September 2013 - Volume 4 Issue 2

Volume 4 — Issue 2

The SSC’s Official Science Newspaper

thecurrent@westernssc.ca

SCIENCE STUDENTS’ COUNCIL

If you can’t donate money, you can donate time

Science Students’ Council helps students to give back Basmah El-Aloul Current Contributor

The Science Students’ Council is proud to be launching a new campaign in support of the Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario. The Ronald McDonald House provides a home for out-of-town families of seriously ill or injured children who are receiving medical treatment for their child at a hospital in London.

Since 1985, over 10,000 families have called it home under the most trying circumstances. A small staff with big hearts – along with hardworking volunteers – sees to it that children and families have the comfort and support they need. They organize programming for the families, make home-cooked meals, and keep the House stocked and clean. They take care of the small things so parents can focus on what is most important—their child.

This campaign was inspired by the idea that although not every student is able to donate funds to charitable campaigns, every student has the ability to donate time.

Through this campaign, students will have the opportunity to volunteer at the Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario, as well as the Ronald McDonald Family Room.

The Ronald McDonald Family room is available for use by all families with children receiving medical care at Children’s Hospital (London Health Sciences Centre). Located on

Science students volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House of Southwestern Ontario on March 2nd, 2013. the sixth floor, the Family Room is staffed at all times by a Ronald McDonald House volunteer.

It helps families feel miles away from the hospital setting—while being just steps away from their hospitalized child.

There are a number of ways students can get involved with this campaign. The Science Students’ Council Charity Committee organizes monthly visits to the Ronald McDonald House in which students from all faculties have the opportunity to visit the house in small groups,

INSIDE THIS ISSUE, YOU’RE GOING TO FIND...

Some funny-looking animals with odd habits

Page 2 The importance of mental health education and support

Page 3 Four of the newest gadgets produced from the technological revolution

Page 4 How to stay healthy this school year with produce

Page 6 Dr. Kang moves to Phase 3 with his HIV vaccine

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and prepare a meal for the families, as well as organize programming for children staying at the house.

The Charity Committee also assists and supports students in organizing their own visits to the House. “In my time volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, I came to realize the importance of the donation of time. As students, we are not always able to donate substantial amounts of money to help charities succeed. However, we can always donate our

time. This experience was incredibly rewarding and helped me to get out of my own world and experience the realities of others for a few hours” says Kate Dillon, a fourth year Medical Sciences Student.

Following a visit to the House last spring, in which students performed various science experiments with the children, the Ronald McDonald House implemented a weekly “Science Hour” throughout the summer.

Bringing science to the community is another goal that the Charity Committee will continue to implement through their initiatives.

“We hope that this campaign will encourage students to get involved and give back to the London community, not only through the Ronald McDonald House, but in other capacities as well,” says Desmond Swamy, Science Students’ Council Charity CoCommissioner.

Please contact Kate Dillon at charity@westernssc.ca to get involved or to find out more information about the program.

ECOLOGY

Heading West Nile

A solution that won’t bite us in the ass Steven Robillard Current Contributor

The only significant characteristic about mosquitos other than their piercing mouthparts and the annoying beat of their wings is that they all command universal hate by the human populace. Not only are they an itch-inducing nightmare – they have the ability to spread a potentially dangerous disease dubbed West Nile virus.

A mosquito borne arbovirus (meaning transmitted by arthropods) originating in Eastern Uganda, the first documented case of West Nile occurred in 1937, and it has since spread to temperate and tropical regions across North America. In infected mosquitos, the virus, along with an anesthetic

and anticoagulant, is injected into the host mammal or bird through the proboscis of a mosquito. The virus then replicates and produces symptoms that are… well it usually doesn’t produce any symptoms at all. Clinically significant symptoms only arise in 20% of infections, but they range from a mild fever to encephalitis (swelling of the brain) to induced meningitis (swelling of the brain coverings).

Amongst vector mosquito species such as Culex pipiens and Anopheles punctipennis, only female members require a bloodmeal to survive, hence they are the only ones that bite. I was going to insert a witty remark at this point in the article, but my best judgment told me not to.

Mosquitos start as eggs laid in a raft-like structure on the surface of stagnant water, and then develop into a larval stage; which is

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The sole responsibility for the content of this publication lies with the authors. Its contents do not reflect the opinion of the University Students’ Council of the University of Western Ontario (“USC”).

The USC assumes no responsibility or liability for any error, inaccuracy, omission or comment contained in this publication or for any use that may be made of such information by the reader.

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The Current— September 2013

LIFE NOT AS WE KNOW IT Our planet is home to many awe-inspiring organisms. If you’re fascinated with life on Earth, but don’t want to get out of your chair to explore the world, here is a glimpse of a few bizarre, exotic, or unconventional creatures your lazy eyes might have otherwise never seen.

THE NARWHAL

The Narwhal is more commonly known as the unicorn of the sea. Their distinctive feature is their spiral tusk that can grow up to 8.8 feet long for males. This ivory tusk, however, is one of two teeth found in the porpoise and grows through the upper lip of the Narwhal. Females have a shorter, less prominent tusk. Although rare, sometimes two tusks may be seen.

Besides being super awesome looking, what is the significance of this tusk? It seems to play a role in male dominance when fighting for a suitable female. Ongoing research by the Narwhal Tusk Research shows that the

tusk may also have sensory capabilities.

Not only are they prey to walruses and polar bears, but Narwhals are also hunted by the Inuit for their tusks and skin (called maktaq by Canadian Inuit), which is high in vitamin C. The tusks are carved and sold, while the skin is a source of food for the Inuit and their sled dogs. These majestic creatures, related to bottlenose dolphins, beluga whales and orcas, are found in the Arctic coastal waters and are often seen swimming in groups of 15-20, but sometimes even hundreds or thousands.

— Jameera Mohamed

THE MANTIS SHRIMP

The mantis shrimp is a fascinating marine crustacean that – unlike its name may suggest – is not a shrimp at all. One of the most impressive features of the mantis shrimp are its colour-receptive cones. Humans have three types of colour-receptive cones: green, blue and red. However, the mantis shrimp has colour-receptive cones for green, blue, red, and 13 colours that we can’t even see!

The mantis shrimp also has two terrifying predatory appendages jutting out from the front of its body. It extends these limbs forward at the same acceleration as a bullet being shot from a twenty-two-caliber rifle.

This force is so great that it boils the water around the mantis shrimp, then the boiling bubbles collapse and cause a shockwave so intense that it can kill surrounding prey without the mantis shrimp even needing to aim.

Once the mantis shrimp has killed its prey, it proceeds to dismember and smash its food until the most delicious parts fall out.

Finally, what would a flamboyantly colourful murdering machine be without extremely tough armour that is currently being studied by the military for its resiliency?

—Caitlin Martin Newnham

The Current— September 2013

MENTAL HEALTH

More than sophing

The need for a new perspective on mental health in university

Caitlin Martin Newnham Editor-In-Chief

I dedicated three years of my life to a beautiful experience: developing a family whose only goal was to welcome in the new students of Western Science. As a Science Soph I waited nervously for my interview, I attended bonding events over the summer, I cheered for a week straight, I gave up all but three hours of every night’s sleep for the frosh during O-Week, and even managed to affect the lives of a few people throughout the year – I did this for three years.

However, it wasn’t until my last year of Sophing, during the 2012-2013 school year, that I understood why we do this. Why it is so important to support all of the new people coming into Science at Western. Why we need to remember.

“

room laughing about something. At this point I realized that I did not only have science Frosh, I had a floor full of Frosh because there was no separating them.

That is why Noah’s death on Monday, March 18th was so devastating. Noah was my science frosh and the beloved friend – nay brother – to the 3 Middle family. He was that person that always had people laughing at he’s outlandish comments and confusing jokes that were embedded in his personality. He always said hi to everyone he knew when he walked past him or her, even if he hadn’t spoken to him or her in weeks. He was selflessly kind, and a natural entertainer. He just wanted to make people smile.

No one can know why Noah took his own life, and no one could have prevented it.

However, I know that I felt intense guilt over the situation. I started my year thinking that I

leave the room, some people were paralyzed by their sobbing, but every heart broke.

The 3 Middle family had an incredibly difficult time moving on after Noah passed, but we honoured him in ways that we knew he would love. This only brought an already tight family closer. Noah taught us all to be kind without expecting anything in return, he taught us to laugh constantly, and he taught us – in his last act on earth – that we always have someone to turn to because we found we could turn to each other to cope with his passing. From Noah, I learned for the first time why I Sophed, why people volunteer for anything, and why mental health programs are so important. First year can be incredibly stressful, and, although I know this was not the sole reason Noah took his life, I know that it contributed to his pain.

I know too many people in university with anxiety and depression to know that it can break you down, bit by bit, until you are physically and mentally drained to a shell. That is why building new families – whether they be through your floor in first year, through a Soph team, or through one of the many clubs, volunteer opportunities or committees is so

Some people had to leave the room, some people were paralyzed by their sobbing, but every heart broke.

Image Courtesy of life-sea.blogspot.ca

THE TARSIER

Within the fauna of several Southeast Asian islands, such as the Philippines, one can expect to observe some fantastic wildlife.

However, in the case of a primate called the Tarsier, they are more likely to be observing you. This is because the Tarsier possesses astoundingly large eyeballs, especially in comparison to its small body.

Each eyeball is the size of the animal’s entire brain, and is usually around 16 mm in diameter! In order to support the eyes – and subsequently heavy head – the tarsier owns a distinct cranium somewhat triangular in shape.

In addition to its already impressively freakish anatomy, the tarsier is named for its elongated tarsus bones in the feet, making it perfectly suited for climbing, clinging and leaping.

Unfortunately, although having been around for 45 million years, the Tarsier is becoming increasingly vulnerable to extinction. The shy, furry creature serves as another reason for the human race to open their own eyes, and see the vulnerability and beauty of our planet.

—Tanner Scidmore

Image Courtesy of Klaus Stiefel

GOD OF SHELLFISH

The furry-armed Kiwa hirsuta is a crustacean found in 2005 5000 feet below the surface of the ocean just South of Easter Island.

Not only was it given a new genus (Kiwa), but a new family as well (Kiwidae).

Kiwa is the goddess of shellfish in Polynesian mythology, and Hirsuta means ‘hairy’ in Latin – so to translate directly, it’s the Furry Goddess of Shellfish.

The God of Shellfish lacks ocular pigment, leaving scientists to believe that it is blind. The crab’s “hairy” pincers are coated in bacteria, which purify the poisonous minerals in the water emitted by hydrothermal

vents in the crab’s environment. This chemosynthesis allows the crab to live in this toxic habitat.

Also, this almighty crustacean is thought to occasionally feed on the bacteria living on its appendages when it cannot find any (much preferred) carnivorous snacks.

— Caitlin Martin Newnham

”

I had the pleasure of Sophing for a special floor: 3 Middle in Saugeen. They started out like every other floor that I had Sophed for, but I knew there was something different about them. Yes, they loved to attend the dances during O-Week, go on adventures, and meet new friends. Yes, they were stressed about their courses, and how they would do on exams. Yes, they complained about the Saugeen food every once in a while, had some wild parties, and had friends from different floors visiting constantly. However, they were different. They did not just live on the same floor as each other; they accepted one another as family. This was something that we science Sophs worked hard to do with our new team each year, but instead of working at it, it came naturally to this floor.

Tara, their RA was their anchor. She held them all together like glue. When I visited, her door was always open and there were always frosh flying in and out. Also, I would often find at least five frosh gathered in one

Image Courtesy of Meredith Pow 3 Middle releasing green balloons -- Noah’s favourite colour and the colour of mental health awareness -- in honour of Noah

was one of the people 3 Middle could rely on to help them succeed and be happy through what I knew was inevitably going to be a tough year for them, as first year is for every student. So when Noah left his room, then was missing for the next 24 hours, I had a sinking feeling that I had failed him as a Soph.

No one knew where he was, so we, the 3 Middle family, waited for him together. We were updated once about police searching for him, then proceeded to wait some more.

We hoped that he had gone for some sort of driving adventure to escape the stress of the exam. However, we were wrong. We were told in the tired-looking 3 Unit common room that he was found in his car in a parking garage. He had committed suicide. Some people had to

important.

Also, simply educating people about why mental health is such a huge issue, and advertising the resources that are available to individuals who deal with this internal struggle can prevent deaths like Noah’s.

I wish I could tell him that he is loved. I wish I could tell him university isn’t as important as society has made it seem – it is not worth your life. I wish I could tell him that he has solutions, and people to talk to about his worries. But no one saw the signs.

Since I missed the chance to tell him, I want to tell everyone that this article can reach the same thing: you are loved, you have support, you are never alone. Reach out if you need help, you have nothing to lose.

West Nile

Current Staff Caitlin Martin Newnham — Editor-In-Chief

Your name could be in this box....it’s a pretty awesome box.

Visit westernssc.ca for editorial applications

Current Contributors Basmah El-Aloul, Brent Holmes, Rajiv Lakhani, Jameera Mohamed, Steven Robillard, Jeremiah Rodriguez, Tanner Scidmore, Jason Sinukoff, Julian Uzieli Make like an acid and contribute to our base: thecurrent@westernssc.ca

“

By the Numbers

2.5

Number of times the blood vessels of the human body could wrap around the earth if laid end-to-end

8 7x10 Number of people inhabited by blood sucking hookworms

430 Number of bugs that people 0.2 Number of milligrams of gold

that each human is born with in their body

100 Number of simple eyes that a scallop can have

30

Number of gallons of water that a camel can drink in 13 minutes

further subdivided into four instar stages. At this point, the larva have a respiratory siphon at their tail end that allows them to breathe surface oxygen while suspending their body in an aqueous atmosphere.

Courtesy of thedailygreen.com

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accidently eat each year

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Image Courtesy of carlossg

700 Number of species of bacteria

We can snap on our rubber gloves, pound a few red bulls and attack mosquitos in their larval stage

”

Larvae then develop into pupae, and a comma-shaped hardening of their outer layer transitions them into mosquito adulthood. It is important to note that mosquitos do not eat at the pupa stage.

So where do we go with this knowledge of the mosquito lifestyle? How can we apply our superior intellect to solve a problem beleaguering human health care? Well, we can snap on our rubber gloves, pound a few red bulls and attack mosquitos in their larval stage.

Since the larvae are located in predictable areas (catch basins, small ponds, bird baths,

that breast milk can have

Image Courtesy of Rundstedt B. Rovillos

etc.) and are the only such stage to be both easily located and capable of consuming anything, we can manipulate that aspect.

Commercial larvicides such as the bacterial agent Bacillus thuringensis israelensis (BTI) are routinely applied to areas of high larval density in order to control the population of adult mosquitos. Granules of BTI are consumed by the larvae, and travel into the basic gut of the insect essentially

causing its stomach to burst. BTI is a relatively safe commercial pesticide because the acidic stomach of most other organisms is nonreactive with its major chemical components.

It’s a gruesome solution, but ask yourself – would you rather have your brain swell up?

I’m pretty confident in my decision to defend my right to murder thousands of annoying and potentially dangerous pests before they are ever capable of sucking my blood.

40,000

Number of years it can take for a photon to travel from the core of the sun to the surface

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The Current— September 2013

LIDAR This strange looking contraption rotates to sense over 200 feet around the car. It then uses this information to create a 3D map of the car’s environment.

VIDEO CAMERA This video camera mounted near the rear-view mirror helps the car’s computer to recognize traffic lights and moving obstacles.

POSITION ESTIMATOR The left rear wheel hosts a sensor that measures small movements made by the car, and accurately locates the car on the car’s map.

RADAR Three sensors on the front of the car and one sensor on the back of the car locate distant objects.

Image Courtesy of Techyouth.com

“You can count on one hand the number of years it will take before ordinary people can experience this,” boasted Google co-foounder, Sergey Brin. By this, he is referring to the artificially intelligent car that has successfully driven 1609 kilometres without human commands. That is the equivalent of driving to Toronto from London and back again four times – yes... four times. Imagine all of the things that you could do while your car drove you through traffic jams, monotonous scenery, and tricky intersections! Google has, so far, equipped a team of at least 10 vehicles including: six Toyata Prius’, one Audi TT, and three Lexus RX450h’s.

Google Driverless Car

Imagine your dream car. Not the car that already exists, but the car that you have created in your mind to suit all of your style and function needs. Now imagine being able to print a prototype of this car on a high resolution and affordable $2799 3D printer. For those of you who just spit out your drink in shock at that price being ‘affordable’, think about it this way: for half of your tuition you can creatively express your mental creations. The software was created to be simple and user-friendly, so more time can be contributed to designing rather than setting up prints.

So far, Form 1 has formed teams in Boston, Montreal and London, engingeerd the system to be mass-manufactured, and have built and tested 7 generations of prototypes.

CLIMBING THE TECHNOLOGICAL MOUNTAIN

6x

3x

Form 1: 3D Printer

It seems like just yesterday that the inventions in The Jetsons, Star Trek, Astroboy and Futurama appeared to be off in the inconceivably distant future. However, the future is here and it brought some amazing gadgets.

This virtual reality 3D gaming headset allows users feel like they are inside a video game. You can turn your head with extremely low latency to see the high-resolution environment of the game.

One of the most revolutionary aspects of this product, in this evergrowing market, is its low price tag of $300. The Oculus Rift team is working on a Software Development Kit (SDK) that will allow game developers to easily integrate the Rift with both their existing and new games. Each Oculus Rift comes with the SDK, which will include out-of-the-box engine integrations for Unreal Engines and Unity so professional and amateur developers can work with the Oculus Rift with ease. Also, the Rift works with both PC and mobile platforms.

The Current— September 2013

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HEAD TRACKING Six degrees of freedom (DOF) ultra-low latency FIELD OF VIEW 110 degrees diagonal and 90 degrees horizontal RESOLUTION 1280x800 or 640x800 per eye INPUTS DVI/HDMI and USB PLATFORMS PC and mobile WEIGHT Approximately 0.22 kilograms

Image Courtesy of geeky-gadgets.com

“I’m really looking forward to getting a chance to program with it and see what we can do.” – Michael Abrash, Valve

“What I’ve got now, is, I honestly think the best VR demo probably the world has ever seen.” – John Carmack, id Software

Image Courtesy of media.edge-online.com

“As Far as I’m concerned, this is the biggest step gaming has made in decades. There is no denying it, this will be the future of gaming and that future is now. $300 is a great price for what this is capable of and what it adds.” – AuToFiRE, Gamer

Oculus Rift: Virtual Reality Gaming

Examples of what it can print “Most of the other machines have a lot of components, so the more accurate you want it the more expensive it is. But we risk less. This is how we can bring that quality to the desk of professionals. The leap here is that we managed to harness this technology to this scale, at this price.” – Yoav Reches, Form 1 Porduct Designer

SPECIFICATIONS Display: 640 x 360 Camera: 5MP built-in that can film at 720p Battery life: 24 hours Flash Memory: 16GB (12GB availble for storage) Other Features: syncs with Google Drive, built in Bluetooth , and built in WiFi

STEREOLITHOGRAPHY (SL) This is the simple method by which the Form 1 is capable of producing high resolution products. This process consists of a laser drawing on liquid plastic that hardens in response to that specific wavelenth of light.

Each layer is drawn and hardens until the entire model is complete.

The Form 1 can print extremely small dimensions.

It can produce dimensions as small as 25 micron layers, 300 micron features, and volumes of 125 x 125 x 165 mm.

Designed and Written by Caitlin Martin Newnham

Image Courtesy of www.3ders.org

“Overlaying data into your vision has obvious benefits; many of which are already functional in Google Glass.

Directions become more intuitive (although it sounds like there is no GPS on board so you will have to pair it with your phone), you can view real-time translations or transcriptions of what is being said, and you can scroll through and reply to messages - all on the fly.” – James Rivington, techradar.com Writer

Available colours of Google Glass

Image Courtesy of blogs.independent.co.uk

These Augmented Reality glasses are relatively affordable at $1500 for what they offer. However, Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, wants to create an even cheaper consumer version so everyone can have a pair. Google Glass does many things by voice command including taking pictures and videos of what you see, uploading to social media, giving directions and displaying them on your environment, answering your questions, translating your voice to another language, and so much more. The greater the capabilities of Google Glass, the more users will start to feel like androids with the power of a computer assisting them in viewing and interacting with the world.

Google Glass: Augmented Reality

Image Courtesy of blmiers2

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The Current— September 2013

FOOD TECHNOLOGY

Dying for a burger? Soon the cows won’t have to.

Changing what it means to be vegetarian Jeremiah Rodriguez Current Contributor

The day is coming when burgers won’t be cut from a cow’s ass, but instead entire patties will be grown from petri dishes. And if no animal is harmed – much less ever existed – where does that leave vegetarians on eating it?

The meat isn’t synthetic or imitation beef – it’s actual cow cells. Preparation for each patty takes about 8 weeks – so orders have to be made a tad on the early side.

Stem cells from cow muscles were grown and treated with growth factors, then electric currents were run through the tissues to replicate the sinewy texture found in real meat. Those millions of cells were coalesced into pellets, and then the strips of muscle were shaped into patties.

But with a price tag of $330,000 USD, the stem cell burgers aren’t going to be on supermarket shelves anytime soon. Lead researcher Dr. Mark Post of Maastricht University in the Netherlands said that won’t be for at least another 10 to 20 years.

Ingrid Newkirk, President of PETA and key

funders of the research for 6 years said that Post is just being cautious. She beamed saying this demonstration showed how monumental this research could be for a world where our “animal based agricultural is not sustainable at current levels.”

Comparing the two methods outside of price, according to an independent study, labgrown beef uses: 45 percent less energy, 96 percent less greenhouse gas, and 99 percent less land than traditional figures for growing cattle.

Dr. Greg Kelly, Professor of biology at Western University suspected that the study grew out of the acceptance that “people are never going to stop eating meat. Whether you like the idea of this, we›re running out of places to feed the population. We›re not getting any smaller.”

But the burger is far from perfect. At a press event in London, England, tasters described the burger has having “some intense taste; it›s close to meat, but it›s not that juicy,” to “It’s lean. I miss the fat.”

According to Newkirk, the methods here are easily transferred to chicken, pork, fish, lamb or literally any other meat usually coming from a slaughterhouse. With implications like that, it’s easy to imagine the slaughterhouse itself being cut as a middleman in how we get our meat.

Image Courtesy of Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

HEALTH

Health tips from the farm

Tips to stay healthy with produce Brent Holmes

Current Contributor Eating healthy when at school can be difficult—especially around exam season— however, these fruits and vegetables have useful vitamins that make them ideal for relaxing and staying healthy during high stress times.

1.

Raw Garlic can prevent a cold or flu. As well as having magical properties that help it stop vampires, eating raw garlic will often stop a cold or flu in its tracks. However, in order to get the best result, the garlic must be fresh. Also, since raw garlic is incredibly potent, cut the cloves into smaller pieces and swallow them. On feeling a cold coming on, take several cloves per day until well.

2.

See what strawberries can do for you. Another good way to prevent getting sick is to eat lots of strawberries—they are filled with vitamin C. Four to six large and fresh strawberries could contain more vitamin C than an orange. If you can’t beat getting sick, you can always berry it.

3.

De-stress with Bananas. When attempting an all-nighter for an essay or exam, why not try a piece of fresh fruit? Bananas are very high in potassium, which helps

NEUROSCIENCE

Mind Control: The false memory edition An exploration of memory storage Rajiv Lakhani

Current Contributor The mechanism the brain uses to form, store and retrieve memories is a concept that has baffled scientists and psychologists for centuries. A research team in MIT, lead

by Sunsumu Tonegawa, may be narrowing in on the mystery of memory with some breakthrough findings published recently in Nature. Tonegawa and his team were able to plant false memories in the brains of mice, and activate these memories using a technique known as optogenetics.

Optogenetics is a technique popular among neuroscientists that can activate or inhibit individual neurons in living tissues in mammals. It works by activating rhodopsin light-gated ion channels in cells which are specifically targeted using genetic markers, such as cell-specific promoters. Additionally, these manipulations can be measured precisely, in real time. Fiber optics may also be implanted to study deeper regions of the brain.

The general consensus among scientists and psychologists with regards to the brain’s mechanism about memory has been that memories are stored in neural networks and memory traces, known as engrams.

Consequently, memories are formed by these neurons during recall. Tonegawa’s

I feel scared... but that corn looks tasty!

Image Courtesy of anivyl

research supported this theory, and he was able to stimulate these engrams – located in the hippocampus region of the brain – using optogenetics to produce a false memory of fear in the mice.

The mice were first placed in a novel chamber and were free to roam. They were then placed in a second chamber and were conditioned, using a mild electric shock, to fear that chamber. Upon placing the mice back in the first chamber, Tonegawa and his colleagues were able to activate the memory of fear of the second chamber in the mice, making them immediately halt in their tracks.

Interestingly, the amygdala, the region

of the brain responsible for controlling and expressing emotions, showed strong activation when the false fear memories were activated. This activation is shown in genuine responses to fear, implying that these false memories were perceived as genuine by the mice. It also implies that authentic and false memory recall may share a very similar mechanism of action in the brain.

The implications of this research stretch far and wide, and Tonegawa hopes to answer many more questions regarding memory following this breakthrough in new understanding of memory formation.

Questions such as, how are false memories formed, can multiple conditions create false memories? What about false memories that are pleasurable rather than aversive; or false memories about other things such as food, objects, or other mice/mammals?

It is definitely far from human trials, but it is amazing how yet another mystery of the brain is being revealed!

“

Memories are stored in neural networks and memory traces, known as engrams.

Consequently, memories are formed by these neurons during recall.

with to regulate blood pressure and reduce stress. When up late at night, go bananas for studying.

4.

Remember Blueberries. Blueberries help boost brain-protective enzymes. While studies show that blueberries can help with dementia in older adults, for young people they can offer help with memorization.

5.

Big Melons... it’s not that hard to get. Eating watermelon, particularly the rinds, can function as a natural male stimulant.

Watermelons are a source of the amino acid citrulline, which is an ingredient in Viagra and other drugs treating erectile dysfunction.

However, to get an equal amount it will take a good amount of watermelon rinds.

Although acquiring these fruits and vegetables may only be possible at grocery stores in the winter, it is always better to get them fresh from the farm. Fresh fruit and vegetables carry more of the nutritive content than produce that has been transported a great distance. However, frozen fruit will maintain its nutritional value from when it was picked. If one buys fresh fruit now and freezes it, it will be a good way to reap the benefits of eating healthy.

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The Current— September 2013

Page 7

BIOLOGY

HIV vaccine passes phase one

Our own Dr. Kang is passing tests like a straight-A student Jason Sinukoff

Current Contributor After a long 52 week trial period, the HIV vaccination created by Dr. Chil-Yong Kang and his team at Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry succeeded phase one testing.

The vaccine, dubbed SAV001-H, was derived using a genetically modified killed whole virus. It was used in conjunction with human lymphocytes, and was treated with gamma radiation.

“

HIV has already taken the lives of over 35,000,000 people, while another 34,000,000 are living with it today.

”

After the vaccine’s inception, it began phase one testing. Phase one dealt with the safety of the vaccine and immune response, among other things. This process started in March 2012 and continued up until August 2013. This testing was done in a double-blind placebo controlled manner in both male and female patients from various age groups.

In Phase one testing, it was not only revealed that there were no adverse effects suffered by the patients exposed to SAV001-H, but that the number of antibodies in the blood that fight against the p24 capsid antigen rose significantly in the patients

Image Courtesy of www.sunnewsnetwork.ca

injected. The number of antibodies actually rose to as high as 64-fold in some patients.

Looking ahead, SAV001-H will now have to undergo phase two and phase three testing before it is can be mass-produced. Whereas phase one testing focused on HIV positive individuals, phase two will once again do double-blind testing, but this time from an HIV negative sample size that are considered high risk for contracting HIV. Kang and his team will recruit and test the vaccination on 600 members from the homosexual community, commercial sex workers and hemophiliacs.

300 of the sample size will be a control group, while the other 300 will be treated with SAV001-H.

Following phase two, SAV001-H will undergo the final stage in its testing—phase three, or the efficacy test.

There have been four different trials over the last 10 years striving to create an HIV vaccine. Although each one of those failed, hopefully SAV001-H won’t follow in their footsteps. HIV has already taken the lives of over 35,000,000 people, while another 34,000,000 are living with it today. Hopefully SAV001-H will exhibit the same amazing success it had passing phase one testing when it undergoes the more rigorous and lengthy testing processes of phases two and three.

SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATION

If you care about science, you’ll communicate

The importance of making science interesting Julian Uzielli

Current Contributor What first got you interested in science? It might well have been a TV show like Bill Nye the Science Guy or Popular Mechanics for Kids.

All the hard stuff came later, in high school and now university. But for many students in this faculty their interest in science has similar origins: someone on TV convinced them that science is really cool.

I liked those shows fine as a kid, but it wasn’t until I was three years into my media degree at Western that I gained a real appreciation for science. Like so many others, I had TV to thank; in my case, it was an old show from 1980 called Cosmos.

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To put it bluntly, the more people think science matters, the more funding it’s going to get.

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Perhaps my favourite line from the show: “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”

It sounds a bit like something your buddy might say after smoking one too many bowls.

Carl Sagan

Image Courtesy of brainpickings.org

But this nugget of wisdom came from one of America’s most famous scientists, Carl Sagan (though as a noted advocate for marijuana use, he may well have been stoned when he wrote it).

To put it succinctly, Carl Sagan was like the Bill Nye of the 1980s, only his show was aimed at adults. In the 13-episode series, Sagan took scientific ideas like relativity, space

travel and the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence and brought them into peoples’ living rooms in an accessible, interesting way — a groundbreaking concept at the time.

Thanks largely to him, I have tremendous respect for the scientific method and those who use it in an effort to improve our world.

But I’ve always kind of sucked at it myself. I was never very good at science in school, and

didn’t give it much thought until I watched Cosmos last summer on a whim. But I was blown away: Carl Sagan made me want to learn about science, something no teacher had ever been able to accomplish.

It’s a great show, albeit 30 years out of date (though the upcoming 2014 reboot presented by Neil DeGrasse Tyson will almost certainly be worth watching). Sagan was a great scientist, but more importantly he was a great communicator.

Scientific research is incredibly important to the sustenance and advancement of our society. Obviously. You understand that, and so do I, but many people out there don’t — until recently, I counted myself among them. What fewer people understand is that effective, engaging communication about that research —say, in the form of a documentary TV series — is equally vital. To put it bluntly, the more people think science matters, the more funding it’s going to get.

Never underestimate the potential impact to be had from combining good science with good communication. Take a lesson from Carl Sagan: To this day, Cosmos remains the most widely watched PBS series in the world.

He helped convince millions of uneducated schmucks like me that they should care about how the universe works. And who knows — some of those schmucks might just be inspired to study science at university one day.

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The Current— September 2013

Welcome to the

Comics Section

Where the rules are made up and being serious doesn’t matter.

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16 One of the first video games 17 The second longest river in James Bond would. the world 18 Bacterium are ____cellular Send an email to: Image Courtesy of dmatthuse

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