Category Archives: Biochemistry

Biochemistry

Plant and animal cells have same sense of direction – Mirage News

An ancient protein that is involved in cell division and is crucial to growth, development, and even the prevention of cancer turns out to be almost identical in plants and animals. This has been discovered by WUR biochemists together with colleagues in Cambridge. Their findings will be published in the leading journal Cell on 30 January.

Cells of common liverwort (Marchantia polymorphade). The soseki protein which tells the cell things like which way is up and which way is down, is found in the corner of the cells. Dolf Weijers.

For normal cell division, the cell needs to know where its top, bottom, front, back, inside and outside is in relation to the other cells around it. This is crucial to the growth and development of a plant or animal, says Dolf Weijers, chair at Biochemistry. Otherwise a plant wont grow any leaves, or an embryo wont develop. And uncontrolled cell division leads to cancer.

Mystery

Relatively, quite a lot is known about the development of this sense of direction called cell polarity in animal cells. But in the case of plants, it has long been shrouded in mystery. Weijers is working on solving that mystery. He had a major breakthrough last year when he and his group discovered a new set of proteins that tell the cell what the poles of the compass are. They called them soseki or compass proteins. Soseki is Japanese for cornerstone, appropriate as the proteins are found in the corners of the cells.

Our research shows that the biochemical basis for directing cell polarity in plants and animals is the same

At leasr 450 milion years old

We used to think cell polarity was organized differently in animals and plants, says Weijers. Meanwhile, we have discovered that all land plants, even the oldest liverworts, use the same system with compass proteins. That makes it at least 50 million years old! Even more importantly, the researchers discovered that the compass proteins in plants look and behave very like a compass protein in fruit flies and humans.

They swapped around parts of the plant and animal proteins, and what happened? The proteins worked fine. Multicellularity evolved in plants and animals independently of each other, says Weijers. But it turns out there are many similarities. Our research shows that the biochemical basis for directing cell polarity in plants and animals is the same. The origin of this process can be traced back to the last common ancestor of both plants and animals. So it has not come into existence several times during the course of evolution, as we used to believe.

Cancer research

This has important implications, says Weijers. Studies on polarity in plants and animals used to be two separate worlds, but turn out to have a common denominator. This fundamental knowledge opens up new possibilities. We always assumed that this system was unique to animal cells, but now we know that one of the proteins that plays a role in the development of cancer has a function in plants as well. That means we might be able to study certain aspects of the development of cancer, or medicines against it, in plants. But we are not that far yet.

Follow-up

At the beginning of 2019, Weijers bagged an Advanced Grant worth 2-5 million euros from the European Research Council (ERC). He and his team are using that money to gain a fuller understanding of the way the plant compass works. We know that the proteins can steer the direction in which the cell divides. Now we want to study how it all fits together. We dont know, for example, what kind of signal is given off through the compass protein, and how exactly that translates into cell division. That is a big adventure because it is largely unexplored territory. TL

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Plant and animal cells have same sense of direction - Mirage News

Biochemistry

UVA Honors Its Leading Researchers at Boar’s Head Banquet – University of Virginia

The University of Virginias top leaders gathered Wednesday evening at the Boars Head Resort to honor faculty members from across Grounds for their outstanding contributions to their fields of study and societal impact through their research and scholarly activities.

University of Virginia President Jim Ryan presented the 2019 Research Achievement Awards to 13 UVA faculty members at the dinner event.

This is the first year of the Research Achievement Awards, Vice President for Research Melur Ram Ramasubramanian said. We believe that as a university, we are what we celebrate. We want to acknowledge the talented UVA faculty who are leaders in their fields and are impacting the world in positive ways.

Provost Elizabeth Liz Magill said, Were delighted to have a chance to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of our faculty. From education policy to precision medicine to police-community relations, there are many different fields and individuals being honored by these awards.

Im awed and immensely grateful for the contributions the award winners have made to their respective fields and to the University of Virginia, Ryan said. Our strategic plan focuses a good deal of attention on supporting research. ... Our ultimate goal is to make it possible for researchers at UVA to do their very best work.

The awards covered excellence in research, collaboration, mentorship, public impact and innovation.

Pompano arrived at UVA in 2014 and assembled a robust research team in her lab. Pursuing new technologies and new questions, she is developing new approaches to study immunity. In the areas of immunoanalysis and immunoenineering, she is working to map out cellular activity in live tissues. Her group was recently awarded a large grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop an artificial lymph node on a microfluidic chip.

Dr. Pompano chose the road less travelled by pursuing entirely new technologies and questions, rather than the safer route of building on the experiences from her Ph.D. or postdoc work, Jill Venton, chair of the Department of Chemistry, said. This strategy required spending the first 2.5 years of her professorship laying new groundwork. Dr. Pompano is a research leader in the fields of analytical chemistry and immunoengineering.

Bassoks work is in early childhood education, and her focus has been to find a way for it to both meet high standards and make a difference in the lives of young children. To do this, she has partnered with policymakers and school districts in Virginia and Louisiana to study how early childhood education opportunities can happen at scale.

In the past four years, her work has accelerated. She has published 16 articles and received more than $6 million in grant funding. In 2017, Bassok was honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Daphna Bassok has raised the bar for the field and will motivate other scholars to do more insightful and rigorous work, said Katherine Magnuson, director of UVAs Institute for Research on Poverty.

Alhusens research focuses on improving maternal and early infant health outcomes for disabled women and women living in poverty. Her research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration and numerous foundations, and the goal of her work is to provide higher quality care to vulnerable populations.

She has received numerous awards for her work, including the Southern Nursing Research Society Early Science Investigator Award; the Association of Womens Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal Nurses Award for Excellence in Research; and School of Nursings Faculty Research Mentor Award.

Walsh is Lockhart B. McGuire Professor of Internal Medicine and directs the School of Medicines Hematovascular Biology Center. His research is focused on clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, or CHIP.

In his lab, he is looking at how mutations in blood cells lead to chronic diseases like heart attack and stroke. Through precision medicine, he is identifying and combatting the out-of-control multiplying process in these mutations to fight age-related diseases, as well as blood cancers like leukemia.

Walsh has published more than 350 scientific articles and he is the recipient of multiple research grants from the National Institutes of Health, including a MERIT Award. In 2011, the American Heart Association designated him a Distinguished Scientist by for his contributions to cardiovascular research.

Throughout his career, Scullys research, scholarship and teaching have focused on the science of how corrosion occurs and the engineering required to prevent it. He has conducted research and collaborated with scientists around the world in numerous industries such as energy, transportation, infrastructure, aerospace, maritime and microelectronics.

His projects include two U.S. Department of Energy Energy Frontier Research centers, two Department of Defense multi-university research initiatives, as well as grants from the National Science Foundation, PPG Industries and Axalta (formerly DuPont), and the U.S. Office of the Undersecretary of Defense.

Scully, the Charles Henderson Chaired Professor and chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, also co-directs the Center for Electrochemical Science and Engineering, one of the leading centers in the world focusing on materials degradation. The center has generated more than $30 million in research funding in the last 10 years and graduates on average four to five Ph.D. students per year.

Scully is technical editor in chief of CORROSION, The Journal of Science and Engineering, the premier international research journal for the field. He serves in several capacities as an ambassador for the materials-corrosion field, including several meetings to debrief the U.S. Congress on materials degradation issues of national importance.

John Scullys contributions to corrosion can be characterized by quality, quantity and longevity, said Gerald S. Frankel, Ohio State University distinguished professor in materials science and engineering and a member of CORROSIONs editorial board. It is clear that he is a world leader, if not the world leader, in metal passivity, passivity breakdown and localized corrosion, and stress corrosion cracking.

In more his more than 20 years at UVA, Lambert has advanced the science of risk analysis and systems engineering. He has led more than 60 projects related to advanced logistics systems for a total of approximately $25 million in research funding.

Lambert, a professor in the Department of Engineering Systems and Environment, has focused on the disruption of system priorities by emergent and future conditions, including technologies, regulations, markets, environments, behaviors and missions. His work has been applied to disaster resilience, energy infrastructure, coastal protection, economic development, transportation, biofuels and Olympics planning, among other challenges.

His research has been cited more than 5,000 times across more than 200 publications. In 2019, he chaired the Fifth World Congress on Risk, convening more than 300 scientists in Cape Town, South Africa.

Professor Lambert is among the most accomplished and respected scientists of systems engineering and risk analysis in the world today, said Igor Linkov, Risk and Decision Science Team Lead for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. Lambert in his research invented the application of scenario-based preferences in risk analysis.

Connelly, Morris and Grossman worked together on a multi-disciplinary project to examine how early life experiences affect the brain and social behaviors. The team studies the brain, as well as social and cognitive development, during the first two years of life, focusing on oxytocin and its role in social behavior. Their research has helped to illuminate gaps in our knowledge about behavioral development in humans, and helps us better understand healthy and atypical development.

They received a National Science Foundation Research Award in 2017 for their cutting-edge approach in combining epigenetic, neuroscience and behavioral methods across their three labs, and their work has led to several publications.

Moore is a busy physician-scientist with his own lab, and has recently become the division chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Nutrition at UVA. He also co-wrote the application for a Trans-University Microbiome Initiative grant, which was funded last year by the Universitys Strategic Investment Fund in an effort to make UVA a center for microbiome research. But that has not stopped him from repeatedly aiding his colleagues and providing them with key resources when they needed them.

Three colleagues joined forces to nominate Moore for the mentorship award, mentioning his critical support, his generous sponsorship and advice, and his guidance as they dealt with grant applications and the logistics of their first accepted grants. Moore went above and beyond, donating lab space and reaching out to his networks to help them make the connections and give them a leg up in their careers.

Williams only arrived at Batten two years ago, but after the violent Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in August 2017 he was able to immediately show the value of his research and public service engagement to the University community.

Starting before he came to the University, he has spent two decades doing research in the field on police-community relations around racial profiling, community policing and the need for law enforcement officers to work with their community on issues of public safety. In all his work, he strives to make an impact on communities by building relationships and tackling problems wherever they crop up.

Dr. Williams consistently uses his knowledge, experience and passion for the good of our city, Mindy Goodall, executive director of the Charlottesville Police Foundation, said. Charlottesville is fortunate to have gained him as a citizen and champion of police and community reconciliation.

The award for Innovator of the Year was presented to Dillingham and Ingersoll for their creation of PositiveLinks, an application designed to improve health outcomes and care for people living with HIV. They will give deliver a keynote lecture Feb. 18 in the Rotunda Dome Room.

Other researchers (in alphabetical order by school) were honored for being the top 25 in sponsored funding, top cited, national award winners, named to a national academy, or named as an outstanding researcher for their school:

Timothy Beatley, PlanningBarbara Brown Wilson, PlanningMona El Khafif, Urban & Environmental Planning

Jessica Connelly, PsychologyRita F. Dove, EnglishKevin Everson, ArtTobias Grossman, PsychologyL. Ilse Cleeves, AstronomyNitya Kallivayalil, AstronomyLee M. Lockwood, EconomicsJames P. Morris, PsychologyKen Ono, MathematicsRebecca R. Pompano, ChemistryMarilyne Stains, ChemistryAlan S. Taylor, History

Christopher Barrett, Director

David G. Mick, Marketing

Derrick P. Alridge, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyDaphna Bassok, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyRobert Q. Berry, Instruction and Special EducationCatherine Bradshaw, Human ServicesBenjamin L. Castleman, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyNancy L. Deutsch, Youth-NexJason Downer, Human ServicesSara E. Rimm-Kaufman, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyWilliam J. Therrien, Instruction and Special EducationArt Weltman, KinesiologyJoanna Lee Williams, Leadership, Foundations and PolicyAmada P. Williford, Human Services

Thomas H. Barker, Biomedical EngineeringHilary Bart-Smith, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringCraig H. Benson, Environmental EngineeringSteven M. Bowers, Electrical and Computer EngineeringJames T. Burns, Material ScienceBenton H. Calhoun, Electrical and Computer EngineeringJoe C. Campbell, Electrical and Computer EngineeringGeorge J. Christ, Biomedical EngineeringJason L. Forman, Center for Applied BiomechanicsJeffery W. Holmes, Biomedical EngineeringPatrick E. Hopkins, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringKevin A. Janes, Biomedical EngineeringJames H. Lambert, Systems and EnvironmentXiaodong (Chris) Li, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringPamela M. Norris, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringElizabeth J. Opila, Material ScienceMatthew B. Panzer, Mechanical and Aerospace EngineeringJohn R. Scully, Material ScienceKevin Skadron, Computer ScienceMary Lou Soffa, Computer ScienceJohn A. Stankovic, Computer ScienceMalathi Veeraraghavan, Electrical and Computer Engineering

Brian N. Williams, Public PolicyJay Shimshack, Research Dean

Jayakrishna Ambati, OphthalmologyRuth Bernheim, Public Health SciencesAlison K. Criss, Microbiology /GIDIRebecca Dillingham, Infectious DiseasesLinda R. Duska, Obstetrics/Gynecology OncologyAnindya Dutta, Biochemistry/Molecular GeneticsW. Jeff Elias, NeurosurgeryEdward H. Egelman, Biochemistry/Molecular GeneticsRobin A. Felder, Clinical PathologyEric R. Houpt, Infectious DiseasesKaren Ingersoll, Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral SciencesKaren C. Johnston, NeurologyJaideep Kapur, NeurologyAnne K. Kenworthy, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsJonathan Kipnis, NeuroscienceRobert C. Klesges, Public Health SciencesBoris P. Kovatchev, Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral SciencesThomas P. Loughran, Oncology and MedicineColeen A. McNamara, Internal and Cardiovascular MedicineWladek Minor, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsSean R. Moore, PediatricsJames P. Nataro, PediatricsImre Noth, Internal and Pulmonary MedicineMark D. Okusa, NephrologyGary K. Owens, Cardiovascular Research, Molecular Physiology and Biological PhysicsKevin A. Pelphrey, NeurologyWilliam A. Petri, Internal Medicine and Infectious DiseasesKodi S. Ravichandran, MicrobiologyPatricio E. Ray, PediatricsStephen S. Rich, Public Health SciencesLukas K. Tamm, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsGregory C. Townsend, Internal Medicine and Infectious DiseasesKenneth Walsh, Internal and Cardiovascular MedicineKatharine Hsu Wibberly, Public Health SciencesMichael C. Wiener, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsMark Yeager, Molecular Physics and BiophysicsJames C. Zimring, Pathology

Jeanne L. Alhusen, Nursing

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UVA Honors Its Leading Researchers at Boar's Head Banquet - University of Virginia

Biochemistry

2020 Emerging Scholars: Dr. Cathy Wong – Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

January 30, 2020 | :

As Dr. Cathy Wong tells it, she stumbled into her career in academia after she walked into a lab and saw how colorful the lasers were.

I thought this could be really fun, says Wong, who uses lasers to study how material interacts with light and solar cells. Her research, which uses physical chemistry to research material synthesis, has longstanding implications, including responding to the worlds energy crisis.

Dr. Cathy Wong

As an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oregon, Wong spends much of her time helping undergraduate juniors and seniors as well as graduate students develop passion for scientific research.

I kind of always knew I wanted teaching to be part of my work, says Wong, who earned her bachelors degree in biological chemistry from McMaster University in Toronto and her Ph.D. in 2011 from the University of Toronto. She later completed a postdoctoral degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

Having grown up in Toronto where ethnic differences are often celebrated, embracing diversity has been a hallmark of Wongs career. Unlike her hometown, the city of Eugene, where the University of Oregon is situated, is less racially diverse, meaning that Wong who hopes to come up for tenure in a little less than two years has made it her priority to help students develop a sense of belonging and connection to the university.

In the classroom, Wongs work largely focuses on helping design physical chemistry labs and teaching students how to build microscopes and write lab reports skills she says will prove useful in their future careers.

Though she works with science majors, she teaches a section of physical chemistry that requires heavy math skills that often create anxiety among her students.

Some are apprehensive, she says. I reassure them, you can do it even if it is complicated and overwhelming.

Clarity, Wong says, is essential to teaching in the sciences.

My philosophy of teaching and communication about science in general is not just to sound smart but to be as clear as possible, even if that means simplifying sometimes, she says. This way you bring everyone along and everyone can be engaged.

In this regard, Wong has been lauded for her teaching and research. Last year, she was named the recipient of a Career Award by the National Science Foundation. These awards are given to support early career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Those who know her say that Wong has been a leader in working tirelessly to increase the diversity of the graduate student population within a state that is itself not racially diverse.

Wong currently serves as the faculty sponsor for a student group, Community for Minorities in STEM (CMiS), that aims to retain students in racial minority groups. This group organizes social and professional development activities that aim to foster community among underrepresented graduate students, battle imposter syndrome and improve retention rates.

Wong also founded a program called Peer Recruitment In Science & Math (PRISM) that enables underrepresented graduate students to give research seminars at colleges that serve a large percentage of minority students.

By giving the undergraduate students an example of a near-peer who has succeeded in graduate school, the program aims to inspire more underrepresented minority undergraduates to pursue graduate studies, says Dr. Naomi Ginsberg, an associate professor of chemistry at the UC Berkeley and one of Wongs career mentors. The program has been highly effective in increasing the number of applicants to the graduate program at UO from underrepresented groups.

Wong says that she has enjoyed her time in the classroom and that her understanding of the academy has evolved over time.

When I started out, I had no idea how universities really worked, she says with a laugh. Now that Ive been here, I see that there are great opportunities to have a voice and help to effect change.

Dr. Cathy Wong

Title: Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Oregon

Education: Bachelors degree, McMaster University, Biological Chemistry; Ph.D., University of Toronto, Physical Chemistry

Age: 38

Career mentors: Dr. Greg Scholes, University of Toronto; Dr. Naomi Ginsberg, UC Berkeley

Words of wisdom/advice for new faculty members: Youre going to be asked to do a lot of things and its important to say no to some and reserve the time for those things that you really care about and that matters most to you and your department. Also, seek out career mentors who can help guide you along the way.

This article appeared in the January 23, 2020 edition of Diverse.

This is one in a series of profiles about this years 2020 Emerging Scholars. Read about all of them here.

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2020 Emerging Scholars: Dr. Cathy Wong - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education

Biochemistry

Researchers discover how CDK8 oncogene gets activated in healthy humans – News-Medical.net

Most cancers are caused by a large variety of factors that vary from one person to another. To unravel this complexity, genes that contribute to the development of a respective cancer must be identified. Such genes are called oncogenes. A good example of an oncogene is CDK8: Cyclin-dependent kinase 8. Misregulated CDK8 is an important factor in the development of colon, breast and skin cancer. Hence, in recent years considerable efforts have been undertaken to develop drugs that specifically target CDK8 and that do not affect other molecules that are closely related to CDK8, but are essential for the survival of human cells. A research team at the University of Bayreuth led by biochemist Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn has now discovered how CDK8 is activated in healthy humans. The research results are published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A.'. Apart from novel basic biochemical insights, the presented results suggest a new method by which CDK8-specific inhibitors could be developed in future.

The research team was mainly interested in how the oncogene CDK8 is activated in healthy cells. "One important aspect is that CDK8 does not occur in our cells as an individual molecule, but always in a complex with three partners. As part of this complex, CDK8 has completely different properties, which is why it is essential to investigate CDK8 as part of this complex", explains the first author of the study, the Bayreuth graduate student Felix Klatt. Using structural biochemistry - coupled with systems biology - the research team deciphered how CDK8 is activated by two of the three partners, Cyclin C and MED12. They demonstrated that just a tiny part of MED12 is responsible for activating CDK8. Due to its structure, the Bayreuth scientists named this part 'MED12 activation helix'.

"After we discovered the 'MED12 activation helix', we were very surprised to find a large number of mutations associated with uterine fibroids, breast cancer and chronic lymphatic leukemia in this very area", reports Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn, head of the Bayreuth research team 'Gene Regulation by Non-coding RNA', which is part of the Elite Network of Bavaria. "To be honest, the extent of agreement between our basic biochemical research and the sequence analysis of human tumours was unexpected." Through subsequent biochemical experiments, his team was able to show that the mutations do not lead to a destabilization of the CDK8-containing complex, as previously suspected. Rather, there is a spatial rearrangement of the 'MED12 activation helix' within the complex, which leads to an abnormally reduced activity of CDK8 - a condition that most likely contributes to tumor development.

Binding of MED12 to CDK8 not only changes its activity, it also changes the active site of the enzyme CDK8. (By way of explanation: CDK8 is a so-called kinase, i.e. it modifies various target molecules with phosphate groups that are important for the cell's gene reading machinery). As Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn's research group was able to show, this structural change leads to a situation in which so-called type II kinase inhibitors no longer bind effectively to CDK8 and inhibit it. "Conversely, this means that all future attempts to inhibit CDK8 must at least focus on triple complexes of CDK8, Cyclin C and MED12. If, as has happened in the past, inhibitors are developed only against CDK8 in complex with Cyclin C, the resulting compounds are very likely ineffective against CDK8 in human cells", concludes Dr. Claus-D. Kuhn.

Source:

Journal reference:

Klatt, F. et al. (2020) A precisely positioned MED12 activation helix stimulates CDK8 kinase activity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1917635117

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Researchers discover how CDK8 oncogene gets activated in healthy humans - News-Medical.net

Biochemistry

No more weight loss resolutions this is the last program youll ever need – KSTU FOX 13 Salt Lake City

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No more weight loss resolutions this is the last program youll ever need - KSTU FOX 13 Salt Lake City

Biochemistry

‘People take on more debt to make ends meet’: the cost of postgrad study – The Guardian

Growing up in Redcar on the north-east coast of Yorkshire, Kerry-Anne Revie, who is from a low-income background, thought that people like me dont belong at Oxford. The elite university wants to change this perception: in July 2019 it launched UNIQ+ a summer school designed to widen minority groups access to postgraduate education, such as those who have been in care or received free school meals.

Revie spent six weeks at Oxfords biochemistry department, assisting an academics research into DNA transcription. The 22-year-old is doing an integrated masters in biological sciences at University of Leeds, and says UNIQ+ put her on a par with peers who could afford to do voluntary work.

Its one of a flurry of recent schemes, from mentoring to financial aid, designed to boost postgrad diversity in response to concerns that undergrad debt is deterring people from staying on at university. A 2016 study found that 2.4% of white students had started a PhD within five years of graduating, compared with just 1.3% of black, Asian or minority ethnic (BAME) students. A key factor is the financial barrier: only 1.2% of PhD studentships from UK Research and Innovation research councils have been awarded to black or black-mixed students in the past three years.

Prof Paul Wakeling at the University of Yorks department of education says universities focused on the bottom line by prioritising the recruitment of a more diverse range of undergrad students rather than postgrads a move driven in part by financial necessity. In order to charge the max 9,250 undergrad fees, a universitys fair access plan must be approved by the Office for Students, but only for undergrad degrees and postgrad initial teacher training, because there is no cap on postgrad tuition fees, other than for initial teacher training.

We need more regulatory oomph, says Wakeling.

For its part, the government introduced loans of up to 25,000 (now 25,700) for doctoral students in 2018/19, and in 2016/17 loans for masters degrees worth 10,000 (now 10,906) were launched. The latter widened access to postgrad study: enrolment on loan-eligible masters courses increased by 74% among black students, and by 59% among those from low undergrad participation areas a proxy for disadvantage between 2015/16 and 2016/17. Both groups had previously cited finance as a major barrier to a postgrad degree.

But the loans could subsidise the wealthy as they are not based on students financial need, says Wakeling you can get one no matter how much money you have in the bank. And they rarely cover all tuition and living costs, which can be up to 30,000 a year in London, says Catherine Baldwin, director of recruitment and admissions at London School of Economics.

LSE fills this gap in finance by awarding more than 13m of scholarships annually, including needs-based awards such as the Graduate Support Scheme, worth between 5,000 and 15,000. Baldwin says this helps LSE attract a broad range of nationalities, as well as students from across the UK, not just south-east England.

However, Ginevra House, a freelance researcher at the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), says that recent gains made in fair access will be eroded if tuition fees continue to increase: People will rely on part-time work or bank loans that add more debt to make ends meet.

Since the introduction of masters loans, universities have been hiking postgrad tuition fees to cover the cost of running courses; research programmes overall make a substantial loss, she says.

Revie is searching for funding to potentially do a PhD in immunology at Oxford, but she remains undecided. While she was on the UNIQ+ scheme last year, university admissions staff pointed out sources of funding and shared potential admissions interview questions so she could prepare. Oxford will also waive her 75 application fee.

In addition, UNIQ+ pays a 2,500 stipend, and Oxford put Revie up in halls in Jericho, an Oxford city suburb. Some students in the halls were snobby she says. When she complained that bars shut relatively early at the weekend, one quipped: Thats because everyone works harder in Oxford and does better.

But the experience has not deterred her from staying on and indeed, most UNIQ+ students are considering a postgrad at Oxford or another Russell Group university, says Nadia Pollini, director of graduate admissions. She adds: We were amazed by the response in four weeks we had 200 applications for 33 places. Theres a real need for this. We are looking to expand it.

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'People take on more debt to make ends meet': the cost of postgrad study - The Guardian

Biochemistry

Astronaut Says Alien Lifeforms That Are Impossible to Spot May Be Living Among Us – SciTechDaily

Alien lifeforms probably wont look anything like this.

Life is pretty easy to recognize. It moves, it grows, it eats, it excretes, it reproduces. Simple. In biology, researchers often use the acronym MRSGREN to describe it. It stands for movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutrition.

But Helen Sharman, Britains first astronaut and a chemist at Imperial College London, recently said that alien lifeforms that are impossible to spot may be living among us. How could that be possible?

While life may be easy to recognize, its actually notoriously difficult to define and has had scientists and philosophers in debate for centuries if not millennia. For example, a 3D printer can reproduce itself, but we wouldnt call it alive. On the other hand, a mule is famously sterile, but we would never say it doesnt live.

As nobody can agree, there are more than 100 definitions of what life is. An alternative (but imperfect) approach is describing life as a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution, which works for many cases we want to describe.

The lack of definition is a huge problem when it comes to searching for life in space. Not being able to define life other than well know it when we see it means we are truly limiting ourselves to geocentric, possibly even anthropocentric, ideas of what life looks like. When we think about aliens, we often picture a humanoid creature. But the intelligent life we are searching for doesnt have to be humanoid.

Sharman says she believes aliens exist and theres no two ways about it. Furthermore, she wonders: Will they be like you and me, made up of carbon and nitrogen? Maybe not. Its possible theyre here right now and we simply cant see them.

Such life would exist in a shadow biosphere. By that, I dont mean a ghost realm, but undiscovered creatures probably with a different biochemistry. This means we cant study or even notice them because they are outside of our comprehension. Assuming it exists, such a shadow biosphere would probably be microscopic.

Aliens probably wont look like anything from your dreams or nightmares.

So why havent we found it? We have limited ways of studying the microscopic world as only a small percentage of microbes can be cultured in a lab. This may mean that there could indeed be many lifeforms we havent yet spotted. We do now have the ability to sequence the DNA of unculturable strains of microbes, but this can only detect life as we know it that contain DNA.

If we find such a biosphere, however, it is unclear whether we should call it alien. That depends on whether we mean of extraterrestrial origin or simply unfamiliar.

A popular suggestion for an alternative biochemistry is one based on silicon rather than carbon. It makes sense, even from a geocentric point of view. Around 90% of the Earth is made up of silicon, iron, magnesium, and oxygen, which means theres lots to go around for building potential life.

Artists impression of a silicon-based life form.

Silicon is similar to carbon, it has four electrons available for creating bonds with other atoms. But silicon is heavier, with 14 protons (protons make up the atomic nucleus with neutrons) compared to the six in the carbon nucleus. While carbon can create strong double and triple bonds to form long chains useful for many functions, such as building cell walls, it is much harder for silicon. It struggles to create strong bonds, so long-chain molecules are much less stable.

Whats more, common silicon compounds, such as silicon dioxide (or silica), are generally solid at terrestrial temperatures and insoluble in water. Compare this to highly soluble carbon dioxide, for example, and we see that carbon is more flexible and provides many more molecular possibilities.

Life on Earth is fundamentally different from the bulk composition of the Earth. Another argument against a silicon-based shadow biosphere is that too much silicon is locked up in rocks. In fact, the chemical composition of life on Earth has an approximate correlation with the chemical composition of the sun, with 98% of atoms in biology consisting of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon. So if there were viable silicon lifeforms here, they may have evolved elsewhere.

That said, there are arguments in favor of silicon-based life on Earth. Nature is adaptable. A few years ago, scientists at Caltech managed to breed a bacterial protein that created bonds with silicon essentially bringing silicon to life. So even though silicon is inflexible compared with carbon, it could perhaps find ways to assemble into living organisms, potentially including carbon.

And when it comes to other places in space, such as Saturns moon Titan or planets orbiting other stars, we certainly cant rule out the possibility of silicon-based life.

To find it, we have to somehow think outside of the terrestrial biology box and figure out ways of recognizing lifeforms that are fundamentally different from the carbon-based form. There are plenty of experiments testing out these alternative biochemistries, such as the one from Caltech.

Regardless of the belief held by many that life exists elsewhere in the universe, we have no evidence for that. So it is important to consider all life as precious, no matter its size, quantity or location. The Earth supports the only known life in the universe. So no matter what form life elsewhere in the solar system or universe may take, we have to make sure we protect it from harmful contamination whether it is terrestrial life or alien lifeforms.

So could aliens be among us? I dont believe that we have been visited by a life form with the technology to travel across the vast distances of space. But we do have evidence for life-forming, carbon-based molecules having arrived on Earth on meteorites, so the evidence certainly doesnt rule out the same possibility for more unfamiliar life forms.

Written by Samantha Rolfe, Lecturer in Astrobiology and Principal Technical Officer at Bayfordbury Observatory, University of Hertfordshire.

Originally published on The Conversation.

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Astronaut Says Alien Lifeforms That Are Impossible to Spot May Be Living Among Us - SciTechDaily

Biochemistry

Chromatography Instruments Market Demand, Recent Trends and Developments Analysi – News by aeresearch

New 2019 Report onChromatography Instruments Market size | Industry Segment by Applications (Pharmaceutical Industry, Biochemistry, Food and Beverage Testing and Environmental Analysis), by Type (Gas Chromatography Instruments, Liquid Chromatography, Supercritical Fluid Chromatography, Thin-layer chromatography and Other Components), Regional Outlook, Market Demand, Latest Trends, Chromatography Instruments Industry Share & Revenue by Manufacturers, Company Profiles, Growth Forecasts 2025.Analyzes current market size and upcoming 5 years growth of this industry.

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The Chromatography Instruments Analysis report offers an entire substantial study of the Chromatography Instruments market, key tactics followed by leading Chromatography Instruments industry Players and impending segments. The previous and current Chromatography Instruments industry forecast analysis in terms of volume and value along with research conclusions is a decisive part of Chromatography Instruments market analysis report.

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Chromatography Instruments Market Demand, Recent Trends and Developments Analysi - News by aeresearch

Biochemistry

CBD And The Advancement of Sleep Science – Magazine of Santa Clarita

Are you one of the 68 percent of Americans that struggle with sleep? If so, you have probably spent your fair share of money trying to get relief. You are not alone. Its projected that Americans will spend 52 billion dollars on sleep aids and remedies in 2020. The issue is that most solutions dont work as well as you expect and as they claim to work. The Problem: No two people are exactly alike, and neither is their body chemistry. What our body needs one day, it may not need the next and for this reason, you may find that supplements work for you sometimes, while other times they dont have the same impact. Differences in the biochemical makeup of one individual is another reason why a particular supplement may work well for one individual but not for another.Sleep supplements and synergistic formulations: As you may know, medicines produced in laboratories often have a blend of compounds that work more effectively when paired with one another. This formulation process is similar to natural supplements as well. Combining multiple supplements that work synergisticly to one another, can achieve an outcome thats more effective on many different people, with different body chemistry.CBD and Sleep: Many people these days are turning to CBD in their search for better sleep. That said, it is true, CBD can help to promote and maintain a state of calmness, which can help, but may not be enough for some people.Advancements in Sleep Science: bZen Organics new CBD Advanced Sleep Formula is a proprietary blend of natures most potent ingredients designed to give you the optimal opportunity to get a good nights rest. Ingredients: 25mg of CBD per capsule, Melatonin, Passion Flower, Linden Flower, Ginkgo Biloba, Lemon Balm, Skullcap Root, Hops Flower, and Vitamin E & D.Dr. Crawford joins the bZen Organics Team with over 10 years of experience working as a Formulation Chemist and Supplement Formulator. She has a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine, a Masters in Human Nutrition and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry.

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CBD And The Advancement of Sleep Science - Magazine of Santa Clarita

Biochemistry

Putting wildlife at top of agenda: Liz Bonnin talks ahead of Planet Earth II live show coming to Birmingham – shropshirestar.com

The series was announced by the BBC in 2013 and focused on Islands, Mountains, Jungles, Desserts, Grasslands and Cities. More than 11 million people tuned in.

Sir David Attenborough closed the series by saying: Now, over half of us live in an urban environment. My home, too, is here, in the city of London. Looking down on this great metropolis, the ingenuity with which we continue to reshape the surface of our planet is very striking. But its also sobering. It reminds me of just how easy it is for us to lose our connection with the natural world. Yet, its on this connection that the future of both humanity and the natural world will depend. And surely, it is our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth.

The series was described as being undoubtedly the greatest TV nature documentary to date and theres a strong case for it being one of the best TV series full stop. It won numerous awards and is now being recreated live in concert with Planet Earth Live II.

BBC Studios and the acclaimed BBC Natural History Unit has announced a UK & Ireland arena tour for Spring 2020. Fans can experience sensational footage from the BAFTA and EMMY award winning BBC series, with the show promising to bring audiences closer to the planets spellbinding animals, landscapes and wildlife dramas than ever before.

Following on from the recent success of the 2019 Blue Planet II Live In Concert tour, the live concerts will feature breathtaking, specially-selected footage shown in 4K ultra high-definition on a gigantic LED screen, as the City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Matthew Freeman, play the remarkable music by Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea & Jasha Klebe for Bleeding Fingers Music.

The arena tour will visit Birminghams Resorts World Arena on April 3.

Zimmer is renowned for his work on the likes of Gladiator, Interstellar and Blade Runner 2049, but said that the landmark BBC series stood out amongst his work. Planet Earth II is one of the most amazing things Ive ever been involved in: some of the greatest action scenes ever put on film, some of the most emotional, epic, fragile scenes Ive ever witnessed. Filmmaking at its absolute peak.

In the spectacular live show, audiences across the UK will get to rub shoulders with our acrobatic primate cousins in the steaming jungles of Madagascar, race alongside fearsome hunting lions in the remote sandy deserts of Namibia, face stormy Antarctic seas with a family of penguins and feel the raw tension as a baby iguana tries to escape the clutches of deadly racer snakes. And they will no doubt tap their toes along with dancing grizzly bears and be swept away by the bravery of a mother snow leopard.

The Planet Earth II Live in Concert arena tour will be hosted by wildlife and natural history TV presenter Liz Bonnin. With a masters in wild animal biology, Bonnin has presented over 40 primetime programmes including Blue Planet Live, Super Smart Animals, Galapagos and Horizon.

With her recent landmark BBC One documentary Drowning in Plastic, she investigated the ocean plastic crisis, with her hard-hitting environmental reporting raising the level of public debate on this important topic. Bonnin also regularly speaks at and hosts science and natural history events across the country, including the National Science + Engineering Competition, the Natural History Museums Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards, New Scientist Live and Blue Dot Festival.

She said: I am so honoured to have the role of host on the Planet Earth II Live in Concert arena tour. The TV series included some absolutely breathtaking sequences who can ever forget the marine iguana fighting for its life as it escaped those racer snakes? I will be just as thrilled as the audience to relive such magnificent scenes on the giant screen, accompanied by a spectacular 80-piece orchestra it will certainly be an experience to remember.

Mat Way, Global Director, Live Entertainment at BBC Studios, added: After the very successful Blue Planet II tour we are delighted to partner with FKP Scorpio once again and bring Planet Earth II Live In Concert to the UK & Irish arenas, an incredible production bringing the BBCs ground breaking footage to the stage for fans to enjoy

Bonnin had always been interested in biology and chemistry at school, and she went on to study Biochemistry at University. After graduating, she started a career as a TV presenter working on such shows as BBC Ones Top of the Pops, before returning to her first love, science, and completing a Masters in Wild Animal Biology and Conservation. Bonnins main interests during her studies were animal behaviour and intelligence and big cat conservation. She set up and carried out a research project on the diet of tigers in Bardia National Park, Nepal, which saw her come first in her class.

Bonnins TV career has drawn heavily on her academic expertise. Recently, Bonnin has co-presented BBC Ones Blue Planet Live and the ground-breaking documentary Drowning in Plastic. She has also presented Should We Close Our Zoos in the latest series of Horizon and Big Animal Surgery, both for BBC Two.

She has previously been on our screens presenting the BBC One series Galapagos and Wild Alaska Live following the hugely successful Big Blue Live series in Monterey, California for the BBC, and for PBS in the USA.

Bonnin has also appeared in the series of Who Do You Think You Are? on BBC One and presented a wildlife series for BBC One about animal migrations called Natures Epic Journeys. Other TV credits include wildlife and animal behaviour programmes Super Smart Animals, Animals in Love, Animals through the Night: Sleepover at the Zoo, Operation Snow Tiger and Animal Odd Couples; science series Horizon, Stargazing Live and Bang Goes the Theory; documentaries Egypts Lost Cities, Museum of Life and Science Friction; and ITVs popular Countrywise.

In addition to her TV work, Bonnin has hosted various high profile events, including the UKs National Science and Engineering Competition Awards and the Natural History Museums prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards. She was also recently awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the British Science Association.

When I got the call to do this, I jumped at the chance. I was onboard immediately. Quite selfishly, Im looking forward to the experience myself just as much as other members of the audience will be.

The thought of seeing that footage on such a big screen and having a live 70-piece orchestra will be magnificent. Ive seen some of the programmes on big screen and its a complete game changer. For me, its a kind of spiritual experience. For people who dont work in wildlife, these creatures remind us of our connection to nature. Then to see that while hearing music from Hans Zimmer is emotional. Its one of those rare occasions where we can celebrate the plant and humanity itself.

Bonnins role is to take the audience by the hand and keep the talking to a minimum. She wants the music and visuals to work their magic.

So Ill put into context the scenes and Ill give them new unexpected information about the scenes. And then the exec producer of Planet Earth II will come on every now and then to give them insights into what it took the make the scene work. Therell be little fun facts and well have 16 sequences, some are compilations that weve prepared that work well together. Of course they include the racer snake and iguana. We have hummingbirds, penguins, snow leopards. Weve cherry picked stuff that lends itself to them.

Bonnin describes hosting the show as a dream gig. She fell into a career that she adores and hopes to effect change. I do feel theres a very good quote going round. If youre not part of the solution youre part of the problem. The younger generation are making their voices heard more loudly than mine. Considering whats happening to the planet we should all be environmentalists. My role is to spell out what conservationists are doing. So when Im making programmes like Drowning in Plastic, Im a human being who has to play a part in being part of the solution.

This concert plays a role in that. It will really move us all to feel inspired and feel motivated to play our part. I dont need to preach, the images will remind us of the magic of the wildlife. I want to leave the audience with messages of hope and inspiration. We can save our wildlife and ourselves and become better custodians.

Bonnin is a communicator who wants to spell out inconvenient truths. In addition to Planet Earth II Live, she has recently finished a documentary on the impact of meat production on our environment.

These are reminders that we need to think about how much we consume. Its about all of these resources that we take for granted.

Given her success, its remarkable that Bonnin didnt want to do TV. Its been a wonderful blessing but it wasnt part of the plan. Im extending myself without going back to school. I really hope some of my work opens peoples eyes as much as it did mine.

Bonnin grew up amid nature, living in the mountains in the south of France, above Nice. She played outdoors all the time and spotted hedgehogs and snakes and spiders. She fell in love with nature.

I was plonked in the middle of it. Nature worked its magic around me. I always wanted to understand how that everything worked, down to the smallest layer. When I discovered chemistry and biology and biochemistry in school, I was thrilled. You can understand everything down to the atoms. When I listen to the processes in the human body, you realise were extraordinary, the way cells do things is incredible.

I did a bit of telly after uni, then went back to school. After biochemistry neuro degenerative diseases was going to be my PHD. I had done some zoology by then and knew I was passionate about wanting to protect wildlife. My masters set me off on a different path.

Bonnin doesnt see her work as being a job. Instead, she feels very privileged to continue to learn from all the scientists and conservations working night and day to save our planet. I do a lot of talks in schools and its important to care and to play their role in protecting the planet. I feel very lucky to be doing it.

Theres never been a time in our history when people like Greta Thunberg and people who organise protests like Extinction Rebellion have not tried to make their voices heard. Theres a zeitgeist there and so people are more aware and more conscious than ever before.

Greta is a hero of mine, no question. She sat outside parliament in Sweden on her own and she has galvanised millions of people to make their voices heard. For the first time in human history on a global level we are impassioned enough to say enough is enough. I feel ashamed as an adult that young children are doing this. We should have taken better care of their future. Among all the pretty dire news about climate, plastic and biodiversity I am hugely inspired that the beauty of the human spirit can turn this around. But my God have we left it late.

Greta isnt Bonnins only hero. There are others she admires. Sir David Attenborough is my absolute hero. Sylvia Earle, the marine biologist and author, and Alexandra Cortez, a congresswoman in New York who ran with no corporate funding, are also heros. Alexandra is a powerhouse of a woman who stood by the strength of her convictions. Just like Bonnin.

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Putting wildlife at top of agenda: Liz Bonnin talks ahead of Planet Earth II live show coming to Birmingham - shropshirestar.com