Synapse Science Magazine#4

SYNAPSETHE SCIENCE MAGAZINE WRITTEN BY STUDENTS FOR STUDENTS

ISSUE 4 - March 2013- FREE

The role of Melanosomes in Colouring of Dinosaur Feathers

Cloning to Save Endangered SpeciesThe ‘Twelth Man’ Effect

The Merry Goji Berry

2 | SYNAPSE SYNAPSE | 3

Join us online!www.synapsebristol.co.uk

@synapsebristol

CONTENTSEDITORIAL

The Synapse TeamTom StubbsEditor In Chief

Alicja JedrzejewskaSenior Editor and Vice President

Felicity RussellSenior Editor and Secretary

Oliver FordSenior Editor and Treasurer

Daniel WardSenior Editor and Graphic Designer

Molly HawesManaging Editor

Gemma HallamSenior Editor and Events Manager

Louisa CockbillSenior Editor and Publicity Officer

Mary MelvilleSenior Editor and Fundraising Officer

Felix Kennedy Katherine MacInnes Saraansh Dave Alex PavlidesSenior Editors

Hello! Welcome to the fourth issue of Synapse Science Magazine. In this issue our writers cover many exciting topics includ-ing colours of dinosaurs, cloning endan-gered species and the science behind mind reading. Be sure to check out our blog and radio show on Burst, both are packed with lots of awesome science! If you have any comments or wish to join our magazine please contact [email protected].

Article EditorsHannah Bruce Macdonald

Juliette Curtis HaywardRachel GreenwoodFrances CartwrightGeorgina WinneyJacob HutchingsAlfred OmacharErik Müürsepp Shakir MisbahRyan HamnettNatalie ParkerMatthew ColeNaomi FarrenIone BingleyCher BacharTom RidlerJo Sadler

A Message from the Editor In Chief Articles4. Catalytic Clothing5. Will Carbon Change the World?10. Learning and Memory12. The ‘Twelth Man’ Effect16. Science Behind Mind Reading17. Infectious Mononucleosis18. US Meningitis Outbreak22. The Bramble: A Climate Indicator?23. Influential PeopleProfiles6. The Parasitic Jewel Wasp20. The Merry Goji BerryOpinions24. Let’s Get to the Roots of the ProblemMarvels26. Glowing Lakes and the Amazonian water lily

On the cover

Features

8. Cloning to Save Endangered Species

14.The role of Melanosomes in Colouring of Dinosaur Feathers

14. The role of Melanosomes in Colouring of Dinosaur Feathers8. Cloning to Save Endangered Species12. The ‘Twelth Man’ Effect20. The Merry Goji Berry


Join us online!www.synapsebristol.co.uk

@synapsebristol

CONTENTSEDITORIAL

The Synapse TeamTom StubbsEditor In Chief

Alicja JedrzejewskaSenior Editor and Vice President

Felicity RussellSenior Editor and Secretary

Oliver FordSenior Editor and Treasurer

Daniel WardSenior Editor and Graphic Designer

Molly HawesManaging Editor

Gemma HallamSenior Editor and Events Manager

Louisa CockbillSenior Editor and Publicity Officer

Mary MelvilleSenior Editor and Fundraising Officer

Felix Kennedy Katherine MacInnes Saraansh Dave Alex PavlidesSenior Editors

Hello! Welcome to the fourth issue of Synapse Science Magazine. In this issue our writers cover many exciting topics includ-ing colours of dinosaurs, cloning endan-gered species and the science behind mind reading. Be sure to check out our blog and radio show on Burst, both are packed with lots of awesome science! If you have any comments or wish to join our magazine please contact [email protected].

Article EditorsHannah Bruce Macdonald

Juliette Curtis HaywardRachel GreenwoodFrances CartwrightGeorgina WinneyJacob HutchingsAlfred OmacharErik Müürsepp Shakir MisbahRyan HamnettNatalie ParkerMatthew ColeNaomi FarrenIone BingleyCher BacharTom RidlerJo Sadler

A Message from the Editor In Chief Articles4. Catalytic Clothing5. Will Carbon Change the World?10. Learning and Memory12. The ‘Twelth Man’ Effect16. Science Behind Mind Reading17. Infectious Mononucleosis18. US Meningitis Outbreak22. The Bramble: A Climate Indicator?23. Influential PeopleProfiles6. The Parasitic Jewel Wasp20. The Merry Goji BerryOpinions24. Let’s Get to the Roots of the ProblemMarvels26. Glowing Lakes and the Amazonian water lily

On the cover

Features

8. Cloning to Save Endangered Species

14.The role of Melanosomes in Colouring of Dinosaur Feathers

14. The role of Melanosomes in Colouring of Dinosaur Feathers8. Cloning to Save Endangered Species12. The ‘Twelth Man’ Effect20. The Merry Goji Berry

ARTICLES


Clothing

atalytic

CThe last few years have

seen a surge in research into new forms of carbon and their potential applications. This was kick-started in 2010, when Andre Geim was award-ed the Nobel Prize in Physics for the isolation of graphene.

Graphene is a two dimension-al sheet of carbon, just one atom thick. Everyday graphite (such as pencil “lead”) is made of multiple layers of graphene, with just one millimetre of graphite containing over three million layers of gra-phene. A carbon nanotube can be thought of as a sheet of carbon at-oms (a graphene sheet) rolled into a cylindrical tube. Although long nanotubes are notoriously diffi-cult to produce, the longest ever created is an impressive 18.5cm.

The excitement over car-bon nanotubes has extended to many different fields, with the number of publications on car-bon nanotubes totalling over 80,000 (over 12,000 of which were published in 2012 alone!). A promising potential use

of carbon is as a replacement for silicon as a semiconductor in transistors for electronic devices. We are approaching the limits of our ability to scale down silicon based electronics, which means that computer chips might soon become as small as we can get them. New forms of carbon have extremely promising electrical properties and could be used to make computer chips small-er and faster than ever before.

Carbon nanotechnology could also drastically improve medical diagnostic techniques. By adding biological receptor mol-ecules to the carbon nanotube’s outer wall and then using the modified nanotubes as semicon-ductors in transistors, much more sensitive devices could be made. These would have a multitude of uses, such as detecting cancer in its earliest stages. Furthermore, carbon nanotubes have even been trialled as treatment for cancer in mice. By injection of the na-notubes into the affected area and subsequent laser irradiation,

tumours in up to 80% of the mice completely disappeared. Carbon nanotubes may even be useful in solving the world’s ener-gy crisis. Hydrogen is fast becom-ing one of the most viable alter-native energy sources, yet the use of large-scale production of hy-drogen fuel cells is currently be-ing held back by the high cost of the platinum catalyst. Current re-search, however, suggests that the catalysts used in fuel cells could eventually be replaced by more affordable carbon nanotubes.

Unsurprisingly, there are drawbacks to the use of carbon nanotubes. They are difficult to purify and are thought to be toxic when inhaled, which prevents their immediate incorporation into electronics and medicine. Whether carbon nanotubes will live up to their expectations re-mains to be seen, but if even a fraction of the technologies cur-rently being trialled prove suc-cessful then we will all benefit.

Chemistry and fashion may seem, at first glance, to have

little in common, but this is all about to change thanks to an exciting collaboration between polymer chemist Professor Tony Ryan OBE, from the Univer-sity of Sheffield, and fashion de-signer Professor Helen Storey MBE, from the London College of Fashion. The pair have em-barked on a revolutionary pro-ject, Catalytic Clothing, which explores how clothing and tex-tiles can act as a catalytic surface to break down air-borne pollut-ants into harmless chemicals.

The UK frequently falls short of meeting EU air pollu-tion emission targets, and it is estimated that air pollution is responsible for 50,000 deaths in the UK each year. Nitrogen oxides, NOx, and volatile or-ganic compounds (VOCs), both produced in massive quantities from motor vehicles and indus-try, are two of the most promi-nent classes of pollutants. NOx are known to cause and worsen respiratory diseases, such as asth-ma and emphysema, and some VOCs are known carcinogens.

It has been known for some

time that the harmful NOx and VOCs can be removed from the atmosphere via a catalytic con-version. Nanosized particles of titanium dioxide, TiO2 or nano-titania, are powerful photocata-lysts that use sunlight and oxy-gen to speed up the oxidation of NOx into water soluble nitric acid that can be washed away with the rain, while also converting VOCs into fatty acids and soaps.

Up until recently, nano-titania catalysts have only been placed on hard surfaces such as the walls of buildings. Helen Storey and Tony Ryan wanted to explore new applications of this technology. They contacted Cristal Global, the second larg-est supplier of nano-titania, to suggest collaborating on an ini-tiative involving textiles. It was discovered that the efficacy of the catalyst when applied to tex-tiles, particularly denim, was far higher than anticipated.

They have now partnered with the ecological cleaning brand, Ecover, to create a fabric softener able to deliver the photo-catalyst to the surface of any piece of clothing during washing. The active agent is packaged within a

shell that is attracted towards, and binds to, the surface of theclothing during the wash. Daily wear and washing create no prob-lem for the catalyst particles, and they do not fall off until the cotton fibres of the jeans eventually break. The key to catalysis, and increas-ing the rate of removal of NOx, is a high surface area. Nanoparticles have an extremely high ratio of surface area to volume and a pair of jeans has a surface area greater than 195 square feet. It has been estimated that if one person wears Catalytic Clothing for one day, they could remove the same amount of NOx as is produced by the average family in one day.

A common misconception is that Catalytic Clothing will be a ‘dirt magnet’, putting peo-ple at greater risk of exposure to pollutants. This is not the case – the technology won’t ac-tively attract any pollutants, but will break down anything that comes within very close prox-imity of the catalyst’s surface.

This revolutionary product could appear on our supermar-ket shelves in 2013, so get wash-ing your jeans and help save the planet!

Will carbon change the world?Emilie Bergström

Emma Kastrisianaki-Guyton

ARTICLES


Clothing

atalytic

CThe last few years have

seen a surge in research into new forms of carbon and their potential applications. This was kick-started in 2010, when Andre Geim was award-ed the Nobel Prize in Physics for the isolation of graphene.

Graphene is a two dimension-al sheet of carbon, just one atom thick. Everyday graphite (such as pencil “lead”) is made of multiple layers of graphene, with just one millimetre of graphite containing over three million layers of gra-phene. A carbon nanotube can be thought of as a sheet of carbon at-oms (a graphene sheet) rolled into a cylindrical tube. Although long nanotubes are notoriously diffi-cult to produce, the longest ever created is an impressive 18.5cm.

The excitement over car-bon nanotubes has extended to many different fields, with the number of publications on car-bon nanotubes totalling over 80,000 (over 12,000 of which were published in 2012 alone!). A promising potential use

of carbon is as a replacement for silicon as a semiconductor in transistors for electronic devices. We are approaching the limits of our ability to scale down silicon based electronics, which means that computer chips might soon become as small as we can get them. New forms of carbon have extremely promising electrical properties and could be used to make computer chips small-er and faster than ever before.

Carbon nanotechnology could also drastically improve medical diagnostic techniques. By adding biological receptor mol-ecules to the carbon nanotube’s outer wall and then using the modified nanotubes as semicon-ductors in transistors, much more sensitive devices could be made. These would have a multitude of uses, such as detecting cancer in its earliest stages. Furthermore, carbon nanotubes have even been trialled as treatment for cancer in mice. By injection of the na-notubes into the affected area and subsequent laser irradiation,

tumours in up to 80% of the mice completely disappeared. Carbon nanotubes may even be useful in solving the world’s ener-gy crisis. Hydrogen is fast becom-ing one of the most viable alter-native energy sources, yet the use of large-scale production of hy-drogen fuel cells is currently be-ing held back by the high cost of the platinum catalyst. Current re-search, however, suggests that the catalysts used in fuel cells could eventually be replaced by more affordable carbon nanotubes.

Unsurprisingly, there are drawbacks to the use of carbon nanotubes. They are difficult to purify and are thought to be toxic when inhaled, which prevents their immediate incorporation into electronics and medicine. Whether carbon nanotubes will live up to their expectations re-mains to be seen, but if even a fraction of the technologies cur-rently being trialled prove suc-cessful then we will all benefit.

Chemistry and fashion may seem, at first glance, to have

little in common, but this is all about to change thanks to an exciting collaboration between polymer chemist Professor Tony Ryan OBE, from the Univer-sity of Sheffield, and fashion de-signer Professor Helen Storey MBE, from the London College of Fashion. The pair have em-barked on a revolutionary pro-ject, Catalytic Clothing, which explores how clothing and tex-tiles can act as a catalytic surface to break down air-borne pollut-ants into harmless chemicals.

The UK frequently falls short of meeting EU air pollu-tion emission targets, and it is estimated that air pollution is responsible for 50,000 deaths in the UK each year. Nitrogen oxides, NOx, and volatile or-ganic compounds (VOCs), both produced in massive quantities from motor vehicles and indus-try, are two of the most promi-nent classes of pollutants. NOx are known to cause and worsen respiratory diseases, such as asth-ma and emphysema, and some VOCs are known carcinogens.

It has been known for some

time that the harmful NOx and VOCs can be removed from the atmosphere via a catalytic con-version. Nanosized particles of titanium dioxide, TiO2 or nano-titania, are powerful photocata-lysts that use sunlight and oxy-gen to speed up the oxidation of NOx into water soluble nitric acid that can be washed away with the rain, while also converting VOCs into fatty acids and soaps.

Up until recently, nano-titania catalysts have only been placed on hard surfaces such as the walls of buildings. Helen Storey and Tony Ryan wanted to explore new applications of this technology. They contacted Cristal Global, the second larg-est supplier of nano-titania, to suggest collaborating on an ini-tiative involving textiles. It was discovered that the efficacy of the catalyst when applied to tex-tiles, particularly denim, was far higher than anticipated.

They have now partnered with the ecological cleaning brand, Ecover, to create a fabric softener able to deliver the photo-catalyst to the surface of any piece of clothing during washing. The active agent is packaged within a

shell that is attracted towards, and binds to, the surface of theclothing during the wash. Daily wear and washing create no prob-lem for the catalyst particles, and they do not fall off until the cotton fibres of the jeans eventually break. The key to catalysis, and increas-ing the rate of removal of NOx, is a high surface area. Nanoparticles have an extremely high ratio of surface area to volume and a pair of jeans has a surface area greater than 195 square feet. It has been estimated that if one person wears Catalytic Clothing for one day, they could remove the same amount of NOx as is produced by the average family in one day.

A common misconception is that Catalytic Clothing will be a ‘dirt magnet’, putting peo-ple at greater risk of exposure to pollutants. This is not the case – the technology won’t ac-tively attract any pollutants, but will break down anything that comes within very close prox-imity of the catalyst’s surface.

This revolutionary product could appear on our supermar-ket shelves in 2013, so get wash-ing your jeans and help save the planet!

Will carbon change the world?Emilie Bergström

Emma Kastrisianaki-Guyton

6| SYNAPSE SYNAPSE | 7

PROFILE

The Parasitic Jewel Wasp

The jewel wasp, in fact, is not technically a true parasite but a ‘parasitoid’, due to the fact that it eventually kills its host. But this fact alone does not tell the whole, fascinating story. When an adult female jewel wasp is ready to lay her egg, she finds an unsuspecting cockroach and admin-isters two stings. The first is made in the general thorax area, causing temporary paralysis of the cockroach’s limbs and allowing the wasp to make a second, more precise, sting to the protocer-ebrum in the brain. This second shot of venom has been shown to target specific neurons releas-ing the neurotransmitter octopamine, effectively shutting down the systems required for move-ment. Although the cockroach is perfectly capable of moving, the venom strips the insect of its will to escape. Through manipulation of the cockroach’s antennae, the wasp then leads its vic-tim back to a previously prepared burrow, which will become its final resting place. After finally laying its egg in the abdomen, the wasp abandons and seals the cockroach in its earthy tomb. Once the larva has hatched, it systematically consumes the cockroach from the inside out, tak-ing special care to eat the non-vital organs first, so as to keep its food source alive and fresh for as long as possible. The whole process from hatching to a fully developed adult wasp takes about a month, after which the individual digs itself out of the burrow to restart the whole process.

Of course, however gruesome this series of events seems to us, the life-cycle of the jew-el wasp should not be considered cruel. To label it with such human qualities would be text-book anthropomorphism. Rather, it should be admired as one of the thousands of ingen-ious life-history strategies adopted by organisms to ensure their own evolutionary success.

When watching the iconic John Hurt laboratory scene in ‘70s sci-fi classic Al-ien (no spoilers!), it is comforting to know that such creatures exist only in the ter-

rifying realms of science fiction. A cockroach watching the same scene, however, may not have the same reassurance if he has a resident jewel wasp in his neighbourhood.

Parasitism is an astonishingly common strategy in nature, insects and the order Hyme-noptera to which the jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa) belongs. Famous examples of para-sites include birds of the cuckoo family, who trick other host bird species into raising the young cuckoos, species of mistletoe, which derive much of their required water and nutri-ents from their host tree, and, of course, the vast variety of bacteria and viruses which in-fect virtually every living organism on the planet. In contrast to these examples, how-ever, the jewel wasp has a reliance which has reliably disastrous consequences for its host.

Tim Smith


PROFILE

The Parasitic Jewel Wasp

The jewel wasp, in fact, is not technically a true parasite but a ‘parasitoid’, due to the fact that it eventually kills its host. But this fact alone does not tell the whole, fascinating story. When an adult female jewel wasp is ready to lay her egg, she finds an unsuspecting cockroach and admin-isters two stings. The first is made in the general thorax area, causing temporary paralysis of the cockroach’s limbs and allowing the wasp to make a second, more precise, sting to the protocer-ebrum in the brain. This second shot of venom has been shown to target specific neurons releas-ing the neurotransmitter octopamine, effectively shutting down the systems required for move-ment. Although the cockroach is perfectly capable of moving, the venom strips the insect of its will to escape. Through manipulation of the cockroach’s antennae, the wasp then leads its vic-tim back to a previously prepared burrow, which will become its final resting place. After finally laying its egg in the abdomen, the wasp abandons and seals the cockroach in its earthy tomb. Once the larva has hatched, it systematically consumes the cockroach from the inside out, tak-ing special care to eat the non-vital organs first, so as to keep its food source alive and fresh for as long as possible. The whole process from hatching to a fully developed adult wasp takes about a month, after which the individual digs itself out of the burrow to restart the whole process.

Of course, however gruesome this series of events seems to us, the life-cycle of the jew-el wasp should not be considered cruel. To label it with such human qualities would be text-book anthropomorphism. Rather, it should be admired as one of the thousands of ingen-ious life-history strategies adopted by organisms to ensure their own evolutionary success.

When watching the iconic John Hurt laboratory scene in ‘70s sci-fi classic Al-ien (no spoilers!), it is comforting to know that such creatures exist only in the ter-

rifying realms of science fiction. A cockroach watching the same scene, however, may not have the same reassurance if he has a resident jewel wasp in his neighbourhood.

Parasitism is an astonishingly common strategy in nature, insects and the order Hyme-noptera to which the jewel wasp (Ampulex compressa) belongs. Famous examples of para-sites include birds of the cuckoo family, who trick other host bird species into raising the young cuckoos, species of mistletoe, which derive much of their required water and nutri-ents from their host tree, and, of course, the vast variety of bacteria and viruses which in-fect virtually every living organism on the planet. In contrast to these examples, how-ever, the jewel wasp has a reliance which has reliably disastrous consequences for its host.

Tim Smith


FEATURE

In its history, the Earth has gone through five mass extinctions:

events where more than three quarters of all species are lost in a short span of geologic time. Sci-entists suggest we are now in the middle of a sixth such occasion, which has been wrought by an-thropogenic habitat destruction, pollution and climate change. Researchers are hoping to res-urrect some species by using a process called interspecies clon-ing. Through combining the cel-lular material of an endangered and a common species it allows the non-endangered animal to carry to term and give birth to an animal which may already be, or be close to becoming, extinct.

Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned using the

somatic cell nuclear transfer technique in 1996. This same technique forms the basis of in-terspecies cloning. An egg cell has its DNA-harbouring nucleus removed and in its place is in-jected a nucleus extracted from a different cell in the body. An applied short pulse of electric-ity starts the egg dividing, which is then implanted into a surro-gate uterus where it continues to develop into a mature embryo. In the case of Dolly, both cells came from the same sheep, but interspecies cloning relies on us-ing the egg of a non-endangered creature and the nucleus from an endangered one. This means we only need the nucleus extracted from one cell, with the surro-gate mother used being of the

same common species as the egg donor. This theory has been put into practice with a variety of dif-ferent animals. The first live birth from an interspecies cloning ex-periment occurred in 2001 when a cow gave birth to a gaur, an en-dangered wild ox from Southeast Asia. However, the calf, suffering from dysentery, died within 48 hours. A Spanish wild goat, the bucardo, has been a particular favourite of scientists, who have tried to clone it on two separate occasions. The last bucardo died in 2000 but researchers have used previously removed skin cells in attempts to resurrect the perished species. From the 285 embryos created in 2003, only two pregnancies resulted, nei-ther of which survived past two

months of gestation. Another attempt, in 2009, using 439 hy-brid embryos managed only one live birth, which died soon after.

Refinements to current meth-ods hope to overcome the dread-fully low success rates of getting hybrid embryos to come to term. However, there is another ap-proach interspecies cloning could take which uses mature cells that are reprogrammed into stem cells, and can subsequently develop into a normal embryo. In order to make interspecies cloning fi-nancially feasible on a large scale this appears to be the only viable option. In the field of species con-servation, this scientific approach has its fair share of experts in opposition, as they believe in-terspecies cloning only distracts from the real problem of habitat

destruction. They fear the tech-nology will reduce the impetus for protecting the environment when extinct species can be revived at a whim. The critics also highlight problems caused by generating an entire population from a few specimens; namely, the lack of ge-netic diversity would make spe-cies more susceptible to disease and environmental variations.

These negative aspects haven’t detracted scientists at Brazil’s Embrapa agricultural research agency who are carrying out a large-scale project to clone eight of the nation’s endangered spe-cies. Genetic samples have been collected from animals such as the collared anteater and the Bra-zilian bush dog, but any resulting individuals will be kept in zoos, not released into the wild. The

Brazilian scientists have taken the aforementioned issue of genetic diversity to heart and are aiming to benefit zoos by boosting the populations of animals that have difficulty breeding in captivity. Interspecies cloning is an im-pressive example of what human ingenuity and modern biology can accomplish together. For it to make a real positive impact, though, a lot of research into im- proving current methods needs to be undertaken and plenty of cell samples need to be collected to ensure sufficient genetic diver-sity. It may not prove to be the mi-raculous solution some hope for, but the threat of disastrous losses to biodiversity means no solu-tion should be left unexplored.

Cloning to save endangered species Erik Müürsepp


FEATURE

In its history, the Earth has gone through five mass extinctions:

events where more than three quarters of all species are lost in a short span of geologic time. Sci-entists suggest we are now in the middle of a sixth such occasion, which has been wrought by an-thropogenic habitat destruction, pollution and climate change. Researchers are hoping to res-urrect some species by using a process called interspecies clon-ing. Through combining the cel-lular material of an endangered and a common species it allows the non-endangered animal to carry to term and give birth to an animal which may already be, or be close to becoming, extinct.

Dolly the sheep was the first mammal to be cloned using the

somatic cell nuclear transfer technique in 1996. This same technique forms the basis of in-terspecies cloning. An egg cell has its DNA-harbouring nucleus removed and in its place is in-jected a nucleus extracted from a different cell in the body. An applied short pulse of electric-ity starts the egg dividing, which is then implanted into a surro-gate uterus where it continues to develop into a mature embryo. In the case of Dolly, both cells came from the same sheep, but interspecies cloning relies on us-ing the egg of a non-endangered creature and the nucleus from an endangered one. This means we only need the nucleus extracted from one cell, with the surro-gate mother used being of the

same common species as the egg donor. This theory has been put into practice with a variety of dif-ferent animals. The first live birth from an interspecies cloning ex-periment occurred in 2001 when a cow gave birth to a gaur, an en-dangered wild ox from Southeast Asia. However, the calf, suffering from dysentery, died within 48 hours. A Spanish wild goat, the bucardo, has been a particular favourite of scientists, who have tried to clone it on two separate occasions. The last bucardo died in 2000 but researchers have used previously removed skin cells in attempts to resurrect the perished species. From the 285 embryos created in 2003, only two pregnancies resulted, nei-ther of which survived past two

months of gestation. Another attempt, in 2009, using 439 hy-brid embryos managed only one live birth, which died soon after.

Refinements to current meth-ods hope to overcome the dread-fully low success rates of getting hybrid embryos to come to term. However, there is another ap-proach interspecies cloning could take which uses mature cells that are reprogrammed into stem cells, and can subsequently develop into a normal embryo. In order to make interspecies cloning fi-nancially feasible on a large scale this appears to be the only viable option. In the field of species con-servation, this scientific approach has its fair share of experts in opposition, as they believe in-terspecies cloning only distracts from the real problem of habitat

destruction. They fear the tech-nology will reduce the impetus for protecting the environment when extinct species can be revived at a whim. The critics also highlight problems caused by generating an entire population from a few specimens; namely, the lack of ge-netic diversity would make spe-cies more susceptible to disease and environmental variations.

These negative aspects haven’t detracted scientists at Brazil’s Embrapa agricultural research agency who are carrying out a large-scale project to clone eight of the nation’s endangered spe-cies. Genetic samples have been collected from animals such as the collared anteater and the Bra-zilian bush dog, but any resulting individuals will be kept in zoos, not released into the wild. The

Brazilian scientists have taken the aforementioned issue of genetic diversity to heart and are aiming to benefit zoos by boosting the populations of animals that have difficulty breeding in captivity. Interspecies cloning is an im-pressive example of what human ingenuity and modern biology can accomplish together. For it to make a real positive impact, though, a lot of research into im- proving current methods needs to be undertaken and plenty of cell samples need to be collected to ensure sufficient genetic diver-sity. It may not prove to be the mi-raculous solution some hope for, but the threat of disastrous losses to biodiversity means no solu-tion should be left unexplored.

Cloning to save endangered species Erik Müürsepp


ARTICLESARTICLES

Our brains are able to process an impressive

amount of information. This can include remembering the colour of your favourite T-shirt, new skills such as play-ing an instrument or simply learning how memories work! After decades of research, there is mounting evidence that a large proportion of learning is due to activity pat-terns of neurons, the basic working units of your brain and the consequent changes to synapses (20 nm gaps be-tween two linking neurons) known as synaptic plasticity.

Whilst there are many forms of synaptic plastic-ity that can last for durations ranging from a few millisec-onds to many years, the most studied to date is Long Term Potentiation (LTP). LTP, put simply, is the event where a synapse increases its fir-ing ability after being altered in some way, be it a strong electrical stimulus or the ap-plication of a drug. This in-creased efficiency can last for hours in isolated neu-ronal tissue but may last for years in living organisms.

LTP has been associated

with many functions aside from memory such as pain sensitisation, neuromuscular function and brain develop-ment. In accordance with this, LTP has been found in many parts of the nervous system including the cortex, brainstem and spinal cord. However, the majority of LTP studies have been in a brain region called the Hippocam-pus, an area strongly associ-ated with forming and re-taining memories in humans as well as other mammals. One common way to detect LTP is by using hippocampal

slice electrophysiology. This technique involves prepar-ing a rodent hippocampal slice and perfusing it in arti-ficial cerebrospinal fluid that enables it to stay functional for up to 24 hours. To col-lect data one set of neurons is stimulated with an electrode, this consequently inputs into a connected set of neurones promoting a voltage change in them which is measured us-ing a corresponding recording electrode. Once ‘baseline’ re-sponse is secure, you can then induce LTP in a variety of ways, one of which is deliver-ing a 1-2 second ‘train’ of high-frequency electrical stimula-tion, also known as a tetanus. The large amount of excita-tion produced by the tetanic stimulation serves to activate

cellular mechanisms which alter the synaptic proper-ties so as to strengthen the connection. One of the ear-liest reports of LTP in this setup was by Terje Lømo and Tim Bliss in 1973 when they found that the delivery of a tetanus resulted in a long lasting persistent increase in synaptic efficacy (i.e. LTP) in the hippocampus of a rabbit!

So what makes us think that LTP might play a role in learning and memory? There has been evidence from many animal studies suggesting that blocking components of LTP identified in hippocam-pal slices can prevent learn-ing tasks. For instance, one study in 1992 used a Morris Water Maze to measure how quickly rats learned to locate

a shallow, hidden platform in a pool of water. Blocking certain receptors involved in LTP prevented the rats from learning where the platform was hidden. Strik-ingly, another study in 2006 found that blocking compo-nents of the maintenance of LTP actually reversed it and caused rats to forget memo-ries formed the day before!

These studies have only touched on one small aspect of synaptic plasticity. The true scope of complex processing involved in forming and re-taining new memories is still being researched and is stag-gering to consider. So the next time you are trying to revise for your exams, spare a thought for the truly shocking events taking place in your brain!

Jonathan Smith

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” Well actually words can, at least as far as the brain is concerned. Brain scans have shown that when people experience social rejection, a part of the brain (namely the anterior cingulate cortex or ACC) that is normally associated with physical pain becomes active. Fortu-nately, whilst one part of the brain causes this unpleasant sensation another part be-

comes active, the right ventral prefrontal cortex (RVPFC), which is thought to reduce the intensity of pain.’’

Joseph Daly

Did you know?

Learning and Memory


ARTICLESARTICLES

Our brains are able to process an impressive

amount of information. This can include remembering the colour of your favourite T-shirt, new skills such as play-ing an instrument or simply learning how memories work! After decades of research, there is mounting evidence that a large proportion of learning is due to activity pat-terns of neurons, the basic working units of your brain and the consequent changes to synapses (20 nm gaps be-tween two linking neurons) known as synaptic plasticity.

Whilst there are many forms of synaptic plastic-ity that can last for durations ranging from a few millisec-onds to many years, the most studied to date is Long Term Potentiation (LTP). LTP, put simply, is the event where a synapse increases its fir-ing ability after being altered in some way, be it a strong electrical stimulus or the ap-plication of a drug. This in-creased efficiency can last for hours in isolated neu-ronal tissue but may last for years in living organisms.

LTP has been associated

with many functions aside from memory such as pain sensitisation, neuromuscular function and brain develop-ment. In accordance with this, LTP has been found in many parts of the nervous system including the cortex, brainstem and spinal cord. However, the majority of LTP studies have been in a brain region called the Hippocam-pus, an area strongly associ-ated with forming and re-taining memories in humans as well as other mammals. One common way to detect LTP is by using hippocampal

slice electrophysiology. This technique involves prepar-ing a rodent hippocampal slice and perfusing it in arti-ficial cerebrospinal fluid that enables it to stay functional for up to 24 hours. To col-lect data one set of neurons is stimulated with an electrode, this consequently inputs into a connected set of neurones promoting a voltage change in them which is measured us-ing a corresponding recording electrode. Once ‘baseline’ re-sponse is secure, you can then induce LTP in a variety of ways, one of which is deliver-ing a 1-2 second ‘train’ of high-frequency electrical stimula-tion, also known as a tetanus. The large amount of excita-tion produced by the tetanic stimulation serves to activate

cellular mechanisms which alter the synaptic proper-ties so as to strengthen the connection. One of the ear-liest reports of LTP in this setup was by Terje Lømo and Tim Bliss in 1973 when they found that the delivery of a tetanus resulted in a long lasting persistent increase in synaptic efficacy (i.e. LTP) in the hippocampus of a rabbit!

So what makes us think that LTP might play a role in learning and memory? There has been evidence from many animal studies suggesting that blocking components of LTP identified in hippocam-pal slices can prevent learn-ing tasks. For instance, one study in 1992 used a Morris Water Maze to measure how quickly rats learned to locate

a shallow, hidden platform in a pool of water. Blocking certain receptors involved in LTP prevented the rats from learning where the platform was hidden. Strik-ingly, another study in 2006 found that blocking compo-nents of the maintenance of LTP actually reversed it and caused rats to forget memo-ries formed the day before!

These studies have only touched on one small aspect of synaptic plasticity. The true scope of complex processing involved in forming and re-taining new memories is still being researched and is stag-gering to consider. So the next time you are trying to revise for your exams, spare a thought for the truly shocking events taking place in your brain!

Jonathan Smith

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” Well actually words can, at least as far as the brain is concerned. Brain scans have shown that when people experience social rejection, a part of the brain (namely the anterior cingulate cortex or ACC) that is normally associated with physical pain becomes active. Fortu-nately, whilst one part of the brain causes this unpleasant sensation another part be-


Joseph Daly

Did you know?

Learning and Memory


ARTICLESARTICLES

The need for social accept-ance has accompanied us

since evolutionary times, when our hunter-gatherer predecessors would have needed to co-operate with one another to survive harsh conditions and serious dangers. This motivation to be accepted still persists today as we strive to be part of an ‘in-group’ for fear of being alienated and experienc-ing low self-esteem. Therefore, it is no surprise that a recent study from researchers in Japan found that praise given to par-ticipants directly following train-ing of a motor skill improved how well the skill was learned.

Participants were trained on a sequential finger-tapping task, after which they immediately re-ceived either praise for their own performance, praise for another participant’s performance or no praise. Those receiving the for-mer showed significant improve-ment on a surprise recall test of the learned sequence than the other groups. There was no dif-ference between genders – both men and women benefit from compliments when skill-learning. This is the first study to indicate that praise-related improvements in motor skill memory involve direct effects on the offline con-solidation process – essentially, how memories are translated from short-term to long-term.

It has been hypothesised that, in skill learning, praise functions to provide feedback about partici-pants’ levels of competence, serv-ing as an incentive to enhance

practice efforts – a salient motiva-tion tool. Without motivation the depletion of physical and mental resources would seem unneces-sary and we would stop the learn-ing process. Importantly, learn-ing a motor skill doesn’t just stop at the training phase; the con-solidation process continues this learning while training is ‘offline’, which is essential for skill forma-tion and long-term retention.

can influence this consolidation process could have wide impli-cations in a variety of settings.

The title uses the ‘12th man’ analogy – the well-known notion that a crowd watching and cheer-ing on a team can influence their performance. While it is not ex-actly the same concept, it is still relevant in that new or inexpe-rienced players commended for their skills by the crowd during a match, or in training by their peers, could then go on to pro-vide better future performances.

It would be interesting to see whether these results can be emulated in different settings us-ing various skill-sets; for exam-ple, whether children learning to read and write can be motivated to increase their performance and pick up the skills quicker; or whether attaining other skills such as riding a bike, driving a car, or learning a musical instru-ment can be guided by social rewards. Also, whether the tim-ing of the reward affects how well the skill is consolidated into memory and whether there is an age-effect in this whole process.

In summary, complimenting someone after they’ve attempted to learn a new motor skill can help to improve their performance for that task in subsequent un-planned tests. Praise acts as a mo-tivation for memory consolida-tion and increased skill retention.

Adam Scott

The ‘Twelfth Man’ Effect

The authors believe praise is a reward in the same way that receiving money is – both in-duce feelings of happiness and promote motivation. Another recent study demonstrated that praise activates reward-related areas of the brain, namely the ventral striatum, increasing activity of neurochemical do-pamine there. A process called long-term potentiation, which is dopamine-driven and has long-lasting effects, typically occurs in the midbrain and the stria-tum and is critical for memory consolidation, including that of motor skills. The idea that praise

“complimenting someone after

they’ve attempted to learn a new motor skill can help to improve

their performance for that task”

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” Well actually words can, at least as far as the brain is concerned. Brain scans have shown that when people experience social rejection a part of the brain (namely the anterior cingulate

cortex or ACC) that is normally associated with physical pain becomes active. Fortu-nately, whilst one part of the brain causes this unpleasant sensation another part be-


Joseph Daly

‘‘Road gritting prevents ice from forming on the roads due to entropy. The entropy of a solution of water (containing grit) is greater than that of pure water. Therefore,

the entropy difference is increased relative to the solid (ice) form (which remains the same). This means the driving force to melt any ice is increased, so a lower tempera-ture is needed. The result is that the freezing point of water is depressed and ice will

only form several degrees below 0°C instead of the normal 0°C.’’Toby Benham

Did you know?

Did you know?

Praise activates reward-related areas of the brain, namely the ventral striatum


ARTICLESARTICLES

The need for social accept-ance has accompanied us

since evolutionary times, when our hunter-gatherer predecessors would have needed to co-operate with one another to survive harsh conditions and serious dangers. This motivation to be accepted still persists today as we strive to be part of an ‘in-group’ for fear of being alienated and experienc-ing low self-esteem. Therefore, it is no surprise that a recent study from researchers in Japan found that praise given to par-ticipants directly following train-ing of a motor skill improved how well the skill was learned.

Participants were trained on a sequential finger-tapping task, after which they immediately re-ceived either praise for their own performance, praise for another participant’s performance or no praise. Those receiving the for-mer showed significant improve-ment on a surprise recall test of the learned sequence than the other groups. There was no dif-ference between genders – both men and women benefit from compliments when skill-learning. This is the first study to indicate that praise-related improvements in motor skill memory involve direct effects on the offline con-solidation process – essentially, how memories are translated from short-term to long-term.

It has been hypothesised that, in skill learning, praise functions to provide feedback about partici-pants’ levels of competence, serv-ing as an incentive to enhance

practice efforts – a salient motiva-tion tool. Without motivation the depletion of physical and mental resources would seem unneces-sary and we would stop the learn-ing process. Importantly, learn-ing a motor skill doesn’t just stop at the training phase; the con-solidation process continues this learning while training is ‘offline’, which is essential for skill forma-tion and long-term retention.

can influence this consolidation process could have wide impli-cations in a variety of settings.

The title uses the ‘12th man’ analogy – the well-known notion that a crowd watching and cheer-ing on a team can influence their performance. While it is not ex-actly the same concept, it is still relevant in that new or inexpe-rienced players commended for their skills by the crowd during a match, or in training by their peers, could then go on to pro-vide better future performances.

It would be interesting to see whether these results can be emulated in different settings us-ing various skill-sets; for exam-ple, whether children learning to read and write can be motivated to increase their performance and pick up the skills quicker; or whether attaining other skills such as riding a bike, driving a car, or learning a musical instru-ment can be guided by social rewards. Also, whether the tim-ing of the reward affects how well the skill is consolidated into memory and whether there is an age-effect in this whole process.

In summary, complimenting someone after they’ve attempted to learn a new motor skill can help to improve their performance for that task in subsequent un-planned tests. Praise acts as a mo-tivation for memory consolida-tion and increased skill retention.

Adam Scott

The ‘Twelfth Man’ Effect

The authors believe praise is a reward in the same way that receiving money is – both in-duce feelings of happiness and promote motivation. Another recent study demonstrated that praise activates reward-related areas of the brain, namely the ventral striatum, increasing activity of neurochemical do-pamine there. A process called long-term potentiation, which is dopamine-driven and has long-lasting effects, typically occurs in the midbrain and the stria-tum and is critical for memory consolidation, including that of motor skills. The idea that praise

“complimenting someone after

they’ve attempted to learn a new motor skill can help to improve

their performance for that task”




Joseph Daly

‘‘Road gritting prevents ice from forming on the roads due to entropy. The entropy of a solution of water (containing grit) is greater than that of pure water. Therefore,

the entropy difference is increased relative to the solid (ice) form (which remains the same). This means the driving force to melt any ice is increased, so a lower tempera-ture is needed. The result is that the freezing point of water is depressed and ice will

only form several degrees below 0°C instead of the normal 0°C.’’Toby Benham

Did you know?

Did you know?

Praise activates reward-related areas of the brain, namely the ventral striatum


FEATURE


Certain things were once thought inscrutable about extinct animals - the noises they made in life, for example, or the function of certain crests in dinosaurs. Or, indeed, the colour of the feathers

found in dinosaurs as old as Sinosauropteryx, found in the early cretaceous rocks of northern China.In early 2010, however, Bristol’s very own Mike Benton was part of a team of British and Chi-

nese palaeontologists who published a ground-breaking article examining evidence of colour-inducing melanosomes in the keratin feather structures of Sinosauropteryx. Previously critics had speculated that these structures were shed skin tissues, but the presence of melanosomes within the structure proved that they were primitive, bristle-like feathers. Melanin is found not just in feath-ers but in the hair, skin and internal organs of extant mammals and the living descendant of dino-saurs, birds. Its presence in these two long-separated groups suggests convergent evolution, where the same biological traits evolve independently of each other. There are two types of melanin, eu-melanin and pheomelanin, found in extant birds and mammals corresponding to black-brown and ginger or red pigmentation respectively. Remarkably, Benton and his colleagues were able to dis-tinguish between the two in fossilised dinosaur feathers, proving that dinosaurs (and thus birds) and mammals independently evolved to incorporate the same two colour-producing amino acids.

When a fossilised feather is uncovered, the palaeontologist dates the surrounding rock and, given the form, location, and age of the fossil, assigns it to a known species of animal. The substances that lend colour to feathers are smaller than the wavelength of visible light and are thus invisible to the naked eye. Under an electron microscope, however, a range of previously unseen features come to light: sections of the structure that, in life, displayed colour contain a dense network of melanosomes deep within the feather barbs. Furthermore, the two proteins can be identified and so a colour map of the feather can be built up. In modern animals we see iridescence, colour change with movement of the object relative to a light source, as on the tail feathers of peacocks. This is enabled by the careful arrangement of eumelanosomes. This arrangement was discovered in 2009 by researchers at Yale University using an extinct animal as the first fossil evidence of iridescence.

The discovery of colouration within early feathers provides us with an important clue in estab-lishing their primary purpose. Feathers were intended for display as well as insulation and we can speculate, therefore, that they only later developed their aerodynamic function. With a greater un-derstanding of feather colouration, scientists can assign a visual purpose such as attracting a mate or hiding from predators, and with this comes a better understanding of the behaviour and lifestyle of these long-dead animals.

Molly Hawes


FEATURE


Certain things were once thought inscrutable about extinct animals - the noises they made in life, for example, or the function of certain crests in dinosaurs. Or, indeed, the colour of the feathers

found in dinosaurs as old as Sinosauropteryx, found in the early cretaceous rocks of northern China.In early 2010, however, Bristol’s very own Mike Benton was part of a team of British and Chi-

nese palaeontologists who published a ground-breaking article examining evidence of colour-inducing melanosomes in the keratin feather structures of Sinosauropteryx. Previously critics had speculated that these structures were shed skin tissues, but the presence of melanosomes within the structure proved that they were primitive, bristle-like feathers. Melanin is found not just in feath-ers but in the hair, skin and internal organs of extant mammals and the living descendant of dino-saurs, birds. Its presence in these two long-separated groups suggests convergent evolution, where the same biological traits evolve independently of each other. There are two types of melanin, eu-melanin and pheomelanin, found in extant birds and mammals corresponding to black-brown and ginger or red pigmentation respectively. Remarkably, Benton and his colleagues were able to dis-tinguish between the two in fossilised dinosaur feathers, proving that dinosaurs (and thus birds) and mammals independently evolved to incorporate the same two colour-producing amino acids.

When a fossilised feather is uncovered, the palaeontologist dates the surrounding rock and, given the form, location, and age of the fossil, assigns it to a known species of animal. The substances that lend colour to feathers are smaller than the wavelength of visible light and are thus invisible to the naked eye. Under an electron microscope, however, a range of previously unseen features come to light: sections of the structure that, in life, displayed colour contain a dense network of melanosomes deep within the feather barbs. Furthermore, the two proteins can be identified and so a colour map of the feather can be built up. In modern animals we see iridescence, colour change with movement of the object relative to a light source, as on the tail feathers of peacocks. This is enabled by the careful arrangement of eumelanosomes. This arrangement was discovered in 2009 by researchers at Yale University using an extinct animal as the first fossil evidence of iridescence.

The discovery of colouration within early feathers provides us with an important clue in estab-lishing their primary purpose. Feathers were intended for display as well as insulation and we can speculate, therefore, that they only later developed their aerodynamic function. With a greater un-derstanding of feather colouration, scientists can assign a visual purpose such as attracting a mate or hiding from predators, and with this comes a better understanding of the behaviour and lifestyle of these long-dead animals.

Molly Hawes


ARTICLESARTICLES

How does EEG work?

Our brains are made up of billions of neurons, communicating with each other all of the time. Brain cells “talk” through synapses, creating tiny electrical signals. With so many cells in the brain, this produces masses of electrical activity which can be measured by placing sensors on the surface of the skull. This is usually done with the familiar EEG cap, containing a great num-ber of sensors, meaning that different areas of the brain can be measured simultaneously.

What does it all mean?

These common frequencies may represent differences in brain states. For example, when you are in deep sleep slow oscilla-tions are seen (called delta waves) or, during high levels of con-centration, fast waves (such as beta or gamma oscillations) may occur, signifying intense thought processing. How about some meditation? Well you won’t be doing that without plen-ty of alpha waves, associated with relaxation and reflection.

How can it be used?

EEG can be used in a great number of ways. We can diagnose some conditions such as epilepsy by recog-nising seizure activity. There is also potential to help sufferers of locked in syndrome (a condition where sufferers, while totally conscious, cannot move or communicate). On a lighter note, many people have been working on ways in which we can control objects with our minds. Just imagine, a brain-machine interface would be able to control a robot, unlock a car or turn on a home appliance just through the power of thought. This isn’t so far off; your own portable (and affordable) EEG machines are available to buy, allowing you to play games and even control the plot of a film through changes in your brain waves.

The idea of someone being able to tell exactly what we are thinking is no doubt a scary one but, don’t worry, we’re not there yet. This said, the electroencephalogram, or EEG, has been used for some time to measure brain activity in human patients and there is a great deal of information to be obtained from all those wiggly lines.

Tom Ridler

What can you see?

What we find when we record this brain activity is that the signals within the brain oscillate in a wave-like manner. These brain waves may originally seem confusing and random, but analysis has shown that they can be isolated into discrete frequency bands. You can think of the brain like an orchestra, with all the individual instruments creating different sounds that all come together into one complex piece of music.

Infectious mononucleo-sis (IM), more commonly

known as glandular fever or ‘the kissing disease’ is an extremely contagious, viral disease pre-dominantly caused by the Ep-stein-Barr Virus (EBV). Sprunt and Evans in the Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital first described IM in 1920, however the association between glan-dular fever and EBV was not defined until the late 1960’s. EBV is a type of Herpes virus (Human Herpes Virus-4) con-taining double-stranded DNA, an icosahedral capsid and a li-pid envelope embedded with glycoproteins. IM is spread via saliva, and just like all Herpes viruses they can become a life companion. The virus has an incubation period of 4-8 weeks, therefore an individual is likely to be unaware that they are in-fected for some time. By this point, however, you can be sure

that your oropharangeal epi-thelial cells and B-lymphocytes have taken a massive beating.

IM mainly affects teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15-25, possibly because school and university are sali-va-swapping playgrounds (un-less you do a science degree in which case you probably don’t get out as much). Initially the infection is asymptomatic but as it progresses characteristic symptoms arise including a sore throat, prolonged fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, vomit-ing, muscle ache, headache, high fever, and a loss of ap-petite. Diagnosis may be clear from the symptoms but should be confirmed by a blood test.

Despite low mortality rates, infection is widespread. Ac-cording to the World Health Or-ganization (WHO) serological tests have shown that approxi-mately 95% of adults in the U.S.

have been infected with EBV.There is no available treatment for this viral infection; how-ever an EBV vaccine target-ing the envelope glycoproteins gp350/220 is currently under-going clinical trials. Not only will this be a break-through in preventing IM but it will also decrease the risk of other con-ditions associated with EBV infections such as Burkitt’s lymphoma and nasopharan-geal carcinoma. For now pain relief pills (yes, the same ibu-profen that matron gave you at school) may be prescribed to alleviate symptoms. However, as any G.C.S.E science student could inform you, antibiotics will not cure the virus since it is not a bacterial disease. The question still remains whether to vaccinate pre-infection or therapeutically and is made more difficult due to antigenic variation during the lytic phase.

Lip locking, tonsil tennis and infectious mononucleosis:

Should We Stop Smooching?

IM mainly affects teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15-25, possibly because

school and university are saliva-swapping playgrounds

“

”

Chloe Palmer

EEG: The Science of Mind Reading

Measuring brain activity


ARTICLESARTICLES

How does EEG work?

Our brains are made up of billions of neurons, communicating with each other all of the time. Brain cells “talk” through synapses, creating tiny electrical signals. With so many cells in the brain, this produces masses of electrical activity which can be measured by placing sensors on the surface of the skull. This is usually done with the familiar EEG cap, containing a great num-ber of sensors, meaning that different areas of the brain can be measured simultaneously.

What does it all mean?

These common frequencies may represent differences in brain states. For example, when you are in deep sleep slow oscilla-tions are seen (called delta waves) or, during high levels of con-centration, fast waves (such as beta or gamma oscillations) may occur, signifying intense thought processing. How about some meditation? Well you won’t be doing that without plen-ty of alpha waves, associated with relaxation and reflection.

How can it be used?

EEG can be used in a great number of ways. We can diagnose some conditions such as epilepsy by recog-nising seizure activity. There is also potential to help sufferers of locked in syndrome (a condition where sufferers, while totally conscious, cannot move or communicate). On a lighter note, many people have been working on ways in which we can control objects with our minds. Just imagine, a brain-machine interface would be able to control a robot, unlock a car or turn on a home appliance just through the power of thought. This isn’t so far off; your own portable (and affordable) EEG machines are available to buy, allowing you to play games and even control the plot of a film through changes in your brain waves.

The idea of someone being able to tell exactly what we are thinking is no doubt a scary one but, don’t worry, we’re not there yet. This said, the electroencephalogram, or EEG, has been used for some time to measure brain activity in human patients and there is a great deal of information to be obtained from all those wiggly lines.

Tom Ridler

What can you see?

What we find when we record this brain activity is that the signals within the brain oscillate in a wave-like manner. These brain waves may originally seem confusing and random, but analysis has shown that they can be isolated into discrete frequency bands. You can think of the brain like an orchestra, with all the individual instruments creating different sounds that all come together into one complex piece of music.

Infectious mononucleo-sis (IM), more commonly

known as glandular fever or ‘the kissing disease’ is an extremely contagious, viral disease pre-dominantly caused by the Ep-stein-Barr Virus (EBV). Sprunt and Evans in the Bulletin of the Johns Hopkins Hospital first described IM in 1920, however the association between glan-dular fever and EBV was not defined until the late 1960’s. EBV is a type of Herpes virus (Human Herpes Virus-4) con-taining double-stranded DNA, an icosahedral capsid and a li-pid envelope embedded with glycoproteins. IM is spread via saliva, and just like all Herpes viruses they can become a life companion. The virus has an incubation period of 4-8 weeks, therefore an individual is likely to be unaware that they are in-fected for some time. By this point, however, you can be sure

that your oropharangeal epi-thelial cells and B-lymphocytes have taken a massive beating.

IM mainly affects teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15-25, possibly because school and university are sali-va-swapping playgrounds (un-less you do a science degree in which case you probably don’t get out as much). Initially the infection is asymptomatic but as it progresses characteristic symptoms arise including a sore throat, prolonged fatigue, swollen lymph nodes, vomit-ing, muscle ache, headache, high fever, and a loss of ap-petite. Diagnosis may be clear from the symptoms but should be confirmed by a blood test.

Despite low mortality rates, infection is widespread. Ac-cording to the World Health Or-ganization (WHO) serological tests have shown that approxi-mately 95% of adults in the U.S.

have been infected with EBV.There is no available treatment for this viral infection; how-ever an EBV vaccine target-ing the envelope glycoproteins gp350/220 is currently under-going clinical trials. Not only will this be a break-through in preventing IM but it will also decrease the risk of other con-ditions associated with EBV infections such as Burkitt’s lymphoma and nasopharan-geal carcinoma. For now pain relief pills (yes, the same ibu-profen that matron gave you at school) may be prescribed to alleviate symptoms. However, as any G.C.S.E science student could inform you, antibiotics will not cure the virus since it is not a bacterial disease. The question still remains whether to vaccinate pre-infection or therapeutically and is made more difficult due to antigenic variation during the lytic phase.

Lip locking, tonsil tennis and infectious mononucleosis:

Should We Stop Smooching?

IM mainly affects teenagers and young adults between the ages of 15-25, possibly because

school and university are saliva-swapping playgrounds

“

”

Chloe Palmer

EEG: The Science of Mind Reading

Measuring brain activity


ARTICLESARTICLES

The recent outbreak of fungal meningitis in the

United States was first reported on October 4th 2012, after be-ing the cause of five deaths in Tennessee, Virginia and Mary-land, while 35 cases of illness were noted from six states. At the time of writing, these fig-ures have elevated to 337 cases and 25 deaths over 18 states, along with several related non-meningitis infections.

The source of the infection has been established as three lots of contaminated methyl-prednisolene acetate - used in epidural steroid injections as an anti-inflammatory e.g. for back pain or arthritis - manu-factured by the New England Compounding Centre (NECC). The drug, which can be in-jected into joints, such as the shoulder, elbow or knee, had been shipped to approximately 75 health care facilities in 23

states. Following reports of the outbreak, both the NECC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) or-dered recalls of NECC prod-ucts, while the NECC shelved their operations and voluntar-ily renounced their licenses.

Following this, investi-gations at the NECC found unsanitary working environ-ments, with fungus being found in steroid solutions, along with records of the frequent neglec-tion of staff to follow standard procedures of maintaining hy-giene and sterility of work set-tings and products. Evidence was also found of the NECC shipping orders of the contami-nated drug before receiving fi-nal results of the sterility tests.

The fungi detected in the contaminated medication were derived from mould spe-cies, specifically the genera Aspergillus, Cladosporium and

Exserohilum, all of which men-ingitis has seldom been as-sociated with, if ever (a more common fungal genera asso-ciated with fungal meningitis is Cryptococcus, which com-prises 20-25% of AIDS-related deaths in Africa). In normal cases, victims of fungal men-ingitis are individuals whose immune systems have become compromised or weakened – a condition that is the result of an immuno-compromising dis-ease, such as AIDS, or immuno-compromising medical treat-ment, such as chemotherapy or post-transplant medication.

Meningitis is the infection, and subsequent inflamma-tion, of the meninges - a layer of tissue covering the central nervous system including the spinal cord and brain. It can be caused by other microorgan-isms other than fungi, such as bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli

US Meningitis Outbreak

and Neisseria meningitides), viruses (e.g. Herpes simplex virus type 2 and mumps vi-rus) and parasites (e.g. Schisto-soma). The symptoms reported in the recent outbreak included headache, fever, nausea, pho-tophobia (intolerance to bright light) and stroke. These symp-toms can appear within 42days of receiving a contami-nated injection, although in some cases they can take up to 3 months to occur. Although bacterial and viral meningitis can be spread via droplets in respiratory secretions during

close contact, it is thought that fungal meningitis cannot spread between people. Treatment of fungal meningitis consists of high doses of antifungals, such as flucytosine and amphotericin B, which work by disrupting fungal RNA and DNA synthesis (and therefore protein produc-tion) and permeating the fungal cell membrane, respectively. On October 15th, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released warnings that an ad-ditional two drugs, both from the NECC, may also have been contaminated and, if injected

epidurally, have the potential to cause fungal meningitis or at least infection. Meanwhile, the NECC has continued to cooperate with investigations carried out by the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA, while also being the subject of several in-dividually filed lawsuits. Com-plaints have been made con-cerning the products of NECC as early as 1999, less than one year after it had been founded.

Sophia Ho




Joseph Daly

‘‘Moderate caffeine consumption can have many health benefits. Drinking two cups of coffee a day can make you 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease and cirrhosis and cut the risk of developing gallstones by half. However coffee has not always had such a good reputation. In 1511 it was temporarily banned in Mecca as it was believed to be an intoxicant that stimulated radical thinking and in 1746 the Swedish government banned coffee and coffee paraphernalia with coffee cups being confiscated. There are still several Christian denominations that don’t

consume caffeine today. But even green tea contains caffeine although less than black tea.’’

Natalie Parker

Did you know?

Did you know?

Neisseria meningitidis

Aspergillus fumigatus


ARTICLESARTICLES

The recent outbreak of fungal meningitis in the

United States was first reported on October 4th 2012, after be-ing the cause of five deaths in Tennessee, Virginia and Mary-land, while 35 cases of illness were noted from six states. At the time of writing, these fig-ures have elevated to 337 cases and 25 deaths over 18 states, along with several related non-meningitis infections.

The source of the infection has been established as three lots of contaminated methyl-prednisolene acetate - used in epidural steroid injections as an anti-inflammatory e.g. for back pain or arthritis - manu-factured by the New England Compounding Centre (NECC). The drug, which can be in-jected into joints, such as the shoulder, elbow or knee, had been shipped to approximately 75 health care facilities in 23

states. Following reports of the outbreak, both the NECC and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) or-dered recalls of NECC prod-ucts, while the NECC shelved their operations and voluntar-ily renounced their licenses.

Following this, investi-gations at the NECC found unsanitary working environ-ments, with fungus being found in steroid solutions, along with records of the frequent neglec-tion of staff to follow standard procedures of maintaining hy-giene and sterility of work set-tings and products. Evidence was also found of the NECC shipping orders of the contami-nated drug before receiving fi-nal results of the sterility tests.

The fungi detected in the contaminated medication were derived from mould spe-cies, specifically the genera Aspergillus, Cladosporium and

Exserohilum, all of which men-ingitis has seldom been as-sociated with, if ever (a more common fungal genera asso-ciated with fungal meningitis is Cryptococcus, which com-prises 20-25% of AIDS-related deaths in Africa). In normal cases, victims of fungal men-ingitis are individuals whose immune systems have become compromised or weakened – a condition that is the result of an immuno-compromising dis-ease, such as AIDS, or immuno-compromising medical treat-ment, such as chemotherapy or post-transplant medication.

Meningitis is the infection, and subsequent inflamma-tion, of the meninges - a layer of tissue covering the central nervous system including the spinal cord and brain. It can be caused by other microorgan-isms other than fungi, such as bacteria (e.g. Escherichia coli

US Meningitis Outbreak

and Neisseria meningitides), viruses (e.g. Herpes simplex virus type 2 and mumps vi-rus) and parasites (e.g. Schisto-soma). The symptoms reported in the recent outbreak included headache, fever, nausea, pho-tophobia (intolerance to bright light) and stroke. These symp-toms can appear within 42days of receiving a contami-nated injection, although in some cases they can take up to 3 months to occur. Although bacterial and viral meningitis can be spread via droplets in respiratory secretions during

close contact, it is thought that fungal meningitis cannot spread between people. Treatment of fungal meningitis consists of high doses of antifungals, such as flucytosine and amphotericin B, which work by disrupting fungal RNA and DNA synthesis (and therefore protein produc-tion) and permeating the fungal cell membrane, respectively. On October 15th, US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released warnings that an ad-ditional two drugs, both from the NECC, may also have been contaminated and, if injected

epidurally, have the potential to cause fungal meningitis or at least infection. Meanwhile, the NECC has continued to cooperate with investigations carried out by the Centre of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the FDA, while also being the subject of several in-dividually filed lawsuits. Com-plaints have been made con-cerning the products of NECC as early as 1999, less than one year after it had been founded.

Sophia Ho




Joseph Daly

‘‘Moderate caffeine consumption can have many health benefits. Drinking two cups of coffee a day can make you 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease and cirrhosis and cut the risk of developing gallstones by half. However coffee has not always had such a good reputation. In 1511 it was temporarily banned in Mecca as it was believed to be an intoxicant that stimulated radical thinking and in 1746 the Swedish government banned coffee and coffee paraphernalia with coffee cups being confiscated. There are still several Christian denominations that don’t

consume caffeine today. But even green tea contains caffeine although less than black tea.’’

Natalie Parker

Did you know?

Did you know?

Neisseria meningitidis

Aspergillus fumigatus


The Merry Goji BerryThere is much debate as to whether it really is worth buying “Superfoods”, and the supposed health benefits are under close scrutiny. Is it worth paying extra for a small packet of dried Goji berries or can the same health benefits be gained from a more conventional and cheaper orange?

What is a Goji Berry?Lycium barbarum known as the Goji Berry, or Wolfberry is a relative of tomatoes and peppers.

They come from the family Solanaceae. Native to China, Mongolia and Tibet, it is a red shiny berry, about 2cm in diameter, produced by a deciduous woody shrub-like perennial that is relatively easy to grow.

The main questions that need to be considered are: should we be eating these berries and can the health benefits justify the cost of purchasing the berries or growing the plant on the tiny windowsills of our student houses?

Goji berries are classed as a “superfood” because of potential health benefits arising from the high proportions of minerals, essential amino acids and anti-oxidants they contain. Amino acids- the basis of proteins, and minerals, are vital for many of the day to day processes going on in our bodies and we can obtain them from our daily diet. But what are anti-oxidants and why are they important for our health?

The Science behind Anti-OxidantsNormal metabolic activity requires oxidation reactions which can produce free-radicals as a

bi-product. Free radicals are small, highly reactive molecules that can trigger chain reactions of oxidation in cells which may have damaging effects. Anti-oxidants neutralise free radicals by re-acting with them, thus stopping the damaging chain reactions. The effects of these oxidising mol-ecules can be varied, but they are particularly damaging to sensitive compounds such as DNA which, if damaged, can cause cells to grow abnormally, leading to all sorts of diseases including cancers.

The body has many natural defence mechanisms to protect against these harm-ful oxidation products such as metal chelation to prevent DNA fragmentation, the synthe-sis of specialised pigments in the skin such as melanin to neutralise UV radiation and the ac-tion of anti-oxidants, examples of which include flavonoids, glucosinolate and phytoestrogens.

Health BenefitsMany health foods sellers state that Goji berries have hundreds of health benefits from not

just the anti-oxidant properties, but the vitamins C and A that it contains slow down aging, im-prove immunity, help vision in dim light and maintain cell growth. Current researchers are con-sidering their potential for treating cancer, cataracts, HIV, Alzheimer’s – the list goes on. How-ever, it is possible to get sufficient quantities of all the nutrients contained within these berries from existing parts of our diet. Does this eliminate the need for supplementing our diet with these berries?

Many of these studies are purely based on the effects of isolating particular nutrients and stud-ying them closely- not looking at the fruit as a whole. Furthermore, they have only been car-ried out on mice and it is not yet known how the nutritional benefits of Goji compare to your av-erage blackberry or blueberry, which also contain similar nutrients but are far cheaper to buy.

Conversely, research has been done on the possible risks of overloading our bodies with too many nutrients – with an excess, the body is unable to store them and they will end up going to waste. If the body can’t remove them from the system, they could potentially have negative effects such as damaging cells. They may also interact with several drugs such as warfarin and may not be compatible with peo-ple who suffer from pollen allergies. Despite much of the controversy surrounding these berries, there is some scientific evidence to support their potential benefits. The Chinese have been using them as part of their traditional medicine practices for centuries (mostly the leaves, roots and bark) for mak-ing tea, in which specific compounds are isolated for their anti-pathogenic and anti-aging properties.

So overall, there is not a huge amount of evidence for the well-marketed product’s health benefits- they may not be as outstanding as the packets frequently claim. The berries do contain lots of vitamins, minerals and good nutrients, but it may just be the excellent marketing by companies that has fuelled such huge health-food hype.

These berries are unlikely to be the end to winter colds, wrinkles, or even contact lenses, but they may add a different and unusual flavour on top of your muesli in the morning – although if you are like me, I can’t imagine I would enjoy tea-raisin-and-liquorice flavoured dried berries on my brekkie very much!

Jessica Fennell

Lycium barbarum is a relative of tomatoes and peppers.

“These berries are unlikely to be the end to winter colds, wrinkles, or even contact lenses, but they may add a different and unusual flavour on top

of your muesli in the morning”

PROFILE


The Merry Goji BerryThere is much debate as to whether it really is worth buying “Superfoods”, and the supposed health benefits are under close scrutiny. Is it worth paying extra for a small packet of dried Goji berries or can the same health benefits be gained from a more conventional and cheaper orange?

What is a Goji Berry?Lycium barbarum known as the Goji Berry, or Wolfberry is a relative of tomatoes and peppers.

They come from the family Solanaceae. Native to China, Mongolia and Tibet, it is a red shiny berry, about 2cm in diameter, produced by a deciduous woody shrub-like perennial that is relatively easy to grow.

The main questions that need to be considered are: should we be eating these berries and can the health benefits justify the cost of purchasing the berries or growing the plant on the tiny windowsills of our student houses?

Goji berries are classed as a “superfood” because of potential health benefits arising from the high proportions of minerals, essential amino acids and anti-oxidants they contain. Amino acids- the basis of proteins, and minerals, are vital for many of the day to day processes going on in our bodies and we can obtain them from our daily diet. But what are anti-oxidants and why are they important for our health?

The Science behind Anti-OxidantsNormal metabolic activity requires oxidation reactions which can produce free-radicals as a

bi-product. Free radicals are small, highly reactive molecules that can trigger chain reactions of oxidation in cells which may have damaging effects. Anti-oxidants neutralise free radicals by re-acting with them, thus stopping the damaging chain reactions. The effects of these oxidising mol-ecules can be varied, but they are particularly damaging to sensitive compounds such as DNA which, if damaged, can cause cells to grow abnormally, leading to all sorts of diseases including cancers.

The body has many natural defence mechanisms to protect against these harm-ful oxidation products such as metal chelation to prevent DNA fragmentation, the synthe-sis of specialised pigments in the skin such as melanin to neutralise UV radiation and the ac-tion of anti-oxidants, examples of which include flavonoids, glucosinolate and phytoestrogens.

Health BenefitsMany health foods sellers state that Goji berries have hundreds of health benefits from not

just the anti-oxidant properties, but the vitamins C and A that it contains slow down aging, im-prove immunity, help vision in dim light and maintain cell growth. Current researchers are con-sidering their potential for treating cancer, cataracts, HIV, Alzheimer’s – the list goes on. How-ever, it is possible to get sufficient quantities of all the nutrients contained within these berries from existing parts of our diet. Does this eliminate the need for supplementing our diet with these berries?

Many of these studies are purely based on the effects of isolating particular nutrients and stud-ying them closely- not looking at the fruit as a whole. Furthermore, they have only been car-ried out on mice and it is not yet known how the nutritional benefits of Goji compare to your av-erage blackberry or blueberry, which also contain similar nutrients but are far cheaper to buy.

Conversely, research has been done on the possible risks of overloading our bodies with too many nutrients – with an excess, the body is unable to store them and they will end up going to waste. If the body can’t remove them from the system, they could potentially have negative effects such as damaging cells. They may also interact with several drugs such as warfarin and may not be compatible with peo-ple who suffer from pollen allergies. Despite much of the controversy surrounding these berries, there is some scientific evidence to support their potential benefits. The Chinese have been using them as part of their traditional medicine practices for centuries (mostly the leaves, roots and bark) for mak-ing tea, in which specific compounds are isolated for their anti-pathogenic and anti-aging properties.

So overall, there is not a huge amount of evidence for the well-marketed product’s health benefits- they may not be as outstanding as the packets frequently claim. The berries do contain lots of vitamins, minerals and good nutrients, but it may just be the excellent marketing by companies that has fuelled such huge health-food hype.

These berries are unlikely to be the end to winter colds, wrinkles, or even contact lenses, but they may add a different and unusual flavour on top of your muesli in the morning – although if you are like me, I can’t imagine I would enjoy tea-raisin-and-liquorice flavoured dried berries on my brekkie very much!

Jessica Fennell

Lycium barbarum is a relative of tomatoes and peppers.

“These berries are unlikely to be the end to winter colds, wrinkles, or even contact lenses, but they may add a different and unusual flavour on top

of your muesli in the morning”

PROFILE


ARTICLESARTICLES

The bramble: a climate change indicator?

Naomi Farren

Brambles can be stumbled upon almost anywhere

across the UK, but what makes these everyday species so inter-esting? According to botanist Ray Woods, they are an excel-lent marker of climate change over the past few centuries.

The secret lies in the stomata, which are the small pores found on the underside of the bramble leaves. Stomata facilitate gase-ous exchange allowing carbon dioxide (CO2) to enter the leaf for the synthesis of glucose when open, aided by sunlight. A study of stomata density over the past few decades has revealed a strong correlation between increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and decreasing stomata den-sity on bramble leaves. This is likely to be because CO2 is now more readily available in the at-mosphere, so fewer stomata are needed to take in the amount

the plant requires. Alongside this, stomata also allow water and oxygen to escape, so if there are fewer stomata, then less wa-ter can escape. Ray Woods and other batologists (a term used for bramble specialists) have noted that they commonly see brambles of up to 30 feet long on a regular basis, something of a rarity in the past. It is thought that bram-bles can now grow even more efficiently due to reduced water losses, and the ability to cope better in periods of dry weather.

Brambles are actually com-plex ecosystems supporting hun-dreds of different species. They provide a nesting site for birds and a shelter for small animals away from the harsh elements. The flowers provide essential nec-tar for moths and butterflies. In addition, insects such as wasps-may pierce holes in the berries of the bramble whilst feeding, lead

ing to fermenting berries. The alcohol produced is consumed by butterflies, and many spiders will feed on the fungi from the decaying fruits. The sub-erecta group of brambles, are a group of around six species which can live at over 1000 feet above sea level and are found in Scotland, upland Ireland and upland Wales. They are likely to be the first type of brambles that grew after the ice retreated some 10,000 years ago and have stubby dark maroon stems, with no leaves or berries.

There are many delicate ecosystems being disturbed by climate change but interest-ingly, even the humble bram-ble can provide us with knowl-edge about how our planet is changing and the way in which wildlife species are striving to adapt to the constant changes.

When asked who the most influential people in his-

tory are, first thoughts might go to Augustus the first Roman emperor, the monk Martin Lu-ther who initiated the Roman Catholic Church reformations and the British wartime leader Winston Churchill. They have all had an immeasurable effect on our world, but maybe we are too quick to forget the impact scientific discoveries have made.

The mind might then skip to famous scientists such as Einstein, Newton and Pasteur, but many less known scientists have also caused massive global impact. Thomas Midgley Jr., an American mechanical engineer and chem-ist, was granted over a hundred patents in his lifetime. He dis-covered that adding tetraethyl-lead (TEL) to gasoline prevented engine ‘knocking’, for which he received the Nichols Medal from the American Chemical Society. However this was not without controversy as lead causes many health problems. This was not un-known to Midgley as in January 1923 he had to take a prolonged vacation to recover from lead poi-soning. 10 other members of staff died at TEL manufacturing plants in Ohio and New Jersey, followed quickly by 5 more deaths at the next plant location. Neverthe-less, in an attempt to prove the safety of TEL at a press confer-ence Midgley poured it over his hands and inhaled the fumes for a minute. However the TEL plant was swiftly closed down by the government and Midg-ley took nearly a year to recover.

Midgley also worked as part of

the team which developed CFCs, a safer alternative to the danger-ous gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners at the time. The applications of CFCs spread, but it was only 30 years after his death that the ozone depleting qualities of the CFCs were dis-covered. With the combination of CFCs damaging the atmos-phere and lead damaging health, Thomas Midgley’s discoveries have caused arguably the great-est atmospheric impact in history.

In addition, Gertrude Elion may not be a household name, but she is among the 44 women to have received a Nobel Prize, winning it jointly in 1988 for Medicine or Physiology. She is the inventor of many drugs including Pyrimethamine for malaria, Purinethol the first leu-kaemia treatment and Zovirax for viral herpes. Her discoveries saved and improved many peo-ple’s lives, but she did not have an easy research career. When

Gertrude began applying for jobs in her field she was rejected based on her sex, being told that she would be a distraction to the male staff. She worked as a sci-ence teacher whilst doing her Masters research work at night and weekends. During World War II the need for men to fight opened research positions up to women and she began work at what is now GlaxoSmithKline. She exploited the differences between pathogenic and hu-man cells when designing drugs, avoiding the typical trial-and-error techniques. The diversity of her drugs and their widespread benefits is remarkable, and she has been recognised by several honorary degrees and accolades.

These are only two examples of the many scientists which have shaped the world, both for better and for worse. Nevertheless they remind us of the impact scientific developments have had and how they may influence our future.

Influential People

Hannah Bruce MacdonaldThomas Midgley Jr Gertrude Elion


ARTICLESARTICLES

The bramble: a climate change indicator?

Naomi Farren

Brambles can be stumbled upon almost anywhere

across the UK, but what makes these everyday species so inter-esting? According to botanist Ray Woods, they are an excel-lent marker of climate change over the past few centuries.

The secret lies in the stomata, which are the small pores found on the underside of the bramble leaves. Stomata facilitate gase-ous exchange allowing carbon dioxide (CO2) to enter the leaf for the synthesis of glucose when open, aided by sunlight. A study of stomata density over the past few decades has revealed a strong correlation between increasing atmospheric CO2 concentration and decreasing stomata den-sity on bramble leaves. This is likely to be because CO2 is now more readily available in the at-mosphere, so fewer stomata are needed to take in the amount

the plant requires. Alongside this, stomata also allow water and oxygen to escape, so if there are fewer stomata, then less wa-ter can escape. Ray Woods and other batologists (a term used for bramble specialists) have noted that they commonly see brambles of up to 30 feet long on a regular basis, something of a rarity in the past. It is thought that bram-bles can now grow even more efficiently due to reduced water losses, and the ability to cope better in periods of dry weather.

Brambles are actually com-plex ecosystems supporting hun-dreds of different species. They provide a nesting site for birds and a shelter for small animals away from the harsh elements. The flowers provide essential nec-tar for moths and butterflies. In addition, insects such as wasps-may pierce holes in the berries of the bramble whilst feeding, lead

ing to fermenting berries. The alcohol produced is consumed by butterflies, and many spiders will feed on the fungi from the decaying fruits. The sub-erecta group of brambles, are a group of around six species which can live at over 1000 feet above sea level and are found in Scotland, upland Ireland and upland Wales. They are likely to be the first type of brambles that grew after the ice retreated some 10,000 years ago and have stubby dark maroon stems, with no leaves or berries.

There are many delicate ecosystems being disturbed by climate change but interest-ingly, even the humble bram-ble can provide us with knowl-edge about how our planet is changing and the way in which wildlife species are striving to adapt to the constant changes.

When asked who the most influential people in his-

tory are, first thoughts might go to Augustus the first Roman emperor, the monk Martin Lu-ther who initiated the Roman Catholic Church reformations and the British wartime leader Winston Churchill. They have all had an immeasurable effect on our world, but maybe we are too quick to forget the impact scientific discoveries have made.

The mind might then skip to famous scientists such as Einstein, Newton and Pasteur, but many less known scientists have also caused massive global impact. Thomas Midgley Jr., an American mechanical engineer and chem-ist, was granted over a hundred patents in his lifetime. He dis-covered that adding tetraethyl-lead (TEL) to gasoline prevented engine ‘knocking’, for which he received the Nichols Medal from the American Chemical Society. However this was not without controversy as lead causes many health problems. This was not un-known to Midgley as in January 1923 he had to take a prolonged vacation to recover from lead poi-soning. 10 other members of staff died at TEL manufacturing plants in Ohio and New Jersey, followed quickly by 5 more deaths at the next plant location. Neverthe-less, in an attempt to prove the safety of TEL at a press confer-ence Midgley poured it over his hands and inhaled the fumes for a minute. However the TEL plant was swiftly closed down by the government and Midg-ley took nearly a year to recover.

Midgley also worked as part of

the team which developed CFCs, a safer alternative to the danger-ous gases used in refrigerators and air conditioners at the time. The applications of CFCs spread, but it was only 30 years after his death that the ozone depleting qualities of the CFCs were dis-covered. With the combination of CFCs damaging the atmos-phere and lead damaging health, Thomas Midgley’s discoveries have caused arguably the great-est atmospheric impact in history.

In addition, Gertrude Elion may not be a household name, but she is among the 44 women to have received a Nobel Prize, winning it jointly in 1988 for Medicine or Physiology. She is the inventor of many drugs including Pyrimethamine for malaria, Purinethol the first leu-kaemia treatment and Zovirax for viral herpes. Her discoveries saved and improved many peo-ple’s lives, but she did not have an easy research career. When

Gertrude began applying for jobs in her field she was rejected based on her sex, being told that she would be a distraction to the male staff. She worked as a sci-ence teacher whilst doing her Masters research work at night and weekends. During World War II the need for men to fight opened research positions up to women and she began work at what is now GlaxoSmithKline. She exploited the differences between pathogenic and hu-man cells when designing drugs, avoiding the typical trial-and-error techniques. The diversity of her drugs and their widespread benefits is remarkable, and she has been recognised by several honorary degrees and accolades.

These are only two examples of the many scientists which have shaped the world, both for better and for worse. Nevertheless they remind us of the impact scientific developments have had and how they may influence our future.

Influential People

Hannah Bruce MacdonaldThomas Midgley Jr Gertrude Elion


OPINIONS

With the global popula-tion predicted to hit

9 billion by 2050, agrono-mists and farmers alike must reunite to cultivate “The Green Revolution: Round Two”. Round one saw the storming success of dwarf crop varieties allowing an increased yield without the risk of weak stems breaking or lodging. In round 2 we face new, wilier opponents.

Food production must be doubled to satisfy the ex-ponential rise of grumbling stomachs. Development of crop cultivars and farming techniques better suited to our changing climate is para-mount. With stores of fossil fuels depleting and the risk of drought looming, increased output must be achieved with decreased input. Put simply, we need more food produc-tion from less fertilizer, less pesticides and less water. It’s not going to be easy, but there may be a solution, perhaps we need to dig a little deeper

The age of increasing pro-

ductivity through the selec-tive breeding of higher yield-ing plants is past. More precise techniques are needed to cre-ate new lines of crops that can cope with drought, flooding

and poor quality soils. These are traits that must be select-ed for and where better to be-gin than underground? After all, it is the soil that provides nourishment to our hungry

plants and it is their sprawl-ing roots that, not only pro-vide anchorage and sup-port, but also mediate the movement of life-giving nutrients from earth to ear.

The idea of fresh water being in short supply due to climate change is a real worry for the first time. Re-strictions on watering and irrigation are becoming more and more common across European countries due to drought and yield is suffering as a result. However, farm-

ers simply will not buy into drought-resistant lines if yield is compromised. Their argument is understandable, buying drought-resistant va-rieties in a good year means they lose out to farmers that didn’t. Research must be di-rected into creating cultivars with plasticity, that maintain high yields with drought-resistant traits that kick-in when the going gets tough. The same goes for the de-velopment of crop lines able to cope with poor quality

soils. More people means less space for agriculture and the forced usage of poor soil in less habitable areas, farmers need tailor-made plants armed with an arse-nal of stress-resistant traits to battle coming challenges.

If this paints a rather bleak future, a post-apoca-lyptic world crawling with famished individuals, do not be alarmed; a light shines at the end of the tunnel. Re-search is underway and has already some very promis-ing results. Unfortunately, the sheer logistics of study-ing roots is difficult; they are underground and hard to re-move without damage. New screening methods, however, are rapidly being developed that produce 3D images of the root system architecture like an x-ray. The software is also able to analyze composi-tion and cell organization of the roots scanned. Using this, agronomists have been better able to observe the effect of reduced soil quality and wa-ter-stress conditions on the roots of crop plants. Those that cope best can be selected and used to pinpoint the ex-act genes responsible. The future is rapidly becoming the present, but we have the tools to tackle new challeng-es, and remember, it’s what’s underneath that counts.

Ione Bingley

Let’s get to the Roots of the Problem

Agronomists and farmers alike must reunite to cultivate “The Green Revolution: Round Two”


OPINIONS

With the global popula-tion predicted to hit

9 billion by 2050, agrono-mists and farmers alike must reunite to cultivate “The Green Revolution: Round Two”. Round one saw the storming success of dwarf crop varieties allowing an increased yield without the risk of weak stems breaking or lodging. In round 2 we face new, wilier opponents.

Food production must be doubled to satisfy the ex-ponential rise of grumbling stomachs. Development of crop cultivars and farming techniques better suited to our changing climate is para-mount. With stores of fossil fuels depleting and the risk of drought looming, increased output must be achieved with decreased input. Put simply, we need more food produc-tion from less fertilizer, less pesticides and less water. It’s not going to be easy, but there may be a solution, perhaps we need to dig a little deeper

The age of increasing pro-

ductivity through the selec-tive breeding of higher yield-ing plants is past. More precise techniques are needed to cre-ate new lines of crops that can cope with drought, flooding

and poor quality soils. These are traits that must be select-ed for and where better to be-gin than underground? After all, it is the soil that provides nourishment to our hungry

plants and it is their sprawl-ing roots that, not only pro-vide anchorage and sup-port, but also mediate the movement of life-giving nutrients from earth to ear.

The idea of fresh water being in short supply due to climate change is a real worry for the first time. Re-strictions on watering and irrigation are becoming more and more common across European countries due to drought and yield is suffering as a result. However, farm-

ers simply will not buy into drought-resistant lines if yield is compromised. Their argument is understandable, buying drought-resistant va-rieties in a good year means they lose out to farmers that didn’t. Research must be di-rected into creating cultivars with plasticity, that maintain high yields with drought-resistant traits that kick-in when the going gets tough. The same goes for the de-velopment of crop lines able to cope with poor quality

soils. More people means less space for agriculture and the forced usage of poor soil in less habitable areas, farmers need tailor-made plants armed with an arse-nal of stress-resistant traits to battle coming challenges.

If this paints a rather bleak future, a post-apoca-lyptic world crawling with famished individuals, do not be alarmed; a light shines at the end of the tunnel. Re-search is underway and has already some very promis-ing results. Unfortunately, the sheer logistics of study-ing roots is difficult; they are underground and hard to re-move without damage. New screening methods, however, are rapidly being developed that produce 3D images of the root system architecture like an x-ray. The software is also able to analyze composi-tion and cell organization of the roots scanned. Using this, agronomists have been better able to observe the effect of reduced soil quality and wa-ter-stress conditions on the roots of crop plants. Those that cope best can be selected and used to pinpoint the ex-act genes responsible. The future is rapidly becoming the present, but we have the tools to tackle new challeng-es, and remember, it’s what’s underneath that counts.

Ione Bingley

Let’s get to the Roots of the Problem

Agronomists and farmers alike must reunite to cultivate “The Green Revolution: Round Two”

SYNAPSE | 27

Continue the fun with Synapse online! Visit our blog.--- synapsebristol.blogspot.co.uk ---Special features

Recent highlightsTachyglossus - The Real Easter BunnyWhy do we die?Earth’s close callLouisiana pancake batfish

Marvels

MARVELS

The Amazonian Water LilyThe Amazonian water lily, Victoria amazonica, has leaves up to 2.6m across that can grow nearly a foot in a day! It is highly adapted to its aquatic environment with sharp spines on the undersides of the giant lily pads to stop it becoming fish food and a network of large

air-filled veins within the leaf to provide buoyancy that could support the weight of a well-balanced adult human! It also has a sophisticated system for ensuring efficient pollination. The ‘female’ white lily flower releases a pineapple-like aroma to attract scarab beetles carrying pollen. The beetles are unwittingly trapped within the flower which closes to ensure pollination. During the day that the beetles are confined, the flower undergoes a sex change to become male and produces pollen that rubs off on the beetle inhabitants. When evening arrives, the pink flower opens, releasing the pol-len carrying beetles which are free go in search of the more appealing sweet smelling white flowers.

A Glow in the Dark Lake

A lake in Australia glows in the dark! The Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, Australia were seen to give off an unusual bright blue glow after a large forest fire and heavy rainfall over the past few years. This disruption caused an increase in the lake’s concentration of microorganisms called Noctiluca scintillans (also known as ‘sea sparkle’). The ghostly blue glowing effect was actually caused by thebioluminescent charac-teristic of ‘sea sparkles’- they produce natural light due to a chemical reaction between lucif-erin and oxygen. Apart from looking pretty, this natural glow also helps organisms to reel in prey and ward of predators!

26 | SYNAPSE

Frances Cartwright

Reema Joshi

SYNAPSE | 27

Continue the fun with Synapse online! Visit our blog.--- synapsebristol.blogspot.co.uk ---Special features

Recent highlightsTachyglossus - The Real Easter BunnyWhy do we die?Earth’s close callLouisiana pancake batfish

Marvels

MARVELS

The Amazonian Water LilyThe Amazonian water lily, Victoria amazonica, has leaves up to 2.6m across that can grow nearly a foot in a day! It is highly adapted to its aquatic environment with sharp spines on the undersides of the giant lily pads to stop it becoming fish food and a network of large

air-filled veins within the leaf to provide buoyancy that could support the weight of a well-balanced adult human! It also has a sophisticated system for ensuring efficient pollination. The ‘female’ white lily flower releases a pineapple-like aroma to attract scarab beetles carrying pollen. The beetles are unwittingly trapped within the flower which closes to ensure pollination. During the day that the beetles are confined, the flower undergoes a sex change to become male and produces pollen that rubs off on the beetle inhabitants. When evening arrives, the pink flower opens, releasing the pol-len carrying beetles which are free go in search of the more appealing sweet smelling white flowers.

A Glow in the Dark Lake

A lake in Australia glows in the dark! The Gippsland Lakes in Victoria, Australia were seen to give off an unusual bright blue glow after a large forest fire and heavy rainfall over the past few years. This disruption caused an increase in the lake’s concentration of microorganisms called Noctiluca scintillans (also known as ‘sea sparkle’). The ghostly blue glowing effect was actually caused by thebioluminescent charac-teristic of ‘sea sparkles’- they produce natural light due to a chemical reaction between lucif-erin and oxygen. Apart from looking pretty, this natural glow also helps organisms to reel in prey and ward of predators!

26 | SYNAPSE

Frances Cartwright

Reema Joshi

Date post:	15-Mar-2016
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