Wellcome NEWS

8/3/2019 Wellcome NEWS

1/19

Winter 2011 | 1

Wellcme NEWSIssue 69, winter 2011

NEGLECTED

TROPICALDISEASESResearchers raising the prle glbal health threats.


2/19

2 | Wellcome NEWS Winter 2011 | 3

In brie

Message rm the Directr

Fnding news

Research news

In dept

Hw I Gt Int medical scilgy: Pr. Clare Williams

And ther diseases

Best the blg: Patients the past

In the ht seat: Pr. Carl Rbinsn

Winning ways: Science Writing Prize

Welcme t the ld: strctral bilgy

Opinion

The nly way is Wikipedia

Appliance Science: n sch thing as a nn-science stry

Picture eatures

Cells and the city

Nts and Blts: The nern

Frm the Archive: Red r dead HIVAIDS sandals

4

6

8

4

3

6

3

3

34

4

3

CoNTENTS

INSIDE THIS ISSuE

24The neuron

Join a world-leadingimage collection

Can you contributeto our collection?I you are a research scientist, a clinical

photographer or an illustrator, we would

love to see your work. You can access a

wider audience through our biomedical

image collection, used by clients acrossthe world.

Email [email protected]

Whats more, any images we receive

beore 16 January 2012 will be

considered or the Wellcome Image

Awards 2012. See the 2011 winners:

www.wellcomeimageawards.org

Darkfeld light micrograph o the head o a honeybee.

Spike Walker/Wellcome Images

images.wellcome.ac.uk


3/19


Cover: Artwork showingvarious neglected tropicaldiseases. See page 14.

4 | Wellcome NEWS

Thisdocument wasprintedonmaterialmade rom25 percent post-consumerwaste &25 percent pre-consumerwaste.

50%

MESSAGE fROM ThE DIRECTORSIR MARK WALPoRT

Gd cmmnicatin nderpins gd science. Frm inrmal chatsver cee t presentatins at cnerences, rm email echa nges tlng-term cllabratins, scientists are cnstantly sharing ideas andinrmatin.

At the heart scientic cmmnicatin are the rmal peer-reviewed articles pblished in academic jrnals. There is n dbtingtheir ndamental imprtance bt there are qestins ver hw thepblicatin prcess wrks. With all the ptential that new technlgybrings, we mst be sre that researchers can cmmnicate their ndingsin the mst reliable and accessible ways th at, abve all, serve the needs the scientic cmmnity.

With this in mind, the Wellcme Trst, the Ma Planck Sciety andthe Hward Hghes Medical Institte will lanch a new tp-tier jrnalnet year. online, pen-access and peer-reviewed, it will h ave a senireditrial team made p eclsively active sc ientists. We believe thiswill allw them t select trly tstanding, challenging and innvativeresearch r rapid pblicatin. It is an eciting prpsitin: scienticpblishing by scientists, r scientists.

Jst as vital is gd science cmmnicatin beynd the researchcmmnity. Tw Wellcme Trst cmpetitins celebrate and encragescience writing in partic lar, and we recently annnced this yearswinners.

The Wellcme Trst Bk Prize recgnises the eternal ascinatinthat medical isses hld r great writers and their readers alike. Mythanks t r esteemed jdges r reading dzens ecellent bks,whittling them dwn t a shrtlist si bere deciding the winner Turn o Mind by Alice LaPlante.

I did my wn share jdging this year r the inagral WellcmeTrst Science Writing Prize, rn in assciatin with the Guardian andObservernewspapers. We received an impressive 8 entries. T havereceived s many in the cmpetitins rst year is testimny t scietysdeep interest in science and t the desire ever mre scientists tcmmnicate their wrk t the pblic. Y can read the winning entriesn page 6 and i y think y c ld d better, we lk rward treading yr entry net year.

Telling the stories o the Wellcome Trusts work

Editor Chrissie GilesAssistant Editor Tom FreemanWriters Chrissie Giles, Lydia Harriss,Michael Regnier, Emma James

Design Marianne DearNeuron illustrationand Prof. Clare WilliamsillustrationBret SyertPhotography David SayerPublisher Hugh Blackbourn

Ideas, comments, suggestions? Get in touch:Wellcome NewsWellcome TrustGibbs Building215 Euston RoadLondon NW1 2BEE [email protected]/wellcomenews

To subscribe:T +44 (0)20 7611 8651E [email protected]/subscribe

All images, unless otherwise stated, are rom theWellcome Library. You can get copies throughWellcome Images (images.wellcome.ac.uk ).

Wellcome TrustWe are a global charitable oundation dedicated toachieving extraordinary improvements in humanand animal health. We support the brightest mindsin biomedical research and the medical humanities.Our breadth o support includes public engagement,education and the application o research to improvehealth. We are independent o both political andcommercial interests. www.wellcome.ac.uk

This is an open access publication and, with theexception o images and illustrations, the contentmay, unless otherwise stated, be reproduced reeo charge in any ormat or medium, subject to theollowing constraints: content must be reproducedaccurately; content must not be used in a misleadingcontext; the Wellcome Trust must be attributed asthe original author and the title o the documentspecied in the attribution. The views and opinionsexpressed by writers within Wellcome News do notnecessarily reect those o the Wellcome Trust orEditor. No responsibility is assumed by the publisheror any injury and/or damage to persons or property asa matter o products liability, negligence or otherwise,or rom any use or operation o any methods, products,instructions or ideas contained in the material herein.ISSN 1356-9112. First published by the Wellcome Trust,2011. Wellcome News is the Wellcome Trust and islicensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 UK.The Wellcome Trust is a charity registered in Englandand Wales, no. 210183. Its sole trustee is The WellcomeTrust Limited, a company registered in England andWales, no. 2711000 (whose registered oce is at 215Euston Road, London NW1 2BE, UK).PU-5261/15.5K/11-2011/MD

Journal updateDr Mark Patterson, Director oPublishing at the Public Library oScience, has been named ManagingExecutive Editor o a new open-access research journal beinglaunched next year. The DeputyEditors are Proessors Fiona Wattand Detle Weigel. The journal,eLife, is being supported by theWellcome Trust, the HowardHughes Medical Institute and theMax Planck Society.

Illustrating illnessBobby Bakers graphicautobiography, Diary Drawings:Mental illness and me, has beennamed Book o the Year by themental health charity Mind. Aiming

to create a new painting every day,or over a decade she chronicled herjourney through severe mental andphysical illness to recovery. Theartworks eatured in the book wereexhibited at Wellcome Collection in2009. Diary Drawings was publishedby Prole Books in conjunction withthe Wellcome Trust in 2010.

Alice LaPlantescps WellcmeTrst Bk PrizeThe Wellcme Trst Bk Prizehas been wn by Alice LaPlante rher nvel Turn o Mind.

The 5 Prize highlightststanding wrks ctin andnn-ctin n the theme health,illness r medicine.

LaPlantes debt nvel, therst wrk ctin t win thePrize, is written rm the perspective Dr Jennier White, an eminentrmer srgen in the nal stages Alzheimers wh cmes ndersspicin ater the mrder herbest riend. The narratrs mindcllapses as the stry prgresses.

The jdging panel r this yearsPrize was chaired by writer andbradcaster Vivienne Parry andinclded science writer and editrRger Higheld, Birkbeck Pressr

Histry Janna Brke, athrTim Ltt and Erica Wagner, LiteraryEditr the Times.

Parry said: Technically daring,Turn o Mind tells a gripping stryin the vice smene actallyaicted with Alzheimers andemphatically cnrms the ability literatre t tell s mre abtthe heart and sl an illness thanany tetbk.

www.wellcomebookprize.org

Researchers reach t r anniversary

As part the Wellcme Trsts 75thanniversary year, many r StrategicAward hlders have been rnningactivities t engage members theirlcal cmmnities with their research.

The Wellcme Trst Centre rMleclar Parasitlgy in Glasgw hasdevelped an ehibitin that eplresthe deadly missin parasites as theyinvade the hman bdy and shws whatthe Centres research in this area hasachieved. The ehibitin, which is

accmpanied by pblic lectres and awebsite, rns ntil the end Decemberat the Glasgw Science Centre.

over the atmn, -t-4-year-ldschlchildren n Merseyside and inBlantyre, Malawi, have been taghtsing lessns plans n malariadevelped by researchers rm theWellcme Trst Trpical Centre inLiverpl and the MalawiLiverplWellcme Trst Clinical ResearchPrgramme in cllabratin with

Liverpls Wrld Msem. Stdentsrm bth cntries sent qestins tscientists wrking in Malawi, wh haveanswered them n lm. The reslts arebeing presented at a celebratin eveningr stdents and parents in Liverpl inmid-December.

Events invlving ther WellcmeTrst Centres are taking place inDndee, Lndn, Manchester,Cambridgeshire, Edinbrgh and Bristl.Find t mre at wellc.me/oR3VOy.

Finding aith at Wellcme CllectinWith the Miracles & Charms seasnnw in ll swing at WellcmeCllectin, the critically acclaimedInfnitas Gracias and Charmed Lieehibitins cntine t draw visitrsintriged by their eplratin aith,hpe and chance. They rn ntil 6Febrary and are accmpanied by ahst events, sch as hw epectatin

and belie can inence r health(Cres Cnvictin, Janary) andhw we relate t all things small(Miniatres, 9 Janary).

I lcky charms and miracles havegiven y a taste r the spernatral,it can be indlged rther at the MagicSpper Saln n 8 Janary, whichintrdces the healers and crse

breakers 8th-centry Englandand Wales, ver dinner and wine.Alternatively, there is an pprtnityt walk the ecesses the hlidayswith medical histrian Richard Barnett,n ne his Medical Lndn walks.These cntine n 8 Janary withGallws, Ghsts and Glden Bys.

www.wellcomecollection.org

WellcmeNEWS


4/19


fUNDING NEWS

Latest InvestigatrAwards made

The secnd rnd Wellcme TrstInvestigatr Awards has been made.The 4 awards range rm three tseven years in dratin and 5 tver 3 millin in nding. Amng the

5 Investigatrs is Pressr Derek Jnes(let) rm Cardi university, wh willse his New Investigatr Award t csn the develpment and applicatin tractmetry. This is a nn-invasiveimaging apprach sed t btaindetailed inrmatin abt themicrstrctre white matter, thecnnectins that carry inrmatinbetween dierent parts the brain.Pr. Jnes believes that this apprach

will be instrmental in advancing rnderstanding the brain in health,develpment and disease.

At the university Edinbrgh,Pr. Rse Zamyska has been made aSenir Investigatr. She will eplre themechanisms that reglate T cells, animprtant cmpnent the immnesystem, inclding nderstanding whatges wrng with this reglatin inatimmne cnditins, in which Tcells attack healthy cells.

We cnsider applicatins rInvestigatr Awards in bimedicalscience r times a year. The netdeadline is 6 December . Fr mre,seewellc.me/rqxQyd.

African awardDr Julie Makani has receivedthe Royal Society Pzer Awardor making an innovativecontribution to biologicalsciences in Arica. Dr Makani,who is a Wellcome TrustIntermediate Fellow in PublicHealth and Tropical Medicineworking in Tanzania, has oundevidence that morbidity andmortality in sickle-cell disease inthe country is commonly causedby anaemia, and has developeda ramework to conduct clinicaltrials o potential treatments.The award consists o a 60 000grant or research and a 5000personal prize.

Infectious winsProessors Bob Snow and DavidMabey have been awarded theGeorge Macdonald Medal orresearch leading to healthimprovements in tropicalcountries.

Pro. Snow A WellcomeTrust Principal Research Fellowwho works at the KEMRIWellcome Trust ResearchProgramme in Kenya hasdeveloped an extensiveprogramme to tackle thepublic health burden omalaria in Arica. Pro. Mabeyworks at the London Schoolo Hygiene and TropicalMedicine; his achievementsinclude demonstrating thatHIV transmission can bereduced by improving themanagement o other sexuallytransmitted inections.

DevelopmentalprizeProessor Chittaranjan Yajnikhas won the David BarkerMedal or his contribution tounderstanding how early humandevelopment relates to chronicdisease in later lie. His researchhas highlighted numerous riskactors or developing type 2diabetes and insulin resistance.Pro. Yajnik, supported by theWellcome Trust or over 20years, is Director o the KingEdward Memorial HospitalDiabetes Unit and ResearchCentre in India.

Early clinical careers schemelanchedThe Wellcme Trst has lanched a new scheme r talentedclinicians wh have recently gained a higher degree (typicallya PhD) and want t ndertake pstdctral research trainingin the best labs in the uK and abrad.

Early Pstdctral Training Fellwships r ClinicianScientists will help peple wrk twards an independentresearch career and can be tailred, where apprpriate, sthat granthlders can cntine their clinical training. We willtake applicatins three times a year r these awards, whichare pen t individals with a relevant cnnectin t theErpean Ecnmic Area r ellwships t be held in a uK rRepblic Ireland instittin. Fellwships are r p t threeyears, nrmally prviding p t 35 .

Fr mre, see wellc.me/oxIrJ.

Technlgy Transer prjectsseek partnersSeveral Seeding Drg Discvery prjects spprted byTechnlgy Transer at the Wellcme Trst are lking rcmmercial partners. These inclde a prgramme that has ledt the develpment new, highly selective beta-blcker drgcandidates that cld be sed t treat heart disease. Whilecnventinal beta-blckers wrsen the symptms respiratrydiseases, and prevent resce medicatins sch as inhalers rmwrking, these new cmpnds are highly selective r the

receptrs nd in the heart, witht shwing an eect n

the

receptrs nd in the lngs and bld vessels. This meansthat the new cmpnds can be sed in all patients with heartprblems even the high nmber with respiratry cnditins.

A secnd prject has led t the identicatin a candidatedrg r treating allergy t hse dst mites. This cmpndhas already been shwn t be eective in animal mdels wheninhaled, and is ready r rther preclinical and clinical

develpment.Technlgy Transer spprts prjects that address an

nmet medical need, thrgh the difclt early stages research and develpment, taking them t the p int where theybecme attractive t indstry, ventre capital rms and therinvestrs. Fr mre, seewellc.me/qSiYuS.

New nding t spprttre leadersThe Wellcme Trst and the RyalSciety have lanched a jint schemet identiy and spprt tre wrldleaders in bimedical research. TheSir Henry Dale Fellwships willprvide the brightest bimedicalscientists with the best pssible startt their research careers in the uK.

The partnership is named aterSir Henry Dale (875968; right),ne the mst eminent bimedicalscientists the th centry. Dale(tgether with ott Lewi) wasawarded the Nbel Prize inPhysilgy r Medicine in 936r the discvery acetylchlineand its physilgical actins. Thisrevltinised the nderstanding the nervs system and the way inwhich drgs were designed anddevelped. Dale was Chairman theWellcme Trst rm 938 ntil 96and served as President the RyalSciety rm 94 t 945.

The new awards which bringtgether the Ryal Scietysuniversity Research Fellwshipsand the Trsts Research CareerDevelpment Fellwships int nenew scheme will prvide researchspprt r p t eight years. Therst awards will be made in Jne. Fr mre, seewellc.me/ta8z6Z.

iStockphoto

Diagrams o a bronchus (let) and the heart (right).Miles Kelly Art Library/Wellcome Images

Keep p t date with wrldwide

bimedical science plicy

thrgh r ree weekly

newsletter Science Policy in

the News (Spin).

Sign p t receive Spin straight

t yr inb and access r

ree, searchable archive datingback t 99.

www.wellcome.ac.uk/spin/wn

Scienceknws

n cntry,becase knowledge

belngs thmanity, and

is the trchwhich illminates

the wrld

Humanembryo.YorgosNikas/WellcomeImages

Louis Pasteur

Science Policy in the News (Spin)


5/19

Ggle Earth sed t track typhid

Scientists at the Wellcme Trst Majroverseas Prgramme in Vietnam andthe ord university Clinical Researchunits in Nepal and Vietnam have ndan accrate way t map typhidtbreaks in Kathmand. Thesendings may help in imprvingstrategies t cntrl the disease.

Typhid is cased by Salmonellatyphi and S. paratyphi, spread thrgh

water r d cntaminated withaeces. There are an estimated 7millin cases typhid acrss thewrld every year.

Researchers tracing tbreaks typhid in Nepal have nd itparticlarly difclt t captre theaddresses peple with typhidinectins as street names are ntsed. In this latest stdy, researcherscmbined DNA-seqencing technlgyand GPS t map the spread typhidand trace its srces nt GgleEarth. They nd that the clstering typhid in certain lcatins did ntdepend n the density thepplatin, bt n hw clse peple

live t water spts and hw lw analtitde they live at.

Dr Jimmy Whitwrth, the TrstsHead Internatinal Activities,said: Jst as Jhn Snws pineeringchlera maps the 9th centryshwed that pr sanitatin leadingt cntaminated water was spreadingdisease, this stdy rther reinrcesthe imprtance imprving the

qality water spplies andinrastrctre r sanitatin i weare t serisly tackle diseases schas typhid.

Baker S et al. Combined high-resolution genotypingand geospatial analysis reveals modes o endemicurban typhoid ever transmission. Open Biol 2011 Oct.

Below: People etching water in Kathmandu.Steven Baker


RESEARCh NEWS

Mouse mutationsAn international team led byresearchers rom the WellcomeTrust Sanger Institute and theUniversity o Oxord havecatalogued over 56 milliongenetic diferences among 17strains o mice. Having suchinormation available shouldhelp reduce the number o micebred or experiments and shouldalso help research in the eldprogress aster.

Keane TM et al. Nature 2011;477:28994.Yalcin B et al. Nature 2011:477:3269.

Diagnosing cancerResearchers at the Universityo Liverpool and NewcastleUniversity have identiedthe most accurate test yetor diagnosing humanpapillomavirus (HPV)-relatedhead and neck cancers: acombination o testing orthep16 gene and quantitativePCR (used to determine levelso viral DNA). They hope that acombination test will becomethe diagnostic standard andhave immediate clinical impact.

Schache AG et al. Clin Cancer Res2011;17(19):626271.

Shaping upThe kink turn is a widespreadstructural moti in RNA thatis involved in many RNAunctions, including translation,RNA processing and geneticregulation. The kinked shapecan be stabilised by metal ionsor protein binding, and nowresearchers rom the Universityo Dundee have ound a thirdway o stabilisation: byinteractions within a largerRNA structure. The resultssuggest that the combinedinuences o specic proteinbinding and these so-calledtertiary interactions could bevery important during theormation o structures suchas the ribosome.Schroeder KT et al. Structure2011;19(9):123340.

Researching rapid repair tisse

Cells detect tisse damage via changesin their envirnment. Nw, researchersat the university Bristl and theuniversity Manchesters WellcmeTrst Centre r Cell-Matri Researchhave eamined the signalling prcessthat ccrs in damaged tisses and

identied the celllar mechanismsrespnsible r activating repair.

Cell migratin dring tisserepair reqires the trnver celllaradhesins [repeated sticking andnsticking cells], and the challengehas been t determine hw cells detect

damage and mdiy their adhesiveprperties accrdingly, says lead athrDr Mark Bass.

By measring the atmic rcereqired t detach a cell, the researchersshwed hw a prtein, syndecan-4,triggers the ptake and redeplyment adhesive mlecles. This nvelseqence signals enables brblastsand ther cells, which h elp a wnd tcntract and heal, respnd t changes intisse strctre and migrate alng thematri bres that make p the skin. Bymving directly twards a lng-rangedamage signal, cells arrive at a wndar qicker than i they searched r itrandmly. The researchers hpe thiswrk will help nd new ways t imprvewnd healing.

Bass MD et al. A syndecan-4 hair trigger initiates woundhealing through caveolin- and RhoG-regulated integrinendocytosis. Dev Cell 2011 23 Oct [epub].

Testing a newtreatment rinant lekaemia

Scientists have nd a chemical thatcld treat mied-lineage lekaemia,the mst cmmn rm lekaemiain children nder tw, which is hard ttreat with crrent therapies.

The disease ccrs when a genecalledMLL gets sed t anther gene.This prdces a sin prtein that

behaves inapprpriately, switching ngenes that drive the develpment lekaemia. Researchers rm theWellcme TrstCancer Research uKGrdn Institte and the CambridgeInstitte r Medical Researchcllabrated with scientists rmGlaSmithKline and Cellzme AG.They shwed that MLL sin prteinsare targeted t lekaemia-casing genesby prteins rm the BET ami ly, whichrecgnise certain chemical tags nchrmatin, the scald n which DNAis rganised.

The researchers shwed that a newchemical agent develped by GSK,I-BET5, mimics these chemical tags,

preventing BET and MLL rmattaching t chrmatin and activatingthe lekaemia genes. Treatment lekaemia in mice and hman cancercells in the lab shwed that the chemicalcld halt the disease, paving the wayr its se in hman trials.

Senir athr and inagralWellcmeBeit Prize Fellw Dr MarkDawsn eplained: This is an ecitingstdy with wider implicatins r cancertreatment, as it highlights theimprtance nderstanding hwprteins mtated in cancer alter the

chrmatin landscape t initiate anddrive cancer.

Dawson MA et al. Inhibition o BET recruitment tochromatin as an efective treatment or MLL-usionleukaemia. Nature 2011 2 Oct [epub].

iStockphoto

Brain ld linked t recallingwhats realScientists at the university Cambridges Behaviral andClinical Nerscience Instittehave nd that nrmal variatin ina ld at the rnt the brain mighteplain why sme peple are betterthan thers at distingishing realevents in memry rm thse theymay have imagined r been tldabt, researchers have nd.

This brain variatin, a ld calledthe paracinglate slcs (PCS), ispresent in rghly hal the nrmalpplatin. As ne the laststrctral lds t develp bere

birth, its size varies greatly amngindividals. The researchersdiscvered that adlts whse MRIscans indicated an absence thePCS were signicantly less accrateat memry tasks than peple with aprminent PCS n at least ne side the brain. Interestingly, all

participants believed that they had agd memry.

PCS redctins have beenreprted in previs stdies schizphrenia; Dr Jn Simns, whled this latest research, arges thatthese ndings are cnsistent with

the idea that this strctralvariability might directly inencethe nctinal capacity srrnding brain areas and thecgnitive abilities that they spprt.

Buda M et al. A specic brain structural basis orindividual diferences in reality monitoring.J Neurosci 2011;31(40):1430813.

Let: Blood clot on a plaster.Anne Weston, LRI, CRUK/Wellcome Images

iStockphoto


6/19


y ather was in the AirFrce, s as a child Iwas always mvingrm place t place.I went t abt

dierent schlsaltgether, and ended

p back in the uK at the age 7witht any o levels. Having decidedthat I wanted t leave schl, I was qitekeen t g int nrsing.

I trained as a nrse in the 97s atHammersmith Hspital. It was a veryimprtant place r intrdcing newtechnlgies inclding r sme the rst kidney transplants in the uK s I saw all srts eciting medicalinnvatins there. I wrked as a nrseand health visitr r years, bt

dring that time started t qestinthe evidence behind varis practicesand prcedres. Thats what gt methinking abt research.

Ater taking part in a si-weekresearch crse r nrses, I decided td a part-time Masters degree inmedical scilgy, which I really lved.Lking back, I think I had been a bit a rstrated academic s I jst tkt it and became ne th se verybring stdents wh des everythingtheyre sppsed t! It was a cmpleterevelatin at the time, like a drpening, and its led me t thiscmpletely dierent way lie.

Dring my Masters, I nticed

CAREERS

that there was a lt criticism themedical pressin qite rightly inmany ways bt I always elt that therewas anther side that c ld be eplred.It was als nticeable that there was alt research being carried t npatient perspectives bt ar less n thse practitiners and clinicians. Cmingrm a nrsing backgrnd, I alwayshad at the back my mi nd what I mightd in particlar sitatins. I think thatswhy a lt my research has csed nthe difclties that practitiners andscientists can encnter in their wrk.

It seems crazy nw, bt I dnt thinkId ever thght mch abt the scialisses arnd medicine bere then.The Masters really pened my eyes.Ater, I gained Department Health

nding t d a ll-time PhD nmanaging chrnic illness in teenagers.

In 999, I became the jnirresearcher n a t w-year WellcmeTrst bimedical ethics prject. Wewere eplring innvative early-stageantenatal screening techniqes lking at what srts children mightbe brn and wh shld make decisinsarnd these techniqes. The peple Iwrked with helped me develp hgelyand pened my mind t a lt d ierentareas. Frm then I really develped aninterest in reprdctin, and wasawarded a three-year pstdctralWellcme Trst ellwship lking atetal srgery.

Net, I gt nding r t hree relatedprjects n hman embrynic stem cellresearch, embry dnatin r researchand pre-implantatin genetic diagnsis(PGD). PGD is r cples with a amilyhistry a particlar cnditin schas msclar dystrphy wh want thave a child ree rm the cnditin.They g thrgh IVF and nly embryswitht the cnditin are implanted.When PGD rst came abt it was nlyreally sed r lie-threatening diseasesthat ten cased terrible pain r deathin childhd, yet nw were seeing theses epanding. Thats what Im reallyinterested in hw and why the initiallystrict bndaries r new technlgiesshit, and hw the reglatin and se these ten ethically cntentis

technlgies are maniested in theclinic r lab.

Ive dne a lt wrk nreprdctive technlgies, bt haverecently mved n t stdy translatinal smetimes reerred t as bench-t-bedside research in nerscience.There are sme really ascinating areasthere t. I cnsider mysel veryrtnate what ther jb d y getwhere y can travel, develp jnirresearchers, and teach and wrk nareas that yre really interested inwith peple passinate abt what theyd? Ive spent sme years wrking nbrilliant prjects, and thats what Idlike t carry n ding.

PRoF. CLARE WILLIAMS

HoW I GoT INTo...MEDICALSoCIoLoGYAter a childhd spent mving arnd the wrld, Clare Williams nd hersel in the uK at the age

7 witht any academic qalicatins. Nw a pressr medical scilgy at Brnel university,she lks at the scial rces that shape the se medical technlgies and hw they might aectclinicians, scientists and patients. She talks t Emma James.


7/19

Winter 2011 | 13

www.wikipedia.org

n a wrld in which anti-scienceappears t be n the increase, it isimperative that scientists imprvehw they engage with the general

pblic abt their research. Atraditinal way t d this is t give

talks at science airs and engage directly withschls. A prblem with this standard pblicengagement apprach, hwever, is that thereach can be qite limited and is ten a case preaching t the cnverted.

o crse, i yr research is ht engh ycan psh stries thrgh the mass media, sch asTV and newspapers, hping that the reslts dntget t garbled in the telling. I believe that theselimitatins, cmbined with the act that many these activities are time-cnsming, inhibit many

scientists rm cmmnicating eectively withthe pblic.

I y really want t let the pblic knw abtyr science then the nly way is Wikipedia. Frbetter r wrse, Wikipedia has becme the centralrepsitry knwledge n the internet. I ydnt believe me then try the llwingeperiment. Pick a wrd and type it int Ggle.Fr mst terms e.g. malaria, research rpinin Wikipedia is the tp hit.

I y want t get a qick verview a tpic,its likely yll g straight t Wikipedia. Nw

think abt the hndreds millins internetsers t there wh will, at sme pint, want tnd t smething abt science, technlgyr medicine. Im araid that they will almstcertainly nt be heading t yr latest researcharticle t d s.

Editing Wikipedia can seem danting atrst. Sme researchers might be pt becasetheir rst implse is t tackle editing an articlethere the same way as they wld write a researchpaper perect it and then let thers review itbere nal pblicatin. Wikipedi a desnt wrkthat way. Y dnt need t rewrite the histry a science article, jst add a sentence here,a reerence there. Y can make a selcntribtin t Wikipedia witht making alarge investment yr time.

S i y are interested in helping the pblicnderstand what yr research is all abtthen I rge y t learn hw t edit and imprveWikipedia. Find the relevant article and makewhatever changes y think are needed t ens rethat the cntent is scientically accrate and pt date. It desnt take a lt t make a bigdierence, and y get t ll sme yr pblicengagement respnsibilities in the prcess t.

DR ALEx BATEMAN, WELLCoME TRuST SANGER INSTITuTE

The only way is WikipediaoPINIoN

www.wellcome.ac.uk/ta

Wellcome Trust Translation Awards

We nd medicalinnvatins in thellwing areas: therapeutics diagnostics enabling technology regenerative medicine vaccines medical devices.

Frthcming deadlinesr Translatin Awardpreliminary applicatins: 6 January 2012 20 July 2012.

We are a cmmitted nder translatinal R&D. Wewrk with wrld-classinvestigatrs in academicinstittins and cmpaniesalike, in prsit sltinsr nmet medical needs.


8/19


NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES

AND oTHERDISEASESNeglected trpical diseases is a newname r ld diseases that case lng-term sering amng the wrldsprest peple. The Wellcme Trstand thers have nded research intthese diseases r decades, bt therits this research have nt alwaysreached the peple mst in need.Michael Regnier spke t sme the scientists wh cined the newphrase t raise awareness thecntining brden these diseases,and t Trst-nded researcherswhse wrk is helping t develpbettersltins r tackling them.


9/19


Research understended to ocus onemerging inections.The pharma industrycut programmesbecause there wasnta proftable market.

he big three inectisdiseases in glbal healthare the all t amiliar:HIVAIDS, malaria andtberclsis. Less wellknwn are a hst ther

inectins endemic acrssthe wrld. Cased by a mtley variety parasites, virses and bacteria, thesediseases are a seris prblem in lw-and middle-incme cntries, casingdeaths, lng-term disability anddisadvantage. They are diseases

pverty, mstly aecting the wrldsprest natins and trapping theirpeple in a cycle ecnmicstagnatin, bt they d nt receiveanything like the attentin r ndinggiven t wrk n the big three.

In the past ve years r s, widerattentin has begn t all n thesether diseases, thanks largely t acampaign led predminantly byscientists and centred n a new name:neglected trpical diseases, r NTDs.

The phrase was part a drive tthink abt these diseases in a reshlight, says Pressr Peter Htez,President the Sabin Vaccine Instittein Washingtn, DC and Editr-in-Chie

the jrnal PLoS NTDs. Ater thelanch the Millennim DevelpmentGals in , a lt attentin ell nHIV, tberclsis and malaria. Gal 6called r actin n thse three andther diseases.

It led t a lt ging n in HI V,tberclsis and malaria, bt thse s wrking n the ther disea ses elt wewere n the tside lking in. We weredriven t think aresh, t rebrand thesecnditins.

His research is n vaccines r

hman hkwrm inectin andther parasitic wrms. As with manyNTDs, they are nt lethal in themselvesbt inectins can last r decades,impairing childrens grwth,develpment and physical tnessand casing severe anaemia dringpregnancy, which leads t lw birthweight and increased inant andmaternal mrtality.

The mst cmmn neglectedtrpical diseases have high mrbidityand lw mrtality, eplains Htez.They are cases pverty thrghtheir eects n children, pregnantwmen and wrkers. Frm descriptinsin ancient tets, we knw these diseases

have been arnd r ever. They arethe ppsite emerging diseases.

We are mre scared emergingdiseases, Htez sggests, bt NTDsd mre harm verall.

Defnitions o neglectNeglected trpical diseases is nt aprecisely dened term. Nt all NTDs areeclsively trpical, and the natre neglect varies. Smetimes neglect cmesrm the cmmnities in which thesediseases are nd: lymphatic lariasis,

r eample, cases severe disgrementand massively swllen limbs, which canlead t prejdice and stigma. In thercases, neglect is rm richer natins,where diseases sch as schistsmiasisand dracncliasis are namiliar andinectins sch as chlera and leprsyare chapters rm histry rather thanpressing medical prblems.

It desnt help that the availableinrmatin abt hw many pepleare inected r dying rm these diseasesis nt always reliable. NTDs are mrecmmn in regins etreme pvertyr cnict nt sitatins that lendthemselves t eective epidemilgicalmnitring.

Research int NTDs may havebeen neglected t. The Wellcme Trsthas cnsistently nded research ntrpical diseases and crrently spends asignicant prprtin its nding nglbal health research, and the WrldHealth organizatin (WHo) establishedits Special Prgramme r Research andTraining in Trpical Diseases (TDR)in 975. Hwever, ther majr healthchallenges were cmpeting r attentinin the latter hal the th centry inclding emerging inectins and

the rising incidence cancer andcardivasclar disease. Meanwhile,the pharmacetical indstry ctprgrammes n parasitic inectins,r eample, becase there wasnt aprtable market t invest in.

Frstratingly r thse scientistswh were researching NTDs, eectivedrgs were already available r asmall nmber them bt were ntbeing widely sed. Even when drgcmpanies began dnating these drgsr spplying them at very lw cst rse in lwer-incme cntries, simplecst-eective prgrammes t implementmass drg administratin tenstrggled t nd sstained nding.

Proo o principlePressr Alan Fenwick, Directr theSchistsmiasis Cntrl Initiative (SCI)at Imperial Cllege Lndn, wrked inEgypt r 5 years. In that time, theprevalence schistsmiasis there ellrm per cent t less than 5 per cent.He knew it was p ssible t redce thebrden the disease ntil it was nlnger a pblic health isse; his prblemwas in nding the spprt t apply thisknwledge in ther cntries.

Many rganisatins are interested

in spprting research; sme, like theWellcme Trst, are mandated t nlynd research, says Fenwick. Bt thislet schistsmiasis and thers in limb:mst the research had been dne.We had the tls which, i implementedprperly, cld help sme millinpeple in sb-Saharan Arica.

In , he apprached the newlyestablished Bill & Melinda GatesFndatin and sggested they byand distribte praziqantel, an eectiveschistsmiasis drg treatment, incntries where the disease was endemic.

They agreed t allw me t test thepr principle: Will these cntriesimplement cntrl i given access t

drgs and nding?Fenwick was awarded $3m t wrk

with Arican cntries t intrdcenatinal prgrammes t cntrlschistsmiasis. The rst treatmentbegan in uganda in 3 and ater neyear, the intensity schistsmeinectin had allen by 7 per cent.Disease cntrl is an nging challenge,hwever: I we stp treating, he says,I ear that within ve years it will cmeback again.

The SCI has spprted r is c rrently

wrking in Arican cntries and isstill epanding cverage. Mre thanm peple have been treated at leastnce. Mrever, it treated peple rthree parasitic wrm inectins at thesame time, in eect tackling r NTDswith ne integrated prgramme.

Drug development or NTDsPrgrammes sch as the SCI aresccessl nt nly becase the drgsare dnated r prvided at lw cst,bt als becase the drgs are sae andeective and can be given rally in asingle dse every si r mnths. Thedrgs available r many ther NTDsare nt s practical and there is a

Above: Proessor Peter Hotez.


10/19


How can you achieveprimary education or alli the kids are ull o worms?I they have no energy sothat even i they go toschool they all asleep?

More on NTDs The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases: www.globalnetwork.org WHO Neglected Tropical Diseases: www.who.int/neglected_diseases/en/ Schistosomiasis Control Initiative: www3.imperial.ac.uk/schisto Drug Discovery Unit, Dundee: www.drugdiscovery.dundee.ac.uk

desperate need t discver newtreatments. Wellcme Trst ndingcntines t cntribte t every step this prcess.

Pressr Alan Fairlamb, C-Directr the Wellcme Trst-ndedDrg Discvery unit at the university Dndee, agrees that nly a handl crrent NTD drgs are trly t rprpse: Many cmpnds weredevelped with a dierent indicatinin mind, maybe rm cancer research rantingal drg discvery prgrammes.

The target prdct prle r theseriginal indicatins des nt take intaccnt the assciatin with pvertyand the rral setting where mst NTDdrgs are needed.

one thing reqently missingin the eqatin rm the pharmaperspective is lw cst gds, headds. Epensive drgs are gd rthe dd saari bt t cstly r thelcal pplatin. Peple ten cantard the treatment, s they dntcmplete the crse and this drivesresistance. The challenge is t develpcheaper and saer drgs.

The Dndee unit wrks n thebest ptential targets wherever they

cme rm, making cncepts viable rrther develpment in animal mdels.Fairlamb says they are always lking rscientists with a prmising target btwh dnt have either the knw-hw rthe inrastrctre t d drg discvery.or visin is t take ecellent basicscience and trn it int sel medicalprdcts, he says.

Their mst sccessl prject tdate is based n an enzyme calledN-myristyltranserase (NMT), whichwas develped as a target at Imperial

Cllege Lndn by Pressr DebrahSmith, nw at the university Yrk.The enzyme has been nd in anmber parasites: the Dndee unitis wrking n develping a drg rhman Arican trypansmiasis(sleeping sickness) while Smith, alswith nding rm the Wellcme Trst,is leading n develping drgs andvaccines r leishmaniasis. NMT mayeven be a target r new malaria drgs.

Theres still a lng way t g, Smithsays, bt even i the wrk n NMT desnt lead t a viable drg r all thesediseases, it will be valable research.Were ding the grndwrk r treptential pprtnities, she cncldes.

Approaching the problem romall anglesSme NTDs have n available drgsr vaccines. Denge virs, r eample,cases id t leak rm bld vesselsint srrnding tisses, leading tsevere shck in sme cases. The nlyavailable treatment is t replace theid in hspital, which pts a hgebrden n health systems dringtbreaks.

Denge is neglected in the sensethat the tre scale the disease brden

is prly nderstd and certainlynderestimated, says PressrCamern Simmns, a Wellcme TrstSenir Research Fellw at the university ord, wh stdies denge inVietnam. As well as helping t develpnew drgs and vaccines r denge, heis researching better diagnstic andprgnstic tests t help dctrs makedecisins abt denge, and nvelappraches t vectr cntrl.

The imprtant pint, he says,is that all these appraches can becmplementary. Were nt ging teradicate the virs any time sn, s weneed a swag tls t cntrl denge.

Its a pint that applies t NTDs as a

whle: each presents specic challengesbt they all reqire cntining researchacrss the spectrm rm basic tapplied, and will need a range strategies t cntrl, eliminate reven eradicate them.

Grping these diseases tgethernder a cllective name desntnecessarily help the research ertbt it has scceeded in drawing mreattentin t the hge prblem theycntine t present and the need rsstained, crdinated actin. Htez

highlights sme the achievementsmade since 5, when the rst papert se the term neglected trpicaldiseases was pblished: they incldemajr initiatives rm the uS Agencyr Internatinal Develpment andthe uK Department r InternatinalDevelpment, a new Department Cntrl Neglected Trpical Diseasesat the WHo, and PLoS NTDs, whichlanched in 7.

ultimately, says Fenwick, it willbe impssible t achieve any theMillennim Develpment Galswitht tackling NTDs. Hw cany break the pverty cycle? hedemands. Hw can y achieve

primary edcatin r all i the kidsare ll wrms? I they have nenergy s that even i they g t schlthey all asleep?

Its a persasive argment and nethat he, Htez and thers will cntinet make t anyne wh will listen. Ithink as scientists we are taght ntt be advcates, says Htez. Thatssmething Im trying t crrect.

You can read more about neglected tropical diseasesand related research unded by the Trust in a series ocomplementary articles to appear on our blog in January

2012. See wellcometrust.wordpress.com or details.

Cover images

Outside:Aedes aegyptimosquitoes. Clockwiserom top:Ascaris lumbricoides worm; Schistosomahaematobium parasite (Lanarkshire Infectious Unit/Wellcome Images); schistosomiasis in the large intestine;larva oAncylostoma duodenale hookworm; bilharzia-spreading snails; women walking (N Durrell McKenna/Wellcome Images); Leishmania donovaniparasites(D Evans/Wellcome Images); dengue virus (CDC);Schistosoma haematobium worms.

Pages 1415 images

Woman carrying water (N Durrell McKenna/WellcomeImages); structure o praziquantel, a schistosomiasisdrug; parachute (teacept/iStockphoto); mother andchild on bench, and children in river (Joss Dimock);background (Richard Reithinger/Wellcome Images;

W Peters/Wellcome Images).

Pages 1617 imagesPro. Peter Hotez (Agapito Sanchez, Baylor Collegeof Medicine).

Pages 1819 images

Nerve networks; Pro. Alan Fenwick ( SchistosomiasisControl Initiative); background (A Bryceson/WellcomeImages).

Others rom Wellcome Images.

Right: Proessor Alan Fenwick.


11/19


To be considered or the WellcomeImage Awards 2012, you mustcontribute your biomedical imagesby 16 January 2012. For more detailssee page 2.

or bdies are permeable: the cityenters r bdies thrgh r skin,r lngs and r ears. I wanted tqestin this idea ed brders, enclsing spaces which is centralt map making by merging thebndaries the bdy and the city,says Daksha Patel, an artist and PhDresearcher at Nrthmbria university.

Her wrks r the Disin prjectlk at the ways in which peplecnstrct cities and are in trnaected by the cities they inhabit.

Cmmissined t prdce anew series drawings r thelightbes at Manchester Piccadillystatin, Patel trned t WellcmeImages r inspiratin. I sed thiscllectin as a starting-pint r theseries drawings, in which I mapenvirnmental data pn strctres the internal bdy.

Fllwing a perid research atthe Hman Gegraphy department atManchester Metrplitan university,she wrked with GegraphicalInrmatin Systems t map data abtManchesters grwth, air qality andnise levels nt bilgical strctres.

The drawings were cmmissinedby the Hamiltn Prject and arebeing shwn at Manchester PiccadillysMetrlink platrm, ntil 3 December. The prject was spprted by the

Natinal Lttery thrgh Arts CncilEngland and is an assciate eventr this years Shisha-initiated AsiaTriennial Manchester (ATM).

www.dakshapatel.co.uk

www.asiatriennialmanchester.com

www.thehamiltonproject.co.ukDifusion 1.2A mast cell with histamine granules (above, rom theUniversity o Edinburgh) as a dot map showing sites oair pollution emissions in Greater Manchester (let).

Difusion 1.1Alveolar spaces in the lungs (above, by David Gregoryand Debbie Marshall) as a contour map o Manchester(let, in red) with a choropleth map (green) showing 3+car ownership per household in Greater Manchester.

Difusion 1.4Lung tissue (below, by Spike Walker) andManchester orbital motorways (above).

CLOSE-UP

uSING WELLCoME IMAGES

CELLS AND THE CITY


12/19

Why is ATPase interesting?Its a ascinating rtary machine that isnd in cells acrss all kingdms lie. Its made rm abt 3 dierentprtein sbnits that rm tw mainparts: a mtr that sits in the cellmembrane and a spinning head thatprtrdes int the cytplasm [the liqid

inside the cell]. The mtr rtates ashat that cases the head t spin.

ATPase has tw imprtant rles.As the head spins, it synthesises ATP[adensine triphsphate, whichtransprts energy within the cell]. Itcan als wrk in the ther directin bycnsming ATP and sing the energyreleased t pmp prtns acrss themembrane, maintaining the acidity cells. We were particlarly interestedin this secnd mde actin becase ithas a nmber physilgical rles andis assciated with diseases sch askidney ailre, steprsis and cancer.

When the head and the mtr partsare tgether, they act in a crdin atedway, bt its knwn that these tw par tsseparate in vivo, which has beenprpsed as a reglatry mechanism.When this happens, its likely that thehead stps cnsming ATP and the basestps pmping prtns. one manyqestins in the eld has been: hw dthey stp when they becme detached?

What were you hoping to fnd out?Initially, we were jst cris whetherATPase cld srvive intact dringelectrspray mass spectrmetry, whichinvlves evaprating water drpletscntaining the prtein. It was hard timagine hw a mleclar mtr,nrmally embedded in a cell membranewith water n either side, cld srvivender these cnditins. We reasnedthat i we cld get it int a gasenvirnment whilst still intact, wewld prbably learn smething newabt hw the head and mtr tal k teach ther.

What did you do?T r srprise, we were able tevaprate whle ATPase assemblies[with head and mtr parts] withtdestrying them. We sed a speciallymdied mass spectrmeter t separateprtein assemblies accrding t theircrss-sectin [which depends n prtein

mass, charge and shape]. Smaller, mrembile prteins travel thrgh qickly,while big, lmbering nes take mchlnger. It can tell y i a prtein ha schanged shape, r eample in respnset binding a small mlecle.

The techniqe was riginallyinvented r individal prteinmlecles, s it was eciting t se itwith these mch larger membrane-embedded prtein assemblies r therst time. We cmpared tw dierentATPases rm dierent bacteria. Wechallenged them with varis stimlit see hw they wld respnd, reample by changing the pH r ATPcncentratin.

What did you fnd out?It had always been nclear whetherlipid mlecles [nd in cellmembranes] have a strctral rle inATPase nctin. We were verysrprised t nd that lipids bind tthe tw ATPases in strikingly dierentways, leading s t prpse that theyhave dierent strctral rles inreglating the mtr prteins.

We als prpsed a new eplanatinr hw ATPase stps pmping prtnswhen the head and mtr partsseparate. We saw that ne the prteinsbnits mved away rm the prtnchannel [the hle thrgh whichprtns are pmped], which made sthink that ther lipids might mve inand sht the channel. This wldstp prtns rm leaking thrgh.

Zhou M et al. Mass spectrometry o intact V-typeATPases reveals bound lipids and the efects onucleotide binding. Science 2011;334(6054):3805.

SHEDDING LIGHT oN A MYSTERIouS MoToR PRoTEIN

PRoF. CARoL RoBINSoNBEST oF THE BLoG

PATIENTS oF THE PAST

The enzyme ATPase has beendescribed as the mst efcient,beatil machine that natrehas ever made. PressrCarl Rbinsn, a RyalSciety Research Pressrat the university ordDepartment Chemistry anda Wellcme Trst prgrammegrant hlder, has been sing anew techniqe t nd t mreabt this intriging beast, asshe calls it. She tells s abt

her latest stdy, the pinnacle 5 years wrk.

IN ThE hOT SEATONLINE hIGhLIGhTS

Stdying 9th-centry psychiatry isalways a bit a challenge (that ld jkeabt dctrs handwriting? Jst

imagine that in crsive Victrianscript), especially trying t make sense diagnses that, thgh bandied abtwith great cndence by cntemprarywriters, mean little t s tday.

Perhaps an eceptin t the rle isgeneral paralysis the insa ne, which itseems many 9th-centry alienists (rpsychiatrists, as we knw them tday)were jst as mmed by as I h avebeen. Despite the hndreds wrdsdedicated t the sbject in jrnals mental science, it appeared remarkablydifclt r alienists t cme t anydenitive agreement abt thecharacter general paralysis (alshelplly reerred t by a hst therterms, sch as dementia paralytica).

General paralysis the insane(GPI) was generally cnceived as aprgressive deteriratin the whlemental and physical persnality.Symptms inclded an inability t payattentin, a clding cnscisness,pr shrt-term memry, tremlsvice, ree distrbances, ppil andretinal anmalies, and diminished

skin sensatin. Patients were tenrecgnisable by their striking delsins grander. I can think several

peple tting these criteria, s lckilythere were rther tests: many alienistspinpinted particlar physical signs asthe nly cnclsive pr (typically theeaggerated knee jerk and lack reactin the ppils t light).

Mst GPI patients were men, sallyshwing symptms between age 35 and45. They tended t be rm rban areas,with many relating a histry intemperance andr venereal disease.An 896 paper n the sppsed increase GPI emphasised its prevalence inlarge twns where there were abve-average rates drnkenness. In theview the articles athr, GPI was apreventable disease as its rts lay inthe immral behavir its victims.(Wmen, in case yre wndering, wereless ssceptible as they cld readilyremve themselves rm the inence alchl and venereal ecesses.) Theargment appealed t cntempraryears racial degeneratin, eplainingGPI as a reversin t a lwer rm brain disease. other writers cncldedthat GPI was a disease civilisatin

and the apthesis selshness.Frm the mid-9th centry, alienists

had debated the link between GPI and

syphilis the latter as direct rpredispsing case and mdernhistrians psychiatry are cndent ineplaining GPI as nersyphilis(symptms which inclde seizres,sight distrbances and changes inpersnality). This link rests, hwever,n accepting the accracy 9th-centry dctrs bservatins and theirse the term GPI.

Fr me, discvering the trth GPI is perhaps less interesting than itshistry as a diagnsis: it was a thery,said Alred Frnier twards the end the centry, that [had] had ample scpet rn rit. Bethlem SperintendentThe Hyslp bemaned the act that wehave nearly every pssible abnrmalmental maniestatin inclded nderGeneral Paralysis, and perhaps this wasprecisely the pint. The very adaptability the diagnsis may have prvedirresistible t alienists at a time when slittle mental illness cld be assigneda denite case. Within a cntet rising cncern r seally transmitteddiseases and the health rbanpplatins, alienists were able tcntribte t pblic health debates thatprved their epertise had applicatintside the walls the asylm.

Jennier Wallis, a histry PhD stdent at Qeen Mary, university Lndn and the recipient aWellcme Trst stdentship, discsses general paralysis the insane: a diagnstic categry s ill-dened it was called the darkest Arica psychpathlgy.

BlogThis article frst appeared on theWellcome Trust blog. To read, commenton and share hundreds more posts onlie rom a Wellcome Trust perspective,see wellcometrust.wordpress.com.

Stoc

p

oto



13/19

DendritesProtrusions rom the cell body that

orm branches connecting to other cells.

These connections are input synapses,

which receive signals rom the axons o

neighbouring neurons.

Individal nerns were rst identiedby Santiag Ramn y Cajal at the end the 9th centry. using a tisse-staining

techniqe invented by Camill Glgi, heprdced micrscpy images shwingthat the brain is nt a cntins mesh tisse bt is rmed rm individalcells, r nerns.

A single nern may be cnnectedt as many as thers, viajnctins called synapses. They rman etensive netwrk thrght thebdy, and can transmit signals at speeds metres per secnd. This ena blesanimals t prcess and respnd tevents rapidly, r eample by carryingsensry inrmatin rm the earst the brain, then instrctins rmvement rm the brain t theleg mscles.

Within a nern, signals aretransmitted by a change membranevltage a variatin in the d ierence

in electrical charge between the insideand tside the cell. This electricalsignal mves alng the nern as anelectrical plse (the actin ptential).

The natre the cnnectinbetween nerns was htly debatedntil early-th-centry eperimentsby ott Lewi and Sir Henry Dale(a nding trstee and the secndchairman t he Wellcme Trst)shwed that signals are typicallytransmitted acrss synapses bychemicals called nertransmitters.

Researchers are investigating hwchanging levels nern activity alterthe nmber synapses and hw wellthey transmit signals. This has given s

insight int cgnitive prcesses schas memry and learning, and hassggested treatments r diseases in

which neral netwrk activity becmesncntrlled, sch as epilepsy.

There is als great interest in glialcells, nd in the spaces betweennerns. Sme glial cells (astrcytes)maintain the cmpsitin thiswatery space, helping nerns tnctin prperly. others(ligdendrcytes) wrap nerns in aninslating myelin sheath, which canbecme damaged in nerdegenerativecnditins sch as strke, spinal crdinjry, mltiple sclersis and cerebralpalsy. A better nderstanding hwnerns interact with glial cells mayhelp in nding new treatments rthese cnditins.

Nerns are highly specialised cells that cndct and prcess inrmatin in animals, enablingthght, perceptin and cntrl mvement. Prblems with nernal nctin nderpin a range nerlgical and psychiatric disrders. Lydia Harriss presents a qick gide t these remarkable cells.

NUTS AND BOLTS

NEuRoSCIENCE

THE NEuRoN

Cell bdy (sma)Contains many components

typically ound in other types o cell.

This includes DNA, located in the

nucleus, which holds instructions

or producing the proteins that

determine the shape and unction

o the cell.

Cell membraneA lm o atty molecules that

encloses the neuron.

AnThe long projection that carries signals away

rom the cell body. The membrane voltage

change rom an incoming signal here triggers

the opening o channels that allow ions

(charged atoms) to ow into the cell rom

outside. This causes more channels arther

along the axon to open, creating a voltage

pulse that propagates along it (see arrow).

Myelin sheathMany neurons are insulated by myelin: multiple

layers o cell membrane that wrap around the axon.

The sheath is interrupted at regular intervals ( nodes

o Ranvier), where the channels that generate the

electrical signal are located. Myelin reduces leakage

o electrical charge rom the axon, resulting in a

signal that rapidly jumps rom one node o Ranvier to

the next, speeding up the conduction

o inormation.

Nde RanvierSee Myelin sheath.

oligdendrcyteA type o glial cell that makes

the myelin sheath.

SynapseA connection between two neurons. When a nerve

signal travelling along an axon reaches a synapse, it

triggers the release o a chemical neurotransmitter

(A) that difuses across the synaptic gap (B) and

binds to proteins (C) on the surace o the receiving

neuron. This binding causes an inux o ions,

changing the membrane voltage and initiating

an electrical signal in the second neuron.

>

Nervous researchCurrent research in this eld

unded by the Wellcome Trustincludes that o Proessor DavidAttwell, University CollegeLondon, who is investigating howproteins on the surace o certainglial cells may be responsible orthe malunction or death oneurons, as seen in conditionssuch as cerebral palsy, stroke andspinal cord injury.

Neurons can readily change,which allows them to adapt tovariations in environment butalso makes the networks thatthey orm inherently unstable.Proessor Juan Burrone, KingsCollege London, is studying how

neurons avoid driting towards

extreme levels o activity.Understanding this better willprovide targets or treatingdiseases caused by uncontrolledneuron activity, such as epilepsy.

Proessor Peter Brophy,University o Edinburgh, hasidentied a gene that is mutatedin people with a orm o Ch arcotMarieTooth disease, whichafects the peripheral nervesoutside o the brain and spinalcord. He is using mouse modelsto understand why the absenceo the protein encoded by thegene makes peripheral nervesdegenerate.

B

C

A

A



14/19


Penny SarchetOccupationDoctoral research student,Department o Plant Sciences,University o Oxord.

Whats your background?During my PhD I realised that I reallymissed the reading and writing thatI did as an undergraduate. I startedwriting or a couple o studentmagazines and the Oxord ScienceBlog, and have built it up rom there.

Where did you get the idea foryour article?Whilst working on a piece or theOxord University alumni magazine,I came across a press release romIrene Traceys lab, who had been

looking at the nocebo efect in painrelie and pain perception. Id neverheard about an opposite o theplacebo efect, or the evil twin, asits oten called. I ound it reallyascinating.

What are your future plans?Im hoping to wrap up myexperiments over the next sixmonths and then write the thesis. Itwould be my dream to get a ull-timejob doing science journalism. Ivebeen writing or New Scientist abouthow awul the job market is or newgraduates, so I guess Ill just have tosee how I get on!

Tess ShellardOccupationHealth Project Coordinator or aninternational NGO.

Whats your background?Ive been working in the charity sectoror about ten years now, so it isnt ascientic background at all. That beingsaid, Ive always had an innate curiosityabout science and have always writtenor pleasure, which is why I went or thecompetition.

Where did you get the idea foryour article?I do a huge amount o reading andwatch lectures online. The idea or thisarticle came out o a TED talk, given byProessor Bonny Bassler at Princeton.

Shes an amazing lady who has led theway in quorum-sensing research. I wasblown away! It seemed so ascinating,but also the implications were huge. Itcould completely change the way thatwe design our medicines.

What are your future plans?Im putting together plans or a websiteto use as an outlet or my writing. Ivedone a blog beore and got a lot opositive eedback, so Id like to startthat again. Id love to get to the pointwhere I could make some sort o livingrom writing. Well just have to see howit goes, but I will always carry on writing.

NURTURING NEW TALENT

WELLCoME TRuST SCIENCE WRITING PRIZE 2011

WINNINGWAYS

one cmpetitin, 8 entries, tw winners: saw the rst everWellcme Trst Science Writing Prize, in assciatin with theGuardian and the Observer. Here we present the tw winning entries.

Tess Shellard (let) andPenny Sarchet (right) aterreceiving their prizes,in Henrys club room atWellcome Collection.


15/19


DEATH BY HYPoCHoNDRIA:THE NoCEBo EFFECTBy Penny Sarchet, winner the pressinal categry.

Can jst telling a man he has cancerkill him? In 99 the Southern MedicalJournal reprted the case a man whin 973 had been diagnsed with cancerand given jst mnths t live. Ater hisdeath, hwever, his atpsy shwedthat the tmr in his liver had ntgrwn. His intern, Clitn Meadr,didnt believe hed died cancer: Id nt knw the pathlgic case

his death, he wrte. Cld it be that,instead the cancer, it was hisepectatin death that killed him?

Advcates the nceb eectclaim this death was an etremeeample the phenmenn theipside t the better-knwn placebeect. While an inert sgar pill(placeb) can make y eel better,warnings ctinal side-eects(nceb) can make y eel thset. This is a cmmn prblem inpharmacetical trials and a 98s stdynd that heart patients were ar mrelikely t ser side-eects rm theirbld-thinning medicatin i they hadrst been warned the medicatinsside-eects. This pses an ethicalqandary: shld dctrs warn patientsabt side-eects i ding s makesthem mre likely t arise?

The nceb eect can als be highlyinectis. In 96, 6 wrkers at a uSdressmaking actry were sddenlystricken with headaches, nasea and

rashes, and the tbreak was blamedpn an insect arriving rm Englandin a delivery clth. N insect was evernd, and mass psychgenic illnesseslike these ccr wrldwide, sallyaecting clse cmmnities andspreading mst rapidly t emaleindividals wh have seen smeneelse sering rm the cnditin.

until recently, we knew very littleabt hw the nceb eect wrks.Nw, hwever, a nmber scientistsare beginning t ma ke headway. Astdy in Febrary led by ordsPressr Irene Tracey shwed thatwhen vlnteers eel nceb pain,crrespnding brain activity is

detectable in an MRI scanner. Thisshws that, at the nerlgical levelat least, these vlnteers really arerespnding t actal, nn-imaginary,pain. Fabrizi Benedetti, theuniversity Trin, and his clleageshave managed t determine ne thenerchemicals respnsible rcnverting the epectatin painint this genine pain perceptin.

The chemical is called chlecystkininand carries messages between nervecells. When drgs are sed t blckchlecystkinin rm nctining,patients eel n nceb pain, despitebeing jst as anis.

The ndings Benedetti andTracey nt nly er the rst glimpsesint the nerlgy nderlying thenceb eect, bt als have very realmedical implicatins. Benedettiswrk n blcking chlecystkinincld pave the way r techniqes thatremve nceb tcmes rm medicalprcedres, as well as hinting at mregeneral treatments r bth pain andaniety. The ndings Traceys teamcarry startling implicatins r the waywe practise mdern medicine.

By mnitring pain levels invlnteers wh had been given a strngpiid painkiller, they nd that tellinga vlnteer the drg had nw wrn was engh r a persns pain t retrnt the level it was at bere they were

given the drg. This indicates that apatients negative epectatins havethe pwer t ndermine theeectiveness a treatment, andsggests that dctrs wld d wellt treat the belies their patients,nt jst their physical symptms.

This places a sptlight n dctrpatient relatinships. Tdays scietyis litigis and sceptical, and i dctrsveremphasise side-eects t theirpatients t avid being sed, r patientsmistrst their dctrs chsen crse actin, the nceb eect can casea treatment t ail bere it has begn.It als intrdces a parad we mstbelieve in r dctrs i we are t gain

the ll benets their prescribedtreatments, bt i we trst in themt strngly, we can die rm theirprnncements.

Tday, many the astest-grwingillnesses are relatively new andcharacterised slely by a cllectin cmplaints. Chrnic atige syndrme,d allergies and back pain cld easilybe real physilgical illnesses in smepeple and nceb-indced cnditinsin thers. Mre than a centry ag,dctrs nd they cld indce a h ayever serers wheezing by epsret an articial rse.

observatins like these sggestwe shld think twice berevermedicalising the hmaneperience. or day-t-day wrrying

shld be regarded as sch, nt biltp int psychlgical syndrmeswith sites symptms, and thehealth warnings that accmpanynew prdcts shld be narrw andaccrate, nt vage and general inrder t waive the manactrersliability.

As scientists begin t determinehw the nceb eect wrks, we wldd well t se their ndings t managethat mst st-centry all diseases aniety.

The Science Writing PrizeIn 2011, the Wellcome Trust, in partnership with the Guardianand Observer, set about trying to nd the next generation oundiscovered writing talent. The competition was open to allnonproessional science writers in the UK and was split intotwo categories: one or proessional scientists (postgraduate orhigher) and the second or those with a non-proessionalinterest in science, including undergraduates.

We had a antastic response, with over 800 entries roma range o people: PhDs and undergraduates, a retiree, a

12-year-old and even a lieguard who gave the beach as hisplace o work.

The competition was judged by: Alan Rusbridger, Editor-in-chie o Guardian News & Media; Robin McKie, Science Editoro the Observer; Sir Mark Walport, Director o the WellcomeTrust; Clare Matterson, Director o Medical Humanities andEngagement at the Wellcome Trust; and Dara O Briain,broadcaster and comedian. Awards were made in October.

BACTERIA AND THE PoWERoF TEAMWoRKBy Tess Shellard, winner the nn-pressinal categry.

Imagine r a mment that we all h avene rewrk and r sle prpse issimply t light it. With jst ne trick tlast a lietime, hw wld y se it?Setting it randmly wld achievevery little; ew wld even see it. Bti y tk a lessn rm bacteria ywld gather tgether t light them allat nce, and illminate the whle sky.Bacteria play a crcial rle in lie n this

planet. They digest r d, synthesiser vitamins, help t make r wineand cheese.

others are deadly, the case nmers diseases. Bt hw have thesesingle-celled rganisms taken chargewhen they have n ears t hear, n sense tch and n central intelligence trganise their assalt? Their secret liesin teamwrk. Each bacterim cansecrete a chemical that can be readnly by members the same spec ies;the cncentratin this chemicalcan tell it hw many its siblings arenearby. This ability, called qrm-sensing, helps the bacteria t timehw and when they epress their genes.They dnt jst act; they wait ntil thereare engh them r the actin t beeective and crdinate their mves.

Nt nly can a bacterim tell ikin are near, it can tell i it is amngdierent types bacteria, allwing itt bild alliances that can help themall t thrive.

Pressr Bnnie Bassler Princetn universitys department

mleclar bilgy has led the researchn qrm-sensing. She nd that theHawaiian bbtail sqid hnts saely atnight thanks t the qrm-sensingabilities a bacterim called Vibriofscheri. By day, the sqids brythemselves in the sand, cming t atnight t hnt in the shallws. Bt theycast a shadw in the mnlit waters,which can leave them vlnerable t

predatrs. Enter V. fscheri. These live ina sac in the sqids mantles and, whenthere are engh them, they switchn their light. Their bilminescencedisgises the sqids silhette n thesea bed. T get it jst right, sensrs nthe sqids back gage the strength mnlight, with lters adjsting thelight emitted rm the sacs.

In retrn r all this handyillminatin, the bacteria are keptwell ed. In the mrning, the sqidprges itsel its visitrs and, as thebacterias nmbers drp belw theqrm threshld, they trn theirlight. The remaining pplatin thend what they d best and mltiplythrght the day, reaching sfcientnmbers by nightall t start glwingall ver again.

Nt all bacteria are qite thatendearing: chancing pn the wrngkind can be deadly. Mdern medicinehas allwed s t blitz anything lethalt s with antibitics, bt this has led

t prblems, t, bringing a rise insperbgs bacteria resistant t drgs.

Knwing abt qrm-sensing,hwever, can er hpe. It is pss iblet interere with the cmmnicatinbetween individal bacterial cells inrder t ensre that they live t theirdays witht getting t dangers.As each species has its wn langage,we can beddle ne witht distrbingthe rest. on the ther hand, we cldinterere with helpl bacteria tincrease the vlme theircnversatin and increase their activity.

When it cmes t lie n Earth, welike t think that the bigger the brain,the better. Bacteria might be small btthey cmmnicate in mre than nelangage, they strategise, theycrdinate their erts, they havethrived in places y wldnt even g

r a dare. It seems clear they still havea lessn r tw r s big-headed lk.


16/19

Let: The ABC10 structure solved by Liz Carpenter andcolleagues. Created using ICM Browser from MolSoft LLC


x-ray crystallgraphy is nt a prsitr the impatient. When Jhn Kendrewpblished the three-dimensinal

strctre myglbin in 958 therst prtein strctre determined byx-ray crystallgraphy it was a paper years in the making.

Tday, patience remains a vir ter strctral bilgists. Each thethsands prtein strctresdetermined since the 96s is testimnyt hrs spent in the lab, perectingprtcls and tweaking methdlgies.Painstaking trial and errr is the nlyway t prdce prtein crystals thatare stable engh t be placed in abeam x-rays and have their strctreelcidated.

The reslts this til are brightlyclred mdels ribbns and lps,twisting and trning, shwing hwprteins ld p in three dimensins.The strctres give cles t what theprteins d in the rganism and can besed by researchers t design drgs tact n specic prteins and change hwthey wrk.

Getting plenty o proteinWhen the Strctral GenmicsCnsrtim (SGC), an internatinalpblicprivate partnership t determinethe strctres medically imprtantprteins, began in 4 it aimed tprdce 386 three-dimensinalstrctres in three years. It, in act,slved ver 45 in this time. Its thprtein strctre was depsited in ,a year ahead schedle.

The vast majrity the strctrescracked by the SGC s a r are slblehman prteins, which, while stillddly, can generally be maniplatedin the lab t rm crystals. Trickier ares-called integral membrane prteins,

which act as gatekeepers r the cells.These are the channels, transprtersand receptrs that help sbstances andsignals get int and t the cell acrssthe membrane.

Embedded in the atty membrane

cells and rganelles, these prteins areharder t prdce in sfcient amnts,and difclt t priy and t crystallise.Dr Liz Carpenter, Principal Investigatr the Integral Membrane PrteinGrp at SGC ord eplains: Themembrane is very hydrphbic, r ily,inside. The prteins sit in this lipidbilayer, and nly parts their sraceare hydrphilic [attracted t water andmre slble in it].

Pricatin and crystallisatinneed t ccr in a water-richenvirnment, s the membraneprteins have t be etracted rmthe atty bsm the bilayer singdetergent. The detergent cats the

part the prtein that crssed themembrane like a belt arnd theprteins waist, says Liz bt this

makes crystallisatin hard. T grwcrystals, neighbring prteinmlecles mst be in clse cntact,s y have t rely n ther par ts prteins t make cntact witheach ther.

A banking bonusThe Prtein Data Bank, an nlinerepsitry r prtein strctres,reects this difclty. Crrentlyit hlds sme 58 slbleprtein strctres bt nlyarnd 3 integralmembrane prteins.o these, jst rs are hman. This isdisprprtinately lw,given that an estimated 5t 39 per cent the 3 r s hman prteins areintegral membrane prteins.

In May , the SGCdepsited prtein nmber 6t the data bank: ABCB, a

hman mitchndrialABC transprter (www.thesgc.org/structures/

details?pdbid=2YL4/).Nt nly was it therst strctre ahman ABC (ATP-binding cassette)transprter t be released,bt it is als the rst hmanintegral membrane prtein t beslved by the SGC taking jst ndertw years.

We treated this as a test case, Lizsays. Frm a list 86 hman integralmembrane prteins we wanted t see iwe cld prdce prteins in qantity

and get their strctres. The 86prteins were rm si amilies integral membrane prteins. These

inclde in channels, prteins that rmpres t allw charged particles t passthrgh a membrane, the amily thatLizs team is csing n.

Weve screened the 86 prteinsand have s ar nd three that we

cld crystallise, and rm these,we went n t slve the ABCtransprter. Nt nsally r themembrane prtein eld, the team

didnt knw what the prtein didwhen they slved its strctre.

In search o a roleFrm the seqence amin acids that makep the prtein, the teamknew it was an ABCtransprter, ne r

types nd in hmanmitchndria. Previsresearch indicates a pssiblerle r this prtein inidative stress andprtectin the heart.

The transprterscarg remains a

mystery, btsggestins

incldesbstancesinvlved in

irn metablism,shrt prteins called

peptides, bile salts and lipids.Rather than wait

ntil these ndings were pblishedin a jrnal, Lizs team released thestrctre and inrmatin n hw tpriy and crystallise it t the pblicstraight away nline in accrdancewith the SGCs eths pen access.

This gave ther labs acrss the wrldwrking n membrane prteins accesst inrmatin that cld prve

invalable r their wn research,saving time, ert and ma npwer.She and her team are nw nalisingtheir paper n the prtein and its rle.They are als back t the list 86prteins wrking n the net strctre,determined t slve mre hmanmembrane prtein strctres.

With cmpter mdelling strctres pssible, is crystallgraphyreally the mst pragmatic apprach twrking t hw prteins ld? Ycan bild a mdel rm the prteinseqence, says Liz, bt these dntgive engh accracy r wrking twhich small-mlecle drgs may bindt the prtein, and where. Knwingthis inrmatin is vital i this researchis t be translated int therapies.

Membrane prteins are targetsr a large nmber pharmaceticalscrrently n the market. Many are nthe cell srace, and are accessible tsmall mlecles, Dr Rb Cke,rmerly GSK and a Directr

the SGC, and nw with HeptaresTherapetics, eplains. A membraneprtein ten prvides the rst respnset a signal rm the envirnment, sby maniplating their activity y canaect the cells signalling pathways.

From structures to drugsEqipped with a prteins three-dimensinal strctre, designingsmall-mlecle drgs r thembecmes easible. Ever since theanti-inenza drgs Tami andRelenza were discvered arnd years ag sing strctre-basedappraches, these methds havebecme increasingly cmmn in

pharmacetical research. Thechallenge has been t etend them tintegral membrane prteins, which

are interest r a nmber areas,nerscience in particlar, says Rb.Bt btaining their strctres is nallyallwing this t happen.

Cmpanies dnt want jst nestrctre bt a series dierentprtein strctres that they can testwith their new mlecle, says Liz. Frthis y need a very s table, reliable way making prtein crystals that willdiract at high resltin and can becrystallised with the small mlecle.Were still a lng way rm this ki nd screening being pssible.

Knwing a strctre can als bstr nderstanding the wider rle a particlar prtein in the bdy.The SGCs wrk n a amily enzymescalled kinases is a case in pint. Thekinase wrk stimlated a hge amnt research in ther areas, says Liz.

Challenging thgh the eld is, shewldnt wrk n anything else. I ywant t knw hw cells wrk, then yneed t knw hw mlecles wrk, she

says. As I tell stdents, this isnt theeasiest eld in the wrld bt its allwrth it when y make smethingthat n ne has ever seen bere.

In September 2011, the SCGs unders, which includethe Wellcome Trust, committed nearly $50m (32m)in unding to sustain another our years o operations.For more, see www.thesgc.org or www.sgc.ox.ac.uk.

Integral membrane prteins, tcked away in the membranes cells and rganelles, are vitalr all kinds cell prcesses, yet little is knwn abt their three-dimensinal strctreand nctin. The Strctral Genmics Cnsrtim released its rst strctre a hmanintegral membrane prtein in , and has big plans r mre. By Chrissie Giles.

STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY

STRuCTuRAL GENoMICS CoNSoRTIuM

WELCoME To THE FoLD

Above: Dr Liz Carpenter o SGC Oxord. Qiuhong Lee

The structures giveclues to what theproteins do in theorganism and canbe used to designdrugs to act onspecifc proteins.


17/19


SANDALS

RED oR DEADHIV/AIDS SANDALS

fROM ThE ARChIVE William Schpbach presentssme AIDS awarenessmemrabilia rm theWellcme Library t markthe recent Wrld AIDS Day.

Wat is it?A pair sandals made in Spainarnd 994.Wy are tey so special?They inclde the red ribbn that wasintrdced in 99 t declare slidaritywith peple with HIVAIDS. Schribbns were rst sed in 979: yellw,r the uS hstages in Iran. This wasrevived in 99 r victims the GlWar, and the red ribbn appeared alngwith it r peple with AIDS. The link

is signicant becase the red ribbnpresented patients as victims ratherthan clprits, in an attempt t cmbatthe blame and stigmatisatin theyeperienced.

Bt there is mre t it. The brandname n these sandals is Red r Dead.That phrase reerred riginally t RedIndians (native Americans), and rmthe 95s t the McCarthyite anti-cmmnist sentiment Better Deadthan Red. This assciated the designrm dbly with a liberal tlk, andsing the red AIDS ribbn prvided thebrand with a third level emphasis.Can I see tem?Yes, they can be seen in the WellcmeLibrary in Lndn by anybdy, nreqest. I y need t handle them,y will be spplied with white cttnglves t keep them clean.Want to know more?Read Sander L Gilmans essay Whatis the clr the gnrrhea ribbn?Stigma, seal diseases, and pplarcltre in the twenty-rst centry, inhis bkDiseases and Diagnoses: Thesecond age o biology.

Find out more at

catalogue.wellcome.ac.uk/search~S8/

o32355i


18/19


DIARYCourses, conerences and worksops

Wellcme Trst Genme Camps, Hintn, nlesstherwise specied. Fr mre, seewww.wellcome.ac.uk/advancedcourses andwww.wellcome.ac.uk/conerences

Mouse Models o Disease: Linking in vivo observations

to pathology endpoints

Cnerence, 3 Febrary

Therapeutic Applications o Computational Biology and

Chemistry (TACBAC) 2012

Cnerence, 4 March

Perspectives in Clinical Proteomics 2012

Cnerence, 45 March

Perspectives in Clinical Proteomics 2012

Wrkshp, 57 March

Genomic Disorders 2012

Cnerence, 4 March

Working with the Human Genome Sequence

Wrkshp, Institt de Higiene, Mntevide, urgay,69 April

Genomic Epidemiology in Arica

Crse, MalawiLiverplWellcme Trst Clinical ResearchPrgramme, Blantyre, Malawi, 6 May

Exploring Human HostMicrobiome Interactions in Health

and Disease

Cnerence, 8 May

Virus Discovery in the Clinical Setting

Crse, 38 May

Working with the Human Genome Sequence

Wrkshp, 46 May

Genomic Epidemiology o Malaria 2012

Cnerence, 3 Jne

Wellcome Collection events and exibitionsEstn Rad, Lndn.www.wellcomecollection.org

Miracles & Charms

Ehibitins, ntil 6 Febrary

Medicine Man and Medicine NowPermanent ehibitins

Event listings

See website r details

cience is part absltelyeverything. I hate science beingcnned t science prgrammes and

science estivals and science pages. Tme, science isnt a dmain bt a way

lking at things.Ater starting my career as a news trainee with

the BBC I went n t present the arts prgrammeKaleidoscope. Interestingly r me, when Iinterviewed a phtgrapher, visal artist r lmmaker nbdy ever asked what my qalicatinswere, they jst accepted I was there. Fr t he rstthree years that I p resentedMaterial World, at leasthal the interviewees wanted t knw i I had ascientic backgrnd. As it happens I d, bt itsinteresting that we have this strange attitde thatnless yre a scientist yre nt allwed t talk

t ther scientists.Dring that time I never lked at an arts stry

as mre interesting than a sc ience stry, r viceversa, I jst asked, is it a stry rst all? Why dwe have t apply labels rather than asking i its aninteresting stry? In my pinin, theres n schthing as a nn-science stry. I dnt like the waythe bndary arnd science applies t estivalseither. Ive dne events at science estivals thathave gne really well, bt Im cnvinced that,within a ve-mile radis the vene, there are

QuENTIN CooPER, BRoADCASTER AND JouRNALIST

Theres no such thing as a non-science storyAPPLIANCE oF SCIENCE

thsands peple wh wld lve the event btwh wld never walk thrgh the dr becaseits in a science estival. This is ne the things Ilike abt Cheltenham: that the estivals jazz,msic, science and literatre are lin ked. Iminvlved in Laboratry, a prject t get bimedicalscience acrss the r estivals. A think-tankinclding writers, msicians and scientists createshighly innvative events bth i n cntent andstyle that crss bndaries and I think theresa great deal ptential r it t g rther.

Smetimes its said that science is nappealingt certain adiences, bt I believe that peple carepassinately abt it. They may nt knw t heyrecaring abt science, r m ay resent the label, btthere are always amazing stries. Are any tpicst difclt? I dnt think s. Y can be lazy and

cncentrate n stries abt dinsars r space,bt even smething abt a new laminate rprperty a material can be interesting iy think hard abt the best way t pitch it.

I nd it ridicls that we say we dnt likescience. We dnt like the difclt bits, thecmplicated eqatins, bt there are difcltbits in everything even the plts sap peras.Science isnt always easy, bt these kinds bjectins arent anti-science, jst anti-difclt.

As told to Chrissie Giles.

Find t mre abt Cheltenham Festival at www.cheltenhamestivals.com . Qentin Cper will behsting The Thing Is at Wellcme Cllectin n 7 Janary and Febrary .

IN YouR NExT ISSuEMatt Parker talks maths and cmedy, plspdates n r nding and research activities.

Wellcome Trust Genome Campus

PracticalAspects

SmallMolecule DrgDiscvery

At the interace o biology,chemistry and pharmacology.

This Wellcme Trst Advanced Crseaims t give researchers any disciplinea brad intrdctin t the theretical,practical and rganisatinal aspects small mlecle drg discvery.

Held n 7 Jne .

Apply by 5 March .

Fll details at:www.wellcome.ac.uk/advancedcourses


19/19

MEXICAN MIRACLE PAINTINGS ANDLONDONS LOST CHARMS, EXPLORING

FAITH, HOPE AND CHANCE

UNTIL 26 FEbRUARy

two free exhibitions

TUESDAYSUNDAY (UNTIL 18.00), CLOSED MONDAYLATE-NIGHT THURSDAY (UNTIL 22.00)183 EUSTON ROAD, NW1 EUSTON, EUSTON SqUARE

Endlessl imaginativeSunday Telegraph

Critics choiceTime OuT AND TimeS

Impossile to conve the sutletiesof these two shows with words

lOndOniST

Wellcome NEWS

Documents

Transcript of Wellcome NEWS