Category Archives: Biological Sciences

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Kidneys Grown in Petri Dishes Claimed to Be Functional When Transplanted in Animals

 

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Source: Flickr Commons. Credit to: Alpha

This past decade has been an exciting time for regenerative science. Developmental biologists have been striving to discover new methods to grow organs such as hearts, brains, muscles, and even a hamburger patty from stem cells. As of only this September, kidneys grown in Petri dishes have been shown to be functional in animal studies!

Japanese researcher Dr. Shinya Yokote and his team have come across a scientific breakthrough within the stem cell research field in their recent early edition paper published on September 21st, 2015.

The early edition paper claims that transplant of lab-grown kidneys from stem cells are fully functional – in the sense that they can generate and excrete urine – in their animal studies with rats and pigs. Other groups in the past have generated half functioning kidneys that could generate urine when transplanted into animals, but not excrete it – a disorder known as hydronephrosis.

Dr. Yokote’s group managed to overcome hydronephrosis by inventing a new system within the rat’s body for the stem cell-generated kidneys to excrete their waste in to prevent hydronephrosis. They biologically engineered a persistent drainage tube to the kidney and connected it to a temporary bladder which was transplanted along with the kidney. This new system would empty its waste to the animal’s real bladder when it became full. The scientists named this system the “stepwise peristaltic ureter,” (SWPU) and believe that this could be the future of kidney transplantation.

kidney

A picture of the SWPU system that were used to transplant into rats. Source: Yokote, S., Matsunari, H., Iwai, S., Yamanaka, S., Uchikura, A., Fujimoto, E., Matsumoto, K., Nagashima, H., Kobayashi, E., Yokoo, T. (2015). Urine excretion strategy for stem cell-generated embryonic kidneys. PNAS Early Edition September 21, 2015. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1507803112

Although this discovery could impact millions with kidney failures in the future, readers should be warned that this is only an early access article. The researchers have not shown any empirical data to support their claims in their early access article. Those interested should keep a keen eye open for the full paper to be released!

By Justin Yoon

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Posted on October 5, 2015 by in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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Is in vitro meat the future meat source?

 

Cell Culture, Author: Umberto Salvagnin, Source: Flickr Commons

Cell Culture, Author: Umberto Salvagnin, Source: Flickr Commons

While “Humans no longer raise animals for food” is still a science fantasy in TV shows like Star Trek, growing meat from a Petri dish as one solution to achieve this goal is no longer a far-fetched dream.

Around 2000, Morris Benjaminson, has successfully produced fish fillet from goldfish skeletal muscle in the lab, and deep-fried their result. “It looked and smelled pretty much the same as any fish you could buy at the supermarket,” says Benjaminson (Scientific American).

Two years ago,  two people tasted the in vitro beef muscle prepared as a burger patty at a news conference in London for the first time.

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[by youtube channel Maastricht University Cultured Beef]

They both agreed that the texture was quite close to meat. “I know there is no fat in it so I didn’t really know how juicy it would be, but there is quite some intense taste,” said one taster.

We seem be able to see lab-grown meat in production fairly soon. However, would in vitro meat be our future meat source even if they taste no different from natural meat?

I think there are some obvious advantages. First of all, in vitro meat allows us to control its nutrition content, hence it can be much healthier than farmed animals. Secondly, reducing animal farming can significantly reduce animal cruelty, the burden on land use, and animal waste. Last but not least, from a environmental point of view, in vitro meat can even reduce green gas emissions. For example, cattle farming is infamous for their Methane emissions (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), and Methane has a global warming potential 72 times more than carbon dioxide over a 20-year-period based on a 2007 report by  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Name: Confined animal feeding operation, Author: SlimVirgin, Source: en.wikipedia

Name: Confined animal feeding operation, Author: SlimVirgin, Source: en.wikipedia

However, people do argue that there might be some disadvantages that we should look out for. For example,  Science Friday  has pointed out a few down-sides such as reduction on animal by-product, and the $300,000 price tag for a beef burger patty. However, I think these are trivial problems given that animal by-products have already been largely replaced by artificial materials, and the scientists were quite confident about cutting the price down. The most interesting point is that they mentioned that it is just like industrial revolution, artificially producing natural product is always going to cost more energy, which is not necessarily a good thing for the environment. I agree that it does seem like more energy cost is inevitable, but energy related environmental damage is something that we have already been working on for years, and it is up to us to prevent it from very beginning.

All in all, I think with a combined effort with other solutions that we have already been working on such as animal farming regulation, and a global effort on reducing green house gas emission, there is definitely a place for in vitro meat to benefit us to some extend in the future.

By Sainan Liu

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Posted on October 5, 2015 by in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science

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Almost there! Universal blood for all.

Posted on October 3, 2015 by | 1 comment

Researchers of The Centre for Blood Research and The Chemistry Department in University British Columbia (UBC) have been experimenting to generate an enzyme that makes eight different blood types to be the safe universal blood for everyone.

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Blood transfusion (source: Flickr Commons)

As it is generally known, our blood type lies into four major groups: A,B, AB and O. Also, there are positive types and negative types on each four types. Overall, eight different blood types differentiate from each other by additional sugar structure that lies on the surface of the red blood cells which decide presence or absence of antigens. Failure in performing correct blood transfusion can bring life-threatening situation due to immune responses to patients. The importance of correctly identifying the blood type and its transfusion to the patient in need is absolutely critical in the matter of life and death. An example of wrong blood type transfusion can be found in the link.

Drawing from the above importance of identifying blood for patients, the blood type O is known as universal blood because type A and B share the same core sugar structure as type O.  More specifically, only type O negative can be called universal blood because type O positive can not be transfused to patients who have negative blood type. Blood type O negative can be donated to patients with negative blood types as well as positive blood types. The universal blood type O negative is the key to blood transfusion; one which is in need, but not enough of.

Above diagram indicates blood type O as universal donor due to absence of antigen.

Therefore, David Kwan (UBC Chemistry department), Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu (UBC the Centre for Blood Research) and others are in process of finding a way to create an enzyme that can cut off the additional sugar structure (antigen) on surface of the blood cell so that all blood types can be donated and transfused safely as blood type O. Such research is the breakthrough in the clinical use of blood transfusion in saving the lives of critical patients.

Researchers used a new technology called directed evolution to generate the “sugar(antigen)-cutting” enzyme. Through directed evolution technology, researchers were possible to insert mutation gene into the gene that codes for the enzyme. Currently, thanks to their efforts, the enzyme under research became 170 times more effective at cutting majority of antigens in type A and B.

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[Credit to: City]

Since the enzyme cuts majority of antigens but not all, the research is still underway. Human immune system is critically sensitive to even tiniest of antigens; adding to the importance of the successful research. This study needs further improvement before the enzyme can be used for clinical use.

by Grace Kim.

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science in the News

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The future of wound healing

If today you cut your hand accidentally, what would you do? I would put some pressure on the wound and a Band-Aid to stop the bleeding! However, what if you are an military doctor operating on someone who has been shot on the battlefield, and is bleeding profusely on the operating table?

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Surgery, Author: Army Medicine  Source: Flickr Commons

Modern blood clotting agents do exist, but they are slow to action and may pose health risks later on. This is where Vetigel™ comes into the spotlight! Created by Joe Landolina and his company Suneris, this new invention has the possibility to revolutionize the medical field.

Before we find out what Vetigel™ does, I will first explain how our body heals that simple paper cut on our hand. It may be surprising to know that the healing mechanisms behind a paper cut and a gunshot wound is strikingly similar. The major difference is the size of the wound, which means your body has less time to self-heal with more blood being lost every second.

Our wounds heal with special mechanisms that involve our cells, and a microscopic mesh that exists between these cells called the extracellular matrix. This matrix is also what holds your cells in place, help cells communicate with each other,  and assist in nutrient transport. When a wound heals, the human body is simply recreating this matrix with the help of other specialized cells from the immune system (Enoch & Leaper, 2005). Unfortunately, I don’t think the human body has the one type fits all kind of extracellular matrix. Instead, our bodies has to slowly recreate this extracellular matrix specifically for the site of injury.

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Extracellular matrix, Author: Alejandro Porto Source: Wikimedia commons

In my opinion, this problem of slow self-regeneration is what Vetigel™ tries to resolve. Vetigel™ can spontaneously assemble into the same “configuration” of extracellular matrix wherever it’s applied. It speeds up your own body’s ability to heal wounds by removing the need to slowly recreate the extracellular matrix. If you put Vetigel™ on your skin, the gel will self-assemble into a mesh similar to your skin`s extracellular matrix; if you apply Vetigel™ to your heart, the gel will assemble into a mesh similar to your heart’s extracellular matrix. I was truly amazed at the speed at which traumatic bleeding can be stopped, here is a video demonstrating Vetigel™ in action (blood warning):YouTube Preview Image

Joe Landolina`s genius is that he  realized certain polymers derived from plant cell wall have self-assembling properties. Therefore, by basing Vetigel™ on these plant polymers, Vetigel™ can automatically assemble in a similar fashion as the micro-environment it is applied on. Here’s his TED talk giving a more detailed introduction of his product:

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The future of emergency and military medicine sure looks bright, but FDA approval of this amazing product is still a few years away.  For now, Joe Landolina has started producing Vetigel™ for veterinary medicine, and maybe one day your beloved dog will be saved because of innovative science!

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Saving man’s best friend! Author: Austin Community College, Source: Flickr Commons

By Yu Chieh (Brian) Cheng

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Posted on September 28, 2015 by in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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My Grandma Can Become Stronger by Eating Apples and Tomatoes

Posted on September 21, 2015 by | 1 comment

I remember when I was little, my mom and teachers at school would always tell me: “an apple a day will keep the doctor away.” While there may not be concrete scientific evidence that supports the accuracy of this saying, Dr. Christopher Adam and his colleagues from the University of Iowa have found evidence that consuming apples and tomatoes will keep our muscles strong and healthy.

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Video courtesy of CNN NewsByJim’s

Scientists have identified age-related muscle weakness and atrophy as a common trend in both humans and animals. Such phenomenon is often caused by disuse or denervation of muscles. Generally, muscle strength will start to decline between the ages of 30 to 40, and continue to decrease for the next several decades until the age of 70, when it begins to accelerate. Simultaneously, muscle mass is also decreasing, but at a slower rate. This loss of muscle mass and strength will consequently reduce the individual’s quality of life, and increase mortality. Up until now, exercise and healthy eating are the only approved approach to slow muscle atrophy.

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Video courtesy of Mayo Clinic

 

Researchers at the University of Iowa have recently discovered two compounds that reduce muscle mass and quality due to starvation and inactivity in elderly mice: ursolic acid in apple peel and tomatidine in green tomatoes. Both these compounds are believed to turn off genes activated by the harmful ATF4 proteins that is partly responsible for the age-related muscle loss and weakness. When this protein is expressed, it causes changes in gene expression so that protein synthesis is suppressed and protein degradation is elevated for muscle cells.

In their study, the researchers fed elderly mice with age-related muscle weakness and atrophy a diet either containing or lacking 0.27% ursolic acid, or 0.05% tomatidine for two months. The results of this study were significant. When the researchers measured the muscle mass of the elderly mice fed with either ursolic acid or tomatidine, they found that the mice increased their muscle mass by 10%, and their muscle strength by 30%.

These finding are significant as they can potentially increase the lifestyle and mobility of elderly people with muscle weakness and atrophy. The next step for the researchers is to continue their investigation in human clinical trial, and see if ursolic acid and tomatidine have the same effect in elderly humans as they do in mice. Ursolic acid and tomatidine can furthermore be developed into pharmaceutical supplements than can help with muscle strengthening.

Julia He

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science in the News, Uncategorized

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Tomato juice tastes better on airplanes

Posted on September 21, 2015 by | Leave a comment

Have you ever had a tomato juice during a flight? If you have, you should like it because tomato juice actually tastes better on flights!

Generally speaking, tomato juice is not that popular compared to other juices. However, in flights, tomato juice is one of the most popular drinks. The Lufthansa Airline which is a German airline serves almost the same amount of tomato juice as beer to passengers. How could tomato juice be selected as a popular drink at 35000 feet above ground?

tomato juice

Source: Flickr Commons

Researchers have recently found that there is a relationship between sound and taste. Prof. Dr. Charles Spence at Oxford University explained that, “noise suppresses people’s ability to taste sweetness and saltiness, but it actually enhances people’s ability to taste umami.” Therefore, it is true that the airplane’s engine noise influences the way people taste food and beverages. Furthermore, his study also proved the better taste of tomato juice in flights as tomato contains the umami flavor.

Source: Flickr Commons

Umami is one of the five tastes which was identified in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda, a professor of the Tokyo Imperial University. It is difficult to describe how umami tastes since it is sensed when glutamate binds to specific receptors on your tongue. Various types of food such as seaweed, pork, soy sauce, cheese, and mushrooms have umami taste.

Research from the faculty of food and nutrition in Cornell University stated that people prefer umami taste in the environment with high-decibel noise. The researchers conducted an experiment on a flight. Eleven men and thirty seven women aged from 18 to 55 were asked to taste liquid with each basic five tastes (sweetness, sourness, saltiness, bitterness, and umami), first time with headphones and second time without headphones. The result showed that people with headphones claimed the four flavors except umami were strong. On the other hand, people without the headphones stated that they could taste the umami flavor to be much stronger than the people with headphones did.

Therefore, studies mentioned above on the effects of sound on taste prove the reason why tomato juice actually tastes better on a flight.

Here’s an interesting video of short experiment about the effect of sound on taste:

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YouTube video courtesy of: Brit Lab

– Lisa Inhye Kim

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Issues in Science, Science in the News

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The Mysterious Effects of The Blob

Posted on September 20, 2015 by | Leave a comment

A patch of abnormally warm water has amassed in the North Eastern Pacific Ocean, and is moving its way towards British Columbia’s coastline. The characteristic shape of the affected water has caused scientists to dub it “The Blob”.   You might be thinking to yourself that you accidentally stumbled onto a science fiction blog, but The Blob is very real, with equally real consequences for marine ecosystems.

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Sea Surface Temperature shows anomalies in the North East Pacific Ocean (http://www.climate.washington.edu/newsletter/2014Jun.pdf)

Oceanographers haven’t been able to point to a clear cause for the strange phenomenon, but they think it may be linked to the unusually strong El Nino we are currently experiencing. This summer, it has been attributed to several unusual marine observations.

A bloom of domoic acid producing phytoplankton has been seen within the blob, which has been linked to the death of approximately 30 whales that have washed ashore in Alaska. While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, toxins have been link to similar deaths in the past.

Zooxanthellae, a phytoplankton that lives in a symbiotic relationship with coral, has also been negatively affected by the blob. The warm temperatures cause the phytoplankton to become stressed, and expelled from coral reefs. Corals receive valuable nutrients from their phytoplankton partners that give them their radiant colours. Once the algae are expelled, coral reefs lose their colour, resulting in the occurrence known as coral bleaching. This has been seen this past summer in Hawaii, and leaves coral reefs with an increased vulnerability to environmental stressors. Given that coral reefs are areas of incredible diversity, containing up to one third of all marine species, understanding why the blob is occurring, and how long it will remain in the Pacific, is exceedingly important.

Due to the increase in thermal stratification throughout the blob, there is less vertical mixing, less nutrients being replaced from below which ultimately leads to less zooplankton to feed salmon. With a decrease in salmon’s energy source, scientists predict less juvenile salmon will be successful in their long trip from the estuaries out to the open ocean. Lower birth rates have also been predicted in whale species as well, given that they will need to expend more energy locating resources, leaving less available for reproduction and survivorship of young.

As warmer waters impinge along our coastlines, so do many marine species that are normally associated with warmer, tropical waters. Following the patch of warm water, Mola Mola (sunfish), triggerfish, and tuna have been spotted several times in B.C. waters, even as far north as Bella Bella.

Changes to marine ecosystems and population dynamics can be difficult to predict, given the complexity of the food webs. While the blob cannot be attributed to global warming, it does provide scientists with a unique opportunity to study the effects of a 2-4°C increase in water temperatures, and what may lie ahead for the oceans.

Sandra Emry

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But my grandma smokes and she’s like 80!

But my grandma smokes and she’s like 80!

With the negative health effects of smoking tobacco well understood by science and accepted in the general population, many smokers struggle to justify their habit. A common excuse is that they know somebody who did xyz their whole life and they are still alive and well at a ripe old age. It’s a common logical fallacy to take a small sample size (even just an individual) and attempt to generalize it on the larger population.

But what about that elderly person in your family that has been smoking since they were 20? The 85 year old daily drinker? What about Ozzy Osbourne? If we die so much younger, how do the cumulative effects of decades of drug abuse not impact these people?

Researches from the Universities of California and Southern California wondered the same thing when they took a look at people like Jeanne Calment. At an age of 122 she was a daily smoker – since the age of 21! She didn’t have a particularly good diet either, with large quantities of wine and chocolate on the regular. Somehow Madame Calment defied all statistics. The researches looked in the genetic code of 90 such people with the goal to find out why they go against the grain. What they found were previously unknown genetic differences which gave their carriers ‘superpowers’, putting them into a “biologically distinct group”.

How is he still alive?

Ozzy Osbourne How is he still alive?

Source: Creative Commons License – Source: www.northatlanticbooks.com

There are a small number of people that are born with genetic markers which appear to shield them from some of the negative consequences of smoking, the researchers concluded. It is people like Ozzy Osbourne who, despite decades of well documented drug abuse, seem to have sustained less physical damage than one might expect. The researches suggest this may be the same or a related process that allows certain people to be ‘young and full of life’ in very high ages while a majority their age peers tend to die much younger.

Maybe drugs are ok after all?

It appears there is an unknown population among us who have the innate genetic ability to survive environmental damage that kills most others. While screening for such a resistance is not practical yet, future advances in genetic sequencing will soon make it available to the general public. And what if you happen to be one of those super-humans? The research team reiterated: Even if you are a carrier of these protective genes, stopping smoking will always be beneficial to your health.

This may be a positive outcome for the purpose of communicating science to the public. We now understand much better why certain people can smoke and still live a (relatively) healthy life. The element of the unknown has invited people to speculate that smoking itself might not be the culprit (see headline). Yet now we know that tobacco still effects humans the way we know it, it’s just that a subset of the population happens to be more resistant. Once we can integrate these results into different areas of medical science routine screenings as well as the potential of gene therapy for the many non-resilient humans opens up.

Lorenz Buehler

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Posted on September 13, 2015 by in Biological Sciences, Science in the News

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