Blog

Posted on

Mapping the Human Brain

by Sandra Ning, Terra Linda HS
A fMRI scan of the human brain. This method of scanning the brain shows both function (activity shown in color) and tissues of the brain, and requires no radioactive substances to scan.


    Irina Rabkina, an undergraduate neuroscience major and next speaker, graciously answered some questions about the broad field of neuroscience. Rabkina is a Terra Linda alumna who has gone on to study at Scripps College. She does research at the Center for Neuroeconomic Studies with Dr. Paul Zak.

    The human brain is complex, and so is the study of it. Though Rabkina explains everything from decision-making to the structure of the human brain, neuroeconomics—and the puzzling presence of underwear in her upcoming lecture—still remains a mystery that, as Rabkina put it, ‘you’ll have to come to my talk to find out!’

In general, what is the field of neuroscience?

    The most simple definition of neuroscience, in my opinion, is that it is the study of the nervous system–the brain, the spinal cord, nerves, etc. That’s a broad definition, but it’s a broad field.

Narrowing it down, what are you currently researching?

   This is a harder question to answer. I’m still an undergrad, so I research whatever my advisors will let me. At CNS, Dr. Zak researches neuroeconomics. My Scripps advisor, Dr. Michael Spezio, works in the field of social neuroscience and I have a grant to work with him next semester.

In general, what are the different parts of the brain and their function?

   At the most basic level, the brain is divided into the cerebrum, the cerebellum, the limbic system (thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus), and the brain stem (midbrain, pons, medulla). 
The cerebrum is what most people think of when they think of the brain–it’s the part that looks like a walnut half and is divided into two hemispheres. It is responsible for higher brain function. The different lobes of the cerebrum (and the gyri and sulci within them) all have different associated functions. For example, one of the functions of the frontal lobe is planning. The cerebrum is considered to have evolved later than the other regions.
   The cerebellum is also divided into two hemispheres. It is responsible for things like balance, posture, and coordination of movement. 
   The limbic system performs a range of functions such as memory, sensorimotor control, emotion, etc. Different parts of the limbic system are responsible for these varying functions, just like the different lobes in the cerebellum.
   The brain stem is considered the oldest part of the brain from an evolutionary standpoint. It is involved in regulation of breathing and heartbeat, along with vision, audition, motor control, etc. Again, different parts are responsible for different functions.


What is the brain made of?
    
    The two main types of cells in the brain are called neurons and glial cells. Neurons are the cells that carry electrical signals. They use these signals to ‘communicate’ with each other and other cells in the body in order to perform the functions that the nervous system is responsible for. Glial cells, on the other hand, support neurons. Their functions include insulating and protecting neurons. ‘Glial’ means ‘glue’ in Greek–for a long time, we thought that gluing neurons together was all that glial cells did. Obviously, we now know that this is not the case.

A labelled diagram of the human brain.


What goes on in our brain when we make decisions?

   A lot goes on in the brain when we make decisions. On a cognitive level, we essentially weigh positives and negatives of choices. On a molecular level, hormones like oxytocin and dopamine play a role. Then, of course, there are the neurons firing.
   Clarification: oxytocin and dopamine are just two of the many hormones that play a role in decision making. I think that going into all of them and their functions would be too much (especially since we don’t really know exactly what most of them do)

What is neuroeconomics?

   You’ll have to come to my talk to find out! But really, it’s taking neuroscience techniques and applying them to economics. 


Is it true that people can’t make truly logical, rational decisions before they turn 21? Why/why not?

   Yes and no. Our frontal lobes don’t finish developing until our mid 20s. That doesn’t mean that decisions made before then are necessarily uninformed or irrational… just less so than they would be after we have finished developing.

Could you give some examples of research being done in the field of neuroscience? How do neuroscientists study the brain? 
   
   Like I said before, neuroscience is a very broad field. Just in Claremont, there’s a professor doing research in vocalization in zebra finches, another doing work in nerve response in crayfish, not to mention Drs. Zak and Spezio. And those are just professors I have taken classes with. There are, of course, researchers inside and outside of Claremont doing work in other facets of neuroscience. Depending on the subfield, different techniques are used. So Dr. Zak mostly uses information that cones from analyzing the blood; Dr. Spezio tends to use EEG and fMRI; animal researchers use those animals; etc.

In your opinion, what is the most exciting part of neuroscience?

   I find how little we truly know about the brain exciting. This is a field that has been around for a long time, but the technology is just now getting to a point where we can reliably use it for research into the human brain. I also find the concept of a brain studying brains awesome.

How did you come to know and pursue your field?

   I actually found my interest in neuroscience through Marin Science Seminar. I attended a presentation by Dr. Ray Swanson of UCSF that I really enjoyed. I stayed to chat with him after his talk, and that turned into a summer internship which helped me realize just how much there is to learn about the brain and how cool it truly is.

—
Irina Rabkina will be presenting “Memory, Money, and Heat-sensing Underwear” on Wed., January 9th, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Marin Science Seminar. The Marin Science Seminar takes place at Terra Linda High School, room 207. Come check us out on Facebook as well!

—

Sandra Ning
Posted on

Green Homes and the Greenhouse Effect

A sustainable-energy house.

   Climate change has integrated itself into our daily actions. It’s in the green recycle bins, marked with the immediately recognizable triangular arrow symbol, the paper versus plastic, the electric cars humming down the road and the grass-fed cows. Becoming environmentally-conscious has affected many communities, some more than others. 
    It’s still not enough. Ice caps are still making the news as they melt into the ocean, and this summer’s record-breaking temperatures have cast an ominous shadow onto the future. People are largely aware of this, but oftentimes brush the frantic cries of environmental scientists off. To many, global warming has faded into the background, a part of the ever-changing scenery and a doom so large and so distant there’s no point in actively searching for ways to slow it. ‘Going green’ is too unwieldy, too time-consuming, too costly or too much effort.
    However, global warming cannot be dismissed so easily. Ice caps seem to constantly make the headlines because they are crucial to the state of our world, down to the very particles of air bouncing off the walls of our homes. Cyane Dandridge, founder of Strategic Energy Innovations (SEI), painted a gruesome picture of what Earth could look like if current climate trends continued in the next couple decades. A sweltering drought would suck the world of water, and the USA by three million dollars. Freshwater fish would begin dying out, and wildfires would ramp up in frequency. Sea levels rise from one to two feet, submerging familiar coastline cities. In her powerpoint presentation, Ms. Dandridge pointed out a couple sections of Marin that were projected to be underwater.
    So global warming affects us in our lifetime, and holds serious consequences. Studies that connect human activity and industry with the increased amount of greenhouse gases in the air brush away feeble suggestions that perhaps Earth’s overheating was natural. There is no forgetting the Industrial Revolution of the past to the oil-fueled commuters today. The question then becomes: beyond recycling, what else can we do to prevent disastrous climate change?
    Ms. Dandridge and her company, Strategic Energy Innovations, offers one solution: energy-efficient housing. Solar panels are certainly one of the better-known aspects of green housing, but make no mistake—green housing comes in many forms at many levels.
    Light bulbs are one of the easiest energy-wasters to rectify. The round, bulbous light bulbs with the     yellowish glow bleed energy. Much more efficient, the coiled white lights use less energy to produce brighter light.
An eco-friendly light bulb.
    Another aspect of housing are appliances. Leaving appliances plugged in, even when they aren’t in use, still uses a certain amount of watts. Unplugging appliances, and certainly turning heaters and such off before leaving are crucial. In fact, heaters and coolers could be replaced with thick blankets, jackets, or the absence thereof. Why waste watts when body heat can be circulated to our benefit instead?
    Don’t dismiss solar panels yet, either. Solar panels make use of an ever-present energy source: sunshine. They are a bit costly, but not for the reason most people think. Oil and gas companies are given so many government subsidies that they enter the market at artificially cheap prices. Gas might be cheap in the short run, but in the long run, fossil fuels not only harm the environment but are bound to run out, getting more and more expensive and supplies draw short and subsidizers grow frantic.
    Outside of the house, the infrastructure of a community can be laid out to expend energy efficiently. Placing groceries and stores in close proximity to the freeway, and offices close by to homes, can shorten the commute that clogs highways and sends greenhouse gases into the air. More importance on bike trails, and their connection to workplaces, neighborhoods, and areas around the community can shift the commute onto cleaner, man-powered bicycles.
    Speaking of commute, cars are a major cause of pollutants and greenhouse gases. New technology is cranking out hybrid and electric cars, every new model being more efficient and more affordable. Some examples are the Nissan Leaf and Teslas.
    Also important in every person’s life is food. Consider buying local produce, which has the advantage of not coming millions of miles away on puffing cargo ships. Grass-fed beef is not just another organic oddity; corn-fed cows produce serious amounts of methane through their burps that contribute to the greenhouse gases.
    Energy-efficient housing really extends to more than just the house. When Ms. Dandridge presented on alternatives, she essentially redesigned whole communities. Efficient housing can extend to communities, from food to transport to hot summers and cold winters. Much like how entire neighborhoods can be designed with the environment in mind, so must counties, states, countries and continents redesign their infrastructures.
—
This article was written using information from Cyane Dandrige’s presentation on “Building and Unbuilding a Climate Change Crisis,” on Wednesday, November 28. Ms. Dandridge is the founder of Strategic Energy Innovations and the director for the School of Environmental Leadership (MSEL).
—
Sandra Ning
Posted on

More than a Surgeon’s Sidekick: The Anesthesiologist

An anesthesiologist at work.

      Dr. Art Wallace is a professor of anesthesiology and perioperative care at UCSF, and an attending anesthesiologist at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Hospital. He is a man of sharp wit, wry humor, and countless analogies to explain the complexities of anesthesia. He was also kind enough to answer a couple of questions for me over the phone.
What exactly is anesthesiology?
      An anesthesiologist makes patients become compatible with surgery. They put patients in a state in which they can undergo painful operations and surgeries. Anesthesia requires the use of several powerful, lethal drugs and is extremely dangerous. Its cultivation over the last 150 years has been geared toward making it more effective, more efficient, and thus more safe.
      Anesthesiology has helped reduce the risk of surgical care tremendously. Around the 1950s, the ratio of fatal to nonfatal procedures was 1:200 to 1:1500. The present day ratio of 1:100000 to 1:1000000 looks multitudes more reassuring.
      In particular, Dr. Wallace has researched ways to reduce stress during surgery.
What’s the difference between stress and pain?
      Pain is a sensory experience and can cause stress, such as increased heart rate or blood pressure. Stress is the physical effects of the strain, which can ramp up to heart attacks and strokes. While a person can be unconscious and not experience pain, stress can still occur.
What can anesthesiologists do?
      Anesthesiologists can manipulate what a patient experiences under surgery. Consciousness, feelings of pain, autonomic responses, movement, and even memory can all be suppressed by an anesthesiologist during surgery. A patient could not remember the operation at all, or, during the operation, “feel pain but not care.”
      The range of parts an anesthesiologist can turn off allows more people access to safe surgery. People terrified of surgery can choose to be unconscious or not remember any of it at all. Mortality rates of women in childbirth have lessened from a ratio of one death in ten survivals to one death in ten thousand, or even one death in one hundred thousand. As Dr. Wallace put it, anesthesiology serves a “nice, noble cause.”
 A venn diagram on some uses of anesthetics.
How do you decide what to give a patient?
      There are typically two main components to deciding what to dose a patient. The first are the patients themselves. Are they terrified? Are they at risk of heart attack or stroke? Do they have a cardiovascular or lung disease that drugs could possibly irritate? Depending on the attitude and the physical condition of the patient undergoing surgery, different doses with different effects might be prudent. 
      The second component is the type of operation. Depending on the severity of the injury and the operation needed to fix it, more or less anesthetics are required. “What I’m going to give for a broken finger, versus a heart transplant, will be a lot different,” Dr. Wallace explained.
What sorts of fields come into play in anesthesiology?
      The general knowledge of medicine that comes from med school, residencies and internships are all pre-requisites for any practicing doctor. Anesthesiologists need an understanding of physiology and cardiology, as well as the ability to interact with surgeons. Fixing the monitors that check on the patient’s condition—in other words, some engineering—is also needed.
What are monitors and how do they help anesthesiologists?
      Monitors are the screens connected to machines that watch a patient’s physical condition, including things like blood pressure, cardiac output, isofluorine concentration, EKG, etcetera. The ability of a computer to constantly monitor a patient’s condition when the patient is unconscious and unable to give indications of discomfort is incredibly useful and critical to the safety of patients undergoing surgery.
What sorts of problems are being worked on by anesthesiologists today?
      Drugs still need to be developed to better prevent heart attacks and strokes for patients. In general, anesthesiology is constantly working towards safety. Safer drugs, more efficient methods, and less room for error means less risk in surgery.
How would you go about becoming an anesthesiologist?
      The usual track is four years in college with any major. Afterwards is medical school, where the pool of majors narrow down to the general field of medical science. Then there’s clerkships, where students rotate through a multitude of different medical professions, usually a month or two in each. Afterwards is an internship, where young doctors hone the glorious ability to write prescriptions. Throughout all of these stages, the medical student is narrowing down their field of study, until they can go through their residency, where real hands-on experience and learning begins, and specific fields are explored. Afterwards, the newly minted doctor has enough experience to begin practicing.
How do robots come into the whole thing?
      The robots that are going to be the topic of this Wednesday’s seminar are new technological developments used for training young doctors. Originally, beginning doctors spent ridiculous hours—maybe even 110 hours out of 160 in a week—writing prescriptions and deducing problems. The sheer amount of work tired the doctors and caused them to make errors on very real prescriptions, for very real patients. Instead, robotic patients are being developed for doctors to practice on. Like a simulation, the robot patients can simulate everyday illnesses to rare diseases, or specific instances that seldom arise. All of these situations prepare doctors for as many different occurrences in their career. “You wouldn’t want a pilot to crash on the job,” Dr. Wallace explained, “and you don’t want a doctor to mess up on a real patient.”
How did you become interested in anesthesiology?
      Already interested in becoming a doctor since his mother’s death in middle school, Dr. Wallace pursued the sciences straight into college (though he preferred the challenges of physics over the memorization of biology in middle school). He majored in electrical engineering but, after a summer job doing surgery, he became interested in medical school. Initially a surgeon, Dr. Wallace became an anesthesiologist later in his career. 
—
      Then we got talking about some wacky things. Take Michael Jackson, for instance. His doctor had prescribed him drugs more under the jurisdiction of an anesthesiologist. According to Dr. Wallace, had Michael Jackson hired a trained anesthesiologist instead, he might still be alive.

      Exactly how lethal are those anesthetics, anyways? Narcotics more than a hundred times more potent than heroin, barbiturates that send patients to sleep, drugs that stop the heart, invoke paralysis, stop nerve transmission, and stop brain function, are all used by anesthesiologists. “All of them can be  fatal,” confirmed Dr. Wallace.

      Any jokes about rising to evil overlord-ship dissolve in the face of Dr. Wallace’s actual occupation. Not only does anesthesiology help terrified patients undergo necessary surgeries, but Dr. Wallace works as an anesthesiologist at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in San Francisco. At the VA, surgery is free. Veterans can access the procedures and the treatment they need, easily. They do well under the care of surgeons, doctors, and anesthesiologists like Dr. Wallace. Nothing could be farther from nefarious deeds.
—
Come see Drs. Art Wallace and Hirsch present “Computers, Robots, and Medical Education, Oh My!” on Wed., December 5th, at the Marin Science Seminar. The Marin Science Seminar takes place on Wednesdays in room 207, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. 

—

Sandra Ning
Posted on

Bringing the Ecosystems Back

Bothin Marsh, in Marin County

       Nearly all continents and countries on Earth share one constant: the concrete, plastic, steel and asphalt of any cities’ infrastructure. The sidewalks, highways, subway systems and airports that have become so necessary in life are slowly expanding outwards. Urbanization spreads, developing countries develop, and people worldwide work towards more efficient and convenient lives. Since the Industrial Age, humankind has been working towards this goal.
       Yet, today, we exist in another movement, another age: the Environmental Age. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring sparked a movement to protect, conserve, document, and heal the environment—a movement that’s still going strong. National parks have appeared all over the world, and conservation has risen to political importance. Nowadays—especially in Marin—people are constantly reminded to ‘Go Green,’ and from personal shopping bags to newly electronic buses, efforts to cut down waste have become mainstream.
       Outside of environmentalists, several different branches of science have come together to protect the Earth’s ecosystems, as well. Habitat restoration employs the expertise of biologists, botanists, ecologists, and engineers to analyze how to best protect valuable ecosystems in urban landscapes and sprawling parks.
       Several projects focus on previously destroyed or damaged ecological systems that need to be patched up. On this front, biologists and botanists provide valuable information about what types of plants need to be replanted, and what kinds of native species need to be re-introduced. Engineers might want to examine how to prevent excessive soil erosion, flooding of the area (especially concerning wetland restoration), and consider whether or not groundwater is available for harnessing. 

Freshly planted vegetation in a site for ecological restoration.
       Ecosystems are complex. There are nutrients in the soil, recycled by the valuable little decomposers in the ground. There are plants, the autotrophs, and consumers—primary, secondary, tertiary and onwards. Yet, specific ecosystems require specific plants. In an underwater ecosystem, corals and different species of anemones are crucial to support the vibrant aquatic life that resides in them. The same is true for a marshland; specific plants must be provided to attract and support specific consumers. Then the predators of primary consumers have to be considered, and the predators of those… the web of an ecosystem is dense with detail.
       Even the multitude of scientists working on the restoration of a habitat can’t do it all. A lot of growth has to be left to the seeds they plant. When the environment is right and vegetation is growing, the rest will come soon enough. As a result, ecological restoration takes a while, often years at a time. Scientists must frequent the project area to check on its progress, document things that are working and things that aren’t, and then make adjustments as necessary. Threats to the ecosystem, like runoff water from acrid highways or non-native species, must be dealt with. The water must be acceptably pure. The pH of the soil needs to be right for the plants.
       Reconstruction takes a while. The nuances of an old, long-standing environment can’t be matched by the freshly planted reeds in a carefully monitored marshland. Yet, as climate changes (affecting everything from the polar caps to the tropical storms), and humans expand their reach, some delicate ecosystems can’t adjust quickly enough. The sprigs and sprouts of an ecosystem-in-progress and the patient observance of dedicated scientists might be just what habitats need to survive on the rapidly changing Earth.

—

Come see Greg Kamman speak further about ecological restoration in his presentation, “The Role of Physical Sciences in Restoring Ecosystems,” at the Marin Science Seminar this Wednesday, November 7th. The Seminar will take place at Terra Linda High School, room 207, from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Posted on

Space, the Enigmatic Frontier

A pie graph of the universe’s composition.

    When most people think of outer space, they don’t usually imagine space. 
    The first thing that comes to mind are stars. Tiny white pinpricks of light in the sky that, in reality, are blazing spitfires of roiling gases. We envision bands of them, flung out into the inky blackness, coiled tight into galaxies or let loose in vibrant splashes of nebulae.
Then people may think of comets, bulky intergalactic travelers remembered by their brilliant icy trail. Perhaps the asteroid comes to mind, one amongst millions drifting lethargically in the thick belt that separates the inner planets of our solar system from the outer. We could imagine planets and constellations, nebulae and supernovae, quasars and pulsars!
    Yet the yawning black stretches of nothingness between these extraterrestrials bodies remain overlooked.
    Of course, ‘nothingness’ isn’t quite the correct term. What really fills the blanks between the occasional blimps of planets, galaxies and star clusters is a combination of dark energy and dark matter.
    Dark energy makes up approximately 70% of the universe. Dark matter takes up another 25%. That only leaves around 5% for the stars, comets, planets, continents, cities and people that seems to encompass us one hundred percent of the time.
    Matter composed of protons, neutrons, and electrons—in other words, everything we perceive on a daily basis—is known as baryonic matter. For hundreds of years, humans have studied the composition of the Earth, discovering elements upon elements that steadily defogged the mystery of substance. It’s bewildering that only five percent of the universe could be so densely packed with different elements, while the other ninety-five percent remains so large and undiscovered.
    When gravitational effects in space didn’t match up with the amount of visible matter, scientists began hypothesizing the existence of a ‘missing mass.’ A recent discovery that the universe’s rate of expansion is accelerating instead of slowing spurred the idea of dark energy, some sort of invisible, unidentified energy that helps propel the expansion of space. Likewise, strange gravitational incidences and the fact that the visible matter of a galaxy often doesn’t match the amount of matter detected suggested the presence of unidentified matter.
    If dark matter does exist, as studies suggest, then what is it made of? One of the leading theories today is the existence of Weakly Interacting Massive Particles, aptly abbreviated WIMPs. 
     Before delving into what WIMPs are, it’s pertinent to know what ‘weakly interacting’ means. Weak force is one of the four forces of the universe: gravity, electromagnetic, strong nuclear, and weak nuclear. Weakly-interacting particles have been observed for a while, for example, images of neutrinos. True to their name, weak particles interact so little with other substances that they can pass through incredible amounts of matter without collision. This detachment makes them difficult to detect in comparison to the constantly colliding protons, neutrons, and electrons of baryonic matter.

A neutrino is a type of weakly interacting particle.

     Immediately after the Big Bang, the incredible energy and heat released allowed for the creation and destruction of particles. After the universe cooled, settled, and stopped producing more particles, most of the particles decayed and disappeared. However, weak particles can’t decay entirely. These remnants of particles, as old as the creation of the universe, hypothetically linger and affect matter According to scientists, the existence of a stable, weakly-interacting particle around 100 times the mass of a proton would fit the bill for the amount of dark matter measured.
    Though dark matter and WIMPs are compelling, fairly supported hypotheses, they are still, to some extent, hypotheses.WIMPs could be floating through space right now—or another theory, the axioms, make up dark matter instead. Even broader, dark matter could exist—or the mechanics of gravity need to be reexamined.
    Scientists are searching for confirmation now, in the form of evidence. CDMS, or the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search, is an experiment taking place in Soudan, Minnesota. Using Z-Sensitive Ionization and Phonon (ZIP) detectors, placed underground to minimize the amount of disturbances, the detectors are attempting to pick up nuclear recoils from WIMPs. Though hardly ever colliding with other particles, WIMPs still do crash into other particles. When one does, CDMS is hoping to pick up on it.
    Join the Marin Science Seminar on Wednesday, October 24. Guest speaker Dr. Nader Mirabolfathi, member of the CDMS research team at UC Berkeley, will speak in depth about dark matter and WIMPs, including how they fit into the puzzle of space, and how the CDMS experiment is attempting to uncover them.
—
Sandra Ning
Posted on

The Science Right in Your Bloodstream

     There are a lot of words that begin with the prefix ‘bio-.’
     Biology, for instance, and then biochemistry, biotechnology, bionics, biopharmaceutical… the list goes on and on, advancing further afield the deep, often obscure world of biological sciences. 
pH is one of many properties used to analyze chemicals in body fluids.
     And, why shouldn’t it? “Bio” as a prefix means ‘life’, the study of which starts at the very core of our existence. We have been fascinated with everything to do about life: plants, animals, people, and the chemical breakdown of them all. Food chains, weather, evolution, natural selection, and how they all shaped the world we live in today. There’s a lot of “bio” in this world, and a lot of different ways to study it! Some of them we can recognize right off the bat, like biomedical, or zoology. Other fields are a bit more esoteric.
     Take bioanalytics, for instance.
     By parsing the word into two bits, ‘bio’ and ‘analytics,’ it seems bioanalytics is the analysis of life. That’s true, to some extent, but it hardly sheds light on the depths of this exciting field.
     On television, blood is tested for deadly toxins. Before games, athletes are tested for performance-enhancing drugs. The measurement of these xenobiotics, or external/unusual compounds, falls under bioanalysis. 
     Being able to analyze the amount of an active drug, and what it does once within the body, is hugely important to the development of pharmaceuticals. Dosage requirements and limitations take cues from what levels of drug concentration are safe. How often a person can take medication is also dependent on how long a drug stays in the bloodstream. Overdose is a serious threat that can be avoided by analyzing xenobiotics within the body.
Bioanalysis also appears in tests for illicit drug use, forensic science, and anti-doping testing for sports. It presides over the detection of external substances in the body, and how the drug is affected and affecting the body.

Some bioanalytic methods, and fields that use bioanalysis.

     Another part of bioanalytics is immunogenicity risk assessment. Immunogenicity concerns an individual’s immune system, and its genetic-based tendencies toward rejecting or accepting medication. Immunogenicity risk assessment uses bioanalytics to determine whether or not a prescribed drug would be rejected or accepted by a patient’s body. Backfiring medication would only add to the woes of an ill patient.
     As technology advances, so does the development of medicine. The ability to detect and quantify newer, more potent, and thus less concentrated amounts of drugs, has spurred the improvement of bioanalytical technology as well. For example, medicine has progressed from smaller molecules to large chains of biomolecules, a change that demands adaption in the quantifying process as well. As equipment becomes more precise, so does knowledge of drugs, and prevention of their potentially dangerous usage.
     Every advance in medicine comes with the keen reminder that human bodies are comprised of complex, often fragile systems–immune, cardiovascular, respiratory, etcetera. Medicine has done leaps and bounds for the lifespans of entire generations, providing respite from diseases and illnesses that plagued our ancestors. The balance between a drug’s potency and the body’s ability to withstand its foreign influence is crucial to every individual’s well-being. Bioanalytics helps shed light on that balance.
     Join the Marin Science Seminar and Dr. Erik Foehr in exploring this very important aspect of drug development and forensic investigation on Wednesday, October 10. Dr. Foehr, an expert on bioanalysis, will delve deeper into the topic of bioanalysis and its many uses, including measurement techniques, immunogenicity risk assessment, and drug development.

—

Sandra Ning
Posted on

MSS launches its 6th year with UAV ONLINE!

Marin Science Seminar Presentation: “UAV Online: The Challenges of Engineering Autonomous Drones for the Open World” with Pavlo Manovi, TLHS grad and junior at UC Santa Cruz (September 19, 2012) Download the flyer here.
This presentation will introduce the SLUGS autonomous development platform being developed at UC Santa Cruz’s Autonomous Systems Lab.  Pavlo will discuss the goals, the science/ aerodynamics/ controls/ programming/ physics aspects of the project, and the challenges and considerations faced in adapting SLUGS for the open source world.  There will be hands-on demonstrations and Q/A.
Pavlo Manovi is an alumnus of Terra Linda High School who studies robotics engineering at UC Santa Cruz. His interest in research stems from his love of prototyping and the prospect of learning and collaborating with like-minded, creative, intelligent individuals on the forefront of their field. Pavlo is a two time winner of the Marin Physics Olympics, and is a strong advocate for youth education in robotics and engineering. Pavlo hopes to build bridges between constituencies in the open source community and ensure the flow of free information in STEM fields. Pavlo plans to pursue a PhD in controls.

RVSP on Facebook here or just show up. 🙂

Join us and Learn!

Email marinscienceseminar@gmail.com to get on our email list.
Posted on

Interview with Robotics Engineer Pavlo Manovi

by Sandra Ning, Terra Linda HS

UC Santa Cruz junior and TL alumnus Pavlo Manovi gives a taste of his upcoming presentation on Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with an interview:

A SLUGS UAV simulation tour around San Francisco, using Simulink 
(uploaded 26 Jul., 2011; created by Samuel Toepke)
What makes robotics engineering so compelling?

–   What makes robotics engineering engender such a strong interest in me is the fact that the skills you need to be a competent robotics engineer encompasses most STEM fields and allows students and engineers both in academia or industry to be involved in projects from all studies of science.  Choosing a type of engineering was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make, as I didn’t want to find myself focused on one field of engineering.   What I really wanted was to do everything that I loved, which is to say that I was looking for a balance of physics, computer science, math, and materials science that just didn’t exist in most traditional engineering tracks.  I found that robotics engineering neatly wraps up all of the aforementioned studies in the umbrella study of Mechatronics.  Having this aggregation of skills and foci lays the foundation for a strong field where one gets approached to build the tools that scientists and governmental agencies require to do their jobs, and that aspect of robotics keeps the work fresh and feeds my insatiable appetite for knowledge.
In general, what’s the focus of research at the UCSC Autonomous Systems Lab?

–  Autonomous robotics (aquatic, extra-terrestrial, terrestrial).  Controls theory.  Curriculum development.
What projects are you currently working on?

–  I am currently working on:
  • An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle development toolchain. (The SLUG-TUG)
  • An open source, affordable, robust four quadrant brushless DC motor controller (SLUGGISH)
  • Extreme Low Cost UAV (No silly acronym for this one yet :[ )
  • UAV Localization for Autonomous Swarms
  • Porting and refactoring Existing SLUGS UAV code to work with commercially available UAV systems
  • Creation of a UAV Curiculum for graduate students at UCSC

What is the SLUGS Autopilot?

–  http://slugsuav.soe.ucsc.edu/  This explains it pretty well.  Primarily it’s a flight algorithm development platform.  I’m currently developing a cheaper, lower power version for academia and simple missions/swarm research.
How does it differ from other UAV autopilots?

–  The biggest difference between our UAV project and other projects is that we aim to develop every bit of the UAV and not rely on off-the-shelf solutions to ultimately create an easy to use UAV.  With an entire toolchain that adapts itself to the problem presented to it, the end user can focus on solving their problem rather than focus on trying to get a piecemeal UAV to work.  Simply put, we’re trying to make a good tool that is within grasp of anyone that compromises as little as possible through a modular design and abstracted C code.
Why is it important to develop?

–  Developing easy to use, robust, powerful tools allows for innovation.  We are rapidly approaching a time where our airspace is going to be filled with more autonomous air traffic than could have ever been imagined.  Now more than ever a tool like this is necessary to allow for innovation that may solve many of the localization problems that will impede the growth of air travel/autonomous aerial vehicles in non-military airspace.  Further, there is little to no curriculum on UAV development and I am to work with a few professors with my SLUG-TUG toolchain to change that.
How soon do you think the SLUGS will be in use? Or, is it already in use?

–  SLUGS is already in use in space, military UAVs, academic UAVs, ground vehicles, and aquatic applications.  The scope of which and specifics I am not at liberty to explain.
What’s your role in the development of SLUGS?

–  I am the primary investigator of the SLUG-TUG project and I work on all aspects of the SLUGS system (electrical, code, hardware, etc).
What is the most rewarding or exciting part of being a robotics engineer? What is the most difficult?

–  The most rewarding part of being a robotics engineer is the opportunity to work with people that are as passionate about what they do as I am.  The work is always challenging and comes from all fields of study, which keeps me on me engaged and allows me to learn about everything from micro-biology to art without fully committing myself to those fields.  What is most difficult about this field of study?  That’s a very personal question and I think it varies greatly between individuals.  Contrary to what most believe I don’t consider the science to be hard as it just requires time, patience, and practice to master.  Personally, what is difficult is turning it all off.  I’m lucky enough to have many great friends and other physical/mental outlets for all of my energy, but when I find myself without anything to do coming off of the heels of a big project…  I just can’t stop.  I’d say dividing my time amongst projects and keeping myself sane when I have free time and can’t work on things are the most difficult parts about being an engineer who loves what he does.
—
Come see Mr. Manovi present ‘UAV Online: Challenges of Engineering Autonomous Drones for the Open World’ at TLHS room 207, Wed., Sept. 19th from 7:30 – 8:30 p.m.

The intro page and facebook event for the presentation are linked here.

—

Citations:

The UAV simulator video was created and uploaded by Samuel Teopke on 26 Jul. 2011.

—


Sandra Ning

Posted on

Math in the Movies

by Julia Moore, Drake HS

On April 4th, Tony DeRose Ph.D. came to the Marin Science Seminar to discuss the many applications of mathematics at Pixar studios.  As a high school student, it can seem like hours of abstract math each week is a strange use of time, but calculus, geometry and other advanced mathematics are used on a daily basis at Pixar to make the incredible animations we know and love.

The process of making an animated film involves many steps with fine tuning at each to create the incredible worlds we see on the screen.  First, the story is drawn by hand into a “storyreel”.  For each character, sketches of the character’s main facial expressions are made to understand the character’s personality.  The characters and sets are then modeled from the sketches on computers.  There are controls for the movement of different body parts of each character.  To simulate face movement, there are over 300 controls for the face movements of each character, each for a specific part of the face.  Algorithms are then applied to the scenes to simulate gravity and other movements not directly related to character movement.

In the animation stage of the process, flat polygons are used to represent curved surfaces.  Dr. DeRose showed a program in his presentation that allows polygons to be manipulated into a curved surface using midpoints and geometry.  Lighting in the movies involves many complex integral algorithms used to calculate how the light scatters across the various surfaces on the screen. 
Dr. DeRose concluded his talk by discussing the Young Maker’s Program: (http://www.youngmakers.org/) a program which allows children and teens to develop their own building projects and make them.  This program promotes math and science education and allows kids to build awesome things to share at the Maker Faire each year with other builders.  
Written By: Julia Moore 

Posted on

Interview With Dr.Susan Fisher

by Julia McKeag, Terra Linda HS

Susan Fisher, Ph.D. is the Director of Translational Research in Perinatal Biology and Medicine at UCSF. She is also a Professor in the Departments of Oral Biology, Pharmaceutical Chemistry, and Anatomy and Faculty Director at the Biomolecular Resource Center, UCSF. She is also a member of the UCSF Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program (BMS).

(Figure 1- refer to end of interview) 
What type of experiments does your lab do?
We study the early stages of human development. One of the approaches we use includes deriving human embryonic stem cell lines.
How did you become interested in stem cell research?
Stem cell research is rooted in developmental biology, which I have been interested in for as long as I can remember. I have always been fascinated by how one cell becomes an entire human being.
How do you think stem cell research will benefit humanity?
Eventually we will understand how to cure human diseases using cell-based therapies.
 
(Figure 2)
Do you think Stem cell research will continue in the future despite its surrounding controversy?
Yes. We have learned so much already using stem cell models. This is a very compelling reason for continuing these lines of investigation.
Are animal stem cells similar in structure and function to human stem cells?
There is not a clear-cut answer to this question. We know from comparative analyses that there are similarities and differences. My personal conclusion is that work in both areas is important.
 
(Figure 3)
What is the most interesting thing you’ve discovered about stem cells during your research?
We have developed a new method of deriving human embryonic stem cells that appear to be less differentiated than analogous cells derived by standard methods.
What is an average day as the Director of Translational Research in Prenatal Biology and Medicine at UCSF like? What does this position entail?
I am also head of the UCSF Human Embryonic Stem Cell Program. as Director of Translational Research, I lead programs in which we study placental function in normal pregnancy and in pregnancy complications. My job in the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Program focuses on embryonic rather than placental development. Therefore, between both jobs I get to study the cells that form the placenta and the offspring, which it supports. The work is mesmerizing and extremely rewarding! We get to ask questions about processes that very few people get to study.
Figure 1: Human Embryonic Stem Cells- in a recent medical case, Doctors at Glasgow’s Southern General Hospital grew stem cells into neural stem cells, then injected them into a stroke patient’s brain

Figure 2: Cluster of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
Figure 3: Humans, Animals, and Plants have clusters of stem cells that sustain growth and replace damaged tissues.  


Join Dr. Fisher and Marin Science Seminar this Wednesday to learn more!
Wednesday, March 28th
From 7:30 to 8:30pm
Terra Linda High School
Room 207
Julia McKeag

Proudly powered by WordPress