Revolutionizing Birth Control

We all (hopefully) know where babies come from. It all starts with a single sperm miraculously making contact with an egg cell. The egg cell accepts the sperm and the two cells fuse their DNA, this is the moment of conception. Up until very recently the mechanics of this process had been unclear. How is it that only a singly sperm is able to enter the egg, and furthermore how did the sperm even attach to the egg? These questions finally have some concrete answers. 

When I took Cellular and Molecular Biology I learned one very important concept: when in doubt, it’s a protein. This go to tip stands true for the secret of fertilization; it is all about the proteins. Surface proteins are one mechanism cells use to communicate with each other. Previous work had identified a protein on the surface of sperm necessary for egg recognition. This protein is called Izumo. 

Izumo was discovered in 2005. It wasn’t until this year that the target of this protein was discovered.  Juno is to the egg what Izumo is to the sperm. Why is it that the discovery of Juno took so long? To begin with, the interaction between Juno and Izumo is short lived. In fact, upon initial contact of the two proteins, Juno begins to disappear from the egg membrane. This mechanism is designed to ensure that only one sperm can make it into the egg. Another reason for the difficulty in finding Juno is that the interactions between Juno and Izumo are weak, another mechanism designed to limit sperm access to the egg. 

Both proteins are necessary for fertilization to occur. Knockout mice for either Izumo or Juno were found to be infertile. This research could lead to potential new forms of birth control. Many women are opposed to taking the pill because of the hormones they have to ingest. Other contraceptives like IUDs can be invasive. But imagine a treatment that disrupted the Juno protein. This protein is (so far) only found in egg cells, and disruption of its synthesis shouldn’t inhibit normal ovulation and menstruation. For these reasons I think it would be great to see more options for contraception being offered. 

 Posted by Tim Daly

Cell Growth: Auxin Carriers in Plants

Plant cell elongation has been a topic without complete understanding.  The exact model for cell elongation is believed to have a relationship to several hormones and proteins still under a variety of current studies. Indole-acetic acid, or Auxin, is a hormone found in plants that has been found to be involved in cell elongation.

Recent research on  Arabidopsis thaliana showed a specific mutant “Echidna”(a protein involved in golgi transport) was found to be necessary for Auxin transport in the golgi apparatus to the plasma membrane within Arabidopsis cells.  Boutte andJonsson et al. published in 2013 literature concerning apical hook development(a time between formation and maintenance phase in the development of Arabidopsis in which a bend occurs on hypocotyl) and Auxin’s relationship to it.

It was found that during development, the Echidna mutant was fou

nd to lose the apical hook bend during the maintenance phase as compared to the wild type which retains its bend during the maintenance phase.  Through marking Auxin with YFP, fluorescence of the plants was severly decreased in the Echidna mutant, but not in the wild type.  When comparing fluorescence of expression of another transport protein PIN3, it was found that the levels did not change in the Echidna nor wild type plants.  Auxin is involved in a specific way with Echidna that is different from several other transporter proteins.As mentioned in the paper, the data that the researchers recovered showed that Auxin has a distinct role from other transport carriers with Echidna in its function of plant differential cell elongation.

Posted by Michael Dailing(A)

Puff, Puff, Cancer

For many smokers who have looked for a way to quit for years, the e-cig was thought to be the Holy Grail for kicking the bad habit. Electronic cigarettes, known commonly as e-cigs, are tobacco-less products, utilizing special liquids that contain varying amounts of nicotine, allowing smokers to slowly wean off the addictive substance. As many smokers have picked up the new product in the hopes of quitting, the questionably of its health risks is put under the microscope.

At a recent gathering of lung cancer researchers, the effects of the e-cig were discussed, after a study showed that the e-liquid caused cancer in vitro on human lung cells. With a multitude of distributors and a lack of consumer knowledge, the Food and Drug Administration will begin laying the groundwork for the regulation of the use of e-cigs, as there are no current laws against them. In addition, more research will be done on the effects of the product over the next few years. Companies that sell e-cig products will also be conducting their own research, in an effort to show that e-cigs are a safer alternative to normal cigarettes.

The best way to quit cigarettes? Cold turkey. However, this is not a reasonable solution for most people. While products such nicotine patches and gum exist, they are certainly not an alternative to the feeling that smoking induces. Electronic cigarettes may seem like a better alternative to quit the habit, but only time will tell as to how much harm they actually cause.

Posted by Ashton Brown (10)

Dolphins can stay awake for a really long time!

After being awake for many hours or days, humans and most other mammals are forced to stop all activity and sleep deeply. This involves a total stop of activity, a deactivation of skeletal muscles, and a processing of memories. However, it turns out, not all mammals have this need. Dolphins can stay alert for more than two weeks without going into a complete, deeps sleep. They apparently do this by sleeping with only half of their brains at a time. This makes sense, because if dolphins slept like we do, they would be easy prey to sharks. However, the fact that they can effectively stay awake possibly indefinitely is amazing.

Researchers in San Diego decided to look into Dolphin sleep more in depth in a study they did in 2008. The scientists had two dolphins — a female, Say, and a male, Nay — continuously scan the tanks they were in using echolocation. If they detected objects in the water, they were trained over the course of a year to press a paddle to get fish. The scientists found these dolphins could use echolocation with near-perfect accuracy and no sign of tiring for up to 15 days. And 15 days was just the length of the study; it is possible that dolphins do this their entire lifetimes! It is absolutely amazing the diversity of life on this planet, and the adaptations that animals have.

-JE

Using Nature to Charge Your Cellphone in 30 Seconds

We live in a society where technology is the hub of communication, information, and memory storage.  Seemingly everything we need can be accessed and stored within a technological device such as a handheld cellphone or a laptop.  Electricity is the powerhouse of this technology and the most common form is rechargeable batteries.  Imagine if you could take the time it took to charge your cellphone (2-3hrs) and decrease it 300 fold (30 seconds).  That is the power of nature's biological semiconductors...quantom dots.

Quantom dots are a product of biological compounds known as peptides.  Peptides are short chains of amino acids, or simply, small fragments of proteins.  The peptides can be manipulated to assemble themselves into quantom dots through naturally occurring organic chemistry.  Di-peptides will self-assemble into a two-nanometer crystalline structure that can generate a charge under mechanical strain, but is stable and even sometimes optical. Because of this, the battery can be used to generate useable and efficient electricity as well as colored light.  Their structure creates a stability allowing it to last for thousands of charge cycles.  This opens the doors to many great possibilities within the realm of industry.

Batteries use electrolytes to generate electrons.  The quantom dots have properties that mimic electrons but generate a charge 5x greater when used in a battery.  Not only are they more efficient, they are cheaper and leave a considerably smaller carbon footprint than battery acid.  And, due to their ability to emit visible light, they can be used for displays as well.  They are a giant step towards revolutionizing the future.

Currently, an Israeli technology company called StoreDot is creating these quantum dots and their prototype was built for the Samsung Galaxy 4.  It is expected that by 2016, you could buy one of these chargers for $30.  See it happen in real life on Youtube .  And, hopefully by 2016, it will be able to be used in real life.

Posted by: Nicole Boisvert (10)

How the Zebra Got Its Stripes

Since the time of Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, scientists and the novice have wondered about zebras and their interesting stripe pattern. Scientists have recently claimed to have found the reasoning, and it’s not what you would’ve guessed.

Some biologists suggested that the stripes on zebras help manage heat by reducing the thermal loads brought on by the intensity of life in the African savanna. While most of us have accredited the patterning to predator avoidance; we have often attributed the function of the zebras’ alternating coloration to crypsis, a type of camouflage that works when the zebra is in tall grass against predators, whom are believed to be color-blind. It was also hypothesized that the stripes were a form of disruptive color, which is when the herd is in a tight bunch and the stripes blend and contour into the neighbor’s, these optical illusions confuse predators and parasites from making a meal out of them.

            Tim Caro from the University of California, decided it was time that someone tested all these hypothesizes and went with the idea of having the theories running together through his study. He and his team examined the equid species, which include zebras, horses and asses, and the geographic distribution of current and extinct species and how they fair with large predators, ectoparasites, what are their breeding conditions and the temperature at which they normally live. The ended up with seven species and subspecies to be examined, some with and some without stripes. They found that the ranges of the most distinctively striped species, Equus burchelli, E. zebra, and E. grevyi, overlap remarkably with the areas where disease-carrying blood-suckers, such as horseflies and tsetse flies, are active. This was consistent across different types of striping areas, facial, neck, flank, buttock, belly, or the legs. The stripes were of varying intensity and thickness, as well as shadow striping, and for the different equid species and subspecies. Caro stated, "Again and again, there was greater striping on areas of the body in those parts of the world where there was more annoyance from biting flies.” It is also known through various studies, apparently, that certain flies will avoid black and white surfaces and prefer ones that are uniformly colored.

In contrast, they didn’t find consistent support across species for hypotheses about camouflage, predator avoidance, heat management, or some aspect of social interaction. And Caro also found that zebras, unlike other African hooved mammals living in the same areas, have hair that’s shorter than the biting apparatus length used by biting flies, making them particularly susceptible to annoyance, which lead the natural selection of the trait when it evolved.

 

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10879

Nicole Peterkin (3)

Biomechanisms: Built for Speed

Biomechanisms: Built for Speed

 

If asked which animal in the world was the fastest runner, most people would respond the cheetah. While it is well known that a cheetah is one of the fastest, if not the fastest running animal on the planet, the highly evolved biomechanisms that allow for 0-60mph acceleration in 3 seconds are sometimes overlooked. Basic anatomical adaptations include a small head for aerodynamics, large eyes facing frontward for focusing on prey, and enlarged nostrils for greater intake of oxygen. The slender legs allow for spring-like action that helps acceleration, and the slender build in general lets the cheetah sprint at top speeds of 70mph.

 

While these adaptations are physically visible, and surely important for the great sprinting capabilities of a cheetah, there are also internal, more intricate characteristics that are less obvious. The spine of a cheetah is very long, and extremely flexible. This allows spine flexion to provide elasticity and full extension during sprints. The legs of a cheetah are directly underneath its body allowing the scapula to rotate until the forelimbs and hindlimbs overlap. With these extreme adaptations, cheetahs can sprint at top speeds far higher than most of their prey, however they successfully catch their prey only 25-35% of the time. Why do you think such a fast animal often fails in pursuit of slower prey?

 

Posted by Steven Yu (C)