Week 9

-

 Hello Everyone,

I have been having issues with the google sheet for the habitat survey of the bat recordings. Despite our efforts, I am just having to create a new sheet to be copied over. 

I have been trying to focus my paper for the bat project. In my search to analyze the greatest cause that answers my research question, I found out that my hypothesis was partially right. There is a genetic and cellular factor that causes some viruses to easily jump from bats or birds to other animals.

I believe last week I discussed there may be a correlation to bats tumorigenesis. When bats emerged during evolution with the distinction of flight, their young required to be carried on the backs of their mothers. Therefore, their reproductive yield is 1-2 cubs per year. With small litters per bat natural selection acted on lifespan. Some scientists believe this is where the genetic cells that deter cancerous growths came from. 

In correlation, these same oncolytic cells could be why bats obtain and withstand so many viruses. The cells act as an anti-inflammatory which could curb the negative effects and symptoms that ail us when the pathogens enter our body. Without illness or death, these viruses can reside in the bats and easily spread throughout populations. 

The question still lies where the zoonotic factor comes into play. Is it just that bats harbor more viruses, have large populations, and come into close proximity to humans that makes their viruses more susceptible to jumping? Or, is there something genetic or about the viruses themselves that give them specie hopping abilities? 

Stay tuned...

Below is figures of the genetic analysis of the MHC proteins which bats contain. The first figure shows the results of the two alleles of 3-aa and 5-aa. The second shows the absorption of the peptides of MHC in varying viruses. The data tables are derived from https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000436 in, "Peptide presentation by bat MHC class I provides new insight into the antiviral immunity of bats."




Barclay, W. S. (2019). Receptor for bat influenza virus uncovers potential risk to                                               humans. Nature, 567(7746), 35+. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A576552552/GRNR?                          u=mcc_phoe&sid=GRNR&xid=90f92214

Dan, L., Kefang, L. Di, Z., Can, Y., Qiong, L., Hao, C., Liand, W., Yan, C., Jianxun, Q., Lin-Fa, W.,                     (2019). Peptide presentation by bat MHC class I provides new insight into the antiviral                         immunity of bats. Public Library of Science. https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?           

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Search for Research: The Top Two

-
Image
My first step for this semester’s research project was simply to search for topics in my interest areas. Unfortunately, since I am a new STEM scholar, I have numerous interest areas. I’m hoping that this is a normal occurrence for beginners. In order to narrow my scope, I chose to stick in the relative area of ecology. I started by looking at different ecological issues and moved on to wildlife epidemiology. Once, I compiled a list of important and relevant problems, I gathered more information about each and created a compilation of summaries or overviews. Although I started with 10+ topics, these are the top two that made the cut: The monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ) population has drastically reduced in size over the last two decades. Research suggests a need for increased milkweed habitats. More research is necessary to understand the effects of climate change on migratory patterns. This video from National Geographic is twelve years old. It mentions the monarch butterfly p...
Read more

The Where's and Why's of Disease

-
Image
 As I approach developing questions about Yersinia pestis , I found a necessity to gather as much background information about the microbe as possible. This past week has consisted of numerous articles, journals, and videos that address various aspects of the bacteria. For the sake of organization, I would like to present some of the information I found on a scale of small to large; in relativity to observable material.  1.    Microbiological and genetic composition: As you can see from the picture below it is rod-shaped. There are no visible extensions that make it motile. I found a great paper that further explains its virulence, specific plasmids, and structurally gram-negative cell well encoded by chromosomal genes (Butler M.D., 1). It is an anaerobic organism. I have reached out to a professor to help me better understand the role of phagocytes and antigens. Hopefully from there, I can develop questions pertaining to structural or chromosomal composition and th...
Read more

Trying to Learn Statistics

-
Image
It is almost turkey times, friends! I cannot wait for some stuffing (it's my favorite). First, I'd like to say I am having issues commenting on my own blog. I have seen your comments and appreciate the support, encouragement, and advice. Hopefully, I will have these technical issues resolved soon so that I can respond and send my warm regards.  I have done a little statistics in some of my science classes, but have not taken the class, yet. I believe it's on my schedule for one of the upcoming semesters. Therefore, I don't fully know about the types of statistical comparisons.  My week has been organizing my data into neat little tables that make sense. Also, I have had to collect some more climate data for one of my regions. I need to have a meeting with a mentor to help me understand statistically and graphically. I love math, but my least favorite part is making the graphs. Well, just complicated ones are challenging. Really my goal is to have the data really clearly...
Read more