Issue 43 - University of Surrey's Student Union

20 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY The Stag | 6 th March 2012 sciencetech@thestagsurrey.co.uk
Science & Technology
Scientists uncover new cellular
mechanism used to fend off HIV
By Lawrence Finn, Science & Tech Team
The HIV virus infects at least
2.7 million people worldwide
each year, targeting and eventually
eradicating a key component of the
immune system–the CD4 helper
cells. Yet some cells are more
resilient than others. Now, thanks
to international research, scientists
have uncovered an ingenious
defence mechanism employed by
the immune system against a form
of the virus known as HIV-1, that
offers a better understanding as to
why.
Like all viruses, HIV is parasitic,
relying on a host cell to replicate.
However, the virus has a problem.
Its genome is in a different language
to ours. Ours consists of DNA but
that of the virus consists of another
molecule called RNA. To replicate,
the virus has to convert the
instructions contained in RNA to its
equivalent DNA. Thus, the building
blocks of DNA – deoxynucleoside
triphosphates (dNTPs), are an
important requirement.
Certain cells of the immune
system are able to take advantage
of this-one example being the
macrophages involved in the
ingestion of foreign invaders.
By producing a protein called
SAMHD1, these cells can break
down the dNTPs-depriving the
virus of a vital resource needed
for replication. Unfortunately, the
cell is equally reliant on dNTPs for
replication so it can no longer divide.
For cells such as macrophages
which don’t proliferate, this is not
a problem. However, the CD4 cells
most affected by the virus do. The
cells “would be in trouble if we took
dNTPs away,” to quote Virologist
Dr Johnathon Stoyle from the
Medical Research Council National
Institute of Medical Research.
Whether or not the discovery
holds potential for a new form of
treatment remains to be seen.
The HIV virus up close.
© iceblade
Blue Sky Thinking
By Kate Mcatamney, Science & Tech Team
Creativity is often thought of
as something we have; that
we can come up with original
ideas because of our education
or something innate in us. But
it can also be affected by the
environment in which we work.
Mehta and Zhu (2009) found
that the colours blue and red
can affect creative output, with
blue being associated with more
creative works. This association
between the colour blue and
creativity was found across a
number of domains, including
solving anagrams and designing
toys. In contrast, the colour
red was associated with better
performance on tasks that
require attention to detail, such
as remembering lists of words.
So seeing as our abilities can be
affected by small aspects of the
environment so easily, maybe we
should pay more attention to our
surroundings, and reach for that
blue pen when we want blue sky
thinking.
© A is for Angie
The trials of research
By Kate Mcatamney, Science & Tech Team
find myself in an awkward
I position. The dissertation
topic I have had my heart set
on for the past five months isn’t
as revolutionary as I previously
thought. It isn’t going to be a game
changer, and it won’t launch my
academic career. In fact, around ten
other people have done it before,
and even their findings weren’t
that inspiring. Now, I know I’m
not the first person to go through
this, in fact, when I talk to people
about this I often get back similar
stories. This is something familiar
to most people in research, but it’s
not something that you’re actively
prepared for, and can leave you
feeling very alone when it does
happen. However, this can also be
a great motivator, and I know that
having this experience now means
I’m not going to go through it again.
So all in all, maybe a bit of failure is
a good thing.
Microchip development may
end need for self-injection
© rileyporter
By Melissa Raske, Science & Tech Team
The first in–human clinical
trial for a drug releasing
microchip has successfully
been completed.
The trial, published in
Science Translational Medicine,
involved inserting the chip
into the waists of women
with osteoporosis and then
activating it by remote control.
Professor Robert Langer
from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology was one
of the designers, and said that
with this “you could literally
have a pharmacy on a chip.”
He went on to discuss
other potential uses including
treatment for ‘multiple
sclerosis, vaccine delivery,
treating cancer and pain
management.’
The chip, which is 3cm by
5cm and 1 cm thick, has been
in development for 15 years
and is expected to take about
5 more years to be made into a
marketable product.
The chip is made from
biocompatible materials and on
the inside contains electronics
and tiny wells containing the
correct doses of the drug.
To release the drug the thin
layers of titanium and platinum
covering the wells are broken
with an electronic current,
making the drug available to
enter the blood stream.
Importantly, no side effects
were recorded, however the
chip only contained 20 doses
but it is thought that eventually
they could contain hundreds of
doses.
These microchips will be
particularly useful for patients
on a daily regimen of drugs that
are self injected.