Intermediate-Mass Black Holes: the missing link between Supermassive and Stellar-Mass Black Holes?

Posted on November 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Have you ever looked out into the night sky and wondered what exists beyond Earth?  Astronomers commit their research towards solving the unsolved mysteries of the universe by using their scientific knowledge to interpret images captured by space-related technology.  Astronomical technology has changed dramatically within the last few decades, and these advancements allow for better data collection.  By using telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, and the Gemini North Telescope, or photographic plates, astronomers are able to view stars and their orientations in space.

The Gemini Telescope

Gemini Telescope in Hawaii, image from Gemini.edu

When stars are grouped together in clusters with specific elemental compositions  they are called globular clusters.  Kyle Cudworth, an astronomer at the University of Chicago, and his team studied the globular cluster M71 to look at the proper motion of approximately 350 stars in M71.  Proper motion is the change in angle relative to the viewer a star makes over an observed period of time.  Cudworth’s team used photographic plates, which are sheets of glass that show the positions of different stars.  By using multiple photographic plates of M71 over a large period of time, Cudworth’s team was able to view the difference in position of the stars and trace their motions relative to themselves.  They had plates with data from 1901 to 1980.  This nearly 80-year time frame gave Cudworth the ability to clearly detect the motion of the stars studied within M71. Cudworth was able to determine the speed of a large number of M71’s stars.  He also approximated a speed for M71; it is a relatively slow speed for a globular cluster.

M71

Image of the Globular Cluster M71, © T. Credner & S. Kohle, AlltheSky.com

What is the possible explanation for M71’s slow space velocity?  Researchers have suggested that some globular clusters may possibly contain intermediate-mass black holes (IMBHs) in their centers.  IMBHs are located in the middle of hundreds of thousands of stars that are densely packed together by its gravitational pull.  If IMBHs exist, it would further explain the different sizes of black holes; it is known that small stellar mass black holes exist and there are extremely large supermassive black holes.  This sparked a team of UBC astronomers, including Raminder Samra, to further investigate M71 for the presence of an IMBH.

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Podcast YouTube by Fromage79 (Group 2 Science 300)

After collecting his data, Samra discovered that his value for the space velocity of M71 was very close to Cudworth’s value. This is interesting as a significant difference between Cudworth’s research and Samra’s research is the technology used.  Cudworth greatly relied on photographic plates while Samra’s team used adaptive optic technology.

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Video from Youtube, Rachel Chang (Group 2 Science 300)

With the use of different technology and data, astronomers were able to discover important information on the globular cluster M71.  Cudworth was able to record the proper motion of hundreds of stars within M71, while Samra was able to the same and also conclude that it is unlikely for M71 to have an IMBH in its center.  This further proves that the universe is a complex environment with many misconceptions about what we observe.

By Ryan, Karly, Rachel and Dominic.  Science 300 Section 109, Group 2

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Combination Drug Therapy: New weapon against Tuberculosis

Posted on November 28, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Every year, tuberculosis (TB) takes the lives of 1.7 million people, worldwide. TB is an airborne disease that can be termed the “King” of all bacterial infections. Dr. Santiago Ramon-Garcias has made it his mission to find a successful treatment for this deadly disease and has been working with this bacteria for over six years. Currently, he works in the Thompson Lab at the Life Sciences Center at UBC, and he has written several research papers on this topic. His approach is very different from most researchers, because he is looking for combinations of existing drugs that are effective against tuberculosis to come up with the perfect combination drug treatment, rather than creating a brand new drug.

Fig. 1 Patients suffering from drug resistant TB in Cambodia (photo by: KC Ortiz)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Ramon-Garcias and his team are looking for new therapeutic drug combinations that can treat TB, especially the drug resistant forms of the disease. Their approach is more cost efficient and, upon completion, will take much less time to treat and cure TB patients. The researchers used existing drugs and combined them in many ways to see which combination was the most effective. They determined the best combinations through several tests and narrowed it down to a few combinations that are promising for TB. To explain how the effective drug combinations work, he uses the analogy “2+2=16.” In other words, when the drugs work together, in synergy, their effects are amplified and, the effect of their combination is more than the sum of their individual effects.

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This video introduces Dr. Garcias and tells about the devastating disease that is tuberculosis. Also, a brief background and the methods used for this research are talked about. In addition, there is an analogy of how combination drugs work against tuberculosis.

According to Dr. Ramon-Garcias, the current treatment for TB has two phases. Phase one requires patients to take several antibiotics for six months. If the patients follow the procedures properly, there is a 90% rate of success, meaning 90% of all patients get cured. However, many patients do not complete the process, and stop taking the antibiotics when the symptoms start disappearing, thinking they are cured. This is the period when the TB bacteria becomes resistant to the drugs and, when the symptoms return, the same drugs are no longer effective. When the first phase fails, the patients go through the second phase of the treatment, which takes 20 months to complete. The second phase drugs are more expensive and have more severe side effects. These treatments are time-consuming, costly and extremely toxic, which is what motivates Dr. Ramon-Garcias to invest in this research.

The following podcast describes the results of this study, the main motivations behind this research, and how combination drug therapies are essential in combating TB.

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Although there is a lot that still needs to be done in this field, and a cure is not yet in reach, Dr. Ramon-Garcias is very hopeful and knows that one day, tuberculosis will be eradicated entirely.

-Maryam Goharian, Tony Hui, Achla Jha, and Daniel Liao Citations

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Into the world of Illegal fishing: what can be done about it

Posted on November 27, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Think about the variety and quantity of food that is available to you every day, just waiting to be ordered, bought, or selected to become part of your favorite meal. Now imagine a world where this variety is no more, where the different types of fish available at the local market have been reduced to a select few. This scenario is not as far from reality as it might seem, in that illegal fishing in the Southern Ocean has ravaged the populations of many fish species. This is a story on illegal fishing and how international policy works to combat the devastation that it has on fish populations and how different people can relate to this issue through their perspectives.

Lindsay Aylesworth, a PhD student in zoology from Miami, Florida researched the effects of illegal fishing of a species known as the Patagonian Toothfish in the waters near Antarctica and how an international organization known as the CCAMLR has responded to regulate the fishing in the area in order to sustain the fish populations that may be in peril. The following interview explores two perspectives, one where Lindsay talks about how this organization works and another where a local fisherman talks about his experience with fishing policy and regulation on his own boat:

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Through both of these insights, there seems to be a very strict code of regulation that is followed in at least the Canadian fisheries, and it seems like the involvement of these regulators on the boats truly deters, if not prevents illegal activity.

Now it may seem like there are some big players involved in regulating the oceans, but that does not give everyone else an excuse to ignore the case of the Patagonian Toothfish because the market for fish boils down to the consumer. Thus if the public is not aware of this issue then, then vibrant and diverse selections like what is shown below may not exist in the future.

variety of fish at local market (photo by Chelsea Forbes)

In effect, it is crucial to look at the big picture to examine how the CCAMLR can provide more credibility in the data that it collects and how consumers can help build awareness, as Lindsay points out:

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It is only through collective effort and awareness that illegal fishing can be reduced, and the easy part, as stated by Lindsay, is as simple as asking where the food is coming from at the dinner table. Time will tell if these efforts by consumers and governments pay off and prevent the decimation of fish populations all over the world.

By Surbinder Bolina, Chelsea Forbes, Kady Mcappin, Shadi Saffari

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An apple a day keeps the doctor away

Posted on November 12, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Granny smith, gala, ambrosia… yummy. I’ve never really understood how people cannot like apples. They are so delicious, and can be eaten in such a nice variety of ways. Eat them right off the tree, put them in a salad, drown them in peanut butter, bake them in a pie, cover them in caramel… really, the list goes on and on. But besides the fact of being delicious, there are other reasons why I love this fruit.

Varieties of Apples

The saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” definitely holds some truth to it. There are many health benefits included in eating apples, and I’ll highlight a few of them. First of all, apples have been shown to be great for the heart. A recent study out of the University of Michigan found that rodents with identical diets, except for one also eating apples, had much different results with regards to blood pressure and overall heart function at the end of the study. The rodents who had apples added to their diets had lowered blood pressure, reduced cholesterol and also reduced oxidative stress.

A professor from Ohio State University briefly talking about the benefits that apples provide to the heart.

Another reason to eat apples is to help with the prevention of cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research shows that from eating one apple, we receive 10 percent of our needed daily intake of fiber and vitamin C. From these specific nutrients, we help reduce the risk of getting such colon and esophageal cancers. They also mention that apples have phytochemicals, which play a role in cancer prevention. Phytochemicals are chemicals which benefit are health, but are not ranked high enough to be considered essential.

These are only a few of the perks when including apples in our diets. Don’t enjoy eating them raw? As I said earlier, this scrumptious fruit can be served in a variety of ways, such as hot apple cider, apple sauce, or  apple muffins.

Eat an apple a day– don’t delay!

Chelsea Forbes

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Oregano, Grapes and Cancer – Oh my!

Posted on November 12, 2012 by | 2 comments

With November here, most people are aware that “Movember” is also in full swing, promoting prostate cancer research, among other things. What isn’t so common knowledge is the fact that two rather yummy research endeavours are showing promise in the field of prostate cancer treatment.

Oregano – photo from Fernando Stankuns via Flickr

Already well known for being an antioxidant, oregano was used in one study to test its effects on prostate cancer cells. Researchers tested carvacrol, a component of oregano, in varying concentrations against human prostate cancer cells for different time intervals. Amazingly, they discovered that the carvacrol completely wiped out the cancer cells!

From their research, the team found out that the carvacrol actually caused apoptosis, or ‘cell suicide’, in the cancer cells. It is still in its beginning stages but “if the study continues to yield positive results, this super-spice may represent a very promising therapy for patients with prostate cancer,” says Dr. Bavadekar, the lead researcher. Watch here as the SourceFed team talks about this new research:

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The next study looks into the effects of a compound found in red wine and grape skin on prostate cancer cells. Previous studies have shown that this compound, resveratrol, may have health benefits concerning heart health and stroke prevention. In this study, researchers found that the compound caused the prostate cancer cells to be more vulnerable to radiation. Watch here as the MU News Bureau talks to the researchers about their discovery:

 

Red Wine – photo from Emiliano De Laurentiis via Flickr

The resveratrol causes the cancer cells to express two proteins, perforin and granzyme B, which work together to cause the cell to weaken. When combined with radiation, more cancer cells were killed than with just radiation alone.

The drawback to this discovery is that the body metabolizes resveratrol very efficiently. This means that a very high dosage would need to be consumed in order for the compound to be effective at the tumour site. Due to this, researchers are looking into alternate delivery methods, as the treatment is otherwise promising.

I believe that both of these studies show a lot of potential and are particularly interesting because the compounds used are naturally occurring. It makes me wonder about all the other naturally occurring treatments that may still be out there. Who knows, maybe the next promising cancer treatment will be from pomegranates or blueberries!

-Karly Stillwell

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The Role of Genetics in Athletic Ability

Posted on November 12, 2012 by | 1 comment

What exactly are genes?

A gene is a segment of DNA located on specific areas of the chromosomes that functions to control the production of proteins and directs the activities of cells. Every person has two copies of each gene; one copy comes from the father, and the other from the mother. Genes determine an individual’s characteristics such as hair color, eye color, and even ones athletic abilities. Specifically, genes have a large influence over strength, muscle size, muscle fiber composition, lung capacity, and flexibility.

Diagram of a gene. Showing a gene is a segment of DNA on a chromosome. Source: J.Craig Venter Institute

Moreover,  research indicates two specific genes, ATCN-3 and the ACE gene, have a very close relationship to the athletic performance of an individual.

What is the relationship between the ATCN-3 Gene and athletic performance?

The ATCN-3 gene is responsible for producing a protein called α-actinin-3. This protein is found in fast-twitch muscle fibers. The main function of this protein to generate intense muscle contractions during high velocity movements such as sprinting and weight lifting. There are two variants of the ACTN-3 gene. One is the R variant and the other is the X variant. Power athletes usually have the R variant whereas endurance athletes have the X variant. Moreover, researchers have concluded that every Olympic level power athlete has a minimum of one copy of the ACTN-3 gene, and that it is impossible for someone to achieve top ranks in power sports without the gene. Also, another specific gene that determines an individual’s athletic potential is called the ACE gene.

This video by GeneTechPI explains in more detail the influence of ACTN-3 on physical performance:

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What is the relationship between the ACE Gene and athletic performance?

The basic function of the ACE gene is to regulate the rate of blood that flows throughout your body. The way in which this is accomplished is by first activating a hormone called angiotensin. Once this hormone is activated, it regulates the constriction of the blood vessels, and hence regulates the rate of blood flow. Individuals that have this gene are better endurance athletes, and respond a lot better to endurance training due greater efficiency of blood flow regulation. Moreover,  two variants exist, called the I and D variants. Rowers and long distance runners usually have the I variant, whereas power athletes like sprinters and weight lifters have the D variant.

So without the right genes, is it still possible to become a really good athlete?

With proper training and nutrition, you can get to a certain level but in the end genetics determine if you are capable of being an superstar athlete. It has been concluded by researchers that roughly 20-80% of athletic performance is related to genes. In fact, many Olympic level coaches believe that genetic testing should be an important component of the selection process in order to choose the very best athletes for their teams.

-Mandip Parmar

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Exercise lead to Better Grades?

Posted on November 11, 2012 by | 2 comments

For many university students, exercising is nonexistent in their daily lives except for the 5-10 minute walks to their lecture rooms. However, many studies indicate there is a positive correlation between academic performance and physical activities.

A study done by researchers at Saginaw Valley State University in Michigan concluded that out of 266 undergraduate students they observed, those who regularly participated in any form of physical activities obtained higher G.P.A’s compared to those who did not. To make sure physical activities did in fact influence the students’ academic success, the researchers considered a wide range of factors including gender, study time, study area, and the students’ majors. After considering the control variables, the researchers were able to come to a common consensus that students involved in vigorous physical activities had on average, 0.4 higher G.P.A’s.

Could it be that high academic achievers are simply more likely to be higher achievers in other areas of interest such as physical activities as well? While this may be true, recent studies support that physical activities help stimulate the brain.  Neuroscientist, Jeff Lipman from Harvard University points out although there isn’t a known biological mechanism of how exercise might stimulate new brain cells, any form of physical activities increase blood flow to the brain thus delivering essential amounts of oxygen and nutrients. In addition, Dr. John Ratey, a psychiatrist and professor from Harvard University describes exercise as “food for the brain”. Dr. Ratey has extensively written beneficial effects of physical activities. Through his research on animal studies, exercise stimulates development of new brain cells in hippocampus, a major component of the brain.

While most students feel exercising cannot fit into their busy school schedule, there are many different ways to find motivation to do so, according to College Parents of America.  Most universities offer free or highly subsidized fee for access to campus facilities such as swimming pools, tennis courts, and racquetball courts. After university, students will most likely pay much more for similar facilities. In addition, most students are not aware of the fact that they are paying annually for these facilities in their tuition fee whether they use it or not. It should be reminded that exercising does not always involve the gym. There are many different types of intramural sports offered on most campuses such as basketball, soccer, and baseball. Finally, physical activities should be long term therefore, finding something enjoyable and can be maintained is essential in having a positive attitude towards exercising.

Sometimes, it is easy to get lost in the hectic life of working and studying. However, it is necessary to take the time to take care of your body. Exercising will not only help students stay fit but it is highly likely to help them achieve academic success as well.

Here is a youtube clip on how exercising lead to better grades   username MrStudyTV:

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Video used: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxGDXFGMaFo

-Ryan Song

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The next generation of Antibiotics?

Posted on November 5, 2012 by | 1 comment

Imagine yourself in a world where there is absolutely no treatment for any type of disease caused by bacteria, because of the rise of “superbugs” or antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  This could be the future we could be facing if we continue to over-use conventional antibiotics.

There is no doubt that one of the greatest achievements of the past century was the discovery of antibiotics. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections by killing bacteria or by inhibiting their growth. They do work very well; unfortunately, one major flaw in the current antibiotics is that they cause surviving bacteria to develop resistance.  In other words, treatable infections becoming untreatable, due to over use of antibiotic treatments. Therefore, we should pursue a different approach when it comes to dealing with bacteria.

One such approach is to prevent bacteria from “talking” with each other in other words, preventing bacteria from using quorum sensing.  Quorum sensing is how bacteria communicate with one another through chemical signals.  Quorum sensing is particularly important for bacteria that cause disease (pathogenic bacteria). These bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate their “assault” on their host, and helps them escape from the response from their host’s immune system.

Bioluminescence, a process, that is achieved only with quorum sensing. From http://jb.asm.org

Here is a video of Dr. Bonnie Bassler, from Princeton University, explaining how bacteria “talk” to each other, and what the potential applications are towards controlling bacteria:

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As explained by Dr. Bassler, the biggest application from manipulating quorum sensing is antibiotics. Since disease-causing bacteria use quorum sensing to “attack” their hosts, we could stop these bacteria from using quorum sensing, and therefore they will not cause their disease.

Is there any evidence of this approach actually working? According to a article, by Thomas Rasmussem, and Michael Givskov, they have identified some chemicals that are quorum sensing inhibitors.  These chemicals were found to reduce the ability of bacteria to survive and cause disease.  They also examined other ways on how to stop quorum sensing, such as preventing formation of quorum sensing molecules, and degrading quorum sensing molecules. Clearly, the results of the study show the potential of anti-quorum sensing chemicals. Hopefully, enough potential to remove the threat of bacteria once and for all.

– Dominic

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