrosis can be interesting, but only partly, and only for specialists - for ordinary people, both apoptosis and necrosis often seem like just an empty phrase. If not for this soul-tickling circumstance: the cell does NOT choose the scenario of its death itself. The cell dies, following a clear command. And there are no accidents in this matter - this is a strictly balanced decision. Who (or what) gives the command? And who (or what) decides which command to give to the cell: to die beneficially or to die and form a disease?

... I will not unravel the long chain along which scientists get to the answers to these questions - these searches cannot be described in simple words, and with scientific calculations I risk putting you to sleep. But I have a completely different task. That's why I won't go around the corner.

Here are the preliminary conclusions that scientists came to: Both scenarios for the death of old cells are embedded in the death gene. At the same time, apoptosis is an automatic function, and the gene performs it independently.

But necrosis... Necrosis is a dormant function. And the gene itself cannot awaken this function. It is activated by the DNA command. Then he gives the command for DNA necrosis...

Attention!

The necrosis scenario occurs in the presence of persistent energy of negative emotions! Do you understand?! When the energy of negative emotions becomes dominant (i.e. there is more of it in a period than the energy of positive emotions), DNA forms a decay program - and transfers it to the death gene (an unfortunate name, after all). With this transfer, the function of necrosis is brought out of the dormant state.

And she doesn’t just wake up - the necrosis function becomes constantly active. (i.e., more and more cells are commanded to die in a necrosis scenario)

There is a significant addition: the function is active up to special orders of DNA - in the sense that DNA, under certain conditions, can “unmount” the decay program and “revoke the powers” of the executor gene. And then the necrosis function falls asleep again.

This is an assumption. But it’s no longer shaky. Because it has a solid basis - the placebo effect. We have yet to discover the secret of this magical effect - and then we will receive the key to arbitrary control of our own health.

But the function of necrosis always remains potential - they say, just let me know that you are dissatisfied with life, and I will do everything - I will fill you with necrotic cells, and they will stop your biological life.

...Of course, there are still heated debates about these conclusions. And of course, these conclusions cannot be called fully empirical - while they are branded as hypothetical (supposed). Just as they stigmatize those scientists who, having examined the shadow of a continuation of the helix in the structure of DNA, are firmly convinced that the biochemical level is only a tiny part of what we know about our genome.

And that this part is controlled by the spiritual component of DNA.

However, disputes have a clear tendency to fade - after all, no one doubts that the most active destructive processes are triggered by negative emotions.

And there are simply no stronger destroyers. (Only chemicals can compete with them)

There is no longer any doubt that relying on “magic” pills and injections (invented and not yet) is simply extremely naive - after all, the chest opens in the wrong place.

But you know: this is a spear that is equally sharpened at both ends - where we direct, we achieve. The simplest conclusion that can be drawn from all this scientific information is that we ourselves are the creators of our reality. click here with your mouse

Couldn't find a solution to your situation using this article?

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Tired of walking in a vicious circle and stepping on the same rake?

There are countless medical myths surrounding stem cells. Many sites offer cell treatment as a way to get rid of any health problems, including sleep disorders, alcoholism and, most temptingly, aging of the body! Academ.info correspondent found out what scientists’ views and forecasts are on the use of stem cells in medicine Dina Golubeva.

“Rejuvenation of the body with the help of stem cells is probably the most popular myth,” - on this issue the participants of the spring meeting at the press center on Vertkovskaya were in solidarity with each other. Doctor of Biological Sciences Suren Zakiyan called clinics' flashy promises to prevent aging "quackery." The director of the Institute of Clinical Immunology of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences was no less categorical. Vladimir Kozlov.

“Introducing stem cells cannot extend life, this is a myth and pseudoscience! Of course, people buy into promises to slow down the aging process, but today this is impossible,” said Academician Kozlov.

What are stem cells?

Cells of different organs and tissues: muscle, nerve, liver - differ from each other. Stem cells do not have characteristic features of belonging to a specific tissue, but can develop into different cells of the body. This property is maximally manifested in embryonic stem cells, which exist only in the early stages of embryo development, but are capable of forming cells of any organs and tissues.

The body of a newborn baby, subsequently a teenager and an adult also contains stem cells, but there are much fewer of them compared to an embryo. Moreover, the capabilities of such “adult” or regional (tissue- or organ-specific) stem cells are limited. They develop only into certain types of cells, for example, blood, skin, intestinal mucosa.

In addition to “transformations”, stem cells are capable of self-renewal - dividing, forming new stem cells.

What will we be treated for?

Proposals to be cured by introducing regional and embryonic stem cells are countless. The list of problems that they promise to get rid of includes cancer, bronchial asthma, cerebral palsy, AIDS, epilepsy, schizophrenia, Down syndrome, menopause, alcoholism, mental retardation... At the same time, prices for treatment in various clinics vary from 30 thousand to half a million rubles.

“Today in the world there are no lines of embryonic stem cells that could be used for treatment,” Vladimir Kozlov and Suren Zakiyan unanimously stated.

While the experts were unanimous in their views on embryonic stem cells, they disagreed on the issues of treatment with regional stem cells.

« Back in the middle of the last century, the method of treating radiation sickness was bone marrow transplantation. These were the stem cells that restored blood cells and immunity after radiation or chemotherapy, said Academician Kozlov. – Today we use regional stem cells to treat a range of diseases. We have been treating for a long time and, I am not afraid of this word, “treating” cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction».

During this speech, Suren Zakiyan became nervous and intervened:

« One thing is a bone marrow transplant, the use of stem cells to treat hemoblastoses (malignant tumors of hematopoietic tissue). Such work is widely known and has been done for many years. But treating other diseases with stem cells is useless and, moreover, risky! Cells introduced into the patient's body can begin to divide uncontrollably and lead to the formation of tumors».

« These are overly pessimistic statements, - Vladimir Alexandrovich was indignant. – We have been using stem cells for treatment for 10 years. Our many years of experience tell us that they never turn into unsuitable fabrics».

« As an experimenter, I can say that the biggest problem is targeted delivery. You will obtain stem cells and inject them into the circulatory system or even into the affected organ. But where do they migrate and will the diseased cells be replaced by healthy ones? To track cell migration, animal experiments are needed", Suren Minasovich disagreed.

Hopes for the law

Despite all the disagreements, both specialists hope for the speedy adoption of the law “On the use of biomedical technologies in medical practice”, one of the requirements of which includes the mandatory characterization of cell lines by various biochemical and cytological methods.

« The law has a lot of shortcomings, but certification of lines is a huge plus. Before introducing any cells into a person, it will be necessary to show that the lines used are truly safe for health.“, Suren Zakiyan explained.

Speaking about safety, the scientist referred to the experimental work of his laboratory. More than 5 years ago, mouse stem cells were obtained there from the trophoblast (the outer cell layer of the embryo). The cells were injected subcutaneously into mice. Biologists expected a “tumor” to appear, but the mice developed huge blisters filled with blood. The injected cells destroyed the blood vessels.

« Remember how many clinics promise to cure by introducing stem cells. It is unknown what they actually inject because the lines have not been characterized. Just imagine that the injected cell suspension will contain trophoblast stem cells».

So, today there are a number of hopes and concerns associated with both categories of stem cells, embryonic and regional. At the end of the meeting in the press center, the two participants disagreed even more as soon as they moved away from each other. Vladimir Kozlov said that stem cells can be injected simply to improve tone. Suren Zakyan noted that advances in the treatment of diabetes mellitus and liver cirrhosis are worthy of a Nobel Prize and would be known throughout the world...

Cartilage with history

The possibilities of embryonic stem cells are amazing. If science learns to control their development, then any organs and tissues can be grown in laboratory conditions. Moreover, it is not necessary to destroy embryos to obtain the corresponding cells. Japanese scientists have developed a method for obtaining stem cells from skin cells. In other words, skin cells can be returned back to the state of embryonic stem cells, from which they will not differ.

Over the past 5 years, this direction of obtaining induced (that is, initially taken not from an embryo) stem cells has developed extraordinary.

« In our laboratory, induced stem cells were obtained from neural cells of the brain of 80-day abortive material. We then cultured these cells under certain conditions and eventually obtained cartilage tissue directly in Petri dishes“- said Suren Zakiyan already in the laboratory of developmental epigenetics of the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS, of which he is the head.

It would seem that it is not far from here to the use of artificial organs in medicine, but the scientist is in no hurry to draw conclusions.

« Today there is a lot of talk about obtaining artificial cartilage, blood vessels, and bladder. This complex 3D technology requires appropriate equipment. However, obtaining organs and tissues is only the first step, because they still need to be implanted into the human body. The organ must integrate into the circulatory system and function normally».

Other work involves obtaining regional cardiac stem cells.

« Today, the laboratory has obtained human, rat, and mini-pig cardiac stem cells. You need to be sure that the resulting cells will not cause side effects during implantation. Therefore, the next stage of the experiment will be the introduction of these cells to animals. Such experiments are carried out abroad and even on a limited number of volunteers who have suffered myocardial infarction».

Plans and forecasts

The laboratory's future plans include obtaining vessels. True, this requires special instruments, and the experiments themselves are extremely expensive.

« In many countries around the world there are special centers dedicated to cell technologies. Unfortunately, there are no such centers in Russia, - said Suren Minasovich, showing a map of the world. – The issue of the Federal Cell Center on the territory of the Novosibirsk Academgorodok was repeatedly raised, but only at the end of last year scientists from the SB RAS and SB RAMS managed to agree with the state corporation Russian Technologies on the creation of a center based on the clinic (NIIPK) named after Meshalkin».

According to the scientist, the opening of a cell center operating according to world standards and equipped with modern equipment will accelerate research and coordinate the work currently being carried out by disparate medical and biological teams.

« Ideally, the patient will come to the hospital and have blood drawn or a biopsy taken, which will be sent to the cell center. From them, a patient's cell line will be obtained, which can be stored for years when frozen. The presence of cells will make it possible to study the etiology of the disease, various effects of drugs, assess the degree of risk, obtain induced stem cells and use them in preclinical trials, which, if successful, will go into clinical trials. Since we are talking about the patient’s own cells, they can be used to treat the patient and his family without fear of rejection by the immune system"- said Suren Zakiyan.

Now the cell center exists on paper in the form of a huge amount of documentation, a building construction plan and the location of rooms with the necessary equipment. However, the development of new methods of cell technology is already underway, without waiting for the opening of the center.

The scientist does not name the exact amount that will be required to equip the center. But all reagents, media and instruments are far from cheap. The laser microscope alone costs about 1 million euros. But if we are to create a Federal Cell Center, then it will be in accordance with international standards.

« Such a huge region as Siberia must have its own cellular center. In the Novosibirsk Akademgorodok there are a number of institutes of the SB RAS and SB RAMS with their own clinics, and one of the leading universities in the country, Novosibirsk State University, is located, training highly qualified personnel. Perhaps, of all the regions, we have the most favorable conditions for creating a center. With good funding, tempting visions of growing artificial organs and using cell technologies in treatment could become a reality within the next 10 years».

Remember!

What is a gene and genotype?

A gene is a fragment (section or segment) of DNA containing information about one protein molecule. A genotype is the set of all genes in an organism.

What do you know about modern advances in the field of genetics?

– Prospects for gene therapy in the treatment of vascular atherosclerosis of the lower extremities.

– Use of molecular genetic markers to diagnose a number of mental illnesses

– Treatment of a rare form of paralysis using gene therapy

– Genetics enters the battle against aging

– Genetics to help anthropologists

– Advances in stem therapy

– Discovery of the gene responsible for the development of type 1 Usher syndrome

– A new way to diagnose cancer of any type using a blood test

Review questions and assignments

1. What is a genome? Choose your own comparison criteria and compare the concepts of “genome” and “genotype”.

Genome – a set of genes contained in a single set of chromosomes of a given organism. For example, the human genome has chromosome 23. A genotype is the set of all genes in an organism in a diploid state, for example, the human genotype has 46 chromosomes.

2. What determines the existing specialization of cells?

The leading role in cell differentiation in the first stages of embryonic development is played by the cytoplasm and the surface layer of the egg, which is heterogeneous in structure. All cells of the embryo at the blastula stage are similar in gene composition (genotype), but differences in the composition of the cytoplasm ensure cell differentiation, therefore, at the gastrula stage, the cells of the embryo are specialized. It is important to emphasize that the mechanism of further specialization and the formation of tissues and organs becomes more complex and is determined by the interaction of different parts of the embryo.

3. What essential elements are included in the gene composition of a eukaryotic cell?

If a gene is a piece of DNA, it means it consists of nucleotides connected to each other.

In accordance with modern scientific concepts, a gene in eukaryotic cells encoding a specific protein always consists of several essential elements. As a rule, special regulatory regions are located at the beginning and end of the gene; they determine when, under what circumstances and in what tissues this gene will work. Such regulatory regions can additionally be located outside the gene, located quite far away, but nevertheless actively participating in its control. In addition to the regulatory zones, there is a structural part of the gene, which, in fact, contains information about the primary structure of the corresponding protein. In most eukaryotic genes it is significantly shorter than the regulatory zone.

4. Give examples of gene interaction.

As an example of gene interaction, consider how flower color is inherited in some plants. In the cells of the sweet pea corolla, a certain substance is synthesized, the so-called propigment, which, under the action of a special enzyme, can

turn into anthocyanin pigment, causing the flower to turn purple. This means that the presence of color depends on the normal functioning of at least two genes, one of which is responsible for the synthesis of propigment, and the other for the synthesis of the enzyme. A disruption in the functioning of any of these genes will lead to disruption of pigment synthesis and, as a result, to a lack of color; in this case, the corolla of the flowers will be white. Sometimes the opposite situation occurs, when one gene influences the development of several traits and properties of the organism. This phenomenon is called pleiotropy or multiple gene action. As a rule, such an effect is caused by genes whose functioning is very important in the early stages of ontogenesis. In humans, a similar example is a gene involved in the formation of connective tissue. A disruption in its functioning leads to the development of several symptoms at once (Marfan syndrome): long “spider” fingers, very high growth due to strong elongation of the limbs, high joint mobility, disruption of the structure of the lens and aneurysm (protrusion of the wall) of the aorta.

Think! Remember!

1. Mitochondria contain DNA, the genes of which encode the synthesis of many proteins necessary for the construction and functioning of these organelles. Consider how these extranuclear genes will be inherited.

In most organisms studied, mitochondria contain only circular DNA molecules; in some plants, circular DNA molecules are also present. Genes encoded in mitochondrial DNA belong to the group of plasmagens located outside the nucleus (outside the chromosome). The totality of these factors of heredity, concentrated in the cytoplasm of the cell, constitutes the plasmon of a given type of organism (as opposed to the genome). In most multicellular organisms, mitochondrial DNA is inherited through the maternal line. An egg contains several orders of magnitude more copies of mitochondrial DNA than a sperm. A sperm usually has no more than a dozen mitochondria (in humans there is one spirally twisted mitochondrion), in small sea urchin eggs there are several hundred thousand, and in large frog oocytes there are tens of millions. In addition, degradation of sperm mitochondria usually occurs after fertilization.

3. Create a portfolio on the topic “Human DNA Research: Hopes and Fears.”

The world's first digitized human genome was formed over the course of 15 years, and it cost $3 billion. Now you can get a genetic passport in 1 day and for 1 thousand dollars. However, having received the genome, you need to store it somewhere (and it weighs 1000 GB) and somehow analyze it.

DNA genetic analysis is a study of the human genome to diagnose and determine the individual risk of developing diseases and drug tolerance, as well as to obtain data about the genetic characteristics, inclinations and abilities of a person. Each person has a unique set of genes (genotype), which determines his individuality and predisposition to a particular disease.

Why do I need genetic testing? Perhaps in a couple of years this question will seem stupid to you. You're not surprised now when a doctor asks you to take a blood test, are you? And very soon, genetic analysis will be mandatory for every child in the maternity hospital and every patient who comes to the clinic. Because your DNA can determine which diseases you are predisposed to and which medications are more effective for you.

Concerns.

Geneticists from the United States, using precision gene editing technology, have made another attempt to modify the DNA of a human egg. This experiment was carried out with the aim of ridding future offspring of hereditary diseases transmitted to the embryo from the parents. A number of biological experts opposed such research. In the UK, as in many other countries, altering chromosomes in a person's egg or sperm to create an artificially inseminated embryo is illegal due to fears that "baby engineering" will be put into practice.