Tom Lewis

There are various careers-type things you should attend and you need to stick around to collect your exam results from your tutor :) - Lyndsey Wright

People say how quickly uni life moves and i believe them now! With only a week left before the easter holidays its time to start looking at revision planning for the up and coming exams. Im hoping to use my time more wisely for revision this time round as during the Christman holidays i did get distracted quite a lot. Looking at the past week, its been fairly average, interesting lectures and practicals but no 'stand out' moments really...although im looking forward to doing some research on Ostogenesis imperfecta for the #MB1005 poster presentations, as its a completely new topic to me and researching it will be interesting. - Tom Lewis

Its been another very busy week with lots of work to do: revision for the timed meiosis essay, two practical reports to hand in and a microbiology essay to complete (which i have just finished by the way :D ). All my work was finished on time and a new batch of presentations has been set to do by next week. In terms of interest i dont feel the practicals have been as interesting as in previous weeks, i think this is due o the fact that there has been more focus on analysing results rather than actually doing practical work. However the lectures have been interesting, with my favourite being the #MB1004 lectures. - Tom Lewis

Good article explaining the discovery of a new oncogene which links in with breast cancer development, the ZNF703 gene has been described as the driver for the development of tumours causing cells to be permanently instructed to divide resulting in a tumour forming. The discovery of the gene can now lead to new treatments which will hopefully halt this damaging process. This links in with the #MB1005 module on genes and medicine. - Tom Lewis from Bookmarklet

Yet another eventful week has come to an end. I reveived my exam results on Monday, i was fairly pleased with them although in some areas i knew i could have done better, as a result im now determined to do even better in the next wave of exams. This term, i feel i need to improve upon a few things, i feel i need to structure my lecture revision time to a higher standard and try to look over more work in a better time limit, im also trying to read around the topics brought up in lectures a lot more to broaden my understanding. - Tom Lewis

Interesting article showing how sleepwalking is linked to a fault on chormosome 20, although im not surprised that something like this is linked to our genes as i suppose just about everything is. It states how carrying just one copy of the faulty DNA can lead to the condition. Even if a person has a faulty gene, sleepwalking only tends to be expressed as a symptom during times of stress and anxiety. This is linked to the #MB1005 module - Tom Lewis from Bookmarklet

Well its been another busy week but its gone very quickly. Ive enjoyed most of the lectures that have been presented with my favourite being the Alzheimers and Malaria lecture in the #MB1031 module, i've enjoyed all of the guest lectures we have had for this module (this semester and last semester) as they give us an insight into particular scientific developments that are happening as we speak! Once again the practicals have been enjoyable, i prefer them to last semesters practicals if im honest, the microobiology ones are still a favourite with me. Looking forward to the next week ahead! - Tom Lewis

A good article explaining how scientists have found 5 new genes that are thought to contribute to developing Parkinsons disease later on in life. Of course new findings such as this can only help in developing treatments or even a cure for the disease. This links in with the work on the #MB1005 module as we will come to learn about the ways in whch genes contribute to the development of particular conditions later on in life and how certain factors from the environment can activate these genes. - Tom Lewis from Bookmarklet

Good use of bookmarklet! - Dr Jo Badge from iPod

thanks :) i prefer using it to Google Reader if im honest, you can just search for interesing articles at your own leisure rather than waiting for one to pop up in Google Reader - Tom Lewis

Its been a very interesting and eventful first week back to uni and theres lots to reflect on. So far all the lectures i feel the new lecture programmes are very interesting and are going to cover yet more work that i am excited to learn about. I think the #BS1009 microbiology course could be the one i look forward to going to the most, as well as the lectures in the course i thought the first practical (last Tuesday) was thouroughly enjoyable...especially the gram staining. I also think the questions that are raised in the tutorials are very good at challenging what we have learned so far, however i do prefer the structure of last semesters tutorials, where the questions were completed beforehand, as i think this allows us to find areas of the work that we are not too sure about and ask more suitable questions. I also want to reflect on the timetable structure, as i have heard alot of complaints about the fact that its incoherent, i feel that although most days are 9-5 with many gaps in between, i feel this will encourage me to do work and read up on the issues raised in lectures more efficiently. - Tom Lewis

Interesting article explaining how bacteria can transfer genetic information amongst themselves, without just having to do so during reproduction. Now this has been known for years, but a new gene has been found to be transferable, the gene is called NDM-1 and allows the bacteria to aquire resistance against beta-lactam based antibiotics such as penicillin. Although not good news, i thought this was an interesting article, as i learned about this type of resistance in bacteria at A-level, its just interesting to go into a bit more detail on the subject. This links in with #MB1030, especially the microbiology lecture that Dr Alan Cann gave a few weeks ago - Tom Lewis

Cracking bit of lab kit here! A new piece of machinery has been developed for laboratory use that sequences DNA. It can read between 10 and 20 million bases per run and is much cheaper and smaller than current pieces of equipment. This can help in research development, making projects involving DNA, move forward much quicker. This new development links in with the #BS1015 lectures we had on DNA sequencing with Professor Cundliffe. - Tom Lewis

Good article illustating the news of the new policy introduced in the USA law enforcement system to allow the use of DNA evidence on a more frequent basis in cases. This will of course assist in more reliable convictions of the guilty and also releasing the innocent. Links in with the #MB1030 lecture we had with Sir Alec Jeffreys, as im sure without his discovery i wouldn't be posting this article on friendfeed :) - Tom Lewis

Thought this was an interesting article. It explains how new research has led to the discovery that the fetal genome can be deduced from maternal DNA. This can lead to new methods in genetic counselling that could predict the likelihood of the offspring inheriting a genetic disease such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia. The entire genome of a child could be determined even before the child is born. This links in with the #BS1015 lectures we've had on DNA sequencing. - Tom Lewis

Interesting article explaining recent research that has led scientists to believe that too little LDL (bad cholesterol) - by use of drugs such as statins - could lead to several cognitive disorders which affect the brain and nervous system. Lowering cholesterol levels is good for the heart and the cardiovascular system but is not always so good for the brain. Neurones need cholesterol to form synapses with each other, and a lack of cholesterol will lead to problems in this area of neurone functioning. Therefore it is important to have a healthy balance of different lipids and cholesterol in your diet. This article links in with the lipids and membranes lectures given by Dr Wells in #BS1015 - Tom Lewis

Interesting article that links in with the #MB1030 presentation i gave on obesity. It emphasises the high risk factor that is seen in children who have an abnormal level of body fat and the diseases that they could develop later on in life, including metabolic syndrome which is a term used to describe the risk of cardiovascular problems and diabetes in individuals who are overweight and obese. - Tom Lewis

Interesting article, explains the new findings in Cystic Fibrosis. The article explains how the disease leads to the lack of the IGF-1 protein, which has been found not to be directly related to the genetic mutation found in sufferers, but to be linked to malnutrition and lung inflammation (which is of course one of the symptoms of Cystic Fibrosis. The artlicle goes on to say how further research has led to the theory that the IGF-1 protein could be used as a therapy in sufferers. Links in with #BS1015. - Tom Lewis

Found this article which talks about the human genome and how most of the DNA codes for nothing. It was found that 7% of our DNA has similarities with other species suggesting it has been conserved. Of that 7%, 85% of the conserved DNA doesn't code for any protein. Geneticists now think that this non-coding DNA could be useful in regulating how proteins are translated. This reinforces the lectures that were given in #BS1015 by Prof Cundliffe. - Tom Lewis

There's always retrovirus' and defunct genes too. Natural selection will, over maaaaaaany many years, slowly filter out DNA that actually does nothing, but the microscopic advantage of one less useless base pair here and there has a tiny effect, and in terms of evolution, the rate at which junk DNA is being deleted isn't as fast as the rate at which it's appearing, so we have all this junk. That's one theory, anyway... - Jack Anthony Cox

Found this other article on the HIV virus and HIV controllers etc. Its pretty similar to the first one i posted but still an interseting read i reckon. - Tom Lewis

A really interesting article on the difference in the amino acid sequence in the HLA-B protein in people who do not develop AIDS once infected with HIV and people who do. In HIV contollers, the HLA-B protein has the abilty to prevent viruses from replicating in cells, the HLA-B protein grabs the viruses protein and carries them to the cell membrane which flags the cell for destruction by the immune system and hence preventing the virus from replicating. This links in with #BS1015...when we learn about the structure and functions of different proteins. - Tom Lewis

I think this article is pretty exciting. The way scientists are now using GFP to detect cancer at an earlier stage in the development of tumourous tissue. Viruses containing GFP are used in this process (which is being called virimaging), the viruses are targetted at suspected cancer cells, they grow and produce more GFP in the cancer cell. When a specialised camera is switched on, the GFP 'flares up' and the cancer cells can be easily spotted. This relates to #MB1030 and also #BS1015 when we come to look at membranes and how different substances move in and out of cells. - Tom Lewis

I found this video on youtube, it reinforces Professor Cundliffes lectures on translation very well. The video goes through translation fairly accurately and illustrates the key processes during translation. For me, i found the way the two subunits of the ribosome act in this process very clearly shown in the video. This links in well with yesterdays #BS1015 lecture. - Tom Lewis