Tutankhamun . Modern Art . Scurvy Henry Cavendish . out of Body Experiences

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Wing Ying Chow investigates the advantages of7 electronic lab notebooks The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion 9 a r e science and religion necessarily in conflict? Was the development of intelligent life on our standing on the shoulders of giants is a Cambridge is the first chemistry department in the planet an evolutionary inevitability? Will it be possible to maintain religious faith as astronomers phrase often used to describe the progression of UK to adopt an ELN system, which is currently in and physicists discover more and more details about the early universe and how it formed? These science, with each generation of researchers building the pilot phase. are the sorts of questions addressed in The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion. It isn’t on the results of their predecessors. Successful The ELN has three key features: a central a light read by any stretch of the imagination, but for those interested in some of the deepest experiments find their way into published papers, database, templates, and digital searching. A questions, it is compelling. but what about the dead ends, the unsuccessful centralised database that is professionally maintained Fourteen separate contributions, each from a different author, cover a diverse range of issues. The attempts? Often these are not published and become and regularly backed up means that data is much first five chapters chart the historical interactions between science and religion, and are refreshingly lost in laboratory notebooks. In the digital age, this less likely to be lost. The ELN offers templates objective in their analysis,and sculptures if at times ain little his tomb;dry. The researchers central five have chapters often focus on contemporary topic. They should be 1200 words may change as the recording of research moves from that carry out routine calculations automatically. issues related to the twoqueried subjects, whether and are he much might more have opinionated. been intersex. The final chapters explore Analysis of a soil paper to computer. These templates speed up the planning process and some of the philosophicalGenetic aspects testing raised by in the the Cairo preceding team chapters.determined There that is a lot of emphasis on sample reveals A lab notebook is the place to sketch out ideas encourage the recording of experimental details in Darwinian evolutionhe throughout was biologically and at times male, this having starts an to XYfeel setrepetitive; of sex whilst this is an unfortunate human remains such chromosomes. The researchers therefore ascribe the as bone, wood ash and record experimental procedures, results and a format that other researchers can understand. As CUP, 2010, £50.00 consequence of having numerous authors, it does give the reader a chance to reflect on the arguments. and charcoal conclusions. It is a valuable record of a particular a digital system, the ELN can be searched using I would thoroughlyfeminine recommend depictions this book of toKing anyone Tut morewho wants to the to artistic fully examine the questions that scientific investigation for both the researcher who text or even chemical structures: very handy when science raises about religion.style of Bethe aware, time ratherhowever, than this his isn’t actual an easy-reading, appearance. popular science book. t m carried out the work and colleagues who may want writing a paper or thesis. Many types of files, from Using genetic testing and other biomedical to revisit and build upon it. annotated imagesThe and spectra to journal Transformation papers in techniques to answer some of the questions Yet not all researchers keep equally good lab PDF format, can be dropped into the ELN and Blood and Guts:surrounding A History the life of and Surgery death of King Tut is notebooks, and repetition of work due to badly searched in the same way. not only a huge technical achievement, it also kept records is not uncommon. James Collip, The main challenge with the ELN is getting blood and guts is representsa fascinating a change account in of archaeological pioneering surgery tradition. and the people behind it. the biochemist who first purified insulin, lost academics to switchof from theirArchaeology current method of Hollingham illustratesArchaeologists the successes and scientistsfailures of are surgery now informing vivid detail using examples from and written for a wide audience. track of the variables during the initial successful recording experiments. The pilot scheme was targeted ancient history throughteams to modernto solve problemstimes. Surgeons together. patching This uppractice Roman has gladiators, high-speed purification. It took another twoMaggie months Jackfor digs intoat first-year the techniques PhD students andof archaeology,new post-docs so thathow they are evolving and how thisamputations may in the 17thbecome century, common astonishing here in facial Cambridge reconstructions according of tothe present day: all are used him to re-discover a working method. Such cases they could establish a paperless routine right from to describe momentsKate where Spence, surgical an breakthroughs archaeologist occurred.at the University. The development of anaesthesia are not restricted to biochemistryhelp in the us 1920s. to answer the questions start of their like projects. “who Nine killed months King into Tut?”the pilot and the control of infectionsA number were of labstwo particularlyare now dedicated important to applyingdiscoveries. Hollingham examines Bioinformaticians, whose research is born of the scheme, there are 45 users, with 6 being particularly the changing perceptionsscientific of surgery methods within to societyarchaeology. by looking For example, at the use of brain surgery to digital age, also sometimes find it “easier to run active. Most users indicate that they still keep some of “cure” mental healthCambridge problems in runs 1960s a geoarchaeology America, and the lab social that valuespecialises of reconstructive surgery, an experiment again instead of trying to findarchaeology the their lab is undergoingrecords on paper. dramatic changes in that decorate his tomb portray him with elongatedparticularly to woundedin micromorphology. soldiers. This technique is used to FRENCH DR CHARLY data”. They rarely use paper, but they must stillits research Inmethodology. contrast to academia,Historically, ELN it has systems been features, characteristic of Marfan’s. Canes that wereAlthough the bookdetermine accompanies the a composition television series, of materialsit stands alone such wellas the and givespublished those less infamiliar medical journals such as JAMA gain keep track of their investigations. an individualisticare becoming and humanities-based the standard in industry. discipline, found in his tomb, intended to help him walk inwith the medicine an insightfloor into of surgeryan ancient and roomits origins. or the Readers surface with of anmore ancient knowledge more of the attention subject and ‘impact’ than articles published An electronic lab notebook (ELN) may helpbut to scientificGlaxoSmithKline, methods are beinga major increasingly pharmaceutical company,afterlife, also support this theory. However, no firmmay find it a little slow,cooking but the vessel. personal In an stories isotope are lab,worth the reading. bones of Theancient author doesin archaeological not succumb tojournals. This means that more and address some of the shortcomings of the traditionalused. Projectshas rolled are becoming out an ELN collaborative, system to over and 3000 conclusions could be drawnBBC Books, without 2008, more£18.99 rigorousthe temptation of fillingpeople the arebook examined with gory to tales determine of mad theirscientists; diet instead,and he creditsmore each archaeologists surgeon, are being pushed to use the latest paper one. The Department of Chemistry in publicationsemployees. now resemble They switchedthe multi-author from paper articles to electronic biomedical experimentation. even those who may landseem ofmisguided, origin. Palaeobotany with playing ais partanother in the example operating of theatre cutting-edgeof today. a j techniques. common labin morenotebooks traditional in only scientific nine months, subjects. and mostOne of The Cairo research team undertook this challenge a technique now commonly used, in which samples Although the application of scientific methods example istheir a study users published prefer it overin the paper February notebooks. 2010 by analysing the DNA from the bone tissue of eleven of ancient plants are analysed in an attempt to to archaeology has become common in other The problem edition of theUnlike Journal in industry,of the American ELNs will Medical not be mandatoryroyal mummies of the New Kingdom, including The Price of Altruismreconstruct the environments of ancient peoples. countries, it has thus far been limited in Egypt of legibility is Associationfor (JAMA), academic in scientists which a teamin the of short researchers term, yet theKing Tut. They tested Tut for Marfan’s syndrome and Even with the integration of scientific methods, due to post-colonial politics. Since the 1970s, the illustrated by based in Cairoeventual shed use light of electronicon some of notebooks the mysteries in universities discovered that he did not have Marfan’s, but did suffero p e n i n g w i t h a colourfulthe core description of archaeology of George remains Price’s unchanged. funeral, attended “There by a motleyEgyptian collection government has banned the removal of FOCUS this excerpt surroundingis “inevitable” King Tutankhamun. according The to Dr authors’ Tim Dickens, whofrom avascular bone necrosis, a disease characterisedof beggars and scientists,will Harmanalways be proceeds a place tofor take individual the reader work on aand whirlwind tourany through antiquities the life from the country. This policy was from Charles extensive isuse responsible of biomedical for the techniques computing highlights systems that bydrive a breakdown of bone tissue that results from a of this eccentric thinker.people Ultimately, thinking Price through sought questions to answer synthetically,” the ultimate conundrum: instated if survival in order to curb the extensive exporting Evolution Inside Us Gene Therapy - The beginnings, Darwin’s the changesthe taking current place ELN in in the the field. Department of Chemistry.prolonged lack of blood circulation. This would of the fittest is all thatsays matters, Spence; “how “Good could archaeologists behaviour that have lowered always fitness be selected?...Whyof objects from do Egypt into Western museums and notebook . Scurvy King ‘Tut’“An wasincreasing a pharaoh amount of the of New funding Kingdom, is for large,explain the canes in Tut’s tomb, but it is unlikely thatvampire bats share blood?worked Why with do allsentry of the gazelles evidence jump that up andis available.” down when a lionprivate is spotted, collections. putting Previously, archaeologists based challenges and triumphs . an era of multidisciplinaryrelative peace and projects,prosperity and within the abilityEgypt to searchthis disease resulted in his death. By analysing the themselves precariouslyThese between techniques the herd are and simply the hungry providing hunter?” archaeologists and “What doin all the of these UK wouldhave to bring samples from the excavation . Modern Art Biodiversitythat lastedand from share the data mid-16th is becoming to 11th particularly century BC. important.” other mummies, the researchers were able to identifydo with morality in humans?with more Survival evidence of the to fittestconsider. or survival However, of the the nicest?” site to machinery located at their home institution Tutankhamun Previous researchersMoreover, ashad a digitisedused a limited database, amount the notebooksthe parents of King Tut, discovering in the process The author seamlesslyaddition intertwines of scientific the life ofmethods Price withdoes some present of the some great minds(as of theythe 19th still anddo from excavation sites in other of evidencecan to eventually hypothesise be thatreleased King to Tut the died general public,that they were also siblings. This inbreeding may 20thhave centuries, from challengesCharles Darwin to archaeological to William Hamilton. culture. Spence Despite notes frequent referencescountries). to notable But due to Egypt’s antiquities policy, Deadline for next issue is . Out of Body Experiences of a geneticwho disease as taxpayers such as haveMarfan’s a right syndrome, to access the workcontributed to Tut’s early demise by predisposing himbiological problems andthat complex it is easier mathematical to fund archaeological concepts such projects as game-theory, that theany book scientific reads research performed at new excavations which weakensthat they the funded.connective tissue in the body. to genetic defects that affected his health. effortlessly, making atake scientific advantage background of scientific wholly methods.unnecessary. Also, In articlesfact, as Harmanmust transports be conducted the within Egypt. This makes Henry Cavendish A radiological scan of his foot showed that he Papyri from the era of the New Kingdom also reader from the Siberian steppes to the slums of London, from the Russian Revolutionapplying to Nazi new techniques to the field of Egyptology The Bodley Head, 2010, had a malformedWing Ying arch, Chow suggesting is a PhD a studentdisease ofin thethis suggest that Tut may have suffered from malaria.Germany and from scientific laboratories to humid jungles, this brilliantly researcheda very book slow offers process, since most of archaeology’s £34.95 type. Furthermore,Department the of depictions Chemistry. of King Tut Four of the mummies analysed by the Cairo team,more thrills than many novels. dv latest scientific tools are developed and located in including Tut, tested positive for AMA1, a protein MUSEUM OF CAIRO universities outside of Egypt. found on the malarial parasite. AMA1 is responsible The introduction of scientific techniques 30 Technology Opening up the Michaelmas 2010 Michaelmas 2010 Book Reviews 31 innermost shrine of for the binding of the parasite to human cells, and has opened up new avenues of investigation to King Tut’s tomb TIMES YORK NEW its presence in the body is a sure sign of infection. archaeologists. By using some of the most advanced Many of the initial media reports describing the biomedical technology available, Egyptian researchers study misquoted it and claimed that the team found were able to properly address some of the centuries- definitive proof that Tut died of malaria. However, old questions surrounding King Tut and his family. although this is another possible explanation for his In doing so, they highlighted the innovations death, the presence of AMA1 does not necessarily and disciplinary changes that are transforming mean that Tut died of malaria; he could have archaeology and helping to solve some of the ancient been infected with the parasite without actually world’s greatest mysteries. succumbing to it. Another mystery addressed by the study is the Maggie Jack is an MPhil student in the Department feminised appearance of King Tut in the murals of History and Philosophy of Science 29th October 2010

10 The Transformation of Archaeology Michaelmas 2010 Michaelmas 2010 The Transformation of Archaeology 11

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Imogen Ogilvie gives her perspective on conservation and asks whether it is worth trying to regulars for our new, improved website. conserve species at all      of a mass extinction event. Conservationists spend enormous amounts of time and resources trying to minimise the number of species lost. Extinctions, both human-caused and otherwise, are by no means unique to this period in time, but the current pace and scale set today apart. Most writing on the subject assumes everyone to Submissions can be of any length, agree that biodiversity should be conserved. But is this really the case? And at what cost? Why should we bother to conserve biodiversity? A huge number of species are indispensable to us, and for these, the beneﬁ ts of conservation are clear. For example, 35 per cent of global food production depends on pollinators. Studies on coﬀ ee – one of the most valuable exports of developing countries – have shown the importance of both a diverse range of bee species and proximity of the plantation and submitted at any time. For more to natural forest for successful pollination and crop yield. erefore, there is an indisputable case for conserving targeted areas and species. But surely if a species is economically valuable, self-interested groups will ensure its survival and there is no need to worry about conservation. History suggests otherwise. The plant ‘silphion’ was an extremely important herbal contraceptive and medicine with a critical role in the ancient Cyrenean economy. It was so important that it appeared on coins of the time. Despite this, silphion mysteriously information, visit became extinct; in this case, self-interest alone could

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w Contact [email protected] to get involved with editing, graphics or production Michaelmas 2010 Issue 19 Contents

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6 Forgotten Knowledge On The Cover 3 Andrew N Holding looks at the discovery and loss News 4 of a cure for scurvy Pavilion 5 8 Ocean Acidi cation Behind the Science 22 Matthew Humphreys examines the impact of Anders Aufderhorst-Roberts describes the life of carbon dioxide on the oceans the eccentric genius Henry Cavendish

10 The Transformation of Archaeology Away From The Bench 22 Maggie Jack digs into the techniques of archaeology Sarah Leigh-Brown travels to London to see how and how they are evolving the BBC produces a science radio programme

12 Cherish Your Enemies Saving Species 23 Olivier Restif explains why we should learn to live Imogen Ogilvie gives her perspective on with our pathogens conservation

14 Out of Body Experiences Modern World, Modern Art 24 Celia St John-Green discusses the science behind Ian Fyfe explores the way in which science and out of body experiences technology have revolutionised ne art

Boosting Your Defence 26 Stephanie Glaser travels back through the history FOCUS of vaccinations Ready to Go Paperless? 27 Gene Therapy Wing Ying Chow investigates the advantages of electronic lab notebooks BlueSci explores the development of gene therapy, the remaining Book Reviews 31 challenges and the recent triumphs Weird and Wonderful 32

About Us... Committee

BlueSci was established in 2004 to provide a student forum for science President: Ian Fyfe ...... [email protected] communication. As the longest running science magazine in Cambridge, Managing Editor: Stephanie Glaser ...... [email protected] BlueSci publishes the best science writing from across the University Secretary: Alex Hyatt ...... [email protected] each term. We combine high quality writing with stunning images to Treasurer: Jessica Robinson ...... [email protected] provide fascinating yet accessible science to everyone. But BlueSci does Publicity Offi cer: Shauna-Lee Chai ...... [email protected] not stop there. At www.bluesci.co.uk, we have extra articles, regular Advertising Manager: Cat Donaldson ...... [email protected] news stories and science fi lms to inform and entertain between print Film Manager: Sita Dinanauth ...... fi [email protected] issues. Produced entirely by students of the University, the diversity of Webmaster: Joshua Keeler ...... [email protected] expertise and talent combine to produce a unique science experience. News Editor: Taylor Burns ...... [email protected] w

Contents 1 Issue 19: Michaelmas 2010 Alex Hyatt Editor: Alex Hyatt Managing Editor: Stephanie Glaser Editor Business Manager: Michael Derringer AS ENGLAND descends gadget aimed at making research back into winter and its a little easier (or at least a little Second Editors: Rachel Berkowitz, Diana Deca, Ian Fyfe, Nicholas Gibbons, inhabitants are once again more organised). And in Arts and Heather Hillenbrand, Tim Middleton, embraced by perpetual Reviews, we explore how science Catherine Moir, Lindsey Nield, Praful Ravi, gloom, we thought it has shaped the development of art Anders Aufderhorst-Roberts, Nicola Stead, might cheer you up and why scientists are ultimately Katherine Thomas, Djuke Veldhuis to read about what responsible for the existence of science is doing to ‘modern art’. Sub-Editors: Diana Deca, Jai Grover improve humanity’s lot. You’ll also nd a new light- In the FOCUS hearted regular called Weird and News Editor: Katherine Thomas section of this issue of Wonderful, where we ponder News Team: Taylor Burns, Nicholas BlueSci, we check up some odd but interesting Gibbons, Ayesha Sengupta on the progress being scienti c questions: does cracking Book Reviews: Alex Jenkin, Tim Middleton, Djuke Veldhuis made in gene therapy, a your knuckles really give you technology that has gone arthritis? Does naming a dairy Focus Editor: Jessica Robinson from being overly hyped cow increase its milk production? Focus Team: Maja Choma, Jack Green, to overly criticised, and is For the answers to these and Wendy Mak nally delivering on some of other fascinating questions, Weird and Wonderful: Xia Chen, Nicola its promise. In Technology, nd a quiet spot and continue Stead, Richard Thomson we examine electronic reading. AH lab books, the latest Pictures Editor: Wendy Mak Pictures Team: Heather Blackmore, Wing Ying Chow, Lydia Hunter, Nicola Stead Production Manager: Ian Fyfe Production Team: Wing Ying Chow, Wendy Mak, Nicola Stead Cartoonist: Alex Hahn Stephanie Glaser Cover Image: Ivan Minev Managing Editor

AS THE NEW TERM BEGINS ISSN 1748-6920 , fresh new features have been enthusiasm is obvious throughout added, so it is de nitely the University. Most of us have worth checking out. In been able to re ll our batteries over addition to our termly the summer, regaining some energy magazine, we will also to weather the last few months of be publishing regular the year. Accompanied by this new articles online. From wave of excitement, we present now on we will be able to you the 19th issue of BlueSci. to accept more student As always, you can expect articles articles and publish Varsity Publications Ltd about the latest scienti c research: many of those on our Old Examination Hall keep reading and you will nd out homepage. So if you Free School Lane Cambridge, CB2 3RF why our oceans are in danger, how are keen to start writing Tel: 01223 337575 King Tut might have died and how about science and join www.varsity.co.uk [email protected] vaccines were developed. the fascinating world of e publication of this term’s science communication, BlueSci is published by Varsity Publications Ltd and printed by The Burlington Press. All copyright is the issue of BlueSci also marks the contact us! SG exclusive property of Varsity Publications Ltd. No part of launch of our improved website [email protected] this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, (www.bluesci.co.uk). As well without the prior permission of the publisher. as an upgraded layout, brand

2 Editorial Michaelmas 2010 Alex Hyatt Editor Manipulating Behaviour Lindsey Nield looks into the story behind this issue’s cover image

The Cambridge University TO A LARGE EXTENT , the behaviour of each cell in science magazine from

Michaelmas 2010 Issue 19 your body is determined by the environment that Cambridge University science magazine www.bluesci.co.uk

> surrounds it. at environment inﬂ uences whether a 9 1 1 9 > 0 0 0 2 9 6 8

4 cell migrates, proliferates, becomes more specialised, 7 ISSN 1748-6920 1 7 7 ISSN 1748-6920 9 9 771748 692000 or implements programmed cell death. e stiﬀ ness of the surfaces with which the cell interacts plays a key role in determining how a cell behaves. e biomechanical properties of cells are the focus of research being done by Ivan Minev, a second-year FOCUS Gene Therapy - The beginnings, challenges and triumphs PhD student in the Department of Engineering.

Tutankhamun . Modern Art . Scurvy Henry Cavendish . Out of Body Experiences . Biodiversity Ivan studies the responses of living cells to artifi cial surfaces. ese surfaces consist of millions of rubber pillars, each with a diameter of approximately two micrometres (one micrometre is one thousandth of a millimetre). Cells can exert small mechanical forces on the IVAN MINEV IVAN surfaces in contact with them; this means that cells sitting on Ivan’s artifi cial surfaces are able to defl ect is issue’s front cover shows a colour-enhanced the rubber pillars. e amount of defl ection gives scanning electron microscope image of one of these the cells feedback about the stiff ness of the surface, pillared surfaces, taken by Ivan and his colleague which in turn dictates how the cells behave. By Rami Louca. A defect appears in the centre of altering the stiff ness of the pillars, Ivan is able to the image, where the pillars have spontaneously study how the cells respond to diff erent surfaces; collapsed onto one another. Diff erent patterns he can also more accurately model how cells of collapse can indicate that the sample has been function within the body. For example, to study accidentally scratched or that after immersing in astrocytes (a cell type that mediates infl ammation fl uid, the receding edges of drying droplets have in the brain) it is much more appropriate to use caused the columns to be pulled over. e collapse surfaces with similar stiff ness to those found in the does not tend to be a problem however, since one brain. Ivan is able to control the stiff ness of his square centimetre is seeded with thousands of cells, surfaces by varying the heights and widths of the and only a small proportion of the area has any pillars, as well as by changing the material they are defects. made from. In addition to helping researchers better A process called photolithography is used understand cellular behaviour, artifi cial surfaces to fabricate the surfaces. A mask consisting of are potentially useful for a number of medical transparent dots on an opaque background is applications. For example, these surfaces could placed over a layer of photosensitive epoxy resin be used to minimise the ‘foreign body reaction’. that hardens upon exposure to light. Only the An implant would be wrapped in an artifi cially material beneath the transparent part of the mask soft surface, tailored to infl uence the response is aff ected, creating columns of hardened material. of immune cells, tricking them into accepting A developing fl uid is then used to wash away the the implant as part of the body. Other possible unaff ected material, leaving the pillars behind. applications include using the surfaces to promote In the next step, the epoxy pillars are used as a nerve regeneration within a damaged spinal cord or template in a double casting procedure. Silicone to stimulate certain cells within the brain, in such polydimethylsiloxane, which is initially the a way that they help to alleviate the symptoms of consistency of honey, is poured onto the epoxy Parkinson’s disease. If any of these endeavours are columns. After a night in an oven, the silicone successful, artifi cial arrays of tiny pillars could lead becomes rubbery and is peeled away from the to some novel medical materials and treatments. template. is creates a reverse mould, so that when the process is repeated, a silicone replica of Lindsey Nield is a PhD student in the Department the original pillars is produced. of Physics

Michaelmas 2010 On The Cover 3 News

Meaning in motions Filling in the gaps JOHN ASSELIN JOHN ZYANCE ZYANCE

t h e f i r s t non-human, non-verbal dictionary has t h e f o r m a t i o n of seromas – ‘dead spaces’ within the been created at the University of St Andrews. Erica body – can be a painful and dangerous consequence Cartmill and Richard Byrne spent nine months of surgery, often occurring after extensive tissue observing orangutans and trying to discern a lexicon removal. These spaces can fill with fluid and form of gestures and signals. what are essentially internal blisters; in the worst cases The duo used an approach they dubbed ‘goal- an additional operation is required to remove them. outcome matching’. It focused around the apparent Researchers at Cornell University have reported a novel aims of the gesturer (considering context, visual solution to this problem, in which they use an injectable, attention and social status) and whether or not biodegradable polymer to fill in the empty space. the reaction of the recipient satisfied these aims. The standard treatment for seromas is to insert drains Where the two matched consistently, a meaning was and remove the fluid. However, this can cause pain attributed to the signal. and discomfort, particularly upon removal from the Twenty-eight orangutans from three European body. Other techniques, such as surgical collapse of zoos in the UK, Netherlands and Jersey were the seroma, are often not effective. Utilising a synthetic video recorded over a period of three months. biomaterial to simply fill the cavity provides a safe, After studying the footage, researchers were able efficient, and cheap alternative to current treatments. to identify 64 gestures, 40 of which were used David Putnam and his team have developed an consistently enough to determine a meaning. MPEG-pDHA-based hydrogel with easily adjustable This dictionary is a milestone in the continuing physiochemical properties. Crucially, the polymer is move towards a more cognitive approach to ‘thixotropic’ and behaves as a ‘non-Newtonian’ fluid: non-human communication. Although studies solid in its natural state, but when subjected to stress Check out www. of non-verbal language have been carried out or agitation it develops liquid properties, allowing it bluesci.co.uk, or before, particularly in great apes, this is the first to be easily injected into the body. Once it has filled BlueSci on Twitter to emphasise specific, intentional meanings of the seroma, it re-solidifies, preventing liquid from http://twitter.com/ observable gestures. The study also hints at relative entering. Testing was carried out on rats and has yielded BlueSci for regular universality in the orangutan’s language, with the promising results. The biomaterial was seen to be highly science news authors arguing that “an orangutan in Singapore compatible with surrounding tissue and effectively updates gestures in pretty much the same way as an prevented the formation of seromas. It was also shown orangutan... in Philadelphia or Wales.” t b to degrade into non-toxic components. n g

Making good use of viruses

a g r o u p of international researchers at Radboud multiple locations. However, the binding is so strong University in The Netherlands have found a way to use that separating the particles again – in order to allow viruses as delivery vehicles for drugs, growth factors, and them to release their contents – poses a challenge. The even metallic particles. To do this, they removed all the researchers solved this problem by using polymers that harmful components of the virus, leaving just the empty were light sensitive – high frequency or ultraviolet light permeable viral packaging behind. They were then able can be used to break apart the polymers. After injecting to fill the packaging with their desired molecule and the polymer-virus complexes into the body, focusing a join the viral particles together using positively charged light source on the area where you want the contents polymers. These long, branched chains of molecules delivered should allow for a highly controlled and CYNTHIA GOLDSMITH can bind to the negatively charged viral particles at localised release. a s

4 News Michaelmas 2010 Fish vertebrae – unlike mammalian bones – grow in a layered manner, much like tree rings. Isotopic analysis of the layers can tell us about the environment, growth patterns and behaviour of the fish across their entire lifespan. This vertebra is from a cod that was 95 centimetres in length, hence the size and clarity of the rings, and has been used for carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis.

Tessa De Roo Department of Archaeology

Pavilion 5 Forgotten Knowledge Andrew Holding looks at the discovery and loss of a cure for scurvy

s c u r v y i s r a r e l y s e e n in the Western world, but this with various treatments alongside their regular has not always been the case. It was once a prevalent rations: these included cider, acid, seawater and disease with no treatment, and its cause was a mystery. lemons. At the end of the six-day trial, Lind had We now know that it is caused by a deficiency of used the entire supply of fruit on board the ship, vitamin C and can be prevented by a good diet. But but his findings changed naval history. The pair of in the course of history, this knowledge had to be sailors who received the lemon supplement made discovered twice. a staggering recovery, while the health of all the Scurvy can be easily treated by simply reintroducing other sailors in the trial deteriorated. vitamin C into the diet. Left untreated however, This study clearly showed that scurvy could scurvy is inevitably fatal. Before the discovery of a be prevented by the addition of citrus fruit to cure, scurvy played a massive role in naval history. It the sailors’ diets. These findings were eventually was particularly prevalent in the age of sailing ships, adopted by the Royal Navy in 1790, 40 years after when there were limitations on carrying fresh supplies Lind’s discovery. The ability to cure scurvy gave the of fruit and vegetables and long periods were spent on Royal Navy a massive tactical advantage during the board ship. Ships rarely travelled far from port out of Napoleonic wars. Ships were able to travel further fear of the deadly disease. It was not unheard of for from port for longer periods and hold blockades for ships to return to port with 90 per cent of the crew years at a time. Unsurprisingly, other navies soon Lemons and other having succumbed to scurvy. adopted a similar solution. citrus fruits were In 1747, James Lind conducted what is probably It seems shocking then that during Robert Scott’s added to sailors’ one of the first examples of a formal clinical trial 1911 expedition to the South Pole, one of the Royal diets into the prevention of scurvy aboard ships. His Navy surgeons is recorded as saying: “There was little work was based on that of Johann Bachstrom, who scurvy in Nelson’s days; but the reason is not clear, had noted in 1734 that scurvy was solely since, according to modern research, lime juice only due to “a total abstinence from fresh helps to prevent it”. How was it that the crew, who vegetable food and greens”. Lind were on an expedition at the beginning of the 20th conducted his work whilst on century, did not know how to treat an ailment that board the British naval ship had been successfully cured over 100 years earlier? HMS Salisbury, where many The loss of knowledge has been attributed to of the crew were suffering from several factors. Firstly, Lind showed in his work that the effects of scurvy. He there was no connection between the acidity of the carried out his studies citrus fruit and its effectiveness at curing scurvy. on 12 of the crew In particular, he noted that acids alone (sulphuric who had succumbed, acid or vinegar), would not suffice. Despite this, it subdividing them remained a popular theory that any acid could be into pairs for the used in place of citrus fruit. This misconception had experiment. Isolating significant consequences. t h a these six groups When the Royal Navy changed from using from the rest of the Sicilian lemons to West Indian limes, cases of scurvy

André K a rw crew, he provided them reappeared. The limes were thought to be more acidic

6 Forgotten Knowledge Michaelmas 2010 Scurvy was common in the age of sailing ships. Landing at Subashi by Ivan Aivazovsky (1817–1900)

and it was therefore assumed that they would be more and Frølich chosen almost any other animal, they effective at treating scurvy. However, limes actually would not have discovered that guinea pigs develop contain much less vitamin C and were consequently scurvy when fed on a diet of just grain. much less effective. Furthermore, fresh fruit was Holst and Frølich went on to show that they substituted with lime juice that had often been could prevent scurvy by simply feeding the guinea exposed to either air or copper piping. This resulted pigs lemon juice, something that Lind had shown in at least a partial removal of vitamin C from the a century and a half earlier. While their original juice, thus reducing its effectiveness. publication on these results was not well received The discovery that fresh meat was able to cure (since the idea of nutritional deficiencies was seen scurvy was another reason why people no longer as something of a novelty at the time), the model treated the condition with fresh fruit. This discovery they had developed with guinea pigs was vital to led to the belief that perhaps scurvy was not caused subsequent work on scurvy and vitamin C. by a dietary problem at all. Instead, it was thought The work of James Lind on board the HMS to be the result of a bacterial infection from tainted Salisbury will no doubt forever be remembered meat. In fact, the healing properties of fresh meat in the history books as a great turning point in come from the high levels of vitamin C it contains. science, while the loss of that knowledge continues Finally, the arrival of steam shipping substantially to be overlooked. The cost of those mistakes to reduced the amount of time people spent at sea, human lives may be firmly in the past, but the therefore the difficulties in carrying enough fresh tale still holds relevance within the modern world. produce were reduced. This decreased the risk of Time and again during the history of scurvy, scurvy so that less effective treatments, such as individuals put their own agendas and beliefs lime juice, proved effective enough to deal with ahead of scientific results, the consequences of the condition most of the time. Unfortunately, which should not be forgotten. this meant that knowledge of the most effective Andrew N Holding is a postdoc at the treatment for scurvy was gradually lost. MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology It was not until 1907 that Axel Holst, a professor of hygiene and bacteriology at the University of Oslo, and a paediatrician named Theodor Guinea pigs develop Frølich, rediscovered the lost cure for scurvy. They symptoms of scurvy when fed on a diet became interested in a disease called beriberi, of just grain which is now known to be caused by a thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency. They used guinea pigs to test their hypothesis that beriberi was the result of a nutritional deficiency. Their decision to use guinea pigs was crucial; apart from humans and other primates, most animals are able to synthesise vitamin C themselves. Guinea pigs – by chance – cannot, and although they did not develop beriberi, they did develop the symptoms of scurvy. Had Holst Reed Jay

Michaelmas 2010 Forgotten Knowledge 7 Ocean Acidification Matthew Humphreys examines the impact of carbon dioxide on the oceans

l i f e i n t h e o c e a n s is governed by a fascinating isolates and de-acidifies seawater, to ease controlled complexity of ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles crystallisation of carbonate. If the seawater is more that are at risk from a little talked about consequence of acidic to begin with, this process requires more energy. increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide: the acidification Furthermore, calcium carbonate dissolves more easily of the oceans. Approximately half of the carbon dioxide at higher acidity, meaning that once structures have generated by humans since pre-industrial times has been formed, they will re-dissolve more easily and dissolved into the sea. The effects on marine life are will be more difficult to maintain. Many small-scale still poorly understood, despite more than a decade of studies of specific species, including corals, have shown research, but if this acidification continues, it could a reduction in calcification rates and shell weights in cause damage that takes millennia to repair. response to increased carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is soluble in water, and when it Corals can form vast yet intricate reef structures dissolves, can react to produce carbonic acid and from carbonate and so are potentially threatened by ions of bicarbonate and carbonate. The proton acidification. Mainly formed in warm, shallow waters, concentration in the solution rises, causing an increase reefs are incredibly important environments for many in acidity. The dissolving of atmospheric carbon different reasons. Ecologically, they are hotspots of dioxide in this way is the origin of ocean acidification. diversity, supporting countless species with their Measurements in a wide range of locations over the provision of food and shelter. Economically, they are last few decades have picked up increases in ocean worth tens of billions of pounds per year globally acidity that correspond to increases in carbon dioxide in income from tourism and fisheries, often for concentrations in the atmosphere. poorly developed tropical countries with few natural One of the most important consequences of resources. Physically, they can act as important acidification is its effect on calcifiers, marine organisms barriers to coastal erosion. that construct shells and skeletal features from We do not fully understand reef ecosystems or their calcium carbonate. This involves the precipitation of relationship with the wider ocean, so the implications of carbonate ions through a range of mechanisms that damage to reefs cannot be reliably predicted. In places are not understood in detail. However, the process where reefs have died naturally (for reasons unrelated commonly involves a step in which the organism to acidification) they are often replaced by thriving communities of algae and herbivorous fish. So life still Estimated change goes on – but there is a dramatic decrease in diversity, in oceanic pH from and the variety of species present is different, with many the 1700s to the commercially important species unable to survive. present day Other calcifiers that are adversely affected by ocean acidification include a range of planktonic species that photosynthesise and are therefore primary producers at the base of the marine food web. While land plants tend to benefit from elevated carbon dioxide levels, these marine producers already process seawater to PLUMBAGO concentrate the gas, so they do not benefit from higher

8 Ocean Acidification Michaelmas 2010 concentrations. However, they do suffer adverse effects

from acidification: their growth is slowed and so their JOHANNA Damselfish are one net productivity decreases, with knock-on effects of the inhabitants of throughout the oceanic ecosystem. coral reefs The effects on planktonic productivity are amplified by the fact that the majority of dissolved carbon dioxide is concentrated in the surface layer of the ocean. This layer – less than 200 metres deep – is well mixed and in close contact with the atmosphere, and therefore takes up carbon dioxide easily. It takes less than a decade for dissolved carbon dioxide to spread throughout the surface layer, but it takes hundreds to thousands of years EMBALU for this layer to equilibrate with the deeper ocean. This property means that rapid human emissions have caused Fluctuations in the acidity of the ocean can be carbon dioxide to build up in the surface layer. Warming buffered to some extent by natural mechanisms: the of the planet may also decrease vertical mixing, thus dissolution of carbonate minerals in the sea decreases affecting the surface layer even more. its acidity, and these are in plentiful supply. Ecosystems Plankton that photosynthesise live exclusively in the and species can also adapt and evolve to survive in the surface layer, since sunlight quickly diminishes with new conditions. But our rate of carbon dioxide output is depth. They are therefore in the most acidic layer of the unprecedented in the recent past and potentially too fast ocean, causing maximum impact on their productivity. for these mechanisms to keep up. The carbonate buffer The slow mixing of the surface layer with the deeper reactions certainly progress too slowly to significantly ocean means that significant damage could be done very reduce the initial spike of acidity, and the physiological rapidly, with a much longer time needed for recovery. and chemical adaptations required of marine organisms Acidification does not only vary with depth, but is may be too great to occur quickly enough. also not evenly distributed across the globe. Carbon The Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum that dioxide is more soluble at lower temperatures, so parts occurred 55 million years ago is a well-studied event of the oceans at higher latitudes are affected more than that has several parallels to the current situation, and warmer, more equatorial waters. The Southern Ocean demonstrates the potential consequences of significant surrounding Antarctica, which has a high concentration acidification. It was characterised by rapid output of of photosynthesising primary producers, is of particular carbon (probably as methane, which quickly oxidises to concern since its low temperatures make it more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere), comparable to the susceptible to acidification. current human output. Sediment records from this time Elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the oceans may be show a sharp warming event, the extinction of several harmful to non-calcifying organisms too, especially those sea floor calcifiers, and large-scale dissolution of sea with higher metabolism. Some experiments have shown floor carbonates; all of which are predicted outcomes of detrimental effects on the health and reproductive acidification. It took around 1,000 years for the climate ability of specific marine animals. However, the levels to be perturbed, and 20,000 years to recover. of carbon dioxide used in these experiments far exceed Ocean acidification caused by humans may the most pessimistic predictions for human output, and not independently kill off marine organisms and it is unlikely that non-calcifiers will be directly harmed. ecosystems, but it will add significant stress that makes Indirect consequences from the effects on plankton and them more vulnerable to other factors such as climate other calcifiers could, however, be serious. change, pollution and large-scale fishing. Although this applies more to calcifiers than non-calcifiers, both will be affected. A coccolithophore, Regardless of your opinion on global warming, one of the most the threat of ocean acidification is an independent abundant types of phytoplankton. They and powerful motive to immediately reduce human take large amounts carbon dioxide emissions. Though a lack of detailed of carbon out of the understanding of the immensely complicated and ocean and use it to inter-related systems involved makes exact predictions build the armour of the consequences impossible, the inevitable changes plating around their to the marine environment will surely impact heavily bodies on Earth’s ecological stability, its biodiversity, and its nations’ bank balances. Matthew Humphreys is a 4th year undergraduate in NASA the Department of Earth Sciences

Michaelmas 2010 Ocean Acidification 9 The Transformation of Archaeology Maggie Jack digs into the techniques of archaeology, how they are evolving and how this may help us to answer questions like “who killed King Tut?”

archaeology i s u n d e r g o i n g dramatic changes in that decorate his tomb portray him with elongated its research methodology. Historically, it has been features, characteristic of Marfan’s. Canes that were an individualistic and humanities-based discipline, found in his tomb, intended to help him walk in the but scientific methods are being increasingly afterlife, also support this theory. However, no firm used. Projects are becoming collaborative, and conclusions could be drawn without more rigorous publications now resemble the multi-author articles biomedical experimentation. common in more traditional scientific subjects. One The Cairo research team undertook this challenge example is a study published in the February 2010 by analysing the DNA from the bone tissue of eleven edition of the Journal of the American Medical royal mummies of the New Kingdom, including Association (JAMA), in which a team of researchers King Tut. They tested Tut for Marfan’s syndrome and based in Cairo shed light on some of the mysteries discovered that he did not have Marfan’s, but did suffer surrounding King Tutankhamun. The authors’ from avascular bone necrosis, a disease characterised extensive use of biomedical techniques highlights by a breakdown of bone tissue that results from a the changes taking place in the field. prolonged lack of blood circulation. This would King ‘Tut’ was a pharaoh of the New Kingdom, explain the canes in Tut’s tomb, but it is unlikely that an era of relative peace and prosperity within Egypt this disease resulted in his death. By analysing the that lasted from the mid-16th to 11th century BC. other mummies, the researchers were able to identify Previous researchers had used a limited amount the parents of King Tut, discovering in the process of evidence to hypothesise that King Tut died that they were also siblings. This inbreeding may have of a genetic disease such as Marfan’s syndrome, contributed to Tut’s early demise by predisposing him which weakens the connective tissue in the body. to genetic defects that affected his health. A radiological scan of his foot showed that he Papyri from the era of the New Kingdom also had a malformed arch, suggesting a disease of this suggest that Tut may have suffered from malaria. type. Furthermore, the depictions of King Tut Four of the mummies analysed by the Cairo team, including Tut, tested positive for AMA1, a protein Opening up the found on the malarial parasite. AMA1 is responsible innermost shrine of for the binding of the parasite to human cells, and King Tut’s tomb TIMES YORK NEW its presence in the body is a sure sign of infection. Many of the initial media reports describing the study misquoted it and claimed that the team found definitive proof that Tut died of malaria. However, although this is another possible explanation for his death, the presence of AMA1 does not necessarily mean that Tut died of malaria; he could have been infected with the parasite without actually succumbing to it. Another mystery addressed by the study is the feminised appearance of King Tut in the murals

10 The Transformation of Archaeology Michaelmas 2010 and sculptures in his tomb; researchers have often queried whether he might have been intersex. Analysis of a soil Genetic testing by the Cairo team determined that sample reveals he was biologically male, having an XY set of sex human remains such chromosomes. The researchers therefore ascribe the as bone, wood ash feminine depictions of King Tut more to the artistic and charcoal style of the time rather than his actual appearance. Using genetic testing and other biomedical techniques to answer some of the questions surrounding the life and death of King Tut is not only a huge technical achievement, it also represents a change in archaeological tradition. Archaeologists and scientists are now forming teams to solve problems together. This practice has become common here in Cambridge according to Kate Spence, an archaeologist at the University. A number of labs are now dedicated to applying scientific methods to archaeology. For example, Cambridge runs a geoarchaeology lab that specialises in micromorphology. This technique is used to FRENCH DR CHARLY determine the composition of materials such as the published in medical journals such as JAMA gain floor of an ancient room or the surface of an ancient more attention and ‘impact’ than articles published cooking vessel. In an isotope lab, the bones of ancient in archaeological journals. This means that more and people are examined to determine their diet and more archaeologists are being pushed to use the latest land of origin. Palaeobotany is another example of cutting-edge techniques. a technique now commonly used, in which samples Although the application of scientific methods of ancient plants are analysed in an attempt to to archaeology has become common in other reconstruct the environments of ancient peoples. countries, it has thus far been limited in Egypt Even with the integration of scientific methods, due to post-colonial politics. Since the 1970s, the the core of archaeology remains unchanged. “There Egyptian government has banned the removal of will always be a place for individual work and any antiquities from the country. This policy was people thinking through questions synthetically,” instated in order to curb the extensive exporting says Spence; “Good archaeologists have always of objects from Egypt into Western museums and worked with all of the evidence that is available.” private collections. Previously, archaeologists based These techniques are simply providing archaeologists in the UK would bring samples from the excavation with more evidence to consider. However, the site to machinery located at their home institution addition of scientific methods does present some (as they still do from excavation sites in other challenges to archaeological culture. Spence notes countries). But due to Egypt’s antiquities policy, that it is easier to fund archaeological projects that any scientific research performed at new excavations take advantage of scientific methods. Also, articles must be conducted within Egypt. This makes applying new techniques to the field of Egyptology a very slow process, since most of archaeology’s latest scientific tools are developed and located in MUSEUM OF CAIRO universities outside of Egypt. The introduction of scientific techniques has opened up new avenues of investigation to archaeologists. By using some of the most advanced biomedical technology available, Egyptian researchers were able to properly address some of the centuries- old questions surrounding King Tut and his family. In doing so, they highlighted the innovations and disciplinary changes that are transforming archaeology and helping to solve some of the ancient world’s greatest mysteries.

Maggie Jack is an MPhil student in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science

Michaelmas 2010 The Transformation of Archaeology 11 Cherish Your Enemies Olivier Restif explains why we should learn to live with our pathogens

w h y d o w e g e t s i c k ? The 2009 pandemic of Leigh van Valen has likened this struggle to Lewis swine flu was just another demonstration of how Carroll’s Red Queen Race, borrowing her famous vulnerable we are to those minute particles known phrase: “it takes all the running you can do, to as viruses. Fortunately, the cost in human lives of keep in the same place.” Although this antagonistic this new version of the influenza virus was much vision of the relationship between a pathogen lower than initially feared. However, looking back and its host makes intuitive sense, it is only part at recent human history, there has been no shortage of the story. Natural selection may unexpectedly of mass killer diseases, from the 1918 Spanish Flu favour imperfect immune systems, enabling a host to the ongoing HIV pandemic; new pathogens to maintain a pathogen and use it as a biological keep sprouting up like weeds in a garden. But weapon against competitors. why can’t we just develop an impervious immune Most people in England are familiar with the system? Part of the reason may be that it isn’t grey squirrels that dwell in many parks and wooded in our best interest to do so; sometimes we can areas. A species native to North America, the grey actually use viruses to our advantage. squirrel was introduced to Britain only a century Every time we get infected with a new pathogen, ago by travellers returning from the New World. It our immune system not only fights it but also keeps rapidly replaced the indigenous red squirrel, which a record of it in the form of antibodies, ensuring still survives in parts of Wales, Scotland and most a swift and efficient response the next time we of continental Europe. While it had been thought encounter the same microbe. In addition, because for decades that the newcomers were simply better we have all inherited a slightly different immune adapted to colonise our environment than their toolkit from our parents, individuals who are better ginger-haired cousins, scientists recently discovered equipped to resist a new deadly disease will stand that grey squirrels had a microscopic ally: a virus. a better chance of passing on those good genes A large number of red squirrels at the fringe to the next generation. Thus our species, like all of the red-grey divide in Northern England were living organisms on this planet, keeps evolving and found to have died of a squirrel pox infection. adapting to an ever-changing environment. This Meanwhile, the grey squirrels were often found coevolution is like an eternal arms race between host to possess antibodies against that same virus, organisms and their pathogens. American biologist suggesting they may be healthy carriers. The current hypothesis is that the invaders have been The Red Queen’s unwittingly using the virus as a biological weapon Race, by John against the red squirrels. The irony of this story is Tenniel for Through that the squirrel pox virus is a distant relative of the Looking Glass, written by Lewis the human smallpox virus that was introduced to Carroll the Americas by European settlers. The smallpox virus was also mostly introduced unwittingly, but at times deliberately, and it had the more horrifying effect of decimating the American Indian populations.

12 Cherish your enemies Michaelmas 2010 partners). As a result, the risk of infection for an an for infection of risk the result, a As partners). themselves foraccesstofood,habitat or sexual among compete to likely are that (individuals by someformofcontactbetween conspecifics spread are infections Most infection. that of virulence the and infected getting of risk the on each vitalfunction. depends onthebenefitsandcostsassociatedwith the onethatachieves thebestreproductive success) necessity. Theoptimalallocationof resources (i.e. defences mayhave tobeattheexpenseofanother functions, soincreasing theinvestment inimmune amount ofresources intoawiderangeofvital Furthermore, allorganisms have toallocateafinite you sickaslongyour competitorsgeteven sicker. concerned, itdoesnotmatterifapathogenmakes against competitors.Asfarasnaturalselectionis to toleratetheirpresence andusethemasweapons towipeoutpathogens,itcanbemore efficient trying evolution of immune systems: instead of continuously that hasnoprotection againstthebacteriophage. competitor a by occupied previously environment an invade to bacteria enable can bomb) time a effectively is what carrying (of strategy this that shown have Experiments immunity. them confers thedormantbacteriophage,whichthat carry those except – bacteria surrounding the infecting start and produced rapidly are virus the of copies host bacteriumgetsstressed. When thathappens, the if activated gets only that bacteriophage the of version dormant a harbouring of capable are bacteria some However, bacteriophages. as known viruses specialised by killed and infected become themselves can tracts respiratory or intestinal the bacteriathatmakeussickby colonisingour of Many microbes. even and plants animals, of range wide a affects It competition’. mediated of awidespread phenomenontermed‘pathogen- In thecaseofimmunity, thebenefitsdepend lessonaboutthe This teachesusanimportant illustration one just is squirrels two of tale This Michaelmas 2010

OAST HOUSE ARCHIVE Veterinary Medicine Veterinary of Olivier RestifisapostdocintheDepartment to learnlive withthem. pay can it Instead, enemies. microbial our all kill to want not may we infection, to susceptible more are who competitors against weapons biological Actually, ifthosepathogenscanbeusedas we cannothopetowinthewaragainstpathogens? mean that does So others. of investments the of possible as advantage much as taking while system immune the in resources of amount minimum a investing favour to appears selection Natural system. immune strong a evolve to expected is one no immunity, herd through neighbours with shared are benefits its but individual the by paid is defences immune of cost the if conundrum: disease. of spread the in factor essential an is and immunity’ ‘herd as known are ready topaythecost.Thisindirect protection is be protected by your neighbours,aslongthey invest muchinyour immunesystem,you maystill not do you if even So, agents. infectious transmit well protected, theyare unlikelytoharbourand are conspecifics all If competitors. its of defences immune the upon dependent part in is individual EQUINOX GRAPHICS Herd immunitypresents anevolutionary

PETER Cherish your enemies the phage of version dormant a that donotcarry only infect bacteria Bacteriophages kills theredsquirrels that the pox virus of healthy carriers Grey squirrels are 13 Out of Body Experiences Celia St John-Green discusses the science behind out of body experiences

o u t o f b o d y experiences are generally considered is indeed separate, then it is conceivable (even if to be simple illusions, created in the mind. But is there a conceptually difficult to imagine) that out of body scientific explanation for this phenomenon? Why do so experiences could be due to the mind’s dissociation many different individuals have such similar experiences? from the physical body. Out of body experiences crop up in highly diverse This view has, however, been challenged over the contexts, from religious gatherings to hallucinogenic past few decades as we have started to understand trips. There are numerous reports of out of body the neuronal basis of our sensory perceptions and experiences from people undergoing a general thought processes. It seems that the mind is in anaesthetic, and over five per cent of epileptics, at fact equivalent to the brain. If this is so, then the some point in their life, have a perception of leaving mind cannot by definition become displaced from their body. its physical location. Instead, we have come to The occurrence of out of body experiences might recognise out of body experiences as derangements appear to support the view that mind and body in perception, in which the location of ‘self’ are separate. It seems intuitive that the ‘I’ that has been mapped or processed incorrectly. So causes your knees to bend is in control of, yet what mechanism underlies our perception of self? distinct from, the body of which those knees are Furthermore, what causes it to malfunction? a part. This division of mind and body is an old With any sensory perception, we are used to Aristotelian throwback, in which the mind is seen considering the inputs, the neuronal interactions as a ‘ghost’ in the physical machine. If the mind and then finally the resulting sensory read-out. One example of sensory perception is taste: the input is the activation of taste receptors, neuronal interactions process these inputs, and the output is our perception of flavour. We can view perception of self in a similar manner. Faults at any location in this information flow could be responsible for out of body experiences. To demonstrate that neuronal interactions underlie our localisation of self, we can start by attempting to identify the region of the brain involved. To this end, various neurological and JOHANNA psychiatric patients have been studied. In these patients, specific brain lesions result in distinct clinical presentations that relate directly to the area of brain that is damaged. Therefore, identifying the damaged area in patients who have had out of body experiences should lead us to the region necessary for this perception. Although the temporal lobe

DICKY HAYWARD has long been implicated in the perception of out of body experiences, modern imaging techniques

14 Out of Body Experiences Michaelmas 2010 have identiﬁ ed the right temporo-parietal junction as the critical locus for self-perception. is region, The right temporo- found just behind the ear on the right-hand side, is parietal junction, the

important for integrating various senses. GRAPHICS EQUINOX region responsible In order to demonstrate that the temporo-parietal for self-perception junction is indeed responsible, some researchers have set out to artifi cially induce out of body experiences by directly stimulating the region. A Belgian research team was one of the fi rst to succeed. Using electrodes originally inserted for the treatment of tinnitus, they were able to cause their 60-year-old patient to feel as though he were “fl oating outside his body”. Many successes using subdural electrodes to stimulate the same region have followed. e fact that stimulation of this specifi c area of the brain consistently results in similar perceptions provides strong evidence that this is the vital area that limbs. Phantom limbs are a rare phenomenon in malfunctions during out of body experiences. which amputees perceive their lost limbs as still In addition to epileptics and those with brain being present. In many cases, they also feel that the lesions, out of body experiences are known to limb still moves or causes them pain. It has been occur occasionally in people with sleep paralysis suggested that these cases are due to damaged nerves and Guillain-Barré syndrome (a peripheral nerve generating abnormally strong or accidentally cohesive disorder). Also, people under anaesthesia and inputs, so that the brain misinterprets the limb as chronic users of cannabis have reported out of being present. is concept is transferable to out of body experiences. It is possible that, alongside their body experiences, with the generation of an alternate diagnosed condition, these patients have damage to self being considered equivalent to that of the the temporo-parietal region that causes their out of phantom limb. However, it does not entirely explain body experiences, although it seems more likely that the phenomenon, as phantom limbs are perceived the necessary inputs to the right temporo-parietal in appropriate locations while the alternate self is junction are just being interrupted. perceived as being displaced to a new location. It has e similarity of people’s experiences is another line been suggested by some groups that this is due to the of evidence that supports the existence of a distinct and involvement of the vestibular system, on which our localised mechanism of self-perception. Reports of out body normally depends for balance. of body experiences are remarkably similar, with people ere are still many gaps in our understanding, predominantly describing fl oating above their bodies at such as why so many people report feeling ‘a presence’ a distance of one or two metres. is commonality of while disembodied, or intuitively associate the experience seems logical if we are dealing with similar occurrence with religion. Not to mention what quirk interruptions to a specifi c pathway. in our psychology means that we intuitively accept So we can show that there is probably a distinct disembodiment as plausible. ere is, however, an ever- brain region involved in out of body experiences, increasing body of evidence that seems to confi rm that but how is it that an incorrect input or a fault in out of body experiences are errors in perception, not processing can result in such a precise relocation true dissociations of mind from matter. of the self to an alternate location? An answer to this question may be found by drawing a parallel Celia St John-Green is a medical student in the between out of body experiences and phantom School of Clinical Medicine

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Michaelmas 2010 Out of Body Experiences 15 Gene Therapy

BlueSci explores the development of gene therapy, the remaining challenges and the recent triumphs

22 Katpitza Lent 2010 FOCUS

Wendy Mak, Maja Choma and Jack Green take you on a journey through the past, present and future of gene therapy, the hurdles this technology has faced and why it is becoming accepted in mainstream medicine.

The Beginnings of an Idea

t h e c o n c e p t that DNA can be shuffled between cells to change their behaviour is extraordinary, but this feat is achieved naturally by the simplest of organisms and can be easily replicated within modern molecular biology laboratories. A revolution in the understanding and manipulation of DNA has led the way into a new world of scientific and medical capabilities, with gene therapy at the cutting edge. Yet the humble origins of this technology lie with a cautious British medical officer and a troublesome little bacterium. In the 1920s, Frederick Griffith was working on classifying strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae, the bacterium responsible for pneumonia, when he made a startling discovery. He found that when a normally harmless strain of the bacterium was injected into a mouse along with dead cells of a pathogenic strain, the mouse became ill and died. This suggested that the harmless strain could transform into the pathogenic one when simply accompanied by dead cells that had been pathogenic. Researchers later realised that the non-virulent form of Streptococcus received and integrated a segment of DNA from the pathogenic form. The DNA was physically transferred from one cell to another and contained information that led to the transformation. Little did Griffith realise that his discovery was to begin a journey into the understanding of the genetic code.

Lent 2010 Focus 17 EQUINOX GRAPHICS EQUINOX Following this breakthrough in bacteria, work mouse. With the same experimental framework, he quickly moved on to transforming mammalian set out to repeat this work in human patients with cells using DNA transfer. Szybalska and Szybalski beta-thalassaemia. Would it be possible to remove demonstrated in 1962 that human cells lacking an these patients’ bone marrow cells, replace their enzyme that breaks down uric acid were able to take up defective globin gene with a functional copy, and DNA from wild-type cells and subsequently produce reintroduce the corrected cells to cure their disorder? the functional enzyme. With this experiment, the Unfortunately it was not to be; not only were the conceptual groundwork of gene therapy was laid: results inconclusive, but the experiment sparked functional versions of genes could be used to replace much public criticism and anger. Cline obtained defective versions in mutant cells. permission from ethical committees to inject into e early methods of cell-to-cell gene transfer were patient cells the naked form of the human globin ineffi cient, but in the 1970s new techniques led to gene, but not the gene tacked onto the bacterial dramatic improvements. Newly discovered enzymes scaff old. Cline argued that the bacterial section allowed sections of DNA to be cut from chromosomes of DNA contained another important gene that with incredible precision and stuck into other segments would give the treated cells a growth advantage of DNA from completely diff erent organisms; the over uncorrected cells and make success more result was a recombinant DNA molecule. With this likely. Despite the lack of permission, Cline went technology in place, scientists began to contemplate ahead and injected both human and bacterial DNA using gene therapy on people. into the patients’ cells. is left many with doubts e earliest applications of gene therapy in humans over whether scientists could be trusted to behave proved to be a bitterly contentious aff air. It was 1980 responsibly with these new and potentially dangerous when an American lab led by Martin Cline made the technologies. In the end, Cline lost his funding and fi rst, ill-fated attempt at human gene therapy using resigned from his university position. recombinant DNA. Cline was a rare breed of scientist Although it was a controversial start, enthusiasm who combined clinical practice with an expert for gene therapy was not dampened. A consensus knowledge of cutting-edge molecular biology. e emerged that, had Cline waited for more animal fi rst isolation of a human gene, called beta-globin, research to confi rm the safety of the recombinant had been achieved, and with an eye on the brimming DNA, he would have undoubtedly obtained ethical therapeutic potential of gene therapy, Cline was in a hurry to put this knowledge to good use. Cline wanted to use gene therapy to treat beta- Haemoglobin thalassaemia, a genetic blood disorder characterised production is reduced in beta- by reduced production of haemoglobin (the oxygen- thalassaemia carrying molecule of the blood). People with the disorder often suff er from anaemia, fatigue and other more serious symptoms. It is caused by a mutation in beta-globin, which is one of the two protein chains that make up haemoglobin. Cline’s lab established that the human beta-globin gene could be introduced into mouse bone marrow cells in vitro, and that these genetically modifi ed cells could repopulate niches cleared by irradiation in the marrow of a recipient

18 Focus Michaelmas 2010 FOCUS OCTAVIO L OCTAVIO ANNE WESTON, CRUK WESTON, ANNE WELLCOME PHOTO LIBRARY WELLCOME PHOTO

approval; it was his haste that was his downfall. ideal candidate for gene therapy, especially considering Gradually, a body of interest grew into a more there are no other treatments available. To treat LCA the confident field. Now, a new chapter of gene therapy In 2008, researchers at UCL and Moorfields Eye correct genes were has begun. The first successes in humans have been Hospital in London completed a clinical trial of a directly injected reported and new treatments are starting to become novel gene therapy treatment for LCA. The correct into the patient’s medical realities. version of the gene was injected directly into the retina (left). A child suffering from cystic retinal cells of patients. Tests after the treatment fibrosis (middle). Gene Therapy: Success and Triumphs showed no evidence of side effects, and one patient Skin cancer cells gained significant improvement in his night vision. (right) are targets of t h e f i e l d of gene therapy is still developing, As the trial was conducted on adult patients whose gene therapy. and most diseases cannot be treated with current disease progression was already highly advanced, technology; however, there have been some significant this likely masks the true potential of the treatment. successes, where gene therapy has cured or helped to Trials have now begun on younger patients who will treat some devastating conditions. hopefully benefit significantly more. Imagine living your life without an immune Cystic fibrosis is one of the most common life- system: you would be prey to any pathogen threatening inherited diseases, especially among people that comes your way. A common cold could kill of European descent. Sufferers have no working copy you. This is what patients with severe combined of the CFTR gene, which produces a protein that immunodeficiency disorder (SCID) have to deal with. regulates the salt balance in the body. As a result, They have a faulty gene that prevents their bodies internal organs become clogged with a thick mucus, from producing T lymphocytes, a major component making sufferers prone to infection, especially in the of the immune system. This means that their immune lungs, and causing other problems such as difficulty in system is incredibly weak and many patients must digesting food. The hope is that gene therapy could be deal with major infections from early on in their lives. used to insert a functional copy of the CFTR gene and Until recently, the only effective treatment was a thus allow patients to live normal lives. bone marrow transplant. However, this is not an ideal Advances in medical knowledge have increased the remedy, as a matching donor must be found, and the life expectancy of cystic fibrosis patients, but it is still transplant can be rejected. Gene therapy provides a short (approximately 48 years) and at present there more elegant solution; simply correcting the problem is no cure. Although all cells of the body are affected, gene allows the body to produce T lymphocytes it is incredibly challenging to insert a new gene into normally. Unfortunately, the first clinical trials using every cell. Thus, current efforts are concentrated on gene therapy to treat SCID ran into major problems, inserting the gene specifically into the cells of the as the treatment triggered cancer in some patients. lungs, as some of the most debilitating symptoms of Nonetheless, a recently completed 10-year trial proved cystic fibrosis affect this organ. to be much more successful, allowing several patients A pilot study involving 16 patients was completed with SCID to live essentially normal lives. While there in 2009. The therapy was found to have no major side are certain side effects, all of the patients are still alive, effects and several patients produced levels of working and none of them have had problems with cancer. protein comparable to healthy people. Due to the fact Leber’s congenital amaurosis (LCA) is an inherited that treated cells die after a certain period of time, eye disorder in which patients suffer from vision repeated treatments are almost certainly necessary. deterioration and eventual blindness. Since the A full scale trial is now underway with a multi-dose condition results from a single abnormal gene, it is an treatment regime.

Michaelmas 2010 Focus 19 Cancer is a complex disease resulting from many is impossible, for example with the brain and heart, genetic alterations acquired over many years. and gene therapy must be applied inside the patient. However, gene therapy does off er a feasible treatment. is requires a vector that can carry DNA past the Cancer cells can be targeted directly by introducing immune system, reach the target cells, and overcome genes that drive them to commit suicide or slow their intracellular mechanisms that protect against foreign replication. A current study is using this approach in DNA. To fi nd a suitable vector, the fi eld of gene patients with advanced lung cancer. therapy has turned to viruses, which make their ‘living’ Patients’ immune cells can also be modifi ed to make by effi ciently introducing large amounts of DNA into them attack cancer cells, an approach that has already cells. Using viruses, however, is not without risk. been used to treat melanoma, an aggressive form of skin ere are many viral candidates to choose from, cancer. Lymphocytes were removed from the patient and and many factors must be considered when selecting new genes were inserted into them. Upon reintroduction one. Firstly, the virus must target the correct cells for to the body, the lymphocytes were able to identify the genetic disease to be treated. For example, some cancer cells and attack them. In a study completed in diseases require a virus that aff ects only dividing 2006, 17 patients with advanced melanoma were treated cells, whereas in others it must target a particular using this method; most of their cancers were reduced tissue. However, no single candidate meets all of the and there were no signifi cant side eff ects reported. criteria for a safe, effi cient and eff ective vector, so e most exciting aspect of this area of research is the choice must be made carefully. that the techniques used in these studies should be Most importantly, a potential viral vector applicable to a wide range of cancers, off ering the must be well-known and thoroughly studied. It hope of a universal cure for cancer. is therefore no surprise that many viruses used in gene therapy are closely related to pathogenic Gene erapy in Practice viruses. For example, adenoviruses, which cause the common cold, can also be used in gene therapy DELIVERY OF A GENE , although relatively to target cells within the lungs and respiratory straightforward in cultured cells, presents many tract. e herpes simplex virus, which causes cold problems in the context of patients. e safety of a sores, can be used to target cells in the brain. And strategy is always the principle concern, but there are 3D graphical also many other considerations. How do you deliver representation of the gene into the cells? How do you get the gene into a generic in uenza the right cells? How do you get enough of the cells virion’s ultrastructure to express the gene? All of these questions present considerable technical challenges. e ideal approach for gene therapy would be to remove the cells of interest and transfect them with the new gene outside of the patient’s body. is would allow specifi c cell types to be easily targeted, and treated cells could be screened for unintended or dangerous changes before reintroducing them into the patient. Unfortunately, this is only possible with a few tissue types, such as blood and skin. Often it

20 Focus Michaelmas 2010 FOCUS CDC DR. TRICHE DR. M. OSOMD, WELLCOME IMAGES OSOMD, M.

retroviruses, which include HIV, are useful because the genetic information that codes for most proteins. they are incredibly good at avoiding the immune Herpes simplex virus can transport almost 20 times Adenovirus system. But because these viruses are related to as much DNA as other viruses but still cannot carry particles are those that cause disease, there are dangers. An ideal the dystrophin gene, admittedly the largest known vectors used in vector would be completely safe and unable to mammalian gene, but also one that is targeted in the gene transfer (left). revert to its virulent form, but it is impossible to treatment of muscular dystrophy. DNA is injected into a cell (middle). eliminate all risk. Our limited understanding of what causes many Lymphocytes (right) To ensure that a vector is as safe as possible, diseases also limits the application of gene therapy. can be modi ed to the virus is engineered to prevent replication and When there is a defect in a single gene that codes for attack cancer cells screened for its ability to cause cancer and elicit an a protein with a known function, it is relatively easy immune response. Despite these precautions, vectors to design a remedy using gene therapy. However, for can still cause serious harm. Adenoviruses have more complex diseases such as cancers or neurological been used for gene therapy but they can also elicit conditions, it is unclear which genes to target because strong immune responses; in one trial, the immune we don’t fully understand how these diseases work. response induced by the adenovirus actually killed We are also helpless when faced with disorders where a patient. Retroviruses insert their DNA directly the damage occurs early on in development, such as into the patient’s DNA and therefore there is a Down’s syndrome. Furthermore, we are at a loss for risk that this will disrupt a vital gene or activate a how to target common conditions such as obesity or cancer-causing oncogene. is was the case for some high blood pressure, because the genes identifi ed so patients in the fi rst human gene therapy trial to far are linked to only small increases in risk. treat SCID. One quarter of the patients developed Gene therapy is still far from a perfect treatment leukaemia, which was fatal in two instances. and it is often only used as a last resort for the most Safety is of paramount importance, but it must also serious diseases, where the risks associated with be balanced with the effi ciency of treatment. is is treatment become acceptable. Many challenges still particularly relevant in the case of retroviruses. While remain and if we are to make the technology safer the insertion of a new gene into the patient’s DNA and more widely applicable, we not only need better runs the risk of disrupting normal genes or causing tools for gene delivery but also a more complete cancer, it usually results in higher expression and more understanding of the diseases we wish to treat. Gene effi cient transmission during cell replication, which therapy has come a long way since its early days and ensures that the gene is retained over time. e risks it is fi nally delivering some real treatments for serious can also be reduced; a recently developed HIV-derived diseases. e success of recent trials highlights the virus inserts its DNA randomly throughout the promise of this amazing technology. genome, decreasing the chance that an important gene will be disrupted in a signifi cant number of cells. A virus that does not integrate, such as an adenovirus, Wendy Mak is a PhD student in the Department of carries less risk but requires repeated treatment and Physics may not be as eff ective. ere are further diffi culties in choosing a viral Maja Choma is a PhD student at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research vector, caused by the large size of mammalian genes. A vector must be able to carry large amounts of Jack Green is a PhD student in the Department of DNA, but most viruses are small and struggle to hold Zoology

Focus 21 Michaelmas 2010 The Man Who Weighed The Earth Anders Aufderhorst-Roberts describes the life of the eccentric genius Henry Cavendish

who could afford to build and maintain their own The only existing laboratory. Being a wealthy man, Lord Charles portrait of Henry was able to conduct a number of important Cavendish, which experiments on meteorology, as well as invent was sketched a new type of thermometer – for which he was surreptitiously at a awarded a medal by the Royal Society. As a child, Royal Society dinner the young Henry was often seen in the garden helping his father with experiments. At age 18, Cavendish was accepted to the University of Cambridge, but he left three years later without taking his exams. He returned to live at home, and remained there until the death of his father, more than 30 years later. It was during this period of his life that he first became renowned for his unusual behaviour. He spoke with a shrill, high-pitched voice, but mostly avoided conversation altogether, and was embarrassed in the presence of strangers, especially women. A self-confessed solitary man, he left notes for his servants on a daily basis in order to avoid meeting ROYAL SOCIETY ROYAL them. Any female servant seen by him was dismissed t h e c a v e n d i s h f a m i l y can be traced back through immediately. He had little interest in his appearance, eight centuries and fifteen generations of history. and was known for always wearing the same faded The Cavendishes have consistently produced a violet coat and a three-cornered hat, a style that had large number of prominent men and women not been fashionable since the previous century. including statesmen, patrons of the arts, sponsors of When these clothes became worn out, he simply education, intellectuals and socialites, as well as one ordered identical copies to be made. prime minister. It is unsurprising then that the ranks His only social outlet was the regular meetings of the family should also have included a number of of the Royal Society, for he was in great demand successful scientists, the most distinguished being by other scientists, who sought his knowledge and the eccentric genius, Henry Cavendish. advice. Surprisingly, when it came to speaking on Henry Cavendish’s name would probably not matters of science, he was said to lose his inhibitions. appear on most people’s lists of great scientists. The chemist Humphrey Davy even described him as The reasons for this are bound up in his complex “luminous and profound”. personality, his acute shyness and his unwillingness, Cavendish made major contributions to a wide or more properly his inability, to conform to the range of scientific disciplines. In 1766 he became social norms of his time. the first to isolate hydrogen gas and discover that Cavendish was born in 1731. His mother, Lady water was made from hydrogen and oxygen. Soon Anne Grey, was the daughter of the Duke of Kent, after, he demonstrated that air is composed of and his father, Lord Charles Cavendish, was the son oxygen, nitrogen and a tiny percentage of other of the Duke of Devonshire. This meant that the obscure gases. His research also extended to young Henry entered the world as a member of two astronomy, meteorology, thermodynamics and the highly wealthy and influential families. His mother nature of electricity. In one experiment, where he died young and he had a sheltered childhood, living was studying the electrical impulses given off by with his father in London. As a result, very little is the torpedo fish, he measured the strength of the known of his early years. electricity by shocking himself and recording the His father was a prominent politician who level of pain he felt. later went on to be a successful scientist. Science It is a testament to the weight of his research funding at that time was sparse and so the subject that Cavendish was so admired by his peers, since was often disproportionately dominated by those much of his behaviour bordered on the socially

22 Behind the Science Michaelmas 2010 unacceptable. Cavendish had no interest in promoting or applying his research to practical uses at a time when scientists were expected to be pioneers in improving the human condition. A number of academics, including the neurologist Oliver Sacks, have noted that he almost certainly had Asperger’s syndrome; however, the lack of information about his childhood has led others to be more sceptical, and thus the debate continues even today. Whether he suffered from Asperger’s or not, NOTFROMUTRECHT Cavendish was, at the very least, an eccentric. The term ‘eccentric’ was often reserved for those the 7th Duke of Devonshire, who personally with wealth, as they alone could afford to behave funded a new laboratory of physics at the University Ruins of the so strangely and avoid being condemned to the of Cambridge. When the Duke asked for the Cavendish family’s asylum. In any case, the link between eccentricity unpublished papers to be examined, it was found ancestral home and wealth certainly applied to Cavendish. Around that – without telling a soul – Cavendish had made the time of his father’s death, Cavendish inherited many seminal discoveries. These included Ohm’s Law, vast sums of money from a number of different Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures, Coulomb’s Law, and sources, quickly making him the richest man in Charles’s Law of Gases. The credit for all of these were England. His wealth and eccentricity appeared given to other scientists who made the discoveries to grow together as he used the money to build much later. Following these revelations, Cambridge’s himself a new house, which he fitted out as a newly founded physics department was named the laboratory, complete with a second staircase that Cavendish Laboratory in his honour. allowed him to avoid his housekeeper. He also As an intellectual, Cavendish changed the invested in a library which was open to all serious landscape of science. At the beginning of his scholars, but had it built four miles from his career, scientific publications consisted largely of residence so that he could avoid meeting anyone short and obscure reports without any underlying who used it. themes or relevance. Almost as if to make a point, Towards the end of his life, Cavendish carried Cavendish’s last major publication on “weighing out the experiment for which he would become the world” took up 58 pages in the Royal Society’s best known. Using a torsion balance, he measured Philosophical Transactions. This anecdote sums up the tiny gravitational attraction between two lead his instrumental role in building the brave new spheres. This calculation allowed him to work scientific civilisation that would go on to define the out the strength of gravity, and from there, to Victorian era of discovery. extrapolate and calculate the density of the earth. The Cavendish biographer John Pearson perhaps Cavendish had a better name for it: he called it puts it best when he describes Henry Cavendish as “weighing the world”. “a scientific genius, the most original, wide-ranging Cavendish died in 1810 at the age of 79. He British man of science since Isaac Newton”. left behind a large estate and a huge collection of unpublished papers. Both eventually made their way, Anders Aufderhorst-Roberts is a PhD student in the InnoviaAdvert.pdf 14/9/10 14:04:41 almost a century later, to one of his descendants, Department of Physics

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Michaelmas 2010 Behind the Science 23 Are You Receiving Me? Sarah Leigh-Brown travels to London to see how the BBC produces the science radio programme Material World

the production team has to calculate the exact Sarah Leigh-Brown time remaining after each feature; the presenter

at the BBC Bush ALISON PEEL must constantly adjust the script accordingly. The

House SARAH LEIGH-BROWN atmosphere is charged throughout, and as the show comes to an end – on exactly the right second – the studio buzzes with the excitement of a job well done. It was an extraordinary experience to see the production of a live radio show, and we look forward to putting what we learned to good use at the community radio station, Cambridge105. Through our own project, GetSET, we plan to broadcast Cambridge science news to the community, with the goal of opening up the science, engineering and technology research of Cambridge a s a p h d s t u d e n t in molecular biology, to everyone who lives here. expeditions to track orangutans or study Despite the differences in studio and audience Icelandic volcanoes are just not going to happen. size, Material World and GetSET have one key Nevertheless, I recently got away from the bench to feature in common: an enthusiasm for sharing visit Bush House, nerve centre of the BBC World scientific discoveries in a way that everyone can Service, and learn how they produce a science radio enjoy. After all, you shouldn’t need a degree in art show. It may not be the rainforest or Iceland, but I to enjoy a Picasso, nor a qualification in theatre would not exchange it for either. studies to be moved by Shakespeare – neither On entering Bush House, I was struck by the should you need a PhD to appreciate the best that charged atmosphere. Every team, every producer, science has to offer. every presenter is working on something that a sizeable chunk of the world tunes into every week; Material World is broadcast every Thursday at the subject matter is as diverse as the listeners of 4.30pm on BBC Radio 4. the World Service. I was there, along with fellow For further information about GetSET, science communication enthusiast Harry Harris, to email: [email protected]. see how they produce the BBC science programme Material World. Sarah Leigh-Brown is a PhD student in the The production process is as energetic as the Department of Oncology surroundings. Each week, scientific press releases are filtered for impact and interest. The resulting shortlist is then refined by telephone interviews with the researchers behind each story. The most engaging are selected to be interviewed on the programme and a final set of notes is passed to the presenter. They use this to write the script with the producer, allowing them to introduce their own flair for engaging with the audience. Harry and I arrived in the final stages of the redrafting process. Once the words were in place, we joined the production team in the studio as the countdown began. The show must start and end precisely on time – you cannot hold up the day’s broadcasting while you finish your sentence. Since the scientists who are being interviewed are not reading from a script, SARAH LEIGH-BROWN

24 Away From the Bench Michaelmas 2010 Saving Species Imogen Ogilvie gives her perspective on conservation and asks whether it is worth trying to conserve species at all

WE ARE IN THE MIDDLE of a mass extinction event. Conservationists spend enormous amounts of time

and resources trying to minimise the number of AARON1A12 species lost. Extinctions, both human-caused and otherwise, are by no means unique to this period in time, but the current pace and scale set today apart. Most writing on the subject assumes everyone to agree that biodiversity should be conserved. But is this really the case? And at what cost? Why should we bother to conserve biodiversity? A huge number of species are indispensable to us, and for these, the benefi ts of conservation are clear. For example, 35 per cent of global food production depends on pollinators. Studies on coff ee – one of the most valuable exports of developing countries – have shown the importance of both a diverse range of bee species and example. It is clear then that eff orts to conserve proximity of the plantation to natural forest for economically important species should still be a successful pollination and crop yield. erefore, priority, but what about species with no clear use there is an indisputable case for conserving or economic value? targeted areas and species. But surely if a species is Many eff orts to conserve species that are not economically valuable, self-interested groups will indispensable to humans are still shaping and ensure its survival and there is no need to worry changing the environment for our own purposes. about conservation. History suggests otherwise. For example, charity funding for conservation often e plant ‘silphion’ was an extremely important focuses not on species of any material value to herbal contraceptive and medicine with a critical humans, but on those that we are simply fond of. role in the ancient Cyrenean economy. It was so is targeted conservation just skews biodiversity important that it appeared on coins of the time. in favour of organisms that we like. While the loss Despite this, silphion mysteriously became extinct; of such species is saddening, does it warrant the in this case, self-interest alone could not protect resources required to save them? even the most important of species. Whole groups For me, conservation should be put in its global of people have died out because they took too context. e most concerning aspect is not the much from their environment; the famous collapse intrinsic loss of biodiversity, which will always of the entire Easter Island civilisation is one bounce back, but the consequences of this loss for humans. e complexity of ecosystems and Coins produced interdependence makes it diffi cult to determine by the ancient the value of each species; the loss of apparently Cyrenean civilisation, insignifi cant species can have drastic consequences stamped with the for others, which may be more valuable to us. For image of the plant this reason, the value of any organism can not be ‘silphion’ underestimated. But sometimes this value is less than the cost of conservation; in these cases, conservation of biodiversity should be balanced with other concerns, and resources should be directed towards projects that more clearly benefi t mankind.

Imogen Ogilvie is a 3rd year undergraduate in the

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS OXFORD Department of Zoology

Michaelmas 2010 Perspective 25 Modern World, Modern Art Ian Fyfe explores the way in which science and technology have revolutionised ne art

THE LATEST of the weird and wonderful exhibits at the Tate Modern may not appear to have any connection to science. Neither may the masterpieces of Warhol, Dali, Picasso or Monet. But without scientifi c innovation, we would have had none of these. e 19th century saw the birth of modern science, with a surge of technological progress, revolutions in thinking and the founding of the exemplifi ed by Claude Monet, departed from scientifi c method. It is no coincidence that the same conventional subject matter and – inspired by period saw the birth of modern art. photography – captured moments from the new Prior to the mid-1800s, art was used to produce technologically-driven life: city street scenes, train realistic depictions of scenes. Subjects were almost always stations, bridges and boats. But they did not set religious or mythical scenes, historical events or portraits out to reproduce the scene accurately. Instead, of eminent people. Artwork was usually commissioned, they aimed to recreate the experience of a passing and artists painted what their wealthy customers wanted. moment. e representation of the light was more But within the last 150 years, modern science has important than the subject itself, a major departure changed the place of art in the world forever. from artistic convention and one which was triggered Photography is undoubtedly the technology that had by the integration of technology into daily life. e the most obvious impact on art. By 1840, glass lenses, Impressionists’ techniques were equally unconventional photosensitive silver compounds and fi xing solutions and also relied on recent scientifi c progress. had been combined to produce the fi rst glass negatives. e use of colour in Impressionism was infl uenced It was not long before photography was a cheaper by the colour theories of Michel Eugène Chevreul. and more accurate means than painting of producing As professor of chemistry at the Lycée Charlemagne, realistic pictures of people, places and events. One of with expertise in dye compounds, Chevreul became the purposes of art had been undermined. director of the Gobelins tapestry works in Paris. At a similar time, in 1851, e Great Exhibition During his time there, he noticed that the colour of at Crystal Palace was the fi rst of many international a particular yarn appeared to change according to the expositions to bring the latest industrial and colour it was immediately next to. He realised that technological advances to the public. ey created this was due to an alteration in our perception of enthusiasm for machinery, industry and the future; the fi rst colour caused by the second, and published it was a new world, a new technological era. With his theory of simultaneous contrast in 1839. e photography threatening the value of art and the public Impressionists incorporated his theories into their being swept away with science and technology, it would work to achieve the desired eff ects of light and take a revolution to prevent art from being left behind. shadow. Chevreul had discovered a perceptual oddity e fi rst step in this revolution was the emergence that forever changed the use of colour in art. of Impressionism in the 1860s. e Impressionists, Also key to the Impressionists’ success were discoveries and new manufacturing techniques With Impressionism, that changed their materials. Science was applied modern technology to the development of paints. New pigments based became the subject on the recently discovered elements of chromium, of art (right). cadmium, zinc and cobalt provided brighter colours, Simultaneous contrast causes while the manufacture of synthetic pigments added the same colour completely new colours. to appear different More signifi cant than the paints themselves was according to the the collapsible paint tube. Before the 1840s, artists colour it is next to - purchased pigments to grind and mix themselves the central square is and stored them in pigs’ bladders in their studios. the same colour in But new manufacturing techniques allowed tin to be both cases (above). rolled thinly and pressed, leading to the invention of CLAUDE MONET CLAUDE the squeezable tube by James G Rand in 1841. e

26 Arts and Reviews Michaelmas 2010 tube was refined to incorporate a screw cap, allowing paint to be stored without drying. The invention The paint tube liberated the Impressionists and of the paint tube allowed them to work outside, since the paint was gave artists more contained and easily transported; their choice of freedom subject was unlimited. The new paints also contained paraffin wax and animal fat, resulting in a consistency that allowed thicker application. Because paints in tubes could be stored without drying, artists could afford a greater range of colours, and the new vibrant IAN FYFE pigments helped them to recreate light effects. In the 1950s, the introduction of the television and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, an eminent Impressionist, said expansion of print media and advertising – together that “without tubes of paint, there would have been with mass production of consumer goods – created no Impressionism”. And without Impressionism, popular culture; this then spawned ‘Pop Art’. Personified there may have been none of what followed in the by Andy Warhol, pop art took mass produced symbols art world; the next generation of artists built on of popular culture and presented them as fine art. the revolution of the Impressionists and moved art Mechanical techniques produced several identical pieces forward with science. of artwork, challenging the concept of art itself. By the early 20th century, science was changing In the modern digital era, art is still changing. Having the way people viewed the physical world, both provided an important trigger for the development of literally and conceptually. Passenger steam trains modern art, photography is now a major art form itself. were in common use and mass production of cars Digital cameras and sophisticated editing software allow began in the early 1900s. Motorised transport carried the creation of almost any visual effect. Combination of people through their daily lives at speed; the world traditional materials and techniques with digital editing flashed by in flickers of light, familiar forms blurred further widens the scope in art. together. Meanwhile, Einstein was changing the way In a similar way to photography, the recent explosion we thought of space and time, raising new questions in mass media and the internet may well have provided a about the nature of the world and our experience of new trigger for changes in art. They provide a continual it. The impacts on art were profound. bombardment of images, meaning that fine art can show No longer restricted by artistic conventions us little new on a visual level. Instead, works such as of subject and technique, the artists of the early Tracy Emmin’s My Bed, and Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth 20th century explored this new world with radical (the crack in the floor of the Tate Modern) have come approaches. Traditional perspective, form and colour to the fore. This kind of conceptual art does not try to were discarded entirely and rather than depicting impress visually, but instead presents familiar images in scenes at all, paintings were used to convey concepts. unfamiliar ways, hoping to affect how we think. The Futurists attempted to represent the movement The art of today is often scorned; it seems wacky, and dynamism of the modern world, rejecting every obscure and overpriced. But this could have been artistic convention and embracing the triumph of said of art at any stage of the last century-and-a-half. science and technology as their subject. Picasso and Looking back, we can see that modern art is an attempt the Cubists explored the experience of seeing, and to represent and understand a rapidly changing, how our perceptions of objects are constructed from technological world. Modern science has provided new continually changing perspectives. They captured material, both physically and conceptually, to drive a Modern art such this by including multiple views of the subject gradual progression of art that has brought us to the as Doris Salcedo’s in one picture. Their work developed to include modern day. There is no doubt that future science will Shibboleth attempts no recognisable subject at all, but instead became continue to drive the evolution of art. to make us think rather than impress metaphors for relativity and our visual experience of Ian Fyfe is a PhD student in the Department of the world. Abstract art had been born. Pharmacology visually The early 20th century also saw the first attempts to explain human behaviour scientifically. Sigmund Freud in particular was highly influential to the Surrealists. These artists, including Salvador Dali, created dream-like scenes with strange motifs, objects that merged into one another, and often sexual undertones in line with much of Freud’s work. They explored concepts of the mind, often turning to episodes or fears from their own lives for inspiration; this was completely new ground for art.

Michaelmas 2010 Arts and Reviews 27 Boosting Your Defence Stephanie Glaser travels back through the history of vaccinations

i t h a s a d i a m e t e r of only 30 nanometres and you This usually led to a mild infection followed by complete don’t even notice as it travels quietly through your gut immunity to the virus. The procedure was not perfect and into your bloodstream. Poliovirus then infects however, two to three per cent of all those variolated your central nervous system and slowly destroys your did not survive the treatment. Diseases like syphilis and neurons. Your muscles weaken rapidly and you will tuberculosis were also routinely transferred to patients. be paralysed for the rest of your life. Health and safety regulations as we know them today Or would you rather choose the following scenario? would almost certainly not approve such a procedure, When the needle pricks your skin you try to avoid but at the time it saved the lives of many. looking. It hurts and you can feel the nurse press the In the late 1700s, variolation was used regularly liquid slowly into your tissue. Afterwards, your arm in China, India and Turkey. And so it came to the feels slightly numb where the injection was made, but attention of Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife you know that this short moment of discomfort will of the British Ambassador to Turkey, who then give you lifelong protection against polio. introduced the method to England. During that Every day, disease-causing pathogens attack people time, people were desperate for help; smallpox was all over the world; the human immune system is killing around 400,000 people each year in Europe. constantly challenged by viruses and bacteria. Today, Variolation spread to the New World by 1721, and vaccinations are available for a wide range of diseases, it became general practice to variolate soldiers before and most people take them for granted. But this new military operations. hasn’t always been true. Vaccination is probably the In 1757, the orphan child Edward Jenner was greatest medical invention in human history. variolated in England. Jenner had always shown a great Vaccine development began about 3000 years ago, interest in medicine and biology. Not only did he study when smallpox, a disease caused by variola virus, started cuckoo hatchlings and their behaviour, he also carefully to terrorise mankind. With a mortality rate of 30 per observed the people surrounding him. In doing so, cent, smallpox was a serious threat to survival. The he discovered that milkmaids who became infected symptoms include fever, skin lesions and blindness, and with cowpox, from touching the udders of infected there has never been an effective treatment. However, cows, would never develop the symptoms of smallpox. people began to look for a cure long before any of the Although at that time it was not known that cowpox is cellular or molecular mechanisms were known. caused by a virus that is closely related to variola virus, Early on, it was discovered that people who survived Jenner concluded that cowpox infection resulted in a smallpox infection were immune to the disease for immunity to smallpox. To prove this, he used matter the rest of their lives. First described in 1022BC, a from a fresh cowpox lesion to intentionally infect an procedure called ‘variolation’ was developed, which eight-year-old boy, who subsequently developed slight protected against smallpox: material from a dried pustule symptoms. Two months later he treated the boy with of a person that survived smallpox was deliberately matter from a smallpox lesion. The boy didn’t develop introduced into the skin or nose of a healthy person. any symptoms, and Jenner concluded that he was immune to smallpox. From the Latin word for cow, vacca, Jenner named his procedure ‘vaccination’ and Edward Jenner published his results in 1798. vaccinating a boy. Despite biology textbooks stating that Jenner was Oil painting by the first person to carry out a vaccination, he had in E. E. Hillemacher, fact been beaten to it. More than 20 years earlier, in 1884 1774, the English farmer Benjamin Jesty carried out the same experiment. Jesty and at least five others who made the same discovery never published their results, so Jenner was given full credit for the first vaccination against smallpox. After its success was proven, vaccination spread quickly amongst European countries. Variolation was banned in the UK in 1842, and compulsory vaccination against smallpox was introduced in 1853.

28 History Michaelmas 2010 more than 40 vaccines during his career, including vaccines against measles, mumps, Hepatitis A and Louis Pasteur in B, chickenpox, rubella and pandemic flu. His his lab, painted by achievements are estimated to save the lives of nearly A. Edelfelt in 1885 eight million people each year. Fourteen of his vaccines are still part of current vaccine schedules. Hillemann’s ability to decimate pathogens was unrivalled. When his five-year-old daughter Jeryl Lynn fell ill with mumps, he used the opportunity to combat the virus. By collecting samples from her, he was able to culture the virus in the cells of chicken embryos. From there, he proceeded to make an attenuated form of the virus – which served as the world’s first live vaccine against mumps – still known as the Jeryl Lynn strain. Hillemann also produced the well-known MMR vaccine, which combines three attenuated viruses and gives protection against measles, mumps and rubella. The examples of Jenner, Pasteur and Hillemann show that coincidences and observations outside of the lab played a critical role in the history of vaccine development. Today, the UK immunisation After intensive vaccination programmes were schedule encompasses vaccines against 11 diseases. established by the World Health Organisation in However, vaccine development is not without the 20th century, the number of smallpox infections challenges or controversy. There are many diseases declined rapidly. By 1979, smallpox had been for which researchers have not succeeded in successfully eradicated, demonstrating just how powerful developing an effective vaccine. Two of the most vaccination can be – especially in the case of diseases that devastating are HIV and malaria, which together are transmitted exclusively by human hosts. cause three to five million fatalities each year. Many other scientists were able to build on Criticism from the general public is also common; the achievements of Jenner and his colleagues to the necessity and side effects of vaccinations further develop vaccination and immunology. One are commonly debated. Like any other drug or of these was Louis Pasteur, a French chemist and medication, vaccination can have side effects. But microbiologist. While he was studying the reasons for if we consider how many people have been saved beer and milk going sour, he developed the idea that from lifelong illness and death, and if we think microorganisms could also cause disease in humans of diseases like smallpox (which was successfully and animals. In 1880, coincidence helped him to eradicated) or polio (which is close to being understand one of the fundamentals of vaccination. eradicated), vaccination can surely be considered He was working on chicken cholera, a fatal disease the greatest medical discovery ever made. transmitted by bacteria. When some of his chickens were infected with an old culture of bacteria, they Stephanie Glaser is a PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry only developed minor symptoms and recovered fully. Pasteur suspected that these chickens would now be immune to chicken cholera; he was right. After infecting them with a fresh culture of bacteria, the pre- h any J I M Gat immunised chickens did not develop any symptoms. Pasteur had proven that artificially weakened pathogens could be used as vaccines. He applied the same principle to generate a rabies treatment in 1884. Pasteur expanded the definition of a vaccine to include all administered solutions that contain attenuated or inactivated pathogens (or parts of them) that induce immunity in the vaccinated individual. In the following century, the improvement and development of new vaccines was mainly shaped by one person: the American microbiologist Maurice Hillemann. Unknown to many people, he developed ian fyfe

Michaelmas 2010 History 29 Ready to Go Paperless? Wing Ying Chow investigates the advantages of electronic lab notebooks

s t a n d i n g o n t h e s h o u l d e r s o f g i a n t s is a Cambridge is the first chemistry department in the phrase often used to describe the progression of UK to adopt an ELN system, which is currently in science, with each generation of researchers building the pilot phase. on the results of their predecessors. Successful The ELN has three key features: a central experiments find their way into published papers, database, templates, and digital searching. A but what about the dead ends, the unsuccessful centralised database that is professionally maintained attempts? Often these are not published and become and regularly backed up means that data is much lost in laboratory notebooks. In the digital age, this less likely to be lost. The ELN offers templates may change as the recording of research moves from that carry out routine calculations automatically. paper to computer. These templates speed up the planning process and A lab notebook is the place to sketch out ideas encourage the recording of experimental details in and record experimental procedures, results and a format that other researchers can understand. As conclusions. It is a valuable record of a particular a digital system, the ELN can be searched using scientific investigation for both the researcher who text or even chemical structures: very handy when carried out the work and colleagues who may want writing a paper or thesis. Many types of files, from to revisit and build upon it. annotated images and spectra to journal papers in Yet not all researchers keep equally good lab PDF format, can be dropped into the ELN and notebooks, and repetition of work due to badly searched in the same way. kept records is not uncommon. James Collip, The main challenge with the ELN is getting the biochemist who first purified insulin, lost academics to switch from their current method of track of the variables during the initial successful recording experiments. The pilot scheme was targeted purification. It took another two months for at first-year PhD students and new post-docs so that him to re-discover a working method. Such cases they could establish a paperless routine right from are not restricted to biochemistry in the 1920s. the start of their projects. Nine months into the pilot Bioinformaticians, whose research is born of the scheme, there are 45 users, with 6 being particularly digital age, also sometimes find it “easier to run active. Most users indicate that they still keep some of an experiment again instead of trying to find the their lab records on paper. data”. They rarely use paper, but they must still In contrast to academia, ELN systems keep track of their investigations. are becoming the standard in industry. An electronic lab notebook (ELN) may help to GlaxoSmithKline, a major pharmaceutical company, address some of the shortcomings of the traditional has rolled out an ELN system to over 3000 paper one. The Department of Chemistry in employees. They switched from paper to electronic lab notebooks in only nine months, and most of their users prefer it over paper notebooks. The problem Unlike in industry, ELNs will not be mandatory of legibility is for academic scientists in the short term, yet the illustrated by eventual use of electronic notebooks in universities this excerpt is “inevitable” according to Dr Tim Dickens, who from Charles is responsible for the computing systems that drive Darwin’s the current ELN in the Department of Chemistry. notebook “An increasing amount of funding is for large, multidisciplinary projects, and the ability to search and share data is becoming particularly important.” Moreover, as a digitised database, the notebooks can eventually be released to the general public, who as taxpayers have a right to access the work that they funded.

Wing Ying Chow is a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry.

30 Technology Michaelmas 2010 jrOCKLEY Book Reviews The Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion

ARE SCIENCE and religion necessarily in confl ict? Was the development of intelligent life on our planet an evolutionary inevitability? Will it be possible to maintain religious faith as astronomers and physicists discover more and more details about the early universe and how it formed? ese are the sorts of questions addressed in e Cambridge Companion to Science and Religion. It isn’t a light read by any stretch of the imagination, but for those interested in some of the deepest questions, it is compelling. Fourteen separate contributions, each from a diff erent author, cover a diverse range of issues. e fi rst fi ve chapters chart the historical interactions between science and religion, and are refreshingly objective in their analysis, if at times a little dry. e central fi ve chapters focus on contemporary issues related to the two subjects, and are much more opinionated. e fi nal chapters explore some of the philosophical aspects raised in the preceding chapters. ere is a lot of emphasis on Darwinian evolution throughout and at times this starts to feel repetitive; whilst this is an unfortunate CUP, 2010, £50.00 consequence of having numerous authors, it does give the reader a chance to refl ect on the arguments. I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who wants to fully examine the questions that science raises about religion. Be aware, however, this isn’t an easy-reading, popular science book. TM

Blood and Guts: A History of Surgery

BLOOD AND GUTS is a fascinating account of pioneering surgery and the people behind it. Hollingham illustrates the successes and failures of surgery in vivid detail using examples from ancient history through to modern times. Surgeons patching up Roman gladiators, high-speed amputations in the 17th century, astonishing facial reconstructions of the present day: all are used to describe moments where surgical breakthroughs occurred. e development of anaesthesia and the control of infections were two particularly important discoveries. Hollingham examines the changing perceptions of surgery within society by looking at the use of brain surgery to “cure” mental health problems in 1960s America, and the social value of reconstructive surgery, particularly to wounded soldiers. Although the book accompanies a television series, it stands alone well and gives those less familiar with medicine an insight into surgery and its origins. Readers with more knowledge of the subject may ﬁ nd it a little slow, but the personal stories are worth reading. e author does not succumb to BBC Books, 2008, £18.99 the temptation of ﬁ lling the book with gory tales of mad scientists; instead, he credits each surgeon, even those who may seem misguided, with playing a part in the operating theatre of today. AJ

The Price of Altruism

OPENING WITH a colourful description of George Price’s funeral, attended by a motley collection of beggars and scientists, Harman proceeds to take the reader on a whirlwind tour through the life of this eccentric thinker. Ultimately, Price sought to answer the ultimate conundrum: if survival of the fi ttest is all that matters, “how could behaviour that lowered fi tness be selected?...Why do vampire bats share blood? Why do sentry gazelles jump up and down when a lion is spotted, putting themselves precariously between the herd and the hungry hunter?” and “What do all of these have to do with morality in humans? Survival of the fi ttest or survival of the nicest?” e author seamlessly intertwines the life of Price with some of the great minds of the 19th and 20th centuries, from Charles Darwin to William Hamilton. Despite frequent references to notable biological problems and complex mathematical concepts such as game-theory, the book reads eff ortlessly, making a scientifi c background wholly unnecessary. In fact, as Harman transports the reader from the Siberian steppes to the slums of London, from the Russian Revolution to Nazi The Bodley Head, 2010, Germany and from scientifi c laboratories to humid jungles, this brilliantly researched book off ers £34.95 more thrills than many novels. DV

Michaelmas 2010 Book Reviews 31 Weird and Wonderful A selection of the wackiest research in the world of science

fearfulness towards humans, and so they are in a more relaxed state when it comes to the milk production. Although this study first made people laugh, it is now making farmers think seriously about what to name their cows. x c

Beer bottle brutality i n a s t u d y appropriate for an episode of CSI, forensic pathologist Stephan Bolliger and his colleagues looked into whether empty or full bottles of beer make better weapons, and whether they ALEX HAHN are able to fracture a human skull. After being asked these questions in court, and perhaps after a Good news for knuckle crackers few beers, the researchers decided to measure the a f i f t y y e a r s t u d y has finally reached its climax minimum energy required to break both full and and come to the conclusion that knuckle cracking empty bottles of beer. They attached the bottles to does not cause arthritis. Finally, you can quieten a pinewood board using modelling clay and then all those who love to smugly tell you that you are dropped a steel ball from various heights onto the slowly damaging your joints. Just point them in the bottles. The modelling clay was meant to represent direction of Donald L Unger, the 2009 Ig Nobel the soft tissue surrounding the skull and the Prize winner for medicine. He came up with an pinewood board was meant to act like the boney ingenious experiment: for 50 years, he cracked skull and distribute the impact of the ball. They the knuckles on his left hand no less than twice a found that empty beer bottles required significantly day, whilst leaving his right knuckles untouched. more energy to break (40J) than full beer bottles This means that the knuckles on his left hand (30J); with the breaking threshold of the human were cracked at least 36,500 times. At the end of skull ranging from 14.1J to 68.5J, it’s hard to say the experiment, both hands were examined for which one will break first. So it may be better to get the presence of arthritis, and not only was none smashed over the head with a full bottle of beer than found, but there was no apparent medical difference an empty one, but either way you could end up with between his hands at all. Kudos to Mr. Unger and a fractured skull. n s his left hand. r t

Naming cows increases milk production w e a r e a l l used to calling our pets by names, but what about cows? Scientists at Newcastle University surveyed 560 farms in the UK and found that farmers who called their cows by names had a 258 litre increase in milk yield (per cow, per year) compared to the farmers who didn’t. Catherine Bertenshaw, one of the scientists involved in the study, believes that naming the cows resulted in more positive human interactions with the animals and that this is what made them so much more productive. The actual naming itself is not so important, rather it is how the naming changes the interactions between the farmers and the animals. Fearful cows produce more cortisol, which interferes with milk production. The same thing is known to happen to human mothers. Positive interactions with the cows reduce their ALEX HAHN

32 Weird and Wonderful Michaelmas 2010 w

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9 ISSN 1748-6920 ISSN Magazine The invention paint to be stored without drying. of the paint tube Modern World, 692000 9Modern 771748 Art The paint tube liberated the Impressionists and gave artists more allowed them to work outside, since the paint was freedom Cambridge University science magazine Ian Fyfe explores the way in which science and technology has revolutionised fine art contained and easily transported; their choice of subject was unlimited. The new paints also contained paraffin wax and animal fat, resulting in a consistency the latest of the weird and wonderful exhibits that allowed thicker application. Because paints in at the Tate Modern may not appear to have any tubes could be stored without drying, artists could connection to science. Neither may the masterpieces afford a greater range of colours, and the new vibrant IAN FYFE of Warhol, Dali, Picasso and Monet. But without pigments helped them to recreate light effects. In the 1950s, the introduction of the television and scientific innovation, we would have had none of Pierre-Auguste Renoir, an eminent Impressionist, said expansion of print media and advertising – together these. The 19th century saw the birth of modern that “without tubes of paint, there would have been with mass production of consumer goods – created science, with a surge of technological progress, no Impressionism”. And without Impressionism, popular culture; this then spawned ‘Pop Art’. Personified revolutions in thinking and the founding of the exemplified by Claude Monet, departed from there may have been none of what followed in the by Andy Warhol, pop art took mass produced symbols scientific method. It is no coincidence that the same conventional subject matter and, inspired by art world; the next generation of artists built on of popular culture and presented them as fine art. period saw the birth of modern art. photography, captured moments from the new the revolution of the Impressionists and moved art Mechanical techniques produced several identical pieces Prior to the mid-1800s, art was used to produce technologically-driven life; city street scenes, train forward with science. of artwork, challenging the concept of art itself. You can read the latest issue online and even realistic depictions of scenes. Subjects were almost always stations, bridges and boats. But they did not set By the early 20th century, science was changing In the modern digital era, art is still changing. Having religious or mythical scenes, historical events or portraits out to reproduce the scene accurately. Instead, the way people viewed the physical world, both provided an important trigger for the development of of eminent people. Artwork was usually commissioned, they aimed to recreate the experience of a passing literally and conceptually. Passenger steam trains modern art, photography is now a major art form itself. and artists painted what their wealthy customers wanted. moment. The representation of the light was more were in common use and mass production of cars Digital cameras and sophisticated editing software allow But within the last 150 years, modern science has important than the subject itself; a major departure began in the early 1900s. Motorised transport carried the creation of almost any visual effect. Combination of changed the place of art in the world forever. from artistic convention and one which was triggered people through their daily lives at speed; the world traditional materials and techniques with digital editing Photography is undoubtedly the technology that had by the integration of technology into daily life. The flashed by in flickers of light, familiar forms blurred further widens the scope in art. the most obvious impact on art. By 1840, glass lenses, impressionists’ techniques were equally unconventional together. Meanwhile, Einstein was changing the way In a similar way to photography, the recent explosion photosensitive silver compounds and fixing solutions and also relied on recent scientific progress. we thought of space and time, raising new questions in mass media and the internet may well have provided a had been combined to produce the first glass negatives. The use of colour in Impressionism was influenced about the nature of the world and our experience of new trigger for changes in art. They provide a continual It was not long before photography was a cheaper by the colour theories of Michel Eugène Chevreul. it. The impacts on art were profound. bombardment of images, meaning that fine art can show and more accurate means than painting of producing As professor of chemistry at the Lycée Charlemagne, No longer restricted by artistic conventions us little new on a visual level. Instead, works such as realistic pictures of people, places and events. One of with expertise in dye compounds, Chevreul became of subject and technique, the artists of the early Tracy Emmin’s My Bed, and Doris Salcedo’s Shibboleth the purposes of art had been undermined. director of the Gobelins tapestry works in Paris. 20th century explored this new world with radical (the crack in the floor of the Tate Modern) have come At a similar time, in 1851, The Great Exhibition During his work there, he noticed that the colour of approaches. Traditional perspective, form and colour to the fore. This kind of conceptual art does not try to download it to take it with you anywhere. And if you at Crystal Palace was the first of many international a particular yarn appeared to change according to the were discarded entirely and rather than depicting impress visually, but instead presents familiar images in expositions to bring the latest industrial and colour it was immediately next to. He realised that scenes at all, paintings were used to convey concepts. unfamiliar ways, hoping to affect how we think. technological advances to the public. They created this was due to an alteration in our perception of The Futurists attempted to represent the movement The art of today is often scorned; it seems whacky, enthusiasm for machinery, industry and the future; the first colour caused by the second, and published and dynamism of the modern world, rejecting every obscure and overpriced. But this could have been it was a new world, a new technological era. With his theory of simultaneous contrast in 1839. The artistic convention and embracing the triumph of said of art at any stage of the last century-and-a-half. photography threatening the value of art and the public Impressionists incorporated his theories into their science and technology as their subject. Picasso and Looking back, we can see that modern art is an attempt being swept away with science and technology, it would work to achieve the desired effects of light and the Cubists explored the experience of seeing, and to represent and understand a rapidly changing, take a revolution to prevent art from being left behind. shadow. Chevreul had discovered a perceptual oddity how our perceptions of objects are constructed from technological world. Modern science has provided new The first step in this revolution was the emergence that forever changed the use of colour in art. continually changing perspectives. They captured material, both physically and conceptually, to drive a Modern art such of Impressionism in the 1860s. The Impressionists, Also key to the Impressionists’ success were this by including multiple views of the subject gradual progression of art that has brought us to the as Doris Salcedo’s discoveries and new manufacturing techniques in one picture. Their work developed to include modern day. There is no doubt that future science will Shibboleth attempts With Impressionism, that changed their materials. Science was applied no recognisable subject at all, but instead became continue to drive the evolution of art. to make us think modern technology to the development of paints. New pigments based metaphors for relativity and our visual experience of rather than impress became the subject Ian Fyfe is a PhD student in the Department of visually of art (right). on the recently discovered elements of chromium, the world. Abstract art had been born. Pharmacology Simultaneous cadmium, zinc and cobalt provided brighter colours, The early 20th century also saw the first attempts want to look back at an old issue, they are all there, contrast causes while the manufacture of synthetic pigments added to explain human behaviour scientifically. Sigmund the same colour completely new colours. Freud in particular was highly influential to the to appear different More significant than the paints themselves was Surrealists. These artists, including Salvador Dali, according to the the collapsible paint tube. Before the 1840s, artists created dream-like scenes with strange motifs, objects colour it is next to - purchased pigments to grind and mix themselves that merged into one another, and often sexual the central square is and stored them in pigs’ bladders in their studios. undertones in line with much of Freud’s work. They the same colour in both cases (above). . Scurvy But new manufacturing techniques allowed tin to be explored concepts of the mind, often turning to . Biodiversityrolled thinly and pressed, leading to the invention of episodes or fears from their own lives for inspiration; CLAUDE CLAUDE MONET the squeezable tube by James G. Rand in 1841. The this was completely new ground for art. FOCUS . Modern Art 26 Arts and Reviews Michaelmas 2010 Michaelmas 2010 Arts and Reviews 27 Gene Therapy - The beginnings, challenges and triumphsTutankhamun. Out of Body Experiences from Issue 1.

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