Researchers are now using sea urchins to study and understand diseases like Cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, muscular dystrophy and infertility. Surprising these small, spiky invertebrates share 7000 genes with humans. When the genes of Sea Urchins and Humans are compared a fair few of the amino acid sequences are perfect matches.
Cristina Calestani, a developmental geneticist at University of Central Florida in Orlando states "You really need a relatively simple system in order to study, but still, also you want it to be complex enough and closer enough to vertebrate in order to use this information". These creatures are one of the few invertebrates that share more genes with humans than fruit flies and worms. As a result, researchers are able to create large amounts of material. Once a complete map of the Sea urchin’s DNA is done, researches will be able to have a greater understanding on genes; and how to combat and even prevent them.
Another fact on Sea Urchins is that they can live up to 100 years, and have a strong immune system. Human’s are born with innate immunity and acquire more over time. Urchin’s however only have innate immunity, however 10 to 20 times more than humans. There is the hope that studying the urchins will result in a new set of antiviral and antibiotic compounds to fight various infectious diseases.
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2007/0304-sea_urchins_reveal_medical_mysteries.htm
