Severe Food Allergies turned off in Mice

Scientific Discovery

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a way to turn off the immune system's allergic reaction to certain food proteins in mice, a discovery that could have implications for the millions of people who suffer severe reactions to foods, such as peanuts and milk.

The findings, published online in the journal Nature Medicine, provide hope that the body could [under close medical supervision] be trained to tolerate food allergies that lead to roughly 300,000 emergency room visits and 100 to 200 deaths each year.

The research team, led by Shau-Ku Huang, Ph.D., a professor of medicine, and Yufeng Zhou, M.D., Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, discovered that one kind of immune cell in the gastrointestinal tract called lamina propria dendritic cells (LPDC) -- considered the first line of defense for a body's immune system -- expresses a special receptor, SIGNR1, which appears on the cells' surface and binds to specific sugars.

By targeting this receptor using sugar-modified protein, researchers were able to keep food proteins that would have induced a severe, even deadly, allergic reaction from causing any serious harm.

The researchers hope to confirm whether this promising process in mice can also occur in people.

Reflections

I feel that this discovery is very important as it might be able to help people who have severe food allergies like peanut butter, peaches, etc. Every year, many people all around the world die from allergic reactions in their bodies. This discovery might benefit those people, preventing their deadly allergies from killing them. Even though it only works on mice now, I hope that it would be able to help humans in the future.

Difference- Boiling and Evaporation

Boiling

1) Happens at 100 degree Celsius
2) Starts from the base of the liquid
3) Occurs everywhere in the liquid
4) Absorbs heat
5) Bubbles are observed

Evaporation

1) Happens at any temperature
2) Starts on the top of the liquid
3) Occurs at the top of the liquid
4) Releases heat
5) Bubbles are not observed

Iodine Test for Starch

Starch is present in top and bottom half of leaf( Blue Black colour)
Starch is not present in the middle of the leaf( Yellowish Brown colour)

Cells Under the Microscope

Cheek Cells

Onion Cells

SI Units

Time- Second- s

Length - Metre - m
Mass - Kilogram - kg
Temperature - Kelvin - K
Electric Current - Ampere - A
Luminous Intensity- Candela - cd
Amount of Substance -Mole-mol

Danger Signs

Toxic Danger Sign
Example: Mercury

Radioactive Danger Sign
Example: Uranium

Flammable Danger Sign
Example: Alcohol

Explosive Danger Sign
Example: Hydrogen+Oxygen

Corrosive Danger Sign
Example: Concentrated Acid

Starch Test

1. Boil the leaf in a test tube with water- to stop all chemical reactions from taking place and to kill the cell wall
2. Turn off the gas tap after 3 minutes
3. Place the leaf into ethanol until the leaf turns white- to destroy the chlorophyll
4. Remove the left and place it on a white tile
5. Apply a few drops of iodine- to test for Starch
6. If the leaf turns blue black in colour, Starch is present. If the leaf turns yellowish brown, no Starch is present

Steps on how to Heat substances

1. Close the Air Hole
2. Open the Gas Tap
3. Place the Lighter at at 45 degree angle to the Barrel and light the Lighter
4. Slowly open the Air Hole until a non-luminous flame is observed
5. Use a test-tube holder to hold the test tube away from yourself when boiling
* Always wear a pair of Safety Goggles before heating!

Reflections- Term 3

Introduction

Welcome! This Term, I am going to share with you the lessons, what I learnt, my Term Test results( yay!!) and finally my Reflection on the Laboratory Lessons.

Lessons in Term 3

-Cells
-Respiration
-Photosynthesis
-How to Determine if a leaf contains starch

What I learnt from my lessons

Even though the topics in this Term was taught to me in Primary 6, I still learnt many other new things and got to revise on the topics. For the topic Cells, in Primary 6 I learnt about the cell wall, chloroplasts, cytoplasm, nucleus, cell membrane and the vacuoles. In Term 3 of Secondary 1, I learnt many other cell parts such as the ribosomes, cell envelope, mitochondrion, chromatin, nucleolus and much more. In Respiration, I learnt deeper into the topic in Secondary 1 than in Primary 6. I learnt different kinds of respiration, such as anaerobic respiration, aerobic respiration and tissue respiration. In photosynthesis, I learnt that plants take in carbon dioxide (6 co2), water(6 h2o) and through the process of photosynthesis with sunlight, they make glucose (c6h12o6)+ oxygen (6 o2). This also allows me to revise my compound lessons in Term 2 and I also understood about the compound 'sugar'. Last but not least, for the determination if starch is present, I learnt that we can use an iodine test to determine. However, before that step, there are many other steps needed, such as boiling and immersing in alcohol. If the colour turns blue black, starch is present. If it remains yellowish brown, than starch is absent.

Term 3 Test Results

For Term 3, I learnt my lesson and studied and revised thoroughly and managed to get 30 1/2 out of 40. That was a great improvement from 20/40 in Term 2. I hope that I can maintain my marks for the EOY Exams.

Reflection on Laboratory Lessons

In Term 3, I enjoyed the experiments in School. I got to observe cheek cells and onion cells, which let me understand the topic better and know for myself how they look like. I also got to test for starch in leaves, which is very interesting. All in all, these experiments are very useful and interesting.

Reflections- Term 1

Introduction

Hi there. Today, I am going to share with you about what lessons I had in Term 1, what I learnt during my lessons, as I learnt many new and interesting things. Last but not least, I am going to reflect on the Laboratory Lessons.

Lessons in Term 1

-Laboratory Safety Rules
-Laboratory apparatus
-Danger Signs
-SI Units

What I learnt during my lessons

During the courses in Term 1, I learnt many new and important things. Firstly, I have learnt about the Laboratory Safety Rules, such as do not eat or run in the laboratory and always wear a pair of safety goggles to protect your eyes whenever you are heating anything. It is very important as some of the substance we handle might be dangerous and when heating might spurt into our eyes, thus we need to observe safety rules whenever we are in the laboratory. Secondly, I also learnt about different danger signs in Term 1, such as the radioactive signs, corrosive substance, acids, and the explosive sign, mixture of hydrogen and oxygen. This is important as it teaches me to be weary when handling these substances. For example, when the substance is flammable, I would not put it near a fire. Next, I also learnt about the different laboratory apparatus, such as the Bunsen Burner, the pipette and the burette. Now, I understand how to use them, what they are used for, when to use them and precautions to take, for example the Bunsen Burner. Lastly, I learnt about the SI Units, and some of the instruments used to measure them. For Example, vernier calipers and micrometer screw gauge to measure length and spring balance to measure mass.

Reflections on Laboratory Lessons

In Term 1, I felt that the lessons were interesting as I learnt many new things. However, we did not really get much hands-on during our science lessons. If we had hands-on, it would allow me to better understand the instruments, how to use laboratory apparatus and their functions. It would also allow us to understand the topic better. I hope there would be more hands-on in the future.

Reflections- Term 2

Introduction

Hi all! I am going to share with you about what lessons I had in Term 2, what I learnt during the courses and lessons, my Term 2 Test results:( and finally my Reflections for the Laboratory Lessons.

Lessons in Term 2

-Separation techniques
-Solution and Suspension
-Elements, Mixture and Compounds

What I learnt during my lessons

First and foremost, for Separation techniques, I learnt about how to separate substances such as evaporation to dryness, reverse osmosis and filtration. In filtration, a filter paper and a funnel is used. The liquid that passes through the filter paper is called the filtrate and the particles that appear on the filter paper are called the residue. Next, for Elements,Mixture and Compounds, I have learnt many new and interesting things. I learnt that Elements cannot be broken down unlike Compounds and that Compounds are formed by two or more Elements chemically combined together. Elements also have similar or different properties, thus in the Periodic Table, they are grouped according to their properties, for example metallic properties to non-metallic properties. Thirdly, I have also learnt how to differentiate between mixtures and compounds.

Term 2 Test Results;(

I feel that I had done very badly for Term 2:(. I only managed to get 20/40 for my test, which made me have one of the lowest marks in my class. I am very disappointed as I did not revise thoroughly enough and did not understand enough. If I had done enough revision, I would be able to understand the questions. I will work harder for Term 3 and hope to achieve better results! :P

Reflections on Laboratory Lessons

There were more of the Laboratory lessons, which helped me in the understanding of the topic, however as I did not revise enough, I did not get my expected results for my test.