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.
More fellows
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.