biology – Australian Science

Interview with Joanne Manaster – a multipassionate scientist

Danica Radovanovic — Sat, 29 Nov 2014 16:58:20 +0000

Joanne Manaster is a cell and molecular biology lecturer at the University of Illinois. She currently works as an online course developer and lecturer of science courses for the School of Integrative Biology. Prior to this current position, Joanne has taught histology, cell biology, and tissue engineering laboratories to biology and bioengineering students for nearly 20 years. Beside her academic career, she is a science writer and communicator, science video host, and STEM advocate. Joanne has run a girls’ bioengineering camp, and helped with the iGEM synthetic biology team and other outreach activities. She also makes video reviews of popular science books as well as whimsical science experiments with cats, cookies, gummy bears and make-up.

Joanne writes about science at her website, Joanne Loves Science and also at Scientific American blogs. She has been named by Mashable as having one of the 25 Twitter Accounts That Will Make You Smarter. You can find her on Twitter as ScienceGoddess.

Welcome to Australian Science! Would you, please, tell our readers a little bit more about yourself? What is your scientific background, and your professional scope?

Thank you for asking me to join you!

I am a faculty lecturer at the University of Illinois. I initially started my college studies with plans to head to medical school but through my course of studies I found I really clicked with cell and molecular biology and was very adept at lab work. Through various opportunities, I also discovered I had a knack for explaining scientific concepts so eventually changed my path to teach at the university level. I studied muscle development at the microscopic level in grad school and eventually transitioned to teaching cell biology and histology.

How did you initially get interested in science? When did you start to express your curiosity for science?

I always loved nature and had a fascination with human health. I spent a lot of time in nature and did a lot of reading on science topics. I didn’t know any scientists. I knew they existed from reading textbooks, but the whole field seemed shrouded in mystery. However, I understood what doctors did and thought that becoming a physician would be a valid way to pursue my passion for science. As I mentioned above, it wasn’t until college that I realized how scientists did their work, and could then consider that as a career path.

It is interesting to mention that you are a former international model, back in the days of your adolescence. Did you find something scientific in the world of modeling and fashion?

As far as modeling goes, I was discovered while I was in high school. Initially, I wasn’t enthusiastic about it but realized it would be a great way to earn money for medical school. While I was modeling, I wasn’t thinking about it in any scientific manner as I was learning to interact with a very new and somewhat foreign world. It wasn’t until I completed my science training in college did I really start to see how science explained just about everything. In my course of teaching students, I also began to see the value in piquing their interest by talking about things they could relate to in terms of science, and that extends to my online outreach!

Would you tell us more about your role within executing online courses for current and future science teachers?

After many years of giving lectures and running laboratory classes which overlapped with my online outreach, I realized that I could apply my ability to communicate online to my instructing position so I transitioned to teaching cutting edge biology through my online program for middle school and high school teachers who want to obtain their Master of Science Teaching. I have designed and executed three courses for this program so far: The Human Genome and Bioinformatics, Evolution and Medicine and Emerging Infectious Diseases. I enjoy mixing primary scientific literature with popular science communication to both train the teachers and to give them resources for their classrooms. Teachers make the best students!

You have a very unique approach for science book reviews using video as a format for presentation, encouraging everyone to read. Other videos are an interesting and whimsical introduction to the world of science disguised in everyday items. How did you get inspired to make such videos?

Book reviews are a natural for me. I love to read and I love science! The gummi bear videos began from a question asked by one of my college students. He asked if a gummy bear could be liquefied through the process of sonication (using high frequency sound waves). I then considered how I could subject the gummy bears to other lab techniques!

One of my favorite videos is Cats In Sinks, which was inspired by a fun website that showed numerous cats in sinks and it made me think I could talk about theoretical vs. experimental science by trying to figure out how many cats could fit in my large lab sink.

I also really enjoyed using cookies as my models of blood cells to create a series about those cells called “Blood Cell Bakery

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The Highlights of 2013

Danica Radovanovic — Fri, 20 Dec 2013 10:04:12 +0000

This year our writers churned out a host of fantastic articles, including a series of posts dedicated to women in space, written by Sharon Harnett. One of the most notable of the series was all about Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman astronaut. This year was the 50th anniversary of her historic spaceflight. We also had a few great interviews, including one with Henry Reich, creator of the YouTube series Minute Physics. We’ve managed a number of achievements. We’ve helped several science writers gain exposure and reputation world wide, we’ve appeared on ABC’s Newsline, and we’ve been listed in TED’s top 10 science and technology websites.

So, in no particular order, here are ten of our favourite articles from 2013. We hope you’ll enjoy these stories. Stay curious and scientifically passionate!

A Tale of Two STEM Women by Buddhini Samarasinghe

When I first read this story, I was struck by how often we focus on happy stories like Marie Curie’s, and how the story of someone like Clara Immerwahr remains largely forgotten. She had a tremendous amount of potential, as evidenced by her being the first female to receive a Ph.D at the University of Breslau, an endeavor that is certainly not for the faint-hearted even now. One can only wonder at the ‘might-have-beens’ if she had had the same support and encouragement that Marie Curie did, if she had not married Haber, or if Haber had been a different kind of person. These examples highlight that talent alone is not enough; we need to encourage that talent by promoting equality and recognizing our own biases when it comes to women in STEM. Read more>>

Sometimes it’s hard to be a woman (in science) by Amy Reichelt

Obtaining a senior academic position for any aspiring young academic is one of those uphill struggles with roads lined with self doubt, setbacks and sacrifice. Some call it the way to tenure-track, in my mind it’s one of those ill-defined paths through a potentially haunted forest inhabited with monsters, gigantic poisonous spiders and creepy people who communicate by screaming. It can be harder still to even reach that point, particularly for young women. While the number of women professors in Europe, N. America and Australia has increased over the last decade, universities still have a disproportionately small number of women in senior professorial positions. Read more>>

Spiders on Mars? No, An Australian Radio Telescope! by Elizabeth Howell

The MWA is a powerful telescope in its own right, but what is even more exciting is it will form part of a larger project in the coming years. The Square Kilometre Array will link radio telescopes on two continents — Australia and Africa — to get a fine look at the sky in radio wavelengths. MWA is just one part of this array. There will also be dish receptors in eight countries in Africa, with the core and some mid-frequency aperture arrays in South Africa’s Karoo desert. Read more>>

Hopeful results in latest HIV vaccine trial, but many hurdles to overcome yet by David Borradale

A HIV vaccine, known as SAV001-H has shown promising results in an early clinical trial, with no adverse effects reported and importantly, a significant increase reported in HIV specific antibodies in participants who received the vaccine. In this trial, 33 HIV positive participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups: half into a treatment group receiving the vaccine and half into a placebo group who did not receive the vaccine. The participants were followed up at regular periods, testing safety of the vaccine and antibody response over a one year period. Read more>>

Are Australians Really Getting Dumber? by Magdeline Lum

The Australian Academy of Science has found that when it comes to science Australians are getting dumber in its latest report on science literacy. Compared to three years ago, less people in Australia know that the Earth’s orbit of the sun takes one year. Among 18-24 year olds 62% surveyed knew the correct answer, a fall from 74% three years ago. Other results would also send scientists into a tail spin of despair, with 27% of respondents saying that the earliest humans lived at the same time as dinosaurs, though an improvement from 30% of respondents in 2010 who thought this. What does this all say? If you take the face value of the press release and the ensuing media coverage, Australians are getting dumber. Read more>>

From fables to Facebook: Why do we tell stories? by Lauren Fuge

Storytelling is one of our most fundamental communication methods, for an obvious reason: narrative helps us cognise information. Telling intelligible, coherent stories to both ourselves and others helps our brains to organise data about our lives and our world. But when we askwhy stories are so effective at helping us cognise information, the answers are surprising: it seems that somewhere in the otherwise ruthless process of natural selection, evolution has wired our brains to prefer storytelling over other forms of communication. Read more>>

Plastic’s Reach by Kelly Burnes

Plastic. Seems it has extended its reach into the farthest corners of the universe. An earliest post described how plastic has changed our lives, for better…and for worse. ADD link to earlier post. That post largely reflected on the growing problem of plastic in the oceans and the effect on plant and animal life. Now, it seems that plastic threatens our freshwater lakes now too. Read more>>

Postcard from Spitzer: weather on 2M2228 is hot and cloudy by Kevin Orrman-Rossiter

Long distance weather reports are now a commonality. The report for 2MASSJ22282889-431026 is somewhat unusual. It forecasts wind-driven, planet-sized clouds, with the light varying in time, brightening and dimming about every 90 minutes. The clouds on 2MASSJ22282889-431026 are composed of hot grains of sand, liquid drops of iron, and other exotic compounds. Definitely not the first place to spend a summer holiday. Not that 2MASSJ22282889-431026 (or 2M2228 as it is known in The Astrophysical Journal Letters) will appear on a travel itinerary anytime soon. For 2M2228 is a brown dwarf, 39.1 light years from earth. Read more>>

The bacteria that live inside hurricanes by Charles Ebikeme

Seven miles above the Earth’s surface, where the weather is born, lies the troposphere – the lowest layer of Earth’s atmosphere. Up there, where the clouds dance around, are bacteria that can make it rain, and are important for the formation of clouds. The atmospheric microbiome is a concept and field of study that is gaining importance. As we come to grips with a changing climate and environment, understanding more and more our Earth ecosystem remains vital. With hurricane damage in the US and elsewhere seemingly on an exponential increase in recent decades, it is important to mitigate for the worst. Read more>>

Quantum computing: Australian researchers store data on a single atom! by Markus Hammonds

Computing is also an incredibly fast moving field of technology, and research is finally taking us towards the exciting world of quantum computing! Quantum computers will work using quantum bits, or qubits for short, which are analogous to the digital bits used in computers like the one which you’re using to read this article. Recently, a team of engineers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) has successfully demonstrated, for the first time ever, how a single atom can be act as a qubit, effectively showing the first step in building an ultra fast quantum computer. And they might just have created the best qubit ever made. Read more>>

Happy 2014 from Markus, Charles, Kevin, Kelly, and Danica!

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Weekly Science Picks

Markus — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 00:12:55 +0000

It is with a heavy heart that I must say, this is my final set of Weekly Science Picks here on Australian Science. In fact, it’s to be the final set of Weekly Science Picks. Unfortunately, running a site like this one is a costly affair, and it’s been an honour to be a writer here over the past year and a half. Scientific progress will, of course, always carry on and I hope there will always be places to discuss new findings, implications, and effects of it on human culture and society.

So, proudly then, here are the final set of news stories which caught my eye this week. Make no mistake – there’s been some pretty cool news recently!

Firstly, and in my opinion most excitingly, is a medical breakthrough which could actually revolutionise surgery in the future. And anyone who knows me will know that I don’t use words like “revolutionise” lightly. Quite simply, the device is a small pen, developed by the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES), which will be able to deposit stem cells and growth factors directly into injuries. This means that this pen could help injured tissue – bones, muscle, and even nerves – to regrow. Oh, and did I mention it works using 3D printing technology?

BioPen to rewrite orthopaedic implants surgery

The BioPen prototype was designed and built using the 3D printing equipment in the labs at the University of Wollongong and was this week handed over to clinical partners at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne, led by Professor Peter Choong, who will work on optimising the cell material for use in clinical trials.

For a long time humans were considered unique in that we use tools where other animal species don’t. But since that old idea, more and more animals – from birds to octopodes – have been shown to use tools in their daily lives. The most recent addition to this collection of smart creatures is the crocodile which has been found to use lures while hunting. Perhaps this might help show that reptiles are smarter than we give them credit for!

Alligators and Crocodiles Use Tools to Hunt, in a First

Relatively less is known about crocodiles and alligators than many animals, because, as large predators, they are difficult to raise in the lab and study up close in the wild. Their cold-bloodedness also makes them slow. “They operate on a different time scale; they do things more slowly,” Burghardt said. “Sometimes we don’t have the patience to let them strut their stuff, as it were … so this kind of study is important.”

A huge plume of water has been spotted, gushing from the surface of Enceladus, Saturn’s tiny snowball moon. While the exact source of Enceladus’ warmth is still something of a mystery, this sighting means that its activity is quite clear – this water plume is reaching an altitude of around 201 km above the surface of the tiny world. That’s nearly ten times as high as Olympus Mons, the solar system’s largest mountain (which itself dwarfs Everest, the heighest mountain on Earth).

Hubble Space Telescope Sees Evidence of Water Vapor Venting off Jupiter Moon

“By far the simplest explanation for this water vapor is that it erupted from plumes on the surface of Europa,

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-12-15 00:12:55). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-58/
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Weekly Science Picks

Markus — Sun, 24 Nov 2013 12:42:52 +0000

Well, it’s my turn to pick my favourite science news this week on Australian Science. And I must apologise for being slightly late with this. The reason is that I’ve only just got home to Tokyo after spending all week in Taipei for a conference on interstellar dust! As with any good conference, it’s been fun and fascinating but also rather tiring. If anyone’s curious to know more about what went on, the twitter hashtag #lcod2013 is where myself and others were giving internet commentary over the past week.

Also, between talks, twitter is where I heard most of this week’s worldwide science happenings. So here are a few of the things which caught my eye…

Firstly, Katie Mack (a long term inspiration to me) wrote an article for The Research Whisperer on the perils of the academic lifestyle and being a science nomad – and how that affects your personal life. Being still very recently relocated to Japan myself, this strikes something of a chord with me. It’s worth reading for anyone considering a science career themselves. while I personally rather enjoy the nomadic nature of this job, it’s certainly not for everyone. And I have yet to see how I feel about it a couple more years down the line…

Academic scattering

As for me, I confess I haven’t figured it out. I have two years left on my contract in Australia and no idea whatsoever which country I’ll end up in next. I’m applying broadly, and there’s no guarantee I’ll have a choice about location if I want to stay on the path toward becoming tenure-track faculty at a major research institution. When it’s not unusual for a single postdoc job to have 300 applicants, and faculty jobs are even more selective, getting even one offer is considered a huge win.

Moving on to life of a different kind, a brand new species has been discovered in the waters off the coast of California. And anyone who’s been reading my articles awhile will know how exciting I find the discovery of new species! This time around, it’s a somewhat scary looking new species of crustacean. Don’t worry though. It only eats copepods.

New Alien-like Crustacean Species Identified in California Waters

The frail crustacean, which is only a few millimeters in length, was discovered by scientists from the University of Seville in Spain and the Museum of Natural History in Canada, who had published a taxonomic description of the new species in the journal Zootaxa.

Meanwhile in space… When people talk of space stations and lasers, a lot of us will immediately think of Star Wars. Or whatever other sci fi we might prefer. However, up in orbit around Earth, our own space station is preparing to use lasers for a rather less destructive purpose – to transmit video back to use down here on the ground.

Pew! Pew! Laser On The Space Station Will Beam Video To Earth

“Optical communications (also referred to as ‘lasercomm’) is an emerging technology wherein data is modulated onto laser beams, which offers the promise of much higher data rates than what is achievable with radio-frequency (RF) transmissions.

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-11-24 12:42:52). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-55/
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Weekly Science Picks

Markus — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 00:04:28 +0000

I’m loath to begin a weekly roundup on a low note, and I’m truly sorry to have to, but this most certainly needs to be discussed. It’s been a turbulent week this week in the science blogging world. Turbulent and full of raised concerns over the state of things for those in a science communication career. Basically, there have been two sexual harassment scandals in the news – the first concerning Urban Scientist Danielle Lee and her terrible treatment by an editor at biology online, and the second around playwright and author Monica Byrne and some downright shameful behaviour on the part of Bora Zivkovic, blogs editor at Scientific American.

Both women, after being given rather distasteful treatment, decided to go public with the matter. This has rightfully sparked some quite heated discussions across the online science writing community. The entire matter is summarised quite well by Priya Shetty at the Huffington Post and Laura Helmuth at Slate. I’d recommend reading Dr Isis’ perspective on all of this too. My personal opinion is that the behaviour of “Ofek” at biology online (who has been fired since the incident in question) and of Zivkovic (who has since resigned from the board of directors and Science Online) is an utter disgrace and humiliation to all of us involved in the science communication community. While it’s reassuring to know that neither of these recent events has occurred without repercussions, it raises the huge concern of precisely how often events like these occur and simply go unreported.

I feel it’s of prime importance to all of us to show our support to Lee and Byrne, not only for their sake but for the sake of all others out there who’ve been similarly marginalised. They need to know that they have our support and that we will listen if they choose to make the remarkably difficult decision to speak out about experiences like these. That is, after all, what a community is all about. Personally, I’d like all of online scicomms to be an open and welcoming forum for discussion of all kinds. I’m not sure if I feel it can be, knowing that things like this are occurring beneath the surface, but I truly hope that such nasty incidents can someday be a thing of the past.

Now… Scandals aside, there have also been some rather remarkable happenings this week in science.

Perhaps most remarkable is the news that amputees may be able to have their sense of touch restored with technology. Much like Luke Skywalker in The Return of the Jedi, people left disabled due to amputations may soon be able to not only control prosthetic limbs directly with their brains, but also feel them. Needless to say, the implications of this are just wonderful!

Prosthetic wired to the brain could help amputees feel touch

In my lab at the University of Chicago, we’re working to better understand how the sensory nervous system captures information about the surface, shape and texture of objects and conveys it to the brain. Our latest research creates a blueprint for building touch-sensitive prosthetic limbs that one day could convey real-time sensory information to amputees and tetraplegics via a direct interface with the brain.

Recognising threats is a vital skill in the natural world, and has been a mainstay of evolution in animals since the Precambrian era. And some creatures have evidently gone to great lengths. Latest research shows that the rainbowfish, a fairly humble seeming species, can smell predators when they’re still embryos, a mere 4 days after fertilisation!

The nose knows: Rainbowfish embryos ‘sniff out’ predators

Jennifer Kelley, a scientist with the University of Western Australia, explains that predator recognition is required at such an early age because responding to predator cues is absolutely crucial for early survival. For example, detection of “alarm cues” suggests that other fish in the vicinity have been attacked by predators.

Seeming like something taken straight out of Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park, blood has been discovered inside a fossilised mosquito for the first time ever. While most likely not from a dinosaur, it’s fascinating to finally have concrete proof of such an audacious science fiction concept.

First Blood-Filled Mosquito Fossil Makes Jurassic Park Feel More Real

Even if it doesn’t bring us closer to getting an amusement park of death and delight, this is a pretty exciting discovery. We never knew that blood could last so long inside of a mosquito! What other kinds of surprises are hiding underneath Montana?

And finally, as an avid Instagram user myself, I find it rather interesting that a study has found that photographing your dinner can actually make the meal less enjoyable. While this doesn’t look to be a particularly big study, it exposes an interesting little facet of human psychology. And for the record, no, I don’t normally Instagram my food. Though I know a few people who do.

New research shows how ‘Instagramming’ a meal can ruin your appetite

Basically, when we look at photos of say, fish and chips over and over before we eat it, our senses become ‘bored’. The photos ruin your appetite by making you feel like you’ve already experienced eating the fish and chips before… This sensation is measured in levels of satiation, a scientific term for the ‘drop in enjoyment with repeated consumption’. Consumption, in this case can just be viewing a photo of food, not actually eating a food.

And finally, let’s end with something pretty. For some gorgeous botanical images, Botanartist is a brand new blog full of some really rather charming photographs of plants, both close up and extremely close up through a microscope. If you want to enjoy some cool macro photography and scientific explanations of what you’re seeing, you’ll probably find all of this just as marvellous as I do!

I hope everyone has a great week. Until next time, DFTBA and stay curious!

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-10-20 00:04:28). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-51/
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Hopeful results in latest HIV vaccine trial, but many hurdles to overcome yet

David Borradale — Mon, 23 Sep 2013 00:24:51 +0000

A HIV vaccine, known as SAV001-H has shown promising results in an early clinical trial, with no adverse effects reported and importantly, a significant increase reported in HIV specific antibodies in participants who received the vaccine. In this trial, 33 HIV positive participants were randomly allocated to one of two groups: half into a treatment group receiving the vaccine and half into a placebo group who did not receive the vaccine. The participants were followed up at regular periods, testing safety of the vaccine and antibody response over a one year period. The vaccine has been developed by Dr C. Yong Chan and his team at the University of Western Ontario and has been licensed for commercialisation by the biotechology company Sumagen.

This is welcome news for a disease which killed an estimated 1.7 million people in 2011 (WHO, 2013). Furthermore, there are an estimated 34 million people around the world living with HIV/AIDS, and the disease continues to have a devastating impact in Sub-Saharan Africa where up to a quarter of the population in countries such as Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland are infected (WHO 2013; UNAIDS 2013). While great strides in treatment of HIV; via the development of antiretroviral (ART) medications, have been made by extending the time it takes for HIV to develop to AIDS, ART treatment is not yet available to all, particularly in the poorest nations; and of course, treatment is much less optimal then prevention of HIV in the first place.

Worldwide adult HIV Prevalence (Click for larger)

The long road to effective HIV vaccines

However development of successful HIV vaccines has proven to be highly elusive, due in part to the rapid mutation rate of HIV, these mutations generating a diverse population of quasi-species of HIV over the length of the infection period – the immune system, itself the target of HIV, is simply not able to keep up (Ackerman and Alter, 2013). This immense genetic diversity of HIV has meant that targeting HIV with effective, universal vaccines has been particularly difficult.

This leads to a cautionary note that must be taken regarding SAV001-H; this was a small, very early trial of this particular HIV vaccine. These early trials are referred to as Phase 1 trials, meaning that its primary focus was on assessing the safety of vaccine, with efficacy or effectiveness assessed only as a secondary objective (see graphic, below). Phase 2 and 3 trials are planned next and it is these trials which are particularly focused on assessing the effectiveness of the vaccine to prevent HIV infection in large numbers of HIV negative participants at high risk of contracting HIV. Furthermore, other promising HIV vaccines have passed through early Phase 1 trials, only to show in later trials no significant efficacy. An example of this was a highly anticipated STEP trial, which was a large Phase 2 trial enrolling 3,000 high risk individuals randomised into a vaccine or placebo group. The vector based vaccine used in this trial failed to show any effect on reducing risk of infection and indeed those receiving the vaccine appeared to be at greater risk of contracting HIV (HTNV, 2013).

Clinical trial phases

Thus some of the early media reports for SAV001-H which have been mentioning ‘eradication’ are very premature and paying scant heed to the long (and sometimes disappointing) road that this vaccine must pass through with its coming Phase 2 and 3 trials, as demonstrated above with the example of the STEP HIV vaccine trial. These promising early results from this latest HIV vaccine trial must be tempered by the historical difficulties in conducting successful HIV vaccine trials.

Cautious optimism

Despite the very real need for caution at this early stage, there are several reasons why many in the health community are particularly optimistic about SAV001-H. This optimism is largely due to the fact that SAV001-H takes a new approach to HIV vaccine design as it uses whole killed HIV viruses. Previous HIV vaccine strategies have used other strategies such as subunit vaccines which basically introduce important proteins (called antigens) to the body to induce a specific immune response, or vector based vaccines to introduce genetic material from the HIV virus via another ‘carrier’ virus; both approaches proving disappointing so far (Sumagen, 2013).

HIV structure: gp120 and gp41 are essential in fusion to immune cells and subsequent invasion

For SAV001-H, the HIV-1 virus is genetically engineered by deleting the activity of specific genes involved in the disease causing process (pathogenicity) and then chemically treated and bombarded with gamma radiation to disable its ability to multiply within human cells (virulence) (Sumagen, 2013). This way, the immune system will still detect and mount a response against the invading virus, but the virus is no longer able to cause disease. The early data from the Phase 1 trial are particularly encouraging as it has been reported that vaccination with SAV001-H produced large increases in two particular antibodies specific for the p24 envelop antigen and gp120 surface antigens of HIV-1 (Western News, 2013).

While gaining plenty of attention, SAV001-H is only one of multiple vaccines in development; a major focus of several other research efforts, are vaccines designed to induce potent antibodies, known as broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), that are able to potentially block HIV infection (Korber and Gnanakaran, 2011). Promising early research into vaccines that may be able to effectively induce these bNAbs and provide effective immunity against HIV infection have provided another boost to HIV vaccine development efforts. So there is certainly reason to be hopeful about SAV001-H, but we need to mix this hope with a healthy dose of caution at this stage. Also, it is worth noting that any effective HIV vaccines will likely be just one, albeit very important, part in a multitude of preventative strategies, including sex education, male circumcision, microbiocide gels and prophylactic antiretroviral therapies which will result in the effective prevention of HIV infections worldwide.

Sources:

1. World Health Organisation. HIV Data and Statistics [Online]. Available at: http://www.who.int/hiv/data/en/

2. United Nations AIDS (UNAIDS). AIDS Information by country [Online]. Available at: http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/datatools/aidsinfo/

3. Ackerman M, Alter G. 2013. Mapping the Journey to an HIV Vaccine. NEJM 369(4): 389-391.

4. HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN) [Online]. Available at: http://www.hvtn.org/science/step_buch.html

5. Sumagen. AIDS vaccine [Online]. Available at: http://www.sumagen.co.kr/english/business/aids_vaccine.htm

6. HIV vaccine produces no adverse effects in trials. Western News, September 3, 2013 [Online]. Available at: http://communications.uwo.ca/western_news/stories/2013/September/hiv_vaccine_produces_no_adverse_effects_in_trials.html

7. Korber B, Gnanakaran S. 2011. Converging on an HIV Vaccine. Science 333; 1589-1590.

All images sourced from public domain (Wikimedia)

Cite this article:
Borradale D (2013-09-23 00:24:51). Hopeful results in latest HIV vaccine trial, but many hurdles to overcome yet. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/health/hopeful-results-in-latest-hiv-vaccine-trial-but-many-hurdles-to-overcome-yet-3/
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The Hallmarks of Cancer: Becoming Independent

Buddhini Samarasinghe — Mon, 16 Sep 2013 06:50:57 +0000

This article originally appeared on Know The Cosmos. I will be re-posting excerpts here for Australian Science with added commentary over the coming weeks!

“The Hallmarks of Cancer

Cite this article:
Samarasinghe B (2013-09-16 06:50:57). The Hallmarks of Cancer: Becoming Independent. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/biology/the-hallmarks-of-cancer-becoming-independent/
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The Hallmarks of Cancer: Growth Factors and Cell Signaling

Buddhini Samarasinghe — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 07:38:42 +0000

This article originally appeared on Know The Cosmos. I will be re-posting excerpts here for Australian Science with added commentary over the coming weeks!

“The Hallmarks of Cancer” are ten anti-cancer defense mechanisms that are hardwired into our cells, that must be breached by a cell on the path towards cancer. The First Hallmark of Cancer is defined as “Self-Sufficiency in Growth Signals”. What does this mean? In this post I will give an overview of growth factors and how they arhow growth signals are intimately involved in the development of cancer, it is necessary to define and understand what growth factors are, and explain how they control normal cellular behavior.

Growth Factors

Growth Factors are beautiful! This is a 3D schematic representation (also known as a ribbon diagram) of the structure of a growth factor known as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF). VEGF stimulates the development of new blood vessels, a process known as angiogenesis. Many large tumors secrete their own supply of VEGF in order to generate a supply line of oxygen-rich blood for the growing tumor to feed on. Image credit: Gizmag

Growth factors are, simply put, substances that control the multiplication of cells. There are many different types of growth factors, but they all have several characteristics in common. They are all proteins, and present at very low concentrations in tissues but with a high biological activity. They are responsible for controlling essential functions within the cell; growth, specialization and survival. Growth factors also do not circulate in the blood stream; instead, they act locally in areas near the cells that produce them. The image on the right shows a growth factor known as Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF).

Cell Signaling

Growth Factors fit perfectly into Growth Factor Receptor Binding Sites. Two different types of Fibroblast Growth Factor (FGF1 and FGF2, left) shown bound to its specific receptor (center) and separate (right). Image credit: Alexander Plotnikov.

It is impossible to talk about growth factors and cancer without going over some of the basics of cell signaling. We are multi-cellular animals, and as such, our cells need to communicate with each other, so they can act in a coordinated manner in response to the environment. The basis of this communication comes from a process known as cell signaling.

The behavior of a cell depends on its immediate surrounding environment, known as the microenvironment. The assortment of growth factors in this microenvironment is the most important aspect regulating the behavior of that cell. All growth factors exert their effects by binding to a receptor. Receptors are proteins found on the surface of a cell that receive such chemical signals from the outside of the cell. Each growth factor has it’s own receptor; think of it as a key (the growth factor) fitting into a lock (the receptor). Growth factor receptors tend to be ‘transmembrane molecules’; this means that one end of the receptor ‘sticks out’ through the cell membrane into the microenvironment while the other end projects inside the cell. By spanning across the cell membrane, growth factor receptors are able to communicate signals from outside the cell (e.g. presence of growth factors in the microenvironment) to the inside of the cell. Revisiting the lock and key analogy, think of it as a key that fits into a lock that protrudes through the door-frame, instead of being flush against the door.

The binding of the growth factor to its specific receptor triggers a phosphorylation reaction inside the cell. Phosphorylation, or the addition of a phosphate group to a protein molecule, is an important step in cell signaling. This is because many proteins exist in an ‘on’ or ‘off’ state that can be switched by phosphorylation. Therefore, phosphorylation is a key step in regulating their activity. The enzymes that add phosphate groups to proteins are known as kinases; enzymes that remove phosphates are known as phosphatases. The exterior end of the receptor protein (the bit that sticks out of the cell) carries the growth factor binding site; the other end which projects inside the cell carries a kinase site. Binding of growth factor to the receptor binding site activates the kinase domain on the interior end of the receptor protein. This activated kinase, true to it’s name, then goes on to add phosphate groups to other proteins inside the cell, which then activate more proteins downstream, triggering a signaling cascade that finally ends with the activation of genes that bring about….you guessed it, cellular growth, specialization, or survival! The image below illustrates this process – I couldn’t find a decent one online so I made my own!

Mode of action of a typical Growth Factor. Growth Factor (red) binds to specific Growth Factor Receptor Binding Site (dark blue) on cell surface, which activates the kinase region (light blue). Activated kinase region now adds a phosphate group (yellow) to Protein 1 (blue) which activates it. Activated Protein 1 now adds a phosphate group to Protein 2 (green) further down the pathway, which activates it. Activated Protein 2 subsequently adds a phosphate group to Protein 3 (orange) which activates it. Activated Protein 3 moves through the nuclear membrane into the cell nucleus where it physically binds to the DNA and activates genes that control cell growth, specialization and survival. Image credit: Buddhini Samarasinghe

The description above is an extremely simplified version of what happens inside a cell; in reality, it is not so much a linear signaling pathway as it is an interwoven, intricate signaling web, with promiscuous proteins from many different pathways activating and repressing one another. The image below is not meant to frighten you (!) but rather to give you an idea how truly complex just one such signaling pathway, known as the MAPK/Erk pathway is.

A truly complex web of cell communication! These are some of the proteins we know that are involved in a single pathway known as the MAPK/Erk pathway. Signals from the outside of the cell go through this web of signaling, ultimately ending up with the activation of genes involved in growth, specialization and survival of the cell. Image credit: Cell Signaling Technology.

So there you have it. We’ve covered the basics of cell signaling and the molecular mechanisms that cause a cell to grow. Next time…I will explain what goes wrong with these processes in a cancer cell.

Cite this article:
Samarasinghe B (2013-09-09 07:38:42). The Hallmarks of Cancer: Growth Factors and Cell Signaling. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/biology/the-hallmarks-of-cancer-growth-factors-and-cell-signaling/
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The post The Hallmarks of Cancer: Growth Factors and Cell Signaling appeared first on Australian Science.

Weekly Science Picks

Markus — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 07:56:55 +0000

I hope everyone’s enjoying a nice weekend! It’s my turn again for the weekly science picks, and this week is the 44th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. On July 20th 44 years ago, human beings took their first small steps onto the surface of an object in the solar system other than the Earth. While we may not have returned to the Moon since NASA’s Apollo program, it’s important to realise the leaps and bounds which human technology and scientific knowledge have made since then.

And speaking of those leaps and bounds…

Astronomers have managed to determine the colour an exoplanet would appear if were able to see it with our own eyes. Planet HD 189733b, one of the most well studied worlds out there in our galaxy, is a beautiful azure blue planet. But don’t let the similarity to our own planet’s colour fool you. The blue colour of HD 189733b is because it’s a hot jupiter, orbiting scorchingly close to its parent star, and that colour is because the rain on this world is made of glass!

Exoplanet HD 189733b Appears to be Azure Blue

“This planet has been studied well in the past, both by ourselves and other teams,

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-07-21 07:56:55). Weekly Science Picks. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/news/weekly-science-picks-38/
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The post Weekly Science Picks appeared first on Australian Science.

The Schoolchild who Discovered a New Jellyfish Species

Markus — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:23:57 +0000

The thing I love the most about scientific discovery is that anyone can do it. Literally anyone could, tomorrow, turn over a stone or look at a seemingly empty spot in the night sky and find something which no human being has ever seen before. Or, perhaps more importantly, something which no one has full appreciated before.

And that’s exactly what happened to nine-year-old Saxon Thomas from Paradise Point in Queensland, Australia. While fishing in a canal in his backyard, Saxon found a jellyfish which he recognised as a box jellyfish. This was surprising at first, because no box jellies had previously been found in these waters. With a little help from his father, he carefully collected the fragile animal into a jar and sent it to Merrick Ekins, a marine expert at the Queensland Museum, to be identified.

But Ekins couldn’t identify it. It’s now been confirmed to actually be a new species, previously unknown to marine biologists. This has caused some consternation among locals who may now be thinking twice about swimming off the nearby coast. A few box jellyfish species are notorious for having extremely painful, and in some cases potentially fatal, stings.

Mercifully, this species is not the box jellyfish, otherwise known as chironex fleckeri, known for its lethal stings. This was the first species which Ekins checked, because if c. fleckeri was found around the coast of Queensland, it would be a big problem for local swimmers. Reassuringly, while the new jellyfish is a related species, it’s definitely not the same one.

Unfortunately though, for now at least, no one’s quite sure whether this new species is dangerous or not. Lacking the resources to investigate it further, local marine biologists explain that they won’t know how severe the stings this jelly can give are until someone is stung by one. Needless to say, no one’s particularly keen to find out voluntarily. While it’s very definitely capable of giving you a sting – this is, after all, how jellyfish catch their prey – it’s probably not life threatening. That said, Ekins cautions that there’s simply no way of knowing this for sure. Swimmers would be well advised to steer clear of them in any case.

Dangerous or otherwise, a new species is always an exciting find for biologists. Lisa Gershwin, director of Australian Marine Stinger Advisory services, shares in the excitement, while wondering what the new jellyfish species should be named. “I haven’t met Saxon yet but my intention is to one of these days when I meet him ask him what he would like it to be named,” she said, in keeping with the tradition that new species are named by whoever discovers it.

However, while this privilege is normally taken by the first scientist to describe the species, Gershwin thinks that Saxon Thomas should have the honour of naming the jellyfish he discovered. She explains, “I wanna give him the choice to name it because I think it’s such a wonderful thing that here’s these kids out playing with nature and going ‘hey wait, that’s different – what’s that?’ – and now we know. What a fabulous find.”

Fabulous indeed. And a reminder that it’s impossible to know when and where discoveries like this will be made next – or who might be there to make them!

Images:
Top – Box jellyfish – Peter Southwood/Wikimedia Commons
Bottom – Saxon Thomas with the jellyfish he found – via ABC Gold Coast

Cite this article:
Hammonds M (2013-04-11 00:23:57). The Schoolchild who Discovered a New Jellyfish Species. Australian Science. Retrieved: Apr 30, 2024, from http://australianscience.com.au/australia-2/the-schoolchild-who-discovered-a-new-jellyfish-species/
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The post The Schoolchild who Discovered a New Jellyfish Species appeared first on Australian Science.