Who said gold was at the end of the rainbow?

We have all heard that if you follow the rainbow and arrive at the end, there will be a pot of gold waiting for you. Obviously, this is not true (if that were the case, we'd all be millionaires!). However what awaits in the deep may be of value.

The UN International Seabed Authority (ISA) has published it's first plan on extracting small mineral-rich nodules from the sea bed. This "idea" has been thrown around for many a year, however with the recent  developments in technology and the rising prices for the gems and precious metals, it has become a more feasible plan.

I suppose in some ways this could be beneficial to a country and help to boost their economy, however the irreversible damage which will be carried out upon the sea bed, really needs to be considered. Much of our oceans have not yet been explored and so we may be potentially affecting an animal's habitat and more importantly we could be forcing an animal or coral reef into extinction purely on the greed of humans!

The ISA has stated that they will be issuing 17 licences for seabed extraction, with at least 7 more to follow. ISA claims that any profit made from the selling of the minerals will be donated to developing countries. Although the donation of profit is a good gesture, it could actually be making matters worse. The degradation of the seabed could affect the footfall of tourists who travel to countries and small islands to experience the exquisite marine life. So the saying 'all that glitters is not gold' is apparently true, our oceans may be full of priceless gems and metals but they are also home to some amazing creatures and beautiful plants.

Should the price of gemstones and metals outweigh the precious organisms of our seas?

It's been hectic

Hi Readers. Sorry for the lack of posts recently, I have been so busy what with exams that have been happening over the past month. But I am back and ready to explore some more! Are you?

Plaster me in!

That moment, when you slice your finger with the knife you were using to cut the carrots, or the day when you fell over in primary school and badly grazed your knee. Either way the First Aid kit is the first thing to reach for, and a plaster would be the first thing to hand.

Plasters not only protect the cut from any invading pathogens in the air, but it also helps to keep the wound moist for better healing. However, the DREADED moment always  occurs when washing your hands or going in the shower....The plaster always tumbles off and falls into a heap leaving a very fragile piece of skin exposed. Which, frankly hurts so much, when water splashes onto the wound.

Well, if this has happened to you, fear no more!

American scientists have designed a new form of plaster based upon the action of the parasitic worm Pomphorhynus laevis. The plaster is expected to be used (at the moment) specifically for burns patients. The 4 x 4 cm patch has essentially a bed of fine needles, which when applied to the body can attach to the skin, up to 3 times stronger than the regular plaster, which uses a sticky adhesive. Not only is this beneficial  but the scientists also think they could use the spikes for therapeutic purposes to administer medication subcutaneously.

Additionally, once the new spiked plaster is removed it inflicts less trauma on the tissues than the regular adhesive counterparts. Making it a very practical advance in pharmacological treatments.

Father of IVF has sadly died

The great trailblazer in the world of In vitro fertilisation (IVF), Sir Robert Edwards has sadly passed away, on 10th April 2013.

Edwards, has helped to bring joy to many families across the world, by developing the technique of IVF which has helped to create over 4 million "test-tube" babies. Edwards along with Patrick Steptoe devised the technique of fertilising an egg with a sperm outside of the body.

The process itself involves monitoring a woman's (the mother's) ovulation patterns and then removing multiple eggs from her ovaries. Sperm is then collected from the father, and both the sperm and egg are placed into a fluid in the laboratory. This then allows the sperm to fertilise the egg (or eggs). The woman's menstrual cycle is then monitored and the fertilised egg is inserted into the woman's uterus where it will later hopefully develop into a successful pregnancy.

8 years after the development of the technique, Louise Brown was born in 1978, becoming the world's first test tube baby.

Edwards was awarded the Noble Prize in 2010 for his work in the development in IVF and then the following year he was awarded a knighthood for his services to human reproductive biology.

Absolutely vaccinating!

The standard vaccinations which we have all had the 'joy' of experiencing since the age of 2 months, contain either an inactive but live form of the pathogen or the dead empty shell of the pathogen. Our body responds to this intruder by producing lymphocytes and memory cells, combating this pathogen; then when we catch the disease later in life, we are now immune (due to the B-memory cells) and do not express any symptoms as a consequence. Although this is a safe method of vaccination, scientists at The Pirbright Institute have managed to produce a more stable and entirely synthetic alternative to live vaccines.

The vaccine is being generated for the disease foot-and-mouth, which is a devastating disease which hit the UK in 2001, and caused billions of pounds worth of damage to the economy and decreased the agricultural productivity.

A virus has a protein shell and genomic RNA which enables it to replicate inside the host and its cells. The scientists have managed to reinforce the protein shell making it stronger and hence more stable.

The main benefit of this new vaccine is its' stability which means it will be able to be kept out of the fridge for several hours, at temperatures up to 56C without thermally denaturing.  Potentially this could be a critical factor in seeing the administration of this type of vaccine to the developing nations.

Explorer Fact: Foot-and-mouth disease is a picornavirus