bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Eating yourself to death: Liver cholesterol, plasma ApoB and death from atherosclerosis
Authors: Sniderman Allan D.
Published: October 2019

Plasma apoB (apolipoprotein B) equals the total number of atherogenic lipoprotein particles in plasma. Since trapping of these particles within the arterial wall is fundamental to the pathogenesis of vascular disease, understanding the metabolic determinants of plasma apoB is key in determining the risks and therapy of vascular disease. This article attempts to demonstrate how plasma apoB is determined by the cholesterol content within hepatocytes. It also sets out a hypothesis as to how the need to maintain homoeostasis of an intracellular organelle sets off a chain of events, which ends with the death of the organism.
Supporting Excellence in the Science Base: Let me introduce myself
Authors: Defriend Lily
Published: October 2019

I'm glad to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the Biochemical Society's newly appointed Policy and Parliamentary Officer. This is a new role for the Society and represents a great opportunity to develop the presence of the biochemical sciences community in a political forum.
Art and science: Sci-Art: what are the problems?
Authors: Roberts Keith
Published: October 2019

Once upon a time, a very long time ago, and long before they were around, neither art nor science mattered so much as where the next meal came from. But around 30000 years ago, early humans suddenly began to make images and, for reasons that have never been very satisfactorily explained, that new set of image-making skills must have been useful, in that it was somehow selected for, and persists to this day. Most of us, even if it was just as kids, have made images: drawings, doodles or paintings. Sight is a remarkable sense, and it may well be that image making was part of an evolutionary process for obtaining visual knowledge, a way of comprehending our visible environment more effectively and making sense of it1.
Science and the millennium goals
Authors: Sargent Michael G.
Published: October 2019

People in the developed world are remarkably unsceptical when our leaders propose projects as grandiose as putting a man on the moon or sequencing the human genome. But can we believe in a project that will halve global infant and maternal mortality by 2015? During the winter of 2006, I visited India and Ethiopia as a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellow and got a feel for the things that make early life so precarious in the developing world.
In the bone: Gene delivery in bone tissue engineering: two sides of the story
Authors: Partridge Kris
Published: October 2019

In June 2000, Time magazine announced the role of ‘Tissue engineer’ as the top job prospect for the year 2025. What we will do in the meantime is anyone's guess, but some of us are working now on solving the problem of delivering therapeutic genes to engineered tissues and organs. There are two broad types of approach to this: viral or nonviral. In practice, the choice of delivery vehicle is wide, varied and complex. Viruses will deliver genes efficiently but not always safely, while nonviral approaches can promise greater safety but low efficiency. Both of these methods have been used to engineer replacement bone tissue.
Intelligent design theory: New hypothesis or old idea in a new guise?
Authors: Bryant John A.
Published: October 2019

The term ‘intelligent design’ is a relatively new one. In the public mind it is associated with a particular religious view of the world and because of this it is often lumped together with what is loosely called ‘creationism’. In this brief article, I intend to examine the claims of intelligent design, but it will be impossible to do so without mentioning religion and because of that, I need to make my own position clear.
Meeting our international members: A scientific pathway: from the Sudan to Scotland
Authors: Ibrahim Mohammad Madani
Published: October 2019

My name is Mohammad Madani Ibrahim. I am a Sudanese citizen living in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. I graduated from the University of Khartoum in 2001 with a BSc (Hons) in zoology. My interest in the biological sciences began early; ever since elementary school, my favourite subject was science. I was particularly interested in biology and chemistry, and was always an active member of the school science society.
Reefer madness: Cannabinoid psychoses
Authors: Murray Paul D. Morrison and Robin M.
Published: October 2019

Until recently, very few psychiatrists would have regarded cannabis as harmful to mental health, but that situation has changed dramatically. A number of large-scale epidemiological studies have clearly demonstrated that cannabis use is a risk factor for later schizophrenia and that the earlier the use starts the greater the risk. There has also been rapid progress in our knowledge of the endogenous cannabinoid system and renewed interest in the medicinal uses of cannabinoids.
Whither biochemistry?: What can the past tell us about the future of biochemistry and the Biochemical Society?
Authors: Kirk Chris
Published: October 2019

As this article began to take shape, I joked with a colleague along the lines of whether the first word in the title should contain the letter “h”. It is true that there are many fewer ‘Departments of Biochemistry’ in UK universities than existed when I was a student in the 1970s. There are also fewer degree courses that primarily identify themselves as biochemical. The same could be said of other traditional disciplines such as physiology and pharmacology, whose existence in separate departments was once assured by the need to teach these subjects in the traditional pre-clinical training of medical students. Many of these departments are now amalgamated into larger units following the adoption of the new medical curriculum and the development of the ability to research the basic processes of life across traditional disciplines.
The way forward?: The growth of systems biology
Authors: Sansom Clare
Published: October 2019

Systems biology is certainly fashionable. In the UK, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has put forward the majority of an investment of well over £70 million to set up six university-based ‘centres of integrative systems biology’. Other countries are making similar investments. A few years ago, however, as with ‘bioinformatics’ a decade or so earlier, it seemed that there were almost as many definitions of systems biology as there were practitioners. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that almost any computer analysis of a biological problem might have been badged in that way.
A cure for hypochondria
Authors: Sansom Clare
Published: October 2019

Back in Victorian England – close to the dawn of time for Cyberbiochemist readers – ‘J.’ , the narrator of Jerome K. Jerome's humorous classic Three Men in a Boat, had a problem.
The Oxford model: The threats and opportunities of commercializing university research
Authors: Cook Tim , Dwek Raymond A. , Hockaday Tom , Blumberg Baruch S.
Published: October 2019

This article describes the strategies and tactics that Oxford University has developed over a 10year period to reconcile the conflicting demands of the traditional university responsibilities of teaching and research with the socalled third stream needs of more direct economic development.
Forty years on: Edelman and Jefford's model of fructan metabolism
Authors: John Philip
Published: October 2019

Forty years ago, a paper was published which proposed a model for the synthesis and breakdown of plant fructans (inulin)1. The work was based on activities of enzymes that had been only partially purified, the reaction products were analysed by paper chromatography, and the proposed biosynthetic reactions differed from those of other carbohydrate polymers. Little progress was made in the subsequent 30 years, and a 1993 paper from the leading UK fructan laboratory referred to the model as “flawed”. However, work over the last 10 years with the purified enzymes and their cloned genes has demonstrated beyond any doubt that the enzymes involved in fructan synthesis and breakdown operate in just the way that Edelman and Jefford described them in 19681. This original and prescient paper deserves to be more widely recognized as a classic in plant biochemistry.
Not as easy as it looks: Gene therapy for cystic fibrosis
Authors: Lee Tim , Blair Eric
Published: October 2019

The gene responsible for cystic fibrosis (CF) was first identified in 1989. Since that time, gene therapy has held the promise of a cure for cystic fibrosis; however, progress has been much slower than initially hoped. Clinical trials of gene therapy have demonstrated that the corrected CF gene can be expressed successfully in the respiratory tract of subjects with CF, but only for approximately 30 days at best, and at low levels.
Sorting the Good from the Bad and the Ugly
Authors: Vaux David
Published: October 2019

The single most important factor in determining funding and career prospects remains the number of publications. This creates pressure to exaggerate findings and, coupled with the availability of easy to use imageprocessing software, has produced a flood of scientific publications, but the quality has suffered.
Found in translation: Realizing the potential of new therapeutic targets
Authors: Black Darcey , Henry Brian
Published: October 2019

In the last few years, the phrase ‘from bench to bedside’ has become familiar in the titles of scientific reviews, research papers and scientific and medical research conferences. ‘Bench to bedside’ refers to a branch of research called translational medicine (or translational biology). The apparent growing usage of this term would suggest the development of a new paradigm in research in medical research. While this is true to a great extent, the concept and practical application, as we will see, was around in the pioneering days of biochemistry.
Alleged scientific opposition to evolution
Authors: Matzke Nick
Published: October 2019

Biological evolution -- descent with modification -- became generally accepted in the scientific community in the same fashion as all other major theories, i.e. it survived repeated testing against research data. Creationists, especially creationists who support the notion of ‘intelligent design’, are so desperate for this kind of secular credibility that they will trumpet any quote, citation, or scientist that can be interpreted or misinterpreted as authoritative dissent from the mainstream evolutionary theory. This occurs whether or not the cited authority is actually dissenting, or is actually an authority. In an almost automaton-like fashion, creationists compile collections of such ‘authorities’ and deploy them in an attempt to convince school boards, teachers, students, and eventually judges that there is scientific ‘controversy’ over evolution.
Oestrogen receptors: An intriguing double act
Authors: Barros Rodrigo P.A. , Gustafsson Jan-Åke
Published: October 2019

The birth of nuclear receptors took place at the end of the 1950s when Elwood Jensen discovered specific binding of tritium-labelled oestradiol-17 in the uterus, a known target of oestrogens. Over the following years, Jensen and collaborators, e.g. Jacobsen and Gorski, identified the oestradiolconcentrating mechanism as a high-affinity low-capacity soluble receptor which was termed the ER (oestrogen receptor)1.
Neutron scattering: Unravelling antibody and complement structures in immunity using TS-2 neutrons at ISIS
Authors: Perkins Stephen J.
Published: October 2019

Antibodies and the complement proteins of our immune system are large highly glycosylated and flexible multidomain proteins whose solution structures and protein–protein interactions are intricate to unravel. Controversies and speculations abound in this field. The intact proteins are hard to crystallize, and far too big for NMR structural determinations. Thus alternative structural approaches based on neutron scattering and others such as X-ray scattering, constrained modelling and analytical ultracentrifugation become vital to tackle these proteins. The commissioning of the £145 million second target station (TS-2) project at ISIS represents a major advance that will offer much higher neutron beam fluxes and permit more dilute proteins to be studied and more ambitious experiments to be planned. Recently completed antibody projects at ISIS illustrate our present capabilities and provide tantalizing views of what will be achievable. ISIS has already made invaluable contributions to biochemistry, and will continue to do so with TS-2.
Science in Parliament
Authors: Colebrook Ellen
Published: October 2019

Parliamentary Fellowships give PhD students the opportunity to spend 3 months working in Parliament, providing scientific information to policy-makers. Whereas most Fellows work with the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST), researching and writing a briefing on a science topic, I had the opportunity to work with the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills (IUSS) Select Committee. The Committee is responsible for scrutinizing science policy across Government. My experience has given me an insight into how science policy is formed, and how scientists can inform the policy-making process.
Tweeting biochemistry
Authors: Sansom Clare
Published: October 2019

I will start this first Cyberbiochemist of 2010 with something of a confession. I am still a Twitter newbie. My Twitter account is (at the time of writing) less than 3 months old, and I am still working out how it best fits into my particular media mix. So, why do I write about the interface between Twitter and biochemistry? Maybe my main motivation is to learn more.
A green revolution: Getting the measure of a plant cell
Authors: Hawes Chris , Evans David , Runions John
Published: October 2019

A combination of advances in fluorescent protein technology and rapid expression systems combined with advanced microscopical techniques has resulted in major breakthroughs in our understanding of plant cell dynamics.
Will your next poster session be in a virtual world?
Authors: Klaveren Frances van
Published: October 2019

Face-to-face conferences are a very important way for scientists to meet in person, share knowledge and to foster new ideas. Despite the rapid development of technologies which allow us to organize conferences online, numerous face-to-face conferences are still being organized around the globe each year. However, there is a growing interest in the possibilities of integrating science communication and networking with Web 2.0 technologies, and this is likely to influence the way in which science conferences will be organized in the future.
Introduction
Authors: Mellor Jane
Published: October 2019

To correctly read the information stored in our DNA genomes (the genetic code), cells must read another language that overlays it, the epigenetic code, which controls access to that information. A process such as transcription can only retrieve this information according to the access granted by the epigenome. The term epigenetics was coined in the 1940s by British embryologist and geneticist Conrad Waddington to describe “the interaction of genes with their environment, which bring the phenotype into being”. Now the term epigenetics (literally over or above genetics) refers to the extra layers of instructions that influence gene activity without altering the DNA sequence. There are three main components to the epigenetic code: (i) methylated cytosine residues in DNA1; (ii) the range of post-translational modifications to the core histone proteins within the nucleosomes (referred to as the histone code)2,3; and (iii) RNA molecules, often non-coding RNA4.
Epigenetics on the brain: Modifying chromatin and behaviour
Authors: Goll Mary G.
Published: October 2019

Proper regulation of gene expression is essential for the development and survival of every organ ism. Epigenetic modifications provide a way for cells to regulate gene expression and to propagate expression states heritably through cell division. Given the brain's complexity, it is not surprising that epigenetic regulation is essential for both normal development and maintenance of homoeostasis of this organ. New data suggest that the role of epigenetic regulation in the brain may extend much further, influencing both the ways neurons organize their networks in response to new experiences and the resultant behaviours. Such studies highlight the relevance of epigenetic regulation for neu rodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disease.
From the Oxford student editorial team
Authors: Yadin David
Published: October 2019

Last November, Professor Stuart Ferguson in the Oxford Department of Biochemistry approached me to tell me about the competition run by The Biochemist to find a student editorial team. He had seen our magazine, Phenotype, and thought we would stand a good chance. Without his initial encouragement, we would probably not have entered the competition.
The glass that cheers: Phenolic and polyphenolic constituents and the beneficial effects of moderate red wine consumption
Authors: Crozier Alan , Borges Gina , Ryan Danielle
Published: October 2019

Red wines, moderate consumption of which is associated with beneficial effects on health, including a reduced incidence of cardiovascular disease, contain a rich diversity of simple and complex (poly)phenolic compounds. Subtle changes in the polyphenolic profile occur during maturation of the wine which affects its colour and taste. Although the protective effects of red wine consumption have been linked with resveratrol and procyanidins, the identity of the compounds involved remains unclear.
Eureka moments: the key that unlocked calcium: Michael Berridge in conversation with Robin Irvine
Authors: Alink-Brunsdon Sheila
Published: October 2019

As part of our Centenary celebrations, a number of the Society's Honorary Members have been asked to talk about the important moments in their careers and the future of the discipline. These interviews will be made available throughout the year on the Society's website as a series of podcasts.
Could you be a Researcher in Residence?
Authors: Hardwicke Anthony
Published: October 2019

Taking your science into schools can be a valuable experience for everyone involved. It's a great oppor tunity to develop your communication and publicengagement skills (and help enhance your CV) and can play a key part in inspiring the next generation of young scientists. The Researchers in Residence scheme provides a wellestablished route in.
Pseudokinases as modulators of signal transduction in normal and cancer cells
Authors: Murphy James M.
Published: October 2019

Hot Topic Event held at Charles Darwin House, London, 3 December 2010??????
Battle to Breathe: Exploring the design of our lungs using paint, glue and pom poms!
Authors: Harrop Ceri
Published: October 2019

‘Battle to Breathe’ is an interactive workshop in which pupils work with current biomedical researchers to learn how the lungs battle the daily onslaught of bacteria, pollution and other allergens to keep us breathing easy. By means of rotation through a series of workstations, pupils explore the location and function of the lungs, the role of cilia and mucus in keeping the airways clean and even use paint to estimate their own lung volume.
Life at two million magnification: An exercise in public understanding of biochemistry
Authors: Tribe Henry
Published: October 2019

A difficulty of introducing molecular biology and biochemistry to the educated public is the layman's lack of a simple concept of what molecules are and how they can relate to one another. Scientists, however, well know that molecules are discrete tangible structures with three-dimensional shapes.
The mucosal barrier: Protective frontier to the outside world
Authors: Corfield Tony
Published: October 2019

The mucosal surfaces throughout the body are designed to provide an interface which can tolerate and protect at the same time. They need to screen the external environment and select for transport of required factors, such as nutrients from the diet, interact with the microflora present – taking benefit from those commensal strains while resisting pathogens, act as a milieu for an assortment of antimicrobial molecules and also combat attack from aggressive chemical and other microbiological agents. The system must be dynamic so that a continuous intact protective barrier is maintained at all times. Failure of the barrier leads to pathological conditions, and abnormal barrier components are among well known biomarkers for mucosal diseases. This brief review highlights some of the aspects relating to gut metabolism and mucosal protection.
Communication: Society News
Authors: Cox Amy
Published: October 2019

How do you hear about the activities of the Biochemical Society? Twitter, The Biochemist or member emails? How are you reading this? Do you read the printed magazine, or browse Biochemist e-volution? If the latter, do you use your computer, iPad or Mobile?
Bioinformatics in China
Authors: Sansom Clare
Published: October 2019

The Cyberbiochemist theme for this special issue of The Biochemist devoted to China hardly needs stating: an overview, such as is possible in the space available, of bioinformatics – and genomics – research in the country that is the most populous on earth and that boasts the fastest growing economy of any major nation.
Student Focus: Just for you
Authors: Cox Amy
Published: October 2019

In 2011, the Biochemical Society launched Undergraduate Membership in order to support the studies of the researchers, writers and thinkers of the future. To go alongside this new category of membership, the Society is launching a new section of The Biochemist specifically aimed at our undergraduate and postgraduate members – Student Focus
Choosing a career: making the right choice for you
Authors: Hime Alexa
Published: October 2019

Once you have completed your first degree, making the right choice from a wide range of different careers paths can be daunting. Biochemistry graduates can be found doing various jobs throughout society, from research into a cure for Alzheimer's disease to designing proteins and product management. This is because the key transferrable skills obtained from studying a bioscience degree are highly sought after by employers, making a plethora of career options available.
In touch: The molecular basis of mechanosensory transduction
Authors: Kang Lijun , Wescott Seth , Li Wei , Xu X.Z. Shawn
Published: October 2019

Nearly all species employ mechanosensitive channels to detect mechanical cues, such as touch and sound waves, and convert these mechanical forces into electrochemical signals. Genetic, biochemical and electrophysiological studies of touch-insensitive mutants in model organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster provide insights into the molecular basis of mechanosensory transduction.
Supporting bright ideas
Authors: Garrett Gemma
Published: October 2019

Each year, the Society awards two rounds of Scientific Outreach Grants to support exciting and engaging activities that promote the biosciences to young people and the general public. Our Centenary year drew more applications than ever. This article is a series of short accounts from selected events that took place throughout 2011.
Gowland Hopkins and the Biochemical Society
Authors: Freedman Robert
Published: October 2019

For British biochemistry, 2011 is a year of double celebration: the centenary of the foundation of the Biochemical Society coincides with the 150th anniversary of the birth of Frederick Gowland Hopkins (Figure 1), the dominant figure in British biochemistry in the first half of the 20th Century.
Targeting tumours: Developing vector systems
Authors: Traquete Rui , Wallace Heather M.
Published: October 2019

The vast majority of anticancer chemotherapeutic agents in clinical use have a high incidence of adverse side effects as a result of their lack of specificity towards malignant cells. The therapeutic use of these drugs is therefore limited, despite most of them having potent anti-tumour activity in vitro1. The non-specific actions can be overcome by targeting tumour cells more selectively than healthy cells and this is therefore a major challenge facing modern cancer therapy. Ideally, decreased uptake of these agents by healthy cells would not only decrease their associated toxicity, but also lower the dose required to kill the cancer cell. Current approaches to develop tumour-specific drugs are based on targeting a single deregulated pathway or an overexpressed receptor, and there are a number of molecules that successfully validate this strategy. These include monoclonal antibodies, peptides, folic acid, hormones and growth factors. Although demonstrating selective targeting is feasible, few of these agents are useful therapeutically, since most of the drugs have shown modest cell killing activity2. A valuable alternative to enhance drug specificity is to develop vector systems that have an enhanced affinity towards cancer cells. This would enable better use of already established chemotherapeutic agents as a result of preferential uptake and diminished secondary effects on healthy cells. Over the last few years, polyamine backbones have been studied as one such vector system, aiming to take advantage of the polyamine transport system (PTS) in cancer cells for selective delivery of known anticancer drugs. In this article, we describe the basic principles, as well as recent advances regarding this novel approach.
Pharmacology NOW!
Authors: Strangward Jessica
Published: October 2019

Pharmacologists play a vital role in the drug discovery process. Every time we take a pill, our body's chemistry changes. Pharmacology's job is to understand why, and to use this knowledge to build better drugs.
Molecules and membranes: Emerging details shed light on mammalian autophagy
Authors: Tooze Sharon A.
Published: October 2019

Autophagy, which literally means ‘self eating’, is a highly conserved intracellular degradative process mediated by lysosomal enzymes. Autophagy was identified using electron microscopy in the 1950s by cell biologists studying the lysosome and it was recognized as a lysosomal degradative pathway (for a review of the original publications, see Tooze et al.1) Recently, a number of key findings have elucidated the pivotal role played by autophagy in tissue homoeostasis and human disease, such as cancer, neurodegeneration, infection, immunity and aging2. Autophagy is also tightly linked to neonatal survival and cellular metabolism3.
It's time to eat yourself healthy: On signals controlling autophagy
Authors: Korolchuk Viktor I. , Rubinsztein David C.
Published: October 2019

Macroautophagy, for simplicity frequently called autophagy, is a mechanism used by cells to survive periods of starvation by degrading cytoplasmic components and releasing muchneeded metabolites and energy. In so doing, autophagy also achieves another feat: removal of dysfunctional and toxic proteins and protein aggregates, as well as entire organelles, such as functionally impaired mitochondria. Therefore up-regulation of autophagy is now considered to be of potential therapeutic benefit in numerous diseases, including neurodegenerative conditions resulting from accumulation of misfolded, intracytoplasmic, aggregate-prone proteins. This article discusses a complex network of signalling pathways upstream of autophagy and potential targets that may allow precise and efficient control of autophagy for therapeutic purposes.
Autophagy and cell death: The jury's still out
Authors: Lane Jon D. , Betin Virginie M.S. , Mannack Lilith , MacVicar Tom D.B.
Published: October 2019

Since the publication of seminal work in the early 1970s by John Kerr and Andrew Wyllie1, we have been aware that mammalian cells have the genetically encoded capability to give up the ghost and trigger a highly conserved cell-suicide pathway called apoptosis. Not content with this important knowledge, many researchers have spent the intervening years attempting to identify and characterize other ‘programmed cell death’ (PCD) mechanisms that might also have important roles in development and disease. One of these was ‘autophagy’, a process by which cells became vacuolated and progressively devoid of cytoplasm. Over the years, ‘autophagic cell death’ has been linked with the timely death of cells in development, as well as the catastrophic loss of cells in several important human diseases. But is autophagy truly a cell death mechanism in its own right? Perhaps it is just an innocent bystander, unfairly accused on the basis of flimsy circumstantial evidence? The jury may finally be poised to return a decisive verdict….
Evolving immunity: Xenophagy and the removal of intracellular pathogens
Authors: Zhou Zhigang , Cottam Eleanor , Whelband Matthew , Vaux Laura , Wileman Tom
Published: October 2019

Early eukaryotes, such as free-living protozoa and yeasts, had to adapt to rapidly changing environments and an uncertain food supply. Lack of food imposed serious stress on these cells and it is thought that this drove the evolution of a membrane trafficking pathway called autophagy. Autophagy allows cells to deliver cytosolic proteins and organelles to lysosomes for degradation and provides a short-term supply of amino acids. Autophagy allowed early eukaryotes to generate the amino acids they needed to move and search for food and provided an advantage over sedentary cells that generated spores during famine. The capacity to degrade large quantities of cytoplasm also provided these early cells with a powerful mechanism to degrade intracellular pathogens. When autophagy engulfs pathogens the pathway is called ‘xenophagy’ because delivery to lysosomes leads to the removal of foreign organisms1. Xenophagy therefore represents a very early stage in the evolution of innate immunity.
Starting blocks: The biochemical basis of contraction-induced signal transduction in skeletal muscle
Authors: Egan Brendan , Newsholme Philip
Published: October 2019

How does skeletal muscle adapt to regular exercise? This question has puzzled and enthused exercise physiologists for the best part of half a century since seminal work by John Holloszy demonstrated the remarkable plasticity of skeletal muscle in response to intense exercise training1. This phenomenon is overtly illustrated by the remodelling of muscle structure and function, with respect to muscular force, endurance and contractile velocity as a result of alterations in functional demand elicited by regular exercise2, or the ability of regular exercise to prevent or ameliorate pathophysiological disease states to which physical inactivity and skeletal muscle insulin resistance contribute3.
Uganda on the agenda?
Authors: Garrett Gemma , Thomson Jane
Published: October 2019

The Society is exploring ways of expanding our reach internationally, and supporting developing countries through our charitable work. With this in mind, two members of the Education team – Gemma Garrett and Jane Thomson – embarked on a week-long visit to Uganda in April. The trip was designed to inform the development of appropriate educational resources and activities for Ugandan schools. Working closely alongside our excellent Ugandan Local Ambassador, Deus Tusibira, the itinerary included visits to seven schools, two universities, the Ugandan National Council for Science and Technology and the British Council.
Homoeostasis and distribution of essential metals in cells: Principles and molecular mechanisms
Authors: Blindauer Claudia
Published: October 2019

It has long been recognized that all organisms have a requirement for a range of metal ions, serving a variety of purposes (Table 1)1. The consequences of deficiency for each of these metal ions are grave; however, even essential metal ions are demonstrably toxic at elevated concentrations2. Therefore both unicellular and multicellular organisms have developed sophisticated mechanisms to regulate the intracellular concentrations and distribution of essential metal ions. The importance of such mechanisms is illustrated by the severity of genetic diseases related to metal mishandling, which include thalassaemias (iron overload), pernicious anaemia (diminished cobalt absorption), Wilson's and Menkes' diseases (copper mis-distribution), and acrodermatitis enteropathica (congenital zinc deficiency)3, with several of these diseases being fatal if untreated. It is also thought that impaired metal ion homoeostasis is a hallmark of aging4, and several neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases are also intimately linked to misbalanced metal distribution5.
Iron–sulfur proteins
Authors: Cammack Richard
Published: October 2019

Iron makes up 35% of the Earth's mass, and is plentiful in its crust (approximately 5%), so it is not surprising that Biology has found many different applications for it. Iron–sulfur (Fe–S) clusters are essential, ubiquitous inorganic cofactors in electron-transport proteins of respiration and photosynthesis, and are responsible for the activity of hundreds of enzymes1. Various types of clusters (Figure 1) occur in iron-sulfur proteins, bound covalently to protein ligands, usually cysteine sulfur. Their activity is not confined to oxidation/reduction; in enzymes such as aconitase, they are involved in substrate binding and conversion. Fe–S enzymes that catalyse difficult reactions, such as nitrogenase in nitrogen fixation and hydrogenase in hydrogen production, contain complex ‘superclusters’2.
Bacteria and heavy metals: Metal cofactors involved in electron transfer and catalytic reduction during anaerobic bacterial respiration
Authors: Clarke Tom
Published: October 2019

From the early stages of life on earth to the present day, many bacteria have evolved respiratory pathways to generate energy from a range of molecules; these include organic and inorganic, soluble and insoluble compounds that are either present as naturally occurring molecules in the environment or are released through industrial, municipal or agricultural waste. This results in bacteria affecting the availability of a number of biologically important elements, including carbon, nitrogen and sulfur, as well as iron and manganese.
Metals, non-metals and minerals: The complexity of bacterial selenate respiration
Authors: Butler Clive S.
Published: October 2019

Metalloproteins and enzymes are an essential part of all respiratory electron-transfer chains and provide a pathway for electron transfer to terminal electron acceptors. Since bacteria can utilize a wide range of respiratory substrates, this variety of potential electron acceptors has facilitated the need for many different respiratory metalloproteins. Bacterial selenate respiration requires the sequential reduction of the selenium oxyanions selenate and selenite resulting in the precipitation of elemental selenium. The initial bioenergetic processes of selenate respiration are driven by metalloproteins utilizing cofactors containing iron and molybdenum. However, the assembly of the elemental selenium into selenium nanosphere crystals has shed light on a new family of proteins involved in selenium biomineralization. This article highlights some of the recent advances in our understanding of selenate respiration in the bacterium Thauera selenatis, with particular focus on the metalloproteins involved in selenate reduction and the novel proteins that function to deal with these insoluble selenium deposits. “As mineralogy constitutes a part of chemistry, it is clear that this arrangement of minerals must derive its principles from chemistry” Jöns Jacob Berzelius 1814
Strengthening academic writing skills of researchers from developing countries: The International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications
Authors: Belcher Martin , Murugesan Ravi
Published: October 2019

Founded in 1992, the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP) is an international UK-based charity that seeks to support global research communication through innovation, networking, capacity strengthening and advocacy. Our current work takes a systematic and holistic approach to the research communication cycle, with the understanding that for research to contribute to development, it needs to be available, accessible, created and put to use.
Research, internationalization and the UK
Authors: Lush James
Published: October 2019

Back in July, I attended the Euroscience Open Forum (ESOF), a biennial behemoth of a conference which moves around Europe. In 2014, Denmark will become the sixth country to host the event – an honour yet to be bestowed on the UK. This is perhaps a poor example (the inaugural conference was only held in 2004), but is it indicative of something wider? It did seem as though the number of UK delegates and speakers was lower than of Italy, France and our other major European neighbours, despite Dublin playing host on this occasion.
Gold nanoparticles in biomedicine
Authors: Berry Catherine
Published: October 2019

Nanoparticles (NPs) are classed as single particles with size diameters in the nanometre range, typically less than 100 nm. In cell biology, many molecules are measured in the nanoscale range, such as proteins and DNA. It is established that NPs less than several hundred nanometres can easily enter cells (with less than 50 nm entering most cells), whereas those under 20 nm can move through the blood vessels and permeate adjacent tissue, and also cross the blood–brain barrier1, thus NPs hold great promise regarding applications in biomedicine. Aside from this advantage of ubiquitous tissue accessibility, NPs also benefit from their large surface area to volume ratio, which, alongside ease of chemical functionalization, permits attachment of a multifunctional cargo payload (such as a fluorescent moiety or cell targeting molecules), as illustrated in Figure 12.
Fake blood, pond life and 30 school students playing the keyboard at once
Authors: Granger Elizabeth
Published: October 2019

BioPathways was a secondary school workshop funded by the Biochemical Society's Scientific Outreach Grant that aimed to enthuse students about science and demonstrate the link between higher education and possible careers in their future.
Crossing the barrier: The role of the blood–brain barrier in treating mental illness
Authors: Adkins Chris E. , Barber Kara R. , Lockman Paul R.
Published: October 2019

To treat mental illness effectively with pharmacological agents, a drug must be able to cross the blood–brain barrier (BBB) at sufficient amounts to provide therapeutic concentrations within brain tissue at a desired target. The challenge of drug delivery to the central nervous system (CNS) has been a longstanding problem, which has resulted in more than 98% of CNS drugs failing to enter the clinical setting because of poor BBB penetration1. This article discusses first how the BBB generally limits drug delivery to the CNS; secondly, the role the BBB plays, if any, in limiting antidepressants access to the CNS; and, finally, general strategies to bypass the BBB in new drug development for mental illness.
Molecular pathways to depression
Authors: Anacker Christoph
Published: October 2019

Major depression is one of the most debilitating mental illnesses of our time, and, after more than 60 years of research, we have only just begun to understand some of the basic concepts of this illness with multiple origins and manifestations. Approximately one-third of all depressed patients do not respond to any first line of antidepressant therapy, demonstrating dramatically how little we still understand about the neurobiological and molecular mechanisms underlying depression and antidepressant treatment response. Our discoveries to date are likely to be just the tip of the iceberg, and much research is thus needed to identify biological pathways to depression in order to develop more effective antidepressant treatments in the future.
A safe lithium mimetic?: The inositol depletion hypothesis rescues an experimental drug for bipolar disorder
Authors: Churchill Grant C. , Singh Nisha , Vasudevan Sridhar
Published: October 2019

Vincent Van Gogh painted for just 10 years, but produced over 2000 works of art in periods of intense productivity and creativity. However, during these creative periods, his personal life was one of chaos with poor and impulsive decisions relating to finance, career, business, substance abuse, sexuality and romance (sending his severed ear to the object of his affection), and between these periods he was institutionalized with crushing depressions and he eventually took his own life. It is likely that he suffered from what we now know as bipolar disorder1. Insight into mood is not easily conveyed, but we can get a sense of Van Gogh's mood extremes from two of his paintings, both with the theme of a starry night, but one suggesting exuberant mania and one gloomy depression. Surprisingly, the best treatment for bipolar disorder still remains the one first discovered over 60 years ago: the cation lithium2. Nevertheless, lithium's side effects and toxicity have spurred the search for a replacement2,3.
Who turned on the lights?: What the regulation of bacterial bioluminescence tells us about this and other bacterial group behaviours
Authors: Stabb Eric V. , Flores-Cruz Zomary
Published: October 2019

Luminescence produced by organisms, or ‘bioluminescence’, holds a distinct fascination for humankind, and the study of bacterial bioluminescence has a long history in the field of microbiology. Advances in our understanding of bacterial bioluminescence have in many ways paralleled advances in the field as a whole. Intriguingly, studies of bioluminescent bacteria led to a seminal discovery in bacterial gene regulation and behaviour, because for bacteria, bioluminescence is a group activity. Bioluminescent bacteria communicate using pheromones, and as a result the regulatory decision to induce bioluminescence is only made if a group of bacteria has achieved a dense enough population to allow the build-up of pheromone. More recently, it has become clear that there are complex regulatory circuits governing not only luminescence, but also pheromone signalling itself. These additional layers of regulation pose new questions such as what are bacteria really saying to each other? Understanding regulation may also help answer ancient questions including, what use is luminescence?
DNA damage in the skin and melanoma: The good and bad sides of DNA repair
Authors: McNeil Ewan M. , Melton David W.
Published: October 2019

The DNA in the cells in our skin is damaged by UV irradiation. DNA repair pathways protect us against the carcinogenic consequences of unrepaired DNA damage, but the same DNA repair pathways can also protect life-threatening melanoma skin cancers from DNA-damaging chemotherapeutics.
Anger: Adrenaline receptors do not allow us to be too sinful
Authors: Michel Martin C.
Published: October 2019

All of us feel angry once in a while, but if anger turns into a chronic state of mind it is not only annoying to those around us, it may also make us ill. Much of the acute anger reaction is mediated by catecholamines acting on β-adrenoceptors. Chronic activation of these receptors leads to their desensitization, protecting us at least partly from the adverse effects of sustained anger.
A Nod of recognition: How the ups and downs of Ca2+ lead to nodule development during the initiation of rhizobial-legume symbioses
Authors: Downie J. Allan
Published: October 2019

One of the most sensitive Ca2+-signalling pathways identified in nature is that which is activated by rhizobia during the initiation of symbiotic nitrogen-fixing nodules on legume roots. Leguminous plants owe much of their ecological success to their symbiosis with rhizobia, because rhizobia provide NH3 to plants by reducing N2 within specialized root organs called nodules. Rhizobia induce nodule development by activating a plant signalling pathway that requires oscillations of Ca2+ within the nucleus.
In a plant's own sweet time: Sugar and circadian rhythms
Authors: Dodd Antony N. , Webb Alex A.R.
Published: October 2019

Rotation of the Earth on its axis causes 24-h cycles in many features of the environment. Circadian rhythms generate a cellular measure of the time of day, providing a biological adaptation to daily changes in the environment. Plants need light to power photosynthesis in order to grow and reproduce, yet sunlight is only available for part of the 24-h day. It may therefore come as no surprise that circadian rhythms are extraordinarily important for plants. Experiments with the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana demonstrated that circadian rhythms increase plant productivity and photosynthesis1. Extension to other plant species is revealing how circadian rhythms are crucial for, and can be used to manipulate, agronomic traits of crops. Understanding and controlling the molecular bases for circadian regulation is therefore a crucial part of developing more productive crops for the next century.
Drug delivery: Epithelial cell models for drug transport and toxicology studies
Authors: Garnett Martin C. , Vllasaliu Driton , Stolnik Snow , Falcone Franco H.
Published: October 2019

The development of medicines during the 20th Century was initially based on oral delivery of drugs via the gastrointestinal tract. To enhance understanding of rate of uptake of different drugs and formulations and reduce the need for animal testing, in vitro models based on gut epithelial cell models were developed in the 1980s and 1990s. With the advent of biotechnology, an increasing number of drugs based on proteins and other biomolecules are being produced, which currently require parenteral administration (by injection). To avoid the need for injection, alternative routes of delivery are being sought for these molecules, including mucosal routes of the gastrointestinal tract and the lung. In parallel with this, the field of ‘nanotechnology’ began to develop. Nanotechnology offers both solutions and problems. ‘Nanomedicines’ over a range of nano sizes appear to offer some solutions for delivery, provided that they could cross epithelial barriers. In contrast, there remains considerable concern that the many different types of nanoparticles in development for electronics and new materials may be taken up into the body and cause harm. There are therefore clear needs for epithelial models which allow us to not only screen conventional drugs for absorption, but also assess potential non-invasive delivery of biologics and nanomedicines, as well as screen easily and reliably for nanotoxicology1. As it is the same barrier involved in all of these cases, we need a single epithelial model that can adequately reflect and give accurate answers for all of these different barrier problems. In this article, we assess the properties needed for an epithelial cellular model, the current state of the art, and some recent work developing a more accurate and comprehensive model.
Training models: Past, present and future
Authors: McAllister David
Published: October 2019

For most people, the decision to continue their studies into postgraduate research degrees is driven largely by two quite different factors. A love for science, for the research method, even for the molecule, cell or organism that was the focus of the final research project as an undergraduate is a must. The desire for a career in academic science, for which those three magical letters P, h and D are a passport, is an admirable ambition. Yet, the path to the dreaming spires of academia is as difficult as you will find in any profession, with ever increasing competition for ever decreasing numbers of long-term contracts.
Diversity and the Biochemical Society
Authors: Ball Catherine
Published: October 2019

Diversity issues have been on our minds here at the Biochemical Society of late. Like many within the science community, we're concerned that certain groups within UK society face barriers and are often disadvantaged when pursuing a career in the biosciences.
Bridging the gap: Introducing neuroscience to Ghana
Authors: Karikari Thomas K. , Yawson Nat Ato , Amankwaa Aaron Opoku
Published: October 2019

How Biochemical Society-funded outreach activities have motivated students in Ghana to pursue molecular bioscience careers.