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RX FOR SCIENCE LITERACY July 16, 2013

University of North Carolina at Greensboro Pamela Lovin

Objectives of the Workshop

  Complete many new Rx for Science activities   Explore the Rx for Science Manual   Discuss current research with biomedical

experts

1-2 What is Biomedical Research?

Biomedical research is the area of science devoted to the study of life processes; the prevention and treatment of disease; and the genetic, lifestyle and environmental factors related to disease and health. 1-2.1

1-2 What is Biomedical Research?

Biomedical Research

Basic Applied Clinical

Unit 4 Other Issues In Science

 Chapter 1 Careers in the Biosciences  Chapter 2 Genetics Primer  Chapter 3 Nanobiotechnology  Chapter 4 Regenerative Medicine  Chapter 5 New Technologies in Vaccines

Careers in the Biosciences

 Curiosity is the Key to Discovery  Job Hunting in the Biosciences

Genetics Primer

 Mendel’s Rules  Extracting DNA

Nanobiotechnology

Nano…   One billionth   1/100,000,000m   1x10-9m   0.000000001m

Nanotechnology is…

  “the art and science of manipulating and rearranging individual atoms and molecules to create useful materials, devices, and systems.” according to The Next Big Thing is Really Small (Newberry & Uldrich, 2003)

  “the willful manipulation of matter at the atomic level to create better and entirely new materials, devices, and systems.”

  “the understanding and control of matter at dimensions between approximately 1 and 100 nanometers (nm), where unique phenomena enable novel applications not feasible when working with bulk materials or even with single atoms or molecules.” according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative (United States National Nanotechnology Initiative, n.d.)

Nanobiotechnology

 applies the tools and processes of nanotechnology to build devices for studying and manipulating biosystems

Medical applications of nanobiotechnology are:

 drug delivery systems  diagnostic tests  biocompatible coatings

for implants, such as replacement joints

North Carolina… a nanotechnology leader

•  35 nanobiotechnology companies

•  70 nanotechnology companies

•  35 university research centers focused on nanobiotechnology

North Carolina… a nanotechnology leader

• two nanoscience Ph.D. programs •  Joint School of Nanoscience and

Nanoengineering (a collaboration between the UNC-G and NC A&T) •  UNC-Charlotte.

• Associate’s degree program at Forsyth Technical Community College.

Nanoparticles can have very different physical and chemical properties.

 More reactive  Higher conductivity  Lower melting point   Interact differently with light

Nanoparticles have larger surface area to volume ratio thus…

Characterization is analyzing the structure and properties of the material to understand how the material will work in various applications

Fabrication is…

  Top-down methods start with an existing material and shape it at the nanoscale

  Bottom-up approaches to nanofabrication means building materials from component parts at the molecular scale

Nanotools…

 Prevent contamination… Cleanroom  View the particles… Scanning probe,

Atomic force, and Helium ion microscopes

Concerns about Nanotechnology

 New particles in nature  Bioaccumulate  Biomagnify

PRINT   Particle Replication in Non-wetting Templates   developed by Dr. Joe DeSimone’s research group

at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill   uses top-down lithography to make tiny, precisely

shaped molds

Nanoparticles in Medicine  Produce a dissolvable nanoparticle to

deliver the vaccine antigens in the body  Diagnose and treat cancer with self

assembling nanocages which would carry toxin

 Diagnosis and treatment of cancer with gold nanoshells

“ETHICS IS A FIELD OF STUDY THAT EXAMINES THE MORAL BASIS OF HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND ATTEMPTS TO DETERMINE THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IN THE FACE OF CONFLICTING CHOICES. ETHICS IS CENTRAL TO OUR HUMAN EXPERIENCE AND PROVIDES AN ORGANIZING DIMENSION TO HUMAN INTERACTION. BECAUSE IT INVOKES QUESTIONS THAT CONSIDER MORALS, VALUES, AND PRINCIPLES, AND BECAUSE IT SEEKS TO CONSIDER AND RESPECT ALTERNATE VIEWPOINTS, IT IS A KEY COMPONENT TO LIVING WITHIN A SOCIETY IN A CIVILIZED WAY.” — FROM AN ETHICS PRIMER: LESSON IDEAS AND ETHICS BACKGROUND

The Ethics of Nanbiotechnology

•  Establish rules for discussion. • Remind students to be respectful of

other’s opinions.

“Research results are more than just accumulated knowledge. Research results make possible new questions, which in turn lead to even more knowledge.” — from Sharing Results Is the Engine of Scientific Progress, by David Wojick (http://www.osti.gov/ostiblog/home/entry/share_results_is_the_engine)

Regenerative Medicine

Goal of Regenerative Medicine

Is to grow replacement tissue or organs for patients who have sustained an injury or have had a disease that

permanently damaged their tissue.

Regenerative Medicine can…

 Create new body parts  Treat damaged or diseased organs  Grow replacement appendages

Background Science

  is a group of similar cells from the same origin performing a specific function (e.g. smooth muscle tissue or connective tissue).

  such as the heart, skin, kidney or stomach, combine two or more tissues that function together.

Tissue Organ

Types of organs and tissues

 Skin  Blood vessels  Bladders  Kidneys  Livers  Hearts

Challenges

 Materials for artificial scaffolds  How to build the artificial scaffolds  Proper texture and chemical properties  Growth of tissue and organs outside the

body

Epigenetics

The development and maintenance of an organism is controlled by a set of chemical reactions that switch parts of the genome off and on at strategic times and locations. Epigenetics is the study of these reactions and the factors that influence them.

Discover the Scaffolding of Tissue

A scaffold is a support structure. In regenerative medicine, scaffolds serve as a support structure for cells to grow and orient themselves when building replacement tissues and organs.


The extracellular matrix surrounds and supports the cells that form tissues and organs in the body. It is created and maintained by cells.

  Scaffold   Outside the cell   Consists of proteins and polysaccharides


Decellularization is the process of removing cells from the extracellular matrix. Biomaterial is the synthetic or natural biocompatible material used to replace part of a living system or function in intimate contact with living tissue.

Building Better Tissue

Scaffolding Issues… Decellularized animal tissue Biocompatible materials


Alginate  Used as a thickener  Can be cross-linked with calcium ions to form

unique shapes


 Gaviscon—Sodium alginate NaC6H7O6  DampRid—Calcium chloride CaCl2

NaC6H7O6 + CaCl2 CaC6H7O6 + 2NaCl

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that give rise to other cells.

Types of Stem Cells

Totipotent stem cells can give rise to all the other tissues needed by the body as well as the extra embryonic tissues (e.g. the placenta).

  Pluripotent stem cells   Give rise to all the other types of body cells.   These are a type of totipotent stem cell.

  Multipotent stem cells  Give rise to the cell types needed in the tissue from which

they are derived   These cell do not form to other types of cells found in the

body.

Stem Cells Are All the Same…Aren’t They?

  Shinya Yamanaka

  Affiliation at the time of the award: Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan, Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco, CA, USA

  Prize motivation: "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent"

Taken from http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2012/yamanaka.html

New Technologies in Vaccines

What Vaccines Do You Need?

Taken from http://www2a.cdc.gov/nip/adultImmSched/

Vaccination

 Main goal is to prevent disease  Protects

 the person vaccinated  those too young to be vaccinated  those with weakened immune systems  those allergic to vaccine ingredients

Vaccination

 Jump start your immune response by introducing the person being vaccinated to enough of a specific disease-causing agent to cause an immune response but not enough to cause illness

Antigens

 Foreign proteins  Different types of white blood cells work

to eliminate these antigens by recognizing the surface protein on disease agents

 Macrophages surround and engulf invaders

Chain Reaction   Macrophage engulfs the foreign proteins   Sets off the T cells to attack infected cells   B cells make antibodies to attach to the

antigens so the T cells and macrophages can quickly destroy them

  Once the body learns to make antibodies, T and B memory cells will be ready to attack the specific disease if it comes into contact with the person again

Types of Vaccines

  Live but weakened disease agents-functional virus particles

  Inactivated or killed disease agents   Subunit vaccines   Toxoid vaccines- toxins released by bacteria   Conjugate vaccines- linked to polysaccharide

coatings of bacteria   DNA vaccines   Recombinant vector vaccines

Types of Vaccines

  Live but weakened disease agents-functional virus particles  Very Effective  Can mutate to more dangerous form  Some can get sick from the weak form  Refrigeration

Types of Vaccines

  Inactivated or killed disease agents  Can’t cause the actual disease  No refrigeration needed  Booster shots needed

Types of Vaccines

 Understanding Vaccines: What They Are and How They Work by NIH and NIAID

Vaccine: Fact or Fiction

Serious diseases have been eradicated.

Population Changes

 Infectious diseases are caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi; the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another.

 Epidemic is an infectious disease that develops and spreads rapidly to many people

http://www.who.int/topics/infectious_diseases/en/ and http://www.thefreedictionary.com/epidemic+disease

Pandemic

 Occurs when an infectious disease breaks out worldwide  Influenza  Smallpox  Bubonic Plague  HIV


 Complications from vaccinations outweigh the good.


 Complications from vaccinations outweigh the good.

 1 in 1,000,000 risk of death or serious complications from measles vaccination

 1 in 1,000 people who catch measles die


 Vaccination leads to autism.


 Vaccination leads to autism.  2 Large studies have shown no

connection between vaccination and autism spectrum disorders


 Vaccines should not be mandatory.


 Vaccines should not be mandatory.  Some states proposed legislation

requiring vaccinations for school attendance/education funding.

Vaccine Manufacturing

 Egg  Cell Culture  Plant Culture

Culturing Cells

What do you need to create a production facility for tomato plants?

Culturing Cells

Egg cultures take 4 to 5 months to produce an influenza vaccine Mammalian cell culture (canine kidney)

How can I integrate this in my classroom?

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RX FOR SCIENCE LITERACY - · PDF fileRX FOR SCIENCE LITERACY July 16, 2013 ... material to understand how the material will work in various ... Nanotools Prevent