Thymine

Thymine is one of the four nucleobases in the nucleic acid of DNA that are represented by the letters G–C–A–T. The others are adenine, guanine, and cytosine. Thymine (T) almost always pairs with adenine, although thymine dimers also occur due to UV light exposure.

This mutation is responsible for melanoma formation. Thymine is also known as 5-methyluracil, a pyrimidine nucleobase. As the name suggests, thymine may be derived by methylation of uracil at the 5th carbon.

In RNA, thymine is replaced with uracil in most cases. In DNA, thymine (T) binds to adenine (A) via two hydrogen bonds to assist in stabilizing the nucleic acid structures.

Thymine combined with deoxyribose creates the nucleoside deoxythymidine, which is synonymous with the term thymidine. Thymidine can be phosphorylated with one, two, or three phosphoric acid groups, creating, respectively, TMP, TDP, or TTP (thymidine mono-, di-, or triphosphate).

One of the common mutations of DNA involves two adjacent thymines or cytosine, which, in presence of ultraviolet light, may form thymine dimers, causing “kinks” in the DNA molecule that inhibit normal function.

Thymine could also be a target for actions of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in cancer treatment. 5-FU can be a metabolic analog of thymine (in DNA synthesis) or uracil (in RNA synthesis). Substitution of this analog inhibits DNA synthesis in actively-dividing cells.

Thymine bases are frequently oxidized to hydantoins over time after the death of an organism.

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Worms

Worms are invertebrate species that are not footed. There are worms that live in the land and water while others are parasites that live inside the animal’s body.

There are over 55,000 species of worms. Four main groups are tapeworms, flatworms, gilik worms and roundworms.

Worms are simple structures such as flatworms, microscopic organisms which belong to very small size. However, several parasitic tapeworms that can grow to more than 20 meters. Parasitic worms in the body of animals and plants, some are even inside the human body. Mematoda worm larvae can enter the human kemulut accidentally and penetrated into the lungs. Man will be coughing and swallowing the larvae, so that the larvae enter the stomach. In the stomach they eat foods that are eaten by humans. Adult worms lay eggs and the eggs can be discarded with the feces. The eggs of this parasite can infect other people.

WORMS LAND

Earthworms belong roundworms or annelids. Soil earthworms swallow and digest the plant material contained therein. Earthworm body consists of a row of rings. The body is covered with fine hairs that serve to help move the body. Including animal hermaphrodite earthworms.

SEA WORMS

The structure of marine worms or Polychaeta Annelid not much different, except for fine hairs on the surface of its body is longer. Marine worms eat the plants but also many who hunt marine worms poked by long vessels (proboscis) to catch prey.

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Gene Therapy

Gene therapy is a technique that introduces an altered gene into a person’s body to carry out the work of a mulfunctioning gene. The procedure aims to treat or cure diseases that have been caused by faulty genes.

There are more than 4000 genetic disorders, and that number is likely to increase as we discover more about our DNA. Many of these diseases are incurable.

Gene therapy is attempts to cure genetic disorders by replacing a defective gene in the human body with a properly functioning gene.

The first FDA-approved gene therapy procedure was performed by Dr. French Anderson in September 1994, on a child born with a rare genetic disorder, known as severe combined immunodeficiency. This caused her to have no effective immune system, resulting in frequent infections, and a poor quality of life.

The procedure consisted of removing the child’s white blood cells, inserting the good functional copies of the desired gene into some of the cells, and then putting them back into her body. The procedure is not a permanent fix, and needs to be performed every few months. But she’s alive and well and has a strengthened immune system.

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