Mississippi has produced some giant bucks and even a world record. Here are the top six deer on record in Mississippi by category. Brian Broom

Studies show genetics can't be controlled in wild deer populations

It's a common debate on social media.

A hunter gets a photo on a game camera that shows a deer with a spike on one side and a normal antler on the other and asks if the deer should be removed.

Many will say the buck needs to be taken to prevent the continuation of its genesinto future generations, but biologists say that's probably not the correct answer.

Many hunters feel a buck with a spike on one side should be removed from the herd to improve genetics, but biologists say that's not the case.(Photo: Special to Clarion Ledger)

"That's almost always related to some kind of injury," said Kip Adams, Quality Deer Management Association director of conservation. "It's usually not genetic.

"Most of those are injury-related. Deer just aren't genetically built to have crazy antlers like that. Most of the time, if the animal is allowed to live, he'll drop those antlers and you won't see it in future years."

However, there are times when a malformed antler caused by injury will return after antlers are shed.

"It could," Adams said. "It could be an injury to the base. If the injury is right at the base of the antler, it could recur in future years."

Adams said a serious injury to the body can also cause a recurring abnormal antler.

"Again, none of that is genetic-related," Adams said. "So, it's not passed on.

"If you remove them you're not doing anything to change the genetics of the deer herd. The only gain you're making is providing more food for the rest of the herd by removing them."

One of the causes of pedicle, or antler base damage, that seems to be more common is what has been called "dirty sheds."

Gabriel Karns, who is currently avisiting assistant professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at Ohio State University, wrote an article published by QDMA about his work examining skulls of bucks with spikes on one side.

"Most commonly, it appeared that antlers had failed to cleanly separate from the pedicles, as in normally shed antlers,and that the antler base had fractured off portions of the pedicle and sometimes even the surrounding cranium those dirtysheds I mentioned earlier," Karns wrote."Although the antlerogenic periosteum tries to heal itself in advance of the next antler growing season, the integrity of the pedicle is compromised and becomes a messy combination of intact pedicle and callus tissue.

"Picture how water flows out of the end of a garden hose, then picture what happens when you partially block the nozzle with your thumb. The blood supply and nutrient flow necessary for normal antler development is impeded leading to stunted growth and irregular antler configurations due to the animals prior injury. Complicating the issue once initial damage occurs, subsequent antler cycles tend to re-aggravate the injury, resulting in repetitive abnormal antlers."

So, a spike on one side or otherwise deformed antler is likely caused by injury, but what if it isn't? What if it really is a genetic trait? Shouldn't the buck be harvested to prevent passing along that genetic trait? You can remove him, but you're not doing anything other than putting meat in the freezer.

"It's been shown over and over that you can't alter genetics in the wild," Adams said. "A buck with big antlers can sire a buck with small antlers and vice-versa. Those antler traits aren't 100 percent inheritable."

Adams' statement is backed by a study in Texas. Wild bucks were captured andmicrochipped. Samples of DNA were taken from them and they were released. Family trees of bucks were developed through DNA samples taken over a number of years. What the researchers discovered isin the wild there is no correlation between a buck's antler size and that of its offspring.

"Don't think you're making an improvement in the deer herd from a genetic standpoint," Adams said. "Hunters don't need to concern themselves or worry about it."

Deer hunting: 'It just made a good day that much better.' Father and son double down on big bucks

Win big money: You can win a share of $1,500 in the Big Bucks Photo Contest sponsored by Van's

Please, shoot them: 12 bucks on MSU Deer Lab's most wanted list. Here's why.

ContactBrian Broomat 601-961-7225 orbbroom@gannett.com. FollowClarion LedgerOutdoors on Facebookand @BrianBroom onTwitter.

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Should this deer be culled? The answer may not be what you think. - Clarion Ledger

HURRICANE What would life be like if you knew you would get cancer one day, but could prevent it beforehand? Clinicians in Utah are hoping to accomplish just that through a new study.

One St. George man said he's participating for the health of his posterity.

Durward Wadsworth, 76, grew up on a farm in Southern Utah. He worked alongside his family tending to the fruits trees, horses, and other animals.

"We had to milk cows and bring hay in," he said.

The farm has remained, but things have changed.

"I have a brother that passed away. I have a sister that passed away, Wadsworth said.

They both died from cancer. Wadsworth was also diagnosed with colon cancer and finished chemo only a year ago.

It's not a fun treatment, he said. He went to the Dixie Regional Cancer Center for 12 rounds of chemo.

As a teenager Wadsworth was exposed to radiation during nuclear testing at the Nevada National Security Site.

"As kids, we didn't know any different, so we would go up on the hill and watch when one would explode and you could actually see the mushroom and hear the boom, he said.

Both his family history of cancer and heart disease, and his exposure to radiation, had him concerned.

His son encouraged him to participate in Intermountain Healthcare's HerediGene population study. Clinicians hope this study, in collaboration with deCODE Genetics of Iceland, will help them better understand the human genome.

Dr. Lincoln Nadauld, Chief of Precision Health at Intermountain Healthcare, said the study is unprecedented. He said it looks at the link between genes and human disease.

"This study is the largest of its kind. It's an attempt to map the genomes of 500,000 people over the next five years, Nadauld said. There is no genetic study in health care that has ever been reported or ever attempted that compares in size or scope.

Nadauld said this study will impact generations to come.

(It) will allow us and subsequent generations to better understand health and the origins of disease and health care-related issues, he said. It's going to change the way that we deliver health care for the better.

Nadauld hopes the study will help doctors better predict and prevent disease before someone is ill.

So let's intervene with either a medicine or a lifestyle change so that you never have to experience heart failure or heart attack or a stroke, he explained.

While this type of precision genomics started in oncology, Nadauld said his team has applied it to all of their medical disciplines, including cardiovascular and neurodegenerative disorders, metabolic issues and even mental illness.

This study could uncover the link between mental illness and genes, and could identify new treatments for mental illness, he said.

Even though Wadsworth still has a lot of life to live, he knows he probably won't personally benefit from the study by the time its completed. "But, you know, my posterity will benefit, he said.

That's enough motivation for him. Wadsworth said he doesn't want his five children and 18 grandchildren to suffer through cancer like he did.

"We want the best health care for them, he said. He also hopes they'll carry on the family farm.

Nadauld said the study isn't just for people who have been sick, but will include mostly healthy individuals.

He said it just takes a simple blood draw to participate. Nadauld said by the end of the year there will be 25 different walk-in clinics across the entire state.

Nadauld said he anticipates a very small percentage of the participants will be informed of a health issue, in which doctors and patients need to take action.

We expect that will happen in about 3% of our participants, he said.

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A new study hopes to prevent disease before it starts through genetics - KSL.com

--Study announced in conjunction with American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions--

--Researchers also presenting data on limitations of highly targeted screening strategies in familial hypercholesterolemia--

PHILADELPHIA, Nov. 15, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Invitae Corporation (NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, today announced Invitae Discover, a clinical research platform that leverages biometric data available through Apple Watch to provide better understanding of the genetic causes of disease. The first study on the platform will evaluate genetics in cardiovascular disease and was announced in conjunction with the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions where researchers are presenting data on genetic screening in familial hypercholesterolemia.

Invitae's (NVTA) mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medical practice to improve the quality of healthcare for billions of people. http://www.invitae.com (PRNewsFoto/Invitae Corporation)

"The creation of the Invitae Discover platform will make it easier to conduct studies that assess genetic test results alongside the biometric data that is now easily available on Apple Watch, thereby joining basic electrophysiological data with genetic information in order to advance our understanding of the genetic underpinnings of disease and help improve clinical care," said Robert Nussbaum, M.D., chief medical officer of Invitae. "Our first study on the platform is designed to determine the contribution of certain genetic variants to clinical presentations of atrial fibrillation and other cardiovascular conditions associated with abnormal heart rhythms, as well as to improve the interpretation of genetic testing results."

The first study on Invitae Discover is the Afib CAUSE Study. Patients who have genetic testing through Invitae can enroll in the study via the Invitae Discover app. The study will combine health and activity data from Apple HealthKit with clinical genetic testing results. In addition to assessing known genetic variants, the study will specifically evaluate biometric data for patients whose genetic testing included variants of uncertain significance (VUS) to help build preliminary data that improves variant classification and, ultimately, provide evidence to support resolution. The Invitae Discover app is available on the Apple app store. The Afib CAUSE study is open to U.S. residents 18 years of age and older and enrollment criteria can be accessed through the Invitae Discover app.

The study will be conducted under the supervision of an Institutional Review Board (IRB). As a medical genetics company, Invitae is subject to and fully complies with the privacy and security requirements under HIPAA for all its patients.

Separately at the AHA Scientific Sessions, Invitae researchers will be participating in a moderated poster session at the AHA meeting to discuss research quantifying the low diagnostic yield of highly targeted, direct-to-consumer genetic screening strategies in familial hypercholesterolemia. The study will be presented on November 17th during the Cardiovascular Genomic Medicine session at 2:20pm.

About InvitaeInvitae Corporation (NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company, whose mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit the company's website atinvitae.com.

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Safe Harbor StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to the attributes and potential benefits of the company's clinical research platform; and the design and potential benefits of the company's first study on the platform. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the company's history of losses; the company's ability to compete; the company's failure to manage growth effectively; the company's need to scale its infrastructure in advance of demand for its tests and to increase demand for its tests; the company's ability to use rapidly changing genetic data to interpret test results accurately and consistently; security breaches, loss of data and other disruptions; laws and regulations applicable to the company's business; and the other risks set forth in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the risks set forth in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2019. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Invitae Corporation disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Contact:Laura D'Angelo pr@invitae.com (628) 213-3283

View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/invitae-launches-invitae-discover-research-platform-on-apple-watch-first-study-on-platform-will-investigate-genetic-causes-of-cardiovascular-disease-300959136.html

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Invitae Launches Invitae Discover Research Platform on Apple Watch; First Study on Platform Will Investigate Genetic Causes of Cardiovascular Disease...

You've probably wondered how you developed diabetes. You may worry that your children will develop it too.

Unlike some traits, diabetes does not seem to be inherited in a simple pattern. Yet clearly, some people are born more likely to develop diabetes than others.

Type 1 andtype 2 diabeteshave different causes. Yet two factors are important in both. You inherit a predisposition to the disease, then something in your environment triggers it.

Genes alone are not enough. One proof of this is identical twins. Identical twins have identical genes. Yet when one twin hastype 1 diabetes, the other gets the disease at most only half the time. When one twin has type 2 diabetes, the other's risk is at most 3 in 4.

In most cases of type 1 diabetes, people need to inherit risk factors from both parents. We think these factors must be more common in whites because whites have the highest rate of type 1 diabetes.

Because most people who are at risk do not get diabetes, researchers want to find out what the environmental triggers are. One trigger might be related to cold weather. Type 1 diabetes develops more often in winter than summer and is more common in places with cold climates. Another trigger might be viruses. Perhaps a virus that has only mild effects on most people triggers type 1 diabetes in others.

Early diet may also play a role. Type 1 diabetes is less common in people who were breastfed and in those who first ate solid foods at laterages.

In many people, the development of type 1 diabetes seems to take many years. In experiments that followed relatives of people with type 1 diabetes, researchers found that most of those who later got diabetes had certain autoantibodies in their blood for years before. (Antibodies are proteins that destroy bacteria or viruses. Autoantibodies areantibodies'gone bad' that attack the body's own tissues.)

If you are a man with type 1 diabetes, the odds of your child developing diabetes are 1 in 17. If you are a woman with type 1 diabetes and your child was born before you were 25, your child's risk is 1 in 25; if your child was born after you turned 25, your child's risk is 1 in 100.

Your child's risk is doubled if you developed diabetes before age 11. If both you and your partner have type 1 diabetes, the risk is between 1 in 10 and 1 in 4.

There is an exception to these numbers. About 1 in every 7 people with type 1 diabetes has a condition called type 2 polyglandular autoimmune syndrome. In addition to having diabetes, these people also have thyroid disease and a poorly working adrenalgland. Some also have otherimmune systemdisorders. If you have this syndrome, your child's risk of getting the syndromeincluding type 1 diabetesis 1 in 2.

Researchers are learning how to predict a person's odds of getting diabetes. For example, most whites with type 1 diabetes have genes called HLA-DR3 or HLA-DR4. If you and your child are white and share these genes, your child's risk is higher. (Suspect genes in other ethnic groups are less well studied. The HLA-DR7 gene may put African Americans at risk, and the HLA-DR9 gene may put Japanese at risk.)

Other tests can also make your child's risk clearer. A special test that tells how the body responds toglucosecan tell which school-aged children are most at risk.

Another more expensive test can be done for children who have siblings with type 1 diabetes. This test measures antibodies toinsulin, to islet cells in thepancreas, or to anenzymecalled glutamic acid decarboxylase. High levels can indicate that a child has a higher risk of developing type 1 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes has a stronger link to family history and lineage than type 1, and studies of twins have shown that genetics play a very strong role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

Yet it also depends on environmental factors.Lifestyle also influences the development of type 2 diabetes.Obesitytends to run in families, and families tend to have similar eating and exercise habits.

If you have a family history of type 2 diabetes, it may be difficult to figure out whether your diabetes is due to lifestyle factors or genetic susceptibility. Most likely it is due to both. However, dont lose heart. Studies show that it is possible to delay or prevent type 2 diabetes by exercising and losing weight.

Have you recently been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes?Join our free Living With Type 2 Diabetes program and get the information and support you need to live well with diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes runs in families. In part, this tendency is due to children learning bad habitseating a poor diet, not exercisingfrom their parents. But there is also a genetic basis.

If you would like to learn more about the genetics of all forms of diabetes, the National Institutes of Health has publishedThe Genetic Landscape of Diabetes. This free online book provides an overview of the current knowledge about the genetics of type 1 and type 2 diabetes, as well other less common forms of diabetes. The book is written for healthcare professionals and for people with diabetes interested in learning more about the disease.

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Genetics of Diabetes | ADA

Atom; RSS Feed; Genetics Definition. Genetics is the branch of science concerned with genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms. It seeks to understand the process of trait inheritance from parents to offspring, including the molecular structure and function of genes, gene behaviour in the context of a cell or organism (e.g. dominance and epigenetics), gene distribution, and variation ...

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Genetics - Latest research and news | Nature

Have you ever wondered why you have the same eye color as your mother or the same hair color as your father? Genetics is the study of inheritance orheredity. Genetics helps to explain how traits are passed from parents to their young. Parents pass traits to their young through gene transmission. Genes are located on chromosomes and consist of DNA. They contain specific instructions for protein synthesis.

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Genetics Basics - thoughtco.com

Genetics |Khan Academy

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Genetics | Khan Academy

Please save the date for oursecond Career Club of the fall semester!We are very excited to listen to Dr. Robyn Baldens talk about: Medical Science Liaison and other opportunities at Merck nextFriday,September 20th at12:00 PMinNMR/Rm. N127

Dr. Balden is a physician scientist and Regional Medical Scientific Director for Anesthesia/Surgery, South/Central US Medical Affairs division of Merck Research Labs. This role integrates internal and external scientific exchange and collaboration in order to facilitate and support clinical and drug development programs and maximize patient safety and outcomes related to existing pharmaceuticals including clinical trials, investigator-initiated studies, medical education, and scientific content creation.Her role at Merck began in 2018 as Associate Director, Medical Science Liaison for Anesthesia/Surgery, South/Central US, subsequent to gaining experience conducting medical research and directing business development for clinical trials at the Texas Center for Drug Development in Houston, TX. At the Texas Center for Drug Development she engaged in medical affairs focusing on coordination of clinical research for various therapeutic areas, serving as a supporting investigator for clinical trials, scientific discussion and account management with key physician leaders, and development of medical educational materials. Prior to this role she was a surgical intern, resident anesthesiologist, and clinical scholar at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, CA, where she initiated clinical studies for novel anesthetic regimens.

Dr. Balden received her MD and PhD in Neuroscience from Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. Her passions involve the intersection of medicine and science with neuroimmunology and neuroendocrinology. She also collaborates with advocacy and student organizations, has written several academic papers on Vitamin D, and served as a member of the Vitamin D Councils Board of Directors contributing as a volunteer writer, podcast contributor, and graphic designer for the Vitamin D Council. Shelives with her family in Houston, TX and enjoys painting, design, traveling, scuba diving, outdoors, live music, reading, cooking, and gardening.

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Ph.D. in Genetics at Texas A&M University

The information in genomes provides the instruction set for producing each living organism on the planet. While we have a growing understanding of the basic biochemical functions of many of the individual genes in genomes, understanding the complex processes by which this encoded information is read out to orchestrate production of incredibly diverse cell types and organ functions, and how different species use strikingly similar gene sets to nonetheless produce fantastically diverse organismal morphologies with distinct survival and reproductive strategies, comprise many of the deepest questions in all of science. Moreover, we recognize that inherited or acquired variation in DNA sequence and changes in epigenetic states contribute to the causation of virtually every disease that afflicts our species. Spectacular advances in genetic and genomic analysis now provide the tools to answer these fundamental questions.

Members of the Department of Genetics conduct basic research using genetics and genomics of model organisms (yeast, fruit fly, worm, zebrafish, mouse) and humans to understand fundamental mechanisms of biology and disease. Areas of active investigation include genetic and epigenetic regulation of development, molecular genetics, genomics and cell biology of stem cells, the biochemistry of micro RNA production and their regulation of gene expression, and genetic and genomic analysis of diseases in model systems and humans including cancer, cardiovascular and kidney disease, neurodegeneration and regeneration, and neuropsychiatric disease. Members of the Department have also been at the forefront of technology development in the use of new methods for genetic analysis, including new methods for engineering mutations as well as new methods for production and analysis of large genomic data sets.

The Department sponsors a graduate program leading to the PhD in the areas of molecular genetics and genomics, development, and stem cell biology. Admission to the Graduate Program is through the Combined Programs in Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS).

In addition to these basic science efforts, the Department is also responsible for providing clinical care in Medical Genetics in the Yale New Haven Health System. Clinical genetics services include inpatient consultation and care, general, subspecialty, and prenatal genetics clinics, and clinical laboratories for cytogenetics, DNA diagnostics, and biochemical diagnostics. The Department sponsors a Medical Genetics Residency program leading to certification by the American Board of Medical Genetics. Admission to the Genetics Residency is directly through the Department.

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Genetics - Yale School of Medicine

Health news and commentary from around the Web gathered by the MedPage Today staff

cme/ce

Study helps explain genetic heterogeneity in macular telangiectasia type 2, connection to neuropathies

Increased risk persists after accounting for treatment duration, physiological factors

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Genetics News | MedPage Today