Make short oral briefings on the following topics in front of the class. The briefings should have a clear logical structure and be presented in clear, appropriate English.
Building Computers from DNA?
New research from the University of East Anglia could one day help build computers from DNA.
Scientists have found a way to 'switch' the structure of DNA using copper salts and EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) - an agent commonly found in shampoo and other household products.
It was previously known that the structure of a piece of DNA could be changed using acid, which causes it to fold up into what is known as an 'i-motif'.
But new research published today in the journal Chemical Communications reveals that the structure can be switched a second time into a hair-pin structure using positively-charged copper (copper cations). This change can also be reversed using EDTA.
The applications for this discovery include nanotechnology -- where DNA is used to make tiny machines, and in DNA-based computing -- where computers are built from DNA rather than silicon.
It could also be used for detecting the presence of copper cations, which are highly toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms, in water.
Lead researcher Dr Zoë Waller, from UEA's school of Pharmacy, said: "Our research shows how the structure of our genetic material -- DNA -- can be changed and used in a way we didn't realise.
"A single switch was possible before -- but we show for the first time how the structure can be switched twice.
"A potential application of this finding could be to create logic gates for DNA based computing. Logic gates are an elementary building block of digital circuits -- used in computers and other electronic equipment. They are traditionally made using diodes or transistors which act as electronic switches.
"This research expands how DNA could be used as a switching mechanism for a logic gate in DNA-based computing or in nano-technology."
Retrieved from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150819083421.htm
Our Brain's Secrets to Success?
Unique support system promotes cortex growth, connectivity linked to prowess.
Discoveries about how the human brain contributes to our success -- both as a species and as individuals -- are among the first fruit of projects funded under the National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative program as well as the Human Connectome Project. One study may help to explain the mystery of how our primate brain's outer mantle, or cortex, was able to expand as much as 1000-fold through evolution, compared to other mammals. The other reveals that the more successful we tend to be -- score higher on commonly considered positive personal qualities, such as education and income levels and life satisfaction -- the more key parts of our brain tend to talk with each other when we're not doing anything in particular.
A team of BRAIN Initiative-supported scientists, led by Arnold Kriegstein of University of California, San Francisco, reported in Cell, Sept. 24, 2015, on what may be the secret to the human cortex's exponential growth. Another team led by Stephen Smith of University of Oxford, UK, and David Van Essen, Washington University, St. Louis, explains findings linking brain connectivity to measures of personal success Sept. 28, 2015 in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The studies were funded, in part, by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and other NIH components.
Kriegstein and colleagues found that the human cortex harbors a unique support system for neuron-producing factories during early brain development -- in outlying cellular neighborhoods that barely exist in lower animals. The researchers discovered the molecular underpinnings of this unique group of stem cells that churn out thousands of neurons and support cells where their mouse counterparts produce only 10-100. They also discovered that the secret to this prolific output seems to lie in these cells' ability to carry with them their own self-renewing " niches," -- support systems that enabled them to thrive in far flung circuit suburbs. The results add to s deeper understanding of the human brain's parts list and enhance scientists' ability to perform disease-in-a-dish experiments relevant to uniquely human disorders like autism and schizophrenia, which are difficult to model in rodents.
Smith's group mined Human Connectome Project data on 461 individuals to find out whether any patterns of brain connectivity are associated with specific sets of correlated demographics and behavior. In addition to images of their resting state structural and functional brain connections, the Project collected data on 280 such subject measures, including psychological factors such as IQ, language performance, rule-breaking behavior and anger. A set of such measures statistically related to each other emerged as strongly correlated with connectivity between certain brain structures prone to talking with each other during the brain's default mode, or resting state. This set was mostly composed of positive personal qualities, such as high performance on memory and thinking tasks, life satisfaction, years of education, and income. The set turned out to have a more than three-fold stronger correlation with increased brain connectivity than any of 99 other sets of measures examined. The brain regions associated with the set, which may be related to general intelligence, have been linked to higher-level human thinking -- e.g., memory, imagination, sociability, value-guided decision-making and reasoning.
"It may be expected that these aspects of cognitive function would have an influence on life in a complex society," note Smith and colleagues.
"It is great to see data from large investments like the Human Connectome Project and the BRAIN Initiative result in such interesting science so quickly," said Greg Farber, Ph.D., director of NIMH's Office of Technology Development and Coordination. "Both efforts seem very well positioned to continue to provide the research community with new tools and results to enhance our understanding of the brain."
Retrieved from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150929092851.htm
Severe Headache in Pregnant Women: When to Worry
Researchers offer first clinical recommendations.
If a pregnant woman with high blood pressure and no history of headache suddenly develops a headache that quickly gets worse, she could be at risk for pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, which put both the mother and fetus at risk. These and other findings from a new study conducted by researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, offer the first clinical recommendations for making diagnostic decisions about headaches in pregnant women. The study, the largest of its kind, was published online in the journal Neurology.
"Headaches during pregnancy are quite common, but it is not always easy to distinguish between a recurring, preexisting migraine condition and a headache caused by a pregnancy complication," said lead author Matthew S. Robbins, M.D., director of inpatient services at Montefiore Headache Center, chief of neurology at Jack D. Weiler Hospital of Montefiore, and associate professor of clinical neurology at Einstein. "Our study suggests that physicians should pay close attention when a pregnant woman presents with a severe headache, especially if she has elevated blood pressure or lack of past headache history. Those patients should be referred immediately for neuroimaging and monitoring for preeclampsia."
Preeclampsia (previously called toxemia) typically occurs during the second or third trimester of pregnancy and may be related to an abnormal interaction of blood vessels that supply the placenta. Symptoms and signs can include high blood pressure, headaches, blurry vision, or abdominal pain, although some patients may have no symptoms. Depending on the severity and the age of the fetus, treatment ranges from bed rest for mild preeclampsia to premature delivery if the condition is severe.
Dr. Robbins and colleagues analyzed records of every pregnant woman with headache who had been referred for a neurological consultation at Weiler Hospital over a five-year period. The study involved 140 women with an average age of 29. A large majority of the patients were Hispanic or African-American, reflecting the makeup of the Bronx population.
Most (91) of the 140 women had primary headaches, 90 percent of which were migraines. Among the 49 patients with secondary headache, 51 percent were diagnosed with pregnancy-related high blood pressure, including the 38 percent of women who had preeclampsia.
The most telling indicator of a secondary headache among pregnant women proved to be high blood pressure. Compared to pregnant women with headache but no high blood pressure, women with headache plus high blood pressure faced a 17-fold increased likelihood that their headaches were caused by some other condition. "In most of these patients, their elevated blood pressure was driven by preeclampsia," said Dr. Robbins.
The researchers found that another red flag for a headache that should be taken seriously was lack of a previous history of headache, which was associated with a five-fold increased likelihood that the headache was secondary to something else. Other warning signs were fever, seizures, and headaches in the absence of phonophobia (sound sensitivity) and psychiatric problems.
Retrieved from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150819170903.htm
Scientists Create Computer That Reads Your Thoughts and Puts Them Into Words
http://naturalsociety.com/scientists-create-computer-read-your-thoughts-put-into-words/
Building Computers from DNA?
New research from the University of East Anglia could one day help build computers from DNA.
Scientists have found a way to 'switch' the structure of DNA using copper salts and EDTA (Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) - an agent commonly found in shampoo and other household products.
It was previously known that the structure of a piece of DNA could be changed using acid, which causes it to fold up into what is known as an 'i-motif'.
But new research published today in the journal Chemical Communications reveals that the structure can be switched a second time into a hair-pin structure using positively-charged copper (copper cations). This change can also be reversed using EDTA.
The applications for this discovery include nanotechnology -- where DNA is used to make tiny machines, and in DNA-based computing -- where computers are built from DNA rather than silicon.
It could also be used for detecting the presence of copper cations, which are highly toxic to fish and other aquatic organisms, in water.
Lead researcher Dr Zoë Waller, from UEA's school of Pharmacy, said: "Our research shows how the structure of our genetic material -- DNA -- can be changed and used in a way we didn't realise.
"A single switch was possible before -- but we show for the first time how the structure can be switched twice.
"A potential application of this finding could be to create logic gates for DNA based computing. Logic gates are an elementary building block of digital circuits -- used in computers and other electronic equipment. They are traditionally made using diodes or transistors which act as electronic switches.
"This research expands how DNA could be used as a switching mechanism for a logic gate in DNA-based computing or in nano-technology."
Retrieved from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150819083421.htm
Our Brain's Secrets to Success?
Unique support system promotes cortex growth, connectivity linked to prowess.
Discoveries about how the human brain contributes to our success -- both as a species and as individuals -- are among the first fruit of projects funded under the National Institutes of Health BRAIN Initiative program as well as the Human Connectome Project. One study may help to explain the mystery of how our primate brain's outer mantle, or cortex, was able to expand as much as 1000-fold through evolution, compared to other mammals. The other reveals that the more successful we tend to be -- score higher on commonly considered positive personal qualities, such as education and income levels and life satisfaction -- the more key parts of our brain tend to talk with each other when we're not doing anything in particular.
A team of BRAIN Initiative-supported scientists, led by Arnold Kriegstein of University of California, San Francisco, reported in Cell, Sept. 24, 2015, on what may be the secret to the human cortex's exponential growth. Another team led by Stephen Smith of University of Oxford, UK, and David Van Essen, Washington University, St. Louis, explains findings linking brain connectivity to measures of personal success Sept. 28, 2015 in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The studies were funded, in part, by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and other NIH components.
Kriegstein and colleagues found that the human cortex harbors a unique support system for neuron-producing factories during early brain development -- in outlying cellular neighborhoods that barely exist in lower animals. The researchers discovered the molecular underpinnings of this unique group of stem cells that churn out thousands of neurons and support cells where their mouse counterparts produce only 10-100. They also discovered that the secret to this prolific output seems to lie in these cells' ability to carry with them their own self-renewing " niches," -- support systems that enabled them to thrive in far flung circuit suburbs. The results add to s deeper understanding of the human brain's parts list and enhance scientists' ability to perform disease-in-a-dish experiments relevant to uniquely human disorders like autism and schizophrenia, which are difficult to model in rodents.
Smith's group mined Human Connectome Project data on 461 individuals to find out whether any patterns of brain connectivity are associated with specific sets of correlated demographics and behavior. In addition to images of their resting state structural and functional brain connections, the Project collected data on 280 such subject measures, including psychological factors such as IQ, language performance, rule-breaking behavior and anger. A set of such measures statistically related to each other emerged as strongly correlated with connectivity between certain brain structures prone to talking with each other during the brain's default mode, or resting state. This set was mostly composed of positive personal qualities, such as high performance on memory and thinking tasks, life satisfaction, years of education, and income. The set turned out to have a more than three-fold stronger correlation with increased brain connectivity than any of 99 other sets of measures examined. The brain regions associated with the set, which may be related to general intelligence, have been linked to higher-level human thinking -- e.g., memory, imagination, sociability, value-guided decision-making and reasoning.
"It may be expected that these aspects of cognitive function would have an influence on life in a complex society," note Smith and colleagues.
"It is great to see data from large investments like the Human Connectome Project and the BRAIN Initiative result in such interesting science so quickly," said Greg Farber, Ph.D., director of NIMH's Office of Technology Development and Coordination. "Both efforts seem very well positioned to continue to provide the research community with new tools and results to enhance our understanding of the brain."
Retrieved from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/09/150929092851.htm
Severe Headache in Pregnant Women: When to Worry
Researchers offer first clinical recommendations.
If a pregnant woman with high blood pressure and no history of headache suddenly develops a headache that quickly gets worse, she could be at risk for pregnancy complications, including preeclampsia, which put both the mother and fetus at risk. These and other findings from a new study conducted by researchers at Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, offer the first clinical recommendations for making diagnostic decisions about headaches in pregnant women. The study, the largest of its kind, was published online in the journal Neurology.
"Headaches during pregnancy are quite common, but it is not always easy to distinguish between a recurring, preexisting migraine condition and a headache caused by a pregnancy complication," said lead author Matthew S. Robbins, M.D., director of inpatient services at Montefiore Headache Center, chief of neurology at Jack D. Weiler Hospital of Montefiore, and associate professor of clinical neurology at Einstein. "Our study suggests that physicians should pay close attention when a pregnant woman presents with a severe headache, especially if she has elevated blood pressure or lack of past headache history. Those patients should be referred immediately for neuroimaging and monitoring for preeclampsia."
Preeclampsia (previously called toxemia) typically occurs during the second or third trimester of pregnancy and may be related to an abnormal interaction of blood vessels that supply the placenta. Symptoms and signs can include high blood pressure, headaches, blurry vision, or abdominal pain, although some patients may have no symptoms. Depending on the severity and the age of the fetus, treatment ranges from bed rest for mild preeclampsia to premature delivery if the condition is severe.
Dr. Robbins and colleagues analyzed records of every pregnant woman with headache who had been referred for a neurological consultation at Weiler Hospital over a five-year period. The study involved 140 women with an average age of 29. A large majority of the patients were Hispanic or African-American, reflecting the makeup of the Bronx population.
Most (91) of the 140 women had primary headaches, 90 percent of which were migraines. Among the 49 patients with secondary headache, 51 percent were diagnosed with pregnancy-related high blood pressure, including the 38 percent of women who had preeclampsia.
The most telling indicator of a secondary headache among pregnant women proved to be high blood pressure. Compared to pregnant women with headache but no high blood pressure, women with headache plus high blood pressure faced a 17-fold increased likelihood that their headaches were caused by some other condition. "In most of these patients, their elevated blood pressure was driven by preeclampsia," said Dr. Robbins.
The researchers found that another red flag for a headache that should be taken seriously was lack of a previous history of headache, which was associated with a five-fold increased likelihood that the headache was secondary to something else. Other warning signs were fever, seizures, and headaches in the absence of phonophobia (sound sensitivity) and psychiatric problems.
Retrieved from Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150819170903.htm
Scientists Create Computer That Reads Your Thoughts and Puts Them Into Words
http://naturalsociety.com/scientists-create-computer-read-your-thoughts-put-into-words/
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