<article>
<h2
id="til-1-and-2---a-cure-for-sickle-cell-anemia-fetal-hemoglobin">TIL 1
and 2 - a cure for Sickle Cell Anemia / fetal hemoglobin</h2>
<p><small><strong>Note</strong>: many of the words used here have
alternative UK (and Commonwealth) spellings versus USA spellings. I am
using the USA versions throughout, though I personally prefer the UK
versions with their <a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphthong">diphthongs</a> and <a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligature_(writing)">ligatures</a>
like <code>fœtal</code>, but I blame my education for the
bias!</small></p>
<p><u>TLDR 1: A potential cure was approved in the UK in November 2023
for the blood disorder called <em>Sickle Cell Anemia</em>.</u></p>
<p><u>TLDR 2: The oxygen-carrying pigment in fetuses is different from
that in adults, and changes after birth.</u></p>
<ul>
<li>I am interested in all types of science, but particularly in Biology
of all sorts (I have a BSc degree in Zoology).</li>
<li>I was listening to a podcast where the subject of a potential
treatment for Sickle Cell Anemia was discussed:
<ul>
<li>Sickle Cell Disease is an inherited blood disorder resulting in
anemia which has many complications and can be fatal. It is caused by an
abnormality in haemoglobin. It's a rather complex subject which we will
not go into here, though the <a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle_cell_disease">Wikipedia</a>
page has a lot of useful information.</li>
<li>A new treatment has been developed using genetic manipulation (<a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR_gene_editing">CRISPR</a>),
which increases the amount of fetal hemoglobin (Hemoglobin F) produced
by the stem cells in the bone marrow.</li>
<li>Red blood cells with Hemoglobin F do not form the sickle shape.</li>
</ul></li>
<li>A "foetus" (UK) or "fetus" (US) is the unborn offspring that
develops from an animal embryo.</li>
<li>Hemoglobin is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. In the
fetus it is different from that in the adult, and is called
<em>Hemoglobin F</em>. Normally the fetal form is replaced by the adult
form after birth in the first 2-4 months.</li>
<li>Quote from Wikipedia: <em>Hemoglobin F has a different composition
than adult forms of hemoglobin, allowing it to bind (or attach to)
oxygen more strongly; this in turn enables the developing fetus to
retrieve oxygen from the mother's bloodstream, which occurs through the
placenta found in the mother's uterus.</em></li>
<li>The change from fetal to adult haemoglobin has been known about for
many years (75+?) but I had never heard of it until recently.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="links">Links</h3>
<ul>
<li>About the words "foetal", "fœtal" and "fetal":
<ul>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diphthong">Wikipedia:
Diphthong</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ligature_(writing)">Wikipedia:
Ligature (writing)</a></li>
</ul></li>
<li><a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sickle_cell_disease">Wikipedia:
Sickle Cell Disease</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRISPR_gene_editing">Wikipedia:
CRISPR gene editing</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetus">Wikipedia:
Fetus</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemoglobin">Wikipedia:
Hemoglobin</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_hemoglobin">Wikipedia:
Fetal hemoglobin</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria">Wikipedia:
Malaria</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="til-3---perls-birthday">TIL 3 - Perl's birthday</h2>
<ul>
<li>The Perl scripting language was "born" in 1987 on December
18<sup>th</sup>.</li>
<li>See the <a
href="https://github.com/Perl/perl5/commit/8d063cd8450e59ea1c611a2f4f5a21059a2804f1">Github
commit</a> for the first released version</li>
<li>I'm a long-time devotee of Perl, and my birthday is the same day! I
didn't know this until today ☺<br />
I'm more than twice as old though...</li>
<li>I find it quite interesting to look at the original ideas behind
Perl, which you can see on Github.</li>
</ul>
<h3 id="links-1">Links</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.perl.org/">Perl website</a></li>
<li><a
href="https://github.com/Perl/perl5/commit/8d063cd8450e59ea1c611a2f4f5a21059a2804f1">First
Github commit</a></li>
<li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl">Wikipedia:
Perl</a></li>
</ul>
</article>
