Review Article Secrets of omega-3 oil

There are good and bad fats. The Omega-3 is considered to be a good fat1. Omega-3 fatty acids are considered essential fatty acids, which means that they are essential to human health but cannot be manufactured by the body. For this reason, omega-3 fatty acids must be obtained from food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in �sh and certain plant oils and hence are the primary dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids. Another potential source of omega-3 fatty acids is New Zealand green lipped mussels (Perna canaliculus) 2, used for centuries by the Maories to promote good health. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development. It is important to maintain an appropriate balance of omega-

Role of pharmacogenomics in the drug development

Individuals respond differently to drugs and sometimes the effects are unpredictable. Differences in DNA that alter the expression or function of proteins targeted by drugs can contribute signi�cantly to the variation in the individuals responses. The use of pharmacogenomics is to identify genetic polymorphisms that predispose patients to adverse drug effects that, although they may occur in only a small subset of the people treated with a new medication, are suf�ciently toxic to jeopardise further development of the drug for all patients. Given the potential value of knowing all the possible factors that in�uence the effects of new agents, it is likely that pharmacogenomics will have an increasingly important role in drug discovery and development. This article brie�y reviews concepts that underlie the emerging �elds of pharmacogenetics and pharmacogenomics, with an emphasis on the pharmacogenetics of drug metabolism. Although only a few examples will be provided to illustrate concepts and to demonstrate the potential contribution of pharmacogenetics to medical practice, it is now clear that virtually every pathway of drug metabolism will eventually be found to have genetic variation

Microsecond MD simulations of human CYP2D6 wild-type and five allelic variants reveal mechanistic insights on the function.

Characterization of cytochrome P450 2D6 (CYP2D6) and the impact of the major identified allelic variants on the activity of one of the most dominating drug-metabolising enzymes is essential to increase drug safety and avoid adverse reactions. Microsecond molecular dynamics simulations have been performed to capture the dynamic signatures of this complex enzyme and five allelic variants with diverse enzymatic activity. In addition to the apo simulations, three substrates (bufuralol, veliparib and tamoxifen) and two inhibitors (prinomastat and quinidine) were included to explore their influence on the structure and dynamical features of the enzyme. Our results indicate that the altered enzyme activity can be attributed to changes in the hydrogen bonding network within the active site, and local structural differences in flexibility, position and shape of the binding pocket. In particular, the increased (CYP2D6*53) or the decreased (CYP2D6*17) activity seems to be related to a change in dynamics of mainly the BC loop due to a modified hydrogen bonding network around this region. In addition, the smallest active site volume was found for CYP2D6*4 (no activity). CYP2D6*2 (normal activity) showed no major differences in dynamic behaviour compared to the wild-type

Digital Images Are Data: And Should Be Treated as Such

The scientific community has become very concerned about inappropriate image manipulation. In journals that check figures after acceptance, 20–25% of the papers contained at least one figure that did not comply with the journal’s instructions to authors. The scientific press continues to report a small, but steady stream of cases of fraudulent image manipulation. Inappropriate image manipulation taints the scientific record, damages trust within science, and degrades science’s reputation with the general public. Scientists can learn from historians and photojournalists, who have provided a number of examples of attempts to alter or misrepresent the historical record. Scientists must remember that digital images are numerically sampled data that represent the state of a specific sample when examined with a specific instrument. These data should be carefully managed. Changes made to the original data need to be tracked like the protocols used for other experimental procedures. To avoid pitfalls, unexpected artifacts, and unintentional misrepresentation of the image data, a number of image processing guidelines are offered