Scientia Issue #103
INVESTIGATING LIFE
In this edition we celebrate the increasingly diverse and interdisciplinary nature of the life sciences. The life sciences now encompass a wide array of disciplines and scientists are coming to understand the value of interdisciplinary cross-collaboration, leading to maximised outputs, paradigm shifts and the pooling of expertise. In this edition, we showcase a variety of life science research from a diverse array of fields and demonstrate that scientists increasingly blur the lines between disciplines, with encouraging results.
The first section introduces the interwoven fields of psychology and neuroscience, where we highlight how the physical damage caused by traumatic brain injury expresses itself through the impairment of social and emotional function. The areas of psychology and genetics merge in our second section, where Dr. Hilary Coon’s research investigates the genes responsible for suicidal tendencies. In this section we will also demonstrate how exploring the genes of zebrafish offers insight into the evolution of life on earth. From here we are plunged into the world of biotechnology, a booming multidisciplinary industry which relies on the expertise of biochemists, geneticists, microbiologists, molecular biologists, agricultural scientists and pharmacologists, to name just a few. The blood takes the spotlight in our penultimate section, where we look at its role in both cancer and nutrition, which integrates fields as diverse as molecular biology and smartphone app development. To wrap up, we explore the dependence of public health on the health of the environment. In this final section we highlight the work of Professor Pamela Lein, who in addition to investigating environmental contaminants as risk factors for neurodevelopmental disorders, is also helping to train up the next generation of environmental health experts, ensuring the longevity of this multifaceted, and vital field of research.
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Published in the UK,
by Science Diffusion ltd
ISSN 2059-8971 (print)
ISSN 2059-898X (online)
E: info@sciencediffusion.com
W: www.sciencediffusion.com
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Meet The Team…
EDITOR
Nelly Berg
nelly@sciencediffusion.com
PUBLICATION MANAGER
Nick Powers
npowers@sciencediffusion.com
DESIGN MANAGER
Mimi Jones
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Chris Harrison, PhD
Magdelana Kegel, PhD
Cristian Gradinaru, PhD
Bakr Ahmed, PhD
Dr Alia Radwan
Joseph Pastorek, MD, JD
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Scientia Issue #103 Contents
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THE BRAIN AND BEHAVIOUR
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DISSECTING THE MATERNAL MIND
Professor Alison Fleming
Understanding how ‘nature and nurture’ interact to enhance mothering
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AUDIO-VISUAL ROOM PERCEPTION
Dr. Hans-Joachim Maempel
Seeking a unified theory of audio-visual room perception
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UNDERSTANDING PSYCHOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
Professor Skye McDonald
Investigating the mechanisms underpinning social and emotional impairment in patients with TBI
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THE EVOLUTION OF GENETICS RESEARCH
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SECRETS OF MOLECULAR EVOLUTION IN ZEBRAFISH GENES
Dr. Jonathan Wright
Investigating how evolutionary adaptation occurs in the regulatory regions of genes
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DWELLING ON SUICIDE GENETICS
Dr. Hilary Coon
Searching for genes associated with an increased risk of committing suicide
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BIOTECHNOLOGY
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ENZYME COFACTORS – STRENGTH IN COLLABORATIONS
Professor Andreas Bechthold
Integrative approaches to cofactor basics
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DESIGNING COSMETICS FROM YOUR OWN BACTERIA
Dr. Yuichi Nodake
Improving skin health using probiotic cosmetics
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BLOOD AND HEALTH
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NOVEL INROADS FROM HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS TO THE TREATMENT OF LEUKEMIA
Dr. Roi Gazit
Improving the success rate of current leukemia treatments
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FIGHTING METASTATIC CANCER ONE CLUMP OF CELLS AT A TIME
Professor Nicola Aceto
Studying circulating tumour cell clusters to understand and fight cancer metastasis
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SEEKING ANSWERS FROM IRON AND BLOOD
Dr. Lynn Riddell
A new app to improve iron nutrition in women
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ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
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MERCURY IN SEAFOOD: WHAT THE MADHATTER DIDN’T KNOW
Dr. Celia Chen
Investigating how toxic metals enter the food chainwomen
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MOLECULAR PERSPECTIVES ON BEE PATHOGENS
Dr. Elke Genersch
Understanding key factors behind the rapidly spreading decline in the world’s pollinator populations
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CONTRIBUTIONS TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH THROUGH RESEARCH AND TRAINING
Professor Pamela Lein
Training up the next generation of environmental health experts