CSB #6: From Bone Marrow to Skin

(green are bone marrow cells, red are skin cells)

Earlier this week, researchers at King's College London and Osaka University in Japan have discovered specific bone marrow cells that can transform into skin tissue. Before this startling discovery, it was indeed known that bone marrow cells could turn into skin tissue. But, the group of cells was never specified, how they evolved, and what triggered the reaction.

Using mice with skin wounds for an experiment, they had one group that had skin grafting and one group that didn't. In the group that did not, the researchers noticed a very few amount of bone marrow cells traveling to heal it. The other group, however, had a much higher number of bone marrow cells at the wound. The researchers later came to a conclusion that 1 in every 450 bone marrow cells has the ability to transform into a skin cell. In addition to that, the researchers also found what triggered the bone marrow cells to transform. When skin is damaged, it releases a protein called HMGB1. This protein direct the bone marrow cells to where they are required.

This type of discovery will have a huge impact on medicine, as treating skin wounds has costed patients millions of dollars each year. People with chronic wounds and skin diseases would greatly benefit from this kind of treatment. Patients in the future will probably heal much faster than today. Some questions brought up were making HMGB1 a drug that patients could take. Then, where would they get this protein? Would it be harmful or have side effects? When will it be available as treatment? Because this is such a recent discovery, these questions have yet to be answered.

Sources: King's College London. "Bone marrow cells that transform into skin cells could revolutionize approach to wound treatment." ScienceDaily 5 Apr. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2011.

CSB #5: Could you have HPV and not know?

Recent studies show that the human papillomavirus virus, known to be the cause of cervical cancer in women, has been found to be present in many men. There are many different forms of HPV, and over 40 are transmitted sexually. Two types of HPV are very dangerous and our cancerous, and the two vaccines that can protect women from this are Merck’s Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix.
A study on more than 4,000 middle aged men showed that more than 50 perfect were infected with one kind of HPV. The immune system is capable of getting rid of the virus, but it takes an average of 7.5 months, and in some extreme cases, 2 years. Because HPV cannot be detected by oneself, it is very prevalent in men.
A few ways to prevent HPV infections are having only one lifelong sex partner or abstinence until marriage. Condoms are not very effective in preventing HPV from spreading, but the vaccines are helpful.
Could this mean there are other STI's that are unnoticeable in our bodies? There are many diseases that infect millions of people that go unnoticed until at a fatal stage.

Resources:

Seppa, Nathan. "Half Of Adult Males Carry HPV." Science News. N.p., 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 3 Mar. 2011. Image: http://www.ansci.wisc.edu/jjp1/ansci_repro/misc/project_websites_07/tue07/HPV_Vaccine/What%20is%20HPV.html

CSB #4: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Definitions:

werewolf - a person who has the ability of transforming into a wolf

animagus - a wizard or witch who is capable of assuming the shape of an animal

Summary:

In the third Harry Potter book, Harry meets his godfather Sirius Black who was a prisoner in Azkaban for being accused of committing the murder of Peter Pettigrew. Sirius Black escapes out of Azkaban and comes to Hogwarts to kill Peter. Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin, is an old friend of Black's and helps him capture Peter. After they capture Pettigrew, Lupin, who is a werewolf, sees a full moon and turns into a werewolf. When Lupin sees the full moon, his whole body first grows rigid, and then he starts shaking. His head and body lengthen, and his shoulders hunch. Hair starts to grow on his face and hands, and his hands turn into clawed paws. Within all the chaos, Peter who is an animagus is able to change into a rat and escape.

Discussion:

Werewolves, I think, are very rare and only transform on a full moon. I think the full moon gives off rays that only effect those with the werewolf gene. When the rays are absorbed by the werewolf, the gene that makes the hair grow suddenly is activated as well as the other genes that transform the werewolf from a human form into a werewolf. Not only are the physical characteristics changed, when a werewolf transforms, he has no control over his thoughts and will try to bite any human he can find, even if it is his own best friend. I think this is because of the adrenaline rush, and the werewolf's thoughts are uncontrollable.

Questions:

1. How, if possible at all, can a werewolf learn to control his mania to bite humans?
2. Is it possible for scientists to engineer a gene to build an actual werewolf?

Citation:

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. N.p.: Arthur A. Levine Books, 1999. Print.

CSB #3: Length of Pregnancy Influenced by Placenta Structure

Definitions:
Placenta - an organ that connects the developing fetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply

Fetus – a developing mammal that is after the embryonic stage and before birth

Summary:
Studies done show that some mammals develop twice as fast in the mothers’ womb as others. Scientists think this difference is because of the way the placenta is structured. The closer the tissues of the mother and the fetus are, the faster the process of pregnancy. Humans do not have complex placenta structures, like dogs and leopards do, which is the reason we have longer pregnancies. The placenta performs the same functions and roles in most mammals, but are structured differently among different species of mammals. A team of researchers studied the lengths of pregnancies depending on the structure of the placenta. Their results found that the placentas in different mammals have some striking differences.

Discussion:
I think this will lead to a whole new branch of research on trying to manipulate the lengths of pregnancy. I chose this article because I think the process of pregnancy is interesting. If the length of pregnancy can be adjusted at all, I think this would be very helpful. Women go through a lot of trouble and pain when they’re pregnant, and shortening that time would mean more freedom and less hardship for women. This relates to my life because maybe I will also be pregnant one day and if research has been extensive enough, I could possibly have a shorter pregnancy.

Questions:
1. How, if at all can scientists manipulate the length of pregnancy?
2. Will evolution change how long women are pregnant?

Resources:
"Length of Pregnancy Influenced by Placenta Structure." Science Daily. N.p., 17 Nov. 2010. Web. 18 Nov. 2010. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/ 11/101116203438.htm

CSB #2: Scientists Trick Bacteria

Definitions

Embedding - to fix firmly

Perturb - to disturb; to bother

Bacteria - Single-celled microorganisms which are parasites


Summary

Scientists at Yale University are trying to trick the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria to embed small molecules that are not products of themselves into their cell walls. The Staphylococcus aureus has an enzyme called sortase A that watches over the molecules and proteins that attach to the cell wall. The cell wall is an important area of the cell because it contains the components the cell uses to relate to its environment. David Spiegel, a chemist at Yale said "By being able to manipulate the cell wall, we can in theory perturb the bacteria's ability to interact with human tissues and host cells." If the scientists can get the bacteria to think that the foreign molecules are it's own products, they could control the number of people killed by MRSA and AIDS.

Discussion

I chose this article because I thought it was interesting how scientists could manipulate bacteria. This relates to my regular life and and the entire world because people around the whole world die from MRSA and AIDS. The embedding of small foreign molecules into bacteria has potential to stop some of the most dangerous diseases from affecting more people. I think it's very important and interesting that the scientists are spending so much time on this, because it could have a very big impact. Many people die yearly from Staphylococcus aureus infections. Not only will this save many people, but scientists will be able to understand the way bacteria work much better.

Questions

1. What happens to people infected with Staphylococcus aureus?
2. How did the scientists working with the bacteria think of embedding molecules into the cell wall?

Resources

Yale University. "Scientists Trick Bacteria Into Embedding Small Molecules in Cell Wall." ScienceDaily 8 October 2010. 14 October 2010 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101007171415.htm

CSB #1: Hive Thieves

Definitions:

Varroa destructor - a parasite abundant in most countries that attacks honeybees.

beekeeping - the cultivation of bees for the production of honey

Summary:

Germany has about one million bee hives. During the winter, about one fifth of the hives did not survive. This was caused mainly by the Varroa destructor. "The Varroa mite, one of several pests plaguing bees, attaches itself to the insects and their larvae and feeds on their lymph fluid, passing on diseases such as deformed wing virus and rendering them more vulnerable to disease." Because many beekeepers' hives died, many people started stealing bee hives. "Reported thefts of beehives almost doubled, to 306 in 2008 from 164 in 2007, and the figure was unchanged in 2009, according to Germany’s leading insurer of beekeepers, Gaede & Glauerdt." The thefts are most likely being committed by normal people, not beekeepers. The people who are stealing the hives do not take proper care of the bees.

Discussion:

I think this issue is very important, because bees are are the third-most important livestock in Germany. Without bees, beekeepers do not make money, and there is less honey for the people to eat. If bees keep dying out, the price of honey will rise and there will not be much left. I chose this article because it sounded interesting. This article relates to my life because I like to eat honey. Without honey, lots of things taste bitter.

Questions:

1. I would like to know more about how a bee produces honey

2. I would also like to know about the different kinds of bees and what their jobs are in the hives.

Resources:

“beekeeping definition.” Word Net Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. .

Crossland, David. “Germany abuzz over theft of hives.” The National. N.p., 4 July 2010. Web. 24 Sept. 2010. .

“Varroa destructor (arachnid).” Global Invasive Species Database. N.p., 20 June 2006. Web. 24 Sept. 2010.

Picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.metatech.org/Images/bee%2520hive.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.metatech.org/07/bees_cause_colony_collapse_disorder.html&usg=__aTkJ3I1XMlGIA1uaaBEolsp5Ubw=&h=283&w=450&sz=37&hl=en&start=13&sig2=qHrLJcUwdUBJzUqj4uF2Mw&zoom=1&tbnid=6NuZy30-48nu5M:&tbnh=80&tbnw=127&ei=9gudTMW_Jou4sQOPwMzVAQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbee%2Bhives%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26sa%3DN%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D714%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1 .