Author Archives: jimmy huang

It is often difficult to dissect the causes of diseases like ALS, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s at the cellular level. We do know that a malfunction of certain cellular processes causes these diseases. However, there are so many cellular tasks that it is complicated to pinpoint an exact cause. Luckily, new research investigating membrane trafficking mechanisms gives us some insight into why these diseases occur.

What is membrane trafficking?

Think of our cells as complicated machines that operate on strict protocols. One of its functions is to transport cargo from place to place, sort of like a highway. Membrane trafficking is the process of distributing goods within a cell, into a cell, or out of a cell. These goods can range from a variety of things like proteins or macromolecules. The following is a video to explain membrane trafficking more easily:

How is membrane TRAFFICKING-RELATED to these diseases?

At the current moment, there isn’t a lot of research done in this particular field. We know that in brain cells, communication is done in the language of membrane trafficking. By distributing certain goods from brain cell to brain cell, they’re able to create an information network that allows our bodies to perform actions like moving our arms, smelling the air, etc. However, the disruption of membrane trafficking causes a break in this information network, which forms disease as previously mentioned. Fortunately, new research investigates how the breaks in the information network occur.

The VINE complex is a VPS9-domain GEF-containing SNX-BAR coat involved in endosomal sorting

We’ve had an amazing opportunity to interview Shawn P. Shortill, a Ph.D. candidate at BC Children’s Hospital through the medical genetics department at the University of British Columbia. He has been working on a research paper on the topic of membrane trafficking. 

BC Children’s Hospital

Essentially, Shortill’s research used budding yeast as a model organism to study the fundamentals of membrane trafficking pathways. Budding yeast is a great research tool as its genes can be easily altered, cells are similar to human cells,  there is a lot of it, gives fast results, and is extremely cheap. The following podcast clip gives a quick insight into the specifics of Shortill’s research:

Shortill has identified a series of proteins (called VINE) located on the endosome, an important cellular component for membrane trafficking, that is essential for regulating membrane trafficking. VINE has also been speculated to be involved in ALS and Parkinson’s development.

How is this research important?

As previously mentioned, the discovery of VINE is important because of the potential to be involved in the aforementioned diseases. However, not much else can be discussed in the context of disease. Nonetheless, this is a step forward in understanding why certain diseases occur at the cellular level. The next step forward is to determine if this research can be applied to human cells and if it is truly related to the disease. 

We would like to thank Shawn for giving us the time to interview him and for him to fully educate us on his research. 

– Olivia Kochhar, Ryan To, Darryl Ma, Jimmy Huang

When the term “renewable energy” comes up in conversation, we immediately think of methods like solar and hydropower. However, these modes of energy production come with pros and cons. For example, hydropower is not feasible in areas without access to moving or falling water and solar energy only works when there is available sunlight. However, one method that is up-and-coming to produce renewable energy is fusion reaction, which has the potential to be extremely versatile.

what is fusion energy?

To fully graph the idea of fusion energy, we have to understand the concept of nuclear fusion. At the most rudimentary level, nuclear fusion is the process of merging two small atomic elements together. In this process, the merging of the two atomic elements releases energy that can be harnessed. However, the actual physics and mathematics are more complicated than previously explained.

For a more concise look into nuclear fusion, refer to the following video:

The main advantages of fusion energy are that it produces little to no greenhouse gasses. The disadvantage of the fusion reaction is that currently, the energy input exceeds the energy output and there is the production of small amounts of radioactive waste.

what is the future of nuclear fusion looking like?

As of February 9th, 2022, engineers at the UK Atomic Energy Authority’s Joint European Torus (JET) facility in Oxford produced 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy, which breaks the previous record of 22 megajoules set in 1997. This reaction lasted for five seconds before breaking down. However, the energy input to start the reaction exceeded the amount of energy produced. Nonetheless, this experiment displayed that the fusion reaction can be sustained for a good amount of time and is a great stepping stone for a future experiment set in 2026 called ITER.

A Look into Fusion Reactor – Image from Wikipedia

what is iter?

ITER is a nuclear fusion plant currently being built in southern France and is set to begin experiments in 2025. The goal of ITER is to produce 500 megawatts of energy in 400-second intervals. For some context, if this facility was to use one ton of deuterium, one of the two small elements used for fusion reaction, that would be the equivalent of using 29 billion tons of coal to produce energy. If experimentation is a success, then there is a great possibility for a further transition away from fossil fuel usage.

ITER fusion reactor – Image from ITER

overall takeaways

From recent news, there is potential for fusion energy to be a mainstream source of renewable energy. There is optimism that ITER will be a success from the JET experiment. However, ITER experimentation begins in 2025 and results can differ from what is predicted. For now, we will still have to rely on current methods of renewable energy production.

– Jimmy Huang

Imagine this:

You’re living your life but suddenly you lose the urge to eat. Not a big deal, maybe it’s just a phase.

A week passes and you notice that those juicy arms you’ve worked so hard to grow to seem to start looking like sticks. Your face seems a bit discolored, somewhere on the paler side. You weigh yourself, and you’re down 10 pounds. You start feeling a bit concerned but maybe it’s the keto diet that you started.

A few more weeks pass and you feel a small bump on your lower back. Now you’re freaking out and head to the hospital. After a diagnosis, the doctor says the three dreaded words: “you have cancer.”

Although it seems like it’s the end of the world, 21st-century medical advances have allowed us to investigate and create new types of cures to combat cancer. One of these advances is chimera antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which will be discussed more in-depth later in the post.

What is cancer?

In the most general sense, cancer is a disease that causes cells to rapidly divide and grow uncontrollably and spread to different parts of the body. Cancer cells can also aggregate in certain areas and disrupt bodily functions, also known as tumors.

Current CANCER TREATMENTS:

Currently, there are three main types of treatment: surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. As surgery suggests, it is the physical removal of a tumor. Chemotherapy uses drugs to target rapidly growing cells, even healthy cells such as hair. Finally, radiation uses x-rays, particles, or radioactive seeds to kill cancer cells. Of course, there are other types of treatment such as targeted therapy but it is less used in the medical industry.

Example of Cancer Treatment (Chemotherapy) – Image by VeryWell

A newer type of treatment, car t-cell therapy:

Chimera antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a newer type of treatment that was tested back in 2010. Essentially, T-cells from a patient are extracted, genetically modified with CAR, and reintroduced into the patient. These modified T-cells are more adept at targeting only cancer cells. In a 2022 study by Melenhorst et al., it was found that two patients suffering from lymphocytic leukemia entered remission (signs that the cancer has reduced) right after treatment and after a decade, still continue to be in remission and even contain detectable CAR T-cells. This study shows that CAR T-cell therapy has its merits as being a legitimate treatment.

CAR T-cell Therapy Cycle – Image by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News

Side effects of treatment:

Like all types of cancer treatments, there are some side effects associated. In a 2022 New York Times article by Gina Kolata, some side effects include high fevers, comas, and dangerously low blood pressure. However, some of these symptoms were resolved given time.

Overall takeaways:

Recent studies showing the results of CAR T-cell therapy have given it a chance to display the potential of it being a legitimate cancer treatment. Although some nasty side effects are associated with treatment, we cannot deny the positive effects it has shown. However, further research and testing would be crucial in developing this medical knowledge.

– Jimmy Huang