Ever wonder how catnip works? It’s a plant related to mint, and it’s been known for centuries to drive felines nuts. There are compounds and oils in its leaves and twigs, one of which is called nepetalactone. This particular compound stimulates receptors in the cat’s nose, activating regions of the brain that trigger behavioral responses like rubbing, chewing, meowing and salivating.
About 70% of cats get a hereditary feel-good buzz from the plant. We know sensitivity doesn’t occur until the cat reaches sexual maturity, because kittens don’t respond to it. It’s also not exclusive to domestic cats, because big cats like lions, leopards and jaguars also dig it.
Interestingly, scientists think nepetalactone mimics a pheromone found in male cat urine. As such, the behaviors it elicits look really similar to females in heat. However, both males and females have the same types of responses (hawt). All that rolling and yowling is kind of like a kitty lap dance, however it doesn’t mean that your cat is actually turned on. The behaviors happen whether or not a cat is spayed/neutered, and their crazy antics are likely just a showing of ecstasy caused by brain activity in the amygdala and pituitary regions.
Nip – not even once.
The good news? Catnip is harmless and non-addictive, so you can let your little buddy gnaw their way through as much of the herb as they please. Most cats will lose interest after about 10min, but will happily come back for more later.
CATS ARE WEIRD, YA’LL.
Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve probably heard of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge by now. To sum up, you’re nominated by a friend to either douse yourself in freezing water or donate $100 to ALS research. It’s kitschy and of course it’s silly, but you may be surprised at just how much this social media insanity has raised. The fact is, it’s working like a dream.
“As of Monday, August 18, The ALS Association has received $15.6 million in donations compared to $1.8 million during the same time period last year (July 29 to August 18). These donations have come from existing donors and 307,598 new donors to The Association.” – ALSA
Pretty rad, right? Well, enter all the Debbie Downers grumbling that people are only doing it for facebook likes… but to be honest, WHO CARES?? Money is money, and $15.6 million in donations is obviously better than $1.8 million. So whether you dump ice or dump funds (or… crazy idea… do BOTH!) this campaign is proof that you can make a difference.
However, the true mission was to raise funds AND awareness for ALS. So just in case you aren’t really sure what ALS is, I want to tell you about the disease so we can have a collective high-five for all the money we’ve raised!
ALS stands for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is sometimes called Lou Gehrig’s disease (because the famous baseball player died from it). It’s a progressive neurodegenerative disorder, meaning neurons in the brain and spinal cord begin to die. In the case of ALS, motor neurons that stimulate voluntary muscle movement are the ones that die, and as a result the muscles they innervate begin to atrophy and shrink. It’s much like “use it or lose it.” The patient experiences muscle spasms, weakness and eventually paralysis and death.
Most people die of respiratory failure about 3-5 years after onset of symptoms. There are some familial forms, often linked to mutations in a gene called SOD1, but the majority of ALS patients have no family history and no known cause. Sound shitty? That’s because it is. And that’s exactly why we need more research.
While there is no cure, there are clinical trials for treatments like Ozanezumab, an antibody in Phase 2 trials. Many ALS drug treatments don’t pass Phase 2 or 3 (trials go up to Phase 4 before a drug is approved), proving just how helpless we really are to treat this devastating disease. That’s exactly why the viral ice bucket challenge is so amazing. The donations collected will not only help scientists better understand what causes ALS, but how they can treat and possibly cure it someday. Bonus – it’s fun to see celebrities doing something so ridiculous.
Bill Gates
Jimmy Fallon
Oprah
Lebron James
My personal favorite, Paul Bissonnette
Grabbing public attention for scientific research is also important, because it shows the population that we aren’t mad scientists behind closed doors doing who knows what. We’re humans, like everyone else, and we’re trying to improve the lives of those affected by terrible diseases like ALS.
So I say dump that ice water, friends! And donate if you possibly can, because every dollar helps.
This morning I had an amazing opportunity to meet the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). His name is Dr. Francis Collins, and I’m here to tell you that he’s a pretty rad guy!
Now, it’s possible that you aren’t familiar with the NIH much less it’s director, but let me tell you that the NIH is a big part of your life. Almost all scientific research conducted in our universities is funded by taxpayer dollars through the NIH. Most of the exciting science breakthroughs you hear about in the US were made possible by the NIH… and if you live here that means it was funded by YOU. Basically, in addition to paying my stipend (thanks guys!) you also fund pretty much all the research conducted in our country’s academic labs.
Likewise, Francis Collins might not be a familiar name to you but I guarantee you’ve heard of his work. He oversaw the Human Genome Project, one of the major biological advancements of our lifetimes. So, you know, he’s kind of a big deal. Once he and his posse finished mapping our DNA, President Obama was like, “soooo you’re kinda smart, think you could run the largest biomedical research funding agency in the world for me?” And Francis was like, “yeah ok.” So that’s how we got to where we are now.
Dr. Collins: “Can I get in those genes, baby?”
Fair warning, this will probably be a longer, more serious post because I want to share as much information as I can with anyone that’s interested. As such it might be targeting a more narrow audience than usual – but I think it’s a unique chance to communicate important info to those who would like to know more! 🙂
So anyway, I was invited to join this round-table discussion with 15 other PhD students and postdocs. We were welcomed to ask Dr. Collins anything about the future of NIH research, but we only had an hour. I can’t quote anything exactly, but I will do my best to convey his answers to you as accurately as I can remember.
Question #1 – What are your thoughts on the budget crisis?
Answer: He thinks that although we are in a tight budget squeeze right now, it is going to be temporary. In the late 90’s the NIH budget apparently doubled, and it was an awesome time to do research. Now, however, amid budget cuts (and the sequester, and the shutdown, etc) we are stagnating and the field is suffering. All the more reason to advocate for biomedical research funding on Capitol Hill. Part of his trip to Seattle was to meet with WA Senator Patty Murray, and he jokingly suggested we all send her flowers because she’s supported research funding very strongly. Regardless of your political viewpoints, I think as a species we can agree that medical research is important to everyone.
He did emphasize his belief that things will get better and although the current situation feels dire it will not last forever. I hope he’s right!
Question #2 – We have too many trainees for too few jobs. How is the NIH dealing with this?
Answer: In a previous interview Dr. Collins had said, “The future of biomedical research depends upon a sustainable and robust workforce, in which talented, well-trained scientists are best prepared to make significant contributions in academia, industry, government, business, and other venues.”
He disagrees that there are too many trainees, just too many for the “expected” career path. He thinks the emphasis on the academic career is very wrong, and the stigma is damaging the field of research. We, as graduate students, should not think of tenure track professorships as the only acceptable job (and we should not be pressured to feel that way by our mentors). There are many other jobs that need highly trained people, and the mystery surrounding such careers needs to be removed. He even said “these are thought of as ‘alternate’ careers, but we need to get rid of that word. They aren’t alternate, they are just careers.”
The idea that going to industry is “selling out” is incorrect, and the NIH is expanding their programs to expose trainees to such options. He admitted that it was still a small operation, but that he hopes it will grow soon. For example, there is the Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) program. It’s nowhere near enough, but it’s a start in the right direction.
Question #3 – How can the NIH address the issue of gender equality in science? There are many female PhDs, but this ratio drops dramatically at the faculty level, and women are often discriminated against because they will “go off and have babies.”
Answer: Bringing equality for women (as well as minorities) is a big deal for the NIH. He acknowledged that there is a clear bias toward white men and even cited papers that studied the phenomenon. He said that the NIH has bias-training requirements and that they are very conscious of such things on review and selection committees. For minorities, they are trying to implement and expand a nationwide mentorship program.
Overall, though, he pointed out that it is not a problem specific to just the NIH and no matter how many programs are implemented to prevent discrimination it’s something that we as a community (as well as a culture) need to work on together. Tenure committees at universities need to be better about promoting women and minorities, professors need to be better at hiring under-represented groups, etc. It’s a team effort and we’ll all need to strive for equality together.
Question #4 – (my question) The issue of hypercompetitiveness in research has lead to decreased reproducibility because researchers feel they must publish or perish. How can we, as the next generation of scientists, possibly change this system while still remaining competitive in the current landscape?
Answer: He very much wants to break the “C.N.S. Syndrome” that is currently rampant in our field… where researchers are only valued if they have published in Cell, Nature, or Science. He specifically said that it was “crazy” for us to think the one-word journals were the only way to be successful, and acknowledged that this mentality has bred a need to publish results that aren’t ready.
Additionally, we feel pressured to publish provocative findings before our competitors, and if we don’t succeed we won’t receive the limited funding that’s available. He discussed a sort of “pilot” experiment the NIH has run over the last decade through the Pioneer Award. There were a small number of these grants awarded to scientists with exceptional ideas. Essentially, as Dr. Collins described it, these people come up with a really cool scientific idea or question. Unlike the traditional R01 grant proposal, however, they just explain why their idea is exciting but aren’t required to have extensive preliminary data or outline every experiment and backup plan like traditional R01 grand proposals. Then they’re given money for five years to see what they can do. The idea is to nurture creative scientific inquiry and simultaneously remove the gigantic burden of grant writing.
Well over the last ten years they’ve been able to look at the productivity of labs with Pioneer Awards and compare them to labs funded by R01’s (for those who aren’t familiar, R01 is just a type of large research grant for academic labs). As Dr. Collins explains it, these Pioneer labs have performed better and “actually look more like Howard Hughes labs.” So the pseudo pilot has given actual data to suggest this format is better for scientific research and the NIH can see that now. Again, the number of Pioneer Awards is tiny, but it’s a nice start with a solid foundation.
He wants to see this type of grant award become commonplace. He said that it’s terrible how the current grants are often written around the question, “What types of experiments can we do? What questions can we answer with those experiments?” rather than, “What’s a really cool scientific question??” I really, really loved that he felt this way. He wants to usher us into a realm where scientists don’t have to pander their grant proposals to what they think the NIH wants to see. That won’t help humanity nearly as much as proposals that ask really awesome and interesting scientific questions (however risky they may be), so we need to get back to that spirit.
Question #5 – How can we engage the public in science? Scientists are sometimes thought of as bad guys due to lack of understanding or transparency, so how can we get people excited about research rather than fearful?
Answer: He wants to know any ideas you might have, actually. He described one current project that should be rolling out in a few months. They’re putting together a huge series of youtube videos by pairing PhD students with film students at the same universities, and together they’ll make short ~3min videos about their research and why it’s cool. They hope that putting a huge library of these videos out there will make those topics more accessible, may possibly create a few viral videos, etc… anything to get people aware of research and interested in what people are doing in labs. Additionally, hes trying to get more social media exposure for the NIH by writing his own blog and having his own Twitter.
Finally, he also hopes that people will plug the NIH more often when they make national media for their research findings, so the agency has more public exposure and seems less mysterious. Tooting their own horn is awesome, but also mentioning the funding source could be a nice way for the general public to be more familiar with the NIH and how their tax dollars have contributed.
Question #6 – How can we encourage labs to provide 100% open access to all of their data sets?
Answer: He recognizes that there are no repercussions for labs that say they’ll make their data available but never follow through. He also realizes that there isn’t a universal and user-friendly database for labs to quickly and painlessly submit their datasets, often causing labs to say, “ugh, screw this.” They’re aware of the issue and working on ideas to solve it, so rest assured. Ideally the system will utilize a format that’s easy for everyone to use, both on the uploading and downloading ends. Also, they’ll need to work out a way to provide server space for things like SNP data, sequencing, etc. All those types of datasets that are inherently gigantic and often expensive, so open access is critical if we hope to prevent labs from re-inventing the wheel.
There will also be more accountability in the near future. As it stands, there are no punishments for not sharing your datasets or codes, even if you say you will. Therefore, Dr. Collins is pushing for more rigorous follow-ups during annual R01 reviews to motivate timely and complete data sharing.
—
So there you have it. We had very little time with him, and those were the major points we discussed. I think we covered a really interesting and broad range of topics, and I left feeling very satisfied with his vision for NIH. I admit that I somewhat expected him to be a political sleaze, but I was glad to find he was a well-read scientist at heart. He has been in our shoes, although many years ago, but he at least understands on some level the struggles we experience and the priorities we have.
At the end of the discussion he said, “Oh! Can everyone get together for a picture? I want to tweet it!” and pulled out his iPhone right there.
I might have used my height as an excuse to stand closer to the middle…
It was awesome experience. He is a cool dude. If you have any specific questions about the topics I discussed, please feel free to send me a message and I can hopefully give you more details!
Have you heard of Mars One? It’s a really cool non-profit organization that began in 2011 and plans to establish a human colony on Mars by 2025. For reals, it’s not a gimmick! They have suppliers and funding and they’ve already begun their selection process for the first crews. Excuse me while I barf from jealousy.
Over 200,000 people have applied to be the first Martians, but only ~24 lucky pioneers will be selected and intensively trained. The ideal candidates are intelligent, creative, motivated and psychologically stable (guess I’m out!), and not surprisingly the physical requirements are strict too:
– No diseases or dependency on drugs, alcohol or tobacco
– Normal range of motion and functionality in all joints
– Visual acuity in both eyes of 100% (20/20) with or without lenses
– No psychiatric disorders
– Age- and gender-adequate fitness level
– Sitting blood pressure should not exceed 140/90
– Between 157-190 cm tall (roughly between 5’1″ – 6’1″)
– (More about Mars One Qualifications)
The colony will begin with four people arriving in about 2025, with groups of four arriving in two year intervals after that. What I love is that applications were open globally, allowing qualified candidates from any country to apply. And this quote from their website is totally amazing:
“Because this mission is humankind’s mission, Mars One has the intention to make this a democratic decision. The whole world will have a vote which group of four will be the first humans on Mars.”
Awesome, right??
Now, before the astronauts arrive, their living space will be set up by the rover. However, you might be wondering how they’ll get air, water, and food to survive. Well, they’ll use solar power to extract liquid water from martial soil that will be conserved/recycled as much as possible. Oxygen will be produced in the life support units by breaking apart water molecules to release oxygen and hydrogen. Finally, their food will all be grown on-site under special LEDs, presumably with plants to provide all the essential nutrients. Their current plans will sustain 12 people with no need for food deliveries from earth, which is pretty legit.
Here’s hoping whatever plants they make aren’t going to give them gas, because dang that living space is small.
The Mars One colony will be made of several landing modules connected together, with inflatable habitats for living and growing food. The inflatable portions will be covered with martian soil to protect the astronauts from radiation.
Some ethical controversy has arisen over the Mars One colonization plan because it’s a one-way ticket. The astonauts will never return to Earth. In my opinion, these are volunteers that have weighed the risks and still decided to proceed. The Mars One foundation openly acknowledged the ethics of their mission, and you can read their take on it here. Also, Buzz Aldrin (walked on the moon, if you didn’t know) discussed the topic during a Reddit Ask Me Anything:
“…There is very little doubt, in my mind, that what the next monumental achievement of humanity will be the first landing by an Earthling, a human being, on the planet Mars… the first human beings to land on Mars should not come back to Earth. They should be the beginning of a build-up of a colony / settlement, I call it a “permanence.” A settlement you can visit once or twice, come back, and then decide you want to settle. Same with a colony. But you want it to be permanent from the get-go, from the very first. I know that many people don’t feel that that should be done. Some people even consider it distinctly a suicide mission. Not me! Not at all.”
Buzz says deal with it.
However you feel about the ethics of such a mission, I think it’s safe to say the human race is on the brink of doing something spectacular. If Mars One succeeds, we will be a part of history. A global community able to VOTE for which lucky humans get to be the first to walk upon another planet. Now that is really something. 🙂
There’s been a lot of buzz about two Americans infected with Ebola virus being transported back to the US. Some internet sources/comments are full of misinformation about the virus and how it’s spread, so I thought I’d provide some helpful information to help alleviate the hysteria.
OMG EBOLA IN THE USA!!!
Don’t get me wrong, Ebola is very serious – but it isn’t going to spread like wildfire across the states now that these patients have arrived. Most commonly, the virus is contracted by direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person (or animal). This can happen by sexual contact, using dirty needles, or treating an infected person without proper protective equipment. So as far as the infected Americans, if you’re not their doctor and you’re not planning to have sexytimes with them, you’re probably okay. So chill.
Here’s the scoop – Ebola is a big problem in Africa. The first outbreak was in 1976 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and since then every outbreak involving humans has also occurred in Africa. The current outbreak is the worst we’ve ever seen and is caused by the most deadly of the five ebolavirus types. As of today there’s already over 1600 cases and more than 800 deaths in 2014 alone.
Adapted from The Washington Post
The largest “natural reservoir” for Ebola is fruit bats, meaning they are a long-term, asymptomatic host that allows the virus to spread to other species (like primates). Humans are often exposed by eating or preparing infected meat, and once infected the mortality rate can be as high as 90%. Symptoms start with fever and headache and rapidly progress to hemorrhaging in the organs and under the skin within 2-20 days.
Considering the extraordinary deadliness of this disease, you’d think a vaccine would be top global priority, right? Well, unfortunately it’s not. If we get down to brass tacks, the sad truth is that drug companies aren’t interested in funding these research programs because Ebola usually infects less than 1000 humans each year. And those people are in remote and impoverished areas of Africa. Ok, sure, the money needs to come from somewhere, and they are companies, blah blah blah. I know, I get it, but it still pisses me off.
Screw your moral gray areas, Pharma
However, not all drug companies are the pits. You might have heard that those two Americans we brought back were given an experimental drug while still in Liberia. It’s called ZMapp and it was developed by a company called Mapp Biopharmaceutical in San Diego based on previous work from other places like the National Microbiology Laboratory of the Public Health Agency of Canada. It’s nowhere near being FDA approved (seeing as it’s never been used in humans before), but it has shown promise in limited animal studies. Because Ebola is so crazy deadly it was considered less risky to try a new drug to leave them untreated, so both individuals consented and the world is hoping for the best.
How does it work? It’s a mixture of three antibodies, those handy little proteins your body makes to fight off infections. However, the human body doesn’t make antibodies against Ebola on it’s own, hence the death rate, so that’s why we’re making them in a lab. When injected, they alert the body to the infection so that an immune response can be mounted. Originally, ZMapp was made using mice, but amazingly Kentucky Bioprocessing has developed a method for producing these precious antibodies in, of all things, tobacco plants. They’re even referred to as plantibodies. Oh, scientists. You slay me.
Now that’s some wacky tobacky even your parents can get behind!
Finally, I want to warn you that you must be very, very careful not to succumb to media hype. As of right now both patients are alive, but we have no proof that the treatment is to thank. It’s FANTASTIC that we were able to attempt this at all, and I really hope we’re on the cusp of Ebola eradication, but we are just at the beginning. The drug will need to go through properly controlled clinical trials to prove itself before it can be used for mass treatments in Africa.
Some have criticized the fact that hundreds of infected Africans are not given access, while two white people were. Just remember that it would be insanity to rush over with no understanding of the risks and just start injecting people – for all we know it could kill as easily as cure. It could also garner mistrust of doctors if things go badly, potentially hindering future humanitarian efforts in this region. The American citizens were willing to be experimented upon and (importantly) able to give their consent. The need for clinical trials is real and hopefully they’ll be starting very soon for this and other possible drug regimens.
But in summary, scientists are currently using tobacco plants to possibly cure Ebola… no matter how you slice it that is pretty rad.
I’m going to be honest – I had no idea why beer glasses come in different shapes until I got bored and looked it up this morning. I just assumed they were made up by snooty connoisseurs claiming the shapes were important when they’re really just for dramatic flair. Turns out the snobbish charade is partially true, but there is legitimate science behind the shapes. For you indiscriminate beer lovers, any concave object will suffice to transport the nectar of the gods into your belly. But for those who are curious about the science behind the wacky glassware, read on!
First of all, let’s talk about presentation. We all know food presentation is important because when meals look beautiful it tricks our brains into thinking they’re more appetizing. Same goes with beer! In fact, many scientific studies have been conducted on appetite and shown that color and presentation are crucial parts of the sensory experience of eating and drinking. Therefore, designing beer glasses that make beer look sexy is just good science.
Examples of such sexiness would be the color of the beer as light shines through the glass, the streams of bubbles rising through the brew, and the all important foam head on top. Science alert: did you know the foam adds more than just aesthetics? When beer is poured it releases tiny volatiles – molecules that allow you to smell and genuinely enjoy the full flavor. The foam traps the volatiles in its bubbles, and they’re released when you sip the beer. Scent comprises the whopping majority of your ability to taste, which is why things taste bland when you’re stuffed up. So don’t despise the foam on your beer… embrace the flavor-trap!
Now, obviously the color, flavor, and carbonation characteristics are intentionally different between types of beers (think of the range from pale, crisp lagers to heavy, creamy stouts). The glasses are designed to showcase them for each beer. For example, more carbonated beers often go into taller glasses that allow for continuous nucleation and flow of bubbles. Sometimes these glasses are even scored on the bottom to aid bubble formation, which has the added benefit of constantly replenishing the flavor-trap foam. They can have bulbous shapes that trap the volatiles and allow you to stick your shnoze right into a tasty cloud of beer smells. They can also have wide mouths to allow for deep sips (the term quaff has a nice ring to it) or special shapes to maintain temperature. It’s all very fancy, and probably not 100% necessary, but in any case here are more detailed descriptions of some common glass shapes.
Chalice or goblet – Probably most of you recognize this type of glass from that obnoxious Stella advertising campaign… “it’s not a glass, it’s a chalice.” In any case, this shape is very nice because it releases carbonation steadily and traps volatiles with the taper.
Great for Belgian IPAs.
Pilsner – Shaped like trumpets, these tall glasses showcase color and maintain head. They’re nice for beers that have a lot of clarity, as the light shining through will make you drool with anticipation. Or something.
Obviously for Pilsners but also good for Hefeweizens and Blonde Ales.
Tulip – Similar to the chalice, the shape of this glass traps volatiles to enhance flavor. The flared mouth simultaneously promotes formation of and supports an extra foamy head.
Good for Belgian IPAs and Saisons.
Thistle – This is a modified version of the Tulip… the Scottish apparently wanted it to look like their national flower. My main reaction to this glass is, “eyeroll…” but maybe that’s just me.
Pretentious. For pretentious Scotch Ales.
Flute – Less dainty than a champagne flute, this glass releases volatiles quickly for a stronger flavor experience.
It’s apparently used for a bunch of foo foo beers I’ve never heard of including Bière de Champagne, Dortmunder, Gueuze, Schwarzbier, and Vienna Lager
Snifter – Like the chalice, it traps the aroma of pungent brews. Not meant for chugging, but enjoying slowly with a lot of sniffles.
Used for Barleywines, Imperial Stouts, Double IPAs, and Tripels.
Pint – Easy and cheap to make, easy to stack, easy to wash. Functional rather than fancy.
Basically for everything served in pubs.
Beer hat: For when you don’t have time to waste.
The straws enhance carbonation for maximum belch potential.
The Beer Belly – Take your public daydrinking to the next level. They also have a lady model called the Wine Rack.
Perfect for anything because it will get you drunk.
Please for the love of science someone get this for me.
Well, there ya have it. Making beer even better with the help of science, who can resist that? I advise you head to your nearest watering hole and try out every type of glass immediately. When the cops show up, kindly explain that you’re conducting valuable scientific research.
Imagine a world where cleavage was the cure for AIDS? Well, the future is here!!
Okay, okay… it’s not a lie but I’ll admit it’s misleading. I’m not talking about the sexy kind of cleavage… I’m talking about the MORE SEXY kind called genomic cleavage. I secretly wanted a catchy line to grab your attention and lure you back into reading FABstracts. I’ve been MIA from blogging for a thousand years, I know… but now I’m back and ready to rock your world with science again!
As for genomic cleavage and AIDS – here’s the real story. A team of scientists at Temple University recently published their work describing a method for HIV eradication in a petri dish. HIV is a virus that infects humans and leads to the development of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Once a person has developed AIDS, they no longer have a functional immune system to fight off infections or cancers, and there aren’t many treatment options available.
Now, HIV is a type of virus called a retrovirus, meaning it’s particularly challenging to prevent/cure infections. In simplest terms, this little guy lands on your healthy immune cells and poops its genetic material into them. That genetic material then gets copied into DNA, moseys up to your DNA, and randomly shoves itself in wherever it feels like it. Now it is literally a part of your genetic material, and it will either hang out and evade the immune system or make the highjacked cell produce more HIV virus babies to infect more immune cells.
(HIV life cycle movie for the super motivated: http://bcove.me/64avjj9s)
Now imagine that your genome is a library of books, and every single cell has the same library. Each book represents a gene, and every library is in the same exact order. Now imagine an HIV book is hidden randomly in every library – how would you ever know where to look for it? This is exactly the problem we’re faced with when trying to develop a cure for HIV infection.
Beast: find it lol
Belle: srsly wtf
However, these clever scientists have taken a new approach toward solving the problem. The technique is called “RNA-directed gene editing” and it’s like GPS to locate HIV genes in every individual cell. Special “guide RNAs” hunt for the HIV genes (for non-biology lovers, RNA is sorta like DNA but single-stranded). These guide a molecular scissor called Cas9 to the correct location so it can snip out the nasty DNA. That’s what the term “genomic cleavage” means. After the cleavage is complete, the cell can patch the genomic hole and voila! No more HIV infection.
I should be clear that this is a LONG way from curing humans. The group has shown its therapeutic potential in petri dishes full of HIV-infected immune cells. The method successfully edited HIV genes and appeared to have little off-target effects in multiple types of cells. Hooray! However, efficacy and side effects will need to be closely monitored in organisms that are treated with this method to ensure it is safe and helpful for humans. It won’t happen tomorrow, but this work is a big step in the right direction toward curing HIV/AIDS.
If you have some time to spare, this video is fascinating. Whether or not you’ve heard of trilobites before, I guarantee you’ll think they’re the bees knees when you’re done watching.
I mean, seriously… eyes made out of rock?! NATURE IS SO RAD.
Have you ever looked into a bright light to help you sneeze? Ever walked out of a dark room into the sun and suddenly sneezed without reason? If these sound like ridiculous questions, it’s likely that you are not among the 20-30% of people with a photic sneeze reflex. Sometimes this condition is referred to as Autosomal-dominant compelling helio-ophthalmic outburst syndrome, or “ACHOO” syndrome. Oh scientists, you slay me.
The photic sneeze reflex has intrigued scientists for ages, though. Even famous Greek dudes like Aristotle would write about it. He mused that the heat of the sun upon his nose stimulated sneezing, a theory that was later disproved by simply walking into the sun with eyes closed.
Other scientists hypothesized that bright light made the eyes water and subsequently drain into the nasal cavity, stimulating the sneeze reflex. This was a good guess, but the time between stimulus and sneeze is much too short for it to be plausible.
So if it’s not heat, and it’s not physical stimulation of the nasal passages… where does that leave us? Modern day scientists point toward a neurological basis for the photic sneeze reflex. You’ve all heard of the optic nerve, that big bundle of neurons behind your eyeball that sends information from your retina to your visual cortex. Well, there is another large nerve in your face called the trigeminal nerve. It has three branches that innervate your whole face (including your schnoz), and its the one that causes sneezing.
Because the optic nerve is in close proximity to the trigenimal nerve, scientists believe the photic sneeze reflex is the result of some minor “wire crossing.” A very large stimulus to the optic nerve can accidentally activate the trigeminal nerve, triggering a sneeze even without nasal irritation.
Clever acronym aside, we can actually gather a good amount of information about this condition just from the name. The term “autosomal-dominant” means that it’s inherited from your parents (we think), and you only need to get one copy of the gene to have the syndrome. The term “compelling” indicates that the sneeze happens involuntarily, which probably isn’t all that weird considering most sneezes happen that way. “Helio” is Greek for sun, the originally identified stimulus, although any bright light can trigger the reflex. “Opthamalic” means that it has to do with stimulation of the eye, and “outburst” just means sneeze. So there you have it – ACHOO!
Humans are such beautiful creatures
So if the condition itself is harmless, why should anyone care? Apart from discussing your weird genetic problems at parties (because everyone does that, right?), there’s a growing interest in studying how optic signals can activate inappropriate responses. For example, some forms of epilepsy are triggered by strong light stimuli, particularly when those lights are flashing. We don’t fully understand why this specific stimulus triggers a seizure, although we have some knowledge about the neural defects that allow it to propagate. Our current understanding of neural circuitry can be summarized as follows:
???????
So THAT is why a funky sneeze reflex is interesting to scientists! The more we can understand about the way our bodies are put together, the easier it will be to find causes/cures when things go wrong.
Have you heard of ferrofluids? These magical substances not only lend themselves to gorgeous art, but they also have plenty of functional applications. Science and art unite – it’s the best of both worlds!
The term ferrofluid refers to ferromagnetic nanoparticles suspended in a carrier fluid typically made of an aqueous or organic solvent. LOL WUT?! It means teeny pieces of iron-containing metal suspended in liquid, like water or kerosene. One nanometer = 0.0000001 cm, meaning they’re so small that Brownian motion prevents them from settling out of solution. A ferrofluid also makes use of surfactant to prevent the nanoparticles from clumping up, allowing the metal in solid phase to coexist with the carrier in liquid phase. The sciencey way to say this is “colloidal liquid.”
The cool part comes in when you place the ferrofluid into a magnetic field. The tiny particles feel the magnetic force and adopt the most energetically stable conformation by following the magnetic field lines. As the magnetic force and the force of gravity balance out, the end result is a series of shiny liquid spikes.
Ferrofluids are so metal (literally and figuratively)
So by applying a magnetic field to the fluid you get some badass liquid sculptures. But – SPOILER ALERT – there’s more. Magnetic fields are created by electric current, and that current can be changed. When you apply a dynamic field to the ferrofluid you create an amazing living sculpture. Feast your eyes:
So how is this magical substance used in real life applications? Well, ferrofluids can be used in computer hard drives to form magnetic seals between the spinning disc and the stationary wall. They’re also used to control overheating in loudspeakers by essentially “soaking up” heat from electronic components. The fluid becomes less magnetic as it’s temperature rises, so placing a magnet near the heated coil allows the colder, more magnetic particles to circulate toward the heat source. The end result is an efficient circulation of particles that transfer excess heat away from the speaker so you can bump your Miley at maximum volume without fear.
Ferrofluids surround the voice coil, doing science and shit so your speakers don’t overheat.
There’s also loads of hopeful medical applications for ferrofluids that are still in development, specifically in regards to cancer treatment. Scientists hope to bind chemotherapy drugs directly to the magnetic nanoparticles which they could then inject into a patient. They could then use a strong magnet at the tumor site to accumulate drug locally (preventing loads of unwanted toxic side effects of systemic drug administration).
In the same vein (har har) the injected ferrofluid could be used to thermally ablate a tumor. Because magnets are polarized (they have a positive and negative pole), the magnetic nanoparticles will align with the direction of the applied field. Oscillating this field 180˚ would cause these particles to vibrate very rapidly, generating a large amount of heat. This phenomenon is called magnetic hyperthermia. If done carefully, it might allow doctors to essentially “burn away” tumor tissues from the inside out – possibly lessening the need for surgery.
So ferrofluids make insanely gorgeous living sculptures, keep our electronics and music systems running smoothly, and could potentially help treat cancer someday.
Ferrofluids. Got. Swag.
FABstracts 