Research images
Triggering psychosis
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Research images
Biomedical students at NUi Galway have exhibited a number of striking images that show off the artistic side of science . Although produced for research , the images produced in the lab often have such a strong visual impact that they rival conventional works of art . The second year biomedical students had these images up on display at a two-day exhibition in the Galway Museum . A number of NUI Galway scientists were involved in creating these images including Drs Maura Grealy and Eilis Dowd from Pharmacology ; Dr Lynn O ’ Connor , Biomedical Science ; Professor Peter Dockery , Alex Black and Drs Dara Cannon and Fabio Quondamatteo from Anatomy ; and Professors Noel Lowndes , Brian McStay and Ciaran Morrison , and Dr Andrew Flaus from Biochemistry .
This image showing a thin slice of brain tissue comes from Dr Eilis Dowd in Pharmacology . Star shaped cells , known as astrocytes , have been treated with a green fluorescent dye to make them show up against the background . By studying these cells scientists are able to conduct research on neurodegenerative diseases .
This image is made up of 25 frames in a time-lapse series showing the progressive movement of the nucleosome in a cell during division . By observing the details of cell division researchers can spot the differences that might indicate disease . This image is from the lab of Dr Andrew Flaus , Biochemistry .
Hyaline cartilage , shown here , occurs in joints and elsewhere in our body . Images such as this provide scientists with information about structure and function , enabling them to develop treatments for diseases such as osteoarthritis . Image from the lab of Prof Peter Dockery , Anatomy .
Triggering psychosis
SOME people have a genetic variant that affects the quality of an enzyme involved in the production of kynurenic acid , a chemical involved in nerve-to-nerve signalling . Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have found that people with this particular genetic difference have a high risk of developing psychosis . Reporting their results in
Molecular Psychiatry , the researchers noted that levels of kynurenic acid are higher in the brains of people with schizophrenia or bipolar disease with psychosis .
Kynurenic acid is produced in response to stress or infection , and in people with the genetic variant , the levels produced are higher . According to Martin Schalling , Professor of Medical Genetics at the Karolinska Institutet , up to 80 per cent of those with psychosis related to bipolar disease have inherited the condition . Inflammation caused by stress or infection is a key trigger in setting off psychotic episodes . The researchers think that readily available drugs to bring down inflammation could prove useful in treatment .
SCIENCE SPIN Issue 58 Page 4