Extracts Point To North American Origins A University of Florida researcher has co-authored a study tracing the

evolution of the modern back Gonzalez Jorge Comparison of the skulls of a to the extinction of the dinosaurs and modern opossum and a finding evidence to support North 54-million-year-old America as the center of origin for all fossil relative. living . The study, published in the online journal PLoS ONE in December, shows that peradectids, a family of marsupi- als known from fossils mostly found the ancestor of all other living made from in North America and Eurasia, are a marsupials occurred at least 65 fossil teeth, sister group of all living opossums. The million years ago, Horovitz said. Bloch said, “but findings are based in part on high-res- Marsupials migrated between this provides a olution CT scans of a 55-million-year- North and South America until the two much stronger foun- old skull found in freshwater limestone continents separated after the end of the dation for that conclusion.” from the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming. Cretaceous period. Marsupials in South Most North American marsupials “The extinction of the dinosaurs was America diversified and also migrated into living in the Paleocene and early Eocene a pivotal moment in the evolution of Antarctica and Australia, which were still (56 million to 48 million years ago) were ,” said Jonathan Bloch, study connected at that time, Bloch said. small-bodied . But M. houdei co-author and associate curator of ver- North American marsupials went approached the body size of some opos- tebrate paleontology at UF’s Florida extinct during the early Miocene, sums living today. Museum of Natural History. “We’re about 20 million years ago. But after “You would probably recognize it as tracing the beginnings of a major group the Isthmus of Panama emerged to an opossum, but it wouldn’t look quite of mammals that began in North reconnect North and South America right,” Bloch said. America.” 3 million years ago, two marsupials The skull came from the same lime- Opossum-like peradectids first made it back to North America: the stone deposits in Wyoming as the primi- appeared on the continent about 65 Virginia opossum (Didelphis virgini- tive primate skull Bloch and other million years ago, at the time of the ana), a common resident in the South- researchers used to map an early primate Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, east today, and the southern opossum brain with CT scans in a study pub- which killed the dinosaurs. (Didelphis marsupialis), which lives as lished earlier this year. “North America is a critical area for far north as Mexico. “In parts of North America today, understanding marsupial and opossum The study describes a new peradectid opossums are one of the most commonly origins because of its extensive and species, Mimoperadectes houdei, based observed mammals around,” Bloch said. varied fossil record,” said lead author on a relatively complete fossil skull. “This fossil skull shows its roots going Inés Horovitz, an assistant adjunct pro- The high-resolution CT scan of the back to the extinction of the dinosaurs. fessor at the University of California, skull gave researchers a large amount of This is literally the fossil that shows us Los Angeles. “Unfortunately, most of its information about the ’s internal the ancestry of that animal.” species are known only from teeth.” anatomy. The ear, in particular, pro- The study’s examination of the two The study also analyzes two 30-mil- vides researchers with information on skeletons gives a first glimpse into the lion-year-old skeletons of Herpetoth- skull anatomy and clues about the ani- form and structure of primitive mar- eriidae, the sister group of all living mal’s locomotion, Bloch said. supials and shows that they were more marsupials. The scan showed the new species terrestrial than modern opossums. The Based on fossil evidence from the shared enough common traits with skeletons came from the late Oligocene skull and two skeletons, the study’s living opossums to indicate an evolu- and were found in the White River Bad- authors concluded the evolutionary split tionary relationship. Some predictions lands of Wyoming. between the ancestor of opossums and about that relationship could have been Jonathan Bloch, [email protected] Bill Kanapaux

4 Spring 2010 Sea Oats Vital To However, some variations of these it’s important to try to plant the Beach Survival delicate plants “crash” when they are kinds of sea oats best adapted to local moved to the greenhouse, said Sandra conditions. It might be easy for the casual beach- Wilson, a researcher at the UF/IFAS Kane is using a $140,000 grant to goer to write off sea oats as mere weeds. Indian River Research and Education develop methods to cryogenically freeze However, the lanky grass holds the soil Center in Fort Pierce. thousands of sea oats samples from of beach dunes, making it a keystone Kane, Wilson and other UF all major populations along Florida’s of the natural barrier between land researchers have worked for years to coasts. The collection will be used to and water — and University of Florida refine the process — fine-tuning con- give plant micropropagation laborato- researchers are using cutting-edge tech- ditions such as humidity, temperature, ries types of sea oats native to specific niques to keep that barrier in place. growth promoters and food sources. areas. The funds come from Florida Sea “The 2004 hurricane season showed In a recent issue of Plant Growth Grant, which works to enhance practi- us exactly how important it is to have Regulation, they report that research led cal use and conservation of coastal and effective ways of rebuilding our coastal by former UF doctoral student Carmen marine resources to create a sustainable dunes,” said Mike Kane, a UF environ- Valero-Aracama showed that using the economy and environment. mental horticulture professor. “Plants growth promoter meta-topolin can cut “There is a need for millions of these are an essential part of that rebuilding.” the number of sea oats that crash in half plants, and this is the sort of work that The researchers from UF’s Institute for some difficult-to-grow varieties. is going to allow us to fill that need,” of Food and Agricultural Sciences are “Sea oats are extraordinarily geneti- said Gary Hennen, president of Oglesby not only developing new ways to grow cally diverse,” Kane said. “This is an Plants International, an Altha, Fla.- the plants under laboratory and green- important finding in that it could really based business that uses micropropaga- house conditions but also building a help improve production for almost all tion to commercially produce plants. cryogenically stored library of geneti- genotypes. Before this discovery was The company hopes to be one of many cally varied sea oats samples. made, often what worked for one type that put the UF research to good use. Four major hurricanes and a tropi- of sea oat might kill another.” “That’s not only going to be good for cal storm damaged more than 800 miles In fact, this diversity poses another our beaches, but it’s potentially a major of Florida shoreline in 2004, leaving major problem when it comes to re- boon for a lot of businesses, as well.” 360 miles of beach critically eroded. establishing the plants. Beaches can Mike Kane, [email protected] Nearly $200 million in state and federal have very different conditions, and funding was allocated to rebuild. Stu Hutson Planting sea oats along reconstructed beaches isn’t easy or cheap. The 22,000 sea oats plants required to populate one mile of rebuilt beach cost more than $40,000. Environmental One of the biggest hurdles is pro- horticulture ducing enough plants that will thrive Professor Mike in the area being rebuilt. Many of the Kane demonstrates natural sea oats populations that serve as how to insert a seed sources were damaged or destroyed plant sample into during the 2004-2005 hurricane seasons, a cryogenic storage leaving researchers looking for ways to container. produce sea oats other than by seed. Using a process known as micro- propagation, small samples in the form of shoot buds are grown in nutrient-rich gels that contain plant-derived chemi- cals to spur rapid development. They are then moved to a greenhouse, where they continue to grow in preparation for their final move to the beach. Jones Tyler

Explore 5 Extracts Breath Sensor Could could help people who suffer from Ease Disease Tests asthma better identify and treat asthma attacks — as well as cali- A tiny sensor could provide inex- brate the sensitivity of the glucose pensive new diagnosis and treatment sensor. The engineers have used methods for people suffering from a other versions to experiment with variety of diseases. picking up indicators of breast University of Florida engineers have cancer in saliva, and pathogens in designed and tested versions of the water and other substances. sensor for applications ranging from As with the finger prick stan- monitoring diabetics’ glucose levels via dard, tests for pH, breast or cancer their breath to detecting possible indica- indicators typically already exist, tors of breast cancer in saliva. They say but they are often cumbersome, early results are promising — particu- expensive or time-consuming, larly considering that the sensor can be Ren said. For example, the current mass produced inexpensively with tech- technique for measuring pH in a nology already widely used for making patient’s breath requires the patient chips in cell phones and other devices. to blow into a tube for 20 minutes “This uses known manufacturing to collect enough condensate for a technology that is already out there,” measurement. said Fan Ren, a professor of chemical At 100 microns, or 100 mil- engineering and one of a team of engi- lionths of a meter, the UF sensor neers collaborating on the project. is so small that the moisture from Graduate student Byung Hwan Chu displays a The team has published 15 peer- one breath is enough to get a pH new sensor that can detect glucose and chemical reviewed papers on different versions of or glucose concentration reading indicators of cancer in breath and saliva. the sensor, most recently in the January — in under five seconds, edition of IEEE Sensors Journal. In Ren said. that paper, members report integrat- Ren said the sensors work by mating information wirelessly to computers or ing the sensor in a wireless system that different reactive substances with the cell phones. The entire wireless-chip can detect glucose in exhaled breath, semiconductor gallium nitride com- package might cost around $40, he said, then relay the findings to health-care monly used in amplifiers in cell phones, although that cost could be cut in half workers. That makes the sensor one of power grid transmission equipment and with mass production. several non-invasive devices in devel- other applications. The team has patented or is in the opment to replace the finger prick kits If targeting cancer, the substance is an process of patenting several elements of widely used by diabetics. antibody that is sensitive to certain pro- the technology, and several companies Tests with the sensor contradict long- teins identified as indicative of cancer. have expressed interest in pursuing the held assumptions that glucose levels in If the target is glucose, the reactive mol- research, Ren said. the breath are too small for accurate ecules are composed of zinc oxide nano- “This is an important development assessment, Ren said. That’s because the rods that bind with glucose enzymes. in the field of biomedical sensors and sensor uses a semiconductor that ampli- Once the reaction happens, “the a real breakthrough,” said Michael fies the minute signals to readable levels, charge on the semiconductor devices Shur, professor of solid state electron- he said. changes, and we can detect that ics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. “Instead of poking your finger to get change,” Ren said. “Professors Fan Ren and Steve Pearton the blood, you can just breathe into it While the sensor is not as acutely have made pioneering contributions to and measure the glucose in the breath sensitive as those that rely on nanotech- materials and device studies of nitrides, condensate,” Ren said. nology, the manufacturing techniques and now their work has led to the devel- In the IEEE paper and other pub- are already widely available, Ren said. opment of sensors that might improve lished work, the researchers report using The cost is as little as 20 cents per chip, quality of life for millions of patients.” the sensor to detect pH or alkalinity but goes up considerably when com- Fan Ren, [email protected] levels in the breath, a technique that bined with applications to transmit the Aaron Hoover

6 Spring 2010 Lasers Ignite Nanoparticles, functionalized fullerenes known to be Offer Exciting Applications biologically safe called polyhydroxy fullerenes. They then used the laser University of Florida engineering to heat the fullerenes, destroying the researchers have found they can ignite cancer cells from within. certain nanoparticles using a low-power “It caused stress in the cells, and laser, a development they say opens the then after 10 seconds we just see the door to a wave of new technologies in cells pop,” said Krishna, a postdoctoral health care, computing and automotive associate in the Particle Engineering design. Research Center. A paper about the research appeared He said the finding suggests doctors recently in Nature Nanotechnology. could dose patients with the polyhy- Vijay Krishna, Nathanael Stevens, droxy fullerenes, identify the loca- Ben Koopman and Brij Moudgil say tion of cancers, then treat them using they used lasers not much more intense low-power lasers, leaving other tissues than those found in laser pointers to unharmed. Another application would light up, heat or ignite manufactured be to image the locations of tumors or carbon molecules, known as fullerenes, other areas of interest in the body using whose soccer ball-like shapes had been the fullerenes’ capability to light up. distorted in certain ways. They said The paper also reports the the discovery suggests a score of impor- researchers used fullerenes

Ray Carson tant new applications for these so-called to ignite a small explosive “functionalized fullerenes” molecules charge. The weak laser already being developed for a broad contained far less range of industries and commercial and energy than stan- medical products. dard electrical explosive “The beauty of this is that it only initiators, the researchers said, yet still The demonstration suggests the tech- requires a very low-intensity laser,” ignited a type of functionalized fuller- nique could be used for many applica- said Moudgil, professor of materials enes called carboxy fullerenes. That tions that require extremely minute, science and engineering and director event in turn ignited comparatively precise lithography. Moudgil said the of the university Particle Engineering powerful explosives used in traditional researchers had developed one promising Research Center, where the research was blasting caps. application involving creating the intri- conducted. Mining, tunneling or demolition cate patterns on computer chips. The researchers used lasers with crews currently run electrical lines to Although not discussed in the paper, power in the range of 500 milliwatts. explosives, a time-consuming and expen- other potential applications include Though weak by laser standards, the sive process for distant explosives. The infusing the fullerenes in gasoline, then researchers believe the lasers have experiment suggests crews could use igniting them with lasers rather than enough energy to initiate the uncoil- blasting caps armed with the fullerenes traditional sparkplugs in car engines, ing or unraveling of the modified or and simply point a laser to set them off. Moudgil said. Because the process is functionalized fullerenes. That process, “Traditional bursting caps require likely to burn more of the gasoline they believe, rapidly releases the energy a lot of energy to ignite. They use a entering the cylinders, it could make stored when the molecules are formed hot tungsten filament,” said Nathanael cars more efficient and less polluting. into their unusual shapes, causing Stevens, a postdoctoral associate in the light, heat or burning under different Particle Engineering Research Center. Vijay Krishna, [email protected] Brij Moudgil, [email protected] conditions. “So, it is interesting that we can do it The Nature Nanotechnology paper with just a low-powered laser.” Aaron Hoover says the researchers tested the technique The researchers coated paper with in three possible applications. polyhydroxy fullerenes, then used an In the first, they infused cancer ultrahigh resolution laser to write a cells in a laboratory with a variety of miniature version of the letters “UF.”

Explore 7 Extracts Lone Bacteria Behind The research, published in the dealt with the irksome bacteria. For Citrus Greening December issue of the journal Molecular example, researchers have developed Plant-Microbe Interactions, is important complex 3-D computer models of the University of Florida researchers because the disease has been especially bacteria in infected tree tissue, while have shown that the disease that threat- difficult to analyze, said Eric Triplett, other efforts have focused on stopping ens to devastate the world’s citrus crop chairman of UF’s Department of Micro- the insects that spread the pathogen. is almost certainly the result of a lone biology and Cell Sciences and lead “This research tells us that our work, species of bacteria, and not that of a researcher on the study. much of which has been focused on combination of bacterial or viral patho- Normally, researchers would prove Liberibacter, is dead-on, on-target,” said gens as some have feared. that the bacteria is behind the disease Jacqueline Burns, director of the UF/ Using three types of next-generation by capturing a sample of the bacte- IFAS Citrus Research and Education genetic analysis, researchers from UF’s ria, growing it in a petri dish and then Center at Lake Alfred. “And it gives us Institute of Food and Agricultural Sci- inserting it into a healthy tree to see if it confidence to move on with research ences examined inner bark from Florida causes the disease. that helps target this pathogen.” citrus trees infected with citrus greening. However, scientists have not yet found Along with potential treatments, the While the team conclusively found a way to get the bacteria to grow in a genetic analysis could help lead to new the genetic fingerprint of the bacteria petri dish. This means that scientists quick and inexpensive testing methods commonly suspected to be behind the are having trouble using their normal that can be early indicators of disease. disease, Candidatus Liberibacter asiati- approaches to researching the pathogen. Greening slowly weakens and kills cus, the analysis showed no other DNA This genetic analysis is just one of all types of citrus trees, while making of suspect viral or bacterial pathogens. the innovative ways UF researchers have their fruit malformed and discolored.

Micro-Endoscope Seeks surface, under the epithelial layer.” Out Early Signs Of Cancer Experiments with Xie’s scanning “micro-endoscopes” on animal tissue Traditional endoscopes provide have been promising, although his a peek inside patients’ bodies. Now, devices have yet to be tested in people. a University of Florida engineering The pencil-sized or smaller endo- researcher is designing ones capable of a scopes could one day allow physicians full inspection. to detect tumors at earlier stages and Physicians currently insert camera- remove tumors more precisely, increas- equipped endoscopes into patients to ing patients’ chances of survival and hunt visible abnormalities, such as improving patients’ quality of life. tumors, in the gastrointestinal tract and Xie and his graduate students have internal organs. Huikai Xie, an associ- authored at least 40 papers on various ate professor of electrical and computer aspects of the research, which is sup- engineering, is working on replacing ported with more than $1 million in the cameras with scanners that “see” grants, primarily from the National they typically perform a biopsy, and beneath the surface of tissues — reveal- Science Foundation. In September, then send the suspicious tissue to a ing abnormal groups of cells or growth he delivered an invited talk, “MEMS- laboratory. But biopsy is risky and may patterns before cancerous growths are Based 3D Optical Microendoscopy,” cause bleeding and even trauma. Also, it big enough to be visible. at the 31st Annual International Con- usually takes a couple of days to receive “Right now, endoscopes just take ference of the IEEE Engineering in the analysis of the biopsy sample from pictures of the surface tissue. So, if you Medicine and Biology Society. He also the laboratory. If it is cancerous, sur- see some injury, or abnormality, on the recently launched a small company, geons may attempt to remove the abnor- surface, that’s good,” Xie said. “But the Gainesville-based WiOptix Inc., to mality and surrounding tissue, using most of the time, particularly with speed commercialization of his scanning either endoscopes equipped for surgery cancer, the early stages of disease are technology. or traditional surgical methods. not so obvious. The technology we are With current camera-equipped endo- Xie’s endoscopes replace the cameras developing is basically to see under the scopes, once doctors spot abnormalities, with infrared scanners smaller than

8 Spring 2010 However, one of the most problematic issues with greening is that infected trees often go years before showing any of these symptoms. This gives the disease plenty of time to spread without detection. Since there is currently no cure for greening, the only solution is to destroy infected and possibly infected trees. So far, greening has devastated citrus crops in Asia, Africa, the Arabian Penin- sula and Brazil. In the U.S., it has been sporadically found through Louisiana, Georgia and South Carolina. The biggest presence, however, is in Florida. Since its pres- A 3-D illustration of a piece of tissue from the inner bark of an orange tree that ence was first confirmed in Florida in is infected with citrus greening. The various finger-like objects are the bacteria 2005, it has been found in 34 counties suspected to cause the plant disease. — making it a major threat to the state’s $9.1 billion citrus industry. Eric Triplett, [email protected] Stu Hutson

resolution of 10 microns, or 10 mil- particularly useful for regions of the Huikai Xie displays a micro- lionths of a meter, in laboratory tests. body where removing as little tissue as endoscope with a scanner That’s more than 10 times higher reso- possible is paramount, for example in that can “see” beneath the lution than the only other non-camera- brain surgery, he said. surface of internal tissues to based endoscopes on the market, which “We are trying to couple this imaging reveal abnormal cells before use ultrasound technology, he said. The probe with cutting tools, so that when cancerous growths are big high-resolution image also includes surgeons begin cutting, they know enough to be spotted by depth information, so the risky biopsy exactly what’s in front of them,” he said. traditional camera-equipped can be more specific to avoid random- David Dickensheets, a professor of endoscopes. ness, or even completely avoided. electrical and computer engineering at Computers process the return signal Montana State University in Bozeman, from the endoscopes, transforming it said Xie’s research shows great potential. “The impact on quality of care

Ray Carson into a three-dimensional image of the surface tissue and the tissue beneath. could be huge, allowing more compre- One scanner even produces a 360- hensive screening than is possible with pencil erasers. The heart of his scanner degree image of all the tissue surround- point biopsies, and making it possible is a microelectromechanical system, or ing the endoscope. Doctors or other to achieve both diagnosis and treatment MEMS, device: a tiny motorized MEMS trained observers can then search the in a single patient visit,” he said in an mirror that pivots back and forth to image for abnormalities or suspicious e-mail. “Professor Xie’s research is at the reflect a highly focused infrared beam. growth patterns. leading edge of this emerging technol- By itself, the beam strikes only Xie said doctors could use the endo- ogy area, and he has worked hard to a period-sized dot of tissue. But the scopes not only for diagnosis but also move the technology out of the labo- MEMS mirror allows it to move meth- for treatment and surgery. Currently, ratory and into demonstration instru- odically back and forth, scanning a he said, doctors must rely during opera- ments that show its potential.” fingernail-sized piece of tissue row by tions on static MRI or CT images of Huikai Xie, [email protected] row, like a lawnmower moving across a tissue obtained before the operation yard. The resulting image is high resolu- begins. But his scanners make images Aaron Hoover tion: Xie said his scanners have achieved available in real time. That would be

Explore 9 Extracts New Technique Tracks Loggerheads’ Journeys “It really revolutionizes With loggerhead sea turtle nests in our way of looking at dramatic decline, researchers would love these animals that have to know more about where the turtles this kind of tissue.” go, and what they eat, so they can better protect the creatures’ habitat. — Karen Bjorndal Now, a team of University of Florida Director of UF’s Archie Carr Center biologists from the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle Research for Sea Turtle Research teasing that information from the turtles’ shells reports some surprising findings. Doctoral student Hannah Vander UF doctoral student Hannah Vander Zanden painlessly gathered small shell samples from Zanden wrote in March in the online loggerhead turtles, sliced them into paper-thin wafers and analyzed them with a mass edition of the journal Biology Letters spectrometer to identify stable isotopes that provide insights into the turtles’ travels and food. that analyses of the chemical elements in the shells of 15 living female logger- “It really revolutionizes our way of isotopes, ratios also incorporated into heads suggests the turtles are remark- looking at these animals that have this shells or other tissues. ably individualistic in their range, diet kind of tissue,” said Karen Bjorndal, So while the analyses revealed that or both. The findings are unexpected UF professor of biology and director of the turtles were surprisingly different in because loggerheads — named for their the Archie Carr Center for Sea Turtle their individual diet or travels and that large heads — are known to swim thou- Research, noting such animals include they maintained these differences over sands of miles and eat 80 types of prey, whales with tooth-like baleen and the dozen years of growth reflected in often including crabs, whelks and many mammals with tusks or horns. “This the shell samples — it did not specify other ocean-bottom-dwelling creatures. loggerhead research offers the longest discrete food items or locations. “The fact is, you have this big range records that I am aware of obtained “The problem with stable isotopes is of potential things they can eat, and from living individuals.” that diet and habitat are kind of con- potential places they can go, and it James Estes of the University of founded,” Vander Zanden said. “So seems that individuals are not using that California at Santa Cruz, agreed: “The we can’t necessarily parse out what is whole range,” Vander Zanden said. length of the method — because of the causing these differences — whether Although the findings need to be isotopic analysis method — is really this turtle is eating just blue crabs refined, the research could one day unprecedented.” or is eating whelks or whether this help scientists and public policymak- Vander Zanden used a small biopsy turtle is eating in New Jersey or in the ers find and protect areas of the open punch tool to gather pencil-eraser sized Bahamas.” ocean or coastal waters where logger- shell samples from adult female turtles She said she will seek to sort out that heads congregate or feed heavily. Such while they were nesting at Cape Canav- question in the remainder of her dis- protection may be more and more eral National Seashore in Florida. sertation research, with luck filling in urgent: On March 10, federal agencies Removing the samples, which cut away major gaps about a species once cele- proposed upgrading the turtle’s status only the dead tissue of the shell, is brated as healthy but today viewed as in from “threatened” to “endangered” harmless and painless to the turtles. jeopardy. While population numbers for among seven Atlantic and Pacific She ground the samples into thin layers adult members of the species are some- populations. and analyzed them using a mass spectrom- what mysterious, it is known that nests Vander Zanden’s findings also shed eter, a machine that separates stable iso- in the U.S. have declined 41 percent in light on the turtles’ habits over a span of topes according to charge and mass. the past 10 years, Bjorndal said. 12 years — at least three times as long The higher an animal is on the food “It is very important to know where as the longest study involving satellite- chain, the more heavy stable isotopes they are, and what they are doing, so tagged turtles — proving the worth of it accumulates and the greater the ratio this work is critical,” she said. analyzing shells, or similar tissues in of heavy to light isotopes in its tissue. other animals, that contain forms of ele- Different ocean latitudes, meanwhile, Hannah Vander Zanden, [email protected] ments known as stable isotopes. have different ratios of light and heavy Aaron Hoover

10 Spring 2010 Dolphins Ideal Model To Of all creatures Study Cervical Cancer that inhabit the ocean, dolphins and other After testing dozens of samples from marine mammals are marine mammals, University of Florida the closest relatives of aquatic animal health experts say they humans, but research- have found the ideal model for the study ers say scientific knowl- of cervical cancer in people. edge of infectious “We discovered that dolphins get diseases, particularly multiple infections of papillomavi- viral diseases, affect- ruses, which are known to be linked ing these animals is with cervical cancer in women,” said limited. Hendrik Nollens, a marine In hopes of shed- biologist and clinical assistant profes- ding more light on the sor at UF’s College of Veterinary Medi- nature, prevalence and cine. “Dolphins are the only species potential of such dis- besides humans that we know of that eases to be passed to Dr. Hendrik Nollens and his colleagues at the UF Marine Animal can harbor coinfections, or infections humans, Nollens and Disease Laboratory have discovered more than 40 new viruses in of multiple papillomavirus types, in the his colleagues at UF’s the past few years in dolphins alone. genital mucosa.” Marine Animal Disease There are approximately 100 types Laboratory have embarked on a large- Nollens said, adding that for more than of human papillomaviruses, and multi- scale collaborative research project to a decade, scientists have been looking ple infections of up to eight HPV types catalogue previously unrecognized and for cures to human diseases, including have been reported in humans, he said. emerging viruses of marine mammals, cancer, among marine invertebrates. “Even more surprisingly, some virus both in collections and in the wild. “Maybe there will be a similar story groups have shown the ability to cross Over a four-year period, some 1,500 with dolphin papilloma viruses and pre- the marine-terrestrial ecosystem bound- blood, tissue and fecal samples taken vention of cervical cancer in humans,” ary from sea to land,” Nollens said. “We from dolphins have been analyzed at he said. “It wouldn’t be the first time have demonstrated at least one case of different laboratories across the United we’ve come up with useful information genetic recombination between viruses States, Nollens said. No animals were from looking at marine animals.” of human and marine mammals. So harmed during collection of cell and The discovery of new infectious dis- while it’s exciting that dolphins can tissue samples, although some were eases and viruses in marine mammals is provide a unique window into the role obtained from animals that had died of important for conservation as well as for of coinfection in human cervical cancer, natural causes in the wild. a better scientific understanding of the we can’t rule out that the next high- “Some 90 percent of what we do in connections between oceans and people, risk virus, such as SARS, or West Nile, the laboratory is molecular analyses,” according to Teri Rowles, director of might actually come from the marine Nollens said. “Because of advances in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric environment.” molecular medicine since January 2006, Administration’s Marine Mammal The presence of coinfections is we’ve found more than 40 new viruses in Health and Stranding Response believed to be one of the biggest risk dolphins alone. When the last textbook Program. factors for the development of cervi- came out in 2003, only 19 were noted.” “This work highlights the impor- cal cancer in humans, Nollens said, All viruses found in the laboratory tance of partnerships in this type of although he added that there is no evi- and suspected of having pathogenic interdisciplinary ‘One Health’ science to dence that dolphins develop the disease. potential are further evaluated to assess allow us to be better stewards of healthy “Why do people develop the disease, the impact each could have on the oceans and coasts, healthy marine but dolphins don’t? If we can figure health of individual dolphins, he added. mammal populations and healthy out why, the human medical commu- The information is then used to gener- people,” Rowles said. nity might be very interested in how ate guidelines for disease outbreak man- Hendrik H. Nollens, [email protected] that information might be applied to agement and prevention strategies. Sarah Carey human strategies for preventing the “This process helps us under- disease,” he said. stand disease and disease prevention,”

Explore 11 Extracts Pill Signals When Swallowed, do this in a more seamless, much less Ensuring Proper Use expensive way,” Bashirullah said. Bashirullah, doctoral student Hong Call them tattletale pills. Yu, UF materials science and engineer- Seeking a way to confirm that ing Professor Chris Batich and Neil patients have taken their medica- Euliano of Gainesville-based Conver- tion, University of Florida engineering gent Engineering designed and tested a researchers have added a tiny microchip system with two main parts. and digestible antenna to a standard One part is the pill, a standard white pill capsule. The prototype is intended capsule coated with a label embossed to pave the way for mass-produced pills with silvery lines. The lines comprise the that, when ingested, automatically alert antenna, which is printed using ink made doctors, loved ones or scientists working of nontoxic, conductive silver nanopar- with patients in clinical drug trials. ticles. The pill also contains a tiny micro- “It is a way to monitor whether your chip, one about the size of a period. patient is taking their medication in a When a patient takes the pill, it com- timely manner,” said Rizwan Bashirul- municates with the second main element lah, UF assistant professor in electrical of the system: a small electronic device and computer engineering. carried or worn by the patient. The Such a pill is needed because many device then signals a cell phone or laptop patients forget, refuse or bungle the job that the pill has been ingested, in turn of taking their medication. This causes informing doctors or family members. or exacerbates medical problems, spurs Bashirullah said the pill needs no hospitalizations or expensive medical battery because the device sends it power procedures and undercuts clinical trials via imperceptible bursts of extremely of new drugs. low-voltage electricity. The bursts ener- The American Heart Association calls gize the microchip to send signals relayed patients’ failure to follow prescription reg- via the antenna. Eventually the patient’s imens “the number one problem in treat- stomach acid breaks down the antenna IN NEWS THE ing illness today.” Studies have found, for – the microchip is passed through the example, that patients with chronic dis- gastrointestinal tract – but not before the eases normally take only about half their pill confirms its own ingestion. prescribed medications. According to the “The vision of this project has always American Heart Association, 10 percent been that you have an antenna that is of hospital admissions result from patients biocompatible, and that essentially dis- not following the guidelines on their pre- solves a little while after entering the scriptions. Other studies have found that body,” Bashirullah said. not taking medication properly results in The team has successfully tested the 218,000 deaths annually. pill system in artificial human models, So-called “medication compliance” is as well as cadavers. Tests have deter- a big problem for clinical trials, Bashir- mined the amount of silver retained in ullah said, because failure to take experi- the body is less than what people often mental drugs skews studies’ results or receive from common tap water. renders them meaningless. As a result, The research was funded by grants researchers often require visual confir- totaling about $700,000 from the mation of participants taking pills, an National Science Foundation, Conver- extremely expensive proposition if hun- gent Engineering and the Florida High A HyGreen monitor above patients' dreds or thousands of people are partici- Tech Corridor Council. beds reminds health-care providers pating in the trials. Rizwan Bashirullah, [email protected] if they need to wash their hands. “The idea is to use technology to Aaron Hoover

12 Spring 2010 In December, NPR’s “All Criminology Professor USA Today turned to geo- Things Considered” featured UF anes- Richard Hollinger was quoted in an physics Professor Raymond Russo to thesiologist Richard Melker’s invention article in The New York Times about explain the mechanics of the cata- of the HyGreen hand-washing system the surprising source of most retail strophic earthquake that hit Haiti in for hospital employees as one of its theft loss — employees. January. most noteworthy inventions of 2009. Hollinger’s research with 106 Russo explained that the quake “Members of Congress looking to retail chains found that employees occurred when two portions of the cut health-care costs ought to listen were responsible for 43 percent of Earth’s crust along the Enriquillo fault to this next story, because if they’re unexplained losses, compared to 36 between the Caribbean and North really looking to save money, a lot of percent due to shoplifting. American tectonic plates slid past

IN THE IN NEWS THE money, they might want to start by “We have met the enemy, and he each other. promoting handwashing,” host Guy is us,” said Hollinger, who said the “The fault is shallow,” Russo said. Raz said in his introduction to the most common type of employee theft “It’s near the surface, so the shaking segment. “Dr. Richard Melker might occurs when cashiers do not ring up is severe and the rolling surface waves just have the solution. He’s developed or scan goods that friends or relatives really do damage.” a system that automatically tracks present at the register. who’s washing up.” Associate Professor Research by UF biology Heather Hausenblas of the Depart- Professor Doug Levey showing that ment of Applied Physiology and mockingbirds recognize, remember Kinesiology was quoted in Parade and act violently toward people who magazine about her findings that they percieve as threatening to their people who exercise feel better about nests was listed as one of the top 100 their body image even if they are not science stories of 2009 by Discover really becoming fitter. magazine. “The duration and intensity of “Mockingbirds Know Who You the exercise didn’t seem to matter,” Are... And They Hold a Grudge,” Hausenblas said. “People felt better read the Discover article. “The birds about their looks even if they didn’t Lou Guillette learned to identify an aggressive lose fat or gain muscle. One of the researcher and ignore the others — reasons may be that exercise lowers A mockingbird attempts to drive and eventually they dive-bombed the levels of anxiety and depression, and a UF student away from its nest. malefactor.” that manifests in body image.”

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