TO MY NEW STUDENTS

 Interview directed by Gustavo Fernandez in "The Review”, Cultural Radio, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco’s System of Radio and Television. Friday, Jun 29, 2007.

 GF - … I think that starting at this moment we are going to have a conversation for which we are going to ask you most specially to put all the attention as Fernando Castro Chavez is joining us, he is specialist in molecular biology and well, for the very few words that we exchanged in a minute, I think there is not going to be a second that we could miss in this dialog with Fernando. Thank you, Fernando for visiting us, and welcome; and well, molecular biology, genetics, present, future, here we have mixed so many things.

 fdocc – Yes, and specially, I am happy that you had received me, thank you very much, and we can start by defining molecular biology.

 GF – What’s your specialty?

 fdocc – Well, the Ph.D. is in molecular biology, but before I did a master’s degree in biotechnology.

 GF - What is molecular biology?

 fdocc – Molecular biology is the study of the structure of genes and their function. It is, going to the smallest part of existence which is functional to sustain life.

 GF - ¿What do you discover studying genes? ¿What could we find studying genetics; well, we are interested in humans but in reality it is in everything?, because, every living being has genetics.

 fdocc – Yes, of course. For example, we can see single analogies able to illustrate us the means and the area for this specialty. In fruit flies, we ask ourselves, is this small red eyed fly able to remember things?, to memorize things? Then, scientists put in one side a smell coupled to an electric discharge and in the other side, another smell without electricity, and they see if the fly is capable to relate the smell with electricity and not go to that location, but to the opposite side. After that, the scientist alters the genes using some mutagens when the flies are very small and they find out if the fly is amnesia being unable to remember the difference between the smell coupled to electricity and the smell without electricity, the scientist studies which is exactly the altered gene, and in that way it is possible to define the location of the genetic information involved with memory; and the surprising thing is that even the smallest animals, including bacteria, are able to remember things and to move accordingly.

 GF - ¿Which benefits can this bring to human genetics?, because we know, for example, that already there are, and I have seen it, for example, the sell of fluorescent fishes, in United States, you are coming from there…

 fdocc – Yes.

 GF -  … rabbits with pink hair, I don’t know, such kina of things genetically obtainable, but which benefits, apart of this show a little bit of bad taste could be attained, ¿which benefits it offers to the human being?

 fdocc - Yes, unfortunately the bad taste is altering such genes, but that’s the only way to learn where are them located. In the case of small animals, well, those are the ones that, so to speak, are teaching us, offering us such knowledge. In the case of humans, genes are more complex, with more variations, and based in what we learn from those animals, we could be able to infer some things for the human organism, and very carefully, to try, in humans, not to destroy genes, but to look for a way to reversibly inhibit some noxious genes. For example, in the case of obesity, the last study I did in the U. S. consists in a protein called "perilipin”, which means, "surrounding lipids” and is the protein located in the storage box of your fatty cells.                       

GF – In the belly

 fdocc – Exactly there, in male and a little lower in women, and what we discovered is that if we cut deliberately such gene in mice, no matter how much fat the little mouse ingests or more carbohydrates, never will it get fatty, it keeps itself lean, meager and with strong muscles.

 GF – Well, that will be hyper-excellent for us.

 fdocc – Of course, there is a little collateral effect, as God knows why he put such storage systems …

 GF – Yes.

 fdocc - …and the animal which lacks of the storage units, if it stays for a long time at low temperatures, for example, eight hours at four degrees, is able to start freezing if lacking food. Then, it needs food, eating almost twice the wild-type animal, but it survives if in the refrigerator it is food available.

 GF – Well, here we have two topics that you touched passing by but that I will like you to tell us something about them.

 fdocc – Yes.

 GF – When you mentioned creation, that God knows why he did things. It is the religious concept involved in science and science with religion in these topics?

 fdocc – Well, for example, what happens is that researchers have personal convictions, and based on those they can develop research. For example, in my case, in my conviction, in my belief in a God creator, I can in such a way to see the order, and try to find out what altered such order, and to try to revert it. For example, in humans, it has been investigated that natives of the north of Mexico, the Pima Indians, in the environment in which they live they are perfectly adapted, through exercise and activity, and all the movement they do during the day. But if they move to United States, they cross the border, their diet changes, they move to an environment totally sedentary, and they became getting obese. Then, the key is in identifying what is normality and how to revert to normal for humans, as in this case, this tribe of the north of Mexico, they need to do more exercise.

 GF – Yes, science knows for example genetic studies, for what are you telling us, of people in a region; for example, can we say that we already know the genetics of Mexicans?

 fdocc – Yes, it is known in part and there have been selected specific genes; for example, what I was investigating in Guadalajara, in the Civil Hospital, with Doctor Arturo Panduro, he is looking at the small genetic variations that are making the different Mexican native populations from different tribes, more susceptible to alcoholism. Then, he have found that with some genetic modifications, technically called "polymorphism”, some people have smaller enzyme’s mouths degrading alcohol, being for that reason incapable of degrading it on time and it stays stationary, and it accumulates in the liver, with which there are high problems of developing cirrhosis when compared with other populations.

 GF - Where did you develop your research in the United States?

 fdocc – Well, we studied in the Baylor Collage of Medicine, which is in touch with the Guadalajara University, but the biggest desire is to be able to launch this molecular research here in Puerto Vallarta. Because, if we were able to say that there is a living laboratory rich in biological resources, plants and animals…more than Guadalajara itself, it is here, on the beach.

 GF – "It is here, on the beach”, and related to the current and concrete benefits that you could be able to mention us related to chronic-degenerative diseases or some other malady, as you mentioned alcoholism, but that could be applied now for the normal patient in relation to genetics, what can you tell us?.

 fdocc – Certainly, for example from molecular biology studies it was discovered that apart of the insulin injection, there is another alternative which is an oral medicament, I won’t provide the commercial name, but there is already oral medicine to counteract Diabetes…

 GF – ¡There is such medicament!

 fdocc – …And was based on molecular biology. Then, it saves Diabetic people the pain of insulin injections every day through this oral ingestion …

 GF – So, that is with a small oral capsule …

 fdocc – Yes, it can be one in the morning, another in the night, and when the person is normalized, it is possible to reduce the consumption of this capsule and to try to improve diet and exercise. Because all of these medicaments unfortunately make the person addictive to them, which means, an obese person desiring to get lean with a reversible inhibitor to be discovered, that we may be able to discover, God first, will depend on such substance to lower its weight, and when that person stops taking it, the process will start reverting if the person lacks of the education to eat correctly and the will to do exercise. This is then a combination of things, first, it will be to provide the treatment, then, when the person gets excited looking how it gets lean again, to teach her how to eat correctly, small amounts, and to do exercise, to increase the activity.

 GF – I don’t say it is difficult to believe because we are talking about science, but really the diet that we have here in Mexico is not helpful to achieve that modifying, it won’t be so easy what you are saying because we are totally used to eat carbohydrates, fats and the most the best because we enjoy it more.

 fdocc – Certainly, and we go to the U. S. and the diet there is even worse.

 GF – (smile)

 fdocc – The irony is, for example, we have antiobesity congresses in the United States and in the breaks they provide slices of de pizza, donuts… 

 GF – (SMILE)

 fdocc – Which is to say, the key relies in the will of the person and I think that no matter how many medicines will be discovered, if a person lacks the will, she will revert to obesity, or will became a dependent on chemicals, a medical substance able to help her on reducing weight.

 GF – In what we talked before we entered to the microphone, we saw that all these advances, this genetic and molecular manipulation is welcome, but if it falls in hands of people that is going to use it in benefit of humanity. That’s a very delicate topic with ethics in between.

 fdocc – Indeed, absolutely. To us researchers it is really discouraging when higher powers in the sense of more political, with more economy than the researcher, they take it for their personal means and then, they hide it for the higher classes and not provide it to the general population, or they use it for their particular ends, and this is sad.

 GF – And unfortunately it is something that happens …

 fdocc – Yes…

 GF - … I say, without specifying particulars, but that’s something present to be very careful about, ¿no?

 fdocc – Of course, and with extreme discretion and wisdom to try to counteract it, without a total exposure.

 GF - ¿Do we have already available genetic modifications useful for man in his daily life, that we are using without knowing it, are those already here?

 fdocc – For example, many foods already have genetic advantages, including if only obtained through selection, I mean, I agree that before using aggressive technologies in the laboratory, we have the beauty of Mendel methods for genetic improvement, where you for example select the bigger tomatoes and from there you have better production, or you select cows producing milk and you obtain a better yield. It is to say that with the simple cross-breeding methods, which is a key forgotten for many people because is time consuming and work intense, you can even obtain new varieties of organisms.

 GF – Now that you mention milk, I want to ask, in a TV program they said that in South America there are cows that are producing milk for diabetics, which means that now with that milk they don’t need to receive the insulin injection, similar to what you commented before.

 fdocc – Certainly.

 GF – Then it called my attention because it is to obtain an animal producing something specific to provide for a need.

 fdocc – Yes, in that case the gene producing a substance is inserted and then, when people drinks that milk, the medicine is already there, it’s like instead of swallowing the capsule that we commented before to counteract diabetes, instead of the injection of insulin...

 GF – Your little glass of milk..

 fdocc - … instead of the capsule, now it will be a glass of enriched milk with the medicament.

 GF – Now, I would like to ask about the famous genetic maps that it has been talked a lot in these last years here in Mexico. Let’s suppose that a person knows her genetic map and knows her specific pitfalls that she may have cardiac problems, she can be exposed to some risks, for example, in a woman, breast cancer problems and that appears in a page… How can the family doctor act in the face of that knowledge, I mean, what advantages it provides him?

 fdocc – Still today it is very expensive, there’s already the technology to put in a slide thousands of genes, their alterations and variations and when the extract is put above them, for example of DNA taken from the blood of a person, it can be seen which genes are the ones susceptible in a person, then, if that is detected in an early age, obesity can be se prevented, as well as diabetes even before its first symptoms. But, right now that continues being very expensive, but I am confident that in the future costs are going down and this can be a general treatment for all the people. It’ll be prevention medicine.

 GF – How long it’ll take for a baby born in the Social Security to pick his genetic CD under his arm? How long?

 fdocc – Well, the simplest thing will be that people get conscious to see how is the family antecedent, that will provide some idea. For example, if the family history is that my grandfather had diabetes and my father as well, it is possible that the child be bearing the damaged gen. Then, that gives us some idea about which genes to look closely. All of this will tell us: O.K., I am not going to study genes related with other aspect, for example digestion, if what I need to see is how to control diabetes. Then, specifically I will take a lesser number of genes related to the development of diabetes and maybe that will reduce costs and we could be able to analyze specific genes. Because the slide with thousands of genes is very general and even now it’s very expensive and basically it is used more than anything to do basic research.

 GF – So, it still is somehow expensive to obtain such genetic map. How is Mexico doing in this topic? How is the Mexican research when compared with Europe, United Status, which are most certainly the leaders in this topic? How is Mexico doing?

 fdocc – Yeah, for example this technology of thousands of genes on a slide is very expensive and it is one of the reasons I went to Houston, because it was lacking here. Now it is starting to be imported and there is available to do studies with a lesser number of genes; for example, in Guadalajara, in the Civil Hospital, Doctor Panduro is doing a map with genetic variations for multiple ethnical groups in Mexico and that, for me, is something very good that doesn’t exist in any other part of the world.

 GF – In none… I want to read you some of the phone calls that we have received because it really puts us very happy. Architect RB says "interesting talk”, he wanted you to be invited again, if it can be a genetic program, well, hopefully we could do one. Miss LG is marveled, fascinated with the conversation she would like you to be invited again as "genetics is the profession of the future”, and of the present as well ¿no? So many things have already been done …

 fdocc – Affirmative.

 GF – JM says "where can I locate the guest? Congratulations for the quality of the same.” We also have Miss Lupita, "very interesting interview, please, invite him again”. Her husband is obese and she is very interested in the issue. Yes, well, to all of us, it is interesting to all of us. But these are not magic solutions, ¿no? There must be a commitment by the patient’s side, right?

 fdocc - Certainly, of course, and more than anything the study of the biosciences, which is something very beautiful. For example, here in Mexico we have more than 300 organisms varieties of amphibians and more than one thousand two hundred of reptiles, and for me as a researcher, there should be a lot of antidotes that if we be able to concentrate them they must help the person for example to reduce her weight or to control her obesity.

 GF – Here you told us, for example, of the amphibians that regenerate their extremities, or for example, the ones that live in stagnant waters and live without any infection, that is to say, how all of this opens a magnificent field.

 fdocc – Yes it is, for example in Patzcuaro we have this variety of amphibians Ambystoma, the Axolotl, that if you cut one of its little feet it grows again, and at the six months you start observing though with a smaller size the little toes totally differentiated. The, again, if us as researchers, when the animal embryo we altered their gene, and if then is unable to regenerate, we can see exactly which gene is the one and study it and compare it with the human, and we could think in the future in organ-repairs for human beings.

 GF – Well Fernando, thank you very much for visiting us, we have many, many more topics to talk and hopefully, we hope that this thing that you can stay in Puerto Vallarta more frequently, and that’s what all the phone calls are requesting, that we may invite you again, so we commit you to visit us again when you’ll be back here in Vallarta …

 fdocc – Yes, I am so happy to be able to collaborate and to talk about the biosciences and everything that they can offer.

 GF – Well, Fernando Castro Chavez, a researcher in molecular biology developing his work there in Houston, and coming soon here in Vallarta as well.

 fdocc – God First. Thank you very much, and thanks to the audience.

 Esmeralda – Thanks Fernando, now we are going to hear a musical …

Tasters of the Word (the blog, with: "Astronomy and the Birth of Jesus Christ"):http://fertra1.blogspot.com