Month: July 2014
We will be at the Sydney Light Optical Users Meeting on July 24th 2014
Great news, Cell Division Lab will be at the Sydney Light Optical Users Meeting, hosted by Dr Pamela Young at Sydney University, this Thursday (24th of July).
I will be presenting a short seminar on “Imaging and Analysing Cell Division”.
If you would like to attend please contact Pamela asap. Her details are below!
Hope to see you there !
Findings: A new, cheap, & very promising Electronic Lab Notebook
Great news, there is a new Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) out on the market, and is originates in part from the makers of the excellent Papers App.
Its still very much beta software, but the roadmap looks promising. Based on my limited testing so far the program seems very easy to use, an not as overly complicated as some of the other ELN out there, which I have often found overkill for my personal needs, and consequently too expensive. The bit I like the most is that the software does not depend on a server, and thus if the developers go bust, you still have the software, and your ELN. Perhaps the best bit so far is the price which is only $29 AUD, very reasonable, and thankfully no ongoing yearly subscription fees.
Looking forward to trying this out more over the next 6 months.
Anti-Oxaidants and Cancer…A complicated story!
There has been a bit of press lately suggesting that Antioxidants might actually be bad for cancer… not good as they are commonly promoted in the media.
IFLS has put together a great article on some of the reasons why antioxidants might not be such a great thing [Link].
In addition, we recently wrote a review article about how different ‘stresses’ including oxidation can affect mitosis, and cancer. We also came to a similar conclusion in our review, that antioxidants were a complicated and not always benifical for treating cancer. One of the main reason we suggested this was due to the fact that many common antioxidants are part of the Flavonoid family. On the surface that sound great, but many Flavonoids also happen to potently inhibit cyclin dependent kinases (Cdks). Coincidentally, our other recent article in Cell Cycle, showed that partial inhibition of Cdk1 can dramatically disrupt mitosis and drive severe cytokinesis defects and polyploidy (see video below). These mitotic defects are the foundation of chromosome instability (CIN), which is a hallmark of more aggressive cancer types, that are also resistant to most chemotherapies and treatments. In simple terms, there is a possibility that in some cases, taking large quantities of dietary Flavonoids (e.g red wine, dark chocolate etc) could drive the formation of more aggressive cancers. This is definitely an area that needs a lot more research, and as always make sure that you fully discuss any dietary and supplements with your oncologist.
This is what happens when a ‘fairly normal’ cancer cell is treated with low doses of a Cdk1 inhibitor.
Here is a picture of a polyploid cancer cell, which was produced by partially inhibiting Cdk1.
Were Presenting at “Space Oddity: A Special Science Week Event With Chris Hadfield”
Great News…. As a part of National Science Week here in Australia, Cell Division Lab will be co-representing the Garvan Institute at a very special event hosted by ScienceAlert “Space Oddity: A Special Science Week Event With Chris Hadfield”
Take your protein pills and put your helmet on and join astronaut Chris Hadfield in celebrating National Science Week. The former commander of the International Space Station became the coolest astronaut in the world when he recorded David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” in zero gravity. Since returning to Earth, the Canadian astronaut has inspired audiences across Europe and North America with live talks on space, science and achieving your dreams.
Now he’s heading to Australia for the first time, and in his only Sydney shows he’ll be appearing alongside social media celebrities Derek Muller (Veritasium), Dr Carin Bondar (Scientific American, Discovery) and Destin Sandlin (Smarter Every Day).
The live events will feature a blend of science talk, inspiring stories and performances. If you’re not already fascinated by science, you will be by the end of it.
There are still tickets available for the Adult show starting at 8pm. But you better be quick because the all ages show sold out in less than 10 hours.
You can buy your tickets here
