communicators.i

Each biochemistry graduate school has its own set of standards and required components of a completed application. Below are a few things to look for, though individual schools should be the ultimate reference point.

The word biochemistry is the sum of two parts: (1) biology and (2) chemistry. Biochemistry is an active and laboratory-based branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms. Biochemists actually use their knowledge of chemistry and its techniques to solve problems in biology.

Biochemistrys focus is on what is going on inside our cells and therefore, puts under a microscope, components like proteins, lipids and organelles. It also looks at how cells communicate with each other, for example during growth or when we fight an illness.

Biochemists need to understand how the structure of a molecule relates to its function, so as to allow them to predict how molecules will interact. While course lists vary, graduate biochemistry curriculums could draw from many fascinating topics. See below for a few examples.ii

DID YOU KNOW?Nobel Laureate, Sydney Brenners work made it possible to link genetic analysis to cell division and organ formation.iii

Masters in Biochemistry programs could provide an integrated course plan. Students typically work at the interface between chemistry and biology to probe the ways biomolecules interact and direct cellular function.

The first year of a two-year MS program could involve a rigorous coursework that provides a broad foundation in biomedical sciences. Through a hub of core courses, students commonly build proficiency in key areas such as Chemical Thermodynamics and Molecular Genetics.

This base often serves as a framework for advanced biochemical studies that may be scheduled for the second year. In tandem, course plans are often designed to help learners more broadly apply chemistry and biology to exciting and modern areas. Forensic Chemistry, Biochemistry of Cancer and Biochemistry of Obesity and Diabetes are a few examples.

Some programs may allow students to culminate their degree with either a thesis or non-thesis option, each of which results in 30 to 36 graduate-level credits (depending on the university) and a Master of Science degree.

Within the umbrella of Masters in Biochemistry programs, there may be an array of related programs and degrees to consider. A few examples from partner schools are listed below to give you a sense of just how much there is to explore in this field of study.

A Master of Science in Green Chemistry bridges elements of sustainability and environmental studies with chemistry courses from all five sub-disciplines.

The program could also leverage business courses to strengthen students' management and communication skills. A course in Global Environmental Regulation could cover trends and basic policies in legislation both nationally and internationally.

A relatively new concept, green chemistry evolved in the business and regulatory communities as a natural evolution of pollution prevention initiatives.

Per the American Chemical Society, Green chemistry takes the EPA's mandate a step further and creates a new reality for chemistry and engineering. It asks chemists and engineers to design chemicals, chemical processes, and commercial products in a way that, at the very least, avoids the creation of toxics and waste.v

A Master of Science in Biochemical Engineering (MSBChE) program could highlight the study of new technology and modeling tactics for bio-pharmaceutical production and development. Oriented to applicants with an undergrad degree in Chemical Engineering, coursework could aim to foster real-world skills.

MS students may be exposed to upstream and downstream bioprocess basics. Curriculums could also provide the tools to design and optimize pharmaceutical facilities, processes and products, through the use of contemporary analysis and technology.

A Master of Science in Chemistry could meld research, courses in all five branches of chemistry and lab work. Research opportunities, which could differ between schools, might be available inanalytical, inorganic, organic, physical and computational chemistry, as well as in biochemistry.

Students may be able to choose various options with this degree at partner school, Seton University. These are aresearch-based MSwith thesis (30 credits); a coursework-based MS without thesis; a MS with a minor in business administration (34 credits); and a research-based MS that could lead to PhD candidacy (30 credits).

A PhD in Biochemistry is a terminal research degree. Biochemistry PhD programs could provide much the same rigorous course work as a MS program, but with more intensive research components. For instance, classes in biostatistics, ethical conduct and research methods.

On average, the duration of study for a PhD degree is five years. The PhD program trains individuals to become independent researchers and educators in related research fields. Graduates might pursue opportunities to lead scientific investigations in industrial and/or academic settings.v

Courses and research opportunities are often school-dependent and may invite applicants to really look into the faculty on hand to see whether there is a symbiosis with their active projects or theories.

For instance, at partner school, NYMC, research areas in the Graduate School of Basic Medical Sciences might span molecular biology of the cancer process, molecular neurobiology, genetics and biochemistry of bacterial and viral pathogens and many others.

The first year of a PhD program could have students take General Biochemistry classes. Topics such as Biochemistry of Gene Expression Protein Structure and Function may also be required in the first two years. Students might also take several research rotations in the first year. The number of required rotations is often based on previous Masters-level research experience.

Second-year Biochemistry PhD students may need to take a Qualifying Exam. Success on the exam, coupled with completion of required courses and recommendation from faculty, usually means the student is accepted into candidacy. From there, studies and research typically turn to dissertation work.

A PhD in Chemical Engineering is a terminal degree program that stresses research and innovation. At the same time, a full spectrum of courses is meant to help students learn and apply knowledge.

For instance, a class in biochemical engineering could introduce students to the basics of biochemistry, microbiology, cell biology and molecular biology, as applied to several areasamong them, bio-product formation, enzyme kinetics, cell growth kinetics, and sterilization.

Interested students often look to see what active research projects a universitys department offers. For instance, at partner school, Villanova, students could choose from several areas. Some of these might include the following.

A PhD in Chemistry is a terminal degree where students might complete a dissertation and a range of between 40 to 70 credits spread across research, course work and seminars. Students may be able to tailor their studies through their course selection.

In some programs, students might choose from courses in analytical, organic, physical, inorganic and biochemistry. A curriculum might also enable students to take courses in Chemical Kinetics, Quantum Chemistry and Proteins. In the final year, participants might present a full seminar on their research contributions.

A Graduate Certificate in Biochemistry is often structured around just a few courses. While it is not a degree, a certificate could either help students prepare for one, or just provide graduate-level instruction.

As an example, a Certificate in Biochemical Engineering could be a set of courses that introduce the essentials of Biochemical Engineering. In addition, it may allow students to choose a few electives in topics related to Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical industries.

Students who want to earn a Masters in Chemical Engineering, but with an emphasis in Biochemical Engineering, might study to earn a Biochemical Engineering Certificate.

Too busy to earn a graduate degree in biochemistry on campus? Online Biochemistry Graduate Programs may enable students to learn the same material and earn the same degree through a flexible format.

In some programs, all lectures are pre-recorded, and students could log in anytime, from any internet-connected device. Assignments might be scanned and emailed to the professor or faxed in.

Biochemists and biophysicists need a PhD to work in independent research-and-development positions. PhD graduates might begin their careers in temporary postdoctoral research positions that could last several years. ii

The time it takes to complete a PhD in Biochemistry varies. It depends on whether a student commits to a full-time or part-time program, whether they smoothly pass exams, and complete research in a timely manner.

Also, some students might enter a PhD program right from college, which could add more courses than for students who enter with an earned masters degree. Bachelors and masters degree holders might pursue some entry-level positions in biochemistry and biophysics. ii

First off, biochemists might conduct basic and applied research in areas such as metabolism, reproduction, DNA, hormones and so on. Some may manage teams or labs, present findings at conferences, teach what they know, and/or develop new methods, drugs, cures.

Basic research is conducted with the aim to expand human knowledge. This type of research usually asks students to write grant proposals to fund their projects.

Applied research is directed toward solving a particular problem. Drug discovery, biofuels and genetically-engineered crops are examples of applied research.

Based on the May 2016 data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for Biochemists and Biophysicists was $82,180.vi

Easily compare more Biochemistry graduate programs from partner schools. Set filters such as degree level and program format. Or, look for Biochemistry graduate schools in a specific city, state or country. From there, the next step is simple. Fill out the on-page form to contact the programs on your list.

[i] onetonline.org/link/summary/19-1021.00 | [ii] bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/biochemists-and-biophysicists.htm#tab-4 |[iii]nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2002/brenner-facts.html | [iv] acs.org/content/acs/en/greenchemistry/what-is-green-chemistry.html | [v] bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/biochemists-and-biophysicists.htm#tab-2 | [vi] bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/biochemists-and-biophysicists.htm#tab-5

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New York Graduate Biochemistry Programs - GradSchools.com

CONTEXT:

Clinical studies suggest that AL-TENS, acupuncture-like transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), is effective for treating many types of pain and physical dysfunction. To date, only a few studies have compared the TENS and AL-TENS forms of stimulation, and no studies have compared the efficacy of conventional TENS and AL-TENS in patients who have undergone total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

The study intended to determine (1) the efficacy of conventional TENS and AL-TENS for TKA patients and (2) which outcomes-pain at rest, movement-evoked pain, and physical function-were most likely to be affected by conventional TENS compared with AL-TENS for people with pain, to inform the design of future studies.

The research team designed a single-blind, randomized clinical trial with randomized treatment allocation.

The study took place at the Orthopedic and Rehabilitation Hospital of Jeonju (Jeonju, South Korea).

Participants were 30 patients at the hospital who had undergone TKA.

Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups, TENS or AL-TENS, and received the relevant intervention at selected points for knee pain. Each group received treatment for 30 min per visit, 5 times per wk, for 2 wk during the study.

Outcome measures were pain intensity, measured with a visual analogue scale; knee functional mobility, measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster UniversitiesOsteoarthritisIndex and with the Timed Up & Go Test; and inflammation, measured by the C-reactive protein level. Data were collected at baseline and postintervention.

Changes in pain, knee function, knee mobility, and inflammation between baseline and postintervention were statistically significant for both groups (P < .05). Changes in pain, stiffness, and inflammation between baseline and postintervention were significantly greater for the AL-TENS group compared with TENS group (P < .05).

AL-TENS was more effective than TENS with respect to pain, stiffness, and inflammation relief for patients following TKA.

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Acupuncture-like Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Pain, Function, and Biochemical Inflammation After Total Knee Arthroplasty - DocWire...

Women across the Hilltops district will come together to celebrate the 14th International Womens Day in Boorowa.

The event will be held at the Boorowa Ex-Services Club on Sunday the 8th of March from 9am to 4pm. Registration from 9am-9.45am.

The theme for this year is Skin Deep. The theme can have many meanings, i.e. skin health, nutrition and recovery not just the physical skin but emotional and psychological aspects, skin allergies, plastic surgery, or it could be being thick skinned being in the limelight, thin skinned or what gets under your skin so many dimensions.

Tickets are $30 per head, paid at the door. Includes morning/afternoon tea and a light lunch. Bookings essential.

Bookings: Janene Hurley on 1800 628 233 or email: janene.hurley@hilltops.nsw.gov.au If you have made a booking and for various reasons are unable to attend on the day, please advise Janene.

Dr Libby Weaver (PhD) Beneath the Surface, Connecting Nutrition, Biochemistry and EmotionsNutritional Biochemists, Author, SpeakerNutrition plays a key role in how we feel, look and function each day, but so too does the interplay between the stress we experience and our hormones. Dr Libby will delve into these relationships as well as discuss how our beliefs drive our behaviours and choices, helping us to understand why we do what we do, even though we know what we know. This session will leave you better informed about how your amazing body works and uplifted and empowered to take even better care of yourself which not only benefits you, but everyone whose lives you touch.

Tanya Barton-Brown Skincare for Life! Young Skin LogicWith over 34 years in the industry, Tanya will share her knowledge. Tanya will be explaining corneotherapy, the barrier of the skin. She will explain what type of skin conditions a corneotherapist can have an impact on. Tanya will also give a quick overview on skincare ingredients and the importance of a clean diet, sun protection and collagen induction therapy.

Liz Giuliano The Truth of BeautyRenew Medica Clinic and Founder of ElixalifeLiz will cover the latest in medical cosmetic beauty treatments available. She will speak about hero products to add to your routine and key beneficial ingredients. What ingredients to avoid and the pitfalls of unethically sourced ingredients. Liz will speak about beauty and confidence, our mindset and that beauty is much deeper than skin deep. She will share her wealth of experience in the industry.

Peter and Suzanne OKeefe Under our Skin Digging DeepInspirational Couple, Burns Recovery SurvivorGraziers, OK Earthmoving ContractorsA story of resilience, commitment and recovery after a shocking farm accident where Peter suffered full thickness burns to 46% of his body. Together they will share their story of how they are rebuilding their lives, the challenges both physically and mentally and how it changed their lives and made them stronger. They are inspirational.

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14th International Women's Day in Boorowa - The Hilltops Phoenix

What causes neurons to die in Parkinsons disease?

What causes neurons to die in Parkinsons disease?

Parkinsons disease is a long-term (chronic) neurological condition that affects about 12,000 people in Ireland and between seven and 10 million people worldwide.

The disease affects the way the brain co-ordinates body movements like walking and talking, but cognitive abilities are also affected.

There is currently no cure for the disease, but researchers at Trinity have recently published findings of a study which may lead to better treatments for this debilitating illness. The paper has been published in the international Cell Press journal Structure.

Neurons in the part of the brain called substantia nigra (dark matter) produce and release a hormone called dopamine. This hormone acts as a messenger between these cells in the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain which control body movements.

If these specialised neurons become damaged or die, the amount of dopamine in the brain is reduced. This means that the parts of the brain that control movement cease to function normally, said Amir Khan, associate professor, School of Biochemistry and Immunology at Trinity.

The only treatment for Parkinsons disease in the last 20 years has been dopamine replacement therapy. This involves providing a substitute to try to increase the levels of the hormone in the brain. However, the treatment is not completely effective and can wear off over time, and it also has side effects.

The main reason why we lack new treatments is that we dont understand the fundamental mechanism of how neurons become sick and die. No one knows why these particular neurons in the substantia nigra are affected.

In the last few years, the field has completely changed. We have new insight into a gene called LRRK2, which is the most common cause of inherited Parkinsons disease. Although only 10% of Parkinsons cases are inherited, the enzyme that is produced by the LRRK2 gene seems to be overactive in both inherited and sporadic cases.

In other words, afflicted individuals may not have an LRRK2 mutation, but the enzyme runs amok in their neurons anyway. Inhibitors of this enzyme are now in late clinical trials for treatment of Parkinsons disease.

The team at Trinity has studied the effects that LRRK2 has on other proteins in neuronal cells. To understand how LRRK2 affects the brain and leads to Parkinsons disease, the team has simulated the activity of the enzyme in the laboratory.

The research allowed us to visualize the 3D structure of a protein complex that is formed when LRRK2 is overactive. From these structural studies of proteins, we can understand how LRRK2 is able to impose its profound effects on neurons. We are the first group to report the effects of LRRK2 in 3-D detail using a method called X-ray crystallography, said Prof Khan.

An overactive LRRK2 runs loose in neurons and wreaks havoc on motor and cognitive abilities. In a way, we are chasing the footprints that LRRK2 leaves in the brain to understand what it does, and find ways to stop it.

We are hopeful that these studies may eventually lead to new treatments for Parkinsons disease, for which there is currently no cure.

What causes neurons to die in Parkinsons disease?Parkinsons disease is a long-term (chronic) neurological condition that affects about 12,000 people in Ireland and between seven and 10 million people worldwide.Cognitive abilities affectedThe disease affects the way the brain co-ordinates body movements like walking and talking, but cognitive abilities are...

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Understanding how a protein wreaks havoc in the brain in Parkinson's disease - Engineers Journal

Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market Research Report provides Emerging Market trends, Raw Materials Analysis, Manufacturing Process, regional outlook and comprehensive analysis on different market segments.

TheHorizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Marketprovides detailed analysis of Market Overview, Market Drivers, Opportunities, Potential Application.

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A strong trend of R&D investments in the service industry drives global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools market. Other growth drivers include the need to curtail costs, growth and increased use of shifting commodity prices, strength of private label brands and increased competition from players in the said market.

The Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools market research report gives an overview of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools industries on by analysing various key segments of this market based on the product types, application, end-to-end industries and its scenario.

The regional distribution of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools industries is across the globe are considered for this market analysis, the result of which is utilized to estimate the performance of the International market over the period from 2020 to 2026.

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The Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools market research report shed light on Foremost Regions:United States, EU, Japan, China, India and Southeast Asia.

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Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market in World, presents critical information and factual data about Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Industry, with an overall statistical study of this market based on market drivers, market limitations, and its future prospects. The widespread trends and opportunities are also taken into consideration in Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market study.

The product range of the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools industry is examined based on their production chain, pricing of products and the profit generated by them. Various regional markets are analysed in Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools market research report and the production volume and efficacy for Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools market across the world is also discussed.

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The Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools research report gives an overview of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools industry on by analysing various key segments of this Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market based on the product types, application, and end-use industries, Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market scenario. The regional distribution of the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market is across the globe are considered for this Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools industry analysis, the result of which is utilized to estimate the performance of the Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market over the period from 2015 to forecasted year.

Table of Contents1 Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market Overview1.1 Product Overview and Scope of Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools1.2 Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Segment by Type1.2.1 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Production Growth Rate Comparison by Type 2020 VS 20261.2.2 Compact Type Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools1.2.3 Standard Type Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools1.3 Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Segment by Application1.3.1 Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Consumption Comparison by Application: 2020 VS 20261.4 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market by Region1.4.1 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market Size Estimates and Forecasts by Region: 2020 VS 20261.4.2 North America Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)1.4.3 Europe Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)1.4.4 China Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)1.4.5 Japan Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)1.5 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Growth Prospects1.5.1 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Revenue Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)1.5.2 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Production Capacity Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)1.5.3 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Production Estimates and Forecasts (2015-2026)2 Market Competition by Manufacturers2.1 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Production Capacity Market Share by Manufacturers (2015-2020)2.2 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Revenue Share by Manufacturers (2015-2020)2.3 Market Share by Company Type (Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3)2.4 Global Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Average Price by Manufacturers (2015-2020)2.5 Manufacturers Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Production Sites, Area Served, Product Types2.6 Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market Competitive Situation and Trends2.6.1 Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market Concentration Rate2.6.2 Global Top 3 and Top 5 Players Market Share by Revenue2.6.3 Mergers & Acquisitions, Expansion3 Production Capacity by Region

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Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Tools Market Size, Share, Technology, Included Features, Cost, Revenue, Manufacturers, Region, Applications and...

Global Biochemical Sensors Market Research Report 2020

Los Angeles, United State Global Biochemical Sensors Market research analysis is a highly useful tool in the hands of market players that allows them to effectively assess the global Biochemical Sensors market and know where they stand in the industry in terms of revenue or sales growth. It comprehensively evaluates the global Biochemical Sensors market with different perspectives for the purpose of providing a detailed, informative, and accurate analysis of regional growth, competition, market segmentation, and other important aspects. Furthermore, it offers a precise account of key breakthroughs and developments taking shape in the global Biochemical Sensors market. It takes into consideration both the global and regional progress of the Biochemical Sensors market to provide a complete analysis.

Major Players Profiled in the Biochemical Sensors Market Report are: Abbott Point of Care, Smiths Medical, LifeSensors, LifeScan, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Nova Biomedical, Acon Laboratories, Bio-Rad, Universal Biosensors, Bayer, Kinesis, SensLab, BioDetection Instruments, Biosensor Laboratories, ABTECH Scientific, NeuroSky, Biosensors International, Roche, Sysmex, YSI Life Sciences

Access PDF Version of this Report at: https://www.qyresearch.com/sample-form/form/1106535/global-biochemical-sensors-market

The global Biochemical Sensors market is segmented on the basis of type of product, application, and region. The analysts authoring the report provide a meticulous evaluation of all of the segments included in the report. The segments are studied keeping in view their market share, revenue, market growth rate, and other vital factors. The segmentation study equips interested parties to identify high-growth portions of the global Biochemical Sensors market and understand how the leading segments could grow during the forecast period.

Biochemical Sensors Market by Product Type:

Electrochemical Biochemical Sensors, Thermal Biochemical sensors, Piezoelectric Biochemical sensors, Optical Biochemical sensors

Biochemical Sensors Market by Application:

Agricultural, Nutritional, Environmental, Medical

Regional Analysis of Global Biochemical Sensors Market:

North America, Europe, China, Japan

This is one of the most important sections of the research study as it provides deep insights into the growth of the Biochemical Sensors market at both country and regional level. The researchers estimate market growth in different regions and countries by both value and volume. They accurately calculate the revenue, price, CAGR, consumption, sales, and other factors related to the regional markets studied here.

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Highlights from the TOC

Market Overview: Readers are provided with a brilliant overview of the global Biochemical Sensors market and the scope of products available for commercial sale. Here, the authors of the report also touch on key segments of the global Biochemical Sensors market and give a glimpse of the market size by value and volume.

Competition by Manufacturers: This section of the report shows how different manufacturers are performing in the global Biochemical Sensors market on the basis of average price, revenue, and production.

Production Market Share by Region: It includes market analysis of each region and country studied in the report in terms of gross margin, price, revenue, production, and growth rate.

Company Profiles and Key Figures in Business: It lists all players studied in the report on the basis of markets served, gross margin, price, revenue, production, product specification, application, and production sites.

Manufacturing Cost Analysis: It covers industrial chain analysis, raw material analysis, manufacturing cost structure, and other key aspects.

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QYResearch always pursuits high product quality with the belief that quality is the soul of business. Through years of effort and supports from huge number of customer supports, QYResearch consulting group has accumulated creative design methods on many high-quality markets investigation and research team with rich experience. Today, QYResearch has become the brand of quality assurance in consulting industry.

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(2020-2025) Biochemical Sensors Market is Thriving Worldwide with Top Growing Companies | Abbott Point of Care, Smiths Medical, LifeSensors - News...

Life is pretty easy to recognise. It moves, it grows, it eats, it excretes, it reproduces. Simple. In biology, researchers often use the acronym MRSGREN to describe it. It stands for movement, respiration, sensitivity, growth, reproduction, excretion and nutrition.

But Helen Sharman, Britains first astronaut and a chemist at Imperial College London, recently said that alien lifeforms that are impossible to spot may be living among us. How could that be possible?

While life may be easy to recognise, its actually notoriously difficult to define and has had scientists and philosophers in debate for centuries if not millennia. For example, a 3D printer can reproduce itself, but we wouldnt call it alive. On the other hand, a mule is famously sterile, but we would never say it doesnt live.

As nobody can agree, there are more than 100 definitions of what life is. An alternative (but imperfect) approach is describing life as a self-sustaining chemical system capable of Darwinian evolution, which works for many cases we want to describe.

The lack of definition is a huge problem when it comes to searching for life in space. Not being able to define life other than well know it when we see it means we are truly limiting ourselves to geocentric, possibly even anthropocentric, ideas of what life looks like. When we think about aliens, we often picture a humanoid creature. But the intelligent life we are searching for doesnt have to be humanoid.

Sharman says she believes aliens exist and theres no two ways about it. Furthermore, she wonders: Will they be like you and me, made up of carbon and nitrogen? Maybe not. Its possible theyre here right now and we simply cant see them.

Such life would exist in a shadow biosphere. By that, I dont mean a ghost realm, but undiscovered creatures probably with a different biochemistry. This means we cant study or even notice them because they are outside of our comprehension. Assuming it exists, such a shadow biosphere would probably be microscopic.

So why havent we found it? We have limited ways of studying the microscopic world as only a small percentage of microbes can be cultured in a lab. This may mean that there could indeed be many lifeforms we havent yet spotted. We do now have the ability to sequence the DNA of unculturable strains of microbes, but this can only detect life as we know it that contain DNA.

If we find such a biosphere, however, it is unclear whether we should call it alien. That depends on whether we mean of extraterrestrial origin or simply unfamiliar.

A popular suggestion for an alternative biochemistry is one based on silicon rather than carbon. It makes sense, even from a geocentric point of view. Around 90% of the Earth is made up of silicon, iron, magnesium and oxygen, which means theres lots to go around for building potential life.

Silicon is similar to carbon, it has four electrons available for creating bonds with other atoms. But silicon is heavier, with 14 protons (protons make up the atomic nucleus with neutrons) compared to the six in the carbon nucleus. While carbon can create strong double and triple bonds to form long chains useful for many functions, such as building cell walls, it is much harder for silicon. It struggles to create strong bonds, so long-chain molecules are much less stable.

Whats more, common silicon compounds, such as silicon dioxide (or silica), are generally solid at terrestrial temperatures and insoluble in water. Compare this to highly soluble carbon dioxide, for example, and we see that carbon is more flexible and provides many more molecular possibilities.

Life on Earth is fundamentally different from the bulk composition of the Earth. Another argument against a silicon-based shadow biosphere is that too much silicon is locked up in rocks. In fact, the chemical composition of life on Earth has an approximate correlation with the chemical composition of the sun, with 98% of atoms in biology consisting of hydrogen, oxygen and carbon. So if there were viable silicon lifeforms here, they may have evolved elsewhere.

That said, there are arguments in favour of silicon-based life on Earth. Nature is adaptable. A few years ago, scientists at Caltech managed to breed a bacterial protein that created bonds with silicon essentially bringing silicon to life. So even though silicon is inflexible compared with carbon, it could perhaps find ways to assemble into living organisms, potentially including carbon.

And when it comes to other places in space, such as Saturns moon Titan or planets orbiting other stars, we certainly cant rule out the possibility of silicon-based life.

To find it, we have to somehow think outside of the terrestrial biology box and figure out ways of recognising lifeforms that are fundamentally different from the carbon-based form. There are plenty of experiments testing out these alternative biochemistries, such as the one from Caltech.

Regardless of the belief held by many that life exists elsewhere in the universe, we have no evidence for that. So it is important to consider all life as precious, no matter its size, quantity or location. The Earth supports the only known life in the universe. So no matter what form life elsewhere in the solar system or universe may take, we have to make sure we protect it from harmful contamination whether it is terrestrial life or alien lifeforms.

Read more: Elon Musks Starship may be more moral catastrophe than bold step in space exploration

So could aliens be among us? I dont believe that we have been visited by a life form with the technology to travel across the vast distances of space. But we do have evidence for life-forming, carbon-based molecules having arrived on Earth on meteorites, so the evidence certainly doesnt rule out the same possibility for more unfamiliar life forms.

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Could invisible aliens really exist among us? An astrobiologist explains - The Conversation UK

From searching for solutions to climate change challenges to finding cures for terminal illnesses, Latin American women innovators are using science and technology to solve many of the worlds most complex questions and threatening plights.

This week, the MIT Technology Review the private research universitys technology magazine published a list of the leading Latin American innovators of 2019 under the age of 35, also granting them awards for their revolutionary inventions and ideas. The awardees included nine women, who have been deemed key inventors, entrepreneurs, visionaries, pioneers and humanitarians solving international problems through tech.

While women made up just about 25 percent of the list further evidence of their underrepresentation in STEM fields worldwide their designs, theories and work are critical and inspiring. Here, nine Latin American women regarded for shaking up the tech sphere and using technology to improve our world.

Luca Gallardo is the Honduran entrepreneur behind Emerge, a start-up that aims to solve social problems with emerging technologies, such as blockchain, Internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI).

Through her company, Gallardo tries to bring these types of tools to people who work on social impact projects, especially in impoverished countries such as her native Honduras. One of Emerges main sources of support is women and marginalized communities, who are driven by both technology and advice, MIT Technology Reviewwrites.

Mara Alexandra Tamayo is a 24-year-old inventor from Colombia who is purifying water in a country that has the second-most water resources but where just 8% of households have access to drinking water. This leads to avoidable diseases and deaths that the biomedical engineer wants to lessen.

This is how NanoPro was born, a device capable of eliminating fungi, viruses and bacteria from the water without affecting its taste, smell and color, the engineer explains. The filter can be applied in both rural and urban populations, since it is incorporated both in faucets and in thermoses for those areas whose supply network does not reach homes. With her creation, Tamayo seeks to democratize access to drinking water in areas where, although available, it is not suitable for human consumption.

In Brazil, 32-year-old molecular biologist Maria Anglica de Camargo created a dengue test that accelerates treatment for the viral disease and reduces mortality.

After the arrival of the Zika virus in America, the efficiency of dengue diagnostic tests collapsed due to the molecular similarity of the ailments. Camargo details, It is important to identify whether it is dengue or Zika before starting treatment. That is why we made a protein that was totally specific for dengue. By developing this exclusive test, false dengue positives are avoided in people with Zika and vice versa. In addition, the cost of the Camargo test is very low when compared to current molecular tests capable of differentiating between one disease and another.

In Mexico, Marcela Torres, 32, is helping refugees and immigrants access employment and better integrate themselves into society.

A few years ago, the young Marcela Torres realized that in Mexico there were not enough people with the necessary knowledge for the software developer positions that were offered in the country, so she decided to take advantage of the technology to solve the problem. This is how Holacode was born, a start-up that offers software development courses for the migrant community in Mexico. The educational program of Holacode lasts five months, and its objective is that technology education becomes more democratic and accessible. The start-up allows these jobs to be filled by especially vulnerable people such as migrants.

Guatemalan chemist Mara Isabel Amorn, 28, discovered an innovative way to clean sewage.

In addition to emissions and resource consumption, another major negative impact of global industrial activity is water pollution. Specifically, the textile industry not only uses large quantities for the production of clothing, but its wastewater also contains a large number of contaminants. These include dyes, which are very resistant and difficult to eliminate, that create a problem so serious that the government of Guatemala has already fined textile companies for polluting rivers.

Aware of this situation, Amorn synthesized a polymer from shrimp shells thats capable of retaining the dyes used in the textile industry. The filter works by recirculating and retaining the dye used to dye clothes. This project is especially intended for artisanal textile production, since the technologies available to treat the waters are very expensive. Now, the young woman is in the process of patenting her ecological method of filtration and hopes to scale production.

Mexican biochemical engineer and entrepreneur Mariel Prez Carrillo, 27, helps farmers increase their crop production.

The worlds population will be around 9.7 billion people in 2050, according to the United Nations. With a more populated planet, producing enough food for everyone is a growing challenge and that is also aggravated as a result of the climate crisis. Aware of this problem, the biochemical engineer and co-founder of the company dedicated to the creation of technology in the agricultural area Innus Technologies, Prez decided to get down to work to avoid the impending food crisis.

The young woman remembers, I went to the countryside to learn from the farmers and I realized that they dont know how their crop is. They also dont know what state their soil is in. This is how Enviro was born, a device that identifies soil conditions and climate in real time and, from them, offers recommendations to improve crop yields.

At just 26 years old, chemical engineer Sara Landa discovered a way to reduce fertilizer use in Mexico.

Symbiotic Labs is a biotechnology start-up that optimizes nutrient absorption, saves fertilizer consumption and increases crop productivity. The motivation to create Symbiotic Labs is to fight hunger worldwide and meet the growing demand for food without having to deplete all available land. The young woman details, Current agricultural practices are a disaster and are not sustainable in the long term. Around 30% of the land in Mexico is already losing fertility due to chemical misuse, but at the same time, the demand for food is growing. This leads to increasing use of chemical fertilizers that give immediate results but eventually poison the land.'

In Argentina, 29-year-old Barbara Tomadoni is also reducing fertilizers in agriculture.

Faced with a climate crisis that brings more droughts and more heat waves, water becomes even more key to feed a growing world population. In order to alleviate this problem, chemical engineer and food engineer Barbara Tomadoni works to create materials of natural origin that help reduce water consumption in agriculture.

This young scientist from the Thermoplastic Composite Materials Group of the Materials Science and Technology Research Institute of Argentina says, Development of biodegradable biogels for soil moisture control. Its objective is to replace the current hydrogels, which can contaminate land and crops, with bio-based alternatives based on polymers of natural origin, such as sodium alginate from marine algae and chitosan, present in the shellfish exoskeleton.

Ins Benson, 26, is an Argentine developer improving the pesky autocorrect for Spanish speakers.

Argentinas Ins Benson has created the free app Guar, an automatic corrector installable on Android keyboards that uses a database of more than 40,000 words typical of the Argentine dialect. That is, an Argentine autocorrector. Although Benson launched her Guar start-up to end this problem in her country, she soon realized that the situation was repeated in other regions of South America. So she decided to develop another free app called Dora, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyze oral presentations and give advice to improve them, in addition to transcribing text to speeches. This last creation also adapts and recognizes the different dialects and oral forms of Spanish.

Visit link:
9 Latin American Women Innovators Improving the World Through Tech - Remezcla

UK Comics Collective is a new group of comic creators and comic fans debuting and running a series of events at this years Thought Bubble Comic Con in Harrogate. I am currently at Wakefield Westgate train station on my way there too.

Funded by Wellcome Trust, Arts Council England and Biochemical Society, the ambition is to exchange ideas and design experiences that engage people in novel ways; improve health and wellbeing, but also empower audiences. In 2019 their focus is on Fear, Hope and Survival.

The events include two discussion panels, three workshops and one ambitious immersive experience based on The Walking Dead comic book. This is an experimental piece of promenade theatre with gaming elements and interactions with scientists, artists and historians. The experience features plenty of artwork from The Walking Deads artist Charlie Adlard and writer and co-creator Robert Kirkman.

All events are free to those attending Thought Bubble Comic Con and are held in the Queens Suite, Harrogate Conference Centre.

Zombies Will Never Die (Saturday 16:10-17:00) Room B, Queens SuiteFlorence Okoye chats the past, present and future of zombie stories with former Comics Laureate Charlie Adlard and current Comics Laureate, Hannah Berry.

Zombies reflect a deep-rooted human fear of contagion and death. But the zombie story has its roots in slave history and is racial / class based. Through the storyworlds of zombie narratives, we explore what makes the walking dead endure. To add your voice to the conversation, we will have a couple of open seats on the panel that members of the audience can join us on stage.

Hip Hop Comics Connection (Sunday 14:10-15:00)

Ever wondered why your favourite MCs tend to have an alias? Juice Aleem (MC, writer, performer, Director of Afroflux, comics fan and co-director of BSide Hip Hop Festival) explores how the origin stories of many young Hip Hop artists mirror those of comic book heroes.

Juice will then be joined by comic creators Charlotte Bailey, Hannah Berry, Ram V & Khary Randolf to talk music, inspiration and comics. All this as well as a few interactive elements to expand our personal Infinity Gauntlets.

Hip Hop Comic Covers (Saturday 12:00-13:00 & 13:00-14:00)

Come and explore Marvels extraordinary comic covers inspired by Hip Hop album covers. Bring your favourite album (any genre) and design your own comic cover with Juice Aleem (MC, writer, performer, Director of Afroflux, comics fan and co-director of BSide Hip Hop Festival) and Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman, Rogue Trooper). Get inspired to design a cover reflecting your own (super)power.

Figure Drawing (wheels included) (Saturday 15:00-17:00 drop in)

The dominant physiology of characters in comics has been of taller, thinner more athletic superheroes. Join Zara Slattery (Coma Comic (WIP) and Two Birds) and another Comics Laureate Dave Gibbons (Watchmen, Kingsman) in this figure-drawing workshop where youll draw diverse body types, create stories and have a chat with our models (clothes on).

Models are actor David Proud (the first lead regular disabled cast member of BBCs Eastenders) and Amy Proud (Burlesque Dancer and Model). David and Amy will also chat to the audience about a new documentary they are making about eugenics and disability.

Zombies Vs Thought Bubble (Sunday 13:00-14:00 & 14:00-15:00)Join comic creator Karrie Fransman (The House That Groaned, Death of The Artist), for Zombies vs Thought Bubble. A real-time, narrative comic jam where you must defend yourself from the living dead, using only pen and paper. Arm yourself with your art, a splattering of zombie science and prepare for the onslaught!

The Walking Dead: Immersive Experience Saturday 9th November (11:00-18:00 last entry@17:00) and Sunday 10th November (10:00-17:00 last entry@16:00).

Literally step into the storyworld of The Walking Dead comic in this real-world installation of scenes inspired by the comic. Well take you on a journey through Camp Bubble where characters from the comic, have friends theyd like you to meet. The camp is at risk of invasion and needs your help to explore the question What is fear for?.

With thanks to artist Charlie Adlard, Writer and co-creator Robert Kirkman and Skybound Entertainment for allowing us to use their art.

Wowbagger Productions (story and science) & Oubliette Entertainments (game design).

Slots can be booked here, but most slots will go to walk-ins.

The collaboration evolved from last years creative team who designed an immersive experienced based on The Wicked + The Divine comic (Wowbagger & Oubliette). The group was brought together by Sara Kenney, who is a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow with a focus on comics. Her ambition is to continue securing funding for the UK Comics Collective to create comics, run panels, workshops and immersive experiences, which allow creatives and audiences to explore ideas around art, health, science and the human condition.

Chief writer and founder of Bleeding Cool. Father of two. Comic book clairvoyant. Political cartoonist.

Continued here:
UK Comics Collective Create The Walking Dead Interactive Event at Thought Bubble - Bleeding Cool News

Right now all our missions to Mars are sterilized to protect it from any Earth life that could hitch a ride and confuse the searches. This report by the Planetary Protection Independent Review Board is a proposal to treat most of Mars similarly to the Moon for planetary protection. We would no longer need to sterilize rovers that we send to large regions of Mars, just document what they do. The suggestion is to reclassify them as Category II:

where there is only a remote chance that contamination carried by a spacecraft could jeopardize future exploration. In this case we define remote chance as the absence of niches (places where terrestrial microorganisms could proliferate) and/or a very low likelihood of transfer to those places.

COSPAR Workshop on Planetary Protection for Outer Planet Satellites and Small Solar System Bodies European Space Policy Institute (ESPI), 1517 April 2009

The report comes with a cover letter from NASA recommending to their planetary protection officer that they implement the proposal:

This would be fine if we had clear evidence that these regions are like the Moon. However, we don't. The report relies on an earlier 2014 report that is now out of date. Even when it was in process of publication, NASA and ESA took steps to get it independently reviewed. For some reason they cite this problematical report, but don't cite the critical 2015 review of it. This meme summarizes one of the main issues:

Its important to get this right as there is no way to do a do over. It would be so sad to get to Mars, find life there, and then realize it was just life we brought ourselves. For many, the search for other lifeforms in our solar system is one of the major motivating reasons to explore Mars and other parts of our solar system with a potential for life.

Also if we find life based on a different biochemistry - this can be the basis of billion dollar industries in the future (as is already the case for enzymes from extremophiles). For details see Billions of dollars commercial potential of extraterrestrial biology.

This article will focus on the forwards direction, the risk of sending Earth microbes to Mars because the legal protection in that direction is very weak. But first lets look at the backwards direction.

Here is a video I made for this article (while working on the draft)

(click to watch on Youtube)

skip to What about the forwards direction?

In the backwards direction from Mars to Earth, we are strongly protected by many environmental laws and laws to protect human health that we didnt have at the time of Apollo. These laws dont rely on the Outer Space Treaty for their legal basis. How NASA categorizes Mars makes no difference to them. See the article by Margaret Race of the SETI institute.

NASA is going to send a sample caching rover to Mars in 2020 and they hope to send a second mission in the 2020s to return some of these samples back to Earth for analysis. They plan to return them unsterilized (a sterilized sample would not trigger environmental laws, but would be just like the sample returns from meteorites, comets, and the Moon).

I cant find any evidence that NASA have made a start on preparing the legislation. They havent left enough time to complete this process within their desired timescale, indeed, they probably should have started in 2010 or earlier if they want a sample return by 2030. There are papers about the engineering challenges of the sample return mission, but I can't find anything about the legal processes (if you know of anything do say in the comments).

Mars sample return concept - credit NASA. If NASA wants to return an unsterilized sample by 2030 they should have started the legal preparation for this about a decade ago at the latest. There is no sign they have even done any planning for the legal process yet.

Perhaps they expect it to be like Apollo 11 where they published the sample return precautions as an informal document on the day of the launch to the Moon and didnt go through any proper legal process? This would not be permitted today.

Mars could have extraterrestrial life there. Its not known to be sterile, and the dust can carry spores almost anywhere on the planet (more on this later).

As well see new discoveries have opened up the possibility of native microbial life on Mars hidden from our orbital telescopes just centimeters below the dust. This may be possible even in the exceedingly dry tropical areas where Curiosity is roving, especially if martian life has a biochemistry adapted to lower temperatures than Earth life.

Some Mars colonization enthusiasts and space engineers will tell you that any life we find on Mars will be from Earth, but they have not persuaded the astrobiologists of this. The designers of instruments to look for indigenous life there are careful not to make any assumptions about its biochemistry or whether it is related to Earth life.

We cant assume that any life in a sample returned from Mars is related to Earth life unless we have studied it already on Mars.

This life could also be hazardous to humans or our biosphere. To take a simple example, legionnaires disease is an infection of biofilms that can use the same methods to infect human lungs, seeing it as a warm biofilm - it is not adapted to humans. Some strains of it are now adapting to our environments, spread by humans infected by it, but the same could happen with Martian life that invades the lungs of an astronaut.

Astrobiologists say that though it is possible that Mars life could be mystified by an alien biochemistry, its also possible that it hasnt evolved any resistance to it, never having encountered it before. Joshua Lederberg put it like this:

"If Martian microorganisms ever make it here, will they be totally mystified and defeated by terrestrial metabolism, perhaps even before they challenge immune defenses? Or will they have a field day in light of our own total naivete in dealing with their aggressins?

from: "Paradoxes of the Host-Parasite Relationship"

Our lungs might offer no resistance, not even recognizing it as life as it munches away at them, and with a different biochemistry they would be likely to be naturally resistant to our antibiotics, which target particular processes of the pathogens. There would also be risk of larger scale environmental disruption, even if harmless to humans. As the National Research Council put it in 2009:

The risks of environmental disruption resulting from the inadvertent contamination of Earth with putative martian microbes are still considered to be low. But since the risk cannot be demonstrated to be zero, due care and caution must be exercised in handling any martian materials returned to Earth

Assessment of Planetary Protection Requirements for Mars Sample Return Missions

These reports haven't gone into details of how the environment could be disrupted. To give some points to think over right away (I will come back to this later), would our ecosystems work the same way if half the microbes were mirror DNA, say, or PNA, or TNA, or had novel amino acids that Earth life doesn't use, or didn't use proteins, to give a few examples? Would the martian life be edible? Would it have nutritional value? What about accidental poisons, like the way that cyanobacteria can kill dogs and cows? If it's a different biochemistry, they seem unlikely to be exact "drop in" replacements to terrestrial microbes, so there would be changes in how they function. Higher lifeforms would adapt more slowly than the microbes, with their longer lifespans.

The legislators would not ignore arguments such as these. There would be extensive public debate, and Earth would be protected.

I used Margaret Races article in an attempt to work out a timeline here for return of an unsterilized sample with potential for microbial life of an unknown alien biochemistry. I assumed that there were no objections to delay the legal process. Even with that assumption, I dont see how it can be done before 2040, if you start the legal process today. This takes into account the likely time requirements for constructing the receiving facility, based on the previous sample return studies. NASA would not start the expensive build (half a billion dollars facility) until it knows what it is legally required to do.: Why we are unlikely to return an unsterilized sample before 2040. These laws don't depend on the wording of the Outer Space Treaty in any form, but are independent legislation to protect Earth.

For these reasons Im not concerned about the backwards direction as far as safety is concerned. I expect NASA to sterilize their sample if they do return those samples from Mars to Earth, or return them to somewhere isolated from contact with Earth, such as a satellite set up for telerobotic study of the sample above GEO. They can use either of those approaches within the Outer Space Treaty. If there is no possibility of an unsterilized sample contacting Earth's biosphere, or Earth entering into the chain of contact with an unsterilized sample, it wouldn't trigger this legislation to protect our Earth.

The main concern is for the forwards direction. There isnt any other legislation here to protect Martian life apart from the very weak Outer Space Treaty. It is based on a few phrases about harmful contamination.

If these proposals were adopted in the forwards direction, you could send what you like to these regions of Mars, tardigrades, and extremophile blue green algae that have already been tested in Mars simulation chambers. The only requirement would be to document what you do. Eventually you could send humans too, with this category II classification, though returning them would be another matter if they had made contact with extraterrestrial microbes on Mars.

The report is here together with a cover letter from NASA recommending to their planetary protection officer that they implement the proposal:

This new report has few cites. Incongruously, its lead author is a planetary geologist.

One of their main cites is a report from 2014 by Rummel et al which proposed the use of maps to divide Mars into special regions which need especially careful planetary protection measures such as was used for the Voyager landers in the 1970s, and others that have less stringent requirements such as is used for Curiosity:

This is the basis for their proposal that Mars could be subdivided into regions some reclassified as category II. Although they dont go into detail, presumably they would use a map like the one in the 2014 review, and classify all except the uncertain regions as category II:

Map from the 2014 report. Purple is low in elevation, and grey is higher elevation. Red and blue lines delineating regions are approximately 50 km in width

In the text overlay I summarize the objection to this map in the 2015 review "2014 map of uncertain regions of habitability. 2015 review says maps can only represent incomplete knowledge."

They dont mention the problems identified with the use of maps in the 2015 review.

Even before Rummel et als report was published, both NASA and ESA took steps to have it reviewed independently.

This 2015 review overturned several of the findings of the 2014 report, and in particular, it recommended against the use of maps [49] saying:

In general, the review committee contends that the use of maps to delineate regions with a lower or higher probability to host Special Regions is most useful if the maps are accompanied by cautionary remarks on their limitations. Maps [of] surface features can only represent the current (and incomplete) state of knowledge for a specific timeknowledge that will certainly be subject to change or be updated as new information is obtained.

5 Generalization of Special Regions and the Utility of Maps

This new NASA report doesnt mention the 2015 review. Its an extraordinary omission from a report that is recommending the use of maps for category II.

I dont know the reason for this omission. They certainly should have looked at this 2015 review, and not just at the original 2014 report, before making this recommendation to NASA to map out large parts of Mars as category II like the Moon.

The 2015 report used the example of Recurring Slope Lineae (RSLs) to explain why maps are not enough by themselves. These are seasonal streaks that form on sun facing Martian slopes. They appear in the Martian spring, grow and broaden through the summer and fade away in autumn.

These dark features are not themselves damp and may be dust flows. However, they are associated with hydrated salts and they may also be linked with salty water (brines) in some form. Sadly the HiRISE instrument can only observe them in the early afternoon locally, the driest time for the Martian surface, because of its high inclination sun synchronous orbit. This makes it especially hard to know if there are any brines moving down these slopes.

Warm Season Flows on Slope in Newton Crater (animated)

The first ones were found in higher latitudes, but many of these have now been found in the Martian tropics, especially on the slopes of the Valles Marineres. Their status is unknown, whether they could have habitats for Earth life or not. At present they are classified as

As such they meet the criteria for Uncertain Regions, to be treated as Special Regions. [a Special region is one that Earth microbes could potentially inhabit]

The 2015 review gives the example of the ExoMars Schiaparelli lander. All HiRISE images of the landing site were inspected for the possible presence of RSL's. [50]

As another example of this, 58 RSLs were found on Mount Sharp close to the Curiosity landing site.

Here are some of them:

Possible RSLs on mount Sharp not far from the Curiosity rover. These photos are taken at a similar time in the Martian year, they are less prominent in the earlier one in 09 March 2010 and more prominent with some new ones in the later image August 6 2012. Photo from supplementary information for Transient liquid water and water activity at Gale crater on Mars

Importantly, these were not discovered until after the Curiosity landing in 2012. See Slope activity in Gale crater, Mars (2015) and Nature article: Mars contamination fear could divert Curiosity rover

This shows that we mightnt always be able to rule out potential uncertain regions that could be habitats at a landing site. They may be discovered later, after the landing itself.

More RSLs have been found in the Mawrth Vallis region, one of the two final candidates for ExoMars landing site

These results denote the plausible presence of transient liquid brines close to the previously proposed landing ellipse of the ExoMars rover, rendering this site particularly relevant to the search of life. Further investigations of Mawrth Vallis carried out at higher spatial and temporal resolutions are needed to , to prevent probable biological contamination during rover operations,

Discovery of recurring slope lineae candidates in Mawrth Vallis, Mars

ExoMars isnt going to Mawrth Vallis, because they chose the other candidate Oxia Planum. I cant find anything about RSLs in Oxia Planum, but how confident can we be that this doesnt have RSLs or other potential habitats? Does non detection so far mean they arent there?

This new report also doesnt mention the long running and vigorous debate on the topic of whether we should relax sterilization requirements for spacecraft sent to Mars.

This debate started in two Nature articles in 2013 and has continued in Astrobiology journal through to 2019.

Both sides in this debate were in agreement that there is a significant possibility that Earth microbes can contaminate Mars.

Surely neither side in this debate would support classifying most of Mars as category II like the Moon.

Rather, the argument in Nature and Astrobiology journal is about whether we should reduce sterilization requirements for Mars in order to study these potential habitats quickly before human missions get there and make it impossible to study them in their pristine condition without Earth life.

The other side in this debate argue that we have a fair bit of time before humans get there, and that if we relax planetary protection we risk finding Earth microbes we brought there ourselves.

Those arguing for relaxing planetary protection are:

Against

This debate is not mentioned in this report.

Nor does it mention the many new potential surface or near surface habitats that have been proposed / indirectly detected / theorized since 2008. We have had more of these than there have been years since 2008.

The 2014 report briefly considers these. The 2015 review expands on this topic, and says that to identify such potential habitats requires a better understanding of the temperature and water activity of potential microenvironments on Mars, for instance in the interior of craters, or microenvironments underneath rocks. These may provide favourable conditions for establishing life on Mars even when the landscape-scale temperature and humidity conditions would not permit it. [46]

The 2014 report looked at distributions of ice and concluded that ice in the tropics is buried too deep to be a consideration[47]

However the 2014/5 review corrected this due to evidence of ice present at depths of less than one meter in pole-facing slopes[48]

Research since then still hasnt resolved these issues.

Even the 2014 report acknowledged limitations:

"Claims that reducing planetary protection requirements wouldn't be harmful, because Earth life can't grow on Mars, may be reassuring as opinion, but the facts are that we keep dis4g life growing in extreme conditions on Earth that resemble conditions on Mars. We also keep discovering conditions on Mars that are more similarthough perhaps only at microbial scalesto inhabited environments on Earth, which is where the concept of Special Regions initially came from."

"A New Analysis of Mars "Special Regions": Findings of the Second MEPAG Special Regions Science Analysis Group (SR-SAG2)" (PDF).

Id like to cover a couple of these potential habitats to motivate this, then Ill look at why it is so important to protect Mars from Earth life - is it really so important to make sure we dont mix Earth life with Mars life before we canstudy it?

Nilton Renno's droplets that form where salt touches ice - why did he call a droplet of salty water on Mars "a swimming pool for a bacteria"?

This is perhaps one of the most striking discoveries in recent years because of its implications for habitability of Mars. Nilton Renno found that liquid water can form very quickly on salt / ice interfaces. Within a few tens of minutes in Mars simulation

experiments.

Erik Fischer, doctoral student at University of Michigan, sets up a Mars Atmospheric Chamber on June 18, 2014. These experiments showed that tiny "swimming pools for bacteria" can form readily on Mars wherever there is ice and salt in contact.

This is striking as it could open large areas of Mars up as potential sites for microhabitats that life could exploit. The professor says

"If we have ice, and then the salt on top of the ice, in a few tens of minutes liquid water forms. Our measurements clearly indicate that. And it's really a proof that liquid water forms at the conditions of the Phoenix landing site when this salt is in contact with the ice.

"Based on the results of our experiment, we expect this soft ice that can liquefy perhaps a few days per year, perhaps a few hours a day, almost anywhere on Mars. So going from mid latitudes all the way to the polar regions.

" This is a small amount of liquid water. But for a bacteria, that would be a huge swimming pool - a little droplet of water is a huge amount of water for a bacteria. So, a small amount of water is enough for you to be able to create conditions for Mars to be habitable today'. And we believe this is possible in the shallow subsurface, and even the surface of the Mars polar region for a few hours per day during the spring."

(transcript from 1:48 onwards)

(click to watch on Youtube)

That's Nilton Renno, who lead the team of researchers. See also Martian salts must touch ice to make liquid water, study shows . He is a mainstream researcher in the field - a distinguished professor of atmospheric, oceanic and space sciences at Michigan University. For instance, amongst many honours, he received the 2013 NASA Group Achievement Award as member of the Curiosity Rover " for exceptional achievement defining the REMS scientific goals and requirements, developing the instrument suite and investigation, and operating REMS successfully on Mars" and has written many papers on topics such as possible habitats on the present day Mars surface.

This was a serendipitous discovery announced in April 2015. Liquid brines that form through deliquescing salts (perchlorates) - the salts take in water from the atmosphere (same principle as the salts you use to keep equipment dry).

They noticed that when Curiosity drives over sand dunes, then the air above them is drier than it is normally. When it leaves the sandy areas the humidity increases.

Rover Environmental Monitoring Station (REMS) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover

See more here:
Can NASA'S Plan To Treat Parts Of Mars Like The Moon Risk Future Discoveries Of Extraterrestrial Life? - Science 2.0

The average salary you could earn with a biochemistry degree varies based on a wide variety of factors, such as:

The type, size, and budget of your employerThe discretion of your employerYour level of education and experienceYour level of certification (if applicable)The region in which you workHow much overtime you are able to work (if applicable)The amount of responsibility inherent in your positionYour level of experience (people with several years worth of experience can often earn substantially in their profession more than whats listed below)Most importantly, however, the salary you could earn varies based on the career field you enter. Below is an overview of the average earnings of people in a few career fields that are relevant to this degree.Please Note: The salary information listed below is meant only to serve as a guideline. In many cases, workers in these fields can earn a much lower, or much higher, salary than is stated below.

BiochemistAlberta: $79,450 (ALIS)Canada: $75,000 (PayScale)United States: $82,180 (BLS)

BiologistAlberta: $84,998 (ALIS)Canada: $63,381 (indeed)United States: $69,960 (BLS)

Biomedical EngineerAlberta: $98,254 (ALIS)Canada: $63,240 (indeed)United States: $88,040 (BLS)

BiostatisticianAlberta: N/ACanada: $69,308 (PayScale)United States: $89,472 (indeed)

BloggerAlberta: N/ACanada: N/AUnited States: $36,580 (indeed)

BrewmasterAlberta: N/ACanada: $50,825 (Canada)United States: N/A

Cell BiologistAlberta: $84,988 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $69,960 (BLS)

Chemical EngineerAlberta: $107,372 (ALIS)Canada: $83,726 (indeed)United States: $102,160 (BLS)

ChiropractorAlberta: N/ACanada: $69,700 (indeed)United Sates: $68,640 (BLS)

Clinical ChemistAlberta: $79,450 (ALIS)Canada: $51,987 (indeed)United States: $74,740 (BLS)

Clinical TechnicianAlberta: $77,398 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $51,770 (BLS)

Crime Lab AssistantAlberta: $62,913 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $57,850 (BLS)

DentistAlberta: $154,564 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $158,120 (BLS)

DNA AnalystAlberta: $62,913 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $57,850 (BLS)

DoctorAlberta: $230,100 (ALIS)Canada: $271,000 (Global News - Via Canadian Institute of Health Report)United States: $208,000 (BLS)

EntomologistAlberta: $984,988 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $62,290 (BLS)

EpidemiologistAlberta: $84,988 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $69,660 (BLS)

Food and Drug InspectorAlberta: $80,949 (ALIS)Canada: $44,418 to $111,523 (Canadian Food Inspection Agency)United States: $64,660 (BLS)

Food Chemist(See Food Scientist)

Food Microbiologist(See Food Scientist)

Food Safety AuditorAlberta: $80,949 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $71,780 (BLS)

Food ScientistAlberta: $80,949 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $71,780 (BLS)

Forensic Lab AnalystAlberta: $62,913 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $57,850 (BLS)

HydrologistAlberta: $128,940 (ALIS)Canada: $57,391 (PayScale)United States: $79,990 (BLS)

Laboratory ManagerAlberta: N/ACanada: $63,590 (PayScale)United States: $60,174 (indeed)

Medical Laboratory TechnologistAlberta: $77,398 (ALIS)Canada: $67,160 (Glassdoor)United States: $51,770 (BLS)

Patent AgentAlberta: N/ACanada: N/AUnited States: $116,000 (BLS)

Petroleum ChemistAlberta: N/ACanada: N/AUnited States: $69,767 (PayScale)

Pharmaceutical ChemistAlberta: N/ACanada: N/AUnited States: $60,476 (Glassdoor)

PharmacistAlberta: $98,037 (ALIS)Canada: $103,926 (Glassdoor)United States: $124,170 (BLS)

PharmacologistAlberta: $84,998 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $82,090 (BLS)

Quality Control SpecialistAlberta: N/ACanada: $55,114 (PayScale)United States: $37,340 (BLS)

Regulatory Affairs ManagerAlberta: N/ACanada: $82,478 (indeed)United States: $105,290 (Glassdoor)Regulatory Affairs SpecialistAlberta: N/ACanada: $58,942 (PayScale)United States: $67,510 (Glassdoor)

Research AssistantAlberta: $41,027 (ALIS)Canada: $32,796 (Glassdoor)United Sates: $26,560 (BLS)

Sales RepresentativeAlberta: $62,683 (ALIS)Canada: $61,624 (indeed)United Sates: $60,340 (BLS)

Science AdvisorAlberta: N/ACanada: $102,798 (PayScale)United States: $121,768 (Glassdoor)

Science WriterAlberta: $58,979 (ALIS)Canada: $56,634 (PayScale)United States: $57,549 (BLS)

ToxicologistAlberta: $84,998 (ALIS)Canada: N/AUnited States: $74,631 (Glassdoor)

Water Quality AnalystAlberta: N/ACanada: N/AUnited States: $53,460 (PayScale)

ALIS: Alberta Learning and Information Service (alis.alberta.ca), sponsored by the Government of Alberta. For an overview of their salary survey methodology, please visit here.PayScale: Private organization owned by PayScale Incorporated (payscale.com). For an overview of their salary survey methodology, please visit here.BLS: United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), sponsored by the federal government of the United States of America. For details regarding their salary survey methodology, please visit here.Glassdoor: indeed is a private organization owned by Glassdoor incorporated (glassdoor.com). For an overview of their salary survey methodology, please visit here.Canadian Food Inspection Agency: For the career profile of Food & Drug Inspector

To find out more about careers directly related to your biochemistry degree, consult the following professional association websites. They offer career-related information, and many have opportunities for student membership, as well as job placement and mentoring opportunities.

Canada

BIOTECanada

Canadian Institutes of Health Research

Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences

ExPASy

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Research Canada

United States

American Association for Clinical Chemistry

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56 Surprising Things You Can do with a Biochemistry Degree

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Meitheal Pharmaceuticals (Meitheal), a fully integrated generic injectables company based in Chicago, Illinois today announced the completion of a previously announced majority stake investment from Hong Kong King-Friend Industrial Company (HKF), a wholly-owned subsidiary of China-based manufacturer Nanjing King-Friend Biochemical Pharmaceutical Company (NKF). Following the completion of the $95 million transaction, Meitheal is now majority-owned by NKF and will serve as its exclusive commercialization arm in the US.

ABOUT MEITHEAL PHARMACEUTICALS

Since 2017, Meitheal Pharmaceuticals has bridged critical gaps in the US healthcare market by supplying high quality, affordable generic injectables. Our diversified product range from antibiotics, anticoagulants, and muscle relaxants to drugs used in chemotherapy represents practical solutions for countless patients around the country, as well as Meitheals commitment to their care. Based in Chicago, Illinois, our aim each day is producing quality and ensuring affordability, using the traditional Irish guiding principle we are named for Meitheal (Meehall): working together toward a common goal, for the greater good.

Learn more about who we are and what we do at http://www.meithealpharma.com.

ABOUT NANJING KING-FRIEND BIOPHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY (NKF)

Nanjing King-Friend Biochemical Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (NKF) is a China-based company principally engaged in the research and development, production and sales of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) and Finished Dosage Form (FDF). Established in 1986 as one of world leading manufacturers of heparin related APIs, NKF has grown into a fully integrated API and FDF manufacturer in multiple therapeutic areas including critical care and oncology. With three US FDA approved manufacturing sites in China and more than 500 employees, including more than 100 dedicated research and development experts, NKF strives to meet patient needs globally with market presence at US, China, EU and South America. The Company is publicly listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange with a market capitalization over $3B.

ABOUT HONG KONG KING-FRIEND INDUSTRIAL COMPANY

Hong Kong King-Friend Industrial Company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of NKF, founded in 2010.

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Meitheal Pharmaceuticals Announces Completion of Majority Stake Investment from Nanjing King-Friend Biochemical Pharmaceutical Company - Business Wire

The report on the global biochemical sensor market provides qualitative and quantitative analysis for the period from 2017 to 2025. The report predicts the global biochemical sensor market to grow with a CAGR of 14.

New York, Nov. 06, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Biochemical Sensor Market: Global Industry Analysis, Trends, Market Size, and Forecasts up to 2025" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05806394/?utm_source=GNW 1% over the forecast period from 2019-2025. The study on the biochemical sensor market covers the analysis of the leading geographies such as North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and RoW for the period of 2017 to 2025.

The report on the biochemical sensor market is a comprehensive study and presentation of drivers, restraints, opportunities, demand factors, market size, forecasts, and trends in the global biochemical sensor market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Moreover, the report is a collective presentation of primary and secondary research findings.

Porters five forces model in the report provides insights into the competitive rivalry, supplier and buyer positions in the market and opportunities for the new entrants in the global biochemical sensor market over the period of 2017 to 2025. Further, IGR- Growth Matrix gave in the report brings an insight into the investment areas that existing or new market players can consider.

Report Findings1) Drivers High adoption of a biochemical sensor in healthcare Government initiative towards ensuring food safety2) Restraints High R&D expenditure3) Opportunities Introduction of nano-biochemical sensors

Research Methodology

A) Primary ResearchOur primary research involves extensive interviews and analysis of the opinions provided by the primary respondents. The primary research starts with identifying and approaching the primary respondents, the primary respondents are approached include1. Key Opinion Leaders associated with Infinium Global Research2. Internal and External subject matter experts3. Professionals and participants from the industry

Our primary research respondents typically include1. Executives working with leading companies in the market under review2. Product/brand/marketing managers3. CXO level executives4. Regional/zonal/ country managers5. Vice President level executives.

B) Secondary ResearchSecondary research involves extensive exploring through the secondary sources of information available in both the public domain and paid sources. At Infinium Global Research, each research study is based on over 500 hours of secondary research accompanied by primary research. The information obtained through the secondary sources is validated through the crosscheck on various data sources.

The secondary sources of the data typically include1. Company reports and publications2. Government/institutional publications3. Trade and associations journals4. Databases such as WTO, OECD, World Bank, and among others.5. Websites and publications by research agencies

Segment CoveredThe global biochemical sensor market is segmented on the basis of product type, and application.

The Global Biochemical Sensor Market by Product Type Electrochemical Sensor Piezoelectric Sensor Optical Sensor Gas Sensor Thermal Sensor

The Global Biochemical Sensor Market by Application Environmental Monitoring Chemical Analysis Food Quality Control Clinical Diagnosis Other Applications

Company Profiles Nova Biomedical Corporation Universal Biosensors Melexis Microchip Technology Inc. Polestar Technologies Inc. Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Honeywell International Inc. Thermo Fisher Scientific GE Healthcare Other Companies

What does this report deliver?1. Comprehensive analysis of the global as well as regional markets of the biochemical sensor market.2. Complete coverage of all the segments in the biochemical sensor market to analyze the trends, developments in the global market and forecast of market size up to 2025.3. Comprehensive analysis of the companies operating in the global biochemical sensor market. The company profile includes analysis of product portfolio, revenue, SWOT analysis and latest developments of the company.4. IGR- Growth Matrix presents an analysis of the product segments and geographies that market players should focus to invest, consolidate, expand and/or diversify.Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05806394/?utm_source=GNW

About ReportlinkerReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.

__________________________

Story continues

Clare: clare@reportlinker.comUS: (339)-368-6001Intl: +1 339-368-6001

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Global biochemical sensor market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 14.1% over the forecast period from 2019-2025 - Yahoo Finance

Berlin-based fem tech startup Inne is coming out of stealth to announce an 8 million (~$8.8M) Series A and give the first glimpse of a hormone-tracking subscription product for fertility-tracking and natural contraception thats slated for launch in Q1 next year.

The Series A is led by led by Blossom Capital, with early Inne backer Monkfish Equity also participating, along with a number of angel investors including Taavet Hinrikus, co-founder of TransferWise; Tom Stafford, managing partner at DST; and Trivago co-founder Rolf Schromgens.

Womens health apps have been having a tech-fuelled moment in recent years, with the rise of a fem tech category. There are now all sorts of apps for tracking periods and the menstrual cycle, such as Clue and Flo.

Some also try to predict which days a women is fertile and which theyre not offering digital tools to help women track bodily signals if theyre following a natural family planning method of contraception, or indeed trying to conceive a baby.

Others such as Natural Cycles have gone further down that path, branding their approach digital contraception and claiming greater sophistication vs traditional natural family planning by applying learning algorithms to cycle data augmented with additional information (typically a daily body temperature measurement). Although there has also been some controversy around aggressive and even misleadingmarketing tactics targeting young women.

A multi-month investigation by the medical device regulator in Natural Cycles home market, instigated after a number of women fell pregnant while using its method, found rates of failure were in line with its small-print promises but concluded with the company agreeing to clarify the risk of the product failing.

At issue is that the notion of digital contraception may present as simple and effortless arriving in handy app form, often boosted by a flotilla of seductive social media lifestyle ads. Yet the reality for the user is the opposite of effortless. Because in fact they are personally taking on all of the risk.

For these products to work the user needs a high level of dedication to stick at it, be consistent and pay close attention to key details in order to achieve the promised rate of protection.

Natural contraception is also what Inne is touting, dangling another enticing promise of hormone-free contraception its website calls the product a tool of radical self-knowledge and claims it protect[s] from invasive contraceptive methods. Its twist is its not using temperature to track fertility; its focus is on hormone-tracking as a fertility measure.

Inne says its developed a saliva-based test to measure hormone levels, along with an in vitro diagnostic device (pictured above) that allows data to be extracted from the disposable tests at home and wirelessly logged in the companion app.

Founder Eirini Rapti describes the product as a mini lab saying its small and portable enough to fit in a pocket. Her team has been doing the R&D on it since 2017, preferring, she says, to focus on getting the biochemistry right rather than shouting about launching the startup. (It took in seed funding prior to this round but isnt disclosing how much.)

At this stage Inne has applied for and gained European certification as a medical device. Though its not yet been formally announced.

The first product, a natural contraception for adult women billed as best suited for women aged 28-40, i.e. at a steady relationship time-of-life will be launching in select European markets (starting in Scandinavia) next year, though initially as a closed beta style launch as they work on iterating the product based on user feedback.

It basically has three parts, Rapti says of the proposition. It has a small reader It has what we call a little mouth opening in the front. It always gives you a smile. Thats the hardware part of it, so it recognizes the intensity of your hormones. And then theres a disposable saliva test. You basically collect your saliva by putting it in your mouth for 30 seconds. And then you insert it in the reader and then you go about your day.

The reader is connected to your phone, either via BlueTooth or wifi, depending on where you are taking the test daily It takes the reading and it sends it over to your phone. In your phone you can do a couple of things. First of all you look at your hormonal data and you look at how those change throughout the menstrual cycle. So you can see how they grow, how they fall. What that means about your ovulation or your overall female health like we measure progesterone; that tells you a lot about your lining etc. And then you can also track your fluids We teach you how to track them, how to understand what they mean.

As well as a contraception use-case, the fertility tracking element naturally means it could also be used by women wanting to get pregnant.

This product is not a tracker. Were not looking to gather your data and then tell you next month what you should be feeling at all, she adds. Its more designed to track your hormones and tell you look this is the most basic change that happens in your body and because of those changes you will feel certain things. So do you feel them or not and if you dont, what does it mean? Or if you do what does it mean?

It builds your own hormonal baseline so you start measuring your hormones and we go okay so this is your baseline and now lets look at things that go out of your baseline. And what do they mean?

Of course the key question is how accurate is a saliva-based test for hormones as a method for predicting fertility? On this Rapti says Inne isnt ready to share data about the products efficacy but claims it will be publishing details of the various studies it conducted as part of the CE marking process in the next few weeks.

A couple more weeks and all the hardcore numbers will be out there, she says.

In terms of how it works in general the hormone measurement is a combination of a biochemical reaction and the read out of it, as she puts it with the test itself being pure chemistry but algorithms then being applied to interpret the hormonal reading, looping in other signals such as the users cycle length, age and the time of day of the test.

She claims the biochemical hormone test the product relies on as its baseline for predicting fertility is based on similar principles to standard pregnancy tests such as those that involve peeing on a stick to get a binary pregnant or not pregnant result. We are focused on specifically fertility hormones, she says.

Our device is a medical device. Its CE-certified in Europe and to do that you have to do all kinds of verification and performance evaluation studies. They will be published pretty soon. I cannot tell you too much in detail but to develop something like that we had to do verification studies, performance evaluation studies, so all of that is done.

While it developed and validated the approach in-house, Rapti notes that it also worked with a number of external diagnostic companies to optimize the test.

The science behind it is pretty straightforward, she adds. Your hormones behave in a specific way they go from a low to a high to a low again, and what youre looking for is building that trend What we are building is an individual curve per user. The starting and the ending point in terms of values can be different but it is the same across the cycle for one user.

When you enter a field like biochemistry as an outsider a lot of the academics will tell you about the incredible things you could do in the future. And there are plenty, she adds. But I think what has made a difference to us is we always had this manufacturability in mind. So if you ask me theres plenty of ways you can detect hormones that are spectacular but need about ten years of development let alone being able to manufacture it at scale. So it was important to me to find a technology that would allow us to do it effectively, repeatedly but also manufacture it at a low cost so not reinventing the whole wheel.

Rapti says Inne is controlling for variability in the testing process by controlling when users take the measurement (although thats clearly not directly within its control, even if it can send an in-app reminder); controlling how much saliva is extracted per test; and controlling how much of the sample is tested saying thats all done mechanically; you dont do that.

The beauty about hormones is they do not get influenced by lack of sleep, they do not get influenced by getting out of your bed and this is the reason why I wanted to opt to actually measure them, she adds, saying she came up with the idea for the product as a user of natural contraception searching for a better experience. (Rapti is not herself trained in medical or life sciences.)

When I started the company I was using the temperature method [of natural contraception] and I thought it cannot be that I have to take this measurement from my bed otherwise my measurements invalid, she adds.

However there are other types of usage restrictions Inne users will need to observe in order to avoid negatively affecting the hormonal measurements.

Firstly they must take the test in the same time window each time either in the morning or the evening but sticking to one of those choices for good.

They also need to stick to daily testing for at least a full menstrual cycle. Plus there are certain days in the month when testing will always be essential, per Rapti, even as she suggests a learning element might allow for the odd missed test day later on, i.e. once enough data has been inputted.

Users also have to avoid drinking and eating for 30 minutes before taking the test. She further specifies this half hour pre-test restriction includes not having oral sex because that also affects the measurements.

Theres a few indications around it, she concedes, adding: The product is super easy to use but it is not for women who want to not think ever about contraception or their bodies. I believe that for these women the IUD would be the perfect solution because they never have to think about it. This product is for women who consciously do not want to take hormones and dont want invasive devices either because theyve been in pain or theyre interested in being natural and not taking hormones.

At this stage Inne hasnt performed any comparative studies vs established contraception methods such as the pill. So unless or until it does users wont be able to assess the relative risk of falling pregnant while using it against more tried and tested contraception methods.

Rapti says the plan is to run more clinical studies in the coming year, helped by the new funding. But these will be more focused on what additional insights can be extracted from the test to feed the product proposition rather than on further efficacy (or any comparative) tests.

Theyve also started the process of applying for FDA certification to be able to enter the US market in future.

Beyond natural contraception and fertility tracking, Inne is thinking about wider applications for its approach to hormone tracking such as providing women with information about the menopause, based on longer term tracking of their hormone levels. Or to help manage conditions such as endometriosis, which is one of the areas where it wants to do further research.

The intent is to be the opposite of binary, she suggests, by providing adult women with a versatile tool to help them get closer to and understand changes in their bodies for a range of individual needs and purposes.

I want to shift the way people perceive our female bodies to be binary, she adds. Our bodies are not binary, they change around the month. So maybe this month you want to avoid getting pregnant and maybe next month you actually want to get pregnant. Its the same body that you need to understand to help you do that.

Commenting on the Series A in a supporting statement, Louise Samet, partner at Blossom Capital, said: Inne has a winning combination of scientific validity plus usability that can enable women to better understand their bodies at all stages in their lives. What really impressed us is the teams meticulous focus on design and easy-of-use together with the scientific validity and clear ambition to impact women all over the world.

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Fem tech startup Inne takes the wraps off a hormone tracker and $8.8M in funding - TechCrunch

The Department of Biochemistry at Otago teaches biochemistry, genetics, plant biotechnology, and related subjects to undergraduate and postgraduate students, and carries out research into how life works at the molecular level.Our staff and students investigate the underpinning mechanisms of life in humans and other animals, plants, and microbes. Our goals are to enhance the well-being and quality of life of New Zealanders, improve the diagnosis and treatment of disease, and develop technology in agriculture and other industries.

We teach biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology to undergraduate and postgraduate science students, and contribute to professional health science courses such as Medicine and Dentistry.

Undergraduate study

Postgraduate study

The Biochemistry Department has contributed high-quality teaching and research to the University of Otago for nearly 70 years. The Department is part of the School of Biomedical Sciences, within the Otago Division of Health Sciences.

More about us

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Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, New ...

Biochemistry, Ph.D.

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Fall: April 15 [December 15 for international applicants]

Spring: November 15 [August 1 for international applicants]

Applications are processed as they are received throughout the year.

Number Required: 2minimum; 3 preferred.

From Whom: Letters of recommendation should be obtained from professors of science.

Applicants should have one year of Biological Science (Biochemistry, Molecular Biology); one year of General Chemistry; one year of Organic Chemistry; one year of Physics; and Mathematics through Calculus. Physical Chemistry is also desirable.

No.

A baccalaureate degree in the Biological or Chemical sciences is required.

The Statement of Goals should be approximately 500-1,000 words and should include the following elements: the applicant's interest in Temple's Biochemistry program, research goals, future career goals, and academic and research achievements.

The GRE is required. Acceptance by Temple University requires submission of verbal, quantitative, and analytical GRE scores. GRE scores below the 50th percentile are outside the norm set by the Graduate School and no individual score in the verbal, quantitative, or analytical sections should be below that level.

The GRE Subject Exam in Chemistry or Biology is required.

Minimum TOEFL score or range of scores needed to be accepted: 650 paper-based, 280 computer-based, or 114 internet-based.

Students who enter the Ph.D. program in Biochemistry may be considered for advanced standing, based on the successful completion of graduate level courses in the biological sciences or chemistry with grades of "B" or better. The Graduate Admissions Committee will make the recommendation on a case-by-case basis as the application is reviewed. The maximum number of advanced standing credits awarded is 24.

Upon review of the student's background by the Graduate Admissions Committee, applicants with high levels of performance in one or more areas can gain favorable consideration for an application that is otherwise outside the acceptance matrix.

Number of Didactic Credits Required Beyond the Master's: 36

Required Courses:

The Department of Biochemistry participates in the "Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences" at the Temple University School of Medicine, as described on the School of Medicine graduate studies website. The program requires Ph.D. and M.S. students to take a defined set of courses over the first two years:

Molecular Approaches to Research

Principles of Physiology

Principles of Pharmacology

Principles of Organ Pathology

Principles of Genetics

Principles of Development

Cancer Biology

Host-Pathogen Interactions

Cell Structure and Function

Proteins and Enzymes

Biostatistics

Students of Biochemistry are required to take "Proteins and Enzymes." In addition, all students will take the following required courses:

Biochemistry 523, 502, 534, 508-511, 505-506, 550

In addition to the Biochemistry core courses, all students are required to successfully complete a total of five courses, each of which must be at least 2 credits. These courses are chosen from among advanced topics courses offered by the Department of Biochemistry, advanced topics courses offered by the Department of Chemistry and Life Sciences, and courses offered by the graduate programs in Anatomy and Cell Biology, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular Biology and Genetics, Pathology, Physiology, and Pharmacology at the Medical School and the Department of Biology on Main Campus. The student's course of study must include one advanced topics course in Biochemistry, one advanced Chemistry course, and one Life Science course. The remaining two courses can be chosen from any of the three remaining categories with the approval of the student's advisory committee.

Internship: No internship is required.

Language Examination: No language examination is required.

Committee Report:

The student will be required to prepare a committee report outlining their research progress and schedule advisory committee meetings each semester to review the report and evaluate progress toward the degree.

Formal Research Presentations:

In addition to participation in Biochemistry Seminar (Biochemistry 505 and 506), two formal research presentations are required of candidates for the Ph.D. degree.

Outside Research Proposal:

The student will be required to prepare and defend a research proposal from an area of investigation distinct from the student's research topic.

Proposal:

The dissertation proposal demonstrates the student's knowledge of and ability to conduct the proposed research. The proposal should describe the context and background surrounding a particular research problem and a methodological plan for investigating the problem. The proposal is a requirement for admission to candidacy and should be submitted and approved no more than one year after completing coursework (generally in the third year in the program).

Dissertation:

The Ph.D. degree in Biochemistry is a research degree. Research training begins with Introduction to Research Methodology (Biochemistry 508-511) in the first year of the graduate program and continues with the selection of a dissertation research advisor and development of an original research project. Dissertation research involves meaningful, critical thinking and the execution of ideas in the laboratory through the use of the scientific method. Dissertation research conducted by the student should be an original contribution to scientific knowledge. The quality of the student's Ph.D. dissertation research should be equivalent to that found in reputable biochemical journals.

The Academic Standards Committee will appoint a temporary advisory committee for each incoming student. This committee will meet twice a year with the student to establish an academic program and to ascertain the nature of the student's research interests. The student will select a Dissertation Advisor by the end of the second semester of the first year. The provisional advisory committee will then be dissolved and a permanent advisory committee will be appointed. The permanent advisory committee is responsible for the review of the student's research and academic progress twice yearly. The committee will decide when the student is permitted to give the first and final research seminars and will also determine whether the content of the student's research is sufficient for the Ph.D. dissertation.

The Final Examination Committee evaluates the student's dissertation and demonstration of competence within the field of the dissertation and related areas. The Examining Committee is appointed by the Academic Standards Committee and consists of seven faculty members, including the Dissertation Advisor, a member of one of the Department of Biochemistry's Graduate Committees, a faculty member from another department, and an external examiner from outside the university. The student has the right to select one member of the Final Examination Committee.

If a student desires a change in research advisor, or a research advisor desires to be relieved of responsibility to a student, the matter will be brought before a review committee. The review committee will consist of the student's advisory committee and the Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and will be chaired by the Director of the Graduate Program. Any decision may be appealed to the Academic Standards Committee.

The student will submit the dissertation in complete form not less than one calendar month prior to the date of the Final Examination. The dissertation must have been read and approved by the doctoral advisor prior to distribution. The student should confirm a time and date for the dissertation defense with the Advisory Committee and the Director of the Graduate Program at least 10 days before the defense is to be scheduled.

After the student has arranged the time, date, and room for the dissertation defense, the Announcement of Dissertation Defense is completed and forwarded to the Office of the Graduate School, Main Campus, and the Office of Graduate Studies at the Health Sciences Campus at least 10 working days before the defense. Announcements of the defense are sent to the chairpersons of all basic science departments and notices are posted.

The Committee will evaluate the quality of the dissertation research and the student's ability to express (both in writing and orally) her/his research question, methodological approach, primary findings, and implications. The Committee will vote to pass or fail the dissertation and the defense at the conclusion of the public presentation and question/answer period.

http://www.temple.edu/medbiochem

Dept. of Biochemistry School of Medicine 3420 N. Broad Street Philadelphia, PA 19140 charles.grubmeyer@temple.edu 215-707-3263

Admissions:

Charles T. Grubmeyer, Ph.D. charles.grubmeyer@temple.edu 215-707-4495

Program Coordinator:

Parkson Lee-Gau Chong, Ph.D. parkson.lee-gau.chong@temple.edu 215-707-4182

Graduate Chairperson:

Dianne R. Soprano, Ph.D. dianne.soprano@temple.edu 215-707-3266

Chairperson:

E. Premkumar Reddy, Ph.D. premkumar.reddy@temple.edu 215-707-4307

The Department of Biochemistry offers full-time day programs of study leading to the Master of Science and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees. The graduate program is designed to provide training in the theory and practice of biochemistry and molecular biology for eventual service in research and teaching positions. The program is aimed at broad training in the various major areas of biochemistry and molecular biology, with in-depth training in one area of specialization. Students are given opportunities for instruction in diverse laboratory techniques through a series of lecture and laboratory courses, and experimental research, under the guidance of a faculty member.

Time Limit for Degree Completion: 7 years

Health Sciences

Through permission of the advisory committee, elective courses not offered on the Health Sciences Campus may be taken at other campuses.

Students are required to complete the degree program through classes offered before 4:30 p.m.

Dept. of BiochemistrySchool of Medicine3420 N. Broad StreetPhiladelphia, PA 19140 charles.grubmeyer@temple.edu 215-707-3263

Members of the Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, the Specialized Center for Thrombosis Research, and the Center for Substance Abuse Research who hold academic appointments in the Department of Biochemistry also participate in the graduate training program.

Not applicable.

No.

The "Insider's Guide to the Colleges" ranked the Department of Biochemistry as nationally acknowledged and "one of the best in the country."

Not applicable.

Specialized graduate training is available in the fields of enzymology, structure and biosynthesis of membranes, biochemical regulation of metabolism and of cell division, biochemical mechanisms of blood coagulation, lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, physical chemistry and kinetics, mechanisms of hormone action, nucleic acid and protein synthesis, and regulation of gene expression. Also, multidisciplinary instruction is available in the fields of molecular biology, chemical carcinogenesis, tumor enzymology, and the biochemistry of aging.

The graduate faculty has designed a well-balanced program that can be individually tailored to fully prepare each student for a career in academic or industrial biochemistry or related fields. The graduate program is designed to provide training in the theory and practice of Biochemistry for eventual placement in research and teaching positions.

Not applicable.

Non-matriculated students may enroll in some courses with permission from the course instructor and approval from the Office of Graduate Studies, School of Medicine.

Exceptionally qualified students who apply to the program may be nominated for Presidential, University, and Future Faculty Fellowships, which carry 4 years of support. In order to be nominated for these awards, prospective students must submit all application materials to the department by January 15.

Research Assistantships are also available. Research Assistants are expected to devote full-time effort in the laboratory of their faculty research advisor to research pertaining to their dissertation project. An assistantship application is not required because candidates admitted to the program generally receive a stipend or work study support plus tuition remission.

Updated 2.9.06

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Grad Bulletin/Biochemistry PhD - Temple University

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

By Mikaela Wieland

Most days, Austin Dixon can be found in the dimly lit basement of the Biochemistry Building, surrounded by expensive, high-tech equipment studying proteins for his undergraduate research project.

On other days, he can be found in a bright classroom, demonstrating how to make a rudimentary lava lamp out of Alka-Seltzer tablets to a group of loud elementary school students. In both environments, Dixon thrives because he shares his love of science with the world.

Science gives me the tools and understanding to answer questions about the world we live in, said Dixon, a senior in biochemistry from Greenwood, Indiana. It provides a platform of discovery to move the world forward.

Photo by Mikaela Wieland Austin Dixon works in the laboratory on an uncharacterized class of proteins. His love for science influences everything from his undergraduate research to his volunteer work with middle schoolers.

It isnt enough that he pursues his research goals on his own. Dixon said the next generation must be inspired to discover great things as well. He teaches in classrooms and judges science fairs. Both volunteer efforts are aimed to engage kids and spark their interest in science.

Often, science is something most kids see as dull or uninteresting, Dixon said. Doing this has allowed me to positively influence younger kids and change their perspective on science.

One of the experiments aimed to pique the middle schoolers interest is the Alka-Seltzer lava lamp.

Its a great way to teach them how something they already know about really works, he said.

The kids mix vegetable oil and water with food coloring and an Alka-Seltzer tablet. The experiment demonstrates simple concepts like density and polarity. The tablets produce carbon dioxide bubbles that are less dense than oil and rise to the top of the lamp.

The kids think its really cool to learn from college kids, Dixon said. And, they love hands-on stuff.

The Purdue Biochemistry Club isnt Dixons only outreach. He judges K-12 science projects at the Indiana Regional Science Fair Competition in West Lafayette and volunteers at the annual Celebrate Science Indiana in Indianapolis. At these events, he interacts with and teaches science to more than 1,000 kids.

Im able to interact with hundreds of young, budding scientists and discuss their projects with them, Dixon said.

Dixons outreach mission is to cultivate the next generation of scientists.

These programs are necessary to get children interested in science beyond the textbook, and open their mind to the possibility of pursuing the field in the future, he said.

Dixon knows that the kids arent the only ones benefitting from the experience.

Its rewarding to me personally because Im able to make an impact in my community and within the lives of these children, which they will remember forever, he said.

Positive memories and experiences associated with science are important, Dixon said, because he wants people to understand the benefit of scientific research and the scientific process. He also wants to erase the stigma associated with science. Dixon said that requires a dialogue with the public that needs to be more transparent and more people need to know how long and detailed of a process science is.

Part of that starts with the way he speaks about his own research. He said that he tries to make sure to explain that his work has a practical use.

You have to talk about the why, he said. People care about what the impact of the science is.

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Biochemistry major mixes science with outreach - Purdue Agricultural Communications

Thursday, July 6th, 2017

By Mikaela Wieland

Early every morning, before the sun ever comes up, Andjela Djokovics alarm clock blares.

How did that happen so fast? she often wonders. It seems like I just went to bed.

And while the senior biochemistry major from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, shakes off sleep, she knows that the long workout and even longer school day to come are worth it. Djokovic is a student-athlete who competes for the Purdue womens tennis team on a scholarship.

Photo provided by Charles Jischke Andjela Djokovic is a tennis player and biochemistry major. She says that she plays for a great tennis team while getting amazing academic training.

The only way I have enough time to do everything is to work out at 6 a.m., Djokovic said. Its really difficult, Im always tired, and theres no rhythm in my life.

Djokovic approaches her dedication to tennis in much of the same way that she approaches her homework, classes, and labs.

The challenge is fun, she said. While tennis brought her to Purdue, Djokovic said the academics kept her here.

When choosing a college, I wanted a school where I could play on a good tennis team but also get amazing academic training, Djokovic said.

Purdue checked all the boxes and even gave her a full-ride scholarship to play tennis. Djokovic said she is grateful for all the places the tennis team has taken her and excited that shes been able to combine her love for travel with her love for tennis. Shes traveled all over the United States to play in different tennis tournaments, which is one advantage Djokovic sees in being both an international student and an athlete. But while shes had the opportunity to visit places in the United States, it isnt always as a tourist.

Ive gotten to see a lot of the USA, but mostly tennis courts and hotels. Djokovic joked.

Even so, Djokovic said she enjoyed visiting iconic places like Las Vegas and Florida while getting to play the sport that she loves. But the tennis and traveling is just the beginning of Djokovics crazy, daily schedule and unique Purdue journey.

Djokovics normal day includes tennis practice, gym time, class, biochemistry labs, with days so full that she doesnt usually get home from campus to start homework or study until after 7:30 p.m.

For most people, this would be too much stress and too full of a schedule, but Djokovic said the craziness is worth it.

Theres nothing I would change, she said.

She credits the biochemistry faculty for helping her succeed as a student-athlete.

The faculty in biochemistry are amazing, Djokovic said. Most of the professors know me and ask me how my tennis is going.

Djokovic knows that her time at Purdue and her journey with the tennis team will not last forever and is deciding her next step. Djokovic chose biochemistry because of the variety of careers she can pursue. After Purdue, she plans to head back to Australia or New Zealand to continue her studies.

I really, really like biochemistry, she said. Its like knowing a secret code. When doctors give out pills, they know what is literally going to happen as it breaks down in the body. . . . Its the behind-the-scenes of everything thats going on in real life.

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Biochemistry serves strong options for tennis player - Purdue Agricultural Communications

Malign actors in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran and elsewhere are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to sow chaos through conspiracy theories most heinously, the notion that the United States created the disease. This should come as no surprise, as the ruling regimes in these countries want to deflect from their abject failures and rarely miss an opportunity to blame America.

The slanders are outrageous. But such disinformation also risks fatal consequences to the populations that receive it. To combat disinformation, we must identify the sources of deception campaigns, educate the global community and equip foreign governments to combat it.

Beijings official outlets, for example, have accused the United States of over-hyping the pandemic for cynical purposes, with a foreign ministry spokeswoman declaring that Washington had taken the lead in imposing excessive restrictions. American actions, she said, could only create and spread fear.

Other regime and regime-friendly outlets went further. The Chinese military portal Xilu.com recently published an article baselessly claiming that the virus is a biochemical weapon produced by the US to target China.

This is coming from the same Beijing regime that, to distract from the repression it metes out to its people, has accused the CIA of stoking democratic protests in Hong Kong. That Chinese Communists instinctive reaction is to displace blame reveals how thin-skinned they are to any criticism of their response.

Russia is another leading voice in the disinformation campaign. American officials have noted the existence of networks of thousands of social media accounts, many reportedly Kremlin-tied, with identical posts, publishing messages claiming that the virus is meant to wage economic war on China and propagate anti-China messages.

Moscow will take any opportunity it can to create a sense of international disorder, so long as it smears the reputation of the United States. This is nothing new to many Americans, who are personally aware of how Russian actors use disinformation to divide our nation at the ballot box and elsewhere. These efforts span generations; in the 1980s, for example, the Soviets nonsensically accused the US government of causing the AIDS crisis, hindering American efforts to respond to the epidemic.

Unfortunately, we are beginning to see the deadly consequences of these campaigns going global. In Qom, ground zero of Irans coronavirus outbreak, a prominent cleric accused the United States of introducing the virus to damage [the citys] culture and honor. Disinformation from the Tehran regime is so widespread that even Iranians with normally positive opinions of America note with confidence that America is behind the outbreak.

Iranian propaganda in the form of articles, regime statements and even pro-government political cartoons has routinely accused America of overblowing the dangers posed by the virus for its own benefit. The Iranian people, as a result, have taken few precautionary measures, and the country now suffers one of the worlds worst outbreaks with its vice president and senior government officials confirmed as infected.

The coronavirus is a truly global pandemic, with a majority of new cases now being reported outside of China. Disinformation campaigns have propagated in tandem, becoming widespread in nations normally friendlier to the United States; a Filipino legislator, for example, recently played a video at a hearing suggesting that the coronavirus is an American bioweapon.

Responsible global powers must come together to fight the coronavirus pandemic and counter malicious, self-serving disinformation campaigns. If we dont, those propagating these lies could slow efforts to respond and cost lives.

Marco Rubio, the senior senator from Florida, is a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Committee on Foreign Relations.

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Marco Rubio: Russia, China and Iran are waging disinformation war over coronavirus - New York Post

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Nanodrills, light-activated molecular motors that spin up to 3 million times per second, can target diseased cells and kill them in minutes, according to a new study.

Researchers showed that the motors are highly effective at destroying cells in three multicellular test organisms: worms, plankton, and mice, causing varying degrees of damage to tissues in the three species.

The researchers original goal was to target drug-resistant bacteria, and other disease-causing cells and destroy them without damaging adjacent healthy cells.

James Tour, a chemist at Rice University, has argued cells and bacteria have no possible defense against a nanomechanical drilling force strong enough to punch through their walls.

Now it has been taken to a whole new level, he says. The work here shows that whole organisms, such as small worms and water fleas, can be killed by nanomachines that drill into them. This is not just single-cell death, but whole organism, with cell death in the millions. They can also be used to drill into skin, thereby suggesting utility in the treatment of things like pre-melanoma.

The researchers saw different effects in each of the three models. In the worm, C. elegans, the fast motors caused rapid depigmentation as the motors first caused nanomechanical disruption of cells and tissues. In the plankton, Daphnia, the motors first dismembered exterior limbs. In both cases, after a few days, most or all of the organisms died.

For mouse models, researchers applied the nanodrills in a topical solution to the skin. Activating the fast motors caused lesions and ulcerations, demonstrating their ability to function in larger animals.

That mouse skin changes due to the drilling by the nanomachines might be the one of most interesting aspects of the study to scientists, says co-lead author Richard Gunasekera, an adjunct faculty member and former visiting scientist at Rice and currently associate dean and a professor of biochemistry at Biola University.

It could mean direct topical treatment to skin conditions such as melanomas, eczema, and other skin diseases, Gunasekera says. This paper is significant because its the first testing of nanomachines where weve proven its effectiveness in vivo. All other studies done so far were done in vitro.

Other potential uses for the nanodrills include therapeutic parasite control and as local treatment of such diseases as skin cancer, Gunasekera says.

The paper appears in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces. Additional coauthors are from Texas A&M University, the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Lockheed Martin, Durham (UK) University, and Rice.

The Discovery Institute, the Welch Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health supported the work.

Source: Rice University

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'Nanodrills' target diseased cells and kill them in minutes - Futurity: Research News