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Biology
featured scientist |
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Lap-Chee Tsui
Richard Rozmahel passes time by reading the bulletin board hanging above the wheezing printer attached to the DNA sequencer. There’s an advertisement from a company selling genetic research chemicals. They’re offering a free T-shirt sporting the words: Ultra Pure Human Being. At the bottom of the ad he reads, “Send six peel-off seals from any GIBCO BRL Enzymes and receive an I Make My... |
In the news
Method To Repair Damaged Adult Nerves Discovered
December 11, 2009Canadian scientist Patrice Smith at Carleton University in Ottawa has found a way to get adult nerve cells to grow in mice. Her paper in the journal Neuron this week with Harvard University co-authors Fang Sun and Zhigang He describes the discovery of a specific molecule in the central nervous system that suppresses our ability to repair injured neurons. By blocking this molecule Smith was able to get the optic nerve in blinded adult mice to regrow. It remains to be seen if the regrowth will restore eyesight, but such regrowth does restore the eyesight of baby mice. Smith was born in Jamaica and came to Canada as a poor immigrant. In a Globe and Mail article she says, "I am not from a background of privilege. But if you want to do something, you can do it." More on Smith and her discovery is available at the Carleton University news service.
In Other News:- Super fast X-ray laser to start up in Ottawa
- Nova Scotia scientist wins 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics
- New study shows those blinded by brain injury may still 'see'
- Canadians make a major breakthrough in lithium batteries
