6
LMS Issue 3 | 2014
News | International & Local
SA and Malaysia’s Science Partnership
T
he first SA - Malaysia Joint Committee
Meeting on science, technology and
innovation (STI) took place last month.
This gathering was the first formal
meeting following the signing of a
memorandum of understanding (MoU)
between SA and Malaysia.
On the 23rd April, Derek Hanekom,
SA Minister of Science and Technology
and Malaysian Minister of Science,
Technology and Innovation, Datuk Ewon
Ebin signed a MoU between the two
countries. A MoU is a formal agreement
between two parties. In this case, the
MoU is aimed at enhancing science,
technology and innovation in both
countries, and in so doing, enhancing
the scientific development of both SA
and Malaysia.
The two ministers met in Pretoria for
their first committee meeting late last
month. On the agenda for this meeting
was a list of potential scientific research
areas of cooperation between the
two countries. This Joint
Committee meeting was
also aimed at developing an action
plan for bilateral cooperation over the
next two years, which is expected to
include the areas of Antarctic research,
ICT, energy security, innovation for
inclusive development, sustainable
human settlements, innovation and
commercialisation, astronomy and the
bio-economy. This new partnership will
afford both countries the opportunity to
collaborate on specific research projects
and programmes.
Speaking at the signing ceremony
in Cape Town, Minister Hanekom said,
“The agreement is aimed at enhancing
socio-economic development in both
countries through STI cooperation and
will provide a tremendous opportunity
for both countries to share knowledge
and experience.” ⚛
The Fountain of Youth Running Through your Veins
A
trio of recent of studies may have
discovered a key ingredient to the
elixir of life and it appears to be more
common than previously thought. These
research papers found that older mice
got stronger when injected with the
blood of younger mice. The papers were
published online in the journals Nature
Medicine and Science.
Researchers recently discovered that
infusing young blood into the blood
of older mice reversed some of the
effects of aging in the mice. The older
mice got stronger, exercised longer and
performed better mentally after being
injected with the young blood. The mice
were found to increase their memory
and learning abilities, brain function,
muscle strength and stamina.
In two of the research papers, the
scientists took the study one step further
and uncovered a specific component
of the blood that appears to have these
age-defying effects. They found that the
protein, GDF11, was more abundant in
the blood of younger mice than in the
older mice. The researchers also found
that when the older mice were injected
with GDF11 it reversed some of the
damage caused by aging. An important
finding in these studies was that GDF11
is also found in human blood.
The studies also revealed that injections of both the young blood and GDF11
increased the number of blood vessels
as well as the blood flow to the brain.
This discovery could play a major role in
studying the treatment of age-related
mental conditions such as Alzheimer’s.
However, while this could be a possibility in the future, more research has
to be done into understanding the
mechanisms by which GDF11 reverses
the effects of aging. The authors of the
study also suggest that GDF11 might
not be the sole age-reversing agent in
blood, but more studies should be done
to establish this. ⚛
New Faces at Chemetrix SA
hemetrix SA(Pty) Limited, the
sole supplier of Agilent Technologies chromatography and mass
spectrometry products for chemical
analysis in Southern and East Africa,
are pleased to introduce three new
employees to their company.
Akwasi Boakye will be joining the
export sales team at the company.
Sean Edwards has just been appointed
I’d like to
keep getting
this title
ü
FREE
as an applications specialist at Chemetrix
Justine Daniels recently joined the
instrument sales division at the company.
Chemetrix would like to welcome
their new employees to the company
and wish them a long and successful
stay at the company. ⚛
From left to right: Akwasi Boakye,
Sean Edwards, Justine Daniels
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