Category Archives: Science in the news

Detection of Future Criminals?

Posted on March 10, 2014 by | 5 comments

Scientists have discovered that they can detect criminal tendencies by looking at the MRI brain scans. According to Dr. Adrian Raine, a British criminologist, the origins of crime and antisocial behavior can be found in children as young as only three-years old. Psychopaths have physically different brains from “normal” people; in other words, they may be “born to kill.”

Normal vs. Criminal
Brain Scans
Image from Wikimedia Commons

Studies have shown that in the MRI brain scans of criminals, they had approximately 11% less grey matter in the anterior rostral prefrontal cortex and amygdala than in the brains of non-psychopaths. Grey matter of the brain is important for understanding people’s emotions and is associated with behavior, guilt, remorse, and empathy. People who lack grey matter might have no sense of regret or loss of emotions.

Brain Anatomy
Image from Wikimedia Commons

In one study, three-year olds were measured for their response to fear. These children were given a stimulus and then a small electrical shock. Involuntary physical impulses were then measured when children were presented with the same stimulus, minus the shock. Children who would later grow up to become criminals showed a distinct lack of fear when presented with the stimulus in comparison to other children.

Correlations have been shown between callousness and crime. Nathalie Fontaine, a criminologist studying the brains of the children between the ages of seven and twelve, found that children who tend to be insensitive and unemotional are at greater risk of becoming criminals than children with typical emotions.

While the criminal brain tends to be physiologically different than that of the law-abiding citizen, hope is not lost. By identifying possible criminal behavior earlier on in life, we can minimize further escalation of such behaviors. For these children, positive reinforcement is important. On the other hand, taking food and medicine rich in omega-3 fatty acids can counteract behavioral problems. A study showed that by taking omega-3 and multi-vitamin/mineral, behaviors of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity significantly reduces.

Criminal behavior is certainly not a fixed behavior. As the studies of three-year-olds and other research have shown, many of these brain abnormalities can be measured early on in life. By identifying these types of antisocial behavior of a child, proper approaches can be made before an individual might develop into actual psychopathic tendencies or commit a crime.

The following video, “A Killer’s Brain: Scans Look for Clues to Violence,” shows Dr. Raine’s study of how study of brain scans can detect future criminals:

 

– Rubina Lo

References:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2141160/Born-bad-Rapists-psychopathic-murderers-physically-different-brains-normal-people.html

http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/05/11/scans-show-psychopaths-have-brain-abnormalities/38540.html

http://www.youblawg.com/criminal-defence-lawyers/the-criminal-mind-brain-scans-reveal-differences

 

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H5N1 Avian Influenza: Pending Pandemic?

Posted on March 3, 2014 by | 1 comment

On January 8, 2014, an Albertan resident died after contracting H5N1 avian influenza. This was the first H5N1 related death in North America. Federal and provincial health officials were quick to reassure the public that person-to-person transmission of H5N1 influenza is “extremely rare”. In fact, of the 386 H5N1-related deaths reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2003, almost all involved close contact with birds. Sure enough, later reports suggested that the Albertan resident may have contracted the virus whilst passing through an illegal bird market in Beijing.

But could H5N1 be transmitted between humans? Researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center sought to answer this question and on June 22, 2012 they published a highly controversial paper detailing how they re-engineered the H5N1 virus so that it could be transmitted between humans.

Before we discuss this exciting study, we need to take a brief look at the structure and life cycle of the Influenza virus. There are 3 subtypes of the Influenza virus: Influenza A, B and C. H5N1 is an Influenza A virus and these viruses have 2 types of proteins on their surface: Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase. There are 18 known forms of Hemagglutinin and 11 known forms of Neuraminidase.  A  H5N1 virus has a type 5 Hemaggluttinin and a type 1 Neuraminidase on its surface.

Hemagglutinin is the protein responsible for viral cell entry. On the surface of the cells of our respiratory system are molecules called Sialic acid. Hemagglutinin on the surface of the virus binds to Sialic acid on the cell, triggering the cell to engulf the virus. Upon entry into the cell, the virus takes over and using an enzyme called a polymerase it makes many copies of itself. Eventually the cell bursts and the virus copies are released.

Influenza A virus: Courtesy of www.flickr.com

In the experiment, the researchers made H5N1 virus particles that were transmissible between ferrets (often used as an animal model for human Influenza infection). The researchers began by introducing 3 substitution mutations that had been identified in other highly transmissible Influenza viruses. A substitution mutation is a type of mutation that exchanges one base for another in the nucleotide sequence of a gene. Mutations change the structure of the associated protein. In this case, the mutated virus’s had altered Hemagglutinin on their surface.

The mutated virus’s were then manually placed in the nose of ferrets. Following infection, the researchers swabbed the noses of the infected ferrets and proceeded to infect another group of ferrets. This process was repeated multiple times. By the 10th cycle the mutant H5N1 was airborne and was being transmitted between ferrets in different cages.

The genome (genetic material) of the mutant H5N1 was analyzed and it was found that a total of 5 mutations, 4 mutations in Hemagluttinin and 1 mutation in the polymerase, was necessary for the virus to become transmissible between humans.  Researchers at Cambridge University looked for the same mutations in naturally occurring H5N1 virus’s. They found that the mutations existed individually or in pairs, but never all together in one virus.

So, is a H5N1  pandemic eminent? This is still unknown, but researchers have taken important steps in better understanding the mechanism of transmission of H5N1 Influenza virus.

For a more detailed look at the lifecycle of  Influenza viruses, check out this video.

YouTube Preview Image

Fardowsa Yusuf

References

http://arstechnica.com/science/2012/06/controversial-h5n1-bird-flu-papers-published-fuels-fears-of-airborne-mutations/

 

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Posted in Biological sciences, Science in the news

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