Algae to the rescue, again?
Feature: Algae as a biofuel and Australia’s research potential in this field
Science Alert: 10 March 2011
Modified microbe makes fuel from cellulose
Using a genetically modified microbe a US team has for the first time produced the high-grade fuel, isobutanol, directly from cellulose.
OakRidge National laboratory (ORNL): 9 March 2011
ORNL’s Review magazine (Volume 43, Number 3, 2010) also has a series of feature articles on the next generation of biofuels
Eco-farming can double food output by poor
UN report: Farmers in developing nations can double food production within a decade by shifting to ecological agriculture from use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Scientific American: 8 March 2011
A new stem cell
This one is an adult cell reprogrammed to only revert part of the way back to pluripotency
These cells are called induced conditional self-renewing progenitor (ICSP) cells and US scientists have created them from human neurons with the intention to treat brain diseases. They have published their research in Proceedingsof the National Academy of Science (PNAS)
But their blog says it best
New technologies for a changing climate
We are supporting a growing population on a finite planet and so must be smarter and more efficient than ever before. Whether we’re sourcing, converting, distributing, storing or using energy, there are many technologies in the pipeline. This booklet is your guide to what might be in store.
New Technologies for a Changing Climate
Podcast: Adult stem cell use to treat heritable diseases
Uni Melbourne Up Close: value and use of induced pluripotent sttem cells
UpClose Episode 132
A University of Melbourne podcast specifically exploring the value and use of induced pluripotent stem cells linked to research from the University of Melbourne to develop treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, in particular Friedreich Ataxia, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Motor Neuron Disease. Tere is also an overview of the pros and cons of other stem cell types – cord blood, embryonic and your standard adult cells.
Image: Australian Stem cell Centre
Anyone for a memory boost?
By Jason Major
TechNyou
What if you could enhance all your important memories and delete all the bad or painful memories? Great (for some, I’m sure) if you are suffering from dementia, or on the flip-side post-traumatic stress disorder and want to forget a specific event. But, what, if you simply want to improve for grades at school, or just want to have a permanent fix to a dodgy memory? What if you desire this ability in your unborn children and ask the IVF doctor to tweak those genes in your embryo?
Once more into the ethical breach…
What we know so far
Neuroscientists have found a way to make old memories stronger without getting them all muddled as they are formed or recalled. Key to this is a gene that produces an enzyme (a type of protein) that they believe somehow influences the sensitivity of protein receptors at the nerve junctions in your brain. These receptors receive and attach to the chemical signals involved in memory formation and recall. The research was published in Science
Bring out the rats
Their experiments worked a treat in rats. By using genetic tools the researchers disrupted the gene’s function and also boosted the production of the enzyme in the neocortex, the spot in your brain they believe is the storage unit for long-term memories.
Rats were given sweet, lithium-laced water that made them ill. One week later, one bunch of rats had the production of the enzyme blocked; another bunch had it increased. Rats with loads of the enzyme remembered that sweet water made them ill and didn’t go near it. The bunch that had the enzyme blocked guzzled the water without a pause. The same thing happened with salty lithium-laced water.
Enhancement versus therapy
Human enhancement is still a long way from reality, though that may depend on how you define it. And I have asked the question previously whether we really need to distinguish between therapy and enhancement. I believe that each use of a technology should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. We need to ask if anyone is being harmed from the specific use of the technology, who is benefiting (individual, society, both, neither), is there equal access for all, and is our tight to choose if we want access to the technology impinged upon. It shouldn’t matter whether the use is considered an enhancement or a therapy. For example, is there a difference between taking drugs we use to improve our concentration (caffeine, Ritalin) and tweaking our genes to get the same affect? Is vaccination a therapy or enhancement? Most people I ask this of say it is a therapy, but we are artificially boosting our immune system to fend of disease. What if we could do this genetically in some way? That is, tweak particular genes to boost the ability or our immune system. Will this benefit the individual and society? What is wrong with someone wanting a better memory, or improving any aspect of their cognitive function, eg ability to concentrate for longer periods?
Memories
So, what if we can eventually use this technology to boost our memory recall or eliminate the bad ones? How do we decide which uses are acceptable and which are not, assuming we have eliminated the distinction between therapy and enhancement?
Tis a brave new world and although I am speculating and such research is unlikely to affect my life, it is likely to affect those born today. The research is also being done today, so the discussion needs to happen now about how we use this knowledge.
Further info
Research Reference
Shema, et al, Enhancement of Consolidated Long-Term Memory by Overexpression of Protein Kinase Mζ in the Neocortex. Science 4 March 2011, Vol. 331 no. 6021 pp. 1207-1210. DOI: 10.1126/science.1200215
Image: Kickoff.net.au
Epigenetics 101
By Jason Major
TechNyou
Are you teaching epigenetics, or just interested in the topic?
The current issue of The Scientist focuses on epigenetics. It covers the basics with some reasonably good graphics, at least for those with the basics of DNA under their belt.
Other topics include epigenetics in cancer, the environment and implications for society
On the whole this is a good intro to the topic – your epigenetics 101, if you like.
Stem cells made into neurons lost in Alzheimer’s
Human embryonic stem cells can be turned into neurons that die early in Alzheimer’s disease and are a major cause of memory loss.
North Western University Feinberg School of Medicine: 6 March 2011
Image: Australian Stem Cell Centre
Instrument keeps an ‘eye’ on nanoparticles
A new instrument is capable of detecting individual nanoparticles with diameters as small as a few tens of nanometers.
PhysOrg: 6 March 2011
Image: Tich-Lam Nyguen, Bio21 Institute