Cairns scientists have discovered a wound-healing and cancer-causing hormone in the spit of a worm.
The worm lives in the livers of over nine million people and infects adventurous Australian tourists. The Southeast Asian liver fluke munches through the liver repairing the damage as it goes. But after many years of infection it can cause liver cancer and kills 20,000 people each year in Thailand alone.
Now James Cook University researcher Dr Michael Smout has found that a protein in the spit also sends wound-healing messages.
Michael has taken out the inaugural FameLab Australia competition with his discovery. This Friday he’ll pack up his props (a teddy bear, oversized worm and stuffed liver) and jet off to the UK to represent Australia at the International FameLab final.
But he’s available to do some interviews at home beforehand. More below.
Also this week, the National Stem Cell Foundation has released its who’s who of Australian stem cell research – a valuable resource for any journo in need of a stem cells expert at short notice. Next week they’ll also be announcing the winners of their inaugural Metcalf Prizes for stem cell research. Drop me a line if you want a heads up.
Next week, American theoretical physicist and best-selling author Michio Kaku will be in Australia to talk about string theory, the multiverse and how we could re-engineer the brain. And The Science of Doctor Who comes to Adelaide this week.
In this bulletin:
- Worm spit heals then kills – and sends Cairns scientist to the UK in search of fame
- Stem cell research snapshot – the who’s who of Australian stem cell research
- String theory and the future of the mind – Michio Kaku in Australia
- The Science of Doctor Who
- Science in Public – our role
Worm spit heals then kills
And sends Cairns scientist to the UK in search of fame
Cairns scientists have discovered a wound-healing and cancer-causing hormone in the spit of a worm.
The worm lives in the livers of over nine million people and infects adventurous Australian tourists. The Southeast Asian liver fluke munches through the liver repairing the damage as it goes. But after many years of infection it can cause liver cancer and kills 20,000 people each year in Thailand alone.
Now James Cook University researcher Dr Michael Smout has found that a protein in the spit also sends wound-healing messages.
In 2010 James Cook University researchers discovered that the worm spit was promoting cell growth and wound repair. Then in 2012 Dr Michael Smout discovered a growth hormone in the spit, showed it was responsible both for the repair and in part for the cancer, and that it promotes wound-healing. He hopes that the work will lead both to new wound-healing compounds, and to a vaccine against the worm.
The discovery received no public attention at the time. But now its discoverer, Dr Michael Smout, is presenting the work publically for the first time thanks to FameLab Australia. He won the Australian final two weeks ago in Perth using a teddy bear to assist in his talk. He flies to the International FameLab final in the UK on Friday to represent Australia.
The discovery is part of a long-term James Cook University effort to understand and fight the fluke and other parasites, led by Professor Alex Loukas.
“We were looking for potential vaccine candidates for this worm when we discovered that the spit had unusual properties,” says Alex. “Michael then zeroed in on the active agent.”
“The growth hormone makes cells multiply quickly and uncontrollably, which is a key stage at the start of many aggressive and deadly cancers of the brain, breast, colon and liver,” says Michael.
By making granulin in the laboratory, Michael and his colleagues then found that the hormone is not only a potent cell growth stimulator – it also sends wound-healing signals to human cells.
Just how the hormone stimulates wound-healing remains unknown, but the team thinks that the healing action of the worm spit helps limit the damage it causes to its human host, allowing both to live longer.
“As it feeds on blood and tissue in the liver, the worm creates wounds, and then heals them, we suspect. This is good for the host in the short term, but repeated wounding and healing over decades combined with chronic inflammation can lead to this deadly form of cancer,” Michael explains.
“We hope that our research will lead to vaccines to prevent cancer in impoverished regions of Asia, and to new treatments for non-healing wounds, which are an increasing problem for smokers, diabetics and an aging population here in Australia,” says Michael.
Dr Michael Smout is the 2014 winner of the inaugural FameLab Australia competition. FameLab is a global science communication competition for early-career scientists.
Michael will represent Australia at the International FameLab competition held at The Times Cheltenham Science Festival from 3-5 June, where he will present his lively three-minute talk on his research.
Footage, photos and more information at: www.scienceinpublic.com.au/fresh/wormspit
Contacts:
- Dr Michael Smout is available for interview in Cairns until 4pm on Thursday and in Brisbane until 11am on Friday before he heads to the UK. He is contactable on 0403 525 636 until Friday, then via Skype (Dr Michael Smout), or email michael.smout@jcu.edu.au
- Laura Boland, Science in Public, 0408 166 426, (03) 9398 1416, laura@scienceinpublic.com.au
- Linden Woodward, James Cook University, 041 979 1564, (07) 4232 1007, linden.woodward@jcu.edu.au
What’s happening in stem cell research in Australia?
A newly published collection of stem cell projects, research groups and scientists shows the diversity and depth of Australia’s stem cell research. It’s a guide for anyone who’s trying to understand what’s happening in the rapidly moving world of stem cell research.
This collection of more than 150 entries briefly describes research groups, laboratories, projects and initiatives working around Australia on stem cell science and research as at May 2014. The snapshot aims to capture in one document the range of local current research, with the hope this will facilitate collaboration and networking among researchers.
The snapshot can be downloaded via the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia website: www.stemcellfoundation.net.au/researchers/research-snapshot
String theory and the future of the mind – Michio Kaku
Available for interview
- Brisbane: Thursday 5 June at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre
- Melbourne: Friday 6 June at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre
- Sydney: Saturday 7 June at Sydney Town Hall
“Imagine a world of time travelling, teleportation, telekinesis, advanced evolution species and galactic colonisation…the possibilities are endless.”
Next week, American theoretical physicist and best-selling author Michio Kaku will be in Australia to talk about string theory, the multiverse and how we could re-engineer the brain.
His book, The Future of the Mind, has topped the New York Times bestseller list, and a recent Facebook chat session drew 10,000 questions from his fans.
When he joined Jon Stewart on The Daily Show a few months back, reports are that ‘his mind was blown’ by Kaku’s vision of the future.
But when he’s not on the telly, Kaku is a bona fide physicist. He’s one of the co-developers of string field theory, which carries on Einstein’s quest to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into a single grand unified theory of everything.
More recently he’s turned his attention inwards, to understand the human brain and how we might improve and protect it.
He’s looking at what happens when physics meets neuroscience. Could we download our memories? Upload a text book? Could we store our self outside our body?
Read more about Michio Kaku at his website: http://mkaku.org
The Science of Doctor Who
- How would time travel and teleportation work?
- Is regeneration really possible?
- And how can the TARDIS can be bigger on the inside than the outside?
Find out this week in Adelaide and in a couple of weeks’ time in Melbourne when The Science of Doctor Who show comes to town.
More at: http://riaus.org.au/doctorwho
Science in Public
We’re always happy to help put you in contact with scientists. Our work is funded by the science world – from the Prime Minister’s Science Prizes to Nature. We’re keen to suggest interesting people and stories – and not just those of our clients’.
If you’re looking for ideas or people for features we know hundreds of science prize winners past, present, and future and are always happy to chew the fat about the developing themes in Australian science.
Feel free to pass these stories along to colleagues. And between bulletins, you can follow me on Twitter (@scienceinpublic) for more science news and story tips.