My first attempt at publishing a paper was a breeze. A collaborator was asked to contribute to a special issue and offered me the opportunity to lead the paper. I was a PhD student at the time, and spent two months visiting her lab overseas and writing. By the end of my visit, I’d carved out a draft that I…
A new study at the University of British Columbia has produced a “definitive debunking” of a controversial procedure that surgically widens neck veins as a treatment for multiple sclerosis. Dr. Anthony Traboulsee has released the results of a $5.5-million clinical trial he believes will deliver the final death blow to so-called liberation therapy. For years, MS patients have been travelling around…
ABSTRACT: A mild and selective photocatalytic C-H 18F-fluorination reaction has been developed that provides direct access to 18F-fluorinated aminoacids. The biodistribution and uptake of three 18F-labeled leucine analogues via LAT1 mediated transport in several cancer cell lines is reported. Positron emission tomography imaging of mice bearing PC3 (prostate) or U87 (glioma) xenografts using 5-[18F]-fluorohomoleucine showed high tumor uptake and excellent…
Do Americans hate science? They certainly seem to hate it more than they used to, as they rage against experts in every field. This is more than a traditional American distaste for eggheads and intellectuals. Americans, increasingly, are acting (and voting) on myths and misinformation about science, and placing themselves at significant risk. In Texas, for example, “personal-belief exemptions” among…
A private biotechnology company developing state-of-the-art lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology for messenger RNA (mRNA), announced today publication of data demonstrating that mRNA encoding a broadly neutralizing antibody delivered in an Acuitas LNP carrier protects humanized mice from HIV-1 challenge. In a paper published today in Nature Communications, Acuitas’ scientists and academic researchers lead by Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, a professor…
ABSTRACT: CDC-like kinase phosphorylation of serine/arginine-rich proteins is central to RNA splicing reactions. Yet, the genomic network of CDC-like kinase-dependent RNA processing events remains poorly defined. Here, we explore the connectivity of genomic CDC-like kinase splicing functions by applying graduated, short-exposure, pharmacological CDC-like kinase inhibition using a novel small molecule (T3) with very high potency, selectivity, and cell-based stability. Using…
B.C.’s innovation-driven biotech leaders are stepping on to the world stage and generating $14.4 billion a year in economic effect in the process. Vancouver-based Stemcell Technologies, for example, has emerged as a global presence with customer support and distribution hubs in Canada, the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia, and annual revenues reportedly topping $150 million. But as impressive as that figure sounds — and…
This past summer, the future of our postdoctoral association’s Science Policy Committee was uncertain. We were without purpose, our programming was sporadic—a seminar here, a blog post there—and overall interest seemed low. As a co-chair of the committee, which had dwindled to a grand total of two members, I struggled to identify ways to engage our postdoc community and to transform…
On a drizzly mid-week evening downtown, beer glasses clink as a roomful of people sit, eyes fixed to a slideshow of complicated-looking graphs. The professor leading the presentation – on anything from prehistoric megafauna to advances in robotic engineering – speaks candidly, occasionally drawing a gasp from the awe-struck crowd. The popular science scene in Vancouver has been growing steadily…
A story in the online publication National Observer last year highlighted what appeared to be a significant rise in the use of laboratory animals in Canada, as indicated by a report from the Canadian Council on Animal Care (CCAC). Although the article did not distinguish among the various types of animals included in the report, the increase was almost entirely…
