Thursday, August 30, 2012

Towards Unravelling East Asian Skin Color and Skin Cancer


Study of tribe could help find East Asian skin color genes

Tuesday, August 28, 2012
iStock Photo/Mikosch
HERSHEY, Pa. -- Genetic investigation of a Malaysian tribe may tell scientists why East Asians have light skin but lower skin cancer rates than Europeans, according to a team of international researchers. Understanding the differences could lead to a better way to protect people from skin cancer.
While the genetics of skin color is largely unknown, past research using zebrafish by Penn State College of Medicine's Keith Cheng, M.D., Ph.D., identified the gene in Europeans that differs from West Africans and contributes to a lighter skin color. Mutations in the genes SLC24A5 and SLC45A2 are largely responsible for European pigmentation, showing only single amino acid differences between Europeans and West Africans. Each version of a gene is called an allele.
While East Asians -- Chinese, Japanese and Korean -- also are light skinned, these European alleles are not present, suggesting that while both groups' lighter skin color evolved to allow for better creation of vitamin D in northern climates, they did so in a different way. This difference also affects skin cancer rates. Europeans have 10 to 20 times higher rates of melanoma than Africans. However, despite also having lighter skin, East Asians have the same melanoma rates as Africans. The reason for this difference can only be explained when the gene mutations for both groups are found.
"By finding the differences, we have the potential to find ways to make people with the European ancestry genes less susceptible to skin cancer," said Cheng, professor of pathology.
This is a challenge, because to find the unidentified mutations, researchers must study a population that includes a blend of original African ancestry and East Asian ancestry, with little European contribution.
The Senoi, one of three indigenous tribes from Peninsular Malaysia, meet this condition. The Senoi are believed to include ancestry of a dark-skinned tribe called the Negrito, and a regional Mongoloid population of Indo-China, such as the Proto-Malay. Since the skin color of the Senoi is darker than that of Northeast Asians, researchers will be able to focus on finding the primary genetic mutation of light skin color in Asians without seeing further skin lightening mutations.
Khai C. Ang, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow in the Cheng lab, visited the Senoi, developed a positive relationship with them, and was able to collect 371 blood samples. Characterization of the Senoi's skin color was recently reported in PLoS ONE.
"As the world is becoming globalized, populations are becoming increasingly mixed," Ang said. "Time is running out and it will become increasingly difficult to establish how East Asian skin colors evolved."
The researchers will now map genes in the DNA using the collected samples to identify which might be responsible for the skin color of East Asians. In the Cheng lab, the candidate genes and mutations can then be tested in zebrafish for verification.
"Skin color has been tied to human welfare in modern history," Cheng said. "It is important for us as a species to realize that our skin color is determined by only a small number of minute changes in our DNA -- changes that have nothing to do with the value of human beings."
Other collaborators include Badrul M. Md-Zain, School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; S. Oppenheimer, Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, U.K.; and Victor A. Canfield, Department of Pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine.
The National Institutes of Health, the Jake Gittlen Cancer Research Foundation of Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia supported this research.

Bread with condense milk & Milo.

> Love this!

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Lucy Spraggan's Last Night on X-Factor

Very clever playing with the tunes and lyrics.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Changes

A child can bring so much changes in one's life. Now that I have been a dad coming 8 months (but I am no expert in parenting or being a dad), I can see how much my life have changed since my daughter was born. Yet, this changes in my life is something which I am wiling to do it again, anytime. The changes are not easy but had bought us much joys. 

A lot of our routines now circle around our daughter's schedule. Things that we do have also changed. We can't go out the whole day anymore. We have to return home so that our daughter can rest. Movie time is now more of a luxury. Those who knows me well, know that I LOVE my movie time! But it's a sacrifice I gladly make! 

Some of the changes are good too. Now I have an excuse to leave my work place right on the dot at 5pm. My daughter will be waiting for me to get home so that she can go out to play or to take a walk. She loves her evening walk or an evening at the pool. Retrieving mails from the mailbox is her daily routine too. 

Less time on TV is a good thing. Before you judge me on that point, you have to know that I 'watch' TV to de-stress. When I say I 'watch', it's not necessary that I am watching any movie. Most of the time, the movie is watching while I am reading or typing away - exactly what I am doing now. I turn on the TV just to serve as a background noise. I guess, not just only baby needs white noise but me too! I have watched the whole series of Bones maybe about 6 times, Monk - 6 times, Eureka thrice, Warehouse 13 twice, Big Bang Theory and Castle each once but will be doing that again soon. Of course, a lot of other movies too! I digress! So, less time of TV means less productivity on my work too. Nevertheless, this is good because I can then rest and be more alert the next day! The extra quality time I spend with my daughter and wife is better anytime and I am loving it. We are taking more evening walk too!

I am also very careful what I eat and do now. It's never easy when you are have a child who are like white sponges. Monkey see, monkey do! They absorb everything they see! I don't want to set a bad habit for her by eating unhealthy foods like chip and soda! I am also more careful now about where and when I am using my phone or iPad too. I don't want that to be a constant fixture on our dining table later on! Call me old-fashion all you want, but dining table is for food and technology has no business to be on the same table during meals! I don't want to text or facetime my child for meals when she is in her room when she grows to be a teenage girl then.

There are a lot more changes that we have to make. However, one important thing that I am determine not to change our priority to make God first in our life. I am proud to say that no matter how hard our night before Sunday is, we get up to go to church; never missed any Sunday worshipping in church because we are too tired! We are learning and trying to do other things too now that she is getting bigger. We are hoping that we can start to serve as a family. It's never too young to start. 

I know more changes will come. Somedays it will be easy, other days will be not-so-easy. But we will learn and cope and adapt to it! I know I have a lot more to learn. This serve as a reminder that when I trip and fall, I have to stand up and do better. 

Friday, August 17, 2012

Celebrations in Foreign Land

Among the many things I love about Malaysia are the multi cultures, multi ethnics and multi-what-are-in-between, of people and celebrations! Even tough now that I am in America, deep down I am always excited when a celebration is coming up in Malaysia. I will try to celebrate it in whatever way I can.

I will try to google for the celebration's advertisement. I love the late Yasmin Ahmad's creative adverts in particular. They always depicts the multi-cultural society that always reflect who we are as Malaysians.



This year is also the same. I start to search for the video clips on YouTube. I found a few which I like.



I love one short film which was produced by Petronas.



However, when I saw this by Bernas, I was kind of lost.



I am not sure where I stand about this as I am lost about the meaning behind it. I know Muslims visit their family members grave on the day of Raya but why the sad story of these two children who doesn't have anyone to celebrate with? What happen to all their families and friends?

I do hope that this Raya celebration, no one is left behind.

Selamat Hari Raya to all! Maaf Zahir dan Batin.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Scientist

Growing up, I always pictured being a scientist as a cool career path. I have the image of "mixing different chemicals" and "looking at cells" conjure up in my mind. Occasionally, I would imagine "blowing" things up in the lab too. The image of fuzzy hair scientist and Einstein fluffy hair and with tongue outstretched will play itself over and over. When I was in college, I imagined myself cloning "stuff", as it was the hype then when "Dolly" the sheep was cloned. 

However, nobody told me this was just pure delusion for a scientist. Yes, you do get to mix chemicals, look at cell under microscope, blowing things when experiments go wrong and cloning too. But, how long can you stare at cells under the microscope without your eyes gets tired and then again, how many times would you want to look at the same type of cell over and over again? Try counting chromosomes under the microscope or play catch-up with sperms when you want to count them on a slide; doing all while staring into two-eye piece, fancy, gazillion dollar equipement that limit your plain of view but zooming in to all the microscopic details. 

Then, I realised the saying publish or perish! What is that? I didn't want to be a writer or journalist? I want to have fun playing with my C8H10N4O2  + H2O +C47H48N3O7S2Na C12H22O11. I don't want to sit in front of the computer typing away or tucked in a corner in the library browsing through the journal. I don't think any scientist actually do that, that's why the journals in the library are always dusty and look brand new. But I love the cold, secluded floor that housed all those journals. It's a perfect place to run away from your boss and take a 2 hours long cat nap or shoot your video for Science blog! 

Apart from that, I never thought about having to look for money to play with all that. Never cross my mind that I have to face with headache and heartache writing grants after grants and being rejected countless time. I have spent countless nights thinking of how to impress my 'readers' about my fancy, meticulously thought up idea on I can determine how human migrate from Africa to South East Asia using saliva! Yes, your are right, SPITS! Well, thanks to Wilbur brothers invention, this simple idea I have, had just becomes more difficult to perform! 

Anyway, here I am, still sitting in front of my iMac, still try to decode all the mysteries in life which essentially just made up of 4 letters -A, T, C and G; out of the 26 letters in the alphabet! On that note, I should go back to staring my PC again and maybe, imagining myself giving the Nobel Prize speech to continue motivating me doing what I am doing!

P/S: The chemical formula on top is how I make my coffee in the lab (Caffeine + Water + Casein + Sucrose)! Oh now I am getting more sophisticated on how I make my coffee. I add  C7H8N4O2! That's Theobromine (at least that is one of the compound in it!)

Starry eye



Spoilt for choice! Paradise? 




--
Khai Chung ANG

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Gone AWOL

I am sorry that I have been missing for so long. I am trying to find a way to be able to post more often. Since welcoming our baby, life have been very hectic. 

Let see how often we can update once I figure out what is the easiest way to do that.