NEWS
campusreview.com.au
Queensland unis unlocking
medical mysteries
The University of Queensland and Griffith University
are leading the way on endometriosis and cancer.
A
research team co-led by University of Queensland
professor Grant Montgomery and QUT associate professor
Dale Nyholt is one step closer to identifying genes linked to
a gynaecological disease affecting one in 10 Australian women.
The team has confirmed nine previously identified genomic
regions – sections of DNA that contain our unique genetic code –
and discovered an additional five.
The findings will pave the way for better diagnostics and
treatments in future.
“We found regions of the genome where there is an increased
risk of endometriosis, and that is the first step to finding what genes
are affected and how they increase risk,” Montgomery said.
DNA samples taken from 17,045 women living with
endometriosis were collected by Australian and overseas
researchers and compared to 191,858 samples fro m women
without the disease.
“We don’t understand what the causes of endometriosis are, but
if we can find the specific genes affected, then we will be able to
understand the biology and the cause,” Montgomery said. “The
next step is to actually work out the genes that are involved.”
Meanwhile, Sunshine State scientists are leading the world in a
new and unique approach to fighting some of the most common
cancers with the launch of the Australian Centre for Cancer
Glycomics at Griffith University.
The new field of research involves targeting sugar molecules,
known as glycans, found on the outside of cancer cells.
Glycans allow cells to talk to each other and are essential to
human life, just like the human genome.
Researchers hope this approach will not only lead to completely
new drug treatments but vaccines to protect against and prevent
the disease, said institute director and chemical biologist professor
Mark von Itzstein.
“Cancer cells can also display unique-to-cancers glyco signatures,
which can then become vaccine candidates, and there are a number
of examples of those already occurring,” von Itzstein said. ■
With AAP
Student raps for thesis
Obasi Shaw (centre) performing at a Harvard arts festival. Photo: YouTube
Harvard student finds a unique
way to submit honours thesis.
W
hile other Harvard University
students were writing papers for
their senior theses, Obasi Shaw
was busy rapping his.
Shaw is the first student in Harvard’s
history to submit a rap album as a senior
thesis in the English department, the
university said.
The album, called Liminal Minds, earned
the equivalent of an A-minus grade, good
enough to guarantee that Shaw would
graduate with honours.
“I never thought it would be accepted
by Harvard,” said Shaw, a 20-year-old from
Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb of
Atlanta. “I didn’t think they would respect
rap as an art form enough for me to do it.”
Shaw describes the 10-track album as a
dark and moody take on what it means to
be black in America.
Each song is told from a different
character’s perspective, an idea inspired by
Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century classic
The Canterbury Tales.
Shaw, who’s black, also draws on the works
of writer James Baldwin while tackling topics
ranging from police violence to slavery.
Shaw’s thesis adviser, Harvard English
lecturer Josh Bell, said Shaw is a “serious
artist and he’s an amazing guy”.
“He was able to turn around an album
that people in the English department
would like very much but also that people
who like rap music might like.”
Harvard undergraduates aren’t obligated to
submit senior theses, but most departments
require it to graduate with honours.
Often it takes the form of a research paper,
but students can apply to turn in an artistic
work as a creative thesis. Some submit
screenplays, novels or poetry collections.
“I’m still not satisfied with the quality of
the production just yet, but I’m constantly
learning and growing,” Shaw said. ■
With AAP
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