Inside Human

INS DE HUMAN Hitchhike With a Virus Pg. 5

Doctors in the Flesh Pg. 10

Letter from the Editors

Image courtesy of: Sten Evans

Dear Reader,

This magazine was created with the purpose of becoming a scientific magazine, which would provide the readers with scientific facts and entertainment as well. Our group of writers tried to imbue this magazine with our personalities but that didn’t quite work as well as planned because we couldn’t figure out how to do this. We encountered many design errors and discrepancies within the natures of how we wanted the magazine to look. Most crises came from individual arguments between the two main design freaks Ethan and Gabriel. Some other arguments came between Brayan and Ethan over the logo. Things got eventually sorted out like Ethan’s logo won out and, like most things do, however there would always those slight looks that would convey, “You won the last one, I am going to win this one.” Raised voices, not necessarily a bad thing, were a constant part of our group’s routine on a daily basis. We are proud to admit that there were some days where procrastination was the name of the game, but we did manage to complete everything on time. The topic of the magazine, was not really something that had to be disputed, to many of our surprises. All in all, this magazine was designed to provide new scientific developments and help readers understand biology better.

Enjoy, The Editors of Inside Human Gabriel, Daniel, Brayan and Ethan 2

Letter From The Editors Table Of Contents Editor Bios

Pg. 2

Pg. 3

Pg. 4

Hitchike With A Virus Pg. 5

Pg. 10 Pg. 15 Pg. 20

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Doctors In The Flesh

Bio In The Lab

Life In Their Shoes

Meet the Editors Brayan Delgadillo

Brayan Delgadillo knows that he is the most awesome person around, and frequently wraps his hands around a controller in a the pursuit of video games such as “Pokemon Red� on the Gameboy. His interest in biochemistry began at the beginning of the summer of 2014. He wanted to know what inhabited the foods he ate, and what processes those things go through to provide energy for his growing body.

Image courtesy of: Gabriel Manners

Daniel Kauffman

Daniel Kauffman enjoys many extracurricular activities, some of which include running, reading and basketball. His science interests peaks in subjects such as biology and astronomy. His interest in biology has lead him to want to learn about microbiology, in an effort to understand the way things work on his body. Some of his favorite things in life include being sentient and enjoying living.

Image courtesy of: Gabriel Manners

Gabriel Manners

Image courtesy of: Ethan Rivers

Gabriel Manners has been working to perfect his knowledge of genetic sciences ever since he started to wonder what it would be like to be able to breath underwater and to fly through the clouds, carefree of diseases and hurt. He likes to relax by sitting back in his bean bag and hanging out with his friends, roleplaying and playing Garry’s Mod, a popular video game, or filming for him and his friends Youtube channel when the need arises.

Ethan Rivers

Ethan Rivers met the other people in his group through a stroke of chance at one time or another and still considers them incredibly strange. For some reason he stuck with them and they became friends. Playing video games is his specialty and he rarely interacts with the outside world in any way. His solitary mind leads to philosophical and scientific ideas that spark throughout his cerebral cortex. Disease topics emerge inside his skull frequently.

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Image courtesy of: Gabriel Manners

HITCHHIKE WITH A VIRUS Using Viruses as Transport By: Gabriel Manners Viruses are not always harmful.

New genetic research by Mark Bailey, Ph.D. ,a professor at the University of Glasgow and others proves that viruses are some of the most useful resources for healing diseases that we have at our disposal. Bailey has been working on a cure for idiopathic generalised epilepsy, (IGE), using a process called viral vectors.

“We strip out all the genes that the virus doesn’t really need, and also the the genes that allow the virus to replicate and make new copies within the cell... and then we insert the correct human genome,” Bailey said. “ These are called ‘gutless’ vectors, as they only have a little bit of DNA that actually belongs to the virus.”

Genetic studies have come a long way over the last couple of years. From being able to find out someone’s ancestors, scientists are now able to use the viruses to cure diseases such as some types of epilepsy.

Science’s most recent breakthrough in this area was to use HIV virus particles to make an exact copy of the human genome. Using this technology, scientists are able to inject the virus into the body. This process might seem dangerous, but the virus has all of the original messenger RNA taken out. These helpful viruses are called Viral Vectors.

“Its the power that these viral

vectors gives scientists to manipulate what cells are doing, either cells in a culture, or cells in an organism,” Bailey said.

More recent breakthroughs have prompted scientists to try and gain a greater understanding of the human genome. This understanding has provided the basis for

This helix. Where blue red teal and yellow represent C, A, G, and T Image Courtsey of Christoph Bock

realizing how some types of epilepsy are spread, as well as other genetic diseases. Scientist are now able to trace people’s ancestors to find out if they have a risk for IGE. These advances have paved the way for new

technology that can better cure and trace genetic diseases. The new technology can also increase awareness for STDs and other viral conflictions and is the basis for projects that can modify the genes of humans to make

“supermen.”

“The future of genetic research is mainly focused in one direction, which is the pursuit of viral vectors to enhance current medicinal research,” Bailey said.

New research in the viral vectors field involves the use of virus protein shells to act as transport for human genomes. This process enables scientists to cure genetic diseases by injecting a virus with the correct gene sequence into the human’s body. The virus then replicates itself using its normal habit of rapid replication. This process enables scientists to implant the correct genome if the subject has a negative genetic mutation. The rapid replication of the virus helps the correct gene sequence to become substituted throughout the subjects area of interest. This research can be used to help cure patients suffering from a variety of genetic illnesses. The different diseases act in different ways. While some inject their DNA, others cure in different methods.

“It is the case in retroviral or lentiviral vectors, because that is how they were meant 5

to work.” Bailey said, “You are deliberately trying to get it into the genome because thats how it works.”

The modern virus has many applications in today’s viral vector medicine. The most commonly used viruses are the lentiviruses, which include mainly sexually transmitted diseases such as the HIV virus, retrovirus, which cause most types of common cancers and Av or adeno-viruses, which cause the common cold and other types of respiratory diseases. Most people carry these viruses with no symptoms for their whole life. The adenoassociated-virus or AAV, which is small even for a virus, is not related to AV, but can only be made in a cell that already carries the genes from AV. It does not really cause any notable human diseases and many of us carry it with no symptoms.

These are the main virus protein shells that scientists can use for the viral vector process. To use these vectors correctly, the scientists must make sure that only the original mRNA left from the virus is the bits used for the virus’s replication cycle. This new virus, mixed with the correct gene sequence, spreads the correct genome throughout the body, temporarily or even permanently curing the genetic disorder.

“Therapy is anything you do to try and help the patient to suffer less...,” Bailey said, “Gene therapy is simply trying to use genes to ameliorate suffering.”

Gene therapy describes a process in which genetic diseases are cured using viruses. Viral vectors enable scientists and doctors to make huge advances in genetic medicine to benefit future of generations. New medicine therapies allow genetic technologies to advance and scientists may try and use higher risk experiments, in the future because people will be healthier.

“Humans might evolve into the perfect superhuman,” Bailey said.

More applications for this technology include transferring different traits through animals or fruits to make them more resistant to diseases.

This works by ‘breeding’ the genome

patterns of two fruits or animals together to make a superior

This Virus is an example of a type that might be used for a viral vector. Image Courtesy of Zimbabwe Going Viral.

genome.

“A clinical trial is where you test whether a typical therapy to ask is this agent safe to use.” Bailey said Clinical trials are used to test the different therapies that can be used. During the process of gene therapy, the virus has only its original reproductive mRNA or DNA and the new genome pattern that scientists want to implant. The virus attaches itself to the host cell,and then it breaks the outer wall of the cell and releases their mRNA into the body of the cell. If the cell is a bacteria, the virus is known as a bacteriophage. The cell automatic response takes the mRNA into the nucleus of the cell to deliver its message to the DNA. However, in a normal virus the cell’s mechanisms get hijacked and the cell starts to make other virus particles instead of normal products. In the gene therapy process, the virus’s initial DNA is left intact, but only the parts that hijack the cell’s machinery to make new virus DNA. In gene therapy, the virus’s DNA has been replaced with the correct genome pattern. This means that the cell takes in the new genome and replaces its own genome with the new information and the virus then manufactures new copies of the healthy genome in virus protein shells.

The process then repeats itself again with multiple cells, until most if not all of the cells in the mutated area are carrying this new genome. While this process may be revolutionary, it is not without risks.

“DNA is a code, a string of A,C,T and G,” Bailey said. “That code is read and that reading produces individual proteins that

Viral Vectors are being devolped from 1981 up to the present days, with discoveries made by Shimotohno and Temin in1981, Tabin in 1982, Mann in1983 and Watanabe and Temin also in1983, Akkina in 1996, Naldini in 1996, Miller and Rosman in 1989, and up to the present with advances made by not one induvidual.

Testing Gene Therapy on Adults With Cystic Fibrosis

1989

1990

Genes

1997

From Mark Baily Ph. D., http://www.genetherapynet.com/viralRiordan, and Rommens vectors.html, and John Coffin, retroviral design CTFR Gene was

6 discoverd by Kerem,

Viral Vector studies reinitiated after cause of mutation is found

2000 2002

Vector mutated the host cell into a cancer cell. Project was shut down for over 10 years.

Evolve

2010

precisely correspond to what was encoded in the DNA sequence.”

In gene therapy the whole point of the process is to get the chosen gene to express itself into the original genome pattern. This happens when the virus injects its genetic matter into the cytoplasm of the cell. The genetic matter gets drawn into the nucleus, where it is read by the cell. Its protein then molds with the original genome. This can lead to an over-expression, which causes organ failure and might even cause the cell to mutate. All of these things can be fixed in the initial design of the viral vector.

“I think there are four main risks to using gene therapy,” Bailey said, “Immune reaction, mutation, the gene jumping into the wrong genome and the general risk of the unknown.”

This process is not always riskfree. The virus can spread to other parts of the body, not

Lentiviral Vector Usage

just targeting the cancerous area. This can mean that other cells become mutated and turn into more cancerous cells.

The new genome can also be

the cell is producing excess amounts of the virus’s protein shell, causing harmful effects to the rest of the body. The viral vector could also cause the body to have a negative immune response to the foreign particle.

The virus might also infect other individuals who have nothing wrong with their genomes.

If this latter possibility happens, it could have serious repercussions on the healthy individual’s children and their general health. However these risks are well worth it because gene therapy can cure many types of ailments with limited effort. DNA needs to be

“Any change is the result of different changes at the same time” Bailey said accidentally introduced into the reproductive cells of the patient, causing mutations in the future generations. Other concerns include the possibility that the virus could become overexpressed. This means that

Virus and Their Uses

8-10 kB Small

Adenoviral Vector Usage

Retroviral Vector Usage

HIV

Moloney murine leukaemia virus

Any Hollowed Viral Shell

Gets Absorbed into into the human genome, projects new DNA out into other cells with the virus shells.

Human Cell

Wiskott-Aldritch Syndrome Metachromatic leukodystrophy

Ischaemic Disease

Vector

From Mark Baily Ph. D., http://www.genetherapynet.com/ viral-vectors.html, and John Coffin, Severe Immunodeficiancy retroviral design 7

expressed for the modified gene to actually have an effect.

“The gene you’re putting into the cell is the gene of interest,” Bailey said.

“Those genes get turned into whatever protein it is you’re trying to put into the cell.”

Gene expression enables the cell to process the gene and manufacture the corresponding protein. These proteins are used to transfer the new genome to all of the surrounding cells. This transfers the new genome to the rest of the tumour, if that is what you’re trying to cure.

If it is a disease the vector is trying to cure, then the genome will jump into the original genome to meld with the original genome and temporarily or permanently fix the gene pattern that is going wrong.

“This is a subject that I talk about with my students,” Bailey said. “If you think about what it takes for what you think of as a human trait, think about how many genes it takes to make a difference in that trait.”

The idea of making a superhuman, by altering his or her genome, is impossible at this time. Every gene that needs changing has to be changed in hundreds of thousands of cells in the body at the same time.

Even though you only need to

change 10 percent of the cells, it is still impossible for even eye color. Their hair color, the eye color, everything in the body is in one way or another related to the genome. Viruses manipulate this code to change things to the way they want them. This is how gene therapy works. This process may be referred to as Doctors in the Flesh because the viruses are using their built-in mechanics to edit your genome. Unexpected things might happen.

Examples of these unexpected things might include occurrences of

A Example Of A Double Helix Generated Using CGI. Photo Courtesy of Braindrain.dk

tumours, which are caused by accidental mutations in the gene sequence that is being transferred from the virus into the cells original sequence. These mutations are like any other. They are the result of an error in the gene sequence. In some cases the mutation is minor, such as an unusual eye color. However, when a virus causes a mutation in the gene sequence, it means that something has changed in the coding of the DNA. That can cause additional risks, such as tumor cells forming.

“You can maniuplate the behavior of those cells in many ways,” Bailey said 8

The superhuman concept is far fetched, but not an impossibility in the future.

“In 20-30 years this may be possible.” Bailey said. “However at the current time, medicine and technology have not progressed far enough, nor has the human mind in preparation for this advancement. However, the upcoming possibility of a “superhuman” is on everyones mind in the genetic community.

This would lead to the initiation of more and more creativity, as we would unlock the power to explore farther outside and inside of our planet.” Bailey and his

colleagues predict that this technology will allow humans to explore the deeper reaches of the ocean, because they would be able to withstand more pressure. Bailey also believes that in 20-30 years, humans would have the choice to have “designer babies.” babies that have predetermined traits chosen by the parents. Couples could also have the choice of whether they wanted their baby to have genetic modifications, such as gills, which would be achieved by splicing fish genes together. This technology is going to evolve.

“People are going to always going to be discovering at one point or another. All these advancements are taking place in front of humanities very eyes,” Bailey said. “All we have to do now is continue on the path were taking and watch as it all evolves. This process is completely natural. All that really matters ahead of us is to learn more about the other areas of technology that will allow for these enhancements.”

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Little Tim my ’s P r

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DOCTORS IN THE FLESH The Story of an Otolaryngologist By: Daniel Kauffman n a typical day Dr. Abib O Abegtoba runs around a clinic treating people and other days he

would be in the operating room working on patients and parts of the days he does research.

He is training to become an ENT physician.

Abegtoba works with the five senses besides touch.

Otolaryngologists are physicians trained in the medical and surgical management and treatment of patients with diseases and disorders of the ear, nose, throat (ENT) and related structures of the head and neck. They are commonly referred to as ENT physicians. Right now there is a need for doctors. Many people don’t know how many different specialties that they can follow.

One good one to follow is ENT physicians.

“A lot people don’t actually know what we do,”Abegtoba said.

“I sort of check the ears, nose and throat. I chose the sinus surgery and it is actually quite a lot. It is very complex surgery and the neck itself is one of the more complex parts of the body. ”

When people come to Memorial Hermann Hospital in the doctors have to diagnose someone, it is a very long process.

First he have to get the history of someone and their illness. He has to ask questions and get all he needs to know. That is why doctors have to ask so many questions. Once they have all that information they have what they call a differential diagnosis. Then after they have the background information then he can start running tests like a CAT scan an MRI and X-ray among others if needed. Then if they feel like they need it they can run a little more invasive tests. After they have all of this then he should know what it is.

For each specialized physician the process is different and there are lots of specialized

10

Bacterial isolates simply stained with Crystal violet dye.

Image courtesy of: Muntasir du physicians in just the field of ENT. In the ENT (ear, nose, throat) there are still many different physicians. There is ontology ear doctors who deal with the ears not just worrying about hearing loss but they put in implants. They do a lot of surgery that involves tumors in the skull and though the skull base. So there is also have ornithology and skull base just in Ear, nose, throat field. There are over a hundred fields. There are lots of different jobs in the doctor world.

“The ENT ear nose and throat there are a lot of other specialties,” Abegtoba said.

“After medical school though the work kind of comes in and that’s residency and so when you finish medical school you have to choose a specialty.”

“If you go into medicine you have to decide if you want to work with your hands or not,” Abegtoba said.

When he decided he followed someone and looked at the surgeries and decided he wanted to study and train as an ENT. He also decided to do skull base and neck surgery a specialty in the ENT. After following people around all day.

“We work near the brain in this very small areas they are very delicate part of a lot of fine work treating a patient and not causing a complication, so for me, like working with those complex hairs and the anatomy of it all,” Abegtoba said.

Abegtoba received his undergraduate degree in microbiology. He currently not doing anything in the field of microbiology, but he still has to work with microbes. Microbes inhabit every possible spot in the world. Microbes can live in ice, in superheated volcanos, anyplace. Some of those microbes

are disease time it takes to causing. The complete one that causes medical school, strep throat is residency, after Streptococcal college is nine pharyngitis. This years then if the infection and doctor choose others are the do a fellowship reason Abegtoba it takes another and other doctors year longer to have jobs. complete. So

“There is 10 years after always going to college is when be sick people,” he is going Abegtoba said. to be, finally “The population a full fledged itself is growing doctor when so there is never he is about 30 shortage.” years old. His There 10 years of hard is always work to become microorganisms a doctor will that cause illness have finally and disease in have paid off the world and next year. people are always

“I think going to be even though infected. you’re required

That is a lot of time way there is school and what always going to not I think in be a need for the long run doctors and not as soon as many people you’re done want to spend you’re done and that much you start MRI Scanner used to investigate the anatomy and function of the body in both health and disease. working of their life training to right away,” Image courtesy of: User Jan Ainali become one.

Abegtoba said. part of being in medical school.

Abegtoba finished

Now he is doing

“Medical school is medical college the next step to becoming his fellowship at the University school,” Abegtoba said. “Your a doctor is going on to medical of Texas Health and Science real training comes after medical school.

Center in Houston. After his one school.”

“You can make [ Medical fellowship he can working.

After Abegtoba finished School ] it fun or you can make

Abegtoba uses an medical school he moved on to it miserable,” Abegtoba said. endoscope for very delicate residency. Residency is usually, “Just kind of depends on your procedures. An endoscope is a stage of graduate medical personality.” a small little metal stick with a training. Abegtoba is did his

He just graduated camera on the end. He can rotate University of Texas Medical School residency at Mount Sinai in New all around and get a good look at York. He finished his residency at Houston in 2012. He has a what he is working on look at the a year ago and is now doing his MD in otolaryngology. In medical brain at everything in the nose. fellowship. It takes along time school he make a lot of friends

“I can put a endoscope to become a doctor. The total and that was Abegtoba favorite in there and I can go to different

“If you need to you can do certain diagnostic tests, things a little more invasive” Abegtoba 11

“If you go into medicine you have to decide if you want to work with your hands or not,” Abegtoba areas I can as close as I want to the eyes I can be as close as I want to the brain,” Abegtoba said.

“I can be as close as I want to the correctness heart arteries they go up to the brain so there a lot of areas I can get at from someone’s nose, without messing with their face.”

“Years ago they were doing everything sort of blindly in terms of sinus surgery and or anything sort of though the nose, now we have endoscopes there are high definition,” Abegtoba said. “They are coming out with sort of 3D endoscopes.”

Technology is very much affecting the way doctors work nowadays. They can see the problems using endoscopes and other high definition instruments.

They have more things that help them work on the patients without affecting them that much.

With machines and computer making things easier, to do produces that were a lot harder 20 to 30 years ago, some people think there should be less training for new doctors because it takes to long to produce doctors.

New doctors have less to do as technology slower taking over, more people are becoming doctors and filling up the gap that was created.

“So technology helps sort of drive and progress our field.

I think it will play a strong role,” Abegtoba said.

Endoscope used to examine people Image Courtesy of Stevenfruitsmaak

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National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital in London Image Courtesy of Duncan David McColl:

120,000 105,000 90,000

Specialties with the most of Active Physicians in 2010

75,000 60,000 45,000 30,000 15,000 0 Internal Medicine General Practice Pediatrics Obstetrics & Gynecology Anesthesiology

Psychiatry

Emergency Medicine

More than two-thirds of licensed physicians are male.

850,085 physicians in 2010 with an active license to practice medicine in the United States.

Physicians and surgeons held about 691,400 jobs in 2012.

Information gathered from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012 Physician Specialty Data Book and A Census of Actively Licensed Physicians in the United States, 2010 PDF

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BIO IN THE LAB A Chemical Messenger By: Brayan Delgadillo

Splenda is a no calorie sweetener that is consumed everyday by thousands of Americans.

Why doesn’t it have any calories? What is it made of? Looking at Splenda under the microscope tells a different story than looking at it out of the package.

Biochemistry teaches you to see everyday things like Splenda in a different manner.

Biochemistry teaches you the differences and similarities between different compounds in our everyday lives.

Biochemistry is the study of chemistry inside the human body. It is more important then one might think. John Schocken, a graduate biochemistry student, who is currently teaching a biochemistry camp at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy in Austin, shares his lab experiences.

“I decided to learn biochemistry because I had a really excellent experience learning about organic chemistry,” Schocken said. “When I took it I didn’t really like 15

general chemistry too much. Then I took organic chemistry because it was required for my major in college and I was actually a biology major so liking biology and having a good time in organic chemistry kind of fits together.”

then became his favorite because they allowed for a deeper understanding of molecules in the body.

“I find biochemistry very helpful and it is extremely interesting,” Schocken said.

Biochemistry is beneficial to everyone because it relates to the human body.

Biochemistry also helps with diets and exercise by showing a regular person what makes up the food they eat and what it takes to use up the energy obtained from their meal.

“Learning biochemistry is very important to me as a biologist Picture of where the hormones are created because it allows me to in the body.

Photo courtesyof United States Department answer a lot of questions of Health and Human Services in a chemical type of detail,” Schocken said.

Biochemistry

After a great answers a lot of questions experience in organic related to the chemical chemistry, Schockens structures of molecules curiosity was sparked and which make up the human he took biochemistry. After body by showing the having taken biochemistry different bonds which and organic chemistry link together elements. he realized that the two Knowledge of biochemistry topics worked together makes the difference really well. These topics between looking

at a cartoon of a cell and develop artificial hormones looking at what molecules which work even better. By make up that cell. modifying the hormones

“When you really scientist can discover start to appreciate variations that the biochemistry you can modified hormones have. look at anything really

“I think a lot of because you know that biochemists who work on everything is made from the elements This is a picture of a liposome wich is esentially a vehicle for vitamins and pharmacy drugs. in the periodic table Photo curtesy of Khayman wikipedia and most things around us are organic,” Schocken said.

“Then you see things like desks, which are wood or some variant of wood, and you don’t just see a desk, you wonder why some of the parts are darker than others.

Then you wonder what it actually looks like. That is what a lot of biochemistry hormones would like to is about. It’s ‘what does create and change and it look like and how can I study the effects in the understand it best?’” variation of hormones to Biochemists are studying see if it could add any

changed so that they behave in certain ways targeting specific cells and changing the way the cell might interact with other molecules or bodily fluids. ”Alot of biochemists like to create an analog which is a molecule that does the same thing as the original copy but doesn’t look the same,” Schocken said.

Most of Schockens goals are related to bringing biochemistry to high school students.

Schockens passion brings him to share his knowledge of biochemistry with the people he encounters.

“I would really like to bring some type of biochemistry or molecular biology elective to some high schools,” Schocken said.

Schocken believes that preparing for college at an early stage will allow for students to be more

“I would probably have a very hard time being a good biologists if I hadn’t learned about biochemistry,” Schocken said. the effects of modifications of hormones and how this could help scientists

therapeutic benefit on anyone,” Schocken said.

Hormones could be

efficient and prepared for science courses in their future academic careers.

16

“If some of the students in high school level could start getting interested in organic chemistry, molecules and metabolism, they will be very well equipped to go in to college,” Schocken said.

Schocken is very amazed at how many things scientists can do with a simple protein molecule. Modifying

how it worked in the test tube,” Schocken said.

Biology is hard to understand without some background knowledge and biochemistry does just that by teaching biologists to understand the molecular structure of the compounds which they interact with.

“I would probably have a very hard time being

the materials they interact with.

“I probably would have had a harder time visualizing in my head what was going on when I thought about life as a system,” Schocken said.

Some of the research which biochemists do can help out with other scientific fields as well this is because biochemistry

This is a picture of insulin that is not prodused by the pancreas which is injected to

proteins and relates to the body in order to regulate blood sugar levels in the blood stream. studying the elements Photo courtesyof Reza babaeian them in in materials action is now consumed by fairly simple with the new a good biologists if I humans. By knowing what technology available. hadn’t learned about is consumed by the body “One of the things I did a biochemistry,” Schocken biologists have a good idea lot was learn a lot about said. Biochemistry helps of how other organisms protein biochemistry and visualize the structure consume molecules and it was really cool to me of the compounds what those molecules look the idea that you think of which we interact with like as well. a protein and you could in our everyday lives.

“We are doing more just go on your computer Biologists having a biochemistry and I planed and look it up and make it good understanding of to do cell biology because literally and change it how biochemistry also have I loved working with ever you wanted it and a good understanding of cells. Thats really cool,” then get it by itself and see the chemical structure of Schocken said.

17

Biochem words Key Words and their defenitions Biochemistry-

Is the study of the chemical reactions inside of the human body.

Hormones-

Are the chemical messengers of the human telling organs and other body parts what to do.

Liposomes-

Are the vehicles for vitamins and pharmaceutical drugs that are delivered to the cells.

Sources

"Liposome."

TheFreeDictionary .com. N.p., n.d.

Web. 21 July 2014.

"Hormone."

Medterms. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 July 2014.

Sources

"Biochemistry."

Dictionary.com.

Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 21 July 2014.

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Enroll Today

BIOCHEMISTRY UNIVERSITY

LIFE IN THEIR SHOES A highlight of an unrecognized career.

By: Ethan Rivers In Austin last year, a tapeworm outbreak occurred in a restaurant in west Austin. It was someone’s 21st birthday and they had gathered their whole extended family for this party.

Epidemiologist Janet Pichette and her team were sent to investigate. They determined after investigation that it wasn’t actually the restaurant’s food, but someone who had doubledipped at the party who had tapeworms. This is a common occurrence; an outbreak will occur and an infectious disease unit will be sent out to investigate along with the fire department and police.

Epidemiologists are detectives, but of a different brand than the usual hat and trench coatwearing personal investigator.

They are disease detectives.

They monitor, plan for and act on different dangerous

pandemics. “It’s like being a detective in a sense,” said Janet Pichette, an epidemiologist, “Looking at data and trying to figure out what the clues are.”

Like Pichette, who works for the Health and Human Services department in Austin, many people get into epidemiology just because they were interested in one facet of it.

They often spend their career looking into various things that only concern them as experts.

“What happens at the local level is more infectious in origin, we are working on West Nile Virus and proteus [syndrome], but we sometimes get calls about birth defect or cancer cluster investigations where we work with the state to get a handle on what those might be.” Said Janett Pichette, “we usually go to the scene with the fire and police department and

the FBI and we do our own investigation. We wanna know whose there, because we have to figure out who was exposed, it is easier to figure out who all is there, even in the first responders.” In Austin, local epidemiologists are concerned with outbreaks that happen only in Austin and the surrounding Texas area. Epidemiologists focus on outbreaks that are unique to their area of expertise or interest. Others track one disease through their career, like people working on an HIV/AIDS unit since the 80s.

“In [the infectious disease] group I have the epidemiologists, disease surveillance and office of vital records,” Janet Pichette said, “When people die of disease that is how we track mortality rates.”

Almost always, epidemiologists are not working alone. It is too

20

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

much of a job for just one person to undertake on their own. Working together always produces faster and more successful work. Much of what they do is impossible without help from those in their group. Working closely with the police and the fire department is also important, to plan for relief efforts or to help manage the public in times of distress.

Epidemiologists work either in the field or labs.

Work in labs is done for different organizations to develop vaccines and cures for dangerous diseases. Every vaccine that has ever been developed was created by an epidemiologist, a virologist, or some other type of disease professional.

People planning to go into this career must take classes primarily in biology, microbiology, calculus, biochemistry and chemistry. It isn’t just about taking these classes in high school, a college degree is usually required to get a job

in this career. Mathematics is often the most important; analyzing statistics, creating graphs and writing variable equations to determine things about the disease that you are working with.

“You have [to have]a strong science background, especially biology and microbiology, and it doesn’t help to have a strong chemistry and biochemistry background as well. The important thing is whether you are strong in mathematics.”

Epidemiologists work with diseases from Ebola to West Nile Virus. Often the things that they work with are dangerous, even deadly. It is not common, however, for an epidemiologist to die unless he or she is working with something especially dangerous and virulent in an area without good safety and containment protocols.

Sometimes if they are working in the field in places like Africa alongside doctors and medical technicians they may be in more danger. During Ebola outbreaks in West Africa there have been

“You have [to have]a strong science background, especially biology and microbiology, and it doesn’t help to have a strong chemistry and biochemistry background as well. The important thing is whether you are strong in mathematics.” Said Janett Pichette.

The CDC facility in Druid Hills, Georgia.

Image courtesy of Kameraad Pjotr

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doctors that have caught ill and died from the virus in the past. There is still that note of danger in any line of work where people are working with things that are exceedingly dangerous.

This risk exists in almost all aspects of this career, but in the field more than in a lab.

Working in the field puts you in actual contact with these people that are infected with these dangerous pandemics. A prime example is MERS. Two infected individuals traveled from London to the US last year. On the plane with them were members of Travis county, which were then quarantined along with everyone on the connecting flight they took to Austin. They have to go to extremes, because it is better to over react than under react and fail because of that.

Containment of diseases is paramount in the field.

If a dangerous disease breaks out in a country without a means to contain it, other countries have to step in. It is a worldwide objective that is undertaken by many countries worldwide. Not just countries work toward the completion of this goal though, many private groups work in collaboration with organizations like the CDC and WHO to help out.

Epidemiologists are very important, they tackle disastrous diseases like the Flu, Ebola, and Polio. Stopping diseases that become pandemics a feat worthy of memory. They don’t do it alone, but that still shouldn’t diminish the individual role that each of these epidemiologists plays in the lives of the people. Many may never realize the role they play in maintaining society, even though they should.

Image courtesy of CJ DUB Richard Doll, a famous epidemiologist.

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