Awww.

[lederhosen]

Thanks to jazzmasterson for this:

Microbe plushies!

BTW, while the biologists are reading, the following is an excerpt from an email somebody sent me today:

There are hundreds of millions of different proteins in nature, and only one hormone that is identical between any two species. [IGF-1, according to the email.]

Any bio-types want to comment on this claim? I'm pretty sure testosterone and dopamine, at least, are common to most mammals.

Comments

[skwerlbuddy.livejournal.com]

So is Seritonin.
(And also something that they call "Substance P" which is a stress hormone associated with pain.)

[turnberryknkn.livejournal.com]

Awww.

And *identical* between species? You mean no conservative substitutions or anything? And between *all* species?

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

No, the wording's a little ambiguous, but "any" is used here as the opposite of "none", rather than "every". Let me paraphrase:

"IGF-1 is identical between two species [humans and bovines]; no other hormone exists in identical form in two species."

It was part of a longish email on Why Breast Cancer Is Caused By Drinking Cows' Milk. My biochemistry was never much to begin with and is now rusty from disuse, but I know enough to find that much rather implausible; I'd be interested to hear your comments on the rest of it.

[sender details snipped]
Each spoonful of yogurt contains estrogen, which has
been identified as a factor in promoting breast cancer
cellular proliferation and growth. Milk and dairy
products also contain a powerful growth hormone
called insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I).

There are hundreds of millions of different
proteins in nature, and only one hormone that
is identical between any two species. That
powerful growth hormone is IGF-I, and it is
an exact match in the cow's body and the human
body. By eating one container of yogurt, a
female doubles the amount of free circulating
IGF-I in her body. Eat one portion of ice
cream and one consumes 12 times the amount of
this powerful cancer accelerator. IGF-I survives
digestion and has been identified as the key factor
in breast cancer's growth.

If you believe that breast feeding "works" to protect
lactoferrins and immunoglobulins from digestion (and
benefit the nursing infant), you must also recognize
that milk is a hormonal delivery system. By drinking
cow's milk or eating ice cream, one delivers IGF-I
in a bioactive form to the body's cells. When IGF-I
from cow's milk alights upon an existing cancer...
____________________________________________

"Human Insulin-like growth factor (IGF-I) and bovine
IGF-I are identical. Both contain 70 amino acids in
the identical sequence."

Judith C. Juskevich and C. Greg Guyer. SCIENCE,
vol. 249. August 24, 1990.
____________________________________________

"IGF-I is critically involved in the aberrant growth
of human breast cancer cells."

M. Lippman. J. Natl. Inst. Health Res., 1991, 3.
____________________________________________

"Estrogen regulation of IGF-I in breast cancer cells
would support the hypothesis that IGF-I has a regulatory
function in breast cancer."

A.V. Lee, Mol-Cell- Endocrinol., March, 99(2).
____________________________________________

"IGF-I is a potent growth factor for cellular proliferation
in the human breast carcinoma cell line."

J.C. Chen, J-Cell-Physiol., January, 1994, 158(1)
____________________________________________

"Insulin-like growth factors are key factors for
breast cancer growth."

J.A. Figueroa, J-Cell-Physiol., Nov., 1993, 157(2)
____________________________________________

"IGF-I produces a 10-fold increase in RNA levels of
cancer cells. IGF-I appears to be a critical component
in cellular proliferation."

X.S. Li, Exp-Cell-Res., March, 1994, 211(1)
____________________________________________

"IGF-I plays a major role in human breast cancer
cell growth."

E.A. Musgrove, Eur-J-Cancer, 29A (16), 1993
____________________________________________

"IGF-I has been identified as a key factor in
breast cancer."

Hankinson. The Lancet, vol. 351. May 9, 1998
____________________________________________

"Serum IGF-I levels increased significantly in milk
drinkers, an increase of about 10% above baseline but
was unchanged in the control group."

Robert P. Heaney, Journal of the American Dietetic
Association, vol. 99, no. 10. October 1999
____________________________________________

"IGF-1 accelerates the growth of breast cancer cells."

M. Lippman Science, Vol. 259, January 29, 1993

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com

[theonementat.livejournal.com]

Propaganda. There may be a link, but it's pretty obvious to me that the "author" is simply picking and choosing quotes that seem to support his "hypothesis" and ignoring everything else. Case in point, "Identical" in the genetic sense does not mean they are the exact same sequences. This guy is a tool and can be safely ignored.

[lederhosen.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Pretty much as I suspected - I've got a reasonably good nose for junk science - but I don't know enough biochem to address specifics.

[theonementat.livejournal.com]

Awww, who's the cutest little Shigella in the room? You are! Yes you are!