Magnetic bacteria
Boys to the right hUMANS are not the only ones to be left or right handed . Many other animals also display a distinct preference for leading with the right or left paw or hoof . It was often thought that a structure known as the corpus callosum in the brain is involved . This particular structure acts as a communications bridge between the two halves of the brain . however , Dr Yegor Malashichev at Saint Petersburg State University has reported in BioMed Central that marsupials without a corpus collosum , such as the sugar glider or short-tailed oppossum also have a distinct preference in favour of the left or right and the preference is related to gender .
Mini-makers oN Saturday 27th July 2013 ‘ makers ’ will be busy in and around Trinity College Dublin and the Science Gallery . Workshops , performances and other hands-on events are planned as participants build their own devices . Just making things has become highly popular as people apply a variety of skills in creating weird and wonderful devices . To a dedicated “ maker ” there is really no such thing as junk , but turning it into something useful or entertaining is the challenge .
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Killing cancer cells
Magnetic bacteria
LoNG before sailors learned how to use a compass bacteria were orientating themselves along magnetic lines . At the University of Huddersfield , Amy Mornington has been studying how some bacteria have membrane-encapsulated magnetosomes . These magnetosomes contain magnetite , an iron oxide that also occurs in a variety of animals , including bees , pigeons and salmon . www . sciencespin . com
UPFRONT
The marsupial sugar glider , Petaurus breviceps , has no corpus callosum .
Boys to the right hUMANS are not the only ones to be left or right handed . Many other animals also display a distinct preference for leading with the right or left paw or hoof . It was often thought that a structure known as the corpus callosum in the brain is involved . This particular structure acts as a communications bridge between the two halves of the brain . however , Dr Yegor Malashichev at Saint Petersburg State University has reported in BioMed Central that marsupials without a corpus collosum , such as the sugar glider or short-tailed oppossum also have a distinct preference in favour of the left or right and the preference is related to gender .
With non-marsupial mammals , males are usually left-handed , and females righthanded , yet with marsupials that walk on four limbs , males are usually right-handed , and females left-handed .
While the role of magnetite in orientating organisms is easier to understand , Amy Mornington ’ s aim is to find out how it is produced . By understanding how the biomineralisation works in nature , it may become possible to mimic the process to produce magnetite commercially . Potential applications including drug delivery , are not viable at present , but discovering how bacteria produce magnetite might lead to a more cost-efficient process .
Mini-makers oN Saturday 27th July 2013 ‘ makers ’ will be busy in and around Trinity College Dublin and the Science Gallery . Workshops , performances and other hands-on events are planned as participants build their own devices . Just making things has become highly popular as people apply a variety of skills in creating weird and wonderful devices . To a dedicated “ maker ” there is really no such thing as junk , but turning it into something useful or entertaining is the challenge .
Makers or groups who want to participate by exhibiting what they can do can download a submission form from : http :// www . makerfairedublin . com / open-call-2013 More information from Shaun o ’ Boyle at the TCD Science Gallery , 01 8964405 or email shaun . oboyle @ sciencegallery . com
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 58 Page 3
More fellows
The number of postgraduates working on food and agriculture has increased . Under the Teagasc Walsh Fellowship Programme 64 new postgraduates being approved for support . This is the largest number of approvals since the Walsh Fellowship Programme began and it represents a major investment of over € 4 million in fostering emerging scientific talent .
The new postgraduates , many of whom are conducting research for a PhD , join the existing 140 Walsh Fellows and will work under the supervision of Teagasc and university staff .
Under the Walsh Fellowship Programme Teagasc works in collaboration with the universities and institutes , and there are well established links to research organisations in europe , the US and New Zealand . Professor Gerry Boyle , Director of Teagasc , said that Fellows are encouraged to engage with the best in international science and research . For more details : www . teagasc . ie / research / postgrad
Killing cancer cells
WheN cancers develop the body can react by inducing the cells to selfdestruct . however , if a gene , known as p53 , is defective , the defence mechanism does not work , and the cancer continues to grow .
Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found that it is possible to restore p53 activity by administering a substance known as APR-246 . A study was conducted on 22 patients with advanced blood or prostate cancers , and the researchers , working under Dr Soren Lehmann , have reported positive results indicating that the p53 gene had become active , and in two of ten patents that were evaluated , there were signs of tumour regression .
These are preliminary results , and the main aim of the study was to find out how ARP-246 is tolerated by the body .
It was found that tolerance is good , and the researchers expressed confidence that this drug will help , especially in combination with other treatments . Up to half of the cancers including ovarian cancer and most tumours are thought to arise from a defect in the p53 gene . however , Professor Klas Wiman , who discovered APR-246 , commented that tumours are extremely complex , so other factors are probably involved .