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- Tinetti, Giovanna, et al.
(författare)
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The science of EChO
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the International Astronomical Union. - 1743-9213 .- 1743-9221. ; 6:S276, s. 359-370
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The science of extra-solar planets is one of the most rapidly changing areas of astrophysics and since 1995 the number of planets known has increased by almost two orders of magnitude. A combination of ground-based surveys and dedicated space missions has resulted in 560-plus planets being detected, and over 1200 that await confirmation. NASA's Kepler mission has opened up the possibility of discovering Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around some of the 100,000 stars it is surveying during its 3 to 4-year lifetime. The new ESA's Gaia mission is expected to discover thousands of new planets around stars within 200 parsecs of the Sun. The key challenge now is moving on from discovery, important though that remains, to characterisation: what are these planets actually like, and why are they as they are In the past ten years, we have learned how to obtain the first spectra of exoplanets using transit transmission and emission spectroscopy. With the high stability of Spitzer, Hubble, and large ground-based telescopes the spectra of bright close-in massive planets can be obtained and species like water vapour, methane, carbon monoxide and dioxide have been detected. With transit science came the first tangible remote sensing of these planetary bodies and so one can start to extrapolate from what has been learnt from Solar System probes to what one might plan to learn about their faraway siblings. As we learn more about the atmospheres, surfaces and near-surfaces of these remote bodies, we will begin to build up a clearer picture of their construction, history and suitability for life. The Exoplanet Characterisation Observatory, EChO, will be the first dedicated mission to investigate the physics and chemistry of Exoplanetary Atmospheres. By characterising spectroscopically more bodies in different environments we will take detailed planetology out of the Solar System and into the Galaxy as a whole. EChO has now been selected by the European Space Agency to be assessed as one of four M3 mission candidates. © International Astronomical Union 2011.
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| 2. |
- Hahn, Michael A, et al.
(författare)
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CDC73/HRPT2 CpG island hypermethylation and mutation of 5 -untranslated sequence are uncommon mechanisms of silencing parafibromin in parathyroid tumors
- 2010
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Ingår i: ENDOCRINE-RELATED CANCER. - 1351-0088. ; 17:1, s. 273-282
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The tumor suppressor HRPT2/CDC73 is mutated in constitutive DNA from patients with the familial disorder hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor syndrome and in similar to 70% of all parathyroid carcinomas. In a number of HRPT2 mutant tumors however, expression of the encoded protein parafibromin is lost in the absence of a clear second event such as HRPT2 allelic loss or the presence of a second mutation in this tumor suppressor gene. We sought to determine whether hypermethylation of a 713 bp CpG island extending 648 nucleotides upstream of the HRPT2 translational start site and 65 nucleotides into exon 1 might be a mechanism contributing to the loss of expression of parafibromin in parathyroid tumors. Furthermore, we asked whether mutations might be present in the 5-untranslated region (5-UTR) of HRPT2. We investigated a pool of tissue from 3 normal parathyroid glands, as well as 15 individual parathyroid tumor samples including 6 tumors with known HRPT2 mutations, for hypermethylation of the HRPT2 CpG island. Methylation was not identified in any specimens despite complete loss of parafibromin expression in two parathyroid carcinomas with a single detectable HRPT2 mutation and retention of the wild-type HRPT2 allele. Furthermore, no mutations of a likely pathogenic nature were identified in the 5-UTR of HRPT2. These data strongly suggest that alternative mechanisms such as mutation in HRPT2 intronic regions, additional epigenetic regulation such as histone modifications, or other regulatory inactivation mechanisms such as targeting by microRNAs may play a role in the loss of parafibromin expression.
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| 3. |
- Shatunov, Aleksey, et al.
(författare)
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Chromosome 9p21 in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in the UK and seven other countries : a genome-wide association study
- 2010
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Ingår i: Lancet Neurology. - 1474-4422 .- 1474-4465. ; 9:10, s. 986-994
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have found strong evidence of a genetic association of two single nucleotide polymorphisms on chromosome 9 with sporadic ALS, in line with findings from previous independent GWAS of ALS and linkage studies of ALS-frontotemporal dementia. Our findings together with these earlier findings suggest that genetic variation at this locus on chromosome 9 causes sporadic ALS and familial ALS-frontotemporal dementia. Resequencing studies and then functional analysis should be done to identify the defective gene.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Oji, Vinzenz, et al.
(författare)
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Revised nomenclature and classification of inherited ichthyoses : Results of the First Ichthyosis Consensus Conference in Sorèze 2009
- 2010
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Ingår i: The Journal of American Academy of Dermatology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0190-9622 .- 1097-6787. ; 63:4, s. 607-641
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Inherited ichthyoses belong to a large, clinically and etiologically heterogeneous group of mendelian disorders of cornification, typically involving the entire integument. Over the recent years, much progress has been made defining their molecular causes. However, there is no internationally accepted classification and terminology. OBJECTIVE: We sought to establish a consensus for the nomenclature and classification of inherited ichthyoses. METHODS: The classification project started at the First World Conference on Ichthyosis in 2007. A large international network of expert clinicians, skin pathologists, and geneticists entertained an interactive dialogue over 2 years, eventually leading to the First Ichthyosis Consensus Conference held in Sorèze, France, on January 23 and 24, 2009, where subcommittees on different issues proposed terminology that was debated until consensus was reached. RESULTS: It was agreed that currently the nosology should remain clinically based. "Syndromic" versus "nonsyndromic" forms provide a useful major subdivision. Several clinical terms and controversial disease names have been redefined: eg, the group caused by keratin mutations is referred to by the umbrella term, "keratinopathic ichthyosis"-under which are included epidermolytic ichthyosis, superficial epidermolytic ichthyosis, and ichthyosis Curth-Macklin. "Autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis" is proposed as an umbrella term for the harlequin ichthyosis, lamellar ichthyosis, and the congenital ichthyosiform erythroderma group. LIMITATIONS: As more becomes known about these diseases in the future, modifications will be needed. CONCLUSION: We have achieved an international consensus for the classification of inherited ichthyosis that should be useful for all clinicians and can serve as reference point for future research.
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