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January Contents
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7 10
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11 12 13
14
Organoids
Reproducing the
development of
a human brain in
the laboratory
Artificial
Intelligence
Are we ready for
a realistic dream?
Revealing an ancient
Egyptian chamber
using cosmic rays:
how modern tech-
nology can help us
understand our past
Egyptian
Chamber
Jane
Cooke
Wright
Breaking
scientific barriers
and societal glass
ceilings
Food
Science
An acquired taste:
the complex fer-
mentation process
behind hákarl, Ice-
land’s notoriously
pungent dish
Dear
Darwin
Water
Consumption
Water consump-
tion through
human activites
and loss of water
in salt lakes
Autism
A potential
treatment for
autism spec-
trum disorder
Everything Is
Not What It
Seems To Be
Science in 2017
Breakthrough discoveries, inventions
and research projects that took place
throughout the year as determined by the
Catalyst team of editors, translators and
other executives
16
Migranes
Worldwide
innovations
in medical
technolo-
gies
18 1917
Malaria
Time to end
the cycle:
prospective
bioengi-
neering
against
malaria
SISSOR
The
development
of an ultra-ac-
curate genome
sequencing
method
Sleep
Deprivation
Effect of sleep
deprivation
on health
20
Antifragility
Stressors, chaos and growth: the
concept of antifragility
The
TEAM
Illustrators
Lina Liu, Saania Tariq, Naiema
Zaman
Editors
Nabil Asraoui, Shobhitha Bala-
subramaniam, Sanmeet Chahal,
Alex Chen, Natalia Forero, Na-
sim Haghandish, Navpreet Lan-
ga, Ann Lee, Karan Mediratta,
Michelle Vandeloo, Kelly Xu,
Tanya Yeuchyk, Constance Yu
Translators
Mohamed Bachrouch, Setti Bel-
houari, Shamei Benoît Leblanc,
Jade Ashley Kaitlin Choo-
Foo, Erik Jacques, Marie-Pier
Millette, Sandrine Pageau,
Youssef Saddiki, Hadjar Saidi,
Nathaly Sbeiti, Mihaela Tudor-
ache, Khaled El Tyby, Michelle
Vandeloo
Logisitics Coordinator
Meaghan De Jesus
Author Coordinators
Anastasia Turner
Constance You
Authors
Mohamed Bachrouch, Jasmine
Bhatti, Sanmeet Chahal, An
Duong, Sijyl Fasih, Colin
Griffiths, Kenny Huyng, Erik
Jacques, Michael Kalyn, Ar-
lette Kasongo, Elsie Lebedev,
Michael Leung, Hailey McTag-
gart, Alixe Menard, Marie-Pier
Milette, Sandrine Pageau,
Saania Tariq, Alek Tirpan,
Anastasia Turner, Khaled El
Tyby, Kelly Xu
Editor-in-Chief
Sanmeet Chahal
Rédactrice en chèf
Setti Belhouari
Production Manager
Jasmine Bhatti
Asst. Production
Manager
Elsie Lebedev
Advisor
Tanya Yeuchyk
Media Manager
Saania Tariq
Website Manager
Michael Leung
The ancient philosophers defined man as being at the
top of the tree of life; the most evolved species. Today, bi-
ologists prefer to have a more holistic view with the tree
being replaced by a bush of life, where all species are at
the same level. However, philosophers were not entirely
wrong in defining human beings as more advanced than
other animal species, at least in terms of cognitive func-
tions. In particular, it is in the cerebral cortex, the region of
the brain specialized in higher cognitive functions (mem-
ory, attention, consciousness, language and thought) that
we observe the greatest differences (Gibbons, 2017).
	 Yet, researchers are racking their brains to find out what
makes us so different. First, we
know that the ratio of the size
of the brain to the body of hu-
mans is greater than that of
other animals (Gibbons, 2017).
Moreover, the human cerebral
cortex contains three times
more cells than chimpanzees
and this difference develops
during the early stages of fetal
development (Gibbons, 2017).
Nevertheless, these structural
details are not sufficient to ex-
plain how, during development,
our brain differs from that of other species. Obviously, one
cannot take brain tissue samples from fetuses of endan-
gered chimpanzees, and it would be unethical to do the
same with human fetuses. So how can we explain how our
genetic variations have led to the evolution of the human
brain?
	 Science has finally allowed us to find the answer to
this question, which is brain growth in the laboratory. It
is actually organoids, which are small tissue fragments,
that grow in culture, similar to the embryonic brain. These
organoids are usually grown from stem cells, which are
themselves formed from human and primate white blood
cells (Gibbons, 2017).
	 The most interesting fact about organoids is that they
allow researchers to observe growth for long periods of
time (from weeks to 1 year), but especially to locate where
and when species differences occur. Thus, we have ob-
Organoids
Reproducing the Development of a Human Brain in the Laboratory:
We Are There
Sandrine Pageau, 3rd Year BIM
served that the organoids of large primates and humans
grow remarkably similar. For starters, they form the same
type of stem cells. Later on, both lead to progenitor cells,
which in turn divide into neurons. Eventually, they will
both organize themselves into 6 layers of brain tissue (Gib-
bons, 2017).
	 However, organoids have also allowed us to observe
some interesting differences. Among other things, human
progenitor cells require approximately 50% more time to
position their chromosomes during the metaphase stage of
mitosis during early development (Gibbons, 2017). This
situation also contributes to a greater number of progen-
itor cells that can be produced
later in development. Thus, this
may explain in part the largest
proportion of cells observed
in the human cerebral cortex,
compared to the cerebral cortex
of other animal species.
	 At the level of synap-
tic connections, an analysis
by fMRI allowed us to make a
rather interesting discovery.
Indeed, the human brain forms
connections across larger dis-
tances in the cerebral cortex,
while rodent neurons limit
their connections to neighboring regions (Gibbons, 2017).
These results have allowed researchers to formulate the
hypothesis that during evolution, the human cerebral cor-
tex expanded and reorganized to allocate more complex
connections between regions. Moreover, this discovery of
the proliferation of connections across the brain offers the
possibility of explaining certain developmental disorders,
such as autism, by connectivity problems at the level of
specific circuits or regions of the brain (Gibbons, 2017).
	 All in all, the use of more and more advanced laborato-
ry techniques, such as the development of organoids from
living tissue fragments, allows us to develop knowledge
about aspects of human development that have never been
seen before. Who knows, the day we can reproduce human
life in the laboratory is perhaps closer than we think.
4
Source: Science & Vie
Artificial
Intelligence
Are We Ready for a
Realistic Dream?
Kenny Huynh,
1st Year BIM
	 As far back as the industrial revolution, mankind start-
ed to see firsthand, the merit in automation and technol-
ogy. Now, the world is rushing deeper into technological
advancements, allowing the transformation of the future
into reality much more rapidly.
	 With rapid progression, regulation is necessary. How-
ever, the point at which a balance between limiting regu-
lations and effective actions is reached, can be difficult to
identify (Rosenberg, 2017). One of the main reasons for
this, are the ethical concerns regarding society’s prospects,
which can be felt by every individual.
	 Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is a prime ex-
ample of an emerging technology with extreme hopes, and
potential that would only appear in dreams or fantasy fic-
tion. However, such a concept is on its way to making an
appearance outside of the dream world. (Bossmann, 2016)
	 AI is the acquiring of knowledge from developing com-
puter systems, to the extent that they are able to imitate the
actions of humans. From a comparison of computers to the
neural network of a brain in the 1950’s, AI was then intro-
duced - the idea of an electronic brain could be thought of
as AI. In a population of individuals, AI can have both, a
positive and negative connotation (Katz, 2017).
	 From one perspective, AI is seen as a rapidly growing
technology capable of pushing life and society forward,
in an unprecedented way that will surely enhance soci-
ety. Evolving in its development, similar to that of a living
organism adapting and learning, AI will soon see a great
spectrum of functions. In the 1950’s an AI program was
developed to play at a professional level of checkers, and
has since continued to gain thought processing abilities.
Such abilities are demonstrated throughout history, to the
extent that in 2016, an AI program beat a professional GO
player. The applications, however, are much more exten-
sive than the realm of board games. Instead, the board
game platform simply showcases AI’s ability to learn and
compute as a first step in its evolution (Katz, 2017). Future
aspirations for AI include the ability to embark on space
missions, or in other words, replace the jobs of humans in
society. This is a pivotal concern of the introduction of AI
(Bossmann, 2016).
	 While the human population fluctuates over time, old-
er individuals tend to leave the workforce and retire, while
new, young individuals provide a replacement. However,
with AI, the introduction of robots into the population
provides an alternative for the contemporary labour force.
There are a number of key points in this. Robots would
be able to produce more efficient, and consistent results as
automatic and programmable beings (Bossmann, 2016).
Presenting flexibility and choice, alongside other factors
such as a lack of difficult social/psychological relationships
amongst employees, from a business owner's presepective,
AI-powered robots appear to be the better investment to
make.
	 However, the current state of AI, due to its lack of sub-
stantial and convincing empirical testing, poses some risks.
Similar to the rise of a new drug, or new gene editing tech-
nology such as CRISPR or PGD, there is no doubt that it
must undergo testing before release for public use (Rosen-
berg, 2017). In the case of AI, it can be implemented ac-
cors the globe. Should there be detrimental errors, it would
quite literally be an international hit.
	 Ultimately, as an increasing amount of individuals may
become replaced by these robots, as the job markets would
experience great changes, leading to a sharp rise in un-
employment. At the same time, it is argued that the intro-
duction of AI will bring in new jobs for the replaced ones.
Nevertheless, the usual routine life of a well-established in-
dividual may not be so secure anymore. (Bossmann, 2016)
	 As education typically comes as the preliminary step
to attaining a job, changes in a job market bring about a
question of necessary amendments to the education sys-
tem (Rosenberg, 2017). With the possibility of many un-
employed, a potential solution for the government would
be to provide society with greater access to education, such
as free online modules, in order to motivate and propel
them to learn. This could provide the unemployed with an
opportunity for self-stimulated reintegration. This would
apply in particular for labour-intensive jobs, which auto-
mation would easily replace (Bossmann, 2016).
	 Evidently, there are a number of other concerns be-
yond the loss of jobs (Bossmann, 2016). Inequality would
be very relevant in the initial release of AI due to the high
demand and scarce supply. The wealthy would be capable
of gaining access, and in a world of competing businesses,
5
Source:
Lina Liu,
3rd Year
BIM
F O O D
S C I E N C E
	 One of the Icelandic traditions that best represents
both the innovation and the unyielding strength of the
Vikings and their descendants is celebrating fermented
shark meat as its national dish. Known to locals as hákarl,
cured Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is
deeply embedded in the cultural history of Iceland and
has garnered the attention of adventurous tourists in re-
cent years. Its fame, however, is not derived solely from
the distinctive taste and scent of the product, which is ad-
mittedly not for people with weak stomachs. A character-
istic of the Greenland shark that is often most shocking
to visitors of the Nordic country, and therefore of most
interest to scientists, is its potential to be fatally poisonous
to consumers before undergoing the Icelandic method of
preservation.
	 The shark’s toxicity may be attributed to the high levels
of Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) found throughout
its body. Sharks rely on high concentrations of urea and
TMAO to act as osmotic agents, allowing them to main-
tain a balance between their internal osmotic pressure and
the osmotic pressure of the external marine environment
(Velasquez, Ramezani, Manal, & Raj, 2016). While TMAO
benefits the health of the shark by reversing the protein
destabilization caused by urea, it will harm the consum-
er when eaten fresh. This is because TMAO breaks down
into trimethylamine (TMA) during digestion, creating
gastrointestinal and neurological side effects comparable
to acute drunkenness (Velasquez et al., 2016).
	 The 2015 article, "Fermented and ripened fish products
in the northern European countries" written by Torstein
Skåra, Lars Axelsson, Gudmundur Stefánsson, Bo Ek-
strand and Helge Hagen pays particular attention to the
fermenting process at a technical level. According to tra-
dition, the shark was chopped into pieces and rinsed with
seawater before being buried in gravel pits and covered
with stones, seaweed, and turf. As these pits were placed
close to the sea, the shark meat would regularly be flood-
ed by seawater during high tide. The modern fermenta-
tion process requires the pieces of shark to be placed out-
doors in special lidded containers that allow any liquid
to drain through the holes in its base. After 3 to 6 weeks
have passed and fermentation is complete, the shark is cut
into even smaller pieces, which are rinsed once more and
allowed to dry in a hjallar drying shed for several weeks to
months.
	 Avid consumers of hákarl have bacteria to thank for
their non-toxic dining experiences. Studies have shown
that during the fermentation process, there is an increase
in number of the bacteria that breakdown TMAO into
TMA. These bacteria contain bacterial ureases that ca-
talyse the conversion of urea into ammonia (Skåra et al.,
2015). Throughout the drying period, the levels of bacte-
ria (which are composed mainly of the Moraxella/Acine-
tobacter and Lactobacillus groups), ammonia, and TMA
decrease. This results in a soft, white, ammonia-scented
final product that, although non-toxic, tastes strongly of
fish (Skåra et al., 2015).
	 In an age of refrigeration and chemical preservatives,
hákarl is no longer a necessity in order to survive the long
Icelandic winters. Instead, it has become a traditional del-
icacy served during Thorri, an annual festival that lasts
from late January to mid February (Skåra et al., 2015).
Hailey McTaggart, 2nd Year BPS
An Acquired Taste: The
Complex Fermentation Process
Behind Hákarl, Iceland’s
Notoriously Pungent Dish
way if AI were programmed by war criminals.
This is a grey area for AI, due to its potential
as a weapon capable of extraordinary destruc-
tion. Such a scenario could lead to the intro-
duction of legislation equating AI with the
responsibilities of humans (Bossmann, 2016).
	 In spite of the many convoluted challeng-
es that AI faces in its integration into society,
the world is poised to take on this next step
in global advancement. Nonetheless, the chal-
lenge should be embraced with great responsi-
bility.
the attainment of AI could make or break the
existence of a smaller business that have limited
or no access to AI resources. The discrepancy in
productivity is susceptible to being drastically
widened.
	 Another significant consideration is the
change in day-to-day interactions with AI that
would have long term effects on our interaction
with others (Katz, 2017). Individuals of society
may become further isolated than today. With
this, the interaction of AI with humans could
also worsen in quite a different, yet direct,
6
Source: Lina Liu,
3rd Year BIM
Jane
Cooke
Wright
Alixe Menard, 2nd Year BIM
	 Have you ever dreamed of finding a cure for cancer?
Finally finding a match against the human body’s deadli-
est killer? I think as scientists, we all have, and thanks to
Jane Cooke Wright, we are now one step closer to finding
it. As a researcher, Jane broke many barriers, not only for
women in the medical and scientific fields, but especially
for women of color. Women have to work hard to be seen
as valuable in these competitive fields, but women of color
have to work even harder. Jane was born from a medical
dynasty, a kind of real-life Meredith Grey. Her father stud-
ied at Harvard Medical School and later became one of the
first black surgeons in the United States. He also founded
the Cancer Research Foundation at the Harlem Hospital
in New York, back when cancer was thought to be a sur-
gical pursuit (Watts, 2013). Jane later went on to lead the
foundation in her father’s place. She herself, studied at the
New York Medical College and pursued research in on-
cology, a field of study, at that time, widely dominated by
white men.
	 Jane broke many glass ceilings on her path to devel-
oping medicine’s glass slipper: chemotherapy. She and
her father both worked intensely on the development
of this novel treatment, at the time a last resort method
for patients suffering from cancer. Together, they intro-
duced nitrogen-mustard as a chemotherapeutic agent
and, at last, patients with sarcoma, leukemia, lymphoma,
and more, were finally in remission (Elliott, n. d.). I call
that a small step for woman, a big step for womankind!
In 1967, Jane became a professor of surgery and head of
the Cancer Chemotherapy Department where she first
studied, at the New York Medical College. She was soon
named the highest ranked African American woman in
a medical institution of the United States (Rogers, n. d.).
She also tested folic acid antagonists as a cancer therapy.
Folic acid antagonists forbid DNA and RNA strand for-
mation by preventing the synthesis of essential amino ac-
ids, the building blocks of proteins which are at the base
of these strands. This new therapy was highly effective in
hindering the reproduction of cancer cells, but like che-
motherapy treatments today, it also ceased the formation
of non-problematic cells (Elliott, n. d.). This treatment,
however, made great changes in the study of malignant
tumors present in the case of melanoma, breast cancer,
prostate cancer, and more. In our modern day, we still
use methotrexate, one of Jane’s folic acid antagonists, as
a chemotherapy drug against osteosarcoma, lung cancer,
leukemia, and many more types of cancer. Following her
passing in 2013, Jane left behind many legacies and most
importantly, hope. Thanks to Jane, medical professionals
learned to treat the human body’s deadliest killer and now
it is up to us to finally put an end to it.
	 Jane has truly exercised the full potential encapsulated
between the walls of her skull but it’s a shame that of all
579 Nobel prizes awarded to 911 people, only 18 women
were awarded in science, 1 of whom was a woman of col-
or, and none of whom were Jane Cooke Wright (Nobel
Prize, n. d.). This only goes to show how much women of
colour can work only to achieve a fraction of what other
demographics do. Despite her pioneering work in chemo-
therapy, Jane still only received a tiny percentage of the
recognition that she merited.
7
Source: The Lancet
Erik Jacques, 3rd Year APA
The Great Pyramid and Its History
	 The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last of the ancient Sev-
en Wonders of the World, as mentioned by Joshua Mark, a
free-lance writer and director of the Ancient History En-
cyclopedia (2016). He also states that it was built by king
Khufu (also know as Cheops) of the 4th Dynasty from 2589
to 2566 BCE and retained the title of “the tallest structure
made by man” for over 3,000 years; it is arguably one of the
most famous buildings in history. Being made with over
2 million blocks of stone of immense size and weight, the
logistics of raising and positioning each of them “seems
an impossibility by modern standards” (Mark, 2016, para
1). It is safe to say that the Great Pyramid and its relation
to mankind’s history has ever since become a subject of
great interest to archeologists, historians, geologists, en-
gineers, and basically anyone who owns a book involving
Egyptians. So far, experts believe that it was constructed as
a tomb for the king and its construction required a great
amount of skill and technology; however, we still do not
know how it was built (Mark, 2016). Nevertheless, its study
has given us more and more clues about the history of the
era and the engineering/architectural techniques that were
utilized.
	 The structure was first excavated using modern tech-
niques in 1880 CE by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie,
a British archeologist (Mark, 2016). Following that, there
have been countless excavations and projects to study the
great monument. Because of that work, there are 3 known
chambers inside (Marchant, 2017):
1. The King’s Chamber
2. The Queen’s Chamber
3. The Grand Gallery that connects 		
	 the two burial sites
	 Since their discovery in the 9th
century AD, people have won-
dered if there were anymore
hidden chambers to be
found but nothing
had been re-
vealed un-
til now.
A 2015 study by physicist Kunihiro Morishima and his
colleagues has recently been published in Nature and
describes the discovery of an unexpected void above the
Grand Gallery, which already has experts coming up with
theories as to the exact nature of the chamber. What is
most notable about this study (besides the discovery of the
void) is the non-invasive procedure used to learn of its ex-
istence.
Cosmic Ray Topography
	 Cosmic rays are produced from the sun, supernovae,
black holes, and active galactic nuclei and consist of pro-
tons, electrons, and nuclei (Bressler et al., 2017). When
these rays meet the Earth’s atmosphere, they inter-
act with the nuclei in the atmosphere to pro-
duce muons, which are subatomic particles
part of the Standard Model of particle
physics (Kamal, 2014). These muons
rain down and pass through the
Earth’s surface at approxi-
mately 10,000 muons/
m2
/min (Bressler et
al., 2017). The
further down
t h e s e
parti-
8
Revealing an ancient Egyptian chamber using cosmic rays:
how modern technology can help us understand our past.
Figure 1: The internal mechanisms of a
scintillation detector.
9
Source: Live
Science
Source: WikiMedia
cles travel through solid matter, the more they will be
absorbed. Thus, the particle flux decreases exponentially
with depth, as determined by Bressler et al. (2017). There-
fore, researchers have realized that these signal variations
in muon flux can be used for topographical studies, which
is the study of the arrangement of the physical features of
an area (Morishima et al., 2017). Sensitive muon detec-
tors have since been developed by using scintillators that
can convert the muon ionization energy losses into elec-
trical pulses, which are processed and sent to a computer
(Bressler et al., 2017). Therefore, by placing these detectors
inside the various chambers of the pyramid, Dr. Morishi-
ma and his colleagues were able to create a “muon map”
and realized that more particles where hitting the detec-
tor while it was under the Grand Gallery. This led them
to deduce (after peer-reviewing the data) that there was
a surprisingly large space above said gallery that had not
been discovered yet.
Theories About the Chamber
	 As previously stated, experts are already coming up
with theories about what the chamber could be. A
great article by Jo Marchant in Nature news (2017)
enumerates these theories from his interviews
with experts from the field. For instance,
Aidan Dodson, an Egyptologist at
the University of Bristol, UK,
who studies ancient Egyptian
tombs says that the space
could be a “relieving
chamber” that
reduces the
amount of
weight
pressing on the Grand Gallery (Marchant, 2017). How-
ever, Colin Reader, an independent geologist and engineer
based in Liverpool, UK, believes “that the new chamber
is too far from the Grand Gallery to serve this purpose”
(Marchant, 2017, para 13) and that it could be another
gallery leading to a higher chamber instead. Bob Brier, an
Egyptologist at Long Island University in Brookville, New
York, has a final theory that the chamber could be part of
a counterweight system (Marchant, 2017). Nevertheless,
further investigation is warranted.
Conclusion and Future Directions
	 This study is a wonderful example of how modern
technology can be used to push us and to challenge our
understanding. If history and science are to teach us any-
thing, it is that our knowledge is never certain or absolute.
I personally find it exciting to know that we will never fin-
ish learning and that our perception can always be tested.
For decades, we believed we had discovered all the infor-
mation we could have from the Great Pyramid of Giza but
by using technology that was firstly developed for particle
physics, researchers finally have an exciting new lead that
could lead to more discoveries and potentially, a better
understanding of the pyramid’s conception and his-
tory. As for future directions, experts are now
looking forward to using cosmic ray tomog-
raphy in other pyramids that were pre-
viously thought to be “saturated” of
information (Marchant, 2017).
Who knows what they will
find. I, for one, am ex-
cited to find out.
Dear #bioenthusiast,
	 Your question just happens to be in my field of study! In-
deed, humans are the only mammals to choke on their food,
and this is primarily linked with our capacity for sophisticated
speech (vowel and consonant articulation). We are the only
mammals whose pharynx, a part of the throat that is posterior
to the mouth and nasal cavity and anterior to the esophagus
and trachea, is a common pathway for both food and air. Thus,
the transmission of food into the esophagus is solely depen-
dent on the proper closure of the epiglottis during the process
of swallowing. Nonetheless, this morphological feature is ex-
tremely necessary for speech – this space allows air to flow
through a region called the larynx and produce very intricate
sounds. The only drawback to this design is that we cannot
speak and eat at the same time, or else we run the risk of chok-
ing! The fact that human morphology allows sophisticated
communication but simultaneously permits the possibility of
death by choking is what I like to call an evolutionary com-
promise – it is unique to our species and gives us differential
success in survival and reproduction (Chapleau, 2017).
Great Question!
Darwin
Dear Anonymous,
	 Consonance is defined as the presence of harmonized
sound while dissonance is defined as the absence of harmo-
nized sound (Heimiller, 2002). The scientific explanation for
this phenomenon lies in the interactions of the sound waves
themselves. In particular, consonance occurs when two fre-
quencies coincide with each other, or match up relative to one
another, at regular intervals (The Physics Classroom, 1996).
For instance, the relationship between C and G is a perfect
fifth interval – it just so happens that these two sound waves
interact in a ratio of 3:2. In other words, every third peak in
the sound wave for C aligns exactly with every second peak
in the sound wave for G. Such congruence in the frequency
ratios is what we call harmony. Sound frequencies in intervals
that sound dissonant, such as a diminished 7th, do not possess
such a defined relationship. Instead these frequencies do not
line up with each other at regular intervals and therefore lack
harmony. Hope this helps!
Keep up the inquiry!
Darwin
Dear Darwin,
	 My professor ended class on the note that humans
are the only mammals to choke on their food. I absolute-
ly cannot wait until next week for an explanation, so I
thought I would ask you. My excitement is palpable!
~ #bioenthusiast
DEAR DARWINSijyl Fasih, 1st Year BIM
Dear Darwin,
	 As a music student I am fascinated by why some in-
tervals sound pleasant and why others don’t. Is there a
scientific explanation as to why some sounds are conso-
nant and others are dissonant?
~ Anonymous
10
Source: Naiema Zaman,
4th Year BCH
Source: Lina Liu,
3rd Year BIM
Source: Lina Liu,
3rd Year BIM
Water Consumption
		
Water is
the essential
element of life, not
just for humans, but
for all plants and animals.
Through modern activity, hu-
man beings have created needs that
consume large quantities of water. The to-
tal per capita water consumption is 151 liters
per year (World Commission on Water for the 21st
Century, 1999).
	 The high vulnerability of surface waters to acidified
fallout, either by acid rain or by human activity, directly or indi-
rectly affects the loss of potable water in lakes. However, it should be
noted that the quantity of water varies on different time scales:
	 • Seasonally: with alternating seasons.
	 • Inter-annually: water resources vary depending on the annual climate. 	
	 They can be abundant or scarce.
		 • Through centuries: due to various natural or anthropic factors, affect the 		
	 availability of water.
		 • Through millennials: due to climate change modifying the water cycle.
	 The production of energy through the operation of dams, among other forms of energy
harvesting, requires the vaporization of water with the release of some pollutants. In addition,
the production of purified drinking water releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide (Baxter
& Glaude, 1980). All these activities contribute to global warming which increases the water
vaporization and leads to losses of water in lakes. The natural greenhouse effect has a significant
impact on the planet temperature – without it the temperature of the planet would be 15 °C
preventing the presence of liquid in some streams (Bates, Kundzewicz, Wu, & Palutikof, 2008).
	 Thus, the use of water by humans contributes to the vaporization of water in both lakes and
rivers, with differing consequences including water acidification and climate change.
However, the problem of water management on a global scale does not take into
account the variability of the availability of water. Protecting water is there-
fore a necessity for future generations in need of good management
in order to conserve water and regenerate it after use
(Ansted, 1871).
Arlette Kasongo, 2nd Year BIO
THROUGH HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND LOSS OF WATER IN SALT
LAKES
11
Image Source: PPT Hintergrund
so they are used as a model for the human MEF2C haplo-
insufficiency form of ASD. These similarities in behavioural
deficits include impaired spatial learning, impaired mem-
ory functions, abnormal paw-clasping behaviours, and re-
petitive head-dipping. Compared to the control group, the
Mef2c+/- mice presented a significantly decreased number
of neurons in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, impaired
adult neurogenesis, decreased dendritic complexity, and a
decreased inhibitory and increased excitatory synaptic neu-
rotransmission – called E/I imbalance. Taken together, these
features provide evidence that Mef2c+/- mice represent a
model for studying ASD pathophysiology.
NITROSYNAPSIN
	 The researchers demonstrated that E/I imbalance proba-
bly plays a role in the pathogenesis of MCHS, leading them
towards the development of a pharmacological treatment of
ASD. Memantine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate-type glutamate
receptor (NMDAR) antagonist improves hippocampal E/I
imbalance in experimental models (Xia et al., 2010). Using
this knowledge, Sultan et al. synthetized an improved series
of drugs that act both as a NMDAR open-channel blocker
and redox modulator that they called NitroSynapsin. They
chose this name because of this drug’s ability to restore
synaptic number and function. NitroSynapsin has been ap-
proved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These
experiments demonstrated this drug’s ability to restore E/I
imbalance, resulting in multiple improvements in ASD/
MCHS-like behavioral deficits in Mef2c+/- mice. These
improvements include a normalized memory function, a
correction of abnormal repetitive head dipping, and an im-
provement in avoidant social behavior shown by exhibiting
no preference between spending time in an empty cham-
ber or a chamber with a stranger mouse. Taken together,
these results demonstrate that NitroSynapsin treatment in
Mef2c+/- mice improves cognitive deficits, repetitive behav-
ior, and impaired social interactions.
	 But how does this drug work? Its capacity to inhibit
hyperfunctioning extra synaptic NMDARs is probably the
mechanism responsible for regrowth of functional synapses
that were compromised, inducing a correction of E/I imbal-
ance in Mef2c+/- mice (Talantova et al., 2013). One expla-
nation for this effect is that NitroSynapsin may indirectly
increase excitatory input onto malfunctional inhibitory
neurons in Mef2c+/- mice by protecting their synapses. This
may result in an enhancement of their activity, compensat-
ing for the E/I imbalance (Wang et al., 2006).
A Potential Treatment for Autism
Spectrum Disorder
AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
	 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable
developmental disorder that has a wide range of manifes-
tations. This disorder is diagnosed from symptoms such as
early-emerging social impairments, communicational im-
pairments, and repetitive patterns of behaviours and inter-
ests (Frith & Happé, 2005). Currently, no specific treatment
for ASD exists. Many children with ASDs are treated with
medication, but most treatments have little to no evidence
that support their benefits. Furthermore, these medical
treatments are mostly used to treat related symptoms of ASD
and not the disorder itself. Additionally, no consensus exists
in favor of a specific intervention strategy (McPheeters et al.,
2011). Recently, a spectacular advancement in this field has
been made possible by the discovery of a transcription fac-
tor involved in the pathogenesis of ASD: Myocyte enhancer
factor 2 C (Parikshak et al., 2013).
MEF2C TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR
	 Myocyte enhancer factor 2 C (MEF2C) is a transcription
factor linked to neuronal differentiation, synaptic formation
and neuronal survival in the brain. MEF2C has been associ-
ated with autism spectrum disorder. Multiple MEF2C target
genes have been linked to autism-related genes in humans.
MEF2C haploinsufficiency has been identified as the cause
of symptoms such as intellectual disability, poor reciprocal
behavior, lack of speech, stereotyped and repetitive behav-
ior, and epilepsy (Cardoso et al., 2009), all grouped under
the term of MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome (MCHS)
(Paciorkowski et al., 2013). Haploinsufficiency refers to
a situation where the total level of a protein produced by
the cell is about half the normal level and is not sufficient
to permit the cell to function normally (Medical Definition
of Haploinsufficiency, n.d.). There is still a lot of work to be
done to fully understand the molecular mechanisms under-
lying MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome. What we know
so far is that this syndrome leads to abnormal brain devel-
opment, an imbalance in the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory
neurotransmission (E/I), and neurobehavioral dysfunction.
In 2017, Sultan et al. investigated the possibility of treating
ASD/MCHS-like behavioral phenotypes pharmacologically
using a mouse model of human autism.
THE MOUSE MODELS USED
	 The mice used in experiments by Sultan et al. are
Mef2c+/-. These mice demonstrate behavioural deficits that
are very similar to human patients with ASD/MCHS,
Marie-Pier Milette, 3rd Year PSY
12
EVERYTHING IS NOT WHAT IT
SEEMS TO BE
	 I always thought the world was a solid place. Ob-
jects existed and I was aware of them. If a snowball
hits you in the face, it hurts. The experience of life
teaches that things are there and they get in your way.
	 This was what I thought chemistry, physics and bi-
ology was about: the study of an objective reality.
	 But now that I am a first-year biochemistry stu-
dent, granted longer in the tooth than most first-year
students, the idea of an objective reality is becoming
confusing. It’s not that what I am writing about is in
the syllabus, but the syllabus has got me thinking.
	 It's almost as though the Plato-Aristotle argu-
ment has never been resolved (Chapleau, 2017). Plato
thought that imagination created the objects we saw
around us whereas Aristotle taught that our percep-
tion shapes the objects we see (Buckingham et al.,
2011). Democritus, another ancient Greek philoso-
pher, taught that atoms were indivisible and that ev-
erything was made up of such tiny things. Newton
thought that all matter was solid.
	 Quantum theory gives us the idea that matter has
both mass and a wave form. Only when you are look-
ing at an elementary particle does it presume a fixed
state. It takes an observer.
	 Biocentrism takes the revolution a little further.
Nothing exists without an observer (Lanza and Ber-
man, 2010). Not just that the measurement is depen-
dent on the observer, but that the item being observed
does not exist without an observer. Moreover, that ob-
server has to have a conscience to be able to observe.
Without consciousness there is no observer, without
Colin Griffiths, 1st Year BCH
13
Image Source: School Chalao
an observer, nothing exists.
	 I see this as an attempt to rationalize quantum
mechanics with macro physics. At the quantum lev-
el all is probability. There is a finite probability that
an electron will be at one instant in one position ver-
sus another. There is a finite probability of particles
springing into existence out of nothing (Quantum
Fluctuations, n.d.). There is a finite probability, admit-
tedly infinitesimal, of a snowball vanishing before it
hits you.
	 In some sense what happens at the micro and nano
level of existence, influences everything else, which
is the idea of reductionism. Then comes the idea of
emergent function; function that is nevertheless de-
termined by functionality at an underlying level.
Thus, the behaviour of DNA in a cell determines the
externally observed behaviour and function of the cell
of a given organ, which in turn determines the perfor-
mance of an organism. You cannot describe the be-
haviour of an individual directly in terms of his or her
DNA, but there is a deep relationship.
	 But the idea that without an observer nothing
exists, I find hard to accept (Wadhawan and Kamal,
2009). In my experience, albeit governed by my own
observations and consciousness, there is a physical
solid reality, independent of my existence. If a tree
falls in a forest on a distant planet, there may be no
one to hear it, but it still causes a disturbance in its
environment.
	
	 I like the old physics.
SCIENce
JANUARY
FEBRUARY
MARCH
APRIL
MAY
JUNE
14
A new telomere trimming protein
	 The length of a telomere - the repetitive
nucleotide sequence that protects the ends of
chromosomes from degradation - must be care-
fully regulated. Excessively long telomeres can
lead to the development of cancer, and aging is
in part due to the progressive shortening telo-
meres (Zlotorynski, 2017). The discovery of a
new zinc finger-based telomere binding protein
known as TZAP is a landmark achievement in
understanding the dynamics of telomere length
homeostasis (Li, 2017). The group who report-
ed the discovery, led by Julia Li, compared two
HeLa cell clones, one with a short telomere
length (~5 kb) and the other with a larger telo-
mere length (~20 kb) (Li, 2017). They discov-
ered that TZAP binds to and mediates “telomere
trimming” thereby regulating and stopping the
occurrence of abnormally long telomeres. The
discovery could prove to be the impetus in a new
wave of research in cancer treatment and geron-
tology.
Seven planet system
	 In February of 2017, it was announced
that NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope had
discovered a seven-planet system circling a
solitary star called TRAPPIST-1. The TRAP-
PIST-1 planetary system is said to be in the
habitable zone as it is hypothesized that some
of the planets may have liquid water on their
surface. While this system is still 235 trillion
miles (40 light years) away and somewhere
between 5.4-9.8 billion years old, it nonethe-
less is an exciting discovery due the system’s
possibility to be a host to life (Northon, 2017).
Earliest lifeforms might be found in Canada
	 This March, a team of researchers led by
Matthew Dodd published a paper claiming the
discovery of the oldest fossilized micro-organ-
isms (Ghosh, 2017). These microorganisms are
at least 3.77 billion years old, but could be up to
4.28 billion years old (Zimmer, 2017). The fos-
sils, discovered in the Nuvvuagittuq rocks off the
coast of Hudson’s Bay, contained several indica-
tors of their advanced age, including a tubular
structure similar to those formed by modern
bacteria living around hydrothermal vents and
apatite a compound that can form from the
phosphorous released by dying organisms (Zim-
mer, 2017). The team argued that these clues,
among others, validate their claim of having
found the oldest fossils on Earth; however, some
experts refute these conclusions, meaning it may
take many years before the scientific community
reaches a consensus on this “discovery”.
Biobags could prevent premature child
death
	 As the second leading cause of child
death, premature birth has been the focus
of many researchers, some of whom have
attempted to create an external placenta
and umbilical cord to support the growth
and reduce the mortality rate of prema-
ture infants (Blencowe, 2012). Success was
achieved this past April when scientists at
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Re-
search Institute produced a functional de-
vice which mimics a uterus. As the ‘Biobag,’
along with an artificial circulatory system,
provided fluid and respiratory stability, re-
searchers provided the lamb infants with
nutritional support, allowing eight lambs
to survive in an extrauterine envi-
ronment for a significant amount
of time. Not only did these lambs
survive in this artificial womb,
but the researchers noted body,
brain and myelin growth, as well
as maturation of the lungs during
this time (Partridge et al., 2017).
Cancer drug targets DNA directly
	 The name pembrolizumab may not
mean anything to you, but in May this year, it
provided hope for countless cancer patients.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ap-
proved a cancer drug that targets DNA rath-
er than organ location, a first of its kind. In
2015, it was discovered that tumours in co-
lon cancer patients given this drug reduced
in size when patients were administered the
drug (Le et al., 2015). Patients without the
required mismatch repair deficiency did not
respond to the treatment. This helped with
characterization and classification, as now it
is known that tumors arising in different or-
gans may have more in common than those
in the same place (Le et al., 2017). Pharma-
ceutical company Merck has revolutionized
the playing field by turning this research into
a clinical treatment.
Revisiting early human evolution
	 This June, anthropologists, led by
Jean-Jacques Hublin, were in Morocco
when they found ancient bones from
humans who lived about 300,000 to
350,000 years ago (Hublin et al., 2017).
Previously, the earliest fossil attributed to
humans had come from Eastern Africa
and was 195,000 years old (McDougall,
Brown, & Fleagle, 2008). Richter
and colleagues used thermolumi-
nescence dating to determine that
these new artifacts were from 315
± 34 thousand years ago. This ev-
idence shows that the evolution-
ary processes behind the emer-
gence of H. sapiens involved the
whole African continent.
Background Image Source: NASA
Source: Science Alert
Source: Maps of the World
Source: Big Think
Source:
Financial
Times
Source: New
Scientist
Sanmeet Chahal,
M. Sc. Physics
Sanmeet Chahal,
M. Sc. Physics
Saania Tariq,
4th year BIM
Saania Tariq,
4th year BIM
Jasmine Bhatti,
2nd year BIM
Michael Leung,
M. Sc. Neuroscience
IN 2017
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
The next mass extinction is underway
	 Mass extinctions are characterized
by a significant decrease in the biodiver-
sity of multicellular life forms on a glob-
al scale. In July 2017, a study was pub-
lished reporting that our Earth’s sixth
mass extinction is currently underway.
This event, termed “biological annihila-
tion” by the team of Stanford University
researchers, involves declines in both
population size and range in the 27600
vertebrate species analyzed. Anthropo-
genic causes of species extinction must
be addressed in order to explain the cas-
cading consequences of this event not
only on the ecosystems involved, but on
the totality of the biosphere (Ceballos,
2017). The Earth’s last mass extinction
occurred at the end of the Cretaceous
period, approximately 66 million years
ago (Renne, 2013).
Neutron star merger captured by
telescopes
	 Neutron star mergers are unique
in that they produce both gravitational
and electromagnetic waves. Although
previous collisions have been observed
on gravitational sensors, this was the
first event in which astronomers de-
tected the powerful light waves given
off by colliding stars (LIGO Scientific
Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration,
2017). As one of the most studied astro-
nomical events to date, many theories
and mysteries had the opportunity to be
tested and resolved by this event, such
as the theory that neutron star merg-
ers are the source of gamma ray bursts,
and that the resulting kilonovas pro-
duced by these collisions are the source
of most of the
naturally-oc-
curring heavier
elements on the
periodic table
(Miller, 2017).
A novel quantum computing design
	 A quantum computer (QC) offers enormous potential
to revolutionize the fields of healthcare, defence, finance,
and chemistry to name a few (Da Silva, 2017). The power of
QCs stems crucially from quantum bits, or qubits, consist-
ing of “entangled” particles rather than regular computer
bits. Scientists at the University of New South Wales have
now proposed a new qubit structure and production de-
sign which promises cheap, large-scale quantum chip man-
ufacturing. Traditionally, qubits have defined themselves
using the spin of an electron.; their breakthrough was to
define the qubit using the spin of both the electron and the
nucleus (Da Silva, 2017). In this qubit, a ‘0’ state is defined
when the electron spin is down and the nuclear spin is up,
and vice-versa for the ‘1’ state (Da Silva, 2017). The qubit
is altered by moving the electron away from the nucleus,
which induces an electric dipole that has an interaction
length of about 1 μm. This allows qubits to be placed much
farther apart than previously possible, significantly reduc-
ing manufacturing difficulty and cost.
First example of in-patient DNA editing
	 While the general consensus remains
that designer babies are unethical, people
tend to have a more favorable view of gene
editing aimed at treating or preventing dis-
ease. This November, scientists tried edit-
ing a gene inside the body for the first time
to change a patient’s DNA. Brian Madeux of
California was diagnosed with a metabolic
disease called Hunter syndrome, an inher-
ited genetic disorder caused by a missing
or malfunctioning enzyme (The Associat-
ed Press, 2017). Instead of using the wide-
ly-known gene editing tool Crispr-Cas9,
this procedure used zinc finger nucleases
that cut a targeted piece of DNA and a virus
that delivered billions of copies of correct
DNA (Zhang, 2017). The long-term success
of the procedure is yet to be seen.
Making bacteria more vulnerable to anti-
biotics
	 Today, there are fewer new antibiotics be-
ing developed, and existing antibiotics (AB)
face the problems of bacterial resistance, de-
velopment of genetic mutations protecting
against ABs, and tolerance (when bacteria
enter a different physiological state, protect-
ing them against the AB) (Trafton, 2017).
Thus, improving the effectiveness of exist-
ing ABs is an important goal. Researchers at
MIT have discovered a method to boost the
efficacy of quinolones, a type of AB which in-
terferes with topoisomerase, the enzyme in-
volved in DNA transcription (Trafton, 2017).
They demonstrated that by including both a
sugar molecule and a terminal electron ac-
ceptor in the AB, they could combat several
different bacterial species. Terminal electron
acceptors, such as the O2
molecule used at the end of
cellular respiration, play an
important metabolic role and
these findings demonstrate
that the metabolic state of the
target organism significantly
influences the impact of the
AB.
Molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythm
	 On October 2nd 2017, the recipients for the year’s No-
bel Prize in Physiology and Medicine were announced. The
laureates were Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Mi-
chael W. Young for their work dealing with the discovery of
molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm.
Although it has been known for years that living organisms
are able to adapt to changes in their environment, the ex-
act mechanisms of how our bodies anticipate and adapt to
the changes throughout the day was a mystery. Using the
fruit fly as a model, the researchers discovered a self-sus-
taining inhibitory loop, wherein the accumulation of the
protein period (PER) can block the period gene that en-
codes it – oscillating over a 24 cycle (2017 Nobel
Prize, 2017). They were able to further build on
this with the discovery of the time gene and its
associated protein (TIM) that allows PER to en-
ter the nucleus, the doubletime gene and protein
(DBT) which allows the delay in PER accumula-
tion, and later made a discovery of some of the
positive transcription factors involved in the sys-
tem (2017 Nobel Prize, 2017). 15
Source: iStock
Source:
Genetics.org
Source: New
Scientist
Source: Wired
Source:
Consult QD
Sanmeet
Chahal,
M. Sc.
Physics
Sanmeet
Chahal,
M. Sc.
Physics
Jasmine Bhatti,
2nd year BIM
Anastasia Turner,
3rd year BIM
Kelly Xu, M. Sc.
Neuroscience
Elsie Lebedev,
4th year BIO
M
I
G
R
A
I
N
E
S
Worldwide Innovations in Medical Technologies
Tired of Migraines? Check this out.
	 Would you believe that migraines are more
prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy, and asthma
combined (Facts and Figures, n.d.)? Behind ten-
sion-type headaches and dental caries, migraines
are the third most common disease in the world
with an estimated global prevalence of 14.7%
(Steiner, 2013). The Migraine Research Founda-
tion reports that chronic migraines affect as much
as 2% of the world population (Migraine Facts,
2017). It is estimated that more than 75% of those
suffering from migraines experience at least one
attack monthly, and more than 50% experience se-
vere disruptions of daily activities.
	 The very origins of the term “migraine” date
back to Ancient Greece as a derivation of the
word “hemicrania”, meaning “half of the skull”.
Later in history, migraines were treated with a
surgical approach called trepanation. Trepana-
tion involved boring holes through patients’ skulls
in the hopes of releasing evil spirits which were
deemed the main source of migraine-like pains
(Collado-Vázquez, 2014). To date, more effective
treatments have been developed, but migraines
continue to be a serious issue for sufferers and are
now recognized by the WHO, researchers, and cli-
nicians internationally with accepted diagnostic
criteria.
	 It’s quite alarming to consider the fact that
migraines remain undiagnosed and untreated in
at least 50% of sufferers, and that an even greater
number of patients fail to consult physicians for
their migraine-related problems (Pavone et. al,
2007). The majority of migraine patients refer to
self-medicative techniques with the help of over-
the-counter, non-prescription drugs, and as a re-
sult, continue to be affected daily.
	 A study by King's College Hospital in the Unit-
ed Kingdom, led by Dr. Peter Goadsby, recently
tested a drug called erenumab which showed that
it was effective in more than halving the number
of migraine attacks for people with episodic mi-
graines. Patients are considered to be suffering
from episodic migraines if they have attacks up
to 14 days every month. Patients with 15 or more
attacks are considered to be chronic migraine
sufferers. With the data reported in the New En-
gland Journal of Medicine, erenumab’s success
in the 6-month clinical trial represents an inno-
vative step forward in the treatment of migraines
(Goadsby et. al, 2017).
	 Developed and partly funded by Novartis, ere-
numab, is a fully human monoclonal antibody
that inhibits the calcitonin gene-related peptide
receptor for the prevention of episodic migraines.
Research in the last 10 years has pointed towards
the activation of a neuropeptide, specifically calci-
tonin gene-related peptide, as playing a significant
role in the onset of migraines in patients. By inhib-
iting this receptor, erenumab was effective in re-
ducing the number of days patients suffered from
migraines by 3.7 days for a 140 mg dosage and 3.2
days for a 70 mg dosage. Compared to the placebo
group which only reported a reduction of 1.8 days
over the 6 months, the clinical findings were quite
encouraging (Goadsby et. al, 2017).
	 After the conclusion of a Phase III clinical tri-
al, it is clear that erenumab offers promise for the
treatment of this otherwise poorly-understood
condition. Future studies are needed on the dura-
bility and the long-term safety of the drug; how-
ever, it seems that an effective treatment for mi-
graines is under way, so be sure to stay tuned.
Alek Tirpan,
4th Year BMS
16 Source: VB Health
Source:
Vanquish
Headache Relief
Michael Kalyn, 4th Year BIO
Time to End the Cycle: Prospective
Bioengineering Against Malaria
17Source: Scientists Against Malaria
	 Malaria, a driving factor behind the increased death
toll world-wide, has a death rate of hundreds of thousands
of people annually. This disease affects populations within
approximately 103 different countries with over 1500 cas-
es documented in the United States. However, 90% of the
related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Children un-
der the age of 5 are primarily affected by malaria. Pregnant
women are also found to be highly susceptible to malaria
which is due to the increase fluctuations in hormone levels
and antibody immune responses (Shane, 2001).
	 Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite called Plas-
modium that is transmitted through the Anopheles mosqui-
toes, actively functioning as the infectious vector. These
mosquitoes obtain the protozoan parasite by biting infect-
ed humans. Plasmodium is solely found in female mosquitos
due to the need of iron and other nutrients in the blood to
nourish the development and production of eggs (“Do all
mosquitoes transmit malaria?”, 2016).
	 In the female mosquito, the parasite actively prolifer-
ates within the midgut and eventually migrates to the sal-
ivary glands where the parasite is transmitted to a human
host following a bite. Once in the bloodstream, the mature
parasites infect red blood cells and reproduce. The infected
cells lyse releasing a burst of parasites into the bloodstream
to continue the cycle (Malaria Biology, 2016).
	 Despite previous medical attempts for vector and trans-
mission control, there seems to be an increase in insecticide
resistance growing within African mosquito populations
(Hunt et al., 2011; Snow et al., 2005). The World Health
Organization (WHO) has deemed this growing epidemic
a high priority for investigation of alternative strategies to
implement and overall awareness.
	 A team of researchers led by Dr. George Dimopoulos
at John Hopkins University are investigating the potential
of genetically modifying (GM) the insect vector, Anopheles,
to introduce parasitic resistance with the hopes of eventual
implementation into the wild. They had primarily targeted
the overexpression of anti-Plasmodium genes located in the
midgut to increase the mosquito’s innate immune response.
This ultimately resulted in fluctuating microbial popula-
tions localized within this particular region of the mosqui-
to. Thus, the altered midgut microbiota GM mosquitoes
exhibit less of a habitable setting for parasitic proliferation.
More importantly, the team of researchers observed signif-
icant dominance of reproductive fitness compared to those
in the wild. However, the primary question the researchers
are faced with is whether the transmission of this modifica-
tion would occur after the introduction into the wild (Pike
et al., 2017).
	 The team of researchers addressed the question by in-
corporating mixed cage experimentation to determine the
overall fitness and efficiency of resistance transmission to
the next generation. They observed an approximate 90%
resistant dominant population after 10 generations. This
exceeded their proposed 75% efficiency hypothesis. Even
skewing the GM to wild-type ratios of 10% and 90%, they
viewed a resistant dominant population after just a few
generations (Pike et al., 2017). They proposed that the al-
tered mating preference is a result of scent change of mi-
crobiota modified mosquitoes. These findings, although
in a laboratory setting, are tremendously significant with
potential for real world application.
	 Despite the preliminary stages, the research exhibits a
compelling platform on the forefront of the heritability and
dominance of resistance, which is essential to successful-
ly implement resistance in future generations of Anopheles
mosquitoes.
SISSORThe development of an ultra-accurate genome sequencing method
	 Genome sequencing has many applications such as the
potential for early cancer detection in individuals with
a genetic predisposition or In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
pre-implantation genetic diagnostics. However, several as-
pects of the current methods for genome sequencing pres-
ent limitations in its application. In an article published
in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
(PNAS), the authors highlight the necessity for more accu-
rate sequencing techniques. For example, the use of poly-
merases in DNA amplification presents a large source of
error. As well, limited read lengths provided by the current
methods contain relatively little haplotype information –
that is, the conserved genes or single nucleotide polymor-
phisms that tend to be inherited together. Finally, in order
to reduce error rates, current methods of genome sequenc-
ing compare consensus sequences between DNA single
strands obtained from several cells which still carries over
an error rate of 2 000 in 100 million base pairs (Chu et al.,
2017). A new technique developed by researchers at the
University of California San Diego, named "Single-Strand-
ed Sequencing using micrOfluidic Reactors" (SISSOR),
has the potential to not only drastically reduce these error
rates but to also allow for more accurate haplotyping of
genomes by using just single cells.
	 "Accurate sequencing of single cells will enable the
identification of mutations that cause cancer and genetic
disease. At the same time, precise haplotyping will allow
for the genoytping of haplotypes, combinations of differ-
ent genes or alleles as a group from either parent," explains
senior author Kun Zhang, a professor of bioengineering at
the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego (Sci-
ence X, 2017).
	 The new approach, SISSOR, involves isolation of DNA
molecules from single cells. The DNA is then separated
into single strands and randomly divided into 24 separate
chambers where they can be amplified using multiple dis-
placement amplification (MDA), a non-Polymerase Chain
Reaction (PCR) based method. The DNA fragments are
then processed into a bar-coded sequencing library and
can be mapped onto a reference genome sequence (Cois-
sac et al., 2016).
	 In comparison to the current methods used, the ran-
dom partitioning of the single stranded DNA into 24 sep-
arate compartments allows each single strand from each
homologous chromosome to be amplified and sequenced
independently. Therefore, allelic sequences that are ob-
served in multiple chambers can more confidently be
matched up than allelic sequences observed in only one
chamber. When phased complementary strands are then
compared to reduce any errors, the resulting error rate is 1
in 100 million base pairs rather than 2 000 in 100 million
bases (Chu et al., 2017).
	 Since existing whole genomic sequencing techniques
offer limited read lengths of DNA sequences, this makes
it difficult to obtain long-range haplotype information. To
remedy this, SISSOR creates megabase-sized fragments of
DNA, allowing for longer read lengths. Novel computa-
tional methods can then use the strand information for se-
quencing and error correction (Chu et al., 2017). In terms
of DNA sequencing, longer read lengths allow us to see
more repeats in the DNA sequences, making it easier and
more accurate to locate the DNA sequence on a reference
map. As well, longer read lengths allow for more accurate
detection of long-range haplotypes, which has many po-
tential benefits. For example, in clinical applications, more
haplotype information can result in better donor-patient
organ transplant matching (Chu et al., 2017).
	 The fact that SISSOR can so accurately amplify and se-
quence a single cell's DNA means it can overcome many
limitations faced by previous and current methods of ge-
nome sequencing. For example, rare single cells or non-di-
viding cells such as adult neurons can now be sequenced
with high accuracy. As well, genome-editing for cell ther-
apies can now be more meticulously verified before being
introduced into a patient (Chu et al., 2017). "The tech-
nology makes it possible to use a single cell of the 'edited'
gene and return results that would be as accurate as if we
sequenced many cells," says Wai Keung Chu, the article's
first author (Science X, 2017).
	 In order to develop this novel and more accurate meth-
od of DNA sequencing, senior author Kun Zhang took ad-
vantage of the interdisciplinary nature of the collaborative
research project. "This innovation required expertise that
goes beyond what normally exists in a single department,
and this case is a testament to UC San Diego's growing
interdisciplinary research culture that allowed us to pull
in collaborators from other departments," explains Zhang
(Science X, 2017).
	 The development of SISSOR represents a step forward
in fine-tuning the accuracy of genome sequencing, open-
ing the door to more effective clinical and research appli-
cations.
An Duong, 3rd Year BIO
18
Source: Clker
Effect of
Sleep
Deprivation on
Health
	 Sleep is defined as a psychological state our bodies ex-
perience daily that is crucial for our well-being. It is said
that sleep occurs due to two key factors: as a response to
prolonged periods of being awake and as a way to syn-
chronise the circadian rhythm. In the world we live in
today, with many university students pulling all-nighters,
and workers having less time to sleep, sleep is sometimes
under-estimated. Some may go so far as to say that sleep
is a luxury, even though it is as important as eating and
drinking water. So what happens when someone doesn’t
get enough sleep? In this article, we will talk about the im-
portance of sleep at a young age and we will examine the
consequences of sleep deprivation.
	 Sleep is important for human development. Newborns
sleep between 16 and 18 hours per day, on average. These
long tenures of sleep are due to the fact that the pituitary
glands of the newborn require the body to be asleep to
increase secretion of hormones that are crucial for devel-
opment (Tatum, 2017).
	 Sleep also plays a role in the cerebral activities and
health of adults. This psychological state is crucial for
maintaining proper brain function. The idea that our
brains are completely inactive when we are asleep is inac-
curate. During sleep, the hippocampus region of the brain
is actively consolidating old memories and forming new
ones (Gregoire, 2014). The brain also has a very high ca-
pacity of storing information while asleep. During REM
sleep, the brain stores information in the long term memo-
ry using short signals at high frequencies (Gregoire, 2014).
It transfers short-term memories from the motor cortex to
the temporal lobe where they become long-term memo-
ries (Greer, 2004). This process is crucial when it comes to
consolidating recollections of daily motor activities such
as driving, dancing and playing sports that eventually be-
come automatic reflexes.
	 Researchers at the University of Rochester have also
discovered that, while asleep, the brains of mice get rid of
molecules associated with neurodegernation. Their brains
do so by increasing the spaces between cerebral cells to get
rid of toxic molecules that accumulate while awake (Xie et
al, 2013). Finally, while in a state of sleep, a series of events
occur that are very important and beneficial to humans,
such as the increase in and reparation of body tissues, the
resting of the cardiovascular system that reduces arterial
pressure and cardiac rhythm by 10%, and the secretion of
hormones that help the immune system in fighting germs
(Important de dormir, n.d.).
What are the major consequences of sleep deprivation?
	 This article has already demonstrated that sleep is not
a luxury, but that it is important for both proper activity
and development of the human brain and body. Lack of
sleep translates to fatigue. Facing fatigue, our neurons can
stop all their activities, even when awake. This explains the
fact that our intellectual performances, our attention span
and our concentration are all significantly diminished
when in a state of fatigue. These effects are very similar to
the effects of alcohol. It is said that 18 hours without sleep
is equivalent to 0.5 g of alcohol in the blood, and that 24
hours without sleep in the equivalent to 1 g of alcohol
in the blood (Loubens, 2015). Lack of concentration 19
Source: Vector
Source: Saania Tariq,
4th Year BIM
Khaled El Tyby, 4th Year BIM
A
N
T
I
F
R
A
I
I
L
G
Y
T
Introduction
	 In his book Antifragile: Things that Gain
from Disorder (2012), Lebanese author Nas-
sim Nicholas Taleb (NNT) defines three
classes of objects: the fragile, the robust and
the antifragile. To most of us, the opposite
of a fragile object is a resistant, or robust ob-
ject. It will not be destroyed when any type
of stressor is applied to it, and will remain
in its current state. To NNT, the antonym of
fragile is not robust – it is what he calls an-
tifragile. Instead of being merely resistant to
stressors, or responding negatively to them,
an antifragile object responds to stressors in
a positive way: it gains from them. A stressor
can be volatility, time, physical stress, chaos,
uncertainty, or more simply: disorder. NNT
gives a precise mathematical definition of
fragility and antifragility in his paper Math-
ematical definition, mapping and detection
of (anti)fragility (2012), though we will not
go into this here. In short: fragile objects
don’t like disorder. Antifragile objects grow
from it. Moreover, an antifragile object loses
from a lack of stressors.
Biological Life is Antifragile
	 Antifragility seems like a theoretical,
even philosophical interest, but it has great
practicality. Though NNT’s work is focused
on financial risk analysis, his concept can be
applied to many of the hard sciences.
Let us look at some of the applications
of antifragility in nature, particularly in bio-
logical systems.
	 The second law of thermodynamics states
that, in the long run, entropy – disorder –
will always increase in closed systems. Life
on Earth represents an open local system
that feeds off the entropy of the larger sys-
tem (Becker, 2013), therefore making living
organisms and biological species antifrag-
ile. What processes underlie this phenome-
non? Natural selection-driven evolution has
shown us that an original entity, challenged
by a chaotic and changing environment, cre-
ates variants that evolve into novel entities
(Danchin, Binder, & Noria, 2011). The idea
is that in a (biological) system, the sacrifices
of some fragile units are often necessary for
the well-being of other units or of the whole.
In his concept of the selfish gene, Robert
Trivers explains that while individual or-
ganisms are relatively fragile, the gene pool
takes advantage of shocks to enhance its fit-
ness (Dawkins, 1976; Taleb, 2013). In other
words, organisms need to die for nature to
be antifragile (Taleb, 2013). NNT summa-
rizes it perfectly: “even when there is extinc-
tion of an entire species after some extreme
event, no big deal, it is part of the game. This
is still evolution at work, as those species
that survive are fittest and take over from
the lost dinosaurs—evolution is not about
a species, but at the service of the whole of
nature” (Taleb, 2012, p. 69).
Mohamed Bachrouch, 3rd year BIM
20
Stressors, Chaos and Growth:
and diminished intellectual performance can cause very
serious issues, a major one being car accidents. According
to the annual security balance sheets of the ASFA (French
Motorway Companies Association), drowsiness at the
wheel is one of the most important causes of deadly ac-
cidents on the road – it accounted for 23.6% of all deadly
car accidents in France in 2015 to (Bilan sécurité annuel,
2016).
	 A major problem that is also linked to sleep depriva-
tion is the fact that it can lead to weight gain. Leptin, a hor-
mone that gives us the sensation of being full after we eat,
is secreted during the night while grelin, the hormone re-
sponsible for hunger, is secreted during the day (Loubens,
2015). A lack of sleep therefore leads to an increase in the
feeling of hunger and a decrease in the feeling of being
full. This, in consequence, makes us eat in larger quantities
when sleep deprived, leading to weight gain.
	 Finally, people that are sleep deprived are at a higher
risk of developing metabolic syndromes, as well as diabe-
tes. This was shown in an article published in the Journal
of Translational Medicine. Lack of sleep is associated with
an increase in stress, which leads to an excessive amount
of cortisol production (Leproult et al, 1997). Cortisol is a
hormone which is synthesized from cholesterol and that
is linked to an increase in insulin resistance. Insulin is a
hormone that is responsible for the movement of glucose
form the blood to the cells. In causing an increase in insu-
lin resistance, glucose can less efficiently move into the cell
and therefore is stuck in the blood, leading to increased
chances of developing diabetes.
The Concept of
What follows is a series of examples to demonstrate
how and when biological entities, and nature in general,
makes use of, and benefits from antifragility; and how
it is an important component for the growth of living
organisms.
Examples of Antifragility in Nature
	 In genetics, heredity is the passing on of DNA to off-
spring. Two interesting factors come into play in this
process: recombination, which is the random mixing of
DNA of two creatures, and mutation, which are random
changes, or copying errors, of DNA (Genetics, n.d.).
These phenomena, based on total randomness and cha-
os, are the driving forces of evolution. Organisms don’t
die without reproducing offspring with a genetic code
that is, in some way or another, different. It seems that
evolution only works because of its antifragility. In a
way, it is in love with uncertainty, stressors, randomness
and disorder (Taleb, 2013).
	 In his scientific work On the Origin of Species
(1859), Charles Darwin writes: “It is not the strongest
of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent
[…]. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” This
adaptability of species has a physiological basis: horme-
sis. Hormesis is a biphasic response to a stressor (such
as a toxin) ; in other words, it is characterized by a low
dose stimulation or beneficial effect and a high dose in-
hibitory or toxic effect . The idea was first described by
German pharmacologist Hugo Schulz who discovered
that a very small dose of lethal poison did not kill off
yeast cells, but made them grow (Hormesis, n.d.). This
particular effect is known as mithridatization, a devel-
oped tolerance to poison by prior ingestion (Mithri-
datism, n.d.). Similarly, bacteria such as Helicobacter
pylori or E. Coli thrive in difficult environments, and
can develop antibiotic resistance. The harder you try to
harm bacteria, the stronger the survivors will be (Ta-
leb, 2013). This is also observed in the proliferation of
cancer cells. On shorter time scales, it takes only a few
months before anticancer drugs are defeated by cells
trying to become immortal. In fact, cancer cells that
manage to survive the toxicity of chemotherapy radi-
ation reproduce faster and take over the void made by
the weaker cells (Danchin, Binder, & Noria, 2011; Ta-
leb, 2013). In a 2011 paper (Danchin, Binder, & Noria,
2011), it was shown that proteins with flexible regions
that can undergo functional alteration of their side res-
idues or backbone implement the “tinkering that leads
to antifragility”, making them more resistant to unfold-
ing and misfolding than short proteins. In a 2014 article
(Kiviet et al., 2014), it was discovered that the inherent
stochasticity of cellular metabolism is a source of phe-
notypic heterogeneity. All this to say, once more: chaos
drives evolution.
	 On a larger scale: rather than being prone to break-
ing or to harm from wind, dandelions heavily rely on
the chaos of the wind as a dispersal vector for their
seeds to colonize their environment, a process called
anemochory; water lilies exploit water current for the
same purpose, through hydrochory (Seed dispersal,
n.d.). The chameleon makes outstanding use of the
rich variety of colours and textures of the environment
around it to blend in and protect itself; vines would not
benefit from photosynthesis if they could not exploit
the non-uniform and disorderly terrain to climb trees
and buildings. Chaos is seemingly used by all these spe-
cies for their own survival.
	 An excellent and interesting instance of antifragility
that is not related to biology is observed in the prop-
erties of non-Newtonian fluids. Roughly, non-Newto-
nian fluids experience a variable viscosity in response
to applied stress or force, and can harden on impact. We
can qualify these fluids as antifragile, as they literally
become more physically resistant than previously when
force is applied to them.
Examples of Antifragility in Human Beings
	 A familiar example of hormesis in humans is vacci-
nation, through which a pathogen or an antigen is in-
jected into the body. In the short run, the body suffers
an inflammatory response. In the long run, antifragility
is observed as an immune response is activated. This ul-
timately results in increased tolerance to foreign agents
such as infectious viral agents.
	 On a musculoskeletal level: physical exercise is a
good example of hormesis. Bones become denser when
episodic stress is applied to them. This is more for-
mally known as Wolff’s law: bone in a healthy per- 21
Source: Red Hat Developer Program Source: DNA Helix
son or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is
placed (Wolff’s law, n.d.). When used actively or stren-
uously, muscles become larger and stronger, and more
efficient and fatigue resistant. Exercise gains are based
on the overload principle: forcing a muscle to work hard
increases its strength and endurance. As muscles adapt
to greater demand, they must be overloaded to produce
further gains. But, depriving a human being of physical
exercise can lead to muscle atrophy and bone weakening
(Marieb & Hoehn, 2016). After all: no pain, no gain.
	 Moreover, exposure of the skin to limited amounts
of (otherwise harmful) UV rays from the sun triggers
an increase in melanin levels, which in turn further pro-
tects the skin from the sun, and affects the synthesis of
Vitamin D (Shoenfeld, Am-
ital & Shoenfeld, 2009); heat
exposure activates heat shock
proteins, which ensure correct
folding of other proteins, and
allow cells to resist the dam-
aging effects of heat (Binder,
2014).
	 Mental stress forces hu-
man beings to use their per-
haps most valuable organ: the
brain. Learning new skills, be-
ing exposed to unpredictable,
high-stress situations, novel
environments and challenges
trigger neuroplasticity by cre-
ating new neural connections,
as well as neurogenesis by
growing new brain cells (Land,
2017). Mental effort moves
us into higher gear, activating more vigorous and more
analytical brain machinery (Taleb, 2013). This ultimately
bolsters the brain for future stressors and protects against
neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alz-
heimer’s (Land, 2017, 7:19).
Implications of Antifragility and its Nuances
	 Most of the mechanisms that we described can be seen
as forms of overcompensation, a key feature of antifrag-
ile systems. Overcompensating systems are essentially in
overshooting mode, building extra capacity and strength
in anticipation for the possibility of a worse outcome,
when confronted with information of a possible hazard.
In contrast, undercompensation from the absence of a
stressor only harms a complex system: “It is said that the
best horses lose when they compete with slower ones,
and win against better rivals” (Taleb, 2012, p. 43). That is
how we explain homeostatic responses such as the ones
we previously described: biological life compensates for
what it does not have – or what it has too much of – and
becomes better. If it cannot properly compensate for it,
then it dies.
	 NNT draws from all this the “bold conjecture [that]
everything that has life in it is to some extent antifragile.”
(Taleb, 2012, p. 54). It seems that antifragility is a neces-
sary condition of living organisms. It is in fact due to an-
tifragility in the face of chaos that life on earth can evolve,
and become a better version of what it previously was.
Antifragility is an elaboration on Nietzsche’s (1889) elo-
quent quote, “That which does
not kill us makes us stronger”.
The antifragile is not unlike
the Hydra in Greek mytholo-
gy, which grows another two
heads when you cut off one off
– a much better version than
the merely robust Phoenix,
which only rises from the ash-
es after it dies (Taleb, 2013).
	 Yet, the biological is
typically both antifragile and
fragile, depending on the
source and range of variation
(Taleb, 2013). There are, in-
deed, limits to the antifragility
of biological entities: life is an-
tifragile, but only to a certain
extent. Lift too much weight,
and you will tear a muscle. Ex-
pose yourself to the sun for too long, and you will ex-
perience sunburn…or develop skin cancer. If it does not
make us stronger…it can kill us.
	 There is so much more to what NNT is trying to tell us
through this idea, and it is impossible to cover it all in one
article. Though the concept is not perfect and requires
further research and refinement, antifragility can teach
us a lot about how we can benefit from “the noise and the
haste” (Ehrmann, 1948) of life. When faced with a seem-
ingly unsurmountable situation or challenge, ask yourself
this: to what extent will you become a better version of
yourself when you overcome it? …It is no surprise that
many do better in Organic Chemistry II than in Organic
Chemistry I.
22
Source: Final Fantasy Wiki - Hydra
Catalyst Updates
Kaplan Auction
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Illustration Contest
Search for Illustrators
March Issue Submissions
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Artificial Intelligence
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REFERENCES CONT’D
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The Catalyst January Edition

  • 1.
  • 2. January Contents 4 5 7 10 6 8 11 12 13 14 Organoids Reproducing the development of a human brain in the laboratory Artificial Intelligence Are we ready for a realistic dream? Revealing an ancient Egyptian chamber using cosmic rays: how modern tech- nology can help us understand our past Egyptian Chamber Jane Cooke Wright Breaking scientific barriers and societal glass ceilings Food Science An acquired taste: the complex fer- mentation process behind hákarl, Ice- land’s notoriously pungent dish Dear Darwin Water Consumption Water consump- tion through human activites and loss of water in salt lakes Autism A potential treatment for autism spec- trum disorder Everything Is Not What It Seems To Be Science in 2017 Breakthrough discoveries, inventions and research projects that took place throughout the year as determined by the Catalyst team of editors, translators and other executives 16 Migranes Worldwide innovations in medical technolo- gies
  • 3. 18 1917 Malaria Time to end the cycle: prospective bioengi- neering against malaria SISSOR The development of an ultra-ac- curate genome sequencing method Sleep Deprivation Effect of sleep deprivation on health 20 Antifragility Stressors, chaos and growth: the concept of antifragility The TEAM Illustrators Lina Liu, Saania Tariq, Naiema Zaman Editors Nabil Asraoui, Shobhitha Bala- subramaniam, Sanmeet Chahal, Alex Chen, Natalia Forero, Na- sim Haghandish, Navpreet Lan- ga, Ann Lee, Karan Mediratta, Michelle Vandeloo, Kelly Xu, Tanya Yeuchyk, Constance Yu Translators Mohamed Bachrouch, Setti Bel- houari, Shamei Benoît Leblanc, Jade Ashley Kaitlin Choo- Foo, Erik Jacques, Marie-Pier Millette, Sandrine Pageau, Youssef Saddiki, Hadjar Saidi, Nathaly Sbeiti, Mihaela Tudor- ache, Khaled El Tyby, Michelle Vandeloo Logisitics Coordinator Meaghan De Jesus Author Coordinators Anastasia Turner Constance You Authors Mohamed Bachrouch, Jasmine Bhatti, Sanmeet Chahal, An Duong, Sijyl Fasih, Colin Griffiths, Kenny Huyng, Erik Jacques, Michael Kalyn, Ar- lette Kasongo, Elsie Lebedev, Michael Leung, Hailey McTag- gart, Alixe Menard, Marie-Pier Milette, Sandrine Pageau, Saania Tariq, Alek Tirpan, Anastasia Turner, Khaled El Tyby, Kelly Xu Editor-in-Chief Sanmeet Chahal Rédactrice en chèf Setti Belhouari Production Manager Jasmine Bhatti Asst. Production Manager Elsie Lebedev Advisor Tanya Yeuchyk Media Manager Saania Tariq Website Manager Michael Leung
  • 4. The ancient philosophers defined man as being at the top of the tree of life; the most evolved species. Today, bi- ologists prefer to have a more holistic view with the tree being replaced by a bush of life, where all species are at the same level. However, philosophers were not entirely wrong in defining human beings as more advanced than other animal species, at least in terms of cognitive func- tions. In particular, it is in the cerebral cortex, the region of the brain specialized in higher cognitive functions (mem- ory, attention, consciousness, language and thought) that we observe the greatest differences (Gibbons, 2017). Yet, researchers are racking their brains to find out what makes us so different. First, we know that the ratio of the size of the brain to the body of hu- mans is greater than that of other animals (Gibbons, 2017). Moreover, the human cerebral cortex contains three times more cells than chimpanzees and this difference develops during the early stages of fetal development (Gibbons, 2017). Nevertheless, these structural details are not sufficient to ex- plain how, during development, our brain differs from that of other species. Obviously, one cannot take brain tissue samples from fetuses of endan- gered chimpanzees, and it would be unethical to do the same with human fetuses. So how can we explain how our genetic variations have led to the evolution of the human brain? Science has finally allowed us to find the answer to this question, which is brain growth in the laboratory. It is actually organoids, which are small tissue fragments, that grow in culture, similar to the embryonic brain. These organoids are usually grown from stem cells, which are themselves formed from human and primate white blood cells (Gibbons, 2017). The most interesting fact about organoids is that they allow researchers to observe growth for long periods of time (from weeks to 1 year), but especially to locate where and when species differences occur. Thus, we have ob- Organoids Reproducing the Development of a Human Brain in the Laboratory: We Are There Sandrine Pageau, 3rd Year BIM served that the organoids of large primates and humans grow remarkably similar. For starters, they form the same type of stem cells. Later on, both lead to progenitor cells, which in turn divide into neurons. Eventually, they will both organize themselves into 6 layers of brain tissue (Gib- bons, 2017). However, organoids have also allowed us to observe some interesting differences. Among other things, human progenitor cells require approximately 50% more time to position their chromosomes during the metaphase stage of mitosis during early development (Gibbons, 2017). This situation also contributes to a greater number of progen- itor cells that can be produced later in development. Thus, this may explain in part the largest proportion of cells observed in the human cerebral cortex, compared to the cerebral cortex of other animal species. At the level of synap- tic connections, an analysis by fMRI allowed us to make a rather interesting discovery. Indeed, the human brain forms connections across larger dis- tances in the cerebral cortex, while rodent neurons limit their connections to neighboring regions (Gibbons, 2017). These results have allowed researchers to formulate the hypothesis that during evolution, the human cerebral cor- tex expanded and reorganized to allocate more complex connections between regions. Moreover, this discovery of the proliferation of connections across the brain offers the possibility of explaining certain developmental disorders, such as autism, by connectivity problems at the level of specific circuits or regions of the brain (Gibbons, 2017). All in all, the use of more and more advanced laborato- ry techniques, such as the development of organoids from living tissue fragments, allows us to develop knowledge about aspects of human development that have never been seen before. Who knows, the day we can reproduce human life in the laboratory is perhaps closer than we think. 4 Source: Science & Vie
  • 5. Artificial Intelligence Are We Ready for a Realistic Dream? Kenny Huynh, 1st Year BIM As far back as the industrial revolution, mankind start- ed to see firsthand, the merit in automation and technol- ogy. Now, the world is rushing deeper into technological advancements, allowing the transformation of the future into reality much more rapidly. With rapid progression, regulation is necessary. How- ever, the point at which a balance between limiting regu- lations and effective actions is reached, can be difficult to identify (Rosenberg, 2017). One of the main reasons for this, are the ethical concerns regarding society’s prospects, which can be felt by every individual. Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is a prime ex- ample of an emerging technology with extreme hopes, and potential that would only appear in dreams or fantasy fic- tion. However, such a concept is on its way to making an appearance outside of the dream world. (Bossmann, 2016) AI is the acquiring of knowledge from developing com- puter systems, to the extent that they are able to imitate the actions of humans. From a comparison of computers to the neural network of a brain in the 1950’s, AI was then intro- duced - the idea of an electronic brain could be thought of as AI. In a population of individuals, AI can have both, a positive and negative connotation (Katz, 2017). From one perspective, AI is seen as a rapidly growing technology capable of pushing life and society forward, in an unprecedented way that will surely enhance soci- ety. Evolving in its development, similar to that of a living organism adapting and learning, AI will soon see a great spectrum of functions. In the 1950’s an AI program was developed to play at a professional level of checkers, and has since continued to gain thought processing abilities. Such abilities are demonstrated throughout history, to the extent that in 2016, an AI program beat a professional GO player. The applications, however, are much more exten- sive than the realm of board games. Instead, the board game platform simply showcases AI’s ability to learn and compute as a first step in its evolution (Katz, 2017). Future aspirations for AI include the ability to embark on space missions, or in other words, replace the jobs of humans in society. This is a pivotal concern of the introduction of AI (Bossmann, 2016). While the human population fluctuates over time, old- er individuals tend to leave the workforce and retire, while new, young individuals provide a replacement. However, with AI, the introduction of robots into the population provides an alternative for the contemporary labour force. There are a number of key points in this. Robots would be able to produce more efficient, and consistent results as automatic and programmable beings (Bossmann, 2016). Presenting flexibility and choice, alongside other factors such as a lack of difficult social/psychological relationships amongst employees, from a business owner's presepective, AI-powered robots appear to be the better investment to make. However, the current state of AI, due to its lack of sub- stantial and convincing empirical testing, poses some risks. Similar to the rise of a new drug, or new gene editing tech- nology such as CRISPR or PGD, there is no doubt that it must undergo testing before release for public use (Rosen- berg, 2017). In the case of AI, it can be implemented ac- cors the globe. Should there be detrimental errors, it would quite literally be an international hit. Ultimately, as an increasing amount of individuals may become replaced by these robots, as the job markets would experience great changes, leading to a sharp rise in un- employment. At the same time, it is argued that the intro- duction of AI will bring in new jobs for the replaced ones. Nevertheless, the usual routine life of a well-established in- dividual may not be so secure anymore. (Bossmann, 2016) As education typically comes as the preliminary step to attaining a job, changes in a job market bring about a question of necessary amendments to the education sys- tem (Rosenberg, 2017). With the possibility of many un- employed, a potential solution for the government would be to provide society with greater access to education, such as free online modules, in order to motivate and propel them to learn. This could provide the unemployed with an opportunity for self-stimulated reintegration. This would apply in particular for labour-intensive jobs, which auto- mation would easily replace (Bossmann, 2016). Evidently, there are a number of other concerns be- yond the loss of jobs (Bossmann, 2016). Inequality would be very relevant in the initial release of AI due to the high demand and scarce supply. The wealthy would be capable of gaining access, and in a world of competing businesses, 5 Source: Lina Liu, 3rd Year BIM
  • 6. F O O D S C I E N C E One of the Icelandic traditions that best represents both the innovation and the unyielding strength of the Vikings and their descendants is celebrating fermented shark meat as its national dish. Known to locals as hákarl, cured Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is deeply embedded in the cultural history of Iceland and has garnered the attention of adventurous tourists in re- cent years. Its fame, however, is not derived solely from the distinctive taste and scent of the product, which is ad- mittedly not for people with weak stomachs. A character- istic of the Greenland shark that is often most shocking to visitors of the Nordic country, and therefore of most interest to scientists, is its potential to be fatally poisonous to consumers before undergoing the Icelandic method of preservation. The shark’s toxicity may be attributed to the high levels of Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) found throughout its body. Sharks rely on high concentrations of urea and TMAO to act as osmotic agents, allowing them to main- tain a balance between their internal osmotic pressure and the osmotic pressure of the external marine environment (Velasquez, Ramezani, Manal, & Raj, 2016). While TMAO benefits the health of the shark by reversing the protein destabilization caused by urea, it will harm the consum- er when eaten fresh. This is because TMAO breaks down into trimethylamine (TMA) during digestion, creating gastrointestinal and neurological side effects comparable to acute drunkenness (Velasquez et al., 2016). The 2015 article, "Fermented and ripened fish products in the northern European countries" written by Torstein Skåra, Lars Axelsson, Gudmundur Stefánsson, Bo Ek- strand and Helge Hagen pays particular attention to the fermenting process at a technical level. According to tra- dition, the shark was chopped into pieces and rinsed with seawater before being buried in gravel pits and covered with stones, seaweed, and turf. As these pits were placed close to the sea, the shark meat would regularly be flood- ed by seawater during high tide. The modern fermenta- tion process requires the pieces of shark to be placed out- doors in special lidded containers that allow any liquid to drain through the holes in its base. After 3 to 6 weeks have passed and fermentation is complete, the shark is cut into even smaller pieces, which are rinsed once more and allowed to dry in a hjallar drying shed for several weeks to months. Avid consumers of hákarl have bacteria to thank for their non-toxic dining experiences. Studies have shown that during the fermentation process, there is an increase in number of the bacteria that breakdown TMAO into TMA. These bacteria contain bacterial ureases that ca- talyse the conversion of urea into ammonia (Skåra et al., 2015). Throughout the drying period, the levels of bacte- ria (which are composed mainly of the Moraxella/Acine- tobacter and Lactobacillus groups), ammonia, and TMA decrease. This results in a soft, white, ammonia-scented final product that, although non-toxic, tastes strongly of fish (Skåra et al., 2015). In an age of refrigeration and chemical preservatives, hákarl is no longer a necessity in order to survive the long Icelandic winters. Instead, it has become a traditional del- icacy served during Thorri, an annual festival that lasts from late January to mid February (Skåra et al., 2015). Hailey McTaggart, 2nd Year BPS An Acquired Taste: The Complex Fermentation Process Behind Hákarl, Iceland’s Notoriously Pungent Dish way if AI were programmed by war criminals. This is a grey area for AI, due to its potential as a weapon capable of extraordinary destruc- tion. Such a scenario could lead to the intro- duction of legislation equating AI with the responsibilities of humans (Bossmann, 2016). In spite of the many convoluted challeng- es that AI faces in its integration into society, the world is poised to take on this next step in global advancement. Nonetheless, the chal- lenge should be embraced with great responsi- bility. the attainment of AI could make or break the existence of a smaller business that have limited or no access to AI resources. The discrepancy in productivity is susceptible to being drastically widened. Another significant consideration is the change in day-to-day interactions with AI that would have long term effects on our interaction with others (Katz, 2017). Individuals of society may become further isolated than today. With this, the interaction of AI with humans could also worsen in quite a different, yet direct, 6 Source: Lina Liu, 3rd Year BIM
  • 7. Jane Cooke Wright Alixe Menard, 2nd Year BIM Have you ever dreamed of finding a cure for cancer? Finally finding a match against the human body’s deadli- est killer? I think as scientists, we all have, and thanks to Jane Cooke Wright, we are now one step closer to finding it. As a researcher, Jane broke many barriers, not only for women in the medical and scientific fields, but especially for women of color. Women have to work hard to be seen as valuable in these competitive fields, but women of color have to work even harder. Jane was born from a medical dynasty, a kind of real-life Meredith Grey. Her father stud- ied at Harvard Medical School and later became one of the first black surgeons in the United States. He also founded the Cancer Research Foundation at the Harlem Hospital in New York, back when cancer was thought to be a sur- gical pursuit (Watts, 2013). Jane later went on to lead the foundation in her father’s place. She herself, studied at the New York Medical College and pursued research in on- cology, a field of study, at that time, widely dominated by white men. Jane broke many glass ceilings on her path to devel- oping medicine’s glass slipper: chemotherapy. She and her father both worked intensely on the development of this novel treatment, at the time a last resort method for patients suffering from cancer. Together, they intro- duced nitrogen-mustard as a chemotherapeutic agent and, at last, patients with sarcoma, leukemia, lymphoma, and more, were finally in remission (Elliott, n. d.). I call that a small step for woman, a big step for womankind! In 1967, Jane became a professor of surgery and head of the Cancer Chemotherapy Department where she first studied, at the New York Medical College. She was soon named the highest ranked African American woman in a medical institution of the United States (Rogers, n. d.). She also tested folic acid antagonists as a cancer therapy. Folic acid antagonists forbid DNA and RNA strand for- mation by preventing the synthesis of essential amino ac- ids, the building blocks of proteins which are at the base of these strands. This new therapy was highly effective in hindering the reproduction of cancer cells, but like che- motherapy treatments today, it also ceased the formation of non-problematic cells (Elliott, n. d.). This treatment, however, made great changes in the study of malignant tumors present in the case of melanoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and more. In our modern day, we still use methotrexate, one of Jane’s folic acid antagonists, as a chemotherapy drug against osteosarcoma, lung cancer, leukemia, and many more types of cancer. Following her passing in 2013, Jane left behind many legacies and most importantly, hope. Thanks to Jane, medical professionals learned to treat the human body’s deadliest killer and now it is up to us to finally put an end to it. Jane has truly exercised the full potential encapsulated between the walls of her skull but it’s a shame that of all 579 Nobel prizes awarded to 911 people, only 18 women were awarded in science, 1 of whom was a woman of col- or, and none of whom were Jane Cooke Wright (Nobel Prize, n. d.). This only goes to show how much women of colour can work only to achieve a fraction of what other demographics do. Despite her pioneering work in chemo- therapy, Jane still only received a tiny percentage of the recognition that she merited. 7 Source: The Lancet
  • 8. Erik Jacques, 3rd Year APA The Great Pyramid and Its History The Great Pyramid of Giza is the last of the ancient Sev- en Wonders of the World, as mentioned by Joshua Mark, a free-lance writer and director of the Ancient History En- cyclopedia (2016). He also states that it was built by king Khufu (also know as Cheops) of the 4th Dynasty from 2589 to 2566 BCE and retained the title of “the tallest structure made by man” for over 3,000 years; it is arguably one of the most famous buildings in history. Being made with over 2 million blocks of stone of immense size and weight, the logistics of raising and positioning each of them “seems an impossibility by modern standards” (Mark, 2016, para 1). It is safe to say that the Great Pyramid and its relation to mankind’s history has ever since become a subject of great interest to archeologists, historians, geologists, en- gineers, and basically anyone who owns a book involving Egyptians. So far, experts believe that it was constructed as a tomb for the king and its construction required a great amount of skill and technology; however, we still do not know how it was built (Mark, 2016). Nevertheless, its study has given us more and more clues about the history of the era and the engineering/architectural techniques that were utilized. The structure was first excavated using modern tech- niques in 1880 CE by Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie, a British archeologist (Mark, 2016). Following that, there have been countless excavations and projects to study the great monument. Because of that work, there are 3 known chambers inside (Marchant, 2017): 1. The King’s Chamber 2. The Queen’s Chamber 3. The Grand Gallery that connects the two burial sites Since their discovery in the 9th century AD, people have won- dered if there were anymore hidden chambers to be found but nothing had been re- vealed un- til now. A 2015 study by physicist Kunihiro Morishima and his colleagues has recently been published in Nature and describes the discovery of an unexpected void above the Grand Gallery, which already has experts coming up with theories as to the exact nature of the chamber. What is most notable about this study (besides the discovery of the void) is the non-invasive procedure used to learn of its ex- istence. Cosmic Ray Topography Cosmic rays are produced from the sun, supernovae, black holes, and active galactic nuclei and consist of pro- tons, electrons, and nuclei (Bressler et al., 2017). When these rays meet the Earth’s atmosphere, they inter- act with the nuclei in the atmosphere to pro- duce muons, which are subatomic particles part of the Standard Model of particle physics (Kamal, 2014). These muons rain down and pass through the Earth’s surface at approxi- mately 10,000 muons/ m2 /min (Bressler et al., 2017). The further down t h e s e parti- 8 Revealing an ancient Egyptian chamber using cosmic rays: how modern technology can help us understand our past.
  • 9. Figure 1: The internal mechanisms of a scintillation detector. 9 Source: Live Science Source: WikiMedia cles travel through solid matter, the more they will be absorbed. Thus, the particle flux decreases exponentially with depth, as determined by Bressler et al. (2017). There- fore, researchers have realized that these signal variations in muon flux can be used for topographical studies, which is the study of the arrangement of the physical features of an area (Morishima et al., 2017). Sensitive muon detec- tors have since been developed by using scintillators that can convert the muon ionization energy losses into elec- trical pulses, which are processed and sent to a computer (Bressler et al., 2017). Therefore, by placing these detectors inside the various chambers of the pyramid, Dr. Morishi- ma and his colleagues were able to create a “muon map” and realized that more particles where hitting the detec- tor while it was under the Grand Gallery. This led them to deduce (after peer-reviewing the data) that there was a surprisingly large space above said gallery that had not been discovered yet. Theories About the Chamber As previously stated, experts are already coming up with theories about what the chamber could be. A great article by Jo Marchant in Nature news (2017) enumerates these theories from his interviews with experts from the field. For instance, Aidan Dodson, an Egyptologist at the University of Bristol, UK, who studies ancient Egyptian tombs says that the space could be a “relieving chamber” that reduces the amount of weight pressing on the Grand Gallery (Marchant, 2017). How- ever, Colin Reader, an independent geologist and engineer based in Liverpool, UK, believes “that the new chamber is too far from the Grand Gallery to serve this purpose” (Marchant, 2017, para 13) and that it could be another gallery leading to a higher chamber instead. Bob Brier, an Egyptologist at Long Island University in Brookville, New York, has a final theory that the chamber could be part of a counterweight system (Marchant, 2017). Nevertheless, further investigation is warranted. Conclusion and Future Directions This study is a wonderful example of how modern technology can be used to push us and to challenge our understanding. If history and science are to teach us any- thing, it is that our knowledge is never certain or absolute. I personally find it exciting to know that we will never fin- ish learning and that our perception can always be tested. For decades, we believed we had discovered all the infor- mation we could have from the Great Pyramid of Giza but by using technology that was firstly developed for particle physics, researchers finally have an exciting new lead that could lead to more discoveries and potentially, a better understanding of the pyramid’s conception and his- tory. As for future directions, experts are now looking forward to using cosmic ray tomog- raphy in other pyramids that were pre- viously thought to be “saturated” of information (Marchant, 2017). Who knows what they will find. I, for one, am ex- cited to find out.
  • 10. Dear #bioenthusiast, Your question just happens to be in my field of study! In- deed, humans are the only mammals to choke on their food, and this is primarily linked with our capacity for sophisticated speech (vowel and consonant articulation). We are the only mammals whose pharynx, a part of the throat that is posterior to the mouth and nasal cavity and anterior to the esophagus and trachea, is a common pathway for both food and air. Thus, the transmission of food into the esophagus is solely depen- dent on the proper closure of the epiglottis during the process of swallowing. Nonetheless, this morphological feature is ex- tremely necessary for speech – this space allows air to flow through a region called the larynx and produce very intricate sounds. The only drawback to this design is that we cannot speak and eat at the same time, or else we run the risk of chok- ing! The fact that human morphology allows sophisticated communication but simultaneously permits the possibility of death by choking is what I like to call an evolutionary com- promise – it is unique to our species and gives us differential success in survival and reproduction (Chapleau, 2017). Great Question! Darwin Dear Anonymous, Consonance is defined as the presence of harmonized sound while dissonance is defined as the absence of harmo- nized sound (Heimiller, 2002). The scientific explanation for this phenomenon lies in the interactions of the sound waves themselves. In particular, consonance occurs when two fre- quencies coincide with each other, or match up relative to one another, at regular intervals (The Physics Classroom, 1996). For instance, the relationship between C and G is a perfect fifth interval – it just so happens that these two sound waves interact in a ratio of 3:2. In other words, every third peak in the sound wave for C aligns exactly with every second peak in the sound wave for G. Such congruence in the frequency ratios is what we call harmony. Sound frequencies in intervals that sound dissonant, such as a diminished 7th, do not possess such a defined relationship. Instead these frequencies do not line up with each other at regular intervals and therefore lack harmony. Hope this helps! Keep up the inquiry! Darwin Dear Darwin, My professor ended class on the note that humans are the only mammals to choke on their food. I absolute- ly cannot wait until next week for an explanation, so I thought I would ask you. My excitement is palpable! ~ #bioenthusiast DEAR DARWINSijyl Fasih, 1st Year BIM Dear Darwin, As a music student I am fascinated by why some in- tervals sound pleasant and why others don’t. Is there a scientific explanation as to why some sounds are conso- nant and others are dissonant? ~ Anonymous 10 Source: Naiema Zaman, 4th Year BCH Source: Lina Liu, 3rd Year BIM Source: Lina Liu, 3rd Year BIM
  • 11. Water Consumption Water is the essential element of life, not just for humans, but for all plants and animals. Through modern activity, hu- man beings have created needs that consume large quantities of water. The to- tal per capita water consumption is 151 liters per year (World Commission on Water for the 21st Century, 1999). The high vulnerability of surface waters to acidified fallout, either by acid rain or by human activity, directly or indi- rectly affects the loss of potable water in lakes. However, it should be noted that the quantity of water varies on different time scales: • Seasonally: with alternating seasons. • Inter-annually: water resources vary depending on the annual climate. They can be abundant or scarce. • Through centuries: due to various natural or anthropic factors, affect the availability of water. • Through millennials: due to climate change modifying the water cycle. The production of energy through the operation of dams, among other forms of energy harvesting, requires the vaporization of water with the release of some pollutants. In addition, the production of purified drinking water releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide (Baxter & Glaude, 1980). All these activities contribute to global warming which increases the water vaporization and leads to losses of water in lakes. The natural greenhouse effect has a significant impact on the planet temperature – without it the temperature of the planet would be 15 °C preventing the presence of liquid in some streams (Bates, Kundzewicz, Wu, & Palutikof, 2008). Thus, the use of water by humans contributes to the vaporization of water in both lakes and rivers, with differing consequences including water acidification and climate change. However, the problem of water management on a global scale does not take into account the variability of the availability of water. Protecting water is there- fore a necessity for future generations in need of good management in order to conserve water and regenerate it after use (Ansted, 1871). Arlette Kasongo, 2nd Year BIO THROUGH HUMAN ACTIVITIES AND LOSS OF WATER IN SALT LAKES 11 Image Source: PPT Hintergrund
  • 12. so they are used as a model for the human MEF2C haplo- insufficiency form of ASD. These similarities in behavioural deficits include impaired spatial learning, impaired mem- ory functions, abnormal paw-clasping behaviours, and re- petitive head-dipping. Compared to the control group, the Mef2c+/- mice presented a significantly decreased number of neurons in the hippocampus and frontal cortex, impaired adult neurogenesis, decreased dendritic complexity, and a decreased inhibitory and increased excitatory synaptic neu- rotransmission – called E/I imbalance. Taken together, these features provide evidence that Mef2c+/- mice represent a model for studying ASD pathophysiology. NITROSYNAPSIN The researchers demonstrated that E/I imbalance proba- bly plays a role in the pathogenesis of MCHS, leading them towards the development of a pharmacological treatment of ASD. Memantine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate-type glutamate receptor (NMDAR) antagonist improves hippocampal E/I imbalance in experimental models (Xia et al., 2010). Using this knowledge, Sultan et al. synthetized an improved series of drugs that act both as a NMDAR open-channel blocker and redox modulator that they called NitroSynapsin. They chose this name because of this drug’s ability to restore synaptic number and function. NitroSynapsin has been ap- proved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These experiments demonstrated this drug’s ability to restore E/I imbalance, resulting in multiple improvements in ASD/ MCHS-like behavioral deficits in Mef2c+/- mice. These improvements include a normalized memory function, a correction of abnormal repetitive head dipping, and an im- provement in avoidant social behavior shown by exhibiting no preference between spending time in an empty cham- ber or a chamber with a stranger mouse. Taken together, these results demonstrate that NitroSynapsin treatment in Mef2c+/- mice improves cognitive deficits, repetitive behav- ior, and impaired social interactions. But how does this drug work? Its capacity to inhibit hyperfunctioning extra synaptic NMDARs is probably the mechanism responsible for regrowth of functional synapses that were compromised, inducing a correction of E/I imbal- ance in Mef2c+/- mice (Talantova et al., 2013). One expla- nation for this effect is that NitroSynapsin may indirectly increase excitatory input onto malfunctional inhibitory neurons in Mef2c+/- mice by protecting their synapses. This may result in an enhancement of their activity, compensat- ing for the E/I imbalance (Wang et al., 2006). A Potential Treatment for Autism Spectrum Disorder AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly heritable developmental disorder that has a wide range of manifes- tations. This disorder is diagnosed from symptoms such as early-emerging social impairments, communicational im- pairments, and repetitive patterns of behaviours and inter- ests (Frith & Happé, 2005). Currently, no specific treatment for ASD exists. Many children with ASDs are treated with medication, but most treatments have little to no evidence that support their benefits. Furthermore, these medical treatments are mostly used to treat related symptoms of ASD and not the disorder itself. Additionally, no consensus exists in favor of a specific intervention strategy (McPheeters et al., 2011). Recently, a spectacular advancement in this field has been made possible by the discovery of a transcription fac- tor involved in the pathogenesis of ASD: Myocyte enhancer factor 2 C (Parikshak et al., 2013). MEF2C TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR Myocyte enhancer factor 2 C (MEF2C) is a transcription factor linked to neuronal differentiation, synaptic formation and neuronal survival in the brain. MEF2C has been associ- ated with autism spectrum disorder. Multiple MEF2C target genes have been linked to autism-related genes in humans. MEF2C haploinsufficiency has been identified as the cause of symptoms such as intellectual disability, poor reciprocal behavior, lack of speech, stereotyped and repetitive behav- ior, and epilepsy (Cardoso et al., 2009), all grouped under the term of MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome (MCHS) (Paciorkowski et al., 2013). Haploinsufficiency refers to a situation where the total level of a protein produced by the cell is about half the normal level and is not sufficient to permit the cell to function normally (Medical Definition of Haploinsufficiency, n.d.). There is still a lot of work to be done to fully understand the molecular mechanisms under- lying MEF2C haploinsufficiency syndrome. What we know so far is that this syndrome leads to abnormal brain devel- opment, an imbalance in the ratio of excitatory to inhibitory neurotransmission (E/I), and neurobehavioral dysfunction. In 2017, Sultan et al. investigated the possibility of treating ASD/MCHS-like behavioral phenotypes pharmacologically using a mouse model of human autism. THE MOUSE MODELS USED The mice used in experiments by Sultan et al. are Mef2c+/-. These mice demonstrate behavioural deficits that are very similar to human patients with ASD/MCHS, Marie-Pier Milette, 3rd Year PSY 12
  • 13. EVERYTHING IS NOT WHAT IT SEEMS TO BE I always thought the world was a solid place. Ob- jects existed and I was aware of them. If a snowball hits you in the face, it hurts. The experience of life teaches that things are there and they get in your way. This was what I thought chemistry, physics and bi- ology was about: the study of an objective reality. But now that I am a first-year biochemistry stu- dent, granted longer in the tooth than most first-year students, the idea of an objective reality is becoming confusing. It’s not that what I am writing about is in the syllabus, but the syllabus has got me thinking. It's almost as though the Plato-Aristotle argu- ment has never been resolved (Chapleau, 2017). Plato thought that imagination created the objects we saw around us whereas Aristotle taught that our percep- tion shapes the objects we see (Buckingham et al., 2011). Democritus, another ancient Greek philoso- pher, taught that atoms were indivisible and that ev- erything was made up of such tiny things. Newton thought that all matter was solid. Quantum theory gives us the idea that matter has both mass and a wave form. Only when you are look- ing at an elementary particle does it presume a fixed state. It takes an observer. Biocentrism takes the revolution a little further. Nothing exists without an observer (Lanza and Ber- man, 2010). Not just that the measurement is depen- dent on the observer, but that the item being observed does not exist without an observer. Moreover, that ob- server has to have a conscience to be able to observe. Without consciousness there is no observer, without Colin Griffiths, 1st Year BCH 13 Image Source: School Chalao an observer, nothing exists. I see this as an attempt to rationalize quantum mechanics with macro physics. At the quantum lev- el all is probability. There is a finite probability that an electron will be at one instant in one position ver- sus another. There is a finite probability of particles springing into existence out of nothing (Quantum Fluctuations, n.d.). There is a finite probability, admit- tedly infinitesimal, of a snowball vanishing before it hits you. In some sense what happens at the micro and nano level of existence, influences everything else, which is the idea of reductionism. Then comes the idea of emergent function; function that is nevertheless de- termined by functionality at an underlying level. Thus, the behaviour of DNA in a cell determines the externally observed behaviour and function of the cell of a given organ, which in turn determines the perfor- mance of an organism. You cannot describe the be- haviour of an individual directly in terms of his or her DNA, but there is a deep relationship. But the idea that without an observer nothing exists, I find hard to accept (Wadhawan and Kamal, 2009). In my experience, albeit governed by my own observations and consciousness, there is a physical solid reality, independent of my existence. If a tree falls in a forest on a distant planet, there may be no one to hear it, but it still causes a disturbance in its environment. I like the old physics.
  • 14. SCIENce JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE 14 A new telomere trimming protein The length of a telomere - the repetitive nucleotide sequence that protects the ends of chromosomes from degradation - must be care- fully regulated. Excessively long telomeres can lead to the development of cancer, and aging is in part due to the progressive shortening telo- meres (Zlotorynski, 2017). The discovery of a new zinc finger-based telomere binding protein known as TZAP is a landmark achievement in understanding the dynamics of telomere length homeostasis (Li, 2017). The group who report- ed the discovery, led by Julia Li, compared two HeLa cell clones, one with a short telomere length (~5 kb) and the other with a larger telo- mere length (~20 kb) (Li, 2017). They discov- ered that TZAP binds to and mediates “telomere trimming” thereby regulating and stopping the occurrence of abnormally long telomeres. The discovery could prove to be the impetus in a new wave of research in cancer treatment and geron- tology. Seven planet system In February of 2017, it was announced that NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope had discovered a seven-planet system circling a solitary star called TRAPPIST-1. The TRAP- PIST-1 planetary system is said to be in the habitable zone as it is hypothesized that some of the planets may have liquid water on their surface. While this system is still 235 trillion miles (40 light years) away and somewhere between 5.4-9.8 billion years old, it nonethe- less is an exciting discovery due the system’s possibility to be a host to life (Northon, 2017). Earliest lifeforms might be found in Canada This March, a team of researchers led by Matthew Dodd published a paper claiming the discovery of the oldest fossilized micro-organ- isms (Ghosh, 2017). These microorganisms are at least 3.77 billion years old, but could be up to 4.28 billion years old (Zimmer, 2017). The fos- sils, discovered in the Nuvvuagittuq rocks off the coast of Hudson’s Bay, contained several indica- tors of their advanced age, including a tubular structure similar to those formed by modern bacteria living around hydrothermal vents and apatite a compound that can form from the phosphorous released by dying organisms (Zim- mer, 2017). The team argued that these clues, among others, validate their claim of having found the oldest fossils on Earth; however, some experts refute these conclusions, meaning it may take many years before the scientific community reaches a consensus on this “discovery”. Biobags could prevent premature child death As the second leading cause of child death, premature birth has been the focus of many researchers, some of whom have attempted to create an external placenta and umbilical cord to support the growth and reduce the mortality rate of prema- ture infants (Blencowe, 2012). Success was achieved this past April when scientists at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Re- search Institute produced a functional de- vice which mimics a uterus. As the ‘Biobag,’ along with an artificial circulatory system, provided fluid and respiratory stability, re- searchers provided the lamb infants with nutritional support, allowing eight lambs to survive in an extrauterine envi- ronment for a significant amount of time. Not only did these lambs survive in this artificial womb, but the researchers noted body, brain and myelin growth, as well as maturation of the lungs during this time (Partridge et al., 2017). Cancer drug targets DNA directly The name pembrolizumab may not mean anything to you, but in May this year, it provided hope for countless cancer patients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ap- proved a cancer drug that targets DNA rath- er than organ location, a first of its kind. In 2015, it was discovered that tumours in co- lon cancer patients given this drug reduced in size when patients were administered the drug (Le et al., 2015). Patients without the required mismatch repair deficiency did not respond to the treatment. This helped with characterization and classification, as now it is known that tumors arising in different or- gans may have more in common than those in the same place (Le et al., 2017). Pharma- ceutical company Merck has revolutionized the playing field by turning this research into a clinical treatment. Revisiting early human evolution This June, anthropologists, led by Jean-Jacques Hublin, were in Morocco when they found ancient bones from humans who lived about 300,000 to 350,000 years ago (Hublin et al., 2017). Previously, the earliest fossil attributed to humans had come from Eastern Africa and was 195,000 years old (McDougall, Brown, & Fleagle, 2008). Richter and colleagues used thermolumi- nescence dating to determine that these new artifacts were from 315 ± 34 thousand years ago. This ev- idence shows that the evolution- ary processes behind the emer- gence of H. sapiens involved the whole African continent. Background Image Source: NASA Source: Science Alert Source: Maps of the World Source: Big Think Source: Financial Times Source: New Scientist Sanmeet Chahal, M. Sc. Physics Sanmeet Chahal, M. Sc. Physics Saania Tariq, 4th year BIM Saania Tariq, 4th year BIM Jasmine Bhatti, 2nd year BIM Michael Leung, M. Sc. Neuroscience
  • 15. IN 2017 JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER The next mass extinction is underway Mass extinctions are characterized by a significant decrease in the biodiver- sity of multicellular life forms on a glob- al scale. In July 2017, a study was pub- lished reporting that our Earth’s sixth mass extinction is currently underway. This event, termed “biological annihila- tion” by the team of Stanford University researchers, involves declines in both population size and range in the 27600 vertebrate species analyzed. Anthropo- genic causes of species extinction must be addressed in order to explain the cas- cading consequences of this event not only on the ecosystems involved, but on the totality of the biosphere (Ceballos, 2017). The Earth’s last mass extinction occurred at the end of the Cretaceous period, approximately 66 million years ago (Renne, 2013). Neutron star merger captured by telescopes Neutron star mergers are unique in that they produce both gravitational and electromagnetic waves. Although previous collisions have been observed on gravitational sensors, this was the first event in which astronomers de- tected the powerful light waves given off by colliding stars (LIGO Scientific Collaboration and Virgo Collaboration, 2017). As one of the most studied astro- nomical events to date, many theories and mysteries had the opportunity to be tested and resolved by this event, such as the theory that neutron star merg- ers are the source of gamma ray bursts, and that the resulting kilonovas pro- duced by these collisions are the source of most of the naturally-oc- curring heavier elements on the periodic table (Miller, 2017). A novel quantum computing design A quantum computer (QC) offers enormous potential to revolutionize the fields of healthcare, defence, finance, and chemistry to name a few (Da Silva, 2017). The power of QCs stems crucially from quantum bits, or qubits, consist- ing of “entangled” particles rather than regular computer bits. Scientists at the University of New South Wales have now proposed a new qubit structure and production de- sign which promises cheap, large-scale quantum chip man- ufacturing. Traditionally, qubits have defined themselves using the spin of an electron.; their breakthrough was to define the qubit using the spin of both the electron and the nucleus (Da Silva, 2017). In this qubit, a ‘0’ state is defined when the electron spin is down and the nuclear spin is up, and vice-versa for the ‘1’ state (Da Silva, 2017). The qubit is altered by moving the electron away from the nucleus, which induces an electric dipole that has an interaction length of about 1 μm. This allows qubits to be placed much farther apart than previously possible, significantly reduc- ing manufacturing difficulty and cost. First example of in-patient DNA editing While the general consensus remains that designer babies are unethical, people tend to have a more favorable view of gene editing aimed at treating or preventing dis- ease. This November, scientists tried edit- ing a gene inside the body for the first time to change a patient’s DNA. Brian Madeux of California was diagnosed with a metabolic disease called Hunter syndrome, an inher- ited genetic disorder caused by a missing or malfunctioning enzyme (The Associat- ed Press, 2017). Instead of using the wide- ly-known gene editing tool Crispr-Cas9, this procedure used zinc finger nucleases that cut a targeted piece of DNA and a virus that delivered billions of copies of correct DNA (Zhang, 2017). The long-term success of the procedure is yet to be seen. Making bacteria more vulnerable to anti- biotics Today, there are fewer new antibiotics be- ing developed, and existing antibiotics (AB) face the problems of bacterial resistance, de- velopment of genetic mutations protecting against ABs, and tolerance (when bacteria enter a different physiological state, protect- ing them against the AB) (Trafton, 2017). Thus, improving the effectiveness of exist- ing ABs is an important goal. Researchers at MIT have discovered a method to boost the efficacy of quinolones, a type of AB which in- terferes with topoisomerase, the enzyme in- volved in DNA transcription (Trafton, 2017). They demonstrated that by including both a sugar molecule and a terminal electron ac- ceptor in the AB, they could combat several different bacterial species. Terminal electron acceptors, such as the O2 molecule used at the end of cellular respiration, play an important metabolic role and these findings demonstrate that the metabolic state of the target organism significantly influences the impact of the AB. Molecular mechanisms of circadian rhythm On October 2nd 2017, the recipients for the year’s No- bel Prize in Physiology and Medicine were announced. The laureates were Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Mi- chael W. Young for their work dealing with the discovery of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm. Although it has been known for years that living organisms are able to adapt to changes in their environment, the ex- act mechanisms of how our bodies anticipate and adapt to the changes throughout the day was a mystery. Using the fruit fly as a model, the researchers discovered a self-sus- taining inhibitory loop, wherein the accumulation of the protein period (PER) can block the period gene that en- codes it – oscillating over a 24 cycle (2017 Nobel Prize, 2017). They were able to further build on this with the discovery of the time gene and its associated protein (TIM) that allows PER to en- ter the nucleus, the doubletime gene and protein (DBT) which allows the delay in PER accumula- tion, and later made a discovery of some of the positive transcription factors involved in the sys- tem (2017 Nobel Prize, 2017). 15 Source: iStock Source: Genetics.org Source: New Scientist Source: Wired Source: Consult QD Sanmeet Chahal, M. Sc. Physics Sanmeet Chahal, M. Sc. Physics Jasmine Bhatti, 2nd year BIM Anastasia Turner, 3rd year BIM Kelly Xu, M. Sc. Neuroscience Elsie Lebedev, 4th year BIO
  • 16. M I G R A I N E S Worldwide Innovations in Medical Technologies Tired of Migraines? Check this out. Would you believe that migraines are more prevalent than diabetes, epilepsy, and asthma combined (Facts and Figures, n.d.)? Behind ten- sion-type headaches and dental caries, migraines are the third most common disease in the world with an estimated global prevalence of 14.7% (Steiner, 2013). The Migraine Research Founda- tion reports that chronic migraines affect as much as 2% of the world population (Migraine Facts, 2017). It is estimated that more than 75% of those suffering from migraines experience at least one attack monthly, and more than 50% experience se- vere disruptions of daily activities. The very origins of the term “migraine” date back to Ancient Greece as a derivation of the word “hemicrania”, meaning “half of the skull”. Later in history, migraines were treated with a surgical approach called trepanation. Trepana- tion involved boring holes through patients’ skulls in the hopes of releasing evil spirits which were deemed the main source of migraine-like pains (Collado-Vázquez, 2014). To date, more effective treatments have been developed, but migraines continue to be a serious issue for sufferers and are now recognized by the WHO, researchers, and cli- nicians internationally with accepted diagnostic criteria. It’s quite alarming to consider the fact that migraines remain undiagnosed and untreated in at least 50% of sufferers, and that an even greater number of patients fail to consult physicians for their migraine-related problems (Pavone et. al, 2007). The majority of migraine patients refer to self-medicative techniques with the help of over- the-counter, non-prescription drugs, and as a re- sult, continue to be affected daily. A study by King's College Hospital in the Unit- ed Kingdom, led by Dr. Peter Goadsby, recently tested a drug called erenumab which showed that it was effective in more than halving the number of migraine attacks for people with episodic mi- graines. Patients are considered to be suffering from episodic migraines if they have attacks up to 14 days every month. Patients with 15 or more attacks are considered to be chronic migraine sufferers. With the data reported in the New En- gland Journal of Medicine, erenumab’s success in the 6-month clinical trial represents an inno- vative step forward in the treatment of migraines (Goadsby et. al, 2017). Developed and partly funded by Novartis, ere- numab, is a fully human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor for the prevention of episodic migraines. Research in the last 10 years has pointed towards the activation of a neuropeptide, specifically calci- tonin gene-related peptide, as playing a significant role in the onset of migraines in patients. By inhib- iting this receptor, erenumab was effective in re- ducing the number of days patients suffered from migraines by 3.7 days for a 140 mg dosage and 3.2 days for a 70 mg dosage. Compared to the placebo group which only reported a reduction of 1.8 days over the 6 months, the clinical findings were quite encouraging (Goadsby et. al, 2017). After the conclusion of a Phase III clinical tri- al, it is clear that erenumab offers promise for the treatment of this otherwise poorly-understood condition. Future studies are needed on the dura- bility and the long-term safety of the drug; how- ever, it seems that an effective treatment for mi- graines is under way, so be sure to stay tuned. Alek Tirpan, 4th Year BMS 16 Source: VB Health Source: Vanquish Headache Relief
  • 17. Michael Kalyn, 4th Year BIO Time to End the Cycle: Prospective Bioengineering Against Malaria 17Source: Scientists Against Malaria Malaria, a driving factor behind the increased death toll world-wide, has a death rate of hundreds of thousands of people annually. This disease affects populations within approximately 103 different countries with over 1500 cas- es documented in the United States. However, 90% of the related deaths occur in sub-Saharan Africa. Children un- der the age of 5 are primarily affected by malaria. Pregnant women are also found to be highly susceptible to malaria which is due to the increase fluctuations in hormone levels and antibody immune responses (Shane, 2001). Malaria is caused by a single-celled parasite called Plas- modium that is transmitted through the Anopheles mosqui- toes, actively functioning as the infectious vector. These mosquitoes obtain the protozoan parasite by biting infect- ed humans. Plasmodium is solely found in female mosquitos due to the need of iron and other nutrients in the blood to nourish the development and production of eggs (“Do all mosquitoes transmit malaria?”, 2016). In the female mosquito, the parasite actively prolifer- ates within the midgut and eventually migrates to the sal- ivary glands where the parasite is transmitted to a human host following a bite. Once in the bloodstream, the mature parasites infect red blood cells and reproduce. The infected cells lyse releasing a burst of parasites into the bloodstream to continue the cycle (Malaria Biology, 2016). Despite previous medical attempts for vector and trans- mission control, there seems to be an increase in insecticide resistance growing within African mosquito populations (Hunt et al., 2011; Snow et al., 2005). The World Health Organization (WHO) has deemed this growing epidemic a high priority for investigation of alternative strategies to implement and overall awareness. A team of researchers led by Dr. George Dimopoulos at John Hopkins University are investigating the potential of genetically modifying (GM) the insect vector, Anopheles, to introduce parasitic resistance with the hopes of eventual implementation into the wild. They had primarily targeted the overexpression of anti-Plasmodium genes located in the midgut to increase the mosquito’s innate immune response. This ultimately resulted in fluctuating microbial popula- tions localized within this particular region of the mosqui- to. Thus, the altered midgut microbiota GM mosquitoes exhibit less of a habitable setting for parasitic proliferation. More importantly, the team of researchers observed signif- icant dominance of reproductive fitness compared to those in the wild. However, the primary question the researchers are faced with is whether the transmission of this modifica- tion would occur after the introduction into the wild (Pike et al., 2017). The team of researchers addressed the question by in- corporating mixed cage experimentation to determine the overall fitness and efficiency of resistance transmission to the next generation. They observed an approximate 90% resistant dominant population after 10 generations. This exceeded their proposed 75% efficiency hypothesis. Even skewing the GM to wild-type ratios of 10% and 90%, they viewed a resistant dominant population after just a few generations (Pike et al., 2017). They proposed that the al- tered mating preference is a result of scent change of mi- crobiota modified mosquitoes. These findings, although in a laboratory setting, are tremendously significant with potential for real world application. Despite the preliminary stages, the research exhibits a compelling platform on the forefront of the heritability and dominance of resistance, which is essential to successful- ly implement resistance in future generations of Anopheles mosquitoes.
  • 18. SISSORThe development of an ultra-accurate genome sequencing method Genome sequencing has many applications such as the potential for early cancer detection in individuals with a genetic predisposition or In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) pre-implantation genetic diagnostics. However, several as- pects of the current methods for genome sequencing pres- ent limitations in its application. In an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the authors highlight the necessity for more accu- rate sequencing techniques. For example, the use of poly- merases in DNA amplification presents a large source of error. As well, limited read lengths provided by the current methods contain relatively little haplotype information – that is, the conserved genes or single nucleotide polymor- phisms that tend to be inherited together. Finally, in order to reduce error rates, current methods of genome sequenc- ing compare consensus sequences between DNA single strands obtained from several cells which still carries over an error rate of 2 000 in 100 million base pairs (Chu et al., 2017). A new technique developed by researchers at the University of California San Diego, named "Single-Strand- ed Sequencing using micrOfluidic Reactors" (SISSOR), has the potential to not only drastically reduce these error rates but to also allow for more accurate haplotyping of genomes by using just single cells. "Accurate sequencing of single cells will enable the identification of mutations that cause cancer and genetic disease. At the same time, precise haplotyping will allow for the genoytping of haplotypes, combinations of differ- ent genes or alleles as a group from either parent," explains senior author Kun Zhang, a professor of bioengineering at the Jacobs School of Engineering at UC San Diego (Sci- ence X, 2017). The new approach, SISSOR, involves isolation of DNA molecules from single cells. The DNA is then separated into single strands and randomly divided into 24 separate chambers where they can be amplified using multiple dis- placement amplification (MDA), a non-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based method. The DNA fragments are then processed into a bar-coded sequencing library and can be mapped onto a reference genome sequence (Cois- sac et al., 2016). In comparison to the current methods used, the ran- dom partitioning of the single stranded DNA into 24 sep- arate compartments allows each single strand from each homologous chromosome to be amplified and sequenced independently. Therefore, allelic sequences that are ob- served in multiple chambers can more confidently be matched up than allelic sequences observed in only one chamber. When phased complementary strands are then compared to reduce any errors, the resulting error rate is 1 in 100 million base pairs rather than 2 000 in 100 million bases (Chu et al., 2017). Since existing whole genomic sequencing techniques offer limited read lengths of DNA sequences, this makes it difficult to obtain long-range haplotype information. To remedy this, SISSOR creates megabase-sized fragments of DNA, allowing for longer read lengths. Novel computa- tional methods can then use the strand information for se- quencing and error correction (Chu et al., 2017). In terms of DNA sequencing, longer read lengths allow us to see more repeats in the DNA sequences, making it easier and more accurate to locate the DNA sequence on a reference map. As well, longer read lengths allow for more accurate detection of long-range haplotypes, which has many po- tential benefits. For example, in clinical applications, more haplotype information can result in better donor-patient organ transplant matching (Chu et al., 2017). The fact that SISSOR can so accurately amplify and se- quence a single cell's DNA means it can overcome many limitations faced by previous and current methods of ge- nome sequencing. For example, rare single cells or non-di- viding cells such as adult neurons can now be sequenced with high accuracy. As well, genome-editing for cell ther- apies can now be more meticulously verified before being introduced into a patient (Chu et al., 2017). "The tech- nology makes it possible to use a single cell of the 'edited' gene and return results that would be as accurate as if we sequenced many cells," says Wai Keung Chu, the article's first author (Science X, 2017). In order to develop this novel and more accurate meth- od of DNA sequencing, senior author Kun Zhang took ad- vantage of the interdisciplinary nature of the collaborative research project. "This innovation required expertise that goes beyond what normally exists in a single department, and this case is a testament to UC San Diego's growing interdisciplinary research culture that allowed us to pull in collaborators from other departments," explains Zhang (Science X, 2017). The development of SISSOR represents a step forward in fine-tuning the accuracy of genome sequencing, open- ing the door to more effective clinical and research appli- cations. An Duong, 3rd Year BIO 18 Source: Clker
  • 19. Effect of Sleep Deprivation on Health Sleep is defined as a psychological state our bodies ex- perience daily that is crucial for our well-being. It is said that sleep occurs due to two key factors: as a response to prolonged periods of being awake and as a way to syn- chronise the circadian rhythm. In the world we live in today, with many university students pulling all-nighters, and workers having less time to sleep, sleep is sometimes under-estimated. Some may go so far as to say that sleep is a luxury, even though it is as important as eating and drinking water. So what happens when someone doesn’t get enough sleep? In this article, we will talk about the im- portance of sleep at a young age and we will examine the consequences of sleep deprivation. Sleep is important for human development. Newborns sleep between 16 and 18 hours per day, on average. These long tenures of sleep are due to the fact that the pituitary glands of the newborn require the body to be asleep to increase secretion of hormones that are crucial for devel- opment (Tatum, 2017). Sleep also plays a role in the cerebral activities and health of adults. This psychological state is crucial for maintaining proper brain function. The idea that our brains are completely inactive when we are asleep is inac- curate. During sleep, the hippocampus region of the brain is actively consolidating old memories and forming new ones (Gregoire, 2014). The brain also has a very high ca- pacity of storing information while asleep. During REM sleep, the brain stores information in the long term memo- ry using short signals at high frequencies (Gregoire, 2014). It transfers short-term memories from the motor cortex to the temporal lobe where they become long-term memo- ries (Greer, 2004). This process is crucial when it comes to consolidating recollections of daily motor activities such as driving, dancing and playing sports that eventually be- come automatic reflexes. Researchers at the University of Rochester have also discovered that, while asleep, the brains of mice get rid of molecules associated with neurodegernation. Their brains do so by increasing the spaces between cerebral cells to get rid of toxic molecules that accumulate while awake (Xie et al, 2013). Finally, while in a state of sleep, a series of events occur that are very important and beneficial to humans, such as the increase in and reparation of body tissues, the resting of the cardiovascular system that reduces arterial pressure and cardiac rhythm by 10%, and the secretion of hormones that help the immune system in fighting germs (Important de dormir, n.d.). What are the major consequences of sleep deprivation? This article has already demonstrated that sleep is not a luxury, but that it is important for both proper activity and development of the human brain and body. Lack of sleep translates to fatigue. Facing fatigue, our neurons can stop all their activities, even when awake. This explains the fact that our intellectual performances, our attention span and our concentration are all significantly diminished when in a state of fatigue. These effects are very similar to the effects of alcohol. It is said that 18 hours without sleep is equivalent to 0.5 g of alcohol in the blood, and that 24 hours without sleep in the equivalent to 1 g of alcohol in the blood (Loubens, 2015). Lack of concentration 19 Source: Vector Source: Saania Tariq, 4th Year BIM Khaled El Tyby, 4th Year BIM
  • 20. A N T I F R A I I L G Y T Introduction In his book Antifragile: Things that Gain from Disorder (2012), Lebanese author Nas- sim Nicholas Taleb (NNT) defines three classes of objects: the fragile, the robust and the antifragile. To most of us, the opposite of a fragile object is a resistant, or robust ob- ject. It will not be destroyed when any type of stressor is applied to it, and will remain in its current state. To NNT, the antonym of fragile is not robust – it is what he calls an- tifragile. Instead of being merely resistant to stressors, or responding negatively to them, an antifragile object responds to stressors in a positive way: it gains from them. A stressor can be volatility, time, physical stress, chaos, uncertainty, or more simply: disorder. NNT gives a precise mathematical definition of fragility and antifragility in his paper Math- ematical definition, mapping and detection of (anti)fragility (2012), though we will not go into this here. In short: fragile objects don’t like disorder. Antifragile objects grow from it. Moreover, an antifragile object loses from a lack of stressors. Biological Life is Antifragile Antifragility seems like a theoretical, even philosophical interest, but it has great practicality. Though NNT’s work is focused on financial risk analysis, his concept can be applied to many of the hard sciences. Let us look at some of the applications of antifragility in nature, particularly in bio- logical systems. The second law of thermodynamics states that, in the long run, entropy – disorder – will always increase in closed systems. Life on Earth represents an open local system that feeds off the entropy of the larger sys- tem (Becker, 2013), therefore making living organisms and biological species antifrag- ile. What processes underlie this phenome- non? Natural selection-driven evolution has shown us that an original entity, challenged by a chaotic and changing environment, cre- ates variants that evolve into novel entities (Danchin, Binder, & Noria, 2011). The idea is that in a (biological) system, the sacrifices of some fragile units are often necessary for the well-being of other units or of the whole. In his concept of the selfish gene, Robert Trivers explains that while individual or- ganisms are relatively fragile, the gene pool takes advantage of shocks to enhance its fit- ness (Dawkins, 1976; Taleb, 2013). In other words, organisms need to die for nature to be antifragile (Taleb, 2013). NNT summa- rizes it perfectly: “even when there is extinc- tion of an entire species after some extreme event, no big deal, it is part of the game. This is still evolution at work, as those species that survive are fittest and take over from the lost dinosaurs—evolution is not about a species, but at the service of the whole of nature” (Taleb, 2012, p. 69). Mohamed Bachrouch, 3rd year BIM 20 Stressors, Chaos and Growth: and diminished intellectual performance can cause very serious issues, a major one being car accidents. According to the annual security balance sheets of the ASFA (French Motorway Companies Association), drowsiness at the wheel is one of the most important causes of deadly ac- cidents on the road – it accounted for 23.6% of all deadly car accidents in France in 2015 to (Bilan sécurité annuel, 2016). A major problem that is also linked to sleep depriva- tion is the fact that it can lead to weight gain. Leptin, a hor- mone that gives us the sensation of being full after we eat, is secreted during the night while grelin, the hormone re- sponsible for hunger, is secreted during the day (Loubens, 2015). A lack of sleep therefore leads to an increase in the feeling of hunger and a decrease in the feeling of being full. This, in consequence, makes us eat in larger quantities when sleep deprived, leading to weight gain. Finally, people that are sleep deprived are at a higher risk of developing metabolic syndromes, as well as diabe- tes. This was shown in an article published in the Journal of Translational Medicine. Lack of sleep is associated with an increase in stress, which leads to an excessive amount of cortisol production (Leproult et al, 1997). Cortisol is a hormone which is synthesized from cholesterol and that is linked to an increase in insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that is responsible for the movement of glucose form the blood to the cells. In causing an increase in insu- lin resistance, glucose can less efficiently move into the cell and therefore is stuck in the blood, leading to increased chances of developing diabetes. The Concept of
  • 21. What follows is a series of examples to demonstrate how and when biological entities, and nature in general, makes use of, and benefits from antifragility; and how it is an important component for the growth of living organisms. Examples of Antifragility in Nature In genetics, heredity is the passing on of DNA to off- spring. Two interesting factors come into play in this process: recombination, which is the random mixing of DNA of two creatures, and mutation, which are random changes, or copying errors, of DNA (Genetics, n.d.). These phenomena, based on total randomness and cha- os, are the driving forces of evolution. Organisms don’t die without reproducing offspring with a genetic code that is, in some way or another, different. It seems that evolution only works because of its antifragility. In a way, it is in love with uncertainty, stressors, randomness and disorder (Taleb, 2013). In his scientific work On the Origin of Species (1859), Charles Darwin writes: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent […]. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.” This adaptability of species has a physiological basis: horme- sis. Hormesis is a biphasic response to a stressor (such as a toxin) ; in other words, it is characterized by a low dose stimulation or beneficial effect and a high dose in- hibitory or toxic effect . The idea was first described by German pharmacologist Hugo Schulz who discovered that a very small dose of lethal poison did not kill off yeast cells, but made them grow (Hormesis, n.d.). This particular effect is known as mithridatization, a devel- oped tolerance to poison by prior ingestion (Mithri- datism, n.d.). Similarly, bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori or E. Coli thrive in difficult environments, and can develop antibiotic resistance. The harder you try to harm bacteria, the stronger the survivors will be (Ta- leb, 2013). This is also observed in the proliferation of cancer cells. On shorter time scales, it takes only a few months before anticancer drugs are defeated by cells trying to become immortal. In fact, cancer cells that manage to survive the toxicity of chemotherapy radi- ation reproduce faster and take over the void made by the weaker cells (Danchin, Binder, & Noria, 2011; Ta- leb, 2013). In a 2011 paper (Danchin, Binder, & Noria, 2011), it was shown that proteins with flexible regions that can undergo functional alteration of their side res- idues or backbone implement the “tinkering that leads to antifragility”, making them more resistant to unfold- ing and misfolding than short proteins. In a 2014 article (Kiviet et al., 2014), it was discovered that the inherent stochasticity of cellular metabolism is a source of phe- notypic heterogeneity. All this to say, once more: chaos drives evolution. On a larger scale: rather than being prone to break- ing or to harm from wind, dandelions heavily rely on the chaos of the wind as a dispersal vector for their seeds to colonize their environment, a process called anemochory; water lilies exploit water current for the same purpose, through hydrochory (Seed dispersal, n.d.). The chameleon makes outstanding use of the rich variety of colours and textures of the environment around it to blend in and protect itself; vines would not benefit from photosynthesis if they could not exploit the non-uniform and disorderly terrain to climb trees and buildings. Chaos is seemingly used by all these spe- cies for their own survival. An excellent and interesting instance of antifragility that is not related to biology is observed in the prop- erties of non-Newtonian fluids. Roughly, non-Newto- nian fluids experience a variable viscosity in response to applied stress or force, and can harden on impact. We can qualify these fluids as antifragile, as they literally become more physically resistant than previously when force is applied to them. Examples of Antifragility in Human Beings A familiar example of hormesis in humans is vacci- nation, through which a pathogen or an antigen is in- jected into the body. In the short run, the body suffers an inflammatory response. In the long run, antifragility is observed as an immune response is activated. This ul- timately results in increased tolerance to foreign agents such as infectious viral agents. On a musculoskeletal level: physical exercise is a good example of hormesis. Bones become denser when episodic stress is applied to them. This is more for- mally known as Wolff’s law: bone in a healthy per- 21 Source: Red Hat Developer Program Source: DNA Helix
  • 22. son or animal will adapt to the loads under which it is placed (Wolff’s law, n.d.). When used actively or stren- uously, muscles become larger and stronger, and more efficient and fatigue resistant. Exercise gains are based on the overload principle: forcing a muscle to work hard increases its strength and endurance. As muscles adapt to greater demand, they must be overloaded to produce further gains. But, depriving a human being of physical exercise can lead to muscle atrophy and bone weakening (Marieb & Hoehn, 2016). After all: no pain, no gain. Moreover, exposure of the skin to limited amounts of (otherwise harmful) UV rays from the sun triggers an increase in melanin levels, which in turn further pro- tects the skin from the sun, and affects the synthesis of Vitamin D (Shoenfeld, Am- ital & Shoenfeld, 2009); heat exposure activates heat shock proteins, which ensure correct folding of other proteins, and allow cells to resist the dam- aging effects of heat (Binder, 2014). Mental stress forces hu- man beings to use their per- haps most valuable organ: the brain. Learning new skills, be- ing exposed to unpredictable, high-stress situations, novel environments and challenges trigger neuroplasticity by cre- ating new neural connections, as well as neurogenesis by growing new brain cells (Land, 2017). Mental effort moves us into higher gear, activating more vigorous and more analytical brain machinery (Taleb, 2013). This ultimately bolsters the brain for future stressors and protects against neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alz- heimer’s (Land, 2017, 7:19). Implications of Antifragility and its Nuances Most of the mechanisms that we described can be seen as forms of overcompensation, a key feature of antifrag- ile systems. Overcompensating systems are essentially in overshooting mode, building extra capacity and strength in anticipation for the possibility of a worse outcome, when confronted with information of a possible hazard. In contrast, undercompensation from the absence of a stressor only harms a complex system: “It is said that the best horses lose when they compete with slower ones, and win against better rivals” (Taleb, 2012, p. 43). That is how we explain homeostatic responses such as the ones we previously described: biological life compensates for what it does not have – or what it has too much of – and becomes better. If it cannot properly compensate for it, then it dies. NNT draws from all this the “bold conjecture [that] everything that has life in it is to some extent antifragile.” (Taleb, 2012, p. 54). It seems that antifragility is a neces- sary condition of living organisms. It is in fact due to an- tifragility in the face of chaos that life on earth can evolve, and become a better version of what it previously was. Antifragility is an elaboration on Nietzsche’s (1889) elo- quent quote, “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”. The antifragile is not unlike the Hydra in Greek mytholo- gy, which grows another two heads when you cut off one off – a much better version than the merely robust Phoenix, which only rises from the ash- es after it dies (Taleb, 2013). Yet, the biological is typically both antifragile and fragile, depending on the source and range of variation (Taleb, 2013). There are, in- deed, limits to the antifragility of biological entities: life is an- tifragile, but only to a certain extent. Lift too much weight, and you will tear a muscle. Ex- pose yourself to the sun for too long, and you will ex- perience sunburn…or develop skin cancer. If it does not make us stronger…it can kill us. There is so much more to what NNT is trying to tell us through this idea, and it is impossible to cover it all in one article. Though the concept is not perfect and requires further research and refinement, antifragility can teach us a lot about how we can benefit from “the noise and the haste” (Ehrmann, 1948) of life. When faced with a seem- ingly unsurmountable situation or challenge, ask yourself this: to what extent will you become a better version of yourself when you overcome it? …It is no surprise that many do better in Organic Chemistry II than in Organic Chemistry I. 22 Source: Final Fantasy Wiki - Hydra
  • 23. Catalyst Updates Kaplan Auction Concours d’ecriture du Catalyst Illustration Contest Search for Illustrators March Issue Submissions Bonjour à tous! Catalyst, journal étudiant scientifique de l'Université d'Ottawa, est ravi de vous présenter tous nos évène- ments hivernaux! Impliquez-vous à notre concours d’écriture hivernal et notre concours de dessin. Sou- mettez vos œuvres pour le numéro de mars et participez aux enchères d’un cours Kaplan. Tous les détails sont indiqués ci-dessous : Hello everyone! Catalyst, the University of Ottawa's science student newspaper, is pleased to present our winter events! Get involved in our Winter Writing Contest and Drawing Contest. Submit your work for the March issue and par- ticipate in a Kaplan auction. All details are shown below: Submit a photograph or any type of illustration pertaining to this year's theme: "Building blocks". Prizes: 1st place $100, 2nd place $50 Submission deadline: Friday, February 16, 2018; 23:59 Send your submissions to assistantproduction.uocatalyst@ gmail.com with "Illustration Contest" as the subject of the email. Include your name, program, and year of study. Écrivez sur n’importe quel sujet aussi longtemps qu’il porte sur le thème « science interdisciplinaire » ! Limite de 700 mots. Prix : 100$ en 1e place ; 50$ en 2e place Date limite : le vendredi 16 février 2018 ; 23:59 Envoyez votre écrit à redacteur.uocatalyst@uottawa.ca avec "Concours d’écriture hivernal" comme objet du courriel. Écrivez votre nom, programme et année d’étude. Catalyst recruits artists and photographers to add illustrations to articles submitted in future issues. For more information, contact assistantproduction.uocatalyst@gmail.com! Make a bid to get any Kaplan course, $2500 value, at a low price! Includes DAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, OAT, and PCAT courses, valid for in person, online, or self-paced. Bidding starts at $500, from January 8th to February, 20th at 23:45! Location: https://www.32auctions.com/catalyst2018 Catalyst, student science journal at the University of Ottawa, is currently accepting your articles, illustrations, jokes, and photos related to any field of science. Submission deadline: Friday February 16, 2018; 23:59 Send your article to editor.uocatalyst@gmail.com with "Catalyst March Issue" as the subject of the email. Include your name, program, and year of study. ' Concours de dessin du Catalyst Soumettez une photographe ou un dessin portant sur le thème: éléments constitutifs. Prix : 100$ en 1e place ; 50$ en 2e place Date limite : le vendredi 16 février 2018 ; 23:59 Envoyez votre écrit à assistantproduction.uocatalyst@gmail.com avec "Concours de dessin" comme objet du courriel. Écrivez votre nom, programme et année d’étude. Writing Contest Write about anything within the theme of “interdisciplinary science”! 700 words limit. Prizes: 1st place $100, 2nd place $50 Submission deadline: Friday, February 16, 2018; 23:59 Send your article to editor.uocatalyst@gmail.com with "Winter Writing Contest" as the subject of the email. Include your name, program, and year of study. Devenir illustrateur au Catalyst Catalyst recrute les artistes et les photographes pour ajouter des illustrations aux articles soumis dans les prochains numéros. Pour en savoir plus, contactez assistantproduction.uocatalyst@gmail.com ! Vente aux encheres d’un cours Kaplan Procurez-vous d’un cours Kaplan, valeur de 2500$, à un prix convenable ! Faites une offre de 500$, minimum, pour rivaliser contre d’autres enchérisseurs et pour remporter le cours Kaplan que vous désirez, soit DAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, OAT ou PCAT. Vous pouvez choisir un cours en ligne ou en personne. Les enchères commencent le 8 janvier et se terminent le 20 février à 23:45 ! Lieu: https://www.32auctions.com/catalyst2018 ' Soumettez vos oeuvres pour notre numero de mars Catalyst, journal étudiant scientifique de l’Université d’Ottawa, recueille maintenant vos écrits, vos illustrations, vos blagues et vos photos qui ont un rapport avec les sciences pour notre numéro de mars. Date limite : le vendredi 16 février 2018 ; 23:59 Envoyez votre écrit à redacteur.uocatalyst@uottawa.ca avec "Catalyst : Numéro de mars" comme objet du courriel. Écrivez votre nom, programme et année d’étude. ' Mises à jour du Catalyst
  • 24.
  • 25. 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
  • 26. Artificial Intelligence Bossmann, J. (2016, October 21). Top 9 ethical issues in artificial intelligence. World Economic Forum. Retrieved from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/10/ top-10-ethical-issues-in-artificial-intelligence/ Katz, M. (2017, November 15). Welcome to the era of the AI coworker. [Digital image]. Retrieved from https:// www.wired.com/storys/welcome-to-the-era-of-the-ai-co worker/ Rosenberg, S. (2017, November 1). Why AI is still waiting for its eth ics transplant. Wired. Retrieved from https://www.wired. com/story/why-ai-is-still-waiting-for-its-ethics-transplant/ Autism Cardoso, C., Boys, A., Parrini, E., Mignon-Ravix, C., McMahon, J. M., Khantane, S., … Guerrini, R. (2009). Periventricular het erotopia, mental retardation, and epilepsy associated with 5q14.3-q15 deletion. Neurology, 72(9), 784 792. Frith, U., Happé, F. (2005). Autism spectrum disorder. Current Biolo gy, 15(19), R786 R790. McPheeters, M. L., Warren, Z., Sathe, N., Bruzek, J. 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