Humans Share 70% of Genetics with Sea Sponges

NATURAL NEWS– An international team of scientists was recently surprised to discover that sea sponges — one of the oldest multicellular life forms — share nearly 70 percent of the same genes as human beings, according to a study published in the journal Nature.

The team worked for five years to sequence the genome of the 650-million year old group of organisms, which was one of the first to develop the specialized cell groups that characterize organs.

“The sponge represents a window on this ancient and momentous event,” said University of California-Santa Barbara researcher Kenneth S. Kosik. “Curiously, the cells of a sponge bear little resemblance to cells found in the rest of the animal kingdom. For example, sponges lack neurons; however, the sponge genome reveals the presence of many genes found in neurons.”

Significantly, many of the genes that sponges share with humans may play a role in the development of cancer.

“Once there is a transition from single cell to multicellular organisms, conflict is set up between the different cells of the multicellular organism,” researcher Todd Oakley said.

“It is in an individual cell’s best interest to keep replicating, and this actually is what cancer is — the uncontrolled replication of cells in the body. So in the history of animals, we can see this link with cancer, because the genes that are involved in the transition to multiple cells during evolution are also known to be linked to cancer.”

However promising, the recent findings are only the beginning in terms of uncovering new cancer therapies.

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TIMES ONLINE– Scientists are hoping to gain new insights into the mysteries of ageing by sequencing the genome of a 17-year-old girl who has the body and behaviour of a tiny toddler.

Brooke Greenberg is old enough to drive a car and next year will be old enough to vote — but at 16lb in weight and just 30in tall, she is still the size of a one-year-old. Until recently she had been regarded as a medical oddity but a preliminary study of her DNA has suggested her failure to grow could be linked to defects in the genes that make the rest of humanity grow old.

If confirmed, the research could give scientists a fresh understanding of ageing and even suggest new therapies for diseases linked to old age.

“We think that Brooke’s condition presents us with a unique opportunity to understand the process of ageing,” said Richard Walker, a professor at the University of South Florida School of Medicine, who is leading the research team. “We think that she has a mutation in the genes that control her ageing and development so that she appears to have been frozen in time.

“If we can compare her genome to the normal version then we might be able to find those genes and see exactly what they do and how to control them.”

Continue reading about Girl Frozen in Time May Hold Key to Ageing.

Photo by flickr user paparutzi