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Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 2012: stem cell research

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 | smida55p | No Comments

This year’s Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine goes to two researchers for their work on induced pluripotent stem cells or IPSCs.  The Prize recognises the achievements of the two researchers in this promising field of science – one of whom first published on the subject 50 years ago.

IPSCs are formed from mature body cells that have been effectively ‘reprogramed’ to a pluripotent state so that they resemble the cells in an early embryo.  Early embryonic stem cells are pluripotent and so have the highest potency of any stem cells.  This means that (under the right conditions) they are able to develop or differentiate into any type of cell.

Many medical researchers think that stem cells have a lot of potential for therapeutic uses such as tissue repair, regeneration and replacement, as well as providing a source of human cells for experimentation, investigating cellular processes and modelling the action of drugs.  Early research into pluripotent stem cells involved the use of early human embryoes.  IPSCs are of significant interest in medical science as they could provide pluripotent stem cells from a non-embyronic source.

Read about this exciting story of stem cell research at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121008082955.htm

There and Back Again: New Zealand’s Great White Shark movements

Tuesday, October 9th, 2012 | smida55p | No Comments

New Zealand’s great white sharks have been in the news this week as shark scientists from NIWA, DOC and Auckland University uncover more about the movement of the world’s largest predatory fish.

Read more about the research into the long and short term movements of sharks tagged in the Foveaux Strait as they head to the tropics for a winter break at

http://www.niwa.co.nz/news/record-number-of-great-white-sharks-tagged-in-new-zealand-waters

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10836331

and http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/6720058/The-science-of-tagging-a-great-white

So here’s a question: do you think that these movements could be called a migration?  Post a comment and let me know what you think and why.

 

So how is the polar sea ice fairing in the other hemisphere?

Wednesday, September 26th, 2012 | smida55p | No Comments

Single polar bear on solitary ice floe

From : From bakka-deliviano.blogspot.com

 

Arctic sea ice has shrunk to its smallest surface area since record keeping began, taking the world into “uncharted territory” as climate change intensifies, U.S. scientists warned

 

 

For the full story see http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/6000/arctic-sea-ice-shrinks-lowest-level-record

Gene mutation events linked to ‘milestones’ in human evolution

Wednesday, August 29th, 2012 | smida55p | No Comments

In the third online OUASSA biology tutorial I introduced the idea that a type of chromosomal mutation known as gene duplication may be important in “providing evolution some spare genes to play with”.

Many scientists think that gene duplications have contributed to some evolutionary changes, from the evolution of antifreeze proteins in polar fish (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110112122511.htm), the divesification of a group of calcium binding polypeptides in vertebrates that are important in tooth and bone formation and production of milk and salivary proteins in mammals (http://www.frontiersinzoology.com/content/2/1/15), to the evolution of true trichromatic colour vision in African apes. (http://anthro.palomar.edu/primate/color.htm; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10413401).

A lovely example of the role of gene duplication in evolution for Level 3/Scholarship Biology – that is truly relevant to us all in the widest possible sense – can be found at http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21777-the-humanity-switch-how-one-gene-made-us-brainier.html.  This article tells the story of how the repeated duplication of a gene involved in neural development may have been involved in two major advances in brain cell organisation and thinking power that correlate with some big leaps forward in our own biological evolution.  Enjoy!  Darren.

Ever wondered how we know so much about genetics? “DNA from the Beginning” tells the stories of the experiments behind the biology.

Thursday, August 16th, 2012 | smida55p | No Comments

“DNA from the Beginning” is a fantastic resource that tells the stories of the science and scientists  that have helped to build our knowledge of DNA and genetics:

Explore http://www.dnaftb.org/

It is packed with great animations, stories, activities, quizzes and summaries of key concepts, and is ideal for anyone studying 90715 “Describe the role of DNA in relation to gene expression”.  10/10! – Darren

Great resource for Processes and Patterns of Evolution

Thursday, July 19th, 2012 | smida55p | No Comments

This is a one of my favourite websites for simple, clear and valid content for learning about evolutionary processes and patterns from Berkeley:

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/index.shtml

Heaps of wonderful images, explanations and examples for revision or note-taking.