New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics • Hacker News Board

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#21

Post by newsocks » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:13 PM UTC

How are miniproteins any different than just peptides?

The article references "miniproteins"as being the same as "minipetides"... as though these are both different from regular peptides.

Wikipedia states that peptides are "approximately 50 or fewer amino acids" [0] while minipeptides are "a length of less than 100-150 amino acids" [1].

Is this article really just saying that "peptides are upending cell biology"?

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peptide [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micropeptide

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#22

Post by BowBun » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:14 PM UTC

Balgair wrote: post #18

cwkoss wrote: post #8

Disclaimer: These are novel chemicals and most sources you can find them from are questionable at best. Don't even consider using these without deeply researching the risks from the specific peptide, the quality control of the supplier, as well as the inherent risks of injecting substances of questionable purity. --- BPC-157 is a really interesting peptide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPC-157 "It has been tested in…

Melatonin and Melanin are closely related chemicals that are used all over the body and are synthesized in the body through related mechanisms and pathways. Melatonin is used in the sleep-wake cycle and melanin is used by the skin to darken it and protect from solar radiation. When you need to sleep and when you need solar protection tend to be inversely related. The interaction between these processes is still being…

While I agree personally, I am comfortable letting others experiment with new drugs and take on that risk with the potential to discover things a bit faster than traditional medicine. Regardless of what you think of CBD, it has garnered steam because of non-medical use and I think brought it up to popular culture which researchers are then hearing about and interested in researching more.

At the end of the day, in the USA, we tend to avoid telling adults what to put in their bodies. I like it that way and I see this as just an extension of the same thing.

That being said, they shouldn't be selling their solutions or misleading people with non-existent medical data. You are hacking your biology, death and injury are very real potential risks you can only accept for yourself.

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#23

Post by LinuxBender » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:16 PM UTC

Dev_2019 wrote: post #17

ccvannorman wrote: post #5

* 'Small proteins also promise to revise the current understanding of the genome. Many appear to be encoded in stretches of DNA—and RNA—that were not thought to help build proteins of any sort. Some researchers speculate that the short stretches of DNA could be newborn genes, on their way to evolving into larger genes that make full-size proteins. Thanks in part to small proteins, "We need to rethink what genes are,"…

We aren't curing aging any time soon are we :(?

Several companies and research groups are working on it. The challenge is a lack of priority, funding and even recognizing aging as a disease, at least in legal terms.

Look up the Sens foundation (Dr. Aubrey De Grey), Dr. David Sinclair (Harvard .. Some are skeptical because he has started several companies) and Dr. Bruce Ames as starting points.

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#24

Post by Retric » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:18 PM UTC

LinuxBender wrote: post #23

Dev_2019 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We aren't curing aging any time soon are we :(?

Several companies and research groups are working on it. The challenge is a lack of priority, funding and even recognizing aging as a disease, at least in legal terms. Look up the Sens foundation (Dr. Aubrey De Grey), Dr. David Sinclair (Harvard .. Some are skeptical because he has started several companies) and Dr. Bruce Ames as starting points.

I think the real challenge is mind boggling complexity of interactions. Suggesting it’s a question of funding etc is vastly understating the actual issues.

Curing cancer for example is a vastly simpler problem.

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#25

Post by musicale » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:19 PM UTC

Dev_2019 wrote: post #17

ccvannorman wrote: post #5

* 'Small proteins also promise to revise the current understanding of the genome. Many appear to be encoded in stretches of DNA—and RNA—that were not thought to help build proteins of any sort. Some researchers speculate that the short stretches of DNA could be newborn genes, on their way to evolving into larger genes that make full-size proteins. Thanks in part to small proteins, "We need to rethink what genes are,"…

We aren't curing aging any time soon are we :(?

For some jellyfish at least.

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#26

Post by cwkoss » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:24 PM UTC

Balgair wrote: post #18

cwkoss wrote: post #8

Disclaimer: These are novel chemicals and most sources you can find them from are questionable at best. Don't even consider using these without deeply researching the risks from the specific peptide, the quality control of the supplier, as well as the inherent risks of injecting substances of questionable purity. --- BPC-157 is a really interesting peptide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPC-157 "It has been tested in…

Melatonin and Melanin are closely related chemicals that are used all over the body and are synthesized in the body through related mechanisms and pathways. Melatonin is used in the sleep-wake cycle and melanin is used by the skin to darken it and protect from solar radiation. When you need to sleep and when you need solar protection tend to be inversely related. The interaction between these processes is still being…

Totally agree, and your comment compelled me to add a disclaimer to the top of my comment to discourage anyone from jumping into these based on the reported benefits without understanding the serious risks.

That being said, if people are going to try these, I'm glad that they are sharing their experiences online to both warn others of negative reactions and indicate promising avenues for further clinical research.

I would love to see a website that organizes clandestine research like this in a way that makes it more functionally useful - reddit and other forum testimonials are the best I've seen so far, and they leave a lot to be desired. This is something that I'd like to work on, but my biggest concerns are legal liability and how to screen out profit-motivated fake testimonials.

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#27

Post by LinuxBender » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:27 PM UTC

Retric wrote: post #24

LinuxBender wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Several companies and research groups are working on it. The challenge is a lack of priority, funding and even recognizing aging as a disease, at least in legal terms. Look up the Sens foundation (Dr. Aubrey De Grey), Dr. David Sinclair (Harvard .. Some are skeptical because he has started several companies) and Dr. Bruce Ames as starting points.

I think the real challenge is mind boggling complexity of interactions. Suggesting it’s a question of funding etc is vastly understating the actual issues. Curing cancer for example is a vastly simpler problem.

Don't get me wrong, it is a very complex set of complex issues depending on which pillar we attack. (Metabolism, Repair, Pathology). The latter is very expensive and too late in the game. That is what we attempt today with conventional medicine and it's just treating symptoms of aging. We barely understand human metabolism and the little bit we know is a auditorium wall sized flow chart. Repair is the new area and Aubrey is putting a lot of effort into that pillar. That is where funding would certainly help. Then there are legal and ethical issues we will eventually dive in to.

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#28

Post by hirenj » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:27 PM UTC

newsocks wrote: post #21

How are miniproteins any different than just peptides? The article references "miniproteins"as being the same as "minipetides"... as though these are both different from regular peptides. Wikipedia states that peptides are "approximately 50 or fewer amino acids" [0] while minipeptides are "a length of less than 100-150 amino acids" [1]. Is this article really just saying that "peptides are upending cell biology"? [0]…

The difference is that the peptides are generated by chopping up larger proteins, while miniproteins are synthesised as short proteins. I.e. you need other enzymes to turn a protein into peptide, but a microprotein only needs to be translated to be short!

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#29

Post by doctoboggan » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:28 PM UTC

newsocks wrote: post #21

How are miniproteins any different than just peptides? The article references "miniproteins"as being the same as "minipetides"... as though these are both different from regular peptides. Wikipedia states that peptides are "approximately 50 or fewer amino acids" [0] while minipeptides are "a length of less than 100-150 amino acids" [1]. Is this article really just saying that "peptides are upending cell biology"? [0]…

From the article:

> OTHER SHORT AMINO ACID chains, often called peptides or polypeptides, abound in cells, but they are pared-down remnants of bigger predecessors. Myoregulin and its diminutive brethren, in contrast, are born small.

Re: New universe of miniproteins is upending cell biology and genetics

#30

Post by doctoboggan » Thu, Oct 17, 2019, 8:33 PM UTC

Balgair wrote: post #18

cwkoss wrote: post #8

Disclaimer: These are novel chemicals and most sources you can find them from are questionable at best. Don't even consider using these without deeply researching the risks from the specific peptide, the quality control of the supplier, as well as the inherent risks of injecting substances of questionable purity. --- BPC-157 is a really interesting peptide https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BPC-157 "It has been tested in…

Melatonin and Melanin are closely related chemicals that are used all over the body and are synthesized in the body through related mechanisms and pathways. Melatonin is used in the sleep-wake cycle and melanin is used by the skin to darken it and protect from solar radiation. When you need to sleep and when you need solar protection tend to be inversely related. The interaction between these processes is still being…

The comment you are replying to is referring to Melanotan and you are referring to Melatonin. Two very different things (but the same caution about injecting peptides should apply to both)