PML and UMDSOM SNMA

Sooooo many acronyms in that title. But they shall be explained!

PML means Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy. UMDSOM means University of Maryland School of Medicine. And SNMA means Student National Medical Association.

I was invited to a dinner with this group this past Friday evening. It was a get together for some of the minority students that attend the school of medicine. There were some awesome people there!

The person I was talking to what describing one of her unique experiences. She described an HIV positive patient that was not taking their medication. As a result, the patient developed PML. My eyes opened so wide, I bet they were going to pop out. PML is such an interesting disease to me. So to hear that she actually saw it in person there at the SOM was amazing!

This honestly felt like one little push by God saying that this place was the place for me. And I couldn't be more thrilled!

Almost There!

Only 2 weeks of classes left. And then finals week. And then graduation. My undergraduate career is almost over! It felt like I just entered college, though. Goodness doesn't time pass?

I need to get back on par with my work so I don't fail! Luckily I've been having a bit more motivation to complete my work. My labs are up to date and I'm performing better on exams.

What I need to do now is finish Project 3, making up that last quiz I missed, and do my case studies. I could possibly finish the class with an A if I would hard enough. Since I'm not so focused on earning a very good grade, I'm finding that I am enjoying the material we are learning. While it isn't my favorite subject in terms of intricacies, it is still rather intriguing. Hopefully we get to make it to the cancer chapter before finals!

I'm excited for these next two weeks. The class is great, the people are great, and the material is just awesome to absorb. It will be bittersweet when it is over.

Calcium and its Effect on Red Blood Cells

So this past Wednesday, Lydia, Christina, and I managed to make our way to NIH to attend a seminar. It was titled Calcium-driven signalling in Red Blood Cells in Health and Disease. It was a fairly small seminar with about 10-15 people in attendance. Regardless, it was still very good.

It was completely awesome to see all of the information learned in Cell Biology, Animal Physiology, Genetics, Histology, and Biochemistry combined in this cool research! The most interesting park of the presentation was the researchers discovered that calcium actually binds to hemoglobin to allow the release of oxygen. The question is where calcium binds to hemoglobin.

I can't wait to attend another seminar at NIH! It feels so great to understand about 95% of what presenters are discussing in seminars. WAU Biology and Chemistry Department has really prepared us well. :D

Cell Junctions

Zonula adherens - These are anchoring junctions that hold epithelial cells together and provide mechanical resistance. They lie right below tight junctions. They involve the use of cadherins

Zonula occludens - These are tight junctions. It seals the borders of two adjacent cells to create an impermeable membrane. It can be selectively permeable.

Desmosomes - Also known as macula adherens. This is another anchoring junction. It forms a sort of zipper through the use of desmogleins on the outside and intermediate filaments in the cytoskeleton. They form spot welds.

Hemidesmosomes - These look like desmosomes, but are different. Through the use of integrins, they connect the epithelial cells to the basement membrane.

Fascia adherens - Is found in cardiac tissue, particularly intercalated discs. It is a site that anchors actin filaments.








--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:

• http://www.ulysse.u-bordeaux.fr/atelier/ikramer/biocell_diffusion/gbb.cel.fa.106.b3/content/images/fig12.jpg
• http://www.histology.leeds.ac.uk/tissue_types/epithelia/epi_cell_junctions.php
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/78/Cellular_tight_junction-en.svg/2000px-Cellular_tight_junction-en.svg.png
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Desmosome_cell_junction_en.svg/1000px-Desmosome_cell_junction_en.svg.png
• https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrVtNDefvxm585y-STKvVPqL4KedhBezmqKGTzXv1A0-wtiqVsxBJkw__oQRu_rttG5Y6LOJlpOrD4owniRGqZL2XFdnbKHM6KtNhMkR84vXZQo8JM8kwkz4At89lwjUROBsUQFtqAJsE/?imgmax=800
• http://cardiovascres.oxfordjournals.org/content/cardiovascres/80/1/9/F3.large.jpg

Cytochrome C

Cytochrome C oxidase is a protein that is found in the inner membrane of the mitochondria as an integral transmembrane protein. It is the final unit in the electron transport chain. Its structure contains 14 subunits and two hemes. The second photo below shows the structure.

The Cytochrome C oxidase functions in many ways. First, it transfers 4 protons at a time into the inner membrane space to establish the proton gradient. It then takes the electrons and transfers them to the oxygen molecule to start the formation molecular oxygen. It also binds the protons that travel through the ATP synthase to that oxygen molecule to make 2 complete molecular oxygens.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:

• http://www.sciencemag.org/content/280/5370/1712/F1.medium.gif
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Cmplx4.PNG/300px-Cmplx4.PNG

Prostate Removal

This is my post for March 6, 2015.

This was the week of my interview! It was a long but enjoyable day. The most surprising part about the interview day was that we all had the chance to observe a surgical procedure. That's quite unique!

Due to HIPAA, I can't reveal much details. I can say that it was a patient with prostate cancer that was getting the whole structure removed. It was clear to see which part of the prostate had the cancer. It looked blackish (not from the cauterizing) and necrotic. Honestly, it looked quite bad. Hopefully the cancer didn't metastasize and that the pathologist reports negative margins.

One other aspect that was awesome was the use of robotic technology to perform minimally invasive laparoscopic surgeries! The surgeons perform the procedure outside of the operating room by controlling robotic arms that fit through the small incisions made. Below is a picture of the exact instruments.

We had the chance to test out the first machine! They brought us into the simulation lab to use the machines. There were tasks to complete such as picking up objects and sorting them accordingly, placing rings on a hook after exchanging hands, and other ones. It was certainly a lot harder than it looked. Oddly enough, I caught on really quickly and got a fairly good hang of it for my first time. Maybe I should consider surgery lol.

Reflection at Midterm Time

This is my blog for February 27, 2015.

Frankly, I need to do better. This kind of work ethic is unacceptable. I'm not submitting papers on time and missing assignments, which is out of the ordinary. Maybe it is the senioritis? I think so. And also that God has been blessing me so much with many pathways to the next step in my life, that I've probably already closed this chapter academically. Too bad for me, I need to back-peddle and still work hard!

Learning wise, there are certain subjects about Cell that I don't like. Membrane channels and communication are a cringe-worthy topic for me. It's something that requires a lot more time and effort to learn. But so it goes! Overall, I'm quite pleased with my learning. At times I didn't understand the subject matter, but my classmates and friends have been some of the biggest help!

My goal for the rest of this semester is to finish off strong!

Cytoskeleton Terms

Cytoskeleton - this structure is found all over the cell. It functions is helping the cell maintain its shape, provides support and aids in intercellular movement and division. It is made up of 3 filaments: actin, microtubules and intermediate filaments

Actin - This is a microfilament that averages 8 nm in diameter. It is mostly known for acting with myosin in muscle contraction. These filaments are made up of actin monomers. Their functions include movement, cytoplasmic streaming, cytokinesis, and linking transmembrane proteins.









Intermediate filaments - This is the next largest size where it averages 10 nm in diameter. They provide structural support in the cell. There are many kinds of intermediate filaments: keratins, vimentins, nuclear laminins, and neurofilaments.

Microtubules - These are the largest at 25 nm in diameter. They are composed of alpha and beta tubulin monomers. Microtubules originate at the centrosomes in animal cells. Microtubules play a large part in motor. Its motors are kinesins and dyneins.

Tubulin - This is the monomer that makes up microtubules. There are two kinds: alpha and beta. Both dimerize then these times come together to make the protofilaments. Growing occurs on the plus end of the microtubule.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:

• http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/microtubules-and-filaments-14052932
• http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/C/Cytoskeleton.html
• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Thin_filament_formation.svg/220px-Thin_filament_formation.svg.png
• http://cytochemistry.net/_Media/filam2.gif
• http://www.nature.com/scitable/content/ne0000/ne0000/ne0000/ne0000/14673338/U3.cp2.2_nrn2631-i1.jpg
• http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/content/dam/sigma-aldrich/life-science/metabolomics/enzyme-explorer/tubulin.gif

Baby Syndactyly

This picture really shows the importance of apoptosis aside from just death of cells that need to go.

This baby was born with his third and fourth fingers fused. Reading the comments, people were discussing the importance of apoptosis. It turns out at apoptosis is the process that degrades the webbing between fingers and toes starting at 16 weeks in the womb. This condition is genetic. In the picture is type 1.

I just thought this was cool to share!

Figure 1 - Medical Images

What a weird title, right? Well it will be explained!

Figure 1 - Medical Images is an app that can be downloaded for both Andriod and iPhone users. This awesome app exposes its viewers to medical images from all over the world! Doctors, nurses, and medical students would post pictures, X-rays, MRIs, CTs, and others on this app to share with other people in the health professions. It is so cool!

What is great is that it is an application of all of the biology I have learned. Just recently, I saw a pathology slide that stained for any abnormalities in the colon. They noticed adenoma in the cecum. It is so cool that their training has allowed them to recognize what is normal in the body so that they can determine was in abnormal. These pathologists know what normal cells look like in the body. What a feat!

I just wanted to share this frequent encounter I am having, =)

ATP Synthase

We owe our life and energy to this little molecular motor, the ATP Synthase. This cute motor lies across the inner membrane of the mitochondria. It extends into the intermembrane space and the mitochondrial matrix. Its function is to use a chemical gradient to fuel the creation of ATP.

The F1 unit of the ATP synthase is composed of 5 different subunits: 3 alpha, 3 beta,1 gamma, 1 delta, and 1 epsilon. The subunit that binds the substrate is the beta.

The electron transport chain functions in transferring protons from the mitochondrial matrix into the intermembrane space. The proton then travel through the ATP synthase, where when two travel down they will connect with an oxygen to form water. When they travel through the ATP synthase, it allows it the energy to converty ADP + Pi to ATP.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
References:
Information: http://www.life.illinois.edu/crofts/bioph354/lect10.html
Picture: http://www.uic.edu/classes/bios/bios100/lectures/respiration.htm

Replication Terms

Topoisomerases - These are a group of enzymes that breaks, swivels, and rejoins the DNA strands to relieve the strain of supercoiling.

DNA gyrase - This is actually a type of topoisomerase found in prokaryotes. Its function is to create negative supercoils to relieve the strain caused by supercoiling.










Single-strand binding protein - when the DNA strands are unwound, then this protein keeps them from binding back together.








Helicase - This is the protein that binds to the DNA at the replication fork and unwinds it. It separates the two strands. It keeps moving down the replication fork.







DNA ligase - The protein is an enzyme that creates phophodiester linkages. So when replication is complete, it binds the okazaki fragments together to create one whole strand.

My Expectations with Cell and Molecular Biology

So this is the last science class I will be taking for my undergraduate career. This is so bitter sweet. But I can say that I am happy it is with Dr. V. Also, my best friends are in the class! It's going to be so much fun!!!

I feel that Cell and Molecular Biology is an indepth look into what is learned in College Biology and Biochemistry. It shouldn't be that difficult as long as I keep up with my school work. What is awesome is that it is a required class for biology majors, which is important. Especially for those intending to matriculate into medical school.

This class is going to prepare me for the material I will encounter in medical school. And I think it is rather important to at least have some foundation to build upon to make the learning process easy. I don't know if it will give me  even a slight advantage in medical school,. Regardless, I'm happy I am being exposed to this. I think i'm going to thoroughly enjoy the class as much as I enjoyed Histology.