Category Archives: Science Communication

Think you know your spit? Think again.

How would you feel if you couldn’t taste or swallow your food? How about if speaking was uncomfortable? Having a dry mouth, or not having enough saliva, can cause these unpleasant symptoms.

Most people don’t know all the uses of saliva or the importance of it. Take a listen to our podcast below to see for yourself.

Audio source: Own project group

As was mentioned in the podcast, saliva is necessary not only for digestion of food, but also for tasting, oral health, prevention of bad breath, chewing, fighting germs, preventing tooth decay and communication. Researcher Hal Clark and his team looked into saliva loss resulting in a condition called xerostomia, more commonly known  as dry mouth.

Xerostomia is known to cause a decrease in patient’s quality of life, such as discomfort in speaking and swallowing, pain and possibly anxiety and sleep disturbance. So what causes xerostomia? One of the main causes of xerostomia is linked to radiation therapy for patients with head-and-neck cancers. Radiation therapy consists of targeting X-rays to the area of the tumor (external) or inserting a device near the tumor that emits radiation. Hal Clark and his team investigate loss of saliva due to dose of radiation therapy, or amount of X-rays, for head-and-neck cancer patients.

Source: Own project interview

Source: Own project interview

In this recent study, patients underwent radiotherapy treatment for head-and-neck cancers at the BC Cancer Agency. The researchers collected saliva output from the patients 3 months and one year after radiation therapy. Hal then compared this output with that of baseline, or the saliva output before radiation therapy. Clark found that the average loss of saliva after 3 months was 72% of baseline and the average loss after 1 year was 56% of baseline. To conclude his study, Hal suggested a minimum radiation dose to the main salivary gland to greatly reduce the chances of xerostomia.

In the following video, Hal and his supervisor, Dr. Steven Thomas explain saliva output measurements and radiation therapy treatment.

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Video source: Own project interview

The machine seen in the following video of the patient’s point of view when receiving radiation treatment is the same technology that Hal Clark and his team used for radiation treatment in their study.

Video source: from Vimeo

The level of saliva output affects the patients’ quality of life. Therefore, to reduce the side effect of radiation treatment, researchers are working hard to find the right balance between killing the tumor and maintaining the saliva output of patients. Tasting, swallowing and even speaking would be uncomfortable and painful if you had xerostomia. To put it simply, the fact that efforts are being made to reduce dry mouth shows that our saliva is important. So…don’t forget about your spit!

Surekha Gangar, Seungwon (David) Lee, Jay Wong, Uttara Kumar

Do you have control over your weight loss?

 

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There’s always a new dieting trend around the corner. Photo Source: Flickr Commons By: Alan Cleaver

Dieting pills, the latest workout trend, juice and tea cleanses, there’s a lot of advertising claiming a certain method is a surefire way for you to lose weight. Countless people fall for these claims, joining the latest bandwagon in the hopes of achieving their dream beach body.

Then there are those who feel like they are losing the never-ending battle against their genes. Yes, their genes – and not their jeans. They don’t even bother trying the latest weight loss trend because they feel like their weight is at the mercy of their genes.

Benjamin Cheung and the members of his research team sought to answer the question “Can merely learning about obesity genes affect eating behaviour”, which is the title of their upcoming research paper. Our video highlights the main points of his research.

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Video Source: UBC SCIE 300 212 Scientific Outreach Project Group 4

Although they mainly studied the implications of beliefs about obesity, Cheung also connects his research to weight loss. Take a look at what he has to say:

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Video Source: UBC SCIE 300 212 Scientific Outreach Project Group 4

The weight loss industry and the media are hugely influential when it comes to physical activity, weight loss, and the genetic vs. environmental debate regarding obesity. Since the media is part of why people have been led to believe their weight is controlled by their genes, our podcast covers the media’s influence.

Podcast Source: UBC SCIE 300 212 Scientific Outreach Project Group 4    Podcast Photo Source: Flickr Commons By: Yutaka Tsutano

Some have indicated there is a strong evidence for specific genes causing obesity. Knowing that certain mutations can be responsible for a lack of fulness after eating a meal and craving of fatty foods, there is good support for a genetic source of weight loss struggles.

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Craving fatty foods can come along with those who have the so called ‘fat gene’. Photo Source: Flickr Commons By: reynermedia

However, there is a huge environmental impact on your ability to lose weight. In fact, it has been proposed that very little of our weight can be blamed on our genes. The main question is: do we really believe we can lose weight?

While there are influences on both sides suggesting weight loss is genetic or environmental, from Cheung’s work we realize it isn’t that simple. We simply don’t know how much genes and the environment  control your weight loss. So for those out there seeking to shed some pounds, don’t loose hope!

– SCIE 300 212 Group 4                                                                                                 Selamawit Joseph, Samantha Mee, Manpreet Takhi, Kevin Nand

SNAPSHOT: A Clearer Picture of the Brain

Cutting, staining and imaging brain slices has been a vital technique to study the brain and its intricate structures. Lasse Dissing-Olesen, a researcher at the University of British Columbia, has produced a simple and effective approach that will allow researchers to view brain slices like never before. SNAPSHOT, as he termed it, literally gives you a picture of a brain slice at that moment in time, preserving its structure.

During an interview, Lasse described his unwavering interest of the brain’s immune system. Lasse talked about the immune cells of the brain called microglial cells and their multiple functions.  Not only are these microglial cells responsible for defending the brain against virus, bacteria and injury, they play an important role in the maintenance of the brain’s neural connections. For Lasse, the prospect of studying the most complex immune system in the human body was just motivation in itself. And for this, he needed a way to image the brain such that he could preserve its morphology.

Here is an image of a microglial cell made possible with the SNAPSHOT method

Here is an image of a microglial cell made possible with the SNAPSHOT method Source: Lasse Dissing-Olesen

Previous preserving methods forced researchers to freeze the brain slices which produced several problems. Firstly, as Lasse alluded to in the interview, freezing brain slices kills the tissue and so live tissue cannot be observed. In addition, freezing the brain slice distorts the structure of the brain because as you freeze it, the water molecules expand. SNAPSHOT provides a solution to this problem. In fact, Lasse does not freeze the brain slice at any point, allowing live, undistorted tissue to be observed.

 Lasse uses this two-photon microscope in the lab to view the brain slices he has prepared with SNAPSHOT

Lasse uses this two-photon microscope in the lab to view the brain slices he has prepared with SNAPSHOT Source: Lasse Dissing-Olesen

The reason why Lasse’s method provides a clearer image is because of better antibody penetration. These antibodies are special proteins that attach to certain cells in the brain slice, for example microglial cells. Given that they have fluorescent markers attached to them, researchers can see these structures underneath a microscope. Since SNAPSHOT provide researchers with better antibody penetration, they will have a clearer picture of the microglial cells as well as other structures in the brain slice. Finally, as compared to other techniques, SNAPSHOT’s simplicity allows it to be completed in an afternoon at a very cheap price.

Since microglial cells are implicated in diseases such as Alzheimer’s, SNAPSHOT may allow researchers to further study how the microglial cells respond to the progression of this mysterious disease. In addition, Lasse talked about how he can mimic injuries such as strokes and then observe how the brain responds; this type of live imaging can help researchers learn much more about what goes on at a microscopic level during such injuries. To conclude, it’s important to note that SNAPSHOT is just one tool that will undoubtedly further the research in the field of neuroscience.

Here is a video illustrating how the SNAPSHOT method can be used to study different types of strokes:

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Below is a podcast talking more about SNAPSHOT’s ability to study neurodegenerative disease:

 

– Gagandeep, Elice, Anne and Gurtaj

Laboratory nurseries could save Coral Reefs

A natural underwater Atlantis is found beneath the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean; clustered corals of all shapes and colours create the home of a vibrant array of fish species. But these reef ecosystems are declining and are threatened with destruction unless the corals can be saved. Marine researchers have uncovered the secret to breeding pillar corals in the laboratory with the hope that these can be transplanted to reefs to reverse such trends.

A Caribbean coral reef ecosystem (copyright - Ken Clifton)

A Caribbean coral reef ecosystem (copyright – Ken Clifton)

Corals are soft-bodied organisms which associate with algae, they form a hard limestone base which forms the structure of reefs. These cover less than a quarter of one percent of the ocean floor yet support 25% of all marine life. That equates to 2 million species whilst also acting as a nursery to a quarter of the oceans fish. In addition to the beauty of an ecosystem rivalling the diversity of the Amazon rainforest, coral reefs are vital fisheries. If sustainably managed, one square kilometre can yield 15 tonnes of fish per year whilst the total commercial annual output of coral fisheries is valued at $5.7 billion. Furthermore, coral reef fish species are a significant food resource for over a billion people worldwide and are the principle protein source for 85% of this total. Therefore, it is of paramount importance that we conserve these ecosystems.

Pollution from oil depots enters the ocean and poisons coral reefs (copyright - Kris Krug)

Pollution from oil depots enters the ocean and poisons coral reefs (copyright – Kris Krug)

However, one quarter of coral reefs are considered damaged beyond repair whilst the remainder are under serious threat. The warming ocean temperature has disrupted their associations with algae; this is known as bleaching and leads to the death of corals. Climate change has increased CO2 levels; this has raised the acidity of the ocean which then dissolves the coral limestone skeleton. Moreover, pollution from oil, industry and agriculture has poisoned the corals thus furthering their decline. Overfishing also poses a threat through disordering the complex food webs of the ecosystem whilst fishing practices such as trawling can directly damage the reef.

Pillar corals of the Caribbean reef (copyright – BioMed Central)

Marine researcher Kristen Marhaver and her team are hoping to reverse these effects through raising juvenile pillar corals in the laboratory environment. Coaxing the corals into reproduction was a difficult task; Dr. Marhaver drew the “analogy to in vitro fertilization in humans.” Pillar corals build single gender colonies and spawn eggs or sperm on very few nights annually. The offspring then grow at just half an inch per year. However, the team succeeded and learnt of the optimal conditions of water, bacteria and other species that help them to grow in the wild. Furthermore, there is hope that these laboratory grown juveniles could be transplanted back to the Caribbean reefs to regenerate the ecosystems. Marhaver added, “We do see that coral juveniles can survive in places where the adults are suffering badly, so we are thinking that some reefs can recover in places we have given up on.” Such research can only help to protect and potentially regenerate these crucial coral reef ecosystems upon which so much is dependent.

Toby Buttress

Do we get our genes from fish and mushrooms?!

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Simple figure of how HGT occurs.

We acquire all our genes from our ancestors, right? Hmmm, maybe not. Recently, came across an article in the news expressing that we may have more than 100 genes from other species. You are probably wondering what the heck I am talking about. When we think of transferring genes, we imagine a family tree with branches pertaining to different members of the family, with a direct transfer of genes from parent to offspring. What we don’t consider at all is Horizontal Gene Transfer. This phenomenon, shortened to HGT, refers to when DNA is transferred between species through bacteria-infected viruses, genes that “jump” around cells and various other methods. The YouTube video below provides a quick summary of HGT with animations.

It is common to see this in action in single-celled organisms such as bacteria, where the foreign genes enter and get embedded in the recipient’s cell. However, recently scientists have found that this process occurs in animal cells as well. In this scientific article, Alastair Crisp and his research team examined HGT in detail in 26 animal species, including primates. Many genes, including the ABO blood group gene, were transferred to humans through other vertebrates. This article discussed more of Crisp’s finding in detail. Crisp and his team inferred that HGT between primates did not happen in the most recent common ancestor of all primates, but way back when our common ancestors were fish. Crisp also identified some genes as emerging from fungi!

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We have genes from mushrooms……

 

What does this mean for us humans? Are we going to start growing gills like fish, or decomposing dead matter like fungi? This second scientific paper looks at the implications of HGT in evolution. The author, Michael Syvanen, discusses how how the origin of animal cells could be a form of HGT, and that structural genes that are fundamental to everyday life were adapted from genes of prokaryotes.

Don’t worry, we won’t be growing gills anytime soon. That already happened thousands of years ago when we evolved into vertebrates!

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