Dima

Can anyone make a consumer device that is a phone plug in for salival health diagnosis (inflammation, allergy etc.) This could be a phone attachment where you place some saliva inside the device and it gives you an analysis of various health markers on a smartphone app. Is this possible??

Sure. Also, I think that all the data will not only be for connectomics aka mapping brain connections per say; you can extrapolate a TON of other science from stacks of EM micrographs, so if all this data is shared with other researchers, we can: 1. map brain connections 2. see what other changes occur compared to control. For ex: changes in volumetric parameters; organelle size, synapse density. Tweak some methods and youll also see protein localization and identify cells. 3. Reconstruct all that to make awesome 3D models This is a lot work and currently the problem is in computation. As for the biological noise problem, I agree we haven't a clue about how all the different cells of the brain work in concert; I also think a sure-fire way to create even more biological noise is to approach the problem from a biochemical or molecular perspective: with all the different cells in the brain it will be even more difficult to put all that data together as a whole once we have all the molecular pieces and most likely, they will not coincide with each other. Electron microscopy, on the other hand, provides data that you can see and use readily.

Yes Why do you think that we can't "make something" with the data? The data will show how brain connections differ in pathologies.

There is a debate as to whether mapping brain connections on the microscale with electron microscopy is a worthy undertaking. I think it will be awesome and comparable to sequencing a genome. Once we map brain connections in diseased brains we can compare them to normal, compare mice to monkeys and eventually to humans in diseased and normal states and young vs old. Does anyone think for example: a project to map the brain of a an ape is worth pouring billions of dollars into; why/not ? Requirements: 1. Faster methods of imaging brain slices with an electron microscope 2. Machine learning computers to trace out all the connections at synapses from those images 3. Capacity to store potentially many zetabytes of imaging and analysis data A critical look at connectomics: http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/v13/n12/full/nn1210-1441.html

Here is some preliminary evidence for a plant extract called Bacopa monierri; worked in c.elegans. There is a lot more studies like this one. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=bacopa+parkinsons

Thanks for all the responses guys! There is ample evidence for example in Ayurvedic medicines and other traditional herbal remedies for various diseases, the mechanism of treatment is unknown of course, but it is most likely the result of the specific combination of chemicals (not one or two) that are contained within the plant that work together synergistically with their enzymes. It is also possible to see that an extract has beneficial effects in-vivo/vitro; from here, if this is a life-saving treatment: Why can't you make this extract into an FDA approved medicine that actually heals people?

If there is evidence that a plant extract is good for treating Parkisons disease, how do we make this a drug? Are there other ways to make this a mainstream treatment for pd, without making it a drug? Thanks, Dmitriy

It depends on what kind of reagents you used, but if it was pure blood, it would not have any effect. Parafin wax is hydrocarbon chains and is pretty insoluble, still not a good idea to use it because it contains impurities. Which could be present during purification and bing to your column. What kind of experiment is this? **Edit. I am wrong on this one, listen to the biology expert below.

Thanks guys. I made up my mind and will stay here. It is only undergrad and I have a limited amount of time left. Has anyone been in a similar situation?

1200 people viewed this question and didn't answer it. WTF

Hi. I have been doing undergrad research in biochem for about 5 months now. However, the summer is approaching and I am thinking about switching to a different lab. I want to do this because 1. my PI did not get the undergraduate grant, and I would have to essentially work there for free 2. The project is not very exciting and the atmosphere, not intellectually stimulating. Should I switch labs to something i am more interested in?.. how will the switch reflect on my grad app...(ie do they want to see commitment to lab). I should also mention that i only have 2 more semesters until graduation. Thanks.

yes, but the argument is that the SDS coats the proteins giving them all an equal charge supposedly. Is it true?

....separates proteins by size. But, technically does the charge affect the separation AT ALL or is negligible? I don't think anything should be negligible in science do you lol?

Lol ive been trying to figure this out for days now. Does anyone else know?

Which has a higher mutation rate prokaryotes or eukaryotes? This was a question on my exam, i wrote prokaryotes and it was wrong. I was thinking along the lines that prokaryotes have less DNA repairing mechanisms and they divide at a much faster rate than eukaryotes. Can someone please explain to me RIGHT answer to this question, because I'm pretty sure that I am right, or why I am wrong. THanks.