Thursday 5 January 2012

February: Frankenrats and Flu Vaccines

In a (scary) breakthrough, a ring-shaped brain made out of rat neurons was created in Pittsburgh, in an attempt to study how neural networks manage to store and transmit data as well as they do. Not only did this circle of cells on a protein disc grow to form a network, it was able to store memories - when the brain was subjected to an electric impulse, it mimicked the impulse for another 12 seconds after it had gone. 12 seconds may not sound like a long time to remember something, but for a group of 40-60 neurons in a petri dish, that's impressive.


Closer to home, Dr. Sarah Gilbert of Oxford University led a successful trial of a potentially universal flu vaccine. Instead of making the body produce more of the correct antibody, like most vaccines, her idea was to stimulate the production and activation of T-cells (which destroy infected cells). In the small study that she did, the vaccinated volunteers had more T-cells, and more that were "primed and ready to kill", as she put it. Not a woman to bump into in a dark lab at night. If this can be replicated, it could spell the end for costly, lengthy developments of new vaccines for the seasonal flu each year.


In other science: on my birthday, it was discovered that there are 500 000 000 planets in the milky way alone that are in the 'Goldilocks zone' - not too hot, not too cold, where life could potentially exist. Maybe I'll be treating aliens by the time I graduate!
   

No comments:

Post a Comment