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At the Forefront AT THE FOREFRONT • Designer cellulosome: a world of opportunities • Biomimetic nanoparticles enable better tumour targeting and early detection • Cardiac troponin as a sensitive marker for fast and effective assessment of heart damage • CAN-BIND: pioneering biomarker research for better treatment of major depression September 2015 Do you want to increase the visibility Disseminationand accessibility of your research? ad WELCOME… Thousands of academic articles are submitted to peer-reviewed journals each business day, highlighting the importance of to discuss your keeping up with the literature in today’s rapidly changing and Contact us today expanding society. dissemination needs and find out New studies challenge the way we think about old concepts, how we can help. create new concepts that change how we see the world entirely, and hopefully contribute to the advancement of society and our CONTACT overall quality of life. Due to the rapid pace in which new studies are released into the public, we are bombarded by an overwhelming Knowledge Translation Media ltd amount of new information, adding to the excitement and challenges that largely differ from those faced even a decade ago. Published in Bristol, UK, by Knowledge This is where our company, Knowledge Translation Media, comes Translation Media ltd in. We specialize in dissemination of novel findings to the research E: [email protected] community and increasing the accessibility of carefully selected W: www.knowledgetranslationmedia.com studies in a manner that is both relevant and useful. In addition W: www.scientiapublications.com to our print and online publication, Scientia, we also disseminate novel findings through video and web that can be accessed by ISSN 2059-8971 (print) not only researchers, but also by investors and stakeholders. Our ISSN 2059-898X (online) mission at Scientia is to provide a stage for high-quality information that can be used to connect individuals from different professions including researchers, educators, policy-makers, public and private sectors to allow for maximal exposure and usage of the findings. In doing so, we aim to encourage conversation between different fields, sectors and institutions for furthering advancement, collaboration and integration of knowledge. Meet The Team… PUBLICATION MANAGER CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Nick Powers Chris Harrison, PhD [email protected] Cristian Gradinaru, PhD. Bakr Ahmed, PhD. DESIGN MANAGER Annika Tostengard Mimi Jones Edd Gent Whitney Dolan www.knowledgetranslationmedia.com 1. W: www.knowledgetranslationmedia.com E: [email protected] CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2015 4 BIOTECHNOLOGY 12 6 ONE DISCOVERY. TWO DISCOVERY. THREE DISCOVERY? MORE? Dr. Ed Bayer 36 CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR 63 OXYGEN IN HEART ATTACKS: A LONG-STANDING “Designer cellulosome” discovery and its many biotechnology implications UNDERSTANDING SEPTIC E NCEPHALOPATHY BELIEF CHANGES Dr. Yukio Imamura Dr. Dion Stub 9 THE MAKER OF MAGNETS Understanding septic encephalopathy and the search for Checking oxygen levels prior to supplemental oxygen can Dr. Raz Zarviach novel treatments improve patient outcomes Magnetosome, an organelle from magnetotactic bacteria, and its possible applications 39 LISTENING TO EMOTIONS 66 DELIVERING QUALITY CARE FOR PALLIATIVE Dr. Barbra Zupan CARE PATIENTS 12 FROM BENCH TO BEDSIDE Emotional perception in patients with traumatic Registered Nurse Sue Healy & Prof. Liz Reymond brain injury The importance of lay caretaker education in palliative 14 BIOMIMETICS BUILDS BETTER NANOPARTICLES FOR BIOMEDICINE care Dr. Changqian Cao 41 A NICHE IN NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE Magnetoferritin nanoparticles enable better tumour targeting and detection Dr. Martin Duennwald 69 HEALTH CARE CONCERNS NOT JUST FOR THE ELDERLY Protein misfolding in neurodegenerative diseases Dr. Patricia Li 16 THE BIOLOGY OF TELOMERE CHROMATIN IN STEM CELLS AND CANCERS 26 Implementing family medicine to facilitate continuous Dr. Lee Wong 44 PERSONALIZED MEDICINE care Telomeres and their role in cancer development 46 BEATING THE BLUES 72 FROM BEAKERS TO PATIENTS 19 PREVENTING VASCULAR AGING AS A MEANS OF LIFE EXTENSION Dr. Sidney Kennedy Dr. Yu Wang Interpatient variability complicates diagnosis and 73 EMPLOYMENT AND DISABILITY The role of SIRT1 in aging arteries management of major depression 74 ENHANCING EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES 22 NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN HEART DISEASE RESEARCH 49 HIDDEN CONNECTIONS Dr. Josephine Wilson Dr. Takahiro Yoshizawa Dr. Yuichiro Eguchi & Dr. Hirokazu Takahashi Helping individuals with disabilities to obtain job Adrenomedullin as a promising target for heart failure treatment Greater intramuscular adipose is predictive of poorer opportunities online prognosis for diabetes 25 EXPANDING OUR KNOWLEDGE OF BRAIN EXPANSION 77 IMPROVING THE WORKING LIVES OF PEOPLE Dr. Oz Pomp 52 UNCOVERING THE ROLE OF GENES IN DISEASE WITH DISABILITIES KATNB1, a culprit for microencephaly, and its role in cortical development Dr. Fahd Al-Mulla Dr. Lisa Nishii Personalizing medicine based on individual genetic Individuals with disabilities report lower quality work 26 CLINICAL TRIALS 34 makeup experience 27 MANAGING REFRACTORY ANGINA IN ABSENCE OF OPTIONS 55 IMPROVING PATIENT CARE 80 RATIO BIAS Dr. Shmuel Banai ReducerTM as a novel treatment for refractory angina 57 EVIDENCE-BASED MEDICINE 81 IN SEARCH OF LOGICAL BASES BENEATH THE Dr. Andrew Munro SUPERFICIALLY IRRATIONAL 30 INNATE DEFENSE REGULATORS: NOVEL THERAPEUTICS FOR EMERGING AND Call for more timely treatment of patients with serious Dr. Kimihiko Yamagishi ANTIBIOTIC- RESISTANT DISEASES cardiac conditions Ratio bias can be predicted mathematically Dr. Oreola Donini SGX94 stimulates innate immunity to combat infections in place of antibiotics 60 CHANGING THE WAY WE DIAGNOSE HEART ATTACKS Dr. Martin Than 33 BRAIN DISORDERS Accelerated diagnostic program using biomarkers, decision aids, and EC 2. SCIENTIA www.knowledgetranslationmedia.com 3. BIOTECHNOLOGY Today, we are at the forefront of biotechnology, a multi-billion dollar industry. Biotechnology encompasses the wide range of technological applications of biological compounds and processes. It has been utilized by humans for thousands of years for agriculture, medicine, and food processing. For an example, microorganisms and biological processes have been employed to produce beverages (e.g. beer and wine) and dairy products for centuries. More recently, biotechnology has been used to harnesses resources from nature to provide us renewable energy and to reduce pollution. It is used to improve crop yield and resistivity to insects. Furthermore, it has expanded to the development of novel compounds and techniques for biomedical research, enabling the examination of various biological processes and the molecular mechanisms underlying many diseases. In the following section, we are going to focus on the more recent advancements in the field and their application in biological and medical research. Novel compounds and biological organelles are continuously being developed and harnessed to integrate into both modern and more traditional laboratory techniques such as microscopy, western blotting, and immunoprecipitation. The utilization of these novel compounds and biological processes has been an essential part of the recent advancement in medical research as well as in other fields such as manufacturing. Two recent innovations will be highlighted. Professor Ed Bayer, an expert in avidin-biotin system and a pioneer of cellulose research, will discuss his “designer cellulose technique” and its various biotechnology applications. In addition, the mysterious magnetotactic bacteria, which can navigate the oceans using a structure called the magnetosome, will be discussed, focusing on Dr. Raz Zarviach’s work on the magnetosome and its potential application in protein purification. 4. SCIENTIA www.knowledgetranslationmedia.com 5. The smallest factory in One discovery. Two discovery. the world Three discovery? More? The Dept. of Biological Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science is home to over 24 Professor Ed Bayer seems to constantly make new discoveries, starting during his PhD with avidin-biotin interactions (a technology used by research groups, each tied together by a common thread: a focus on the biochemistry of life. thousands of scientists today) and continuing with the discovery of the tiny factories known as cellulosomes. Here he discusses the twists and Here we look at Professor Bayer’s work on natural, Nano-scale factories – cellulosomes. turns of his career. Imagine a factory. Not as you usually would, providing us with the dietary fibre which our there is no giant boxy shed full of machinery body needs. For those species which can here. Instead you need to picture a long stretch degrade cellulose, however, a whole new world of LEGO blocks, each manufacturing a certain of carbohydrate energy opens up. This is a product, clicking into place in a way that is particular advantage for fungi which colonise both highly ordered and yet immensely flexible. dead and decaying wood, allowing them to feed Sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard of? off the energy stored within the structure itself. That’s because this particular factory is built Many bacteria have also evolved the ability to Could you describe your research host of significant implications – environmental, by aerobic fungi and bacteria, cellulosomes are at the molecular scale, comprised of enzymes degrade cellulose, allowing them to colonise
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