UC Science Today

In the midst of an outbreak, where do scientists even begin to study the Zika virus? As part of a NASA-funded study, epidemiologist Chris Barker of the University of California, Davis is working to shed some light on patterns of Zika spread and its vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito. By using models for other mosquito-borne diseases like Dengue, Barker is able to predict how Zika might spread in the United States, if at all.

"The NASA project is right at that interface between real-world field-collected data and models. So what we’re trying to do is actually put viruses, Zika virus in particular, in mosquitoes. Look at how long they take to transmit it at different temperatures and how well our California mosquitoes and different species would transmit it."

For years, Dengue has caused millions of infections outside of the U.S. and like Zika, people who are infected may not show symptoms.

"So I think there will be a lot of research forthcoming. Because Zika wasn’t on anyone’s radar until recently, no one’s really done that work."

In the midst of an outbreak, where do scientists even begin to study the Zika virus? As part of a NASA-funded study, epidemiologist Chris Barker of the University of California, Davis is working to shed some light on patterns of Zika spread and its vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito. By using models for other mosquito-borne diseases like Dengue, Barker is able to predict how Zika might spread in the United States, if at all.

"The NASA project is right at that interface between real-world field-collected data and models. So what we’re trying to do is actually put viruses, Zika virus in particular, in mosquitoes. Look at how long they take to transmit it at different temperatures and how well our California mosquitoes and different species would transmit it."

For years, Dengue has caused millions of infections outside of the U.S. and like Zika, people who are infected may not show symptoms.

"So I think there will be a lot of research forthcoming. Because Zika wasn’t on anyone’s radar until recently, no one’s really done that work."

For the first time, a team of scientists has shown that PET scans can reveal details of proteins in the brain that can track the progressive stages of Alzheimer’s disease in cognitively normal adults.

"We can now very reliably and with a great deal of accuracy say that there are changes in the brain during life that are very highly predictive that a person’s going to have Alzheimer’s."

That’s study leader Dr. William Jagust of the University of California, Berkeley. He explains that aside from tracking beta-amyloid deposits, which for years has been known as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, they can see the build-up of tau protein, which has emerged within the last decade as a major player in the development of symptoms. Before, this was only measured through post-mortem analysis.

"If we can look at people, say before they have dementia, and we know how much amyloid in the brain and how much tau is in the brain, we might be able to get a sense of their stage or their progression towards Alzheimer’s disease and that may be crucially important for when we give them certain kinds of medications."

For the first time, a team of scientists has shown that PET scans can reveal details of proteins in the brain that can track the progressive stages of Alzheimer’s disease in cognitively normal adults.

"We can now very reliably and with a great deal of accuracy say that there are changes in the brain during life that are very highly predictive that a person’s going to have Alzheimer’s."

That’s study leader Dr. William Jagust of the University of California, Berkeley. He explains that aside from tracking beta-amyloid deposits, which for years has been known as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, they can see the build-up of tau protein, which has emerged within the last decade as a major player in the development of symptoms. Before, this was only measured through post-mortem analysis.

"If we can look at people, say before they have dementia, and we know how much amyloid in the brain and how much tau is in the brain, we might be able to get a sense of their stage or their progression towards Alzheimer’s disease and that may be crucially important for when we give them certain kinds of medications."

For the first time, a team of scientists has shown that PET scans can reveal details of proteins in the brain that can track the progressive stages of Alzheimer’s disease in cognitively normal adults.

"We can now very reliably and with a great deal of accuracy say that there are changes in the brain during life that are very highly predictive that a person’s going to have Alzheimer’s."

That’s study leader Dr. William Jagust of the University of California, Berkeley. He explains that aside from tracking beta-amyloid deposits, which for years has been known as a hallmark of Alzheimer’s, they can see the build-up of tau protein, which has emerged within the last decade as a major player in the development of symptoms. Before, this was only measured through post-mortem analysis.

"If we can look at people, say before they have dementia, and we know how much amyloid in the brain and how much tau is in the brain, we might be able to get a sense of their stage or their progression towards Alzheimer’s disease and that may be crucially important for when we give them certain kinds of medications."

Filters used to purify drinking water or treat wastewater have a lifespan, usually because contaminants clog them over time. Researcher Baoxia Mi of the University of California, Berkeley is taking on this issue by developing a regenerative membrane filter made from the carbon nanomaterial graphene. This would combat the gradual wearing of filters known as membrane fouling.

"Membrane fouling means that when we use the membrane to filter water, something that we have in the water, could attach to the membrane and decrease the performance."

This lead Mi to compare these systems to the natural filtration processes found in the human body.

"For example, for our kidney, or human skin. They don't get fouled. Not because things don't attach to them, but because they can regenerate themselves. With time, the old cells will die and then go away, and then new layers will be there, right?"

The hope is to create a filter where new layers of membrane can replace the fouled ones.

Filters used to purify drinking water or treat wastewater have a lifespan, usually because contaminants clog them over time. Researcher Baoxia Mi of the University of California, Berkeley is taking on this issue by developing a regenerative membrane filter made from the carbon nanomaterial graphene. This would combat the gradual wearing of filters known as membrane fouling.

"Membrane fouling means that when we use the membrane to filter water, something that we have in the water, could attach to the membrane and decrease the performance."

This lead Mi to compare these systems to the natural filtration processes found in the human body.

"For example, for our kidney, or human skin. They don't get fouled. Not because things don't attach to them, but because they can regenerate themselves. With time, the old cells will die and then go away, and then new layers will be there, right?"

The hope is to create a filter where new layers of membrane can replace the fouled ones.

Filters used to purify drinking water or treat wastewater have a lifespan, usually because contaminants clog them over time. Researcher Baoxia Mi of the University of California, Berkeley is taking on this issue by developing a regenerative membrane filter made from the carbon nanomaterial graphene. This would combat the gradual wearing of filters known as membrane fouling.

"Membrane fouling means that when we use the membrane to filter water, something that we have in the water, could attach to the membrane and decrease the performance."

This lead Mi to compare these systems to the natural filtration processes found in the human body.

"For example, for our kidney, or human skin. They don't get fouled. Not because things don't attach to them, but because they can regenerate themselves. With time, the old cells will die and then go away, and then new layers will be there, right?"

The hope is to create a filter where new layers of membrane can replace the fouled ones.

Mechanical engineer Suveen Mathaudhu of the University of California, Riverside is an unabashed fan of comics – he’s even called an expert on the science of superheroes. Take his favorite, Spiderman, for example.

"In the original Spiderman comics, he did not have webs shooting out of any specific glands or any powers that let him make web inside his body. As a chemistry student, he was forced to experiment and make his own super-strong web-like material. What’s very interesting about it is there’s a lot of research that’s now showing that real spider web is extremely strong. So in a way, Spiderman was ahead of his time in designing some of the these materials that just now we’re trying to duplicate with carbon nanotube wires and other high-strength fiber-like materials."

Mathaudhu explains that these types of materials are lighter, too and that can benefit transportation applications.

"If we can get lighter and stronger, then we get more fuel-efficient as we move to a more energy sustainable economy."

Mechanical engineer Suveen Mathaudhu of the University of California, Riverside is an unabashed fan of comics – he’s even called an expert on the science of superheroes. Take his favorite, Spiderman, for example.

"In the original Spiderman comics, he did not have webs shooting out of any specific glands or any powers that let him make web inside his body. As a chemistry student, he was forced to experiment and make his own super-strong web-like material. What’s very interesting about it is there’s a lot of research that’s now showing that real spider web is extremely strong. So in a way, Spiderman was ahead of his time in designing some of the these materials that just now we’re trying to duplicate with carbon nanotube wires and other high-strength fiber-like materials."

Mathaudhu explains that these types of materials are lighter, too and that can benefit transportation applications.

"If we can get lighter and stronger, then we get more fuel-efficient as we move to a more energy sustainable economy."