Monthly Archives: August 2017

Genetics

Oxford Genetics Secures 7.5M Investment – FinSMEs (blog)

Oxford Genetics, a UK-based developer of innovative synthetic biology-based technologies for biologics discovery, development and delivery, received a 7.5m investment.

Backers included existing investor Mercia Technologies and Invesco Perpetual.

The company intends to use the funds to open a new office in Boston, US and extend its UK facility at the Oxford Science Park by November 2017, which includes cell line engineering capabilities, viral vector production and purification suites, high-throughput robotic screening systems and process development facilities, invest in its research and development capabilities to increase its intellectual property (IP) portfolio and grow its of technology-enabled licensing business.

Led by Ryan Cawood, CEO, Oxford Genetics is a UK based biotechnology company specializing in the production of versatile cloning plasmids for research in academic and biotechnology institutions. The company also provides custom cloning and DNA synthesis.During the latest year, the company has increased the number of clients, key appointments, and market momentum in the growth areas of cell and gene therapy. It has also signed a number of licenses for use of its technologies, including two collaborative partnerships with gene therapy companies designed to develop its IP offering further, as well as filing five new patents intended to improve the discovery, development or delivery of biotherapeutics.

FinSMEs

22/08/2017

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Oxford Genetics Secures 7.5M Investment - FinSMEs (blog)

Neuroscience

Hyundai Motor connects art and technology through pioneering neuroscience concept with Lacma – Automotive World (press release)

Hyundai Motor is pleased to announce its continuing collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), introducing as part of the Art+Technology LAB. The project examines how the fields of art and technology converge through the artists vision for a neuroscientifically-driven concept car.

Hyundai Motor worked with conceptual artist Jonathon Keats to advance idea, which presents a speculative alternative to driverless car technology. Technical advisors from the South Korean car manufacturer worked with the artist to investigate how the users cognitive processes could be interpreted to provide novel sensory experiences while driving.

is inspired by Keats ongoing questions about the development of driverless cars and their effects on automobile technology and culture. Keats inquiries led him to identify four features which accentuate the link between art and neuroscience technology.

In Keats concept, this connection was made manifest as adjustable audio effects generated by the Hyundai IONIQ that stimulate the users perception while driving. Vehicle speed is conveyed to the driver by adjusting the tempo of the soundtrack playing on the stereo system; autobody aerodynamics are conveyed by adjusting the left-right speaker balance, vehicle RPM with an increase or decrease in soundtrack pitch, and driving efficiency by the level of audio distortion.

Hyundai Motor is the presenting sponsor of the Art+Technology LAB program, which is also supported by technology companies including Google, SpaceX, Accenture, and NASAs Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL). This program originates from the legendary Art and Technology Program that ran from 1967 to 1971 and involved world renowned artists such as James Turrell, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Irwin, Andy Warhol, and Claes Oldenberg.

Hyundai Motor participated in the initiative from 2015 as part of a long-term partnership with LACMA, commencing with The Hyundai Project at LACMA. Since then, more than 20 artists have received grant funding and technical support for ideas that combine art and technology.

In April, a Hyundai Santa Fe car was used by a 3D scanning studio ScanLAB Projects in their Art+Technology LAB project. This exhibit captured vast panoramas of Yosemite National Park and converted them into a digital diorama that was presented inside the car.

Spearheaded by Project IONIQ, Hyundai Motors ongoing commitment is to create innovative mobility solutions enabling movement that is entirely free of limitations, enhancing the future lifestyles of our customers, John Suh, Vice President at Hyundai Motor, said. We are constantly exploring how new forms of mobility can help us overcome current transportation limitations. Engaging with art and technology projects allows us to explore this field in entirely new ways.

For me, this collaboration has presented a remarkable opportunity to explore the future of transportation with a company that is at the forefront of that industry, says Keats. I have benefited greatly from the expertise of John Suh and Hyundai engineers, as well as the support of LACMA, all of which has allowed me to challenge conventional thinking with The Roadable Synapse.

Besides the Art+Technology LAB, Hyundai has supported LACMA through art and technology exhibitions and acquisitions, Korean art studies, print on demand publications, and many other initiatives. In addition, Hyundai Motor is partnered with Tate Modern in London, UK, and MMCA, the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, in Seoul, Korea. Each association forms part of an overall project to contribute to the development of a sustainable art environment that delivers inspiration and unique experiences to all areas of the world.

Coming up in October, the Hyundai Commission at Tate Modern will reveal an installation work by Danish artists SUPERFLEX, followed by the opening of the MMCA Hyundai Motor Series in Korea with artist and film director Heungsoon Im in November.

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Hyundai Motor connects art and technology through pioneering neuroscience concept with Lacma - Automotive World (press release)

Neuroscience

Falcon focuses on closed-loop neuroscience – Medical Physics Web (subscription)

Researchers from Belgium have developed a novel open-source software platform for processing streaming experimental data in closed-loop neuroscience experiments, while optimizing CPU resource use through a threaded architecture. The software dubbed "Falcon" has a sub-millisecond intrinsic latency, wide hardware compatibility and high flexibility in the implementation of experimental processing pipelines (J. Neural Eng. 14 045004).

Closed-loop electrophysiology experiments in which voltage measurements are used to record the activity of neural populations within the brain, which is then stimulated in direct response to the activity measured have considerable potential to explore the mysteries of brain dynamics and function.

To control these experiments, software speed and flexibility are of vital importance. Many software solutions, however, constrain themselves to specific experimental setups (such as electroencephalogram-based brain-computer interfaces, or cellular electrophysiology) or are tailored for particular hardware and data types and offer the user little control over the allocation of CPU resources.

To address these issues, Davide Ciliberti and Fabian Kloosterman of the Neuro-Electronic Research Flanders in Belgium have developed Falcon. A client-server application written in C++, Falcon's multi-threaded signal processing pipeline is built around a graph architecture, comprised of individual signal processing nodes, connected by buffered threads. Users can construct new real-time analysis pipelines by connecting basic processing nodes such as spike detectors and digital filters to suit their given experimental design.

Based on the chosen graph structure, Falcon is then able to intuitively map the necessary computations to the available CPUs so as to maximize the overall processing speed and throughput, such as by determining which computations need to be executed prior to, and which during, the actual experiment. Furthermore, on multi-core CPU systems, different processing threads can be executed in parallel across the different cores, reducing processing times.

"Falcon is highly flexible, as it allows the implementation of arbitrary real-time processing pipelines, including those requiring complex data structures like encoding models, and gives the user direct control over the CPU resources," Ciliberti told medicalphysicsweb.

Falcon would be particularly useful, the researchers say, for handling those closed-loop experiments that require complex data structures and the real-time execution of computationally intensive algorithms such as, for example, population neural decoding and encoding from large cell assemblies.

Being open source, Falcon is free-to-use. In addition, Falcon is not limited to specific hardware choices. In their study, for example, the researchers have demonstrated the capacity for Falcon to work successfully with both Neuralynx and Open Ephys hardware - demonstrating round-trip latencies of less than 1ms and less than 15ms, respectively, on both 32- and 4-core workstations, with the software only contributing 0.5ms. These round-trip latencies are at least comparable to those in other closed-loop setups.

"Falcon basically gives the experimenter a free hand over what needs to be implemented for a closed-loop experiment of interest," Ciliberti says, adding: "We will be glad to assist clinical labs that want to push real-time experiments in their research scope or want to use Falcon to test out new algorithms for decoding brain activity as part of brain-computer interfaces."

To demonstrate one such real-time experiment, the researchers describe Falcon's use to successfully detect neural population bursts from the hippocampus of a freely-moving rat with low latencies, averaging at 40ms.

With this initial study complete, the researchers are now working to expand Falcon's compatibilities with different acquisition systems and hardware. Alongside this, they plan to further demonstrate the potential of Falcon, showing how it could be used to decode neural states from the firing of large neuronal ensembles over timescales in the order of tens of milliseconds.

"For the first time, the neuroscientist community will be able to perturbed complex spike patterns at an unprecedented temporal resolution and specificity," Ciliberti says, adding: "For example, by transiently suppressing a given neuronal activity pattern for example, corresponding to a past experience we can investigate its contribution to the formation of a new memory."

Open Ephys enables closed-loop electrophysiologyWearable device monitors driver vigilanceBrain-computer interface adapts to user's moods

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Falcon focuses on closed-loop neuroscience - Medical Physics Web (subscription)

Neuroscience

Sci-Fi Author Patrick Hemstreet Talks About VR, Neuroscience, and His New Book, ‘The God Peak’ – Outer Places

Image credit: Harper Voyager

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE GOD WAVE AND THEGOD PEAK

When I asked Patrick whether he was inspired or influenced by works of science fiction, like Scanners or Minority Report, he admitted to loving Dune with a passion, but said that wasn't his inspiration for The God Wave. "I didn't get out there to emulate Frank Herbert," he joked. According to him, he didn't intend to write a science-fiction book at all when he sat down to work on God Wave (which took him about two years to finish). Instead, as someone who has studied both mysticism and neuroscience, he wanted to write a book about the convergence between the two.

The results were the Alphas and Zetashumans with the power to manipulate matter and energy using only their brainwaves. The God Wave follows a research institute called Forward Kinetics as its head scientist, Chuck Brenton, explores this new ability in his test subjects...before a covert military operation called Deep Shield tries to take control of Chuck's project and turn his subjects into living weapons. The God Peak explores the aftermath of Deep Shield's attempts to harness the power of the Zetas, and swings between techno-thriller and hard sci-fi.

One of the most interesting aspects of the books is that much of the neuroscience is pulled from Hemstreet's own professional experience as a neuroscientist and engineerthe science of brain waves, like the alpha, beta, theta, and gamma waves, is represented accurately, with small departures here and there (such as the shapes the characters' brainwaves make on the EEG machine and the algorithms used to regulate them). In person, Hemstreet can easily dive into the precise terminology when explaining the fine line between science and sci-fi in his books, from the distinction between beta and gamma waves to the difficulties of navigating, say, an airplane using only one's thoughts. He mentions Paul Dirac, the Nobel-prize winning physicist, as an influence on his view of the universe, along with Carl Jung's collective unconscious.

THE COLLISION OF SCIENCE AND SCI-FI

To Hemstreet, the combination of though-controlled VR and worldwide VR communities sounds like the beginning of a new chapter in human society: "Imagine a society where instant change is rendered at the speed of thought, where anyone who has a thought can share it..." he says. "That will be the greatest step in human history...VR is gonna be the great enabler of people's unity."

The question ofwhen (or if) humans will be able to manipulate the world around them without a computer interface lies at the center of Patrick's fiction, but regardless of how it's done, his message remains the same. According to Hemstreet, "Human existence is always about breaking through barriers of what's impossible."

We couldn't agree more.

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Sci-Fi Author Patrick Hemstreet Talks About VR, Neuroscience, and His New Book, 'The God Peak' - Outer Places

Immunology

Pollution raises infection risk, research suggests – AirQualityNews

Exposure to air pollution could make people more vulnerable to infection, scientists at a Scottish university have claimed.

A team led by immunology expert Dr Peter Barlow has produced research that suggests particles found in traffic fumes can damage the immune systems ability to kill viruses and bacteria.

Particles found in traffic fumes can damage the immune systems ability to kill viruses, a study has suggested

The work carried out by scientists at Edinburgh Napier University is the first to show this effect and its significant human health implications, the researchers claim.

The Edinburgh Napier study focused on antimicrobial peptides, tiny molecules found in the immune systems of humans and animals which increase in response to infection.

Researchers at the School of Applied Sciences suggested peptides have virus-killing properties which could prove crucial in developing a cure for the common cold.

However, the paper published last week in The Journal of Immunology, suggests that particles found in air pollution can prevent peptides working properly.

Study Director Dr Barlow and researcher Dr Fern Findlay, working in collaboration with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Midlothian-based Moredun Research Institute, found carbon particles could trigger changes in the antimicrobial peptides, potentially resulting in an increased susceptibility to infection.

According to the researchers, the implications are profound for people living in areas of high air pollution, who breathe in high concentrations of particles every day or absorb them through skin contact, especially those with pre-existing lung conditions like asthma or COPD.

Dr Barlow, Associate Professor of Immunology & Infection at Edinburgh Napier, said: This is an area of research that is very poorly understood.

Dr Peter Barlow, senior lecturer, School of Applied Sciences

We were extremely concerned when we found that air pollution particles could inhibit the activity of these molecules, which are absolutely essential in the fight against infection.

In light of these findings, we urge that strong action plans are put in place to rapidly reduce particulate air pollution in our towns and cities.

Commenting on the study, Dr Sheena Cruickshank of the British Society for Immunology, and Senior Lecturer in Immunology at the University of Manchester, said: This interesting study shows that incubation of carbon nanomaterials can inhibit the function of one of our anti-bacterial peptides. However it is not clear how the carbon nanomaterials reflect our physiological exposure to the complex cocktail of pollutants (which include particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10) such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide particles and carbon monoxide) as the work was purely done in cell model systems.

Furthermore, the immune system has multiple layers of defence, including other anti-bacterial products and a variety of effector cells, and only one anti-bacterial product is assessed in this paper; therefore much more work needs to be done to assess the significance of this finding. However, this is an interesting, albeit relatively preliminary, study that suggests this is an important research area which should be investigated further.

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Pollution raises infection risk, research suggests - AirQualityNews

Cell Biology

New technology to capture live cell images opening new possibilities to the study of cell biology – Phys.Org

Research team with (First left, back row) Prof Karl Herrup, Head of Division of Life Science; (Second right, back row) Prof Hsing I-Ming, Head of Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering; (First right, back row) Prof Michael Altman, Head of Department of Physics. Credit: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a new generation of microscope, which not only could capture 3D live cell videos, but the resulted images are also of much higher quality, greatly enhancing the accuracy and the scope of research on cell biology.

Researchers at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have developed a new generation of microscope, which not only could capture 3D live cell videos, but the resulted images are also of much higher quality, greatly enhancing the accuracy and the scope of research on cell biology.

While an existing confocal microscope can also capture 3D bio-images, the laser light hitting on the sample is typically one million times that of summer sunlight, such intense light exposure inevitably disrupts cell activities and eventually kills the cell, posing limits to the study of cell biology.

The LiTone Line Bessel Sheet (LBS) microscope invented by a team led by Prof Du Shengwang and Prof Michael Loy from HKUST, however, is 1,000 times less photo-toxic than the current confocal model, allowing the cell to live much longer for observation. Phototoxicity is a type of sensitivity induced by light, which could cause molecular changes. The new microscope is also about 1,000 times faster, allowing much higher temporal resolution for a smooth video taking. Scientists can then study how proteins are transported within cells with great accuracy and efficiency, and what happens when the cell becomes abnormal. Prof Du is a Professor from the Department of Physics and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering; he is also the Associate Director of the Super-Resolution Imaging Center. Prof Loy is an Emeritus Professor of Physics.

"It is a powerful technology out of sophisticated science and engineering, but we make it simple to users so that it can be operated by biologists with minimal amount of training," Prof Du said. "For the first time, scientists can study cells in much greater details. That could eventually help scientists unlock the mystery of how certain diseases were formed and developed in a cellular level."

Explore further: A microscope within a microscope

Provided by: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

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New technology to capture live cell images opening new possibilities to the study of cell biology - Phys.Org

Cell Biology

How a non-coding RNA encourages cancer growth and metastasis – Medical Xpress

Philip Howe Ph.D., the senior author on the Nature Cell Biology article, is chair of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and the Hans and Helen Koebig Endowed Chair in Oncology at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center Credit: Medical University of South Carolina

A mechanism that pushes a certain gene to produce a non-coding form of RNA instead of its protein-coding alternative can promote the growth of cancer, report researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in an article published online ahead of print on August 21, 2017 by Nature Cell Biology. The non-coding RNA soaks up a microRNA that prevents epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, one of the key features of tumor development.

From one gene, cells can often produce different forms of RNA. The exact pre-RNA copy of one strand of DNA in a gene must be cut and assembled into its final RNA form, or several forms, in a process known as alternative splicing. Yet while these alternative forms of RNA can encode different proteins, scientists are discovering that many types of RNA do not, instead performing vastly different functions that regulate cell fate and behavior. MicroRNAs, for example, home in on certain protein-coding RNAs and help degrade them.

It is another class, called long non-coding RNAs (lncRNA), that are of particular interest to Philip H. Howe, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, and the Hans and Helen Koebig Endowed Chair in Oncology at the MUSC Hollings Cancer Center. Howe and his team found that a pre-RNA for a protein called PNUTS can be alternatively spliced to form a lncRNA that contributes to cancer progression. The PNUTS lncRNA does not encode a protein, but rather soaks up like a sponge a certain microRNA that is usually tasked with preventing epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, which is a key feature of tumor growth and metastasis.

Howe's group connected a number of dots to explain how this happens. First, they found that breast cancer cells contained more PNUTS lncRNA than normal breast epithelial cellsa good initial sign that the non-coding RNA was associated with cancer development. Those cells were also more mesenchymal, meaning that they were more likely to form tumors.

They next examined a ribonucleoprotein called hnRNP E1, which binds to pre-RNA and suppresses alternative splicing. Importantly, they knew that TGF-beta, which is released in large amounts by tumor cells, could prevent its binding, potentially allowing alternate forms to be made. Computer models predicted that this ribonucleoprotein could bind to PNUTS pre-RNA on its alternative splicing site. In lung and breast cancer cell lines, specially designed RNA probes confirmed that this exact splicing site was more exposed when the ribonucleoprotein was knocked down and that those cells had more PNUTS lncRNA. When cells were exposed to TGF-beta over time, PNUTS lncRNA was made in increasing amounts. It turns out that the ribonucleoprotein was bound more tightly with the alternative splice site. In normal conditions, this allowed PNUTS protein to be made, but in tumors, the alternative splice site became exposed and more lncRNA was made instead.

Yet the group wanted to confirm exactly how PNUTS lncRNA could encourage tumor formation. Additional computer simulations predicted that, based on its sequence, there were seven potential locations on the PNUTS lncRNA for microRNA-205 to bind. This microRNA binds and destroys a transcriptional regulator called ZEB1 that encourages cells to unstick from one another and spreada major step that allows epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition to occur. As predicted, without those potential binding locations, the lncRNA and the microRNA were unable to bind together. This helped cells stick together and spread less, even with TGF-beta added to push them to spread.

It appeared that PNUTS lncRNA was soaking up microRNA-205, which freed up ZEB1 to encourage cells to act more like tumors. To be sure that this was true, the group stuck fluorescent molecules to ZEB1 to track it and found that more of it was present when there were more PNUTS lncRNA.

As expected, preclinical models revealed that breast and lung tumors grew faster and larger when their cells contained more PNUTS lncRNA. By connecting all of the dots, Howe's group had shown that one gene can make either a protein-coding RNA or a long non-coding RNA. With TGF-beta, the lncRNA soaked up microRNA-205 like a sponge, freeing up ZEB to drive epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, a critical event in the development and spread of cancer.

This is the first study to show exactly how TGF-beta drives cancer through formation of a long non-coding RNA. Howe and his team are conducting experiments to find other such long non-coding RNAs that follow this same mechanism in cancer, with the goal of developing therapies to target them.

"My prediction is that this mechanism didn't evolve to make just one long non-coding RNA," says Howe. "There are probably others that are generated in this same fashion."

Explore further: Long non-coding RNA modulates colorectal cancer metabolism

More information: A regulated PNUTS mRNA to lncRNA splice switch mediates EMT and tumour progression, Nature Cell Biology (2017). DOI: 10.1038/ncb3595

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How a non-coding RNA encourages cancer growth and metastasis - Medical Xpress

Cell Biology

Bruker Announces Novel D8 VENTURE BIOTOOLS for Advanced Structural Biology Research by X-Ray … – Markets Insider

HYDERABAD, India, Aug. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --At the 24th Congress & General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), Bruker today announces the new, high-performance D8 VENTUREBIOTOOLS for laboratory macromolecular crystallography.

The D8VENTUREBIOTOOLS feature major advances in source, detector and sample handling technology:

Dr. Vernon Smith, the Business Development Manager for Macromolecular Crystallography at Bruker AXS, noted: "With the D8 VENTUREBIOTOOLS, Bruker has once again set new standards in crystallography systems for the home laboratory. Our extremely bright and stable ImSDIAMOND X-ray source and our large area PHOTONIII photon counting detector enable highly accurate data to be collected very quickly. By combining this unprecedented performance with fast, reliable handling automation, the new D8 VENTUREBIOTOOLS provide researchers the opportunity to move from crystal to structure more efficiently than ever before."

Professor Elena Conti, Director at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, stated: "The D8VENTURE with METALJET has enabled my group to collect quality data from even our most difficult projects and has made our synchrotron trips more productive. With the addition of the new SCOUT sample changer, we expect this productivity to increase even further by being able to identify crystals suitable for structure determination more effectively. Taking less time to determine individual protein structures will enable us to push forward in our overall research goals more quickly."

About Bruker Corporation (NASDAQ: BRKR)For more than 55 years, Bruker has enabled scientists to make breakthrough discoveries and develop new applications that improve the quality of human life.Bruker's high-performance scientific instruments and high-value analytical and diagnostic solutions enable scientists to explore life and materials at molecular, cellular and microscopic levels. In close cooperation with our customers, Bruker is enabling innovation, productivity and customer success in life science molecular research, in applied and pharma applications, in microscopy, nanoanalysis and industrial applications, as well as in cell biology, preclinical imaging, clinical phenomics and proteomics research, clinical microbiology and molecular pathology research. For more information, please visit: http://www.bruker.com.

Investor Contact: Miroslava MinkovaBruker Head of Investor RelationsT: +1-978-663-3660, x1479E: rel="nofollow">miroslava.minkova@bruker.com

Media Contact: Dr. Heiko RessBruker AXS Director Marketing CommunicationsT: +49 (0)721-50997-0E: rel="nofollow">heiko.ress@bruker.com

The D8 VENTUREBIOTOOLS offer an unprecedented combination of high performance, low maintenance and low cost of ownership. The system incorporates the ISDIAMOND, the world's brightest microfocus X-ray source and the PHOTON III, a large area photon-counting X-ray detector. Its optional SCOUT robot can reliably handle 48 cryogenic samples automatically.

Keywords: macromolecular crystallography, X-ray detector, rotating anode

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Bruker Announces Novel D8 VENTURE BIOTOOLS for Advanced Structural Biology Research by X-Ray ... - Markets Insider

Cell Biology

First UNC Honors Alum Gives Back to Future Educators – UNCO News Central

A gift from alumnus Paul Heidger 63, along with a matching grant from the Colorado Department of Higher Education, to provide $113,000 investment in UNCs honors program.

Heidger, a graduate of the universitys inaugural honors class, recently established the Barbara Heidger Opportunity Scholarship Endowment in honor of his late wife. The two met as honor students at UNC, then Colorado State College, when the institution created the honors program in 1959.

I sincerely hope this scholarship bearing Barbaras name, together with knowledge of her life story and accomplishments in education, in promotion of global awareness and peace, and in self-giving service to others may assist similarly inspired young women and men at UNC to reach their life goals and full potential, Paul said.

Heidger and his family established the fund to honor Barbaras legacy and her passion for international students. Earnings will be used to support current and incoming honors students, with a preference for those interested in international relations and education. Heidger plans to establish an additional honors program scholarship for students interested in science.

The generous giftfrom Paul and his family will provide supportfor years to come.These scholarships help UNC to recruit the best and brightest into our Honors Program, which seeks to develop tomorrow's problem solvers, said UNC Director for Honors and Scholars Loree Crow. Scholarship support of these motivatedstudents is essential to building the strongest cohorts and is invaluable to the individual students who often need just a little extra to help them succeed at their highest potential.

Paul Heidger 63 and Barbara (Hyslop) Heidger 63 first met as members of the inaugural Honors class, and the bonds and memories formed between them, their classmates and professors have lasted a lifetime.

At Paul and Barbaras wedding, fellow honors classmate, Bill Hayes, served as best man and classmate Sharon Wilson (now a UNC Professor Emerita) was one of Barbaras attendants. Dr. Eugene Koplitz, UNC professor and first honors program director, and honors Professor Dr. Forrest Frease and their families were honored guests.

Paul and Barbara were dedicated to their passions Pauls in biology and Barbaras in international affairs and both achieved accomplished paths of service to their professions. Barbaras untimely passing in 1994 at the height of her personal and professional life impacted family, students, colleagues and friends around the world. She was a devoted wife and mother to their daughters, Julie and Lisa, and a passionate educator and ambassador for international understanding. Paul recently retired from the University of Iowa, where he was a professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology.

Pauls initial gift of $60,000 created the endowment and, through a Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI) grant from the Colorado Department of Higher Education, much of Pauls gift will be matched, bringing the total impact on the Honors Program to approximately $113,000. The Honors Program plans to use these funds to create scholarships for exceptional incoming freshmen and to attract more top honors students to UNC.

The Campaign for UNC goal is $45 million, and every dollar and every donor counts. Donors from across our community are contributing to the mission and success of UNC students, faculty and programs. Every gift matters. Gifts of all amounts are moving the mark and letting UNC's new generation know that Bears take care of Bears.

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First UNC Honors Alum Gives Back to Future Educators - UNCO News Central

Genetics

TPR Lifeline: Clinical Genetics Is A Growing Field – Texas Public Radio

We all have about 24,000 genes. How those genes are structured and interact can determine our current health and our future health.

Modern medicine includes specialists in this field called Clinical Geneticists. In todays TPR Lifeline, Bioscience-Medicine reporter Wendy Rigby talks to Baylor College of Medicines Scott McLean, MD, about his work at the Childrens Hospital of San Antonio.

Rigby: Dr. McLean, what is clinical genetics?

McLean: Clinical genetics is the medical specialty that uses genetic information to improve your genetic health or to understand the basis for a variety of medical conditions.

Those of us who have had children in Texas know that while youre still in the hospital, you get some genetic testing done. What is that called and what are you looking for?

We have newborn screening which is actually a blood test that is given to all babies 24 and 48 hours of age. The blood test involves collecting that blood on a piece of paper, filter paper, and sending that to the Texas State Department of Health Services in Austin where they do a series of tests.

This is the foot prick?

This is where you prick the heel. It seem awfully cruel. Babies cry. Parents dont like it. But its actually a wonderful test because it allows us to screen for over 50 conditions.

Give us some examples. What are some of the genetic conditions we might have heard of?

Well, the initial condition that was screened for in newborn screening in the United States was PKU which stands for Phenylketonuria. This is a condition that results in intellectual disability and seizures. We can change that outcome if we are able to identify the condition early enough and change the diet.

Lets say a child comes in to Childrens Hospital of San Antonio. Doctors are having trouble figuring out whats going on. Are you called in to consult?

Most of our patients that we see in the outpatient clinic are sent to us by consultation from physicians in the community or from nurseries, neonatal intensive care units. They range from situations such as multiple birth defects, to autism, intellectual disability, seizures, encephalopathy, blindness, deafness. Theres a whole gamut of reasons that folks come to see us.

When these children become grownups, does that information that youve learned about them help them out if theyre planning to have their own children in the future?

So when pediatric patients make the transition from pediatric care to adult care, its very common for information and ideas to get lost. And we certainly would hope that people remember that. Sometimes when we have identified a situation in a little baby, I tell the parents that I want them to put a sticky note on the last page of their baby book so that when they are showing the baby book to their childs fiance and they get to the last page, it reminds them you need to go back to see the geneticist because theres this genetic situation that you need to have a nice long chat about so that you can plan your family as carefully as possible.

Right. So the work youre doing today could help someone 30 years in the future.

Well, genetics is a very unique specialty in that regard because when we see a patient were not thinking about their next year of life or their next two years of life or the next month. We do think about that. But this is a lifelong diagnosis and a lifelong situation. So I often joke with my patients that Im going to try to put them on the 90-year plan. What we figure out now about their genetics is going to be helpful for them throughout their entire lifespan, at least up until 90 years. And then after that theyre on their own. But well get them to 90.

So its an exciting time to be in the field.

Very exciting. I think the era of gene therapy which for many people we thought was never going to happen, its very promising because we have new technologies that I think are going to allow for advances in that area.

Dr. Scott McLean with Baylor College of Medicine and the Childrens Hospital of San Antonio, thanks for the information.

Youre quite welcome.

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TPR Lifeline: Clinical Genetics Is A Growing Field - Texas Public Radio