28 Nigerian scientists become fellows of ASI – ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Twenty-Eight Nigerian scientists and technologists have become fellows of the African Scientific Institute (ASI), reports ITREALMS.

ASI, ITREALMS gathered is made up of scientists and technologists of African descent in the diaspora who have distinguished themselves and recently become Fellows of the institute.

President and CEO, African Scientific Institute, Lee O. Cherry made this disclosure to ITREALMS, saying the membership is now 1,053 with the latest ASI fellows from 56 countries globally.

“We now have 1,053 ASI Fellows from 56 countries, namely (Algeria, Angola, Barbados, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina-Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Congo-Brazzaville, Congo-Kinshasa, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, England, Eritrea, Ethiopia, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Reunion, Rwanda, Sao Tome, Sierra Leone, Senegal,Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Uganda, United States, Zambia, Zimbabwe).,” he said.

The President also said that the “Black Achievers in Science and Technology", an ASI Fellows Directory is now available,”

Below is the list of the latest members of ASI as obtained by ITREALMS

New ASI Fellows in September 2018 include:

* Petrina Johannes, Ph.D. (Namibia): Civil and Environmental Engineering
* Aggrey B. Nyende, Ph.D. (Kenya): Agricultural Science (Plant breeding and Genetics)
* Abdulahi Bala, Ph.D. (Nigeria): Vice Chancellor, Federal University of Technology: Agricultral Sciences
* Chinedum Nwajiuba, Ph.D. (Nigeria): Vice Chancellor, Federal University; Agricultral Science
* Zerihun Assefa, Ph.D. (Ethiopia/USA): Chair, University Dept. of Chemistry
* Sodienye Augustine Abere, Ph.D. (Nigeria): Head, University Department of Forestry and Environment; Forestry and Wildlife
* Saidel Laine, Ph.D. (Haiti/USA): Anesthesiologist
* Vincent G. J. Rodgers, Ph.D. (USA): Theoretical Particle Physics; String Theory
* James Musa Adejo, Ph.D. (Nigeria): Head, University Department of Science Education
* Justin Ballenger, Ph.D. (USA): STEM Education; Mathematics
* Benjamin Oyelami, Ph.D. (Nigeria): Mathematics
* Tony Mitchell, Ph.D. (USA): Electrical and Computer Engineering
* Elayne Arrington, Ph.D. (USA): Mathematics
* Valerie Bennett, Ph.D. (USA): Robotics
* Solomon Nwaka, Ph.D. (Nigeria/Ethiopia): Executive Director, African Network for Drugs and Diagnostics Innovation (ANDI) in United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS)
* John Gyapong, Ph.D. (Ghana): Epidemiology
* Lonnie G. Johnson (USA): Engineering
* Thomas O. Mensah (USA): Chemical Engineering
* Philip W. Phillips, Ph.D. (USA): Physics
* Cheryl L. Shavers (USA): Chemistry
* Stacey Simon-Slijepcevic, Ph.D. (USA): Plant Pathology

New ASI Fellows in August 2018 include:

* Berhanu M. Abegaz, Ph.D. (Ethiopia/Botswana/Kenya): Executive Director of the African Academy of Sciences (AAS); Chemistry
* Anthony Adade, Ph.D. (USA): University CIO: IT Management
* Perkins Muredzi, Ph.D. (Zimbabwe): Food Science and Technology
* Helen Jackson, Ph.D. (USA): Research Physics; Data Science
* Joslin A. Dogbe, M.D. (Ghana): Paediatric Neurologist; Public Health
* Wilhelm Sterlin (Haiti/USA): Mechanical Engineering; Technology Management
* Festus E. Ogbeide (Nigeria/USA): Civil Engineering
* Jamie Bracey, Ph.D. (USA): University Director of STEM Education, Outreach & Research
* Donna Stokes, Ph.D. (USA): Physics (Magnetism)
* Zipporah Ali, M.D. (Kenya): Palliative Care Doctor; Executive Director of Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA).
* Carla J. Bell, Ph.D. (USA): University Dean and professor of architecture
* Treena L. Arinzeh, Ph.D. (USA): Biomedical Engineering
* Kokou Yano L. D. Abalo, Ph.D. (Sao Tome/USA): Mathematics
* Michael Smith, Ph.D. (USA) Deputy Executive Director, Internal Operations at the National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM); Chemical Engineering
* Samuel Achilefu, Ph.D. (USA): Radiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, & Biomedical Engineering
* Viola L. Acoff, Ph.D. (USA): Materials Engineering
* Caesar R. Jackson, Ph.D. (USA): Physics
* Stephanie G. Adams, Ph.D. (USA): Dean of Old Dominion University's Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology; Interdisciplinary Engineering
* Frederick Addai, Ph.D. (Ghana): Cell Biology and Anatomy
* Kendall Harris, Ph.D., P.E. (USA): Mechanical Engineering
* Patrick Adjei, Ph.D. (Ghana): Neuroscience
* Daniel L. Akins, Ph.D. (USA): Chemistry
* Allison A. Aldridge, Ph.D. (USA): Chemistry
* Maydianne Andrade, Ph.D. (Jamaica/Canada): Biology
* Bill Smoot (USA): Company Vice President Engineering & Technology
* Kevin D. Apperson (USA): Chief Information Officer at Corp. Healthcare Services; IT and Electrical Engineering
* Avery August, Ph.D. (USA): Microbiology and Immunology
* Jill Bargonetti-Chavarria, Ph.D. (USA): Biology; Cancer Research
* Anthony Belvin, Ph.D. (USA): Mechanical Engineering
* Karen King, Ph.D. (USA): Director of Research for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
* Wayne L. Bethea, Ph.D. (USA); Computer Science
* Billyde Brown, Ph.D. (USA): Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology
* Paulette Kumi, M.D. (Ghana): Physician
* Edward Layne, M.D. (USA): Gastroenterologist
* Evan Thomas, Ph.D. (USA): Solid State Inorganic Chemistry
* Gregory Yawson, Ph.D. (USA): Industrial Analytical Chemistry/Chemical Metrology

Others can be find here:

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Scientists link dangerous fungal spores in lungs - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Scientists at The University of Manchester have discovered a genetic mutation in humans linked to a 17-fold increase in the amount of dangerous fungal spores in the lungs, reports ITREALMS.

The study, published in Nature Communications could allow doctors to screen patients at risk from Aspergillus, and could easily be developed into a test.

When breathed in, Aspergillus can be life threatening and also make asthma much worse, especially in people with compromised immune systems. It is found in soil, pillows and compost but is capable of living anywhere in a moist environment, so breathing it in is unavoidable .

Aspergillus is normally cleared from the lungs but 4% of people have this newly discovered mutation and in them, Aspergillus thrives in the airways.

“People with asthma, who have had transplant surgery, TB and many other illnesses that lower immunity could feasibly be screened for this genetic mutation. And early detection could save lives,” said Dr Paul Bowyer who led the study funded by the Fungal infection Trust and supported by the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre.

Dr Sara Gago discovered the increased risk by comparing normal human cells to cells which had been gene edited to contain the mutation. The gene - known as ZNF77 - is mainly responsible for the extracellular matrix of the lungs’ epithelial tissue- the membrane that protects them. These mutated cells had a weak response to Aspergillus showing how key epithelial cells are to normal defences against this airborne fungus.

Dr Bowyer said: “Until now we never really understood why some people have a much higher Aspergillus load than others. Now that we do, it’s quite a significant advance in understanding this disease. We don’t yet know how or why the mutation occurs but nevertheless this discovery provides the basis for a simple and inexpensive DNA test in those who people who are more at risk from Aspergillus.”

Dr Gago is a Research Fellow funded by the National Centre for the Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of animals in research. She added: “ZNF77 doesn’t actually occur in mice, so the only viable animal models besides humans are primates. Having developed a way to adapt human cell lines so that they can carry mutations associated with disease, we have avoided using primates or any animals entirely.”

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‘Scientists create functioning kidney’

ITREALMS:

Some scientists have successfully produced human kidney tissue within a living organism which is able to produce urine, a first for medical science, reports ITRealms.

The study led by Professors Sue Kimber and Adrian Woolf from The University of Manchester, signifies a significant milestone in the development of treatment for kidney disease.

ITRealms also reports that the Medical Research Council and Kidney Research United Kingdom (UK) funded project is published in the journal Stem Cell Reports.

They explained that kidney glomeruli constituent microscopic parts of the organ- were generated from human embryonic stem cells grown in plastic laboratory culture dishes containing a nutrient broth known as culture medium, containing molecules to promote kidney development.

Equally, they were combined with a gel like substance, which acted as natural connective tissue - and then injected as a tiny clump under the skin of mice.

After three months, an examination of the tissue revealed that nephrons:the microscopic structural and functional units of the kidney - had formed.

The new structures contained most of the constituent parts present in human nephrons - including proximal tubules, distal tubules, Bowman’s capsule and Loop of Henle.

Tiny human blood vessels – known as capillaries- had developed inside the mice which nourished the new kidney structures.

However, the mini-kidneys lack a large artery, and without that the organ’s function will only be a fraction of normal.

So, the researchers are working with surgeons to put in an artery that will bring more blood the new kidney.

To test the functionality of the new structures, the team used Dextran - a fluorescent protein which stains the urine-like substance produced when nephrons filter the blood, called glomerular filtrate.

The Dextran was tracked and detected in the new structures’ tubules, demonstrating that filtrate was indeed being produced and excreted as urine.

“We have proved beyond any doubt these structures function as kidney cells by filtering blood and producing urine - though we can’t yet say what percentage of function exists,” said Professor Kimber.

“What is particularly exciting is that the structures are made of human cells which developed an excellent capillary blood supply, becoming linked to the vasculature of the mouse.

“Though this structure was formed from several hundred glomeruli, and humans have about a million in their kidneys - this is clearly a major advance.

“It constitutes a proof of principle- but much work is yet to be done.”

The University of Manchester’s School of Biological Sciences and   Manchester Regenerative Medicine Network (MaRM)   as well as Kidneys for life have also supported the work.

Professor Woolf, who is also Consultant in Paediatric Nephrology  at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Worldwide, two million people are being treated with dialysis or transplantation for kidney failure, and sadly another two million die each year, unable to access these treatments.

"So we are tremendously excited by this discovery - we feel it is a big research milestone which may one day help patients.

“However, there is much more to learn: Building on our generation of kidney filtration units we must now turn to developing an exit route for the urine and a way to deliver this technology to diseased kidneys.

"The work was also helped by a small grant from the hospital’s local kidney charity called “Kidneys for Life”.

The team are the UK’s only recipient of a three year Stoneygate Research award from Kidney Research UK.

The research will allow them to model kidney diseases using the new structures.

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Scientists reveal super-fast computer that ‘grows as it computes’

ITRealms:

Latest findings by researchers from The University of Manchester have shown it is possible to build a new super-fast form of computer that “grows as it computes” reports ITRealms.

Professor Ross D King and his team, ITRealms gathered, demonstrated for the first time the feasibility of engineering a Nondeterministic Universal Turing Machine (NUTM), and their research is to be published in the prestigious Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

The theoretical properties of such a computing machine, Prof. King said, include its exponential boost in speed over electronic and quantum computers, in addition to having been well understood for many years. Stressing that the Manchester breakthrough demonstrates that it is actually possible to physically create a NUTM using DNA molecules.  

“Imagine a computer is searching a maze and comes to a choice point, one path leading left, the other right. Electronic computers need to choose which path to follow first,” explained Professor King of Manchester’s School of Computer Science.

King pointed out that the new computer doesn’t need to choose, for it could replicate itself and follow both paths at the same time, thus finding the answer faster.

King noted that this ‘magical’ property is possible because the computer’s processors are made of DNA rather than silicon chips, as all electronic computers have a fixed number of chips.

“Our computer’s ability to grow as it computes makes it faster than any other form of computer, and enables the solution of many computational problems previously considered impossible. Quantum computers are an exciting other form of computer, and they can also follow both paths in a maze, but only if the maze has certain symmetries, which greatly limits their use,” King said.

“As DNA molecules are very small a desktop computer could potentially utilize more processors than all the electronic computers in the world combined - and therefore outperform the world’s current fastest supercomputer, while consuming a tiny fraction of its energy.”

The University of Manchester is famous for its connection with Alan Turing - the founder of computer science - and for creating the first stored memory electronic computer.

“This new research builds on both these pioneering foundations,” added Professor King.

Alan Turing’s greatest achievement was inventing the concept of a universal Turing machine (UTM) - a computer that can be programmed to compute anything any other computer can compute.  Electronic computers are a form of UTM, but no quantum UTM has yet been built.

ITRealms gathered that other members of the Prof. King team include Currin, A., Korovin, K., Ababi, M., Roper, K., Kell, D.B., Day.

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Scientists say genetic links sleep disturbance with restless legs syndrome, schizophrenia, and obesity

ITRealms:

A team of American and British scientists have for the first time discovered genetic connections between sleep disturbance and a range of medical disorders including obesity, reports ITRealms.

Lead author Dr Jacqueline Lane, postdoctoral fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and joint senior authors Richa Saxena, Assistant Professor of Anaesthesia at the MGH and Harvard Medical School and Dr Martin K Rutter, Senior Lecturer in Cardiometabolic Medicine from The University of Manchester, publish their ground-breaking research in Nature Genetics today.

The study looked at the biological controllers of sleep duration, insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness, and how they linked to the health and life histories of more than 112,000 people taking part in the world-leading UK Biobank study.

Study participants reported their sleep duration, the degree of insomnia and daytime sleepiness, and then had their genes mapped. Other information about them such as their weight and any diseases they suffered from was also collected.

The researchers identified for the first time areas of the genome that are associated with sleep disturbance including insomnia and excessive daytime sleepiness and also discovered novel genetic links with several medical conditions including restless legs syndrome, schizophrenia and obesity.

The strongest genetic association for insomnia symptoms fell within a gene previously linked to restless legs syndrome – a nervous system disorder affecting around 1 in 20 people that leads to a strong urge to move one's legs which is often worse at night. Other gene regions were important for insomnia but selectively in either men or women.

The team also identified genetic links between longer sleep duration and schizophrenia risk and between increased levels of excessive daytime sleepiness and measures of obesity (body mass index and waist circumference).

The research also suggested that insomnia has shared underlying biology with major depression and abnormal glucose metabolism.

Funded by the US National Institutes of Health and The University of Manchester’s Research Innovation Fund, the study marks a major advance in our understanding of the biology of sleep.

One in four British adults are obese, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, prompting fears that the UK has become the "fat man of Europe". And at any one time about 280,000 people are being treated for schizophrenia by the NHS. Sufferers have a 1 in 10 chance of dying by their own hand within ten years of diagnosis.

Dr Rutter said: “This clinical science is an important step forwards in understanding the biological basis for these conditions so it’s very exciting.

“Scientists have long observed a connection between sleep disorders and these conditions in epidemiological studies. But this is the first time these biological links have been identified at a molecular level.”

UK Biobank aims to improving the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of a wide range of serious and life-threatening illnesses. 

Dr Lane said ”We’re particularly pleased to be able to use UK Biobank data in this way; it’s an amazing resource for scientists.”

Dr Saxena said: “It’s important to remember there is no molecular targeting available for conditions which affect sleep: all we really have are sedatives.

“So we hope that this research will enable scientists to develop new ways to intervene on a range of conditions in a much more fundamental way.

“We do acknowledge these findings will need further study, but believe this knowledge amounts to a key advance in our understanding of the biology behind sleep - a major influence on our health and behaviour.”

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Scientists effectively tune the brain to alleviate pain

ITRealms:

A set of scientists at The University of Manchester, United Kingdom, have shown for the first time that if the brain is ‘tuned-in’ to a particular frequency, pain could be alleviated, reports ITRealms.

Experts, ITRealms gathered defined chronic pain as pain which lasts for more than six months; is a real problem for many people, with 20-50 per cent of the general population estimated to suffer from it, comprising 20 per cent of consultations in general practice.

According to these scientists, it is a much greater problem in the elderly with 62 per cent of the United Kingdom (UK) population over 75 year’s old suffering from it.

“Chronic pain is often a mixture of recurrent acute pains and chronic persistent pain. Unfortunately there are very few treatments available that are completely safe, particularly in the elderly,” says Dr Kathy Ecsy, the lead scientist of this project.

Nerve cells, she explained on the surface of the brain are co-ordinated with each other at a particular frequency depending on the state of the brain. Alpha waves, she said, are tuned at 9-12 cycles per second have been recently associated with enabling parts of the brain concerned with higher control to influence other parts of the brain. 

For instance researchers at the Human Pain Research Group at The University of Manchester found that alpha waves from the front of the brain, the forebrain, are associated with placebo analgesia and may be influencing how other parts of the brain process pain.

This, the team of scientist said, led to the idea that if man could ‘tune’ the brain to express more alpha waves, perhaps we can reduce pain experienced by people with certain conditions.

ITRealms reports that Dr Kathy Ecsy and her colleagues in The University of Manchester’s Human Pain Research Group have shown that this can be done by providing volunteers with goggles that flash light in the alpha range or by sound stimulation in both ears phased to provide the same stimulus frequency.  They found that both visual and auditory stimulation significantly reduced the intensity of pain induced by laser-heat repeatedly shone on the back of the arm.

Professor Anthony Jones is the director of the Manchester Pain Consortium which is focused on improving the understanding and treatment of chronic pain. 

“This is very exciting because it provides a potentially new, simple and safe therapy that can now be trialled in patients,” he said.

At recent public engagements events, ITRealms gathered that showed they had a lot of enthusiasm from patients for this kind of neuro-therapeutic approach.

Further studies, ITRealms gathered are required to test the effectiveness in patients with different pain conditions but the simplicity and low cost of the technology should facilitate such clinical studies.

Dr Chris Brown, who is a Lecturer in Psychology at The University of Liverpool, who was involved in the research while working in Manchester, said: “It is interesting that similar results were obtained with visual and auditory stimulation, which will provide some flexibility when taking this technology into patient studies.  For instance this might be particularly useful for patients having difficulty sleeping because of recurrent pain at night.”

A video interview with Professor Jones is available here: https://youtu.be/vFf_jJHYr6g

The paper, ‘Alpha-Range Visual and Auditory Stimulation reduces the Perception of Pain’, will be published in the European Journal of Pain.

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Scientists discover oxidants aren’t always ‘bad’ for heart

ITRealms:

A group of scientists funded by the British Heart Foundation have discovered that oxidants, which have historically been blamed for heart disease, have a vital role at ensuring the heart pumps blood around the body effectively, reports ITRealms.

The discovery by researchers working collaboratively in Manchester and London, ITRealms gathered, opens up the potential for new treatments thereby offering hope for potential new treatments for high blood pressure and heart failure.

Also, ITRealms reports that the researchers now hope to develop drugs based on their discovery that could lower blood pressure and treat conditions caused by the heart not pumping properly, including certain forms of heart failure.

The study, published, Tuesday in Nature Communications, found that when the heart relaxes oxidants are released which activate an enzyme called Protein Kinase G (PKG), in a process called oxidation. The oxidation of PKG helps to ensure the amount of blood entering the heart is the same as the amount pumped out. This is vital in the functioning of a healthy heart.

However, when the researchers looked at the hearts of mice with a form of PKG that cannot be oxidised, they found that their hearts did not fill with blood properly and that their heart function was compromised.

The findings in the heart were complemented by BHF-funded research on arteries published recently in Science Signaling. The BHF researchers found activation of PKG by oxidants is also critical for the way arteries sense high blood pressure and then relax.

The researchers, led by BHF Research Fellow Dr Adam Greenstein from The University of Manchester, found that when arteries sense high blood pressure inside them they generate oxidants which activate PKG. The activation of PKG in response to pressure then relaxes the arteries. In mice with PKG that cannot be oxidised, the arteries constricted more strongly and this caused high blood pressure.

The scientists believe that dysregulation of the activation of PKG may occur in several cardiovascular diseases. They now hope to develop drugs which can mimic the oxidant-induced relaxation of the heart and arteries, to treat patients with problems in the way their hearts fill and pump blood around the body. This may also be valuable in lowering blood pressure.

“Our research supports the really exciting concept that oxidants, traditionally viewed as ‘the bad guys of the cardiovascular system,’ are increasingly appreciated as integral to normal heart and arterial function," said Dr Adam Greenstein of The University of Manchester, who is an author on both papers. “This ties in with lots of misinformation about commercially available antioxidants and heart disease which takes focus off the real risk factors, such as weight, cholesterol, blood pressure and smoking.”

“These new papers demonstrate just how important PKG is in the regulation of the heart and blood vessels," said Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, which funded the research. “The studies provide strong evidence that new drugs which target PKG activation are likely to be useful in patients suffering with heart failure or with high blood pressure.”

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