We called it Meccano over hear. Had a massive set complete with gears,
pulleys, chains, a wind-up motor drive etc. Really enjoyed it;-))

Nic 58/16

On 13 October 2010 16:59, Rick McGirr <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Fascinating that you found this in Popular Mechanics! I am not a number, I am an Erector-Set! (remember those?)
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Nic Marais
> Sent: Tuesday, October 12, 2010 12:48 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Nerve-cell regeneration quest is fast tracked
>
> http://www.popularmechanics.co.za/content/news/singlepage.asp?key=1080
>
> 12 October 2010
> Nerve-cell regeneration quest is fast tracked
>
>
> Scientists have long sought the ability to regenerate nerve cells, or
> neurons, which could offer a new way to treat spinal-cord damage as
> well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer�s or Parkinson�s. Many
> chemicals can regenerate neurons grown in Petri dishes in the lab, but
> it�s difficult and time-consuming to identify those chemicals that
> work in live animals, which is critical for developing drugs for
> humans.
>
> Engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have now
> used a new microchip technology to rapidly test potential drugs on
> tiny worms called C. elegans, which are often used in studies of the
> nervous system. Using the new technology, associate professor Mehmet
> Fatih Yanik and his colleagues rapidly performed laser surgery,
> delivered drugs and imaged the resulting neuron regrowth in thousands
> of live animals.
>
> �Our technology helps researchers rapidly identify promising chemicals
> that can then be tested in mammals and perhaps even in humans,� says
> Yanik. Using this technique, the researchers have already identified
> one promising class of neuronal regenerators.
>
> The paper will appear in the online edition of the Proceedings of the
> National Academy of Sciences the week of 11 October.
>
> Rapid analysis
> C. elegans is a useful model organism for neuron regeneration because
> it is optically transparent, and its entire neural network is known.
> Yanik and colleagues had previously developed a femtosecond laser
> nanosurgery technique which allowed them to cut and observe
> regeneration of individual axons � long extensions of neurons that
> send signals to neighbouring cells. Their femtosecond laser
> nanosurgery technique uses tightly-focused infrared laser pulses that
> are shorter than billionth of a second. This allows the laser to
> penetrate deep into the animals without damaging the tissues on its
> way, until the laser beam hits its final target.
>
> In the PNAS study, the researchers used their microchip technology to
> rapidly cut the axons of single neurons that sense touch. Moving
> single worms from their incubation well to an imaging microchip,
> immobilising them and performing laser surgery takes only about 20
> seconds, which allows thousands of surgeries to be performed in a
> short period of time.
>
> After laser surgery, each worm is returned to its incubation well and
> treated with a different chemical compound. C. elegans neurons can
> partially regrow without help, which allowed Yanik�s team to look for
> drugs that can either enhance or inhibit this regrowth. After two or
> three days, the researchers imaged each worm to see if the drugs had
> any effect.
>
> The MIT team found that a compound called staurosporine, which
> inhibits certain enzymes known as PKC kinases, had the strongest
> inhibitory effect. In a follow-up study, they tested some compounds
> that activate these kinases, and found that one of them stimulated
> regeneration of neurons significantly. Some of Yanik�s students are
> now testing those compounds on neurons derived from human embryonic
> stem cells.
>
> The new technology represents a significant advance in the level of
> automation that can be achieved in C. elegans studies, says Michael
> Bastiani, professor of biology at the University of Utah. �Using
> �classical� handling techniques you can cut and assay at most 100
> animals per day,� he says. �Yanik's automated system seems like it
> could increase throughput by at least 10-fold over that number.� He
> points out that one potential limitation of the system is that it
> might not pick up the effects of neural regenerators that can�t
> penetrate the worm�s cuticle, a thick outer layer that surrounds the
> skin.
>
> However, chemicals can still be taken up through the worms� digestive
> tract, which is an important test for checking whether chemicals would
> work on live animals, says Yanik.
>
> This microchip technology can also be used to screen compounds for
> their effects on other diseases such as Alzheimer�s, Parkinson�s and
> ALS, says Yanik.
>
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