Laboratory news & BioScience March 2017

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NEW ZEALAND LABORATORY NEWS | NEW ZEALAND BIOSCIENCE ISSUE 117 | MARCH 2017 Brain imaging and causal assessment of impairments reveals metamemory regions From page 1 dence there is between thought and language. Previous studies had investigated the neuronal activity during metacognitive perception in macaque monkeys and rats. These works looked at brain activity during the self-monitoring of real-time decisions. Since metamemory requires the reconstruction of past experiences it can be considered a more self-reflective metacognitive process. So far metamnemonic processes have only been observed in macaque monkeys, apes and dolphins, as well as humans, highlighting comparative cognitive capabilities among these species. seen – that is, an old remote memory – the brain was activated in the dorsal prefrontal cortex, around the posterior supraprincipal dimple (aPSPD), particularly within area 9 (or area 9/46). However when wagering on a memory of the last picture seen – a recent memory – the anterior part of the supplementary eye field (SEFa) within area 6 activated instead. The contribution of the supplementary eye field to perceptual metacognition has been previously suggested. However as the researchers point out in their report, this is the first observation of metacognitive roles for area 9, especially at aPSPD. Brain areas Certain areas of the brain have been identified as responsible for mnemonic processes revealing a multi-tiered brain wide network for memory. While this is now understood in some detail, what regions of the brain may be responsible for metamemory was totally unknown. The researchers found that when the macaque monkeys were engaged in metacognitive judgement of memories of the first picture Experimental design and metamemory task. Whole-brain functional localization of metamemory networks for “remote” and “recent” events via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and behavioral reversible inactivation with a GABA-A receptor agonist (muscimol) in macaque monkeys performing a metamemory task. Courtesy of Science Are you confident your lab results are correct? Contact us to see how we can add value to your business +61 3 8318 9014 (Australia) P +64 7 850 4483 (New Zealand) P www.global-proficiency.com W Your specialist provider of independent proficiency services, providing assurance in the accuracy of your test results. We offer: • Regulator, customer, management and consumer confidence through inter-laboratory comparison programmes. • External laboratory benchmarking of performance within various industry groups. • In-house laboratory assessments and problem resolution for test method failures. • QC materials that are used internationally for calibration and quality control. • PT schemes that are aligned with industry needs. Environmental & Agricultural WaterChek SoilChek PlantChek FertChek TimberChek MaizeChek Dairy & Milk DairyChek MilkChek VeriTest® Milk VeriTest® Antimicrobials BactoChek NurtureChek Food & Beverages VeriTest® Food VeriTest® Shellfish VeriTest® Meat VeriTest® Ice Cream LipidChek HoneyChek BeverageChek Pathogens PathoGens QC Materials Dairy Products Soils Plants UHT Milk [ 2 ]
NEW ZEALAND LABORATORY NEWS | NEW ZEALAND BIOSCIENCE Science is, sometimes, political The New Zealand Association of Scientists (NZAS) is deeply concerned by the impact of the new US administration. just gone a few weeks with the new US administration and “We’ve we are witnessing a geopolitical shakeup that is without precedent”, said NZAS president Craig Stevens. “The rise of social media has reduced the time for a community to respond to an event down to mere minutes. “At the same time, communities are both many - and global,” he said. “The radical changes being made by the Trump administration ripple across the globe in the blink of a smart-phone.” As an independent body seeking to promote science, the NZAS has six main aims (www.scientists.org.nz) – each one is and will be impacted by the radical changes being wrought by one of the planet’s dominant nations. This dominance feeds through into economic influence, migration, regional stability and science. “We seek to promote science in New Zealand,” said Stevens. “Science is now global, scientists come from all-over and go all-over. We collaborate, we consolidate, we share knowledge, we discover – globally. “The world would not be sure that the climate is changing rapidly due to greenhouse gas emissions without the efforts of scientists of all nationalities. “Science and the scientific community cannot tolerate discrimination against people on the basis of their place of birth or religion. “In fact, the Trump Administration's travel ban has horrified the global scientific community. “This ban is completely immoral in the context of the current international refugee crisis. “It will also retard scientific progress in the United States and the rest of the world at just the time when our civilisation needs science the most. “We seek to increase public awareness of science and expose pseudo-science. The US Administration is using new, and seriously partisan, media to deconstruct science. “It's happened before with abhorrent consequences,” said Stevens. We debate and influence government science policy. With science being central to so many aspects of our lives, in particular those that we all have in common such as climate and health, these debates cross borders. We seek to improve working conditions for scientists, including gender and ethnic equality. This is completely central to societal advances of the last decade, largely facilitated by global communications and social media, enabling battles to be fought and won with contributions from all over the planet. And these fighters seek open knowledge, transparency, justice, and quality of life for all. We promote free exchange of knowledge and international co-operation. A few weeks ago this seemed a given. Today, that this is so much less certain is remarkable in itself. And finally we encourage excellence in science. Excellence comes in many forms – academic excellence is just one, and usually insufficient on its own to be good for much. We put forward the idea that in this age, everyone is a scientist – or part of the science ecosystem. This doesn't mean everyone has to read up on Rutherford and Salk, but rather that everyone should be able to value – and be able to Continued on page 4 Instrumentation for water quality Field / Laboratory Process PH ISSUE 117 | MARCH 2017 ORP COND Test Strips FAC, ClO2, NO3 and more CONDI Portable Photometers - direct concentration Calypso + Photopod - photometer & physicochemical multi-parameter UviLine - lab UV/VIS Online Chemistry NO - 3 / NH + 4 / S -2 / PO - 4 and more Optical Analysers OXY Colour FAC UVT Chlorine Analyser & other disinfection chemicals NO 3 + Process & Field Dataloggers SmartLog - GMS/GPRS datalogger +64 9 525 1875 | info@belltechnology.co.nz | belltechnology.co.nz pH • BRIX • Conductivity • Moisture • DO • NIR • Temperature • RH • Viscosity • Colour • Turbidity • Sensors [ 3 ]
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Laboratory news & BioScience March 2017

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