NOVEMBER CONTENTS45891112

7

13

Worldwide Innovations in Medical Technologies

Eliminating MosquitoPopulations in the South Pacific

Using Bacterial Infection

Head Transplant

Alzheimer’s Disease Markers Found in Chimpanzees

How Could the Zika Virus be a Positive Thing?

The Discovery of a New Natural Photoenzyme and It’s

Biotechnological Applications

10 Dear Darwin

Cori Bargmann - The Next Marie

Curie

Fluor

Nah?

17 19 21THE

1415

16182022

Columbia Bioengineers a New

Type of Lung Scaffold

Trump: Building a Wall in front of Reality & Science

Downloading Memories, Uploading Thoughts

Delicious Catalysis

Female Warrior Vikings: Myth or Reality?

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: Prenatal

Decisions in Parental Ethics

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

Because Ovarian Cancer Shouldn’t Be a Death

Sentence

Profile and Prevalence of the West Nile Virus

Editor-in-ChiefSanmeet Chahal

Rédactrice en chèfSetti Belhouari

Production ManagerJasmine Bhatti

Asst. Production Manager Elsie Lebedev

AdvisorTanya Yeuchyk

Media ManagerSaania Tariq

Website ManagerMichael Leung

Logisitics CoordinatorMeaghan De Jesus

Author CoordinatorsAnastasia TurnerConstance You

PhotographersElsie LebedevPape Theodore Seye

AuthorsMohamed Bachrouch, Dimitri Beaulieu, Alex

Bologa, An Duong, Sijyl Fasih, Manuela

Fonesca, Kenny Huynh, Erik Jacques, Michael

Kalyn, Divine Kankenga, Hailey McTaggart, Alixe

Ménard, Marie-Pier Millette, Sandrine Pageau,

Simon Reilley, Omar Salah, Alex Tirpan,

Khaled El TybyEditors

Nabil Asraoui, Shobhita Balasubramaniam,

Setti Belhouari, Sanmeet Chahal, Alex Chen, Natalia Forero, Nasim Haghandish,

Divine Kankenga, Navpreet Langa, Ann Lee, Karan Mediratta, Hadjar

Saidi, Mihaela Tudorache, Khaled El Tyby, Michelle

Vandeloo, Kelly Xu, Constance Yu Translators

Setti Belhouari, Shamei Benoit Leblanc, Jade Ashley

Kaitlin Choo-Foo, Youssef Saddiki, Hadjar Saidi,

Nathaly Sbeiti, Mihaela Tudorache, Michelle

Vandeloo, Khaled El TybyTEAM

A historic triumph has been recorded in the battle against cancer with the approval of a new leu-

kemia treatment by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). ‘Kymriah’ is considered the very first gene therapy for

cancer treatment cleared to hit the market in the United States. The treatment “aims to give some patients a second chance after first-

line drugs” like chemo and radiotherapy have failed (Nedelman, 2017). Kymriah marks the first-in-class FDA approval of a Chimeric

antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell treatment for young patients up to 25 years of age with “refractory or relapsed” acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (Tan, 2017).

Due to its aggressive nature, ALL patients often undergo multiple treat-ments of chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy or stem cell transplant; yet less than 10% of

patients survive a mere five years. However, the one-time treatment with Kymriah offers to rid pa-tients of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, in effect, eliminating the cancer (Catholic News Agency, 2017).

Unlike pharmaceutical drugs or biologics, Kymriah does not have the ability to be mass produced. The therapy is made specifically from a person’s own immune system in a process that could take as long as

three weeks. Similar to any other genetic therapy, the treatment involves the removal of T-cells from the patient. T-cells are a kind of white blood cell in our immune system responsible for combatting infections and foreign sub-

stances in the body. The extracted T-cells are then engineered to contain a new protein called Chimeric Antigen Recep-tor (CAR), which, when reintroduced to the body, detects and eliminates the cancer cells (Catholic News Agency, 2017).

HISTORIC NEWSThe

First

Gene

Therap

y App

roved

for C

ancer

Treatm

ent in

the U

S

As promising as it sounds, Kymriah isn’t with-out some drawbacks. As Novartis reports in their study, about “half of the patients in a study developed Cyto-kine-Release Syndrome as a response to the repro-grammed cells running loose in the body” (Novartis, 2017). The syndrome can cause high fevers and flu-like symptoms and, in some cases, be life-threatening. Pa-tients that develop the syndrome must be admitted into intensive care units for close observation. Novartis also reports other side effects can pop up, which could require hospitalization (Ramsay, 2017). Despite this, Kymriah offers a reduced list of side effects compared to those from ALL, as well as a complete cure for treatment-el-igible patients. It’s easy to say that this alone is a huge accomplishment and one that will be effective against the rare form of leukemia. Several doctors have stated that this therapy may become the new standard of care for this particular patient population (Ramsay, 2017). The numbers support the claims as well.

By: Alex Tirpan, 4th Year BIM

Novartis reports that in a trial with 63 patients, 83% were in remission after three months and 64% were still in remission after a year. Another study with 51 patients showed that 45% of patients treat-ed with Kymriah had either a complete or partial re-sponse, meaning the cancer had either disappeared or showed signs of shrinkage (Novartis, 2017). Major concerns are still present as Novartis has priced the treatment at an alarming $475,000 due to the “personalized nature and the manufacturing complexi-ty” it carries (Tan, 2017). However, the company is collab-orating with federal agencies like Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to establish an outcome-based approach where patients would pay only if they respond to the treatment by the end of the first month (Mujker-hee, 2017). Even though Kymriah is a very expensive and complex therapy against cancer, it does inspire confidence and hope alongside the fact that it has the potential to wipe out Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

WORLDWIDE INNOVATIONS IN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES

4

Source: G

ene Liter

acy Projec

t

Source: Stony Brook University

Humans, over the course of history, have often been the source of their own misery. This is especially the case in the islands of the South Pacific Ocean, where man introduced the mosquito species Aedes polynesiensis over a thousand years ago, during their migration there from Fiji.

Eliminating Mosquito Populations in the South Pacific Using Bacterial Infection

By: Alex Bologa, 2nd Year Biotechnology

What makes these

mosquitoes dangerous?

These mosquitoes did not migrate to Polynesia alone: they were carriers of numerous illnesses, such as lymphatic filiariasis, the dengue virus, malaria, and most recently, the Zika virus (Weintraub, 2016). These diseases and more were transported into an area of the world unequipped to deal with such a mosquito epidemic. The number of reported cases of dengue virus in French Polynesia increased from 1358 to 7320 between the years of 1965 and 1997, representing a six-fold increase in just 32 years (Chungue, Deparis & Murgue, 1998). Faced with all this, Pacific islanders finally said enough was enough. Some-thing needed to be done to hinder the expansion and growth of these mosquito populations carrying potentially fatal illnesses. In addition, the ubiquitous presence of infected mosquitoes in the area was harming the tourism industry in French Polynesia, which had been growing up until that point. This was damaging to several Polynesian islands whose economies were predominantly rooted in the tour-ism sector. For these reasons, a group of scientists decided to try to make up for the mistakes committed by the Fijian migrants a millennium ago by tackling the mosquito problem in Polynesia.

How did they accomplish

this?

How can the males and females be separated?

In fact, it can be done using a re-markably simple and efficient procedure (which sorts 99% of larvae correctly). Us-ing water, mosquito larvae are washed and slid between two glass plates. The females are physically larger than the males (due to their egg-laying abilities) and become trapped in the middle, while the males slide all the way to the bottom.

Biologists from a biomedical laboratory in the Tahitian commune of Paea developed a strategy to eliminate the mosquito populations in the small surrounding islands. The principal investigator of the project, an entomologist named Hervé Bossin, proclaimed that the Society Is-lands in French Polynesia (Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Huahine and Raiatea) could eliminate their mosquito problems within a decade. The procedure starts in the mosquito lab at the Louis Malardé Institute, and consists of in-fecting mosquito larvae with the Wolbachia strain of bacteria. The bacteria originate from another species of mosquito, Aedes reverse, which is not found in Polynesia. The bacteria have a noxious effect on A. polynesiensis. When the female A. polynesiensis is injected with this bacterial strain, her eggs take on the bacteria as well. Meanwhile, if a male is infected with the bacteria and later in-seminates a non-infected female, the resulting eggs will not be capable of hatching (Marris, 2017). These biologists have determined that the most effective way to distribute this strain of bacteria among the island’s mosquito populations is by infecting the males and strategically releas-ing them close to nests with a high number of female mosquitoes. Seeing as the lifespan of a male mosquito is roughly 10 days, and 50 for a female, an entire population could be eradicated rapidly using this method (Miller, 2012).

5Source: How Far They’ll GoSource: Dengue and Mosquito Control on Rarotonga

What are the future implications for this method of

elimination via bacterial infection?

Is this the most effective way to prevent these

illnesses?

Presently, this method is practiced principally on the South Pacific Islands such as Tetiaroa, since these regions are isolated and sparsely inhabited, making them ideal for this kind of scientific experimentation. They permit the scientists to confirm that this kind of eradication can be safely and with minimal consequences. However, there have already been attempts at similar strategies, such as in Guangzhou, China, where the species Aedes albopictus has been almost completely eradi-cated on the populated islands. Similarly, in the United States, 70% of the species A. albopictus

Currently, the scientists believe that this method of elimination via bacterial infection is the most effective way to prevent the spread and contraction of the illnesses carried by these mosquitoes from all perspectives. Economically-speaking, they estimate that infecting mosquitoes with Wolbachia bacteria will cost much less than other strategies such as genetic modification. It will cost less than a dollar per person to release a subset of infected mosquitoes sufficiently big to eviscerate the A. polynesien-sis population in a region, which would prevent the spread of diseases such as dengue, which kills an average of 800 000 children per year (Weintraub, 2016). Ecologically-speaking, this method is completely green, and is preferable to releasing chem-ical vapours and other pesticides into the nests since it uses bacteria already present in 65% of insect species (Marris, 2017). In addition, the mosquito presence in Polynesia is relatively new since it was introduced by humans and therefore eliminating the insect would not interfere with the food chains of these islands. As an example, spiders, which feed on mosquitoes among other things, have many other options for food, and there are no frogs or bats on these islands, which are natural predators of mosquitoes. This prevention technique will not only help reduce the spread of disease in humans, but also in animals, such as birds, for whom it would be fatal as well. Furthermore, eliminating the source of the illnesses will reduce its incidence in the human populations and avoid the spread between humans, or to other regions of the world via air travel. The speed at which this treatment works within a mosquito population is also helpful as it greatly reduces the possibility that mosqui-toes evolve and adapt to acquire an immunological resistance to the bacteria.

has been eliminated in 3 states (Marris, 2017). The real dilemma is that it is much more difficult to rid a larger, non-island area of its in-fectious mosquito populations since it is easi-er for the mosquitoes to spread and reproduce elsewhere. It is also critical that mosquitoes that are crucial to the ecosystem not be removed, no-tably in regions with lots of lakes and ponds. Ultimately, we can predict that this method of bacterial infection of mosquitoes to prevent the spread of disease will be popular in the near future. Imagine a future in which tour-ists to the South Pacific no longer have to cover themselves with insecticides and smack them-selves every two minutes to avoid mosquito bites – a future where the lethality of mosquito populations is decreased dramatically, with any luck. But would this really be luck – or just pure science?

6

Source: Oliver Exterminating

C

O

R

I

B

A

R

G

M

A

N

N

Recently, I let my curiosity get the better of me and googled “World Renowned Scientists”. Here’s who came up: Albert Ein-stein, Isaac Newton, Stephen Hawking, Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, Charles Darwin, Niko-la Tesla, James Watson and Alexander Gra-ham Bell. Notice anything weird? It took me a while to notice, too. Of the ten scientists, only one woman is deemed good enough to be titled “renowned”. Ugh. What about Jane Goodall, Maria Mayer, Rachel Carson, or Henrietta Lacks? Why are female scientists – Nobel prize winners, at that – being left be-hind instead of being idolized like their male peers? By only teaching young girls about the male heroes of science, we prevent them from seeing themselves in those scientists’ shoes. Where are the women? Is science just for men? Why do women still have to work twice as hard to be seen as equals? It’s high time we acknowledge our fellow science sis-ters. This month’s pick is Cori Bargmann. Bargmann, a neurobiologist, is a beacon of hope for female scientists. Last year, she was even named a “legitimate rockstar” (Scutti, 2016). Like many of us, her passion for sci-ence started with pure curiosity. These days she focuses on C. elegans, roundworms that carry many of the same neurobiological functions as humans. She is also the presi-dent of Chan Zuckerberg Science (Driefus, 2015). No big deal. Bargmann started small; at age 17, her first job consisted of making food for flies in a biology lab. She then moved on to bigger things – much bigger things. She studied a non-Ras oncogene called neu as part of her research thesis. She cloned neu from a rodent neuroblastoma which later allowed her to es-tablish that it is an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). Armed with that knowl-edge, she could finally determine the mu-tations that activate the neu oncogene (Aa-modt, 2012). Her discovery later led scientists to find a correlation between the activation of neu oncogenes and aggressive breast tumors. If you have yet to utter a “wow” under your breath, you might want to think twice about being a scientist. What’s so inspiring about Bargmann is that she’s unafraid of complexity. To her, the nervous system is a puzzle and putting every piece together just happens to be her favorite

pastime. Her work mostly focuses on olfac-tion, meaning the receptors linking the brain to our sense of smell, as well as other neuro-biological functions such as stress responses (Marino, 2005). She uses laser ablation on C. elegans to study their chemosensory neu-rons, which are responsible for creating a state of stress resistance called dauer larva. I don’t know about you, but I’d love to find that state for myself. Jokes aside, Cori Bargmann is a su-perheroine of neurobiology, and I hope this article allows you to recognise her achieve-ments, while inspiring you to work harder towards your own. Bargmann didn’t become a neurobiologist overnight. She studied bio-chemistry at the University of Georgia, and later undertook graduate studies at the Mas-sachusetts Institute of Technology and doc-toral studies in their Department of Biolo-gy. She then worked under the wing of Dr. Robert Weinberg, a biologist, with whom she studied oncogenesis, mainly based on the Ras molecule and its ties to bladder cancer (Marino, 2005). As you can see, her studies and research have changed focus quite a bit throughout her career, but it’s thanks to her explorations that she was able to expand her knowledge and become such an acclaimed scientist. All this to say that it’s okay to explore your options. The path to greatness isn’t a one-way street, nor is it narrow. As women, we have to work twice as hard as men in order to be acknowledged, so why not make the jour-

By: Alixe Ménard, 2nd year BIM

The Next Marie Curie

7

ney worth-while? As scientists, we don’t owe it to men to prove our worth, but we owe it to the world to share our k n o w l -edge, and thankfully this is ex-actly what Cori Barg-mann is doing.

Source: Getty Images

HEAD TRANSPLANTBy: Khaled Tyby, 4th Year BIM

Today, we live in a world where the majority of human organs can be transplanted from one person to another. These organs include the lungs, the intestines, the heart and the liver. So why not the head? That is the question that Sergio Canave-ro and his Chinese colleagues asked themselves. Sergio Canavero is a 52-year-old Italian neurosurgeon convinced that he can successfully perform a human head transplant. The neurosurgeon wishes to swap the heads of two humans: one whose organs do not function correctly and the other who has healthy organs but is brain dead. Here are the steps for the operation called HEAVEN: ‘’HEad Anastomosis VENture’’. First of all, the head that is being transplanted has to be cooled to 15 degrees Celsius. This cooling is absolutely nec-essary because it allows the neurons of the head to live for a longer period of time and within an anaerobic environment. This is very similar to the transplantation of other organs such as the heart which has to be placed in a cold environment with the goal of being preserved for a longer period of time. After this cooling, the head will be amputated man-ually using a knife called the gemin-o-tome. This very sharp knife will allow a proper cut through the spinal cord. Follow-ing this cut, the head will be found in a cold environment and will have been drained of all its blood. As a consequence, the brain will become inactive. At this point, the brain has to be transplanted onto the new body within 60 minutes in order to establish a new blood circulation to nourish the blood. The blood vessels of the head will be linked with the vessels of the new body using tubes made of silicone (Plourde, 2016). Finally, the nerves, the muscles, the ligaments, and

most important of all the spinal cord will need to be at-tached to the corresponding parts of the new body. This step creates a major problem in this operation. For many years and still today, it is considered ‘’impossible’’ to successfully perform an operation of spinal cord repair (Kirkey, 2017). In this case, it is necessary to join the two different spinal cords at the neck level. To do this, Sergio Canavero pro-poses the use of a chemical substance called polyethylene glycol (PEG). This substance is found in cosmetic products. PEG, also called macrogol, can be injected after serious in-jury of the vertebral column to allow the nervous mem-branes of the spinal cord to be repaired. However, there’s a similar substance called TEXAS-PEG, invented by the Canadian chemist William Sikkema (Kirkey, 2017), which has already been used successfully in repairing the motor activities of rats that had suffered serious spinal cord in-juries. This substance has a higher chance of success than the PEG. The two spinal cords will therefore be bathed in TEXAS-PEG and will be placed one on top of the other. What are the risks of rejection? Rejection occurs when the tissue of the organ, in this case the head, is recognized by the new body’s immune system to be a foreign material. As a consequence, the tis-sue is attacked by the new body’s immune system. The risk of rejection for the head transplant is fairly high. For a pa-tient to survive after the head transplant, they would have to consume very strong immunosuppressive medication such as cytostatic, antibodies, and glucocorticoids that will suppress their immune system. This weak immune system can, consequently, result in many other serious illnesses. What are the psychological risks for the receiver of the new body? Obviously, the risk of death for patients of this op-eration is very high, however let’s imagine a scenario where the patient survives. What are the psychological risks fac-ing the patient? The first volunteer for Sergio Canavero’s head transplant surgery is Valery Spiridonov, a 31-year-old Russian computer scientist that suffers from a disease called Werdnig-Hoffman (Welch, 2016). Mr. Spiridinov is currently being trained for the operation by putting him in virtual situations in case of unexpected psychological reac-tions following the operation. After the operation, Spiridonov will also need to pass a psychiatric evaluation to make sure his levels of stress are not too high. However, the fact that Spiridonov might suffer from unexpected psychological reactions is highly probable. 8 Source: CBS News

A cutting-edge study published on August 1st, 2017 showed that aged chimpanzees develop similar bi-ological markers to those found in humans with Alzhei-mer’s disease (AD). Published in “Neurobiology of Aging” (Edler et al., 2017), the study aims to discern key points in AD manifestations in chimps and in an effort to better understand its progression in humans. Alzheimer’s disease in humans causes slow de-struction of nerve cells in the brain through the presence of abnormally structured proteins. These are not targeted by the usual protein breakdown pathways allowing them to accumulate in brain tissue. Abnormal amyloid-β pro-teins accumulate in the extracellular medium of the brain leading to the development of insoluble protein plaques, which are toxic to the surrounding neurons (Attems et al., 2017). The affected neurons, known as neurofibrillary tangles, are produced as a result of function loss in hyper phosphorylated tau proteins (Braak et al., 2006). Normally associated to the cell’s microtubule network, tau proteins help maintain its linear structure allowing for transport of chemical substances throughout a nerve cell; an essential process to neuron function and signal transmission. The hyper phosphorylation of tau proteins leads to their dis-sociation from the microtubule network, and aggregation inside the cell and disruption of the cell’s transportation network (Rosen et al., 2006). In both cases, the result is cell death which is a consequence of a significant reduc-tion in brain tissue mass. In chimps, AD presents a similar exhibition com-pared to humans. However, there are a few key differenc-es. Mary Ann Raghanti and her team analyzed the brains of 20 deceased aged chimpanzees hoping to establish fac-tors common to both human and chimp manifestations of the disease (Edler et al., 2017). The team discovered amyloid-β plaques, although a much larger quantity was found sequestered in the brain’s microvasculature. In ad-dition, tau lesions were found as pre-tangles, as opposed to fully developed neurofibrillary tangles. Despite the presence of both pathogenic markers of AD, chimpanzees do not seem to exhibit severe demen-tia (Edler et al., 2017). Humans and chimps have sequenc-es of amyloid-B and tau proteins that are homogeneous. This may hint at protective mechanisms in chimps pre-venting more significant cell loss. Could this explain the sequestration of amyloid-β in blood vessels as opposed to its accumulation directly in the extracellular medium of the brain? In any case, further research is needed in order to achieve a more complete understanding of the data obtained from this study as well as the molecular processes that could potentially slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite the uncertain-ty, prevention is affirmed to be the best treatment. Stay-ing active, both mentally and physically, can significantly lower the risk of developing such a disease.

By: Dimitri Beaulieu, 3rd Year BIM

9

According to Dr. Quassim Cassam, a philosophy pro-fessor at the University of Warwick, it is very probable that the person that wakes up after the head transplant has no con-sciousness of Valery Spiridonov’s past. The operation, accord-ing to Cassam, would therefore create a brand new human being with only the head of Valery Spiridonov (Kirkey, 2017). Sergio Canavero and his Chinese colleagues are look-ing to revolutionize the world of human transplantation. In a world where the heart, lungs, liver, and many other organs are being transplanted so commonly, the head might soon join this group. With an operation estimated to be 36 hours long, the Italian neurosurgeon would like to start his first trial as soon as December 2017 on Valery Spiridonov, his first volun-teer. With many medical doubts such as the chances of rejec-tion, the possible psychological problems for the patient, and ethical doubts, Sergio Canavero is still convinced that his idea will work with a 90% chance of success.

Alzheimer’s Disease Markers

Found in Chimpanzees

Source: National Public Radio

Dear Darwin,

How can an opera singer break a glass just by the sound of her voice?

~ Anonymous

Dear Darwin,

Why do bees build their honeycomb in a hexagonal shape?

~ Dr. Honeydew

Dear Anonymous, Congratulations for being the first one to inquire about such a peculiar, yet extremely fasci-nating phenomenon! The answer to your question lies in the physical concept of resonance: the syn-chronous vibration of two neighbouring oscillators. Every oscillating system (including you!) will natu-rally oscillate at a specific frequency when no exter-nal forces are acting on it, also known as its natural frequency. With their vocal expertise, opera singers can match the pitch of their voice to the natural fre-quency of glass which amplifies the natural oscil-lations of the glass. Depending on the volume and duration of the sound, the glass will vibrate faster and faster until the material of the glass itself breaks under strain. Hope this explanation resonated with you!

Darwin

Dear Dr. Honeydew It turns out that the honeycomb is an engineering masterpiece. Bees want a compact storage structure for their honey, considering its vitality to the hive and the wing power it takes to produce. The compactness of the cells is due to the absence of gaps between tightly glued cells, which all have equal sides. Out of all the shapes that are equal sided and yield no gaps, the triangle, square, and hexagon are the most suitable for this func-tion. Now, the thing about hexagons is that they’re a little more compact compared to squares and triangles as was correctly conjectured by Roman mathematician, Marcus Terentius Varro. Thus, a hexagonal honeycomb would have a smaller total perimeter. This greatly contributes to the efficien-cy of the structure because bees do not need to spend extra energy and wax for patching up gaps. How economical! Keep up the inquiry!

Darwin

DEAR DARWINBy: Sijyl Fasih, 1st Year BIM

10

Source: Pape Theodore Seye Source: Elsie Lebedev

In the last few years, coverage of the Zika virus has been a staple of the news. Initially, the buzz was concerning the epidemic of birth defects caused by the virus, but more recently its presence in the news has been because of its po-tential to be an effective treatment against an aggressive form of brain cancer. This article will be presented in the form of questions and answers concerning this new use of the Zika virus. Preliminary results from a study on this subject con-ducted by a group of researchers, led by Zhe Zhu have been published in The Journal of Experimental Medicine. What is the Zika virus? Zika virus is a species of Flavivirus, which is a genus of RNA viruses. This category includes the West Nile virus as well as the dengue and yellow fever viruses. The Zika vi-rus can induce cell death and differentiation in the brains of fetuses, and according to the U.S. Zika Pregnancy Registry, can cause birth defects such as brain abnormalities, micro-cephaly, and developmental difficulties in newborns (Walker, 2017). The symptoms are present in one in ten babies from pregnant women infected with this virus, according to re-searchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2016). The effects of Zika virus are known to be less severe in adults, with only rare cases of meningoencephalitis having been reported. The virus exists in a human-mosquito cycle, and can be transmitted via mosquito bites or sexual contact. The Zika virus selectively targets neural progenitor cells (brain stem cells) in the fetus; which was significant for Zhe Zhu’s research group – they hypothesized that the virus could therefore be used to infect and kill glioblastoma stem cells (GSCs), cells from the most aggressive form of brain cancer (Zhu et al., 2017). What is a glioblastoma tumour? Glioblastoma is a severe and harmful brain caner. Its tumours are partially resistant to all known treatments, and it usually comes back in proximity to the original resec-tion location. GSCs contribute to this tumor’s malignancy in many ways: their invasive potential, immune escape, thera-peutic resistance, constant proliferation, and their capacity to promote angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) all give glioblastoma an edge. What do we know about the effects of the Zika virus on glioblastomas? Results in vitro Experiments in vitro demonstrate that the Zika vi-rus infects a very high percentage of GSCs, while infecting differentiated glioma cells (DGCs) at a significantly lower rate and showing no significant effects on the latter. This was

By: Marie-Pier Millette, 3rd Year PSY

11

HOW COULD THE ZIKA VIRUS BE A POSITIVE THING?

proven by inoculating GSCs and DGCs, which form another type of brain tumor, with a Zika virus strain. In Zika-infected GSCs, the following effects were observed: the abolishment of proliferation, the reduction of sphere formation (a way tumour cells self-renew), reduction in SOX2 expression (a GSC marker), and increase in apoptosis. Results on human tissue specimens The researchers were provided with fresh surgical glioblastoma tumour resections from human brains. They inoculated these with a Zika virus strain, which gradually in-fected the tumours. Consistent with what was found in vitro, Zika infected only proliferating cells and not DGCs. They confirmed that the Zika virus doesn’t infect normal adult hu-man brain tissue in another experiment using human neural cells. Results on mice Researchers tried to replicate the results in vivo, us-ing laboratory mice with abnormalities in type 1 interferon (IFN) signaling, since mice are not natural hosts for this vi-rus. Type 1 IFN is a protein responsible for inducing tran-scription of a large group of genes that play a role in host re-sistance to viral infections (Honda et al., 2005). The virus was also mouse-adapted by inoculating it in mice with glioma tumours. Results demonstrated that the adapted Zika virus diminished the growth of the tumour while having no effect on normal central nervous system cells. The Zika-treated tu-mours were smaller, and the life span of the mice was longer compared to the tumour-bearing mice who received a place-bo. Zika virus has unique effects on GSCs Similar experiments with the West Nile virus demonstrated that this virus, unlike Zika, infects GSCs and DGCs equally. It also infects normal brain tissue. What can be confirmed from these observations is that the specificity of the Zika virus for its target cells is not a common charac-teristic of all Flaviviruses. This increases the likelihood of it becoming an effective tool for treatment. How does the Zika virus preferentially target glioblastoma stem cells? There is still a lot of work to do to understand why the Zika virus targets cancer stem cells so selectively. One possible explanation would be that the targeting concerns type 1 IFNs. GSCs are not responsive to type 1 IFNs, and IFN signaling has been discovered to be the primary gene ontology pathway activated by Zika infection.

Source: Virology Blog

The Discovery of a New Photoenzyme and It’s Biotechnological Applications

By: Erik Jacques, 3rd Year APA In almost all biological organ-isms, light is involved in the processes carried out in their bodies. In most cases, these processes are mediated by photoactive proteins (Sorigué et al., 2017). Despite there being multiple categories for these types of proteins (ex: photoreceptors, light sensitive ion channels, etc.), this article is focused on photoenzymes. Photoenzymes are catalysts that need a continuous flow of photons to remain enzymatically ac-tive. They are very rare mainly because evolution has not favored light driven catalysis, and thus the list of biological materials that react with light in a use-ful way is brief (Yirka, 2017). In accor-dance with this, only two families ex-ist in nature: DNA photolyases, which help repair ultraviolet (UV) damage to DNA, and light-dependent protochlo-rophyllide reductases, which help with chlorophyll synthesis (Scrutton, 2017). Research into these compounds for biotechnological use has picked up in recent years for the simple reason that the acceleration of chemical reactions by visible light via these enzymes of-fers an environmentally friendly and industrially scalable chemical route to synthesize desired products (Yoon, Ischay, & Du, 2010). This differs from scalable reactions where additional cat-alyzers may be needed and thus harm-

12

Where are we in the development on this treatment? A less virulent strain of Zika virus has been created to make the virus safer to work with, as it is bet-ter adapted to the human body’s nat-ural immune response. This modified strain had similar effects to the paren-tal strain on glioblastoma cells, and its effects were enhanced by a chemother-apy drug named temozolomide, which used alone, results in low survival rates

in glioblastomas. These results are very promising, demonstrating that a mu-tant strain of the virus could promote infection and lysis of GSCs with less danger to the surrounding cells. How-ever, we are not yet at the stage of test-ing this treatment on human brains. Much work remains to be done before that step is reached. Since safety is the primary concern, more experiments will have to be conducted to better un-derstand the mutant Zika virus; for in-

ful by-products, which can difficult to dispose, may be produced. Recently, a team of researchers associated with several institutions in France discovered a new algal photoen-zyme which can convert fatty acids into hydrocarbons (Sorigué et al., 2017). They found that the microalgae Chlo-rella variabilis NC64A has the capacity to convert long chain fatty acids to al-kanes or alkenes through a light depen-dent process. With no homologs to any known hydrocarbon-forming enzymes found in it’s genome, the team theo-rized that the microalgae must be using an undiscovered alkane synthase which they then isolated and named fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP). FAP was found to be part of the glucose-meth-anol-choline (GMC) reductases. GMC reductases are a family of flavoproteins that, as the name suggests, are proteins containing flavins, forming either the flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) or flavin mononucleotide (FMN) (Piano, Palfey, & Mattevi, 2017). They are capa-ble of electron transfers and are there-fore often used as cofactors; which are essentially all inorganic and organic chemicals that aid enzymes during the catalysis of reactions (Scrutton, 2017). Consequently, flavins are most com-monly found in oxidases and dehydro-genases. However, recent discoveries

are indicating that they are involved in most biological processes (despite only 1% of proteins being flavoproteins) and are more versatile than previously thought (Conrad, Manahan, & Crane, 2014; Piano, Palfey, & Mattevi, 2017). In correlation with this, mass spectros-copy results of FAP found the enzyme to contain an FAD cofactor that cap-tures blue light to activate the catalyst and help in the decarboxylation of fatty acids. These reactions occur via a the-orized radical based reaction with a higher efficiency for forming C16-C17 chains (Sorigué et al., 2017), see Figure 1.

The thought of being able to utilize a “green” biocatalyst to produce hydrocarbons is very attractive because hydrocarbons are essentially the foun-dation of our modern civilization. They are heavily used in consumer products, industrial materials, the energy indus-try and more (Hall, Tharakan, Hallock, Cleveland, & Jefferson, 2003).

Figure 1

stance, to learn if it is stable, or if we are able to develop even safer and equally or more effective mutants. The next step will be to create a human-derived GSC model in mice that can allow an in vivo study. All this must be done before the Zika virus can be used as an effec-tive and safe treatment for adult glio-blastoma patients (Cohut et al., 2017).

Source: Sorigué, D. et. al

Flu Or

Nah?By: Manuela Fonesca,

3rd Year BIM

It is that time of the year again, when students at the University of Ottawa are fighting through lab reports and mid-terms. Little do we realize, microscopic creatures inside our bodies are battling to keep us healthy and breathing. Edward Jenner, a great scientist, who developed the first vaccine against small pox made a huge impact in the medical field. His work is one of the reasons we have been able to advance so far towards having safe and effective vaccines. Vaccines are helpful for immunizing ourselves against many diseases and can even help us avoid the seasonal flu, caused by the influenza virus. Before deciding on getting the flu shot or not, we should be informed on the effectiveness of the influenza vaccine, how it works and the benefits that come with getting vaccinated. To start, two types of vaccines can be administered. The first type of vaccine is made with the inactivated and non-in-fectious version of the virus. This type of vaccine will not cause you to develop the flu. The second method uses the recom-binant influenza vaccine which contains no influenza virus. In general, vaccines immunize us by allowing our bodies to develop “Y” shaped antibodies, which are small proteins found in blood. These antibodies develop about two weeks after you have been vaccinated. We are injected with weakened antigens, dead antigens, or segments of a protein after it has been destroyed. When the body is exposed to these biological molecules, it triggers a memory response in order to recognize it next time and defend itself faster. The flu shot has essentially no risk of being fatal or even harmful. Although there is a possibility of an allergic reaction to the flu vaccine, it is exceptionally rare. Some actual side effects that can occur com-monly are soreness, redness, swelling at the spot of the injection, as well as body aches. A less common symptom is devel-oping a fever.

In addition, it is important to be aware that vaccination is 100% fool-proof. It can be thought of as being anal-ogous to bribing your little sibling with candy when you want them to do you a favour. There’s a chance they’ll agree to help you, but that may not always be the case. In other words, being immunized will only reduce your chances of getting sick to a certain extent. Recent studies conducted by Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention demonstrated that vaccination can reduce illness by 40% to 60% during seasons when the virus is most active. Despite vaccination being a preventative measure, it comes with more benefits than you might expect. Reducing the chances of getting the flu is definitely something to consider when you realize that in severe cases, the flu can even bring you to the hospital room. But surely, opinions on vaccines might also vary due to its effect on different age groups. A study conducted in 2014 showed a 74% decrease in the risk of flu-related pediatric intensive care unit admissions, demonstrating that this vac-cine may ultimately reduce the chance of having to receive serious treatment (Vaccine Effectiveness, 2017). Vaccina-tion does not only protect children but it can be beneficial to adults and seniors as well. Although older people exhibit weaker immune responses to the flu vac-cine, they should still get immunized as they are at a much higher risk of serious illnesses, hospitalisation and even death from the virus. Some protection, albeit small, is better than no protection at all in this case, especially since they are at higher risk of serious outcomes. Although vaccination cannot guarantee that you will avoid the flu this season, active prevention of the flu comes with more benefits than inconveniences. In the future, we all hope to have a res-olution that is less debatable and more reliable.

13

These findings show that light driven ca-talysis is not as limited as we thought and that research into molecular pathways involving photon regulation should be

further intensified. For now, co-factor dependent enzymes (most likely involving flavins) and their use in a more environmental-

ly-friendly photochemistry seems to be a promising path to the development of new biotechnologies.

Source: Clker

Source: Clipart Library

DELICIOUS CATALYSIS

By: Hailey McTaggart,2nd Year BPS

14

The frequent presence of pro-cessed and modified foods is increas-ingly becoming a topic of conversation amongst North American consumers. Undetectable additives and alternatives often blur the line between the natural and the inventive. One technique of the food industry that would certain-ly fall under the inventive category is transglutaminase. This enzyme is used by avant-garde chefs and mass produc-ers alike in the preparation of meat, dairy, and bakery products (Kieliszek & Misiewicz, 2014). However, as the use of transglutaminase becomes more popular, many consumers have begun to worry that their health is at stake. The transglutaminase enzyme is found naturally in many eukaryotic

and prokaryotic organisms (Mahmood & Sebo, 2009). Found both outside and inside of cells, it is highly diverse in function, participating in physiologi-cal processes such as spermatogenesis and blood coagulation in animals and the processes of growth and develop-ment in plants (Kieliszek & Misiewicz, 2014). The characteristic of the enzyme that the food industry has found most valuable, however, is the enzyme’s abil-ity to encourage the construction of crosslinks between two different pro-tein molecules (Mahmood & Sebo, 2009). As the enzyme is able to modify both the chemical and physical proper-ties of proteins (Kieliszek & Misiewicz, 2014), it has the power to improve characteristics such as texture and viscosity (Mahmood & Sebo, 2009). Microbial transglutaminase is the form of the enzyme that has prov-en highly useful to the food industry. The bacterium, Streptoverticillium mobaraensis, is the main source in the biosynthesis of transglutaminase (Kieliszek & Misiewicz, 2014). These microbiologically derived enzymatic products have been used to improve the texture of bread and pasta, encour-age the creamy consistency in yogurts used as a base in frozen desserts and dressings, and in tahe development of protein films designed to coat fruits and vegetables to lengthen their shelf-life (Kieliszek & Misiewicz, 2014). However, it is the use of the enzyme in the meat industry that gives homoge-nized meat mixtures a more durable texture, and seamlessly integrates low-er-quality additives, such as skimmed

milk powder, and flour with processed meats; which has earned transgluta-minase the colloquial name of ‘meat glue’ (Kieliszek & Misiewicz, 2014). With the use of transglutam-inase becoming frequent within the food industry, some consumers fear that the state of their health will face a sticky situation. While the enzyme itself is included in the Canadians government’s List of Permitted Food Enzymes (Health Canada, 2017), it is considered a safe food binder by the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture, 2017), despite some side effects which may occur with its use. It has been found that E. coli 0157:H7 can be introduced along the glue lines when the enzyme is used to fuse togeth-er several pieces of meat, indicating the translocation of fecal matter surface contamination within the meat (Gre-ger, 2015). Also, transglutaminase’s ability to act as an auto-antigen capable of inducing an autoimmune reaction could pose a danger to those who suffer from gluten intolerance (Greger, 2015). As scientists continue to find new purposes for transglutaminase, North Americans are becoming more aware of its use in the food they and their families consume. Some may view it as a biological duct tape that could pose as a harm to their well-be-ing, while others might be tempted to perceive it as simply another tool in a creative chef ’s arsenal. Either way, it is evident that transglutami-nase is a significant component of the glue that holds scientific innovation and gastronomic evolution together.

Female Warrior Vikings: Myth or Reality?By: Sandrine Pageau,

3rd Year BIM

In the world of modern cinema, we of-ten applaud the portrayal of female characters as fierce warriors fighting alongside their male counterparts, such as in the TV series Vikings. But as much as these feminist depictions of histo-ry bring joy to the audience, archeological studies haven’t provided much evidence to support them, bringing us back down to Earth quickly. Despite the discovery of tombs belonging to female Vi-kings buried along with their weapons, none have had enough evidence to prove the existence of female warriors of high status among the Scan-dinavian peoples. Therefore, these stories, as in-triguing as they are, have long been dismissed as merely mythological phenomena - until recently. Towards the end of the 19th century, Bj 581 (as it was known at the time) was one among thousands of Viking tombs uncovered near the Swiss city of Birka (Hedenstierna-Jonson et al., 2017). What made Bj 581’s tomb unique were the sepulchral objects found within. First, the body had been buried with numerous weapons and equipment: a sword, an axe, a lance, arrows, a com-bat knife, and two shields. What attracted more attention, however, were the remains of two hors-es, as well as a set of gaming pieces which shared the grave of Bj 581. These discoveries suggested that the individual buried there had had knowl-

edge of tactics and strategy critical for battle, and had been of high status in this Viking garrison. For a long time, these findings, combined with historical archives, were considered sufficient to conclude that Bj 581 had been of male sex. How-ever, a later, more rigorous analysis of the skeleton contradicted this hypothesis. The size of the greater sciatic notch and the width of the preauricular sul-cus, the slenderness of the bones, as well as a men-tal eminence less projected on the mandible sug-gest the sex of Bj 581 was, in fact, female. Also of note was the fact that this osteological analysis al-lowed the researchers to estimate the warrior’s age – over 30 years old, which would have been con-sidered old at the time. Unfortunately, regardless of this evidence, the fact that this discovery was the subject of so much controversy and did not respect the historical and archeological context thought correct at the time, it was declared illegitimate. Happily, thanks to recent advances in DNA sequencing techniques, it was finally possi-ble to reliably confirm the sex of Bj 581. Specifi-cally, samples of DNA taken from the warrior’s left canine and left humerus bones were used in this analysis (Hedenstierna-Jonson et al., 2017). In short, the process consisted of DNA extraction, several PCR amplification cycles, and to tie it off, the complete sequencing of Bj 581’s genome. An analysis of the mitochondrial DNA confirmed that the sample came from a single individual, which eliminated the possibility of DNA contamination from another individual than Bj 581 alone. Follow-ing this, in calculating the ratio of DNA sequenc-es aligned with the two allosomes, the absence of a Y chromosome in the samples supported the aforementioned osteological conclusions. Now, all that remains to be known is if the sex of this warrior was known to her subordinates. Was this merely a situation like that of Disney’s Mu-lan? Was she an exception in this era of male dom-inance? Or are we beginning to uncover proof that gender equality existed in the Vikings’ violent social order? One way or another, further research will be needed to confirm any one of these hypotheses.

15Source: SPISSIA

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: Prenatal Decisions in Parental Ethics

As humans and living organisms, our rudimenta-ry goal, in a biological sense, is to survive and reproduce. Within this process, we raise children with whom we develop profound relationships. In every effort to conceive a child, it is hoped that they will go on to live a happy, healthy life, but many must first face a certain challenge: the possibility of in-heriting a disease. Though the term “test” may not have had a pleasant association throughout our schooling, a certain screening test known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) appears to have great potential in helping soon-to-be parents who carry hereditary genetic diseases. PGD is a process that takes place during in vitro fer-tilization (IVF) (Lu et al., 2016). For women who have had repeated lack of success in pregnancy, blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, or declining egg production with age, in vitro fertilization provides the invaluable opportunity to manually form embryos by combining egg and sperm in a laboratory.

In IVF, ovulation in a woman is first increased through medication. Eggs are then retrieved and given 3-6 days to develop as embryos, during which a biopsy is per-formed on each. A few cells are then harvested from each embryo, so that chromosomes and gene sequences can be tested. Healthy embryos are implanted back into the uterus, while those that do not pass the test are discarded (Lu et al., 2016). As a genetic diagnosing technology originating from over 30 years ago in the United Kingdom, PGD has helped couples avoid a multitude of genetic diseases including Hun-tington’s disease, Brittle-bone disease, polydactyly syndrome, and many more (Cyranoski, 2017). At the same time, you may have also heard of CRIS-PR-Cas9, another genetic technology on the recent rise and which has the potential to eventually erase disease genes in human embryos. However, like CRISPR-Cas9 and many oth-er gene altering technologies, PGD presents a vast number of

issues that still require time and debate, many of which are bioethical in nature. The usage of PGD can be an ethical dilemma for par-ents across the world. That being said, levels of ethical con-cern related to PGD vary, with a few similarities, between the Eastern and Western sides of the world. In the West, concerns start with the entire concept of PGD; embryos are portrayed as disposable lives that have their cells removed. As PGD develops, there is also the fear of eugenics and choosing non-disease related traits, as there is when it comes to altering human genes in any way. For some others, attempting to rid the population of certain genetic diseases is a devaluation of individuals that already have them. Public support by the government to prevent any further generation of those with genetic diseases would label them as outcasts, and a social divide could be created. The so-cial divide could widen if not everyone had complete access to PGD. The few that would still be affected by the diseases could also find themselves with reduced government aid, as they become an increasingly shrinking minority. (Cyranoski, 2017) If PGD were to advance further in the West, there could be a constant part of the population still carrying eliminable diseases. With the right to autonomy, some may choose to avoid PGD and the anxiety of having every poten-tial child checked with PGD (Cyranoski, 2017). When given the option to know how a life may end, ignorance can be bliss. In the East, and in particular China, the issue of PGD is not so much an ethical one as it is a health one (Cook, 2017). For the most part, hesitations lie less in the abuse of it, but more in the lack of its usage. Given the technology, the premise is that it will be used to its full potential as soon as possible to prevent further inheritance in future generations. With lower ethical considerations, a balance must be found between rapid progression and unknown risks. For many in China, the change from the one-child policy to the two-child policy last year has allowed many old-er and infertile couples to have that second child they always wanted (Cook, 2017). Genetic diseases in China, however, pose a struggle beyond the physiological effects of carrying the disease. Social pressures of stigma, backlash, and lack of overall support for those with genetic diseases elicit a ram-pant desire to use PGD in China. What was once four li-censed clinics in 2004 has grown to 40, with PGD procedures rising by almost three times from 876 to 2429 over two years from 2014 and 2016.

By: Kenny Huynh, 1st Year BIM

16

Figure 1 - The process of PGD

Image Source: Arizona Reproductive Institute

Source: F, S

Columbia Bioengineers a New Type of Lung

ScaffoldBy: An Duong, 3rd Year BIO

the short diffusion distance between capillaries and alveoli, as well as the extensive vascular network that reach-es all of the epithelial cells. Despite the efficiency of this method, most studies demonstrated that the vasculature of the lungs did not remain intact after perfusion, demonstrated by a drastic loss in DNA content of the lung epi-thelium (Crapo et al., 2011). The team at Columbia University was able to ad-dress this issue by delivering the deter-gent solution through the trachea into the airway compartment instead of through the lung’s vasculature. A solu-tion containing various electrolytes, an energy substrate, and an oncotic pres-sure regulator was perfused through-out the vascular network to ensure its stability during the procedure. Following the removal of the rat lung epithelium, their results demonstrated only a 24% decrease in DNA content of the lung, compared to typical decellularization results which can result in a 75-98% decrease in DNA content (Crapo et al., 2011). They were also able to demonstrate that the vasculature had remained in-tact and functional by administering vasoconstrictors and vasodilators, and subsequently measuring appropriate responses in blood pressure.

This new method now gives scientists the ability to not only build more viable lung scaffolds, but also a new tool to target diseased lung epithe-lium. “We developed a radically new approach to bioengineering of the lung,” stated Gordana Vunjak-Nova-kovic, a lead scientist on the Columbia University team. “We reasoned that an ideal lung scaffold would need to have perfusable and healthy vasculature, and so we developed a method that main-tains fully functional lung vasculature while we remove defective epithelial lining of the airways and replace it with healthy therapeutic cells. This ability to selectively treat the pulmonary epithe-lium is important, as most lung condi-tions are diseases of the epithelium.” The paper also notes that while their trials were carried out on healthy lungs, results in diseased lungs could vary if they are more sensitive to the decellularizing detergent. Future areas of research therefore could focus on narrowing down a correct dosage lev-el as well as studying the potential im-mune response to de-epithelialization. Nevertheless, the promising results of this study open up many new poten-tials in the field of organ transplanta-tion. “This is a major step forward in bioengineering lungs,” stated Vun-jak-Novakovic. “The creation of de-ep-ithelialized whole lungs with function-al vasculature may open new frontiers in lung bioengineering and regenera-tive medicine.”

17

In Canada, end-stage lung dis-ease represents the third highest cause of organ transplantation. This year, 219 patients required lung transplants. Of this number, 59 patients passed away while on the waiting list (Canadian In-stitute for Health Information, 2017). In order to lower this statistic, research has been focused on increasing the number of viable lungs for transplan-tation. Previous attempts at decellu-larizing the lung matrix or building synthetic scaffolds have been hindered by the lack of vascularization that is necessary to support regenerative cells and maintain the blood-air barrier so critical for lung function (Crapo et al., 2011). New research from Columbia University demonstrates a novel tech-nique able to strip the pulmonary epi-thelium while preserving the structure and function of the vascular network. Many groups in the past have been able to decellularize the lung epithelium us-ing a mild detergent solution adminis-tered to the lungs through its vascula-ture. This method takes advantage of

In spite of China’s strong ad-vocacy for PGD, there are still worries over its misuse. Licensed clinics are only allowed to treat severe diseases or aid infertility, and selection of sex is il-legal (Cyranoski, 2017). Despite these differences in culture, PGD can be very economical-

ly beneficial. For instance, the cost to avoid cystic fibrosis with PGD in the US is estimated to be $57 500, while life-long medical costs of a cystic fibro-sis patient are $2.3 million. In combina-tion with other diseases treatable by PGD, the amounts of money saved

could reach many billions (Cyranoski, 2017). Overall, PGD is a novel genetic diagnostic, but there are differentapproaches to its adoption in society based on distinct cultures. Only time will reveal the results of different ap-proaches.

Image Source: BioPharmaReporter

Because Ovarian Cancer

Shouldn’t be a Death Sentence

The ovaries constitute the core of the female repro-ductive system whose primary function is to produce oo-cytes and the supportive hormones, estrogen and progester-one (Holesh & Lord, 2017). Oocytes are the female germ cells that give rise to an embryo after fertilization by sperm. Estrogen has major roles in female physiology and in the appearance of sexual characteristics, whereas progesterone is crucial for maintaining pregnancy (Holesh & Lord, 2017). Ovaries are essential for reproduction and for women’s health but they are also prone to diseases. Epithelial ovarian cancer constitutes 90% of all ovarian cancers (Li, Li, Xu, & Lv, 2017). It is the deadliest gynecological malignancy in the western world, because the disease often goes undetected until the late stages when it is difficult to treat (Laviolette, Hodgkinson, Minhas, Pe-rez-Iratxeta, & Vanderhyden, 2010). The onset of epithelial ovarian cancer is poorly understood and its origins are de-bated among experts. It is well accepted that it arises either from the fallopian tube epithelium (FTE), the ovarian sur-face epithelium (OSE) or the endometrial tissue (Kurman & Shih, 2010). Secretory cells of the FTE are believed to give rise to precursor malignant lesions that offer the earli-est glimpses of ovarian cancer (Kurman & Shih, 2010). The OSE is a single layer of epithelial cells that covers the ovary. During ovulation, the OSE ruptures to release the oocyte and then undergoes wound repair. It is believed that mul-tiple rounds of rupture and wound repair due to ovulation lead to an accumulation of cell damage in the OSE, which makes it more prone to transform into cancer (Ng & Barker, 2015). Endometrial explants resulting from endometriosis, an abnormal cellular growth of endometrial cells outside of the uterus, are thought to transform in the pelvic cavity (Kurman & Shih, 2010). Irrespective of an origin of cancer in the FTE, OSE or endometrial tissue, the ovary frequent-ly becomes the site of profound tumor growth (Kurman & Shih, 2010). More importantly, epithelial ovarian cancer is the primary cause of death from gynecological malignancies and has multiple sites of origin. Ovarian cancer symptoms are vague and often dis-missed (Kubeček et al., 2017). The most common symp-toms include bloating, difficulty eating, urgency to urinate, abdominal pain, and abnormal fullness after eating. While these symptoms are not uncommon, it is the persistence of these symptoms over time that can alert women to this seri-ous underlying disease (Kubeček et al., 2017). Unfortunate-ly, early stages of ovarian cancer are occasionally symptom-less and the signs may only start to appear once the tumors

By: Omar Salah, 4th Year BPS

18

have grown in size and the disease has progressed. There are no reliable screening methods to detect ovarian cancer at an early stage (Capriglione et al., 2017). The diagnosis of ovarian cancer is based on symptoms, a complete pelvic examination, transvaginal ultrasound and blood tests. Unfortunately, non-invasive tests are usually inconclusive and a tissue biopsy is the only certain way to confirm the diagnosis (Capriglione et al., 2017). The primary line of treatment for ovarian cancer is debulking surgery, in which surgeons remove as much cancer tissue as possible (Hanley, Rozenberg, & McAlpine, 2017). Most of the time, surgery is either preceded (neoad-juvant) or followed (adjuvant) by chemotherapy. The goal of neoadjuvant therapy is to shrink tumors before surgery, whereas adjuvant therapy aims to eliminate any remaining cancer cells that could not be removed during surgery to avoid cancer recurrence (Liu, Chan, & Ngan, 2012). Most of the time, chemotherapy consists of platinum and taxane based drugs that are used in combination. Although 60-80% of patients show a complete response to chemotherapy, they eventually relapse due to chemoresistance and the surviv-al rate is poor (Ling, Chen, Tsai, Lee, & Wang, 2005). The mechanisms by which ovarian tumors become resistant to chemotherapy are poorly understood but may include al-terations in drug transport, activation of cell detoxification proteins, and increased tolerance for induced DNA damage (Ling et al., 2005). Cancers with high mortality rates are dispropor-tionately underfunded in comparison to those with high survival rates (Carter & Nguyen, 2012). Cancers with high survival rates such as breast and prostate cancer, leave nu-merous survivors who become advocates for their disease. The large numbers of survivors are more effective at raising awareness, fundraising and lobbying for more investment into research into their specific neoplasm. Ovarian cancer prognosis has not improved in more than fifty years, in part, due to low investment in research (Ovarian Cancer Canada, 2017). Approximately 75% of ovarian cancer patients are di-agnosed at a late stage and are too sick to be advocates for their disease which hampers efforts to raise awareness and investment in research into ovarian cancer (Ling et al., 2005; Ovarian Cancer Canada, 2017). Breast cancer has a net sur-vival of 87% compared to 44% for ovarian cancer (Canadian Cancer Society, 2017). In Canada in 2013, 74 million dollars were invested in breast cancer research, whereas only 1/5 of this amount, 13.8 million dollars, was invested in ovarian cancer research (Fig.1) (Ovarian Cancer Canada, 2017).

Image Source: Clearity Foundation

Trump: Building a Wall In Front of Reality & Science Since his election on November 8, 2016, the leader of the Republican Party Donald Trump has received sev-eral criticisms for his behavior, which distinguishes him from the Democratic Party that led the United States over the past eight years. The scientific community has not been spared by the Trump reform that has shaken not only ac-tivists but also the majority of citizens. Here are some of the events that have attracted our attention in the past year: Exclusion of the Paris agreement: The capital of France hosted the international research conference which united 147 countries in a joint effective management plan concerning the rise of global average temperature. The participation of the United States did not last long due to the argument that the agreement would result in job and economic loss: “I was elected to represent the peo-ple of Pittsburgh, not Paris.” said Trump (“NOAA Juste Dissous”, 2017). The United States is the world’s second largest greenhouse gas emitter, just behind China, hence the importance of its participation in the agreement. Budget Cuts for HIV research: The 46th Pres-ident of the United States has also made massive cuts of 17% in US funding to fight HIV/AIDS an aid amount-ing in billions (Ricard, 2017). More than ⅔ of interna-tional government funding came from the United States, making it the largest contributor. The reduction will af-fect about 830,000 patients and cause potentially 200,000 new infections of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria ac-cording to the Kaiser Family Foundation (Ricard, 2017). Nomination of Republicans as heads of NASA and EPA: Scott Pruitt and Jim Bridenstine lead the En-vironmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Na-tional Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) respectively. The two leaders are both American poli-ticians of the Republican Party who have been select-ed for their position by none other than Donald Trump.

Pruitt has already mentioned that human activity is not the main cause of climate change and has already filed a lawsuit against the EPA in the past which caus-es many environmentalists to oppose his nomination. Attempting to abolish a universal health system: The United States is one of the only developed countries without a universal health insurance system. Obamacare, the common name of the Affordable Care Act, is an am-bitious project of the Democrats that were led by Barack Obama to set up a health system for all American citi-zens. Trump intends to completely repeal this insurance and replace it with a less expensive plan, but critics sug-gest that there is no concrete replacement plan. The re-placement period would mean that about 20 million peo-ple could be left without insurance according to the office of the Budget Director of Congress (Cartiller, 2017). Dissolution of NCADAC: Recently, the US Agency for Oceanic and Atmospheric Observing under the governance of the Republican President ended the funding of the National Advisory Committee on Climate Assessment and Development. Without a federal subsi-dy from the White House, the association loses its im-pact in the country to develop environmental scientific research in order to guide the public and private sectors. The international community hopes to turn the page on this bad chapter within four years. Leaders need to be able to manage the economy efficiently by an-ticipating the impact of cuts in science in the com-ing years rather than just thinking about the im-mediate gains they can make during their mandate. MCAT tips: Medicare and Medicaid are two separate health insurance systems in the United States. Medicaid is available to individuals and families with low income and resources while Medicare targets peo-ple 65 years of age or older who meet certain criteria.

By: Simon Reilley, 2nd year BMI

19

In summary, the ovary is an important organ for female reproduction and health. Even though ovarian can-cer was discovered over a century ago, its etiology is poorly understood and remains the deadliest gynecological neo-plasm in developed countries. The OSE, FTE and endo-metrial tissue are accepted sites of ovarian cancer genesis. Ovarian cancer symptoms are very subtle, on their own relatively common, but distinguished by their persistence over time. As of today, there are no reliable screening

tests for ovarian cancer. Surgery remains the best treat-ment for ovarian cancer. Chemoresistance is still a major treatment obstacle for patients. Underfunding of ovarian cancer hampers research that can advance screening and treatment options. In the end, every woman should know about ovarian cancer and help raise awareness because an ovarian cancer diagnosis should not be a death sentence. #Ladyballs

Image Source: Open Clipart

GMO: FRIEND

OR FOE?

Not all

Heroes Wear Capes

Living in a world of uncertainty and controversy, there are few biological, economical, or political motives for posi-tive change. However, despite Trump’s an-ti-climate change and scientific repressive efforts, there seems to be immense prog-ress on the fight against coral bleaching, with the potential to both restore and re-plenish our ocean’s coral reefs against the detrimental effects of climate change. When first told about coral bleaching, it might not strike you as much of a problem, but there is an incredible global economic and social dependence on the health of coral reefs. For example, approximately 500 million people global-ly rely directly on the productivity of this ecosystem and it contributes $30 billion US to the global economy (A super-algae, 2017). Furthermore, the natural beauty of the coral reef, alone is worth the conserva-tion efforts! It all begins with complex micro-scopic symbiotic relationships between the coral and a genus of eukaryotic pro-tist species called Symbiodinium. Evolving from dinoflagellates approximately 50 mil-lion years ago, this chivalrous microalgael genus produces metabolites that feeds and promotes the calcification of corals, thus encouraging its growth into a reef (Levin et al., 2017). There are many species of Symbiodinium with a large array of genet-ic variation and thermal tolerances (Levin et al., 2016). This creates the opportunity for increasing the odds of successful im-plementation through the ability of modi-fying a specific species to a particular coral niche. However, these critical photosym-biotic primary producers are at risk with the increasing oceanic temperatures, es-pecially those accompanying the El Niño effect. Through the advancements in the field of environmental and genetic bioen-

gineering, researchers around the world are exploring the possibility of increas-ing these species’ antioxidant activity and thermal tolerances. This genetic frame-work is now possible thanks to the boom in Next-Generation Sequencing, which had been used to map out the first Symbi-odinium genomes in recent years (Levin et al., 2016). New genes, viruses and genetic elements that are related to heat-stress tol-erance have been mapped, thus opening the door for new opportunities to con-serve reef homeostasis (Levin et al., 2017). Indeed, many Australian Universities and government agencies have adopted this approach, with hopes that this research will lead to global aquatic reform. Nonetheless, even with the prog-ress on this front, there still remains a lot of hurdles to overcome before proper im-plementation. The need for policy reform, control/field studies and overall public awareness is now more important than ever with the ever-increasing oceanic tem-perature rates. There needs to be an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to this epidemic altogether. Researchers will have to collab-orate extensively to ensure that all poten-tial negative/off-target impacts to the sur-rounding ecosystem are eliminated. While citizens will have to overcome the negative stigma behind the implementation of ge-netically modified organisms (GMO) into a natural environment, and ultimately see the benefits it creates for coral reef mitiga-tion. With the great promise shown by this biotechnology for food security, human and environmental health, it is only logical to extend the its only logical to extend the benefits of this technology into environmental conservation and reef management. All in all, with these collab-orative efforts in motion, there is tremen-dous hope for the once gloomy future of coral reefs.

By: Michael Kalyn, 4th year BIO

20

Image Source: AQWwiki

Downloading Memories

... and Uploading Thoughts

By: Mohamed Bachrouch, 3rd year BIM Although not well understood, brain evolu-tion is explained by evolutionists as a series of struc-tures which tend toward increasing complexity. The first structure to emerge was the brain stem, the most primal system. Its function is to sustain fundamental homeostatic functions. The thalamus, reticular forma-tion, and the cerebellum followed; their main purpose include instinctive fight or flight commands. Next, the limbic system emerged and allowed our ancestors to develop more complex functions including emo-tional, sexual and fighting behaviors. Finally, the least understood structure and the most recent to evolve is the neocortex, which plays a role in every neural pro-cess from language to consciousness (“Evolution of the brain”, n.d.). These structures have also evolved from innermost to outermost respectively relative to the skull, each one more complex than the previous. Al-though these structures are very old and primitive, we still retain each one of them along with their important functions. Elon Musk – entrepreneur and founder of Pay-pal, the revolutionary electric vehicle company Tesla Motors, and the space exploration enterprise SpaceX – asks the following question: can we enhance our func-tions with an additional layer and what exact functions can this layer serve? In 2016, Musk founded Neuralink, a neurotechnology company which specializes in im-plantable brain-computer interfaces. The focus of the company is to add onto the al-ready complex brain structure an external layer: a neu-ral lace. The neural lace would be an ultra-thin mesh that can be implanted in the skull via a thin needle, un-ravelling then engulfing the brain and forming a collec-tion of electrodes capable of monitoring brain function (Mercer, 2017). The neural lace appears to be an inter-face between machine and biological circuitry (Newitz, 2015). Like something from a sci-fi movie, the ultimate

goal of this company is to merge man with machine, fusing human intelligence with artificial intelligence to bring humanity to a higher level of cognitive reason-ing (What is Neuralink, 2017). The point, according to Musk, is to create a “tertiary layer that is more fully symbiotic with the rest of us” (Elon Musk on Benefi-cial AI, 2017). More concretely, the neural lace should allow humans to download and upload information to and from a computer to which it is connected wireless-ly (Newitz, 2015). The implications and uses of this neural lace are immense. It represents hope for victims of neurode-generative conditions such as stroke, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s (Elon Musk enters the world of brain-com-puter interfaces, 2017). It could bring about replicable patterns of thought and reasoning that would boost our cognition to a higher level. We could use it to upload and download our memories from childhood, or to communicate more effectively with the people around us, sharing feelings and emotions that are impossible to express otherwise. Information would be able to travel to its source at the mere firing of a neuron. Bordering on metaphysics, it could be used to study the constitu-ents of consciousness. To quote Elon Musk, “we are headed to either superintelligence, or civilization ending. […] All of us are [already] cyborgs. [We] have a machine extension of [ourselves] in the form of our phones, our comput-ers and our applications” (Elon Musk on Beneficial AI, 2017). He believes nonetheless that our limitation is one of bandwidth, particularly on output, as it is too slow compared to our input (Elon Musk on Benefi-cial AI, 2017). This is a way of saying that our motor system is less advanced than our sensory one. We lit-erally have an entire world at our fingertips thanks to technology, but our interaction is limited by having to physically manipulate our phones and laptops to ar-rive at the information we desire (Reid, 2016). Direct brain-computer interaction can serve as a catalyst for the evolution of humans as a species, for the emergence of superintelligence, as well as for the advancement of new and more efficient means of communication and transmitting information. Even if Neuralink proposes a solution to this problem, it raises many concerns. First, there are phys-ical risks to implanting such a device in the human brain and we wonder who the first volunteer will be.

21

A procedure of this type could cause irreversible neu-ral damage if performed incorrectly. Furthermore, although the intentions of Musk are certainly good, who knows what ends this type of technology could be used towards? The military is starting to invest in simi-lar research and we may ask what their underlying plans are. It opens up possibilities for an extreme form of psy-chological warfare and mind control. Finally, it has the potential to aggravate a currently occurring phe-nomenon in our society: a crisis of meaning. Hu-man beings have shaped the world around them to a point of no return. From the emergence of voice recog-nition tools to self-teaching robots, a technological revo-lution is pushing us beyond our limits at an accelerated pace. Robots are becoming more advanced and we are being freed from a number of tasks that computers and machines can perform for us. Although we are more connected through social media, we seem to be less connected in the real world. The lines between real and artificial intelligence, be-tween robots and humanity, are shifting and slowly get-ting blurred. With all this, the very meaning of human life and intelligence seem to be at stake. A couple of years from now, will it be possi-ble to differentiate ourselves from robots?

Profile and prevalence of the West Nile virus

By: Divine Kankenga, 2nd Year BIM

Showering numerous different East African countries, while being the only water reserve in the region, the longest river in the world, is, for the inhabitants of the desert area, the greatest wonder in nature and the source of life. Ironically, it was in the West Nile region, North of Uganda, that the West Nile virus (WNV), was isolated for the first time in 1937, a dangerous virus that threatens the in-habitants of the region and humans worldwide (Virus du Nil occidental, 2017). The WNV is a virus of the phy-lum flaviviridae and genus Flavivirus. It is also known by the name of the vi-rus of Rabensburg (Wikipedia, 2017). Since its arrival to North America in 1999, the virus continues to surprise inhabitants of the Western world, who are not accustomed to tropical pathogens (Institut National de Santé publique du Québec, 2017). Due to its spectacular surge in Canada, it attracts more and more attention. Necessity obliges us to describe the aforemen-tioned virus. Prevention of its contrac-tion constitutes the leitmotiv of this article. Hence, in the lines that follow, we will discuss in detail the methods of transmission, symptoms, treatment, occurrence, and of course, methods of prevention of this disease. First, we must learn how we can be infected by the WNV. In fact,

we contract it after being bitten by a mosquito that contracted the disease after feeding on the blood of an in-fected bird, a process named zoonosis. Mosquitoes of the genus Culex, espe-cially Culex pipiens, are the principal vectors (INSPQ, 2017). They are con-taminated by infected birds, especially the corvids which includes ravens and crows among others. Migratory birds are the main method of propagation of the virus across continents. The virus ensures its presence in nature through vertical transmis-sion from the adult mosquito to the eggs. Humans, among other mammals which can contract the virus – such as horses, cats, dogs, squirrels, skunks, domestic rabbits, etc. – do not devel-op a sufficient viremia to render them carriers of the virus (Wikipedia, 2017). In other words, an infected human cannot contaminate a healthy mos-quito. Nevertheless, on rare occasions, the WNV can be transmitted in other ways than by a mosquito bite, such as blood transfusions, organ transplants, from the mother to the fetus, during lactation, and also upon exposition to infected biological samples (Virus du Nil occidental, 2017). This explains the necessity of taking proper security measures when manipulating humans and animals infected or suspected of being infected with the WNV. According to the World Health Organization (2011), approximately 80% of infected individuals are as-ymptomatic. For the others, during an incubation period of about 2 to 14 days, contamination by WNV, causes a variety of light to severe symptoms, the latter leading to an eventual death (VNO, 2017). The most common symptoms are: fever, headache, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appe-tite, abdominal pain, aching, skin rash, shivering and neck stiffness. In 1% of the cases, an infection of a virulent strain or a prior weaken-22

ing of the immune system results in a severe form of the illness (VNO, 2017). Neurological trouble, paral-ysis, and death are observed in carrier birds. In hu-mans, experiencing neurological trouble, we observe the following symptoms: neurological difficulties such as meningitis and encephalitis with permanent sequellae, confusion and disorientation, loss of con-sciousness, coma, muscular weakening, reduced os-teo-tendon reflexes and numbness, paralysis of lower extremities, sensibility to light, inflammation of the spinal cord (myelitis), of the retina and of the choroid, observed in the most recent cases, eventual death: 3 to 15% of the aged population or the immunosupressed individuals (VNO, 2017). Unfortunately, to this day, there exists only a symptomatic treatment and there is no vaccine. Nev-ertheless, the disease is usually cured, because, in addition to the intravenous infusions, respiratory as-sistance and prevention of secondary infections, the immune system usually defeats the virus. The recov-ery is long and marked with great fatigue. Healing is therefore dependent on the age of the patient and their state of health. Individuals over the age of 50 years or in states which weaken their immune system such as illnesses (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, AIDS, etc.), parallel chemotherapy, unhealthy habits (alcoholism, smoking, etc.), are most at risk (Organi-sation mondiale de la Santé, 2011). Nevertheless, everyone and anyone can be-come infected! Mosquitoes are active and being bitten by one somewhere in nature is very probable. The risk is even greater during these moments of the end of the summer and the beginning of autumn, when we are subject to abnormally high temperatures sometimes. Evidently, the WNV does not take a vacation! Pub-lic Health Ottawa has indicated that 13 individuals are currently infected by the virus (Le Droit, 2017). This is a first for the city. In 2016, only 2 cases were reported. With this year’s 13 reported cases, the re-cord of 8 infections in 2012 has long been surpassed. In Quebec, the Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec (INSPQ), notes an explosion in the numbers of individuals contaminated by the WNV (Journal de Montréal, 2017). The INSPQ (2017) has counted a to-tal of 45 cases, compared to 6 cases a year earlier. Sev-eral health organizations are closely monitoring the occurrences of WNV in Canada. Reporting cases of infection of this illness is mandatory, as all new cases of diagnosed by health professionals must be commu-nicated to regional authorities of public health.

In fact, the Government of Canada (2017) has counted the declared cases since the appearance of this illness in Canada in 2002 until 2016. The data is repre-sented in the graph below. Note that this year, Ontario, is the most affect-ed province: among the 72 cases declared in Canada, 64 are located in Ontario. Since the first week of September 2017, the WNV has caused in two deaths, in the South-West Ontario city of Windsor (Le Devoir, 2017). We have the duty to fight for life. The best way to combat the West Nile virus is to protect oneself from in-fection. As the proverb goes, one is better safe than sorry. Governmental health organizations, such as Héma-Qué-bec have been established to control blood transfusions and organ transplants to avoid accidental infections. On the other hand, everyone has a duty to protect oneself from infection, especially when we are outdoors, in a for-est or camping, and especially at dawn and at dusk. To ensure such protection, one must: cover well, wear long clothes and light colors, use insecticide, use Health Can-ada approved insect repellant, drain water, clean any ac-cumulation, however small, of waste, debris, herbs, and bushes. In addition, we must vigilant and immediate-ly consult a doctor in case of the appearance of suspect symptoms, as explained above. Therefore, with a little effort and thoroughness, we will reduce the number of cases in our region. Our families and we will be protected from the West Nile virus and we will preserve our health. As the Canadian proverb says, “A good hearth, a good state, that’s half of life!”

Figure 1. Incidence of the WNV by year from 2002 to 2016 in Canada.

23Source: Gouvernement du Canada

Worldwide Innovations in Medical TechnologiesCatholic News Agency. (2017, September 7). A bioethicist’s take on child cancer treatment that uses gene therapy. Angelus News. Retrieved from http://angelusnews.com/articles/a- bioethicist-s-take-on-child-cancer-treatment-that-uses-gene- therapy.Gene Literacy Project (2016). Gene Therapy 2.0. Retrieved from https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2016/08/16/gene- therapy-2-0-will-crispr-make-expensive-treatment-accessi ble/Mukherjee, S. (2017, August 31). Is $475,000 Too High a Price for Novartis’s ‘Historic’ Cancer Gene Therapy? Fortune. Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2017/08/31/ novartis-kymriah-car-t-cms-price/Nedelman, M. (2017, August 30). FDA announces first US gene therapy approval. CNN. Retrieved from http://www. cnn.com/2017/08/30/health/fda-first-gene-therapy-leuke mia/index.html.Novartis. (2017, August 30). Novartis receives first ever FDA approv al for a CAR-T cell therapy, Kymriah(TM) (CTL019), for children and young adults with B-cell ALL that is refracto ry or has relapsed at least twice. Retrieved from https:// www.novartis.com/news/media-releases/novartis-re ceives-first-ever-fda-approval-car-t-cell-therapy-kymriahtm- ctl019.Ramsey, L. (2017, August 30). A cancer treatment that one expert called the ‘most exciting thing I’ve seen in my lifetime’ just got approved. Business Insider. Retrieved from http:// www.businessinsider.com/fda-approves-novartis-car-t-can cer-treatment-2017-8.Stony Brook University (2017.) Interdisciplinary Teams at Stony Brook Awarded Seed Funding for Cancer Research. Retrieved from http://www.stonybrook.edu/happenings/ homespotlight/seed-funding-cancer-research/Tan, W. (2017, August 31). First-in-class FDA Approval for CAR T Cell Therapy for Leukaemia. Retrieved from https://www. linkedin.com/pulse/first-in-class-fda-approval-car-cell-ther apy-wee-kiat-tan-ph-d.

Eliminating Mosquito Populations in the South Pacific Using Bacterial InfectionsChungue, E; Deparis, X & Murgue, B (1998). Chap 13 - Dengue in French Polynesia. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/ iris/bitstream/10665/148648/1/dbv22p74.pdfHow Far They’ll Go: Disney’s Moana Shows the Power of Polynesian Celestial Navigation (2017, February 21). Retrieved from https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f0/05/10/ f00510c456f563ad494a4bd210f4786b.jpgMarris, E (2017, August 1). Bacteria could be key to freeing South Pacific of mosquitoes. Retrieved from https://www.nature. com/articles/d41586-017-02179-0McCormack, G (2007, November 20). Dengue and MosquitoControl on Rarotonga. Retrieved from http://cookislands.bishop museum.org/MM/MX5/5AUw007_Aede-poly_RR_GM_ MXa.jpgMiller, E (2012). How Long is a Mosquito’s Lifespan? Retrieved from http://www.mosquitoreviews.com/mosquito-lifespan.htmlOliver Exterminating (2016). Mosquito Control and Displacement.

Retrieved from http://oliverexterminatingpr.com/es_ES/ mosquito-control/Weintraub, K (2016, March 3). Mosquitoes don’t bug rich tourists on Marlon Brando’s island. Here’s why that matters.Re trieved from https://www.statnews.com/2016/03/03/mar lon-brando-mosquitoes/

Cori Bargmann - The Next Marie CurieAamodt, S. (2012, September 19). Cori Bargmann: Genes and Behaviour – Evolution of Aggression and Social Interaction. Being Human, Retrieved from http://www. beinghuman.org/article/cori-bargmann-genes-and-behav ior. Dreifus, C. (2015, September 21). Cori Bargmann Puts Her Mind to How the Brain Works. The New York Times, Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/science/cori- bargmann-puts-her-mind-to-how-the-brain-works.htmlGetty Images (2013). Neuroscientist Cornelia Bargmann is pho tographed for HHMI Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www. gettyimages.at/bilder/cori-bargmann-12027045?#neurosci entist-cornelia-bargmann-is-photographed-for-hhmi-bulle tin-on-picture-id464176883Marino, M. (2005). Biography of Cornelia I. Bargmann. PNAS, 102:9, 3181-3183.Scutti, S. (2016, September 23). The neuroscientist who’s spending the Chan Zuckerberg $3 billion. CNN, Re trieved from http://www.cnn.com/2016/09/23/health/ cori-bargmann-chan-zuckerberg-initiative/index.html.

Head Transplant“Head Transplantation: The Future Is Now | Dr.Sergio Canavero |TEDxLimassol”. (2015). TEDx Talks, Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EHCHv5u3O4Plourde, F. (2016). “La transplantation de tête, bientôt réalité?”. Radio-Canada. Retrieved from http://ici.radio-canada.ca/ nouvelle/762400/greffe-transplantation-tete-corps-ser gio-canaveroWelch, A. (2016). “Russian man volunteers for first human head transplant”. CBS News. Retrieved from https:// www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-man-volunteers-for-first- human-head-transplant/

Alzheimer’s Disease Markers Found in ChimpanzeesEdler, M. K., Sherwood, C. C., Meindl, R. S., Hopkins, W. D., Ely, J. J., Erwin, J. M., ... & Raghanti, M. A. (2017). Aged chimpanzees exhibit pathologic hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease. Neurobiology of Aging, 59, 107-120.Attems, J., Quass, M., Jellinger, K. A., & Lintner, F. (2007). Topo graphical distribution of cerebral amyloid angiopathy and its effect on cognitive decline are influenced by Alzheimer disease pathology. Journal of the neurological sciences, 257(1), 49-55.Braak, H., Alafuzoff, I., Arzberger, T., Kretzschmar, H., & Del Tredici, K. (2006). Staging of Alzheimer disease-associated neurofibrillary pathology using paraffin sections and immu nocytochemistry. Acta neuropathologica, 112(4), 389-404.National Public Radio (2017). A Twist In Discussions Of Chimpan zee Spirituality. Retrieved from https://www.

REFERENCES

npr.org/sections/13.7/2017/06/01/530937607/a-twist-in- discussions-of-chimpanzee-spirituality Rosen, R. F., Farberg, A. S., Gearing, M., Dooyema, J., M Long, P., Anderson, D. C., ... & Duong, T. Q. (2008). Tauopathy with paired helical filaments in an aged chimpanzee. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 509(3), 259-270.

How Could Zika Virus be a Positive ThingZhu, Z., Gorman, M. J., McKenzie, L. D., Chai, J. N., Hubert, C. G., Prager, B. C., ... & Tycksen, E. (2017). Zika virus has onco lytic activity against glioblastoma stem cells. Journal of Experimental Medicine, 214(10), 2843-2857.Walker, M. (2017, April 7). This Week in Zika: Birth Defects Seen in 10% of Zika-Infected Babies. Retrieved from https://www. medpagetoday.com/InfectiousDisease/ZikaVirus/64447 CDC Press Releases. (2016, January 1).About 1 in 10 U.S. pregnant women with confirmed Zika infection had a fetus or baby with birth defects in 2016. Retrieved from https:// www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0404-zika-pregnancy. htmlHonda, K., Yanai, H., Negishi, H., Asagiri, M., Sato, M., Mizutani, T., ... & Taniguchi, T. (2005). IRF-7 is the master regulator of type-I interferon-dependent immune responses. Nature, 434(7034), 772-777.Cohut, M. (2017, September 5). Brain cancer could be treated with Zika virus. Retrieved from https://www.medicalnewstoday. com/articles/319272.php Virology Blog (2016). Structure of Zika Virus. Retrieved from http://www.virology.ws/2016/04/05/structure-of-zika-vi rus/

The Discovery of a New Natural Photoenzyme and It’s Biotechnological ApplicationsConrad, K. S., Manahan, C. C., & Crane, B. R. (2014). Photochemis try of Flavoprotein Light Sensors. Nature Chemical Biology, 10(10), 801–809. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.12666. SaccadicHall, C., Tharakan, P., Hallock, J., Cleveland, C., & Jefferson, M. (2003). Hydrocarbons and the evolution of human culture. Nature, 426(6964), 318–322. https://doi.org/10.1038/na ture02130Piano, V., Palfey, B. A., & Mattevi, A. (2017). Flavins as Covalent Catalysts: New Mechanisms Emerge. Trends in Biochemical Sciences, 42(6), 457–469. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.tibs.2017.02.005Scrutton, N. S. (2017). Enzymes make light work of hydrocarbon production. Science, 357(6354), 872–874. Sorigué, D., Légeret, B., Cuiné, S., Blangy, S., Moulin, S., Billon, E., … Beisson, F. (2017). An algal photoenzyme con verts fatty acids to hydrocarbons. Science, 907(September), 903–907.Yirka, B. (2017). An algal photoenzyme converts fatty acids to hydrocarbons. PHYS.org, 357(6354), 1–2. https:// doi.org/10.1126/science.aan6349Yoon, T. P., Ischay, M. A., & Du, J. (2010). Visible light photocatalysis as a greener approach to photochemical synthesis. Nature Chemistry, 2(7), 527–532. https://doi. org/10.1038/nchem.687

Flu or Nah?Clker. Plain Medicine Clip Art. Retrieved from http://www.clker. com/clipart-plain-medicine.html Clipart Library (2016). Hypo Needle Clipart. Retrieved fromhttp:// clipart-library.com/clipart/787270.htmKey Facts About Seasonal Flu Vaccine. (October 6, 2017). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htmVaccine Effectiveness - How Well Does the Flu Vaccine Work? (October 2017). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/ about/qa/vaccineeffect.htm

Delicious CatalysisGreger, M. (2015, April 16). What is ‘Meat Glue’? Retrieved from https://nutritionfacts.org/2015/04/16/what-is-meat-glue/ Health Canada. (2017, September 14). 5. List of Permitted Food Enzymes (Lists of Permitted Food Additives). Retrieved from the Government of Canada website: https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/ food-nutrition/food-safety/food-additives/lists-permit ted/5-enzymes.htmlKieliszek, M., Misiewicz A. (2014). Microbial transglutaminase and its application in the food industry. A review. Folio Microbi al (Praha), 59(3), 241-250. doi: 10.1007/s12223-013-0287-x. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC3971462/#CR49Mahmood, W.A., Sebo, N.H. (2009). Effect of Microbial Trans glutaminase Treatment on Soft Cheese Properties. Mesopotamia Journal of Agriculture, 37(4). https://www. iasj.net/iasj?func=fulltext&aId=27525United States Department of Agriculture. (2017, February 06). Safety of Transglutaminase Enzyme (TG enzyme). Retrieved from the United States Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Services website https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/ food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/ food-labeling/safety-of-transglutaminase-tg-enzyme/safety- of-tg-en zyme

Female VikingsHedenstierna-Jonson, C., Kjellström, A., Zachrisson, T., et al. (2017). A female Viking warrior confirmed by ge nomics. Am J Phys Anthropol, 00, 1-8. doi:https://doi. org/10.1002/ajpa.23308SPISSIA (2017). Vikingalloween Costumes For Women Minne sota Vikings Costume Men Mn Costumeviking. Retrieved from http://spissia.com/astonishing-vikings-halloween-cos tume-image-ideas/128-best-v-i-k-i-n-g-d-r-e-a-m-s-images- on-pinterest-viking/

Prenatal Decisions in Parental EthicsArizona Reproductive Institute (2014). In Vitro Fertilization Re trieved from http://arifertility.com/services-3/in-vitro-fer tilization/Cook, M. (2017, August 19). China rushes into embryo selection. Retrieved September 30, 2017, from https://www.bioedge. org/bioethics/china-rushes-into-embryo-selection/12399 Cyranoski, D. (2017, August 18). China’s embrace of em bryo selection raises thorny questions. Retrieved September

REFERENCES CONT’D

REFERENCES CONT’D 30, 2017, from http://www.nature.com/news/china-s-em brace-of-embryo-selection-raises-thorny-questions-1.22468F, S. (2016, September 11). Preimplantation genetic screen ing of embryos: procedure step by step [Digital image]. Retrieved September 30, 2017, from https://www.invitra. com/preimplantation-genetic-diagnosis-pgd/Lu, L., Lv, B., Huang, K., Xue, Z., Zhu, X., & Fan, G. (2016, Sep tember). Recent advances in preimplantation genetic diag nosis and screening. Retrieved September 30, 2017, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/ articles/PMC5010808/

Profile and Prevalence of the West Nile VirusBicout, D. J. (2013), Synthèse: Le Virus du Nil occidental, Versailles: Quæ, 288 p.Boisvert, J. & Bourassa, J-P. (2004), Le Virus du Nil occidental, Qué bec: Multimondes, 136 p.Garnier, C. (2017, May 19). Le virus du Nil frappe le Québec. Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved September 24, 2017 from http://www.journaldemontreal.com/2017/05/19/le-virus- du-nil-frappe-le-quebecGouvernement du Canada. (2017). Surveillance du virus du Nil occidental. Retrieved September 24, 2017 from https:// www.canada.ca/fr/sante-publique/services/maladies/vi rus-nil-occidental/surveillance-virus-nil-occidental.html Institut National de Santé publique du Québec. (2017). Virus du Nil occidental. Retrieved September 24, 2017 from https:// www.inspq.qc.ca/zoonoses/vnoLe virus du Nil occidental déjà à Ottawa. (2017, July 26). Le Droit. Retrieved September 24, 2017 from http://www.lapresse. ca/le-droit/actualites/sante/201707/26/01-5119583-le-vi rus-du-nil-occidental-deja-a-ottawa.phpLe virus du Nil occidental a fait deux morts en Ontario. (2017). Le Devoir. Retrieved September 12, 2017 from http://www. ledevoir.com/societe/sante/507801/le-virus-du-nil-occi dental-a-fait-deux-morts-en-ontarioOrganisation mondiale de la santé. (2011). Virus du Nil occidental. Retrieved September 24, 2017 from http://www.who.int/ mediacentre/factsheets/fs354/fr/Virus du Nil occidental (VNO). (2017, June 16). Retrieved September 24, 2017 from http://sante.gouv.qc.ca/problemes-de-sante/ virus-du-nil/Wikipédia. (2017) Virus du Nil occidental. Retrieved September 24, 2017 from https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virus_du_Nil_oc cidental

Columbia Bioengineers: A New Type of Lung ScaffoldBioPharmaReporter (2017). Astrazeneca and Pieris team to develop mAb-like drugs for lung diseases. Retrieved from https:// www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2017/05/03/AZ- and-Pieris-team-to-develop-mAb-like-drugs-for-lung-diseas es“CORR Annual Statistics 2017.” Canadian Institute for Health Information. N.p., 2017. Retrieved from https:// www.cihi.ca/en/corr-annual-statistics-2017.Crapo, P. M., Gilbert, T. W., & Badylak, S. F. (2011). An overview of tissue and whole organ decellularization processes. Bio materials, 32(12), 3233-3243. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.

2011.01.057Dorrello, N. V., Guenthart, B. A., O’Neill, J. D., Kim, J., Cunningham, K., Chen, Y., . . . Vunjak-Novakovic, G. (2017). Functional vascularized lung grafts for lung bioengineering. Science Advances, 3(8). doi:10.1126/sciadv.1700521

GMO: Friend or Foe - Not All Heroes Wear CapesAQWwiki. Crimson Cape of Victory. Retrieved from http://aqwwiki. wikidot.com/crimson-cape-of-victoryA super-algae to save our seas? Genetic engineering species to save corals: Foundation for genetically engineering a species of microalgae that lives in corals to stop a global coral bleaching catastrophe (20 July 2017), Retrieved from www. sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170720095111.htmLevin, R. A., Voolstra, C. R., Agrawal, S., Steinberg, P. D., Suggett, D. J., & van Oppen, M. J. H. (2017). Engineering strategies to decode and enhance the genomes of coral symbionts. Frontiers in Microbiology, 8(JUN) doi:10.3389/ fmicb.2017.01220Levin, R. A., Beltran, V. H., Hill, R., Kjelleberg, S., McDougald, D., Steinberg, P. D., & Van Oppen, M. J. H. (2016). Sex, scavengers, and chaperones: Transcriptome secrets of divergent symbiodinium thermal tolerances. Molecular Biol ogy and Evolution, 33(9), 2201-2215. doi:10.1093/molbev/ msw119

Downloading Memories, Uploading Thoughts“Elon Musk enters the world of brain-computer interfaces”. (2017). The Economist. Retrieved from https://www.economist. com/news/science-and-technology/21719774-do-human- beings-need-embrace-brain-implants-stay-relevant-elon- musk-enters “Elon Musk on Beneficial AI and Superintelligence”. (2017). ilker yoldas, Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=dhDbKjtaVdA Evolution of the brain. (n.d.) Retrieved October 10, 2017 from Wiki pedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_the_ brain Mercer, C. (2017). “What is neural lace?”. Techworld. Retrieved from https://www.techworld.com/data/what-is-neural- lace-3657074/ Newitz, A. (2015). “Scientists Just Invented the Neural Lace”. Giz modo. Retrieved from http://gizmodo.com/scien tists-just-invented-the-neural-lace-1711540938 Reid, Ben. (2016). “What is neural lace? What does it mean to be IO bound? If we have faster IO, does that mean we would be able to process/store/retrieve more information?”. Quora. Retrieved from https://www. quora.com/What-is-neural-lace-What-does-it-mean-to-be- IO-bound-If-we-have-faster-IO-does-that-mean-we-would- be-able-to-process-store-retrieve-more-information “What is Neuralink - Neural Lace Explained”. (2017). Cybrink, You tube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=S6n26bBBr80

Because Ovarian Cancer Shouldn’t Be a Death SentenceNg, A., & Barker, N. (2015). Ovary versus fimbria as epithelial ovari an cancer (EOC) source. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell

REFERENCES CONT’D Biology 16, 625-638. Canadian Cancer Society. (2017). Breast cancer- Prognosis and sur vival for breast cancer. Retrieved from: http://www.cancer. ca/en/cancer-information/cancer-type/breast/progno sis-and-survival/?region=qcCapriglione, S., Luvero, D., Plotti, F., Terranova, C., Montera, R., Scaletta, G., … Angioli, R. (2017). Ovarian cancer recurrence and early detection: may HE4 play a key role in this open challenge. Med Oncol 164, 20-34.Carter, A.J., & Nguyen, C.N. (2012). A comparison of cancer burden and research spending reveals discrepancies in the distribu tion of research funding. Public Health 12, 526.Clearity Foundation (2017). Parp Inhibitor Approvals Offer Ovar ian Cancer Patients New Hope. Retrieved from http:// www.clearityfoundation.org/parp-inhibitor-approvals-of fer-ovarian-cancer-patients-new-hope/Hanley, G.E., Rozenberg, N.M.K., & McAlpine, J.N. (2017). Risk-re ducing Surgery in Women at Low Lifetime Risk of Devel oping Ovarian Carcinoma. Clin Obstet Gynecol 10.Holesh, J.E., & Lord, M. (2017). Physiology-Ovulation. StatPearls. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/ NBK441996/Ling, K.S., Chen, J.D., Tsai, H.J., Lee, M.S., & Wang, P.H.(2005). Mechanisms Involved in Chemoresistance in Ovarian Can cer.Taiwanese Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 44, 209-217.Kubeček, O., Laco, J., Špaček, J., Petera, J., Kopecký, J., Kubečková, A., & Filip, S. (2017). The pathogenesis, diagnosis, and man agement of metastatic tumors to the ovary: a comprehen sive review. Clinical & Experimental metastasis 34, 295-307. Kurman, R.J., & Shih, Ie.M. (2010). The Origin and Pathogenesis of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer- a Proposed Unifying Theory. The American journal of surgical pathology 34, 433-443. Laviolette, L.A., Hodgkinson, K.M., Minhas, N., Perez-Iratxeta, C., & Vanderhyden, B.C. (2010). 17 Beta-Estradiol Accelerates Tumor Onset and Decreases Survival in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Ovarian Cancer. Endocrinology 151, 929- 938.Li, S., Li, H., Xu, Y., Lv, X. (2017). Identification of Candidate Bio markers for Epithelial Ovarian Cancer Metastasis Using Microarray Data. Oncology Letters 14.4, 3967-3974. Liu, M.X., Chan, D.W., & Ngan, H.Y.S. (2012). Mechanisms of Che moresistance in Human Ovarian Cancer at a Glance. Gyne cology & Obstetrics 2, 1-4.Ovarian Cancer Canada. (2017). Demand more ovarian cancer research funding. Data generated by the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance in 2013: http://ovariancanada.org/stories-and-media/ feature-stories/2016/ demand-more-ovarian-cancer-research-fund ing?lang=en-CA&_ ga=2.18311098.2082285261.1506911651- 1890721814.1506442907&_gac=1.122018681.1506604755. CJLdjIf8x9YCFV24wAodmXgINgOvarian Cancer Canada. (2017). Demand more ovarian cancer researchfunding. Retrieved from: http://ovariancanada.org/ stories-and-media/feature-stories/2016/

demand-more-ovarian-cancer-research-funding?lang=en- CA&_ga=2.18311098.2082285261.1506911651- 1890721814.1506442907&_gac=1.122018681.1506604755. CJLdjIf8x9YCFV24wAodmXgINgOvarian Cancer Canada. (2017). I’ve got the Ladyballs to talk about it. Retrieved from: http://ovariancanada.org/got-la dyballs?lang=en-CA&_ ga=2.47711524.2082285261.1506911651- 1890721814.1506442907&_gac=1.39738577.1506604755. CJLdjIf8x9YCFV24wAodmXgINg

Trump: Building a Wall in Front of Reality & ScienceCinq questions pour comprendre l’Obamacare (2017, January 20). Retrieved September 9, 2017 from http://ici.radio-canada. ca/nouvelle/1011820/obamacare-explications-reforme- sante-etats-unisDonald Trump NOAA Juste Dissous le Climat National d’Éval uation du Comité Consultatif (2017, August 17). Retrieved September 9, 2017 from http://actualinfo.web site/2017/08/21/donald-trump-noaa-juste-dissous-le-cli mat-national-devaluation-du-comite-consultatif/ McKay, T (2017, August 20). Donald Trump’s NOAA Just Disband ed the National Climate Assessment Advisory Committee. Retrieved September 9, 2017 from https://gizmodo.com/ donald-trumps-noaa-just-disbanded-the-national- climate-1798140339 Donald Trump NOAA Juste Dissous le Climat National d’Éval uation du Comité Consultatif. (2017, August 21). Retrieved September 9, 2017 from http://actual info.website/2017/08/21/donald-trump-noaa-juste-dis sous-le-climat-national-devaluation-du-comite-consultatif/ Ricard, P (2017, July 22). Lutte contre le sida: les coupes prévues par Trump inquiètent. Retrieved September 9, 2017 from http://actualinfo.website/2017/08/21/don ald-trump-noaa-juste-dissous-le-climat-national-devaluat ion-du-comite-consultatif/ Cartiller, J. (2017, June 1). Trump quitte l’accord de Paris, consterna tion à travers le monde. Retrieved September 9, 2017 from http://www.lapresse.ca/environnement/dossiers/change ments-climatiques/201706/01/01-5103360-trump-quitte- laccord-de-paris-consternation-a-travers-le-monde.php Kelly, E. (2017, January 18). EPA nominee Pruitt contradicts Trump claim that climate change is a hoax. Retrieved September 9, 2017 from https://www.usatoday.com/story/ news/politics/2017/01/18/epa-nominee-scott-pruitt-con firmation-hearing/96679106/Open Clipart (2017). Castle Walls. Retrieved from https://opencli part.org/detail/276973/Castle-walls

THE WORLD LEADER DAT-GMAT-GRE-LSAT-MCAT-OAT-PCAT

Everyone has a study style,

what’s yours?

FREE PRACTICE TESTS

ONLINE FEATURE EVENTS

LIVE & ONLINE COURSES

www.kaptest.com

1-800-KAP-TEST