STEM Matters children's monthly news magazine

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STEM MATTERS

MATTERS

Brought to you by the SSPC Research Centre at the University of Limerick

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A new mini-mag packed full of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths

MAKING MEDICINE In this month’s issue of

– a new mini-mag packed full of healthy.

Science I Technology I Engineering I Mathematics

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Welcome to the SSPC Research Centre H

ello, TPPers!

As directors of SSPC, we are here to bid you a very warm welcome to the research centre and hope you enjoy the very first issue of –a new STEM mini-mag for readers of The Primary Planet children’s news mag.

Based in the University of Limerick, SSPC researches the most modern advances in medicine.

Industry in Ireland.

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Our job is to make new discoveries and ensure that Ireland remains the best in the world when it comes to medicine and health. Of course, we don’t do this alone. We work with teams of the world.

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Professor Mike Zaworotko and Professor Gavin Walker – the SSPC Directors – busy at work in one of the research labs.

when it comes to medicine and the science of making it, so you should enjoy exploring this SSPC Special.

Hopefully you will learn all about medicine your classmates to carry out, as well as the problem-solvers among you.

There’s a cool experiment for you and

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inside the mag

Page 3: Dingbat Warm-Up Page 4,5: Making Medicine Page 6,7: Experiment Time Page 8: Worduko

did you know?

Ireland is one of the top countries in the world when it comes to making medicine.

did you know?

Industry is all about discovering and making medicine.

Analogue Devices (AD) Building at the University of Limerick. The spots on the building are based on those of a crystal structure, but most people think they make the building look like a domino! The large part shaped like a cube is a lecture theatre where students come to listen and learn every day. The SSPC research labs and offices are located in the brown part of the building behind the cube.

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efore we tell you about SSPC and our mission with medicine, let’s first see if you can figure out the following medical dingbats! In each box below, you will see a mixture of pictures and words. All you have to do is say what you see.

Each dingbat reveals a famous expression about health.

SSPC Medical Dingbat

Warm-Up Challenge

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As fit as a

3 5

A

She looks a

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helps the

go down.

HEALTH

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An

a day keeps the

away!

He’s feeling under the

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is the best

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A healthy

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She was as

is a healthy

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I have a

in my

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as a

Meet the

She had to go

the

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SSPC Scientists Hi, my name is Marina Navas and I am a I am originally from Spain, but I have been living in Dublin for 3 years. parents probably gave you some medicine and you more quickly. I work on experiments using laboratory machines and computers.

Outside of work, I like to go travelling, dancing, .

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of making and improving medicine.

Believe it or not, it takes around 15 years to create a new medicine and can cost up to €800 million!

Making medicine is very expensive because most work or have really bad side effects. In fact, for

when discovering a new medicine. Let’s take alook!

1 chemicals or molecules that come from plants, fungi, bacteria, insects, and other living creatures that contain and produce millions of chemicals that may be able to cure diseases.

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think may be of use, they must set insect. They do this by grinding up the natural material in a machine or by hand using a pestle and mortar.

Liquids are then added to filter out parts of the ground-up mixture. (You experiment in school. If so, this is same thing!)

MAKI MEDIC

did you know ?

Bacteria have a bad name, but did you know that most of these microbes are not harmful and some are even good for you. In fact, less than one per cent of bacteria will cause you to be ill.

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Once the chemicals have been then have to do some exact chemicals present. Like a uses many Some will look at online databases and computers, while others use X-rays!

All you need to

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The next step is called synthesis. As you know, the original chemical is natural want to make or ‘synthesise’ it in the lab. This is important because if we can make it in a lab, then we can make as much as we want without disturbing more plants or animals. This process have to create numerous chemical

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Other teams may look at how they can improve the chemical to make it more

does and whether it could be useful new chemical on cells, bacteria, or fungi.

If the chemical seems promising, it may then be tested on living creatures such as mice or zebrafish!

For example, you might have a chemical that kills all cells. However, a chemist may work on the chemical so that it only kills the bad cells. This is the case in many forms of cancer treatment, where the cells containing cancer are targeted, while the healthy cells are unharmed.

Meet the SSPC Scientists Hi, my name is Ketan Madane, and I am a researcher.

I work at the University of Limerick in the Department of Chemical Sciences. I am originally from India.

My role in the SSPC is to produce crystals (like sugar or salt) of various chemicals. I am a means I design and develop chemical reactors of different shapes and sizes to get crystals of the required forms and sizes. I

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chemical reactors' latest designs by carrying out experiments with them in the lab and studying their do most of my designing and hands-on in the lab when

Even though I work at the University of Limerick, I live in the city centre with my friends. When I am not at work, I love trekking and travelling. My hobbies include reading books, playing chess and banging drums.

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did you know?

AKING EDICIN DICIN E

treated with penicillin (an range of bacteria) died because the supply of the medicine ran out!

u need to know

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Once a chemical has the

s you can see, a huge amount of work goes into the medicine you get from the doctor or pharmacist. The reason

needs to be tested in clinical trials. Generally, this involves

they want to help people and make sure you are healthy.

humans. It can then be released and used by the public. However, all medicine is monitored for quality and side effects at all . This process is called ‘pharmacovigilance’.

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ns ith heir

the hen g

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8 publish their results online so that other around the world can learn about them.

did you know?

Some medicine is made to taste awful so young children won’t ingest it. Believe it or not, Nintendo flavours their Switch cartridges with a very This is in case a child tries to eat the small cartridge!

DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!

However, the last step with medicine is someone taking it and you need to take care here too! Medicine can be taken in the form of a tablet, a capsule, injections, drops, creams, mists (inhalers) or patches. To make sure you know how to take a medicine correctly, there are rules around how medicine is labelled and the and not knowing how many to take or if there are any side effects. If you took too much medicine, you could end up poisoning yourself! This is why you need to follow the doctor’s orders! medicine label should be easy to read and understand. It should also be printed on a computer and not people have terrible are not sure about a medicine, you should talk to an expert like a doctor or pharmacist.

Meet the SSPC Scientists Hi, my name is Jessica Whelan and I am a chemical and bioprocess engineer. I am originally from Arklow in Co. Wicklow.

I work in University College Dublin as a lecturer and researcher. I work on how best to make lots of the things you use every day – like medicines, cleaning products, make-up, food etc. A chemical engineer figures out how to make really big amounts of things!

Imagine trying to make enough slime for all the kids in your school in one go. You would need a really big bowl and very strong arms to mix it! Solving these problems and puzzles is my favourite thing about my job.

When not working, I love rock climbing and playing on the beach

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et’s think about what happens when we swallow a pill or tablet. Where does it go and what happens?

Well, your body breaks down tablets in the same way its breaks down food. This process is called

EXPERIMEN

then passed to organs like your liver and then into your bloodstream.

When a tablet is broken down into smaller pieces, this is called dissolving. The best example of something dissolving is when you see someone put sugar into a cup of tea. The sugar

CUP 1

CUP 2

CUP 3

CUP 4

Warm Water

Vinegar

too small for you to see!

Today, let's test out how long it takes for something to dissolve and what might make things dissolve faster and slower.

Health and Safety

Ask an adult for help before you start. When using warm water, get an adult to help and be careful that you don’t get vinegar in your eyes as C

Water

Water and Straw

Figure 1: How your cups should look as you begin the experiment

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halfway. Cup 1 should have water. Cup 2 should have water and a straw. Cup 3 should have warm water. Cup 4 should have vinegar.

Take a spoonful of sugar and sprinkle it into Cup 1 (with the water).

What do you see? Did any of the sugar disappear or dissolve? Is there

MY OBSERVATIONS:

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Equipment Needed

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Water Warm water White vinegar A straw A teaspoon

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Take a spoonful of sugar and sprinkle it into Cup 2 (with the straw).

MY OBSERVATIONS:

Meet the SSPC Scientists Hi, my name is Niall O'Reilly and I

Niall O’Reilly

Research Centre Manager

Waterford Institute Of Technology

Technology. My job is managing a a medicine that you take when you are sick. I used to work in the lab developing new medicines, but now I manage a team of is great because I see the results from lots of different projects, but

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and doing the experiments myself.

I’m originally from Killeshandra, Co. Cavan, but I have been living in Portlaw, Co. Waterford, for the last 11 years. Outside of work, I like to be outdoors and I volunteer as a scout leader in Portlaw. I also try to play the guitar but I

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did YOU KNOW?

In the US, in 1882, an army doctor, William Beaumont, treated a 19-year-old fur trapper who had been shot accidentally in the stomach. The doctor thought this was an ideal opportunity to experiment. The

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so that he could place pieces of food into out to examine them. Before this, no-one knew exactly how inside the stomach, while others thought the stomach used muscles to crush the food!

Take a spoonful of sugar and sprinkle it into Cup 3 (with the warm water). Watch closely. Is this any different from the previous cups? Record your results and

Explanation

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There are three things that speed up dissolve.

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The first is movement (just like when you

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Take a spoonful of sugar and sprinkle it into Cup 4 (with the vinegar). Record your results and write

grumbling as it mixes your food. This helps things to dissolve quicker!

The second thing is that your stomach is warm! The inside of your body is around 37 degrees Celsius. Higher temperatures

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This is why trees grow more during the summer than they do during the winter!

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dra, ving r the rk, I untlaw. I tI

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Finally, rank the cups in order of the one you think worked best to dissolve the sugar.

RANKED 4TH

CUP NO.

RANKED 3RD CUP NO.

RANKED 2ND CUP NO.

RANKED 1ST CUP NO.

Finally, your stomach is filled with hydrochloric acid (HCL). Chemicals (like sugar) dissolve more quickly in acid (like the vinegar).

Teaming Up should sprinkle a spoonful of sugar into warm vinegar

Meet the SSPC Scientists Robyn Kehoe Research Chemist

University College Cork

Hi there, my name is Robyn and I am a research chemist in University College Cork. I work in a laboratory and try to discover new things in the world of science. Every day, I put on my white lab coat and molecules that can be used in new medicines. I mix different chemicals together to try to find the perfect formula. Luckily, I who are always happy to help and talk to me.

Outside of work, I like to play lots of sports including tag rugby and badminton.

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The Challenge! about relaxing with a WORDOKU! A Wordoku is a word version of grid with the numbers 1-9, you word is:

Be careful – twice in the word Pharmacy. To

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lowercase. Don’t forget to include the ! Scan the QR code to reveal

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We hope you enjoyed learning about SSPC here in the University of Limerick

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facts about the making of medicine. Who knows, one day you might join us and work in one of our labs. Now, that would be cool!

THE SSPC WORD SEARCH

SCAN THE

qr code

to reveal the solution

BACTERIA are 16 words from the mini-mag. 15 are listed below. Canyou spot the secret 16th? Clue:

CHEMICALS CURE DISCOVER DISEASE EXPERIMENT HEALTH MEDICINE PHARMACY PROCESS RESEARCH SCIENTISTS SSPC TEST TREAT

In next month’s issue of STEM Matters, we travel east to the amazing iCRAG Research Centre at University College Dublin (UCD).

Science I Technology I Engineering I Mathematics