I’m a Scientist is like school science lessons meet the X Factor! School students choose which scientist gets a prize of $1000 to communicate their work.
Scientists and students talk on this website. They both break down barriers, have fun and learn. But only the students get to vote.
This zone is the Organs Zone. It has scientists studying health and disease in various parts  of our bodies. Who gets the prize? YOU decide!
Thats a great question, tinana.
It’s one I really had to think about before I wrote an answer.
All of the discoveries in reproductive biology are life changing, because it changes the lives of parents who have had trouble having a baby, and can now have one, which is a real miracle.
I would like the next big breakthrough to be in the area of ovarian cancer, which is another thing I work on! It would be amazing if we could learn a bit more about ovarian cancer, and in particular, finding a marker for early detection. Ovarian cancer is very hard to detect, because you can’t just see it, and it often gets really bad before you even know you have it. It would be wonderful for someone to find a marker for early detection, so we can save more women with varian cancer!! I’m not sure I will make the breakthrough, but I hope someone can!
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I’m hoping that someone with come up with a gene therapy for obesity and cardiovascular disease…. But I won’t hold my breath.
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Hi Tinana,
Like Hannah, I think there is a lot to consider and think about with research of the enteric nervous system.
I think there is a lot of scope to find out more about how our gut is controlled by the bacteria which make up a large and important part of your digestive systems ‘microbiome’ ecosystem. This will help us understand better how our gut works together with the bacteria and nervous system to make us feel the way we do – eg having an upset tummy, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
There is also a huge area for us to learn about how our gut’s ‘mini brain’ – the enteric nervous system reacts when it is exposed to toxins from contaminated food we eat – and finding out how we can better treat these conditions quickly before things get any worse – coma/death caused through toxin causing dehydration such as cholera and typhoid.
There is a lot that still needs to be done- in everyone’s area of research- which is why we need to invest more in research!! 🙂
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Scientists have found a way to switch on the brain with light!
They do this by injecting a gene into the brain that can join onto the normal DNA. This gene makes a small protein channel that can let electrical charge in and out of brain cells. The scientists found this protein channel in a small bacteria that swims towards the light. The channel is light sensitive and tells the bacteria where the light is by opening. When the channels is in brain cells all the scientists need to do is shine light on it, and it opens and activates the brain cell.
With this light switch in the brain scientists can make blind mice see. What else can we do?
This technology is called optogenetics and you can see more about it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY5Aynh1-cU&feature=relmfu
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I think the biggest finding that can ready push ocular immunology (eye research) ahead would be to either gene therapy, stem cell therapy or even a drug that acts towards rebuilding and restructuring eye cells to cure blindness.
But I doubt this will happen in the near future
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