A globin in every cell?

A globin in every cell?

A crucial requirement of metabolically active aerobic cells is a steady supply of oxygen. The red pigment of vertebrate skeletal muscle, oxygen-binding myoglobin (Mb), serves this function by facilitating the delivery of O2 from the plasma membrane to the energy-producing mitochondria (1). The delivery of O2 from lungs or gills to muscles is also very efficient because of the cooperative loadin...

Wetware: A Computer in Every Living Cell

The continuous repetition of Christian de Duve’s primary thesis in Genetics of Original Sin ensures that however little the reader understands or is interested in biology, he will have no doubt as to the author’s primary concern: Natural selection has made humans poor prognosticators. As evolutionary adaptation is all about living (and reproducing) in the moment, humans have evolved some unfort...

A condom in every jail cell.

Ava II Site as a Marker of β-Globin Gene Polymorphism, among Normal and Sickle Cell Patients in Iran

The restriction enzyme Ava II detects the base change of the intervening sequence II (IVS II) which is used as one of the markers of β-globin gene polymorphism. This study was conducted to determine the frequency of the Ava II site on the β-globin gene among normal people and patients with sickle cell syndrome (SCS) in Iran. DNA fragments containing the IVS II region of the β-globin gene from...

Beta-Globin Gene Cluster Haplotypes in Iranian Sickle Cell Patients: Relation to Some Hematologic

Background: Sickle cell anemia is relatively common in Khuzestan province located in Southwest Iran. The characteristics of sickle cell disease in Iran are apparently different from other regions some of these characteristics might be related to β-chain haplotypes. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of β-chain haplotypes in 50 patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia in...