Parasite Eve (45 page)
Authors: Hideaki Sena
A method by which mRNA is
transcribed to DNA and selectively amplified.
A drug that lowers cholesterol in
the blood. Clofibrate also acts as a β-oxidation catalyst.
One of several metabolic pathways
in mitochondria, it fuels the reactions that generate sugar, fatty acids, and
many amino acids.
A facility where various types of
cell cultures are registered and from which cellular samples are sent out to
researchers upon request.
Long and thin as their name
implies, these cells are relatively easy to culture and can divide about 50
times in human biological systems. Even with the best equipment, one can only
get liver cells to survive for about 1-2 weeks. It is much easier to cultivate
fibroblasts to maintain a high cell count, but here Toshiaki wants to use liver
cells as per standard research practice.
The most direct method of
determining the condition of a transplanted organ. A needle is inserted into
the patient’s kidney (in Mariko’s case) and a small tissue specimen taken. A
minute sample of the extracted tissue is stained, then observed under a microscope.
In 1987, Cann and Wilson proposed
the theory that we are all descended from a single woman in Africa whom they
dubbed Mitochondrial Eve. However, this does not mean that Mitochondrial Eve
lived in isolation, but implies only that humanity originated in her and that
she thrived with many others.
Mitochondria are the birthplace
of energy. They make use of enzymes to combine with ATP. The energy used to
consummate this synthesis is stored as electricity and is called an electron
transport system (ETS). The potential for one cubic centimeter of mitochondrial
activity is 200,000 volts. When we exercise, an emission of heat can also occur
directly in mitochondria themselves. This process is what causes fever. The
proteins that facilitate this discharge are called “uncoupling proteins” and
are found in 307 amino acids. If all mitochondria in the entire body
simultaneously discharged in this manner, the heat produced would be unfathomable.
Their
membranes fused, first the outer, then the inner.
There is evidence to suggest that
when cells fuse together, each mitochondrion actually fuses as well. However,
there are also times when the latter does not occur because of mitochondrial
abnormalities. This is usually dependent on the conditions in which the fusion
takes place.
replicating
them or programming them to die at will
In the cells of “higher” life
forms, death is systematic. Unneeded cells kill themselves gradually over time.
This programmed death (also called apoptosis) is hindered by certain proteins
that exist chiefly in mitochondria. That this programmed death signal emanates
from mitochondria is unmistakable. The manipulation of cells by mitochondria is
therefore not entirely unthinkable.
A fruit fly used extensively in
genetic research.
She
scowled at the man, then made his heart stop like She had done to the last one.
Heart disease has been known to
occur from miniscule changes in mitochondrial DNA. Eve 1 would therefore have
to manipulate very little to accelerate such a process.
Polymerase Chain Reaction. A
technique for amplifying DNA sequences in vitro by separating the DNA into two
strands and incubating it with oligonucleotide primers and DNA polymerase. This
process can amplify a specific sequence of DNA by as many as one billion times
and is important in biotechnology, forensics, medicine, and genetic research.
A device used in PCR to replicate
specific DNA strands using polymerase. Researchers can investigate DNA
extracted from a single human hair or trace of any bodily fluid, and this has
forensic uses in criminal cases. The genes of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park
were restored in this way.
Individual genetic differences.
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