Paracelsus’ 16 th Century Philosophy Applied to Current Evolutionary Genetics

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Kewin
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Intimate Relationships ◽  
Genetic Disease ◽  
Genetic Research ◽  
Evolutionary Genetics ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Evolutionary Genetic ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Selection For

Paracelsus contributed greatly to medical philosophy in the early sixteenth century, yet his reputation was so tainted by his hypocrisy that he left few followers and is often forgotten. Many aspects of his teachings, however, can be applied to current theories governing evolutionary genetic research. His claim, “Where diseases arise, one can also find the roots of health” hints at the intimate relationships between health and  disease that are the foundations of fascinating research. In many devastating medical cases, it has been  found that expression of one genetic disease can confer resistance for another. Sickle­cell anemia sufferers have an increased resistance to malaria, cystic fibrosis is associated with decreased susceptibility to  influenza, tuberculosis and cholera, and even the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV­1) is theorized to  have stemmed from a selection for resistance to the Bubonic Plague. These examples demonstrate the ambiguities in distinguishing between health and disease. While scientists today would likely scoff at Paracelsus’ dated medical rants, when they discover a disease favoured by natural selection, one of the first questions is how it could have conferred a benefit ancestrally. Applying Paracelsus’ theories to a discipline as contrary to evolutionary genetics demonstrates both the robustness of his claims, and the potential impact philosophy can have on medical, scientific and sociological questions surrounding challenging  epidemics

Evolutionary genetics of small populations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Frankham ◽  
Jonathan D. Ballou ◽  
Katherine Ralls ◽  
Mark D. B. Eldridge ◽  
Michele R. Dudash ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Diversity ◽  
Population Size ◽  
Evolutionary Genetics ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Small Populations ◽  
Effective Population ◽  
Genetic Management ◽  
Evolutionary Genetic ◽  
Loss Of Genetic Diversity ◽  
Number Of Individuals

Genetic management of fragmented populations involves the application of evolutionary genetic theory and knowledge to alleviate problems due to inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity in small population fragments. Populations evolve through the effects of mutation, natural selection, chance (genetic drift) and gene flow (migration). Large outbreeding, sexually reproducing populations typically contain substantial genetic diversity, while small populations typically contain reduced levels. Genetic impacts of small population size on inbreeding, loss of genetic diversity and population differentiation are determined by the genetically effective population size, which is usually much smaller than the number of individuals.

scholarly journals PPAR Gamma and Viral Infections of the Brain

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 8876
Author(s):  
Pierre Layrolle ◽  
Pierre Payoux ◽  
Stéphane Chavanas
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infections ◽  
Ppar Gamma ◽  
Brain Parenchyma ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator ◽  
Neural Cells ◽  
Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Brain

Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor gamma (PPARγ) is a master regulator of metabolism, adipogenesis, inflammation and cell cycle, and it has been extensively studied in the brain in relation to inflammation or neurodegeneration. Little is known however about its role in viral infections of the brain parenchyma, although they represent the most frequent cause of encephalitis and are a major threat for the developing brain. Specific to viral infections is the ability to subvert signaling pathways of the host cell to ensure virus replication and spreading, as deleterious as the consequences may be for the host. In this respect, the pleiotropic role of PPARγ makes it a critical target of infection. This review aims to provide an update on the role of PPARγ in viral infections of the brain. Recent studies have highlighted the involvement of PPARγ in brain or neural cells infected by immunodeficiency virus 1, Zika virus, or human cytomegalovirus. They have provided a better understanding on PPARγ functions in the infected brain, and revealed that it can be a double-edged sword with respect to inflammation, viral replication, or neuronogenesis. They unraveled new roles of PPARγ in health and disease and could possibly help designing new therapeutic strategies.

scholarly journals Silencing of Unintegrated Retroviral DNAs

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2248
Author(s):  
Stephen P. Goff
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Stem ◽  
Cell Types ◽  
Retroviral Infection ◽  
Double Stranded Dna ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Unintegrated Dna ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Leukemia Viruses ◽  
Present Understanding

Retroviral infection delivers an RNA genome into the cytoplasm that serves as the template for the synthesis of a linear double-stranded DNA copy by the viral reverse transcriptase. Within the nucleus this linear DNA gives rise to extrachromosomal circular forms, and in a key step of the life cycle is inserted into the host genome to form the integrated provirus. The unintegrated DNA forms, like those of DNAs entering cells by other means, are rapidly loaded with nucleosomes and heavily silenced by epigenetic histone modifications. This review summarizes our present understanding of the silencing machinery for the DNAs of the mouse leukemia viruses and human immunodeficiency virus type 1. We consider the potential impact of the silencing on virus replication, on the sensing of the virus by the innate immune system, and on the formation of latent proviruses. We also speculate on the changeover to high expression from the integrated proviruses in permissive cell types, and briefly consider the silencing of proviruses even after integration in embryonic stem cells and other developmentally primitive cell types.

scholarly journals Host Site Selection for Concerted Integration by Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type-1 Virionsin Vitro

Virology ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 231 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-217 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goodarz Goodarzi ◽  
Roger Chiu ◽  
Karl Brackmann ◽  
Kurt Kohn ◽  
Yves Pommier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type ◽  
Virus Type ◽  
Site Selection ◽  
Immunodeficiency Virus ◽  
Selection For

The Latin Editions of Galen's Opera omnia (1490–1625) and Their Prefaces

2012 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 391-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefania Fortuna
Keyword(s):  
Medical Education ◽  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Greek Text ◽  
Western World ◽  
Literary Production ◽  
Original Language ◽  
Selection For

AbstractBetween 1490 to 1625, twenty-two editions of Galen's opera omnia were published in Latin, while only two in Greek. In the Western world Galen's literary production was mostly known through Latin translations, even in the sixteenth century, when Greek medicine was being rediscovered in its original language. The paper discusses the twenty-two Latin editions of Galen's writings and how they evolved. In these editions the number of works increased, especially from 1490 to 1533, while later, from 1576–1577 to 1586, forged commentaries on Hippocrates were added, when Galenic medicine was declining. Moreover, in 1490 Galen's works were printed in medieval translations from Arabic and Greek, while by 1541–1542 most of them had already received new humanist translations. The humanist translations, which started about 1480, depended on Greek manuscripts until 1525, when the Aldine provided the standard Greek text of Galen. Afterwards, the Greek manuscripts were used to correct the Latin, especially in the editions from 1541–1542 to 1565. Therefore the complete Latin editions included most of the philological work on Galen during the sixteenth century, as well as discussions on the authorship of some works, on the order in which they had to be read or printed, and on their selection for medical education.

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