Category Archives: Science communication

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Naked Mole Rats And Cancer

Cancer is the reality that haunts the forefront of society’s mind and one of the greatest killers that we fear today. It comes as no surprise that we would expect a great deal of research to be invested in its prevention. When researchers are looking into every possible opportunity that may yield a solution, it peaks our curiosity that a bizarre  animal such as the naked mole rat may hold the key.

The Naked Mole Rat (Source: Flickr.com)

Although this not very visually appealing creature doesn’t seem to stand a chance against something as notorious as cancer, scientists at the University of Haifa in Israel believe that the cells of these mole rats secrete a substance that could be linked to the prevention of cancer. In addition to this the naked mole rat lives for a much longer period than your conventional species of rats, up to around thirty years, and hasn’t yet been detected to have any form of tumours. These features of this animal allowed it to win vertebrate of the year in the science magazine.

So how does this seemingly insignificant animal keep cancer out? Scientists from the University of Rochester in New York along with scientists from The University of Haifa in Israel have suggested that the substance responsible is a super sugar called high-molecular-mass Hyaluronan (HMM-HA). The proposed mechanism is that when secreted by cells it decreases cell overcrowding and the formation of tumours. This substance is also secreted by humans into the extracellular matrix of cells, but the sugar in these rats are ‘much heavier’. The evolution of these rats deep underground may have lead to the formation of this advanced version of the sugar. Additionally, this sugar secreted by mole rats allows their skin to be very much more elastic.

Research conducted on these creatures include, inducing cancers via carcinogens on them, however, it was found that the mole rats didn’t appear to develop any tumours. This differs from an experiment in which the mole rats were exposed to these same carcinogens in the absence of the secreted sugar (Hyaluronan). In this case, tumours developed, which lead researchers in the direction that this was, in fact, the substance responsible for the mole rats cancer free record.

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The research into this substance is still progressing slowly, like all things in science and medicine. There are still several problems that researchers face, such as; how can it be harnessed and administered to humans? Will the substance cure already existing tumours and how can this be tested safely? Unfortunately several news articles that have been published are misleading to people who are looking for current cancer treatment as this research is in no way a current treatment and still needs several years of work to be of substantial use for human applications. That being said it is a significant door that has been opened in the field of cancer research and should be pursued.

~Adil Cader.

 

Fukushima Radiation Effects Under Control

In 2011, the tsunami that hit Japan led to discharge of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. The venting reduced gaseous pressure from the reactor containment vessels and discharge of water from the coolant into the sea. The USS Ronald Reagan undertook a rescue mission following the nuclear plant accident. However, several months later, the US sailors started experiencing severe radiation symptoms that prompted them to file suits against the Tokyo Electric Power Company with claims that the company failed to disclose radiation details from the US Navy after the nuclear power plant accident. According to the WHO report, 70% of the people exposed to radiation are likely to develop thyroid cancer, 7% are at a risk of suffering from leukemia, 6% from breast cancer, 4% from female cancers.

Image by IAEA Imagebank (Source: flickr.com)

Traces of the radioactive particles have been detected worldwide and numerous deaths of birds, animals and sea life have been linked to the radioactive plume. However, since  the accident, the Tokyo Electric Power Company has been trying to contain the radioactive leaks and nuclear radiation levels around the Fukushima power plant. Their effort has been successful because at the worst month following the disaster, Fisher’s lab tested Tuna that had been caught off the waters of California. The radioactivity dose from the tuna was much lower than what people are exposed to from eating bananas, medical X- rays, and natural occurrence. This is because disperse of contaminants through the Pacific Ocean into the West Coast dilutes the radiation concentration reducing it several times. Additionally, the federal and state agencies have boosted monitoring of radiation after the disaster and the recorded data shows a decline in the high levels in milk and air.

IAEA experts monitoring water samples (Source: flicker.com)

On the contrary, assertions are circulating in the internet that seafood and beaches are being contaminated by radiation from the Fukushima meltdown. For example, the YouTube video titled ‘28 Signs that the West is Being Absolutely Fried with Nuclear Radiation from Fukushima’ shows a man detecting radiation levels using a Geiger counter on Half Moon Bay beach. Also, an outrageous worry in Seattle was also observed that people were afraid of eating seafood and going to the beach. This prompted the California Department of Public Health to send inspectors to test radiation levels. The analysis showed that radiation at the beach resulted from natural occurrence from minerals in the sand but not as a result of the Fukushima radiation.

Since the tsunami that led to discharge of radioactive isotopes from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, there has been tremendous improvement in the control of radiation health risks. The Tokyo Electric Power Company controlled the leaks and the same has been reviewed several times by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In addition, numerous tests have been conducted and it has been established that fish are safe for human consumption. Also, it has been established that beaches are safe for use by the public.

Printing the Sum of Our Parts

You don’t have to know anyone with a failed organ to understand what kind of stress they must go through while they’re on the organ transplant waiting list.  Many don’t live to see the end of that line-up and heartbreakingly, the ones who make it are still at danger from organ rejection. Thankfully, a solution is on the horizon. In the near future, all a patient has to do is wait for their kidney or liver to be printed, 3D printed that is.

You may have heard a thing or two about 3D printers, the method of manufacturing an object, layer by layer, guided by a digital model of what you wish to print.  While it may seem complicated enough to print plastics or metal into complex shapes, scientists and engineers are now working on creating ways to print fully functional organs.

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We’ve had the ability to print tissues (hyperlink) made of a single type of cell for some time now, but the possibility of producing entire organs is now on the horizon, most notably, the human liver.

Organovo-3D-Printed-Liver

However, there are still many major milestones to reach before the first printed organ can be transplanted to a donor.  Currently, the greatest tissue thickness that can be printed is about a centimeter; adding more layers causes the tissue to suffocate from lack of oxygen and nutrients. Only once a way to incorporate blood vessels into the tissue is developed will there be serious talk of transplantation.

Nevertheless, we are already beginning to reap the benefits of these techniques. The thin pieces of functioning liver tissue are being used as ‘organs on a chip’  in testing new drugs. This means we can finally begin moving away from animal testing, without sacrificing reliability of animal models. In fact, such ‘organs on a chip’ save money and resources for medical research. Finally, something both PETA and pharmaceutical companies can be happy about.

As for clinical applications in humans, the current state looks rather disheartening; so far, only 3D printed implants have been used. However, for the thousands currently in line for a transplant, this technology offers reason to hope.

 

Published by Alena Safina