11 posts · 7,137 views
Ecologist, ecowarrior (in a scientific kind of way), conservationist, backpacker, horserider, cake lover, and Press Officer for the Society of Biology @Society_Biology
The Society of Biology blog
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- May 14, 2013
- 10:10 AM
- 33 views
Sneaking viruses into the brain: cancer treatment
by Rebecca Nesbit in The Society of Biology blog
This week, 13th-19th May, a campaign is being launched to highlight the hidden aspects of brain injury and help with the correct diagnosis of these potentially terminal conditions. The campaign is part of Action for Brain Injury (ABI) week, organised by Headway.
Brain injury is an umbrella-term for a number of conditions, including brain trauma, stroke and brain tumours. These conditions can often go unnoticed externally, yet are extremely damaging internally. It is therefore vital that GPs c........ Read more »
Ahmed, A., Thaci, B., Alexiades, N., Han, Y., Qian, S., Liu, F., Balyasnikova, I., Ulasov, I., Aboody, K., & Lesniak, M. (2011) Neural Stem Cell-based Cell Carriers Enhance Therapeutic Efficacy of an Oncolytic Adenovirus in an Orthotopic Mouse Model of Human Glioblastoma. Molecular Therapy, 19(9), 1714-1726. DOI: 10.1038/mt.2011.100
- March 19, 2013
- 09:41 AM
- 96 views
Blood flow to tumours – new drugs and detection
by Rebecca Nesbit in The birds, the bees and feeding the world
Tumours develop a chaotic system of blood vessels to raid the body’s normal blood supply. Some of the latest anti-cancer drugs (Vascular Disrupting Agents) work by damaging these vessels: the tumour is then denied access to nutrients essential for its growth. However, to reveal the extent to which such therapies actually conquer the tumour we need to measure blood flow in the tumour vessels.... Read more »
Brunker J, & Beard P. (2012) Pulsed photoacoustic Doppler flowmetry using time-domain cross-correlation: accuracy, resolution and scalability. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 132(3), 1780-91. PMID: 22978905
- February 27, 2013
- 12:34 PM
- 116 views
Lung-on-a-chip
by Rebecca Nesbit in The Society of Biology blog
In the news this week has been an interesting approach to replicating human disease in a ‘lung-on-a-chip’ device. The lung-on-a-chip, which is about the size of a USB stick, contains hollow channels lined with living human cells. Applying a vacuum to two channels along the side of the chip allows it to recreate the way in which tissues physically expand and contract during respiration.... Read more »
Huh, D., Leslie, D., Matthews, B., Fraser, J., Jurek, S., Hamilton, G., Thorneloe, K., McAlexander, M., & Ingber, D. (2012) A Human Disease Model of Drug Toxicity-Induced Pulmonary Edema in a Lung-on-a-Chip Microdevice. Science Translational Medicine, 4(159), 159-159. DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3004249
- August 3, 2012
- 08:28 AM
- 318 views
Why do some lakes have a greater diversity of cichlid fish?
by Rebecca Nesbit in The Society of Biology blog
Guest blog from Andrew Helmstetter, Savolainen Lab, Imperial College London One of the major questions that is driving research in speciation biology (the study of how new species evolve) is “why do some groups of species diversify faster than others?” The role environmental factors (e.g. climate or habitat availability) and traits (e.g. morphology, behaviour and their underlying genetics) play in controlling species diversity has been a topic of research for some time. It is unlikely that a........ Read more »
Wagner CE, Harmon LJ, & Seehausen O. (2012) Ecological opportunity and sexual selection together predict adaptive radiation. Nature, 487(7407), 366-9. PMID: 22722840
- July 12, 2012
- 07:28 AM
- 301 views
How does an ant decide what to do?
by Rebecca Nesbit in The Society of Biology blog
Information that individuals could use to decide whether to forage includes their own experience of performing tasks, or their own physiology such as fat reserves. This was investigated in a recent paper published in the Journal for Experimental Biology. The researchers used an ingenious system where worker ants were tagged with RFID chips which operate an artificial ‘door’ to the nest. ... Read more »
Elva J. H. Robinson,, Ofer Feinerman and, & Nigel R. Franks. (2012) Experience, corpulence and decision making in ant foraging. Journal of Experimental Biology . DOI: 10.1242/jeb.071076
- September 5, 2011
- 04:20 PM
- 1,224 views
More than just calories
by Rebecca Nesbit in The birds, the bees and feeding the world
In today’s population of just over 7 billion people, more than 900 million are undernourished and over 2 billion have nutrient deficiencies, yet over 1 billion adults are overweight. Lots of work has gone on to address the problems of undernourishment and obesity, but the problem of nutrient deficiency has taken second place.
... Read more »
Remans R, Flynn DF, DeClerck F, Diru W, Fanzo J, Gaynor K, Lambrecht I, Mudiope J, Mutuo PK, Nkhoma P.... (2011) Assessing nutritional diversity of cropping systems in African villages. PloS one, 6(6). PMID: 21698127
- September 3, 2011
- 09:57 AM
- 1,010 views
Conservation and industry side by side
by Rebecca Nesbit in The birds, the bees and feeding the world
A paper published this month by researchers from the University of Alberta (Canada) looked at a trade-off between proposed industrial developments and protecting habitats the industry would destroy.
How you choose which areas of land to preserve is a much-debated issue. In this paper they worked on the premise that by protecting every ecosystem type in the area most species will have their needs met.
... Read more »
Schneider, R., Hauer, G., Farr, D., Adamowicz, W., & Boutin, S. (2011) Achieving Conservation when Opportunity Costs Are High: Optimizing Reserve Design in Alberta's Oil Sands Region. PLoS ONE, 6(8). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0023254
- June 13, 2011
- 04:31 PM
- 773 views
Protecting Fishermen, not just fish
by Rebecca Nesbit in The birds, the bees and feeding the world
Creating a marine protection area isn't just about protecting fish stocks and keeping people out; it's about the livelihoods of fishermen and their communities. Food security and incomes depend on their careful management.
... Read more »
Peterson A, & Stead S. (2011) Rule breaking and livelihood options in marine protected areas. Environmental Conservation. info:/10.1017/S0376892911000178
- June 6, 2011
- 12:00 PM
- 1,085 views
Three ways science helps feed us
by Rebecca Nesbit in The birds, the bees and feeding the world
Preventing Foot and Mouth outbreaks, keeping food fresh with plasma and the bacteria in your gut. Video from Becky, Trish and Emma.... Read more »
Charleston, B., Bankowski, B., Gubbins, S., Chase-Topping, M., Schley, D., Howey, R., Barnett, P., Gibson, D., Juleff, N., & Woolhouse, M. (2011) Relationship Between Clinical Signs and Transmission of an Infectious Disease and the Implications for Control. Science, 332(6030), 726-729. DOI: 10.1126/science.1199884
Fernández, A., & Thompson, A. (2011) The inactivation of Salmonella by cold atmospheric plasma treatment. Food Research International. DOI: 10.1016/j.foodres.2011.04.009
Fernández, A., Shearer, N., Wilson, D., & Thompson, A. (2011) Effect of microbial loading on the efficiency of cold atmospheric gas plasma inactivation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium. International Journal of Food Microbiology. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2011.02.038
Payne, M., Hurst, W., Miller, K., Rank, C., & Stuart, D. (2010) Impact of Fermentation, Drying, Roasting, and Dutch Processing on Epicatechin and Catechin Content of Cacao Beans and Cocoa Ingredients. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 58(19), 10518-10527. DOI: 10.1021/jf102391q
- May 11, 2011
- 08:31 AM
- 1,129 views
Spills of GM seed - do we need to worry?
by Rebecca Nesbit in The birds, the bees and feeding the world
GM oilseed rape imported into the EU gets spilt at ports. Even though we don't cultivate these varieties, are natural habitats and farmland at risk?... Read more »
Devos Y, Hails RS, Messéan A, Perry JN, & Squire GR. (2011) Feral genetically modified herbicide tolerant oilseed rape from seed import spills: are concerns scientifically justified? : Feral GMHT oilseed rape from seed import spills. Transgenic research. PMID: 21526422
- May 6, 2011
- 12:00 PM
- 1,052 views
Can biofuel cool the planet?
by Rebecca Nesbit in The birds, the bees and feeding the world
Sugarcane in Brazil is increasingly grown for bioethanol. What's often overlooked is that it doesn't just have the potential to cool the planet through reduced carbon emissions,but through its direct effect on the climate too.... Read more »
Loarie, S., Lobell, D., Asner, G., Mu, Q., & Field, C. (2011) Direct impacts on local climate of sugar-cane expansion in Brazil. Nature Climate Change. DOI: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1067
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