When most people think about the impact of climate change on Canada’s Arctic biodiversity they think about the plight of the polar bears. Adrian Howie thinks about the other end of the food chain – Arctic algae.

His interest began with an investigation into the effect of increased carbon dioxide levels on microalgae, a project that won 2nd place in last year’s Nova Scota regional SABC.

This year, the Grade 11 student at Citadel High School, Halifax, identified compounds in various Arctic algae species that can benefit human health, winning the chance to represent his province at the 2010 national finals.

“Climate change is having profound impacts on the Arctic environment,” said Adrian, 17. “We don’t really know what affect the warming oceans will have on Arctic algae so we should be moving quickly to identify species that can benefit humanity before the environment is permanently altered.”

Working with mentor Dr. Stephen Ewart of the NRC Institute for Marine Biosciences in Halifax, Adrian tested 10 Arctic algae species for compounds with health-promoting properties — antioxidants, anti-diabetics, immunomodulators, anti-inflammatories and anti-carcinogens.

The tests revealed four compounds with the potential for health benefits as well as one extract that affects both the nervous system and heart function. Experiments on cancer cells and zebra fish discovered two species of algae with the ability to kill cancer cells while not harming healthy cells.

Says Adrian: “With so many positive results from such a small number of species, I think this is an area that definitely deserves further study before we start to lose some of these potentially valuable resources.”

Green Tea may help fight Lou Gherig’s disease

Lou Gherig’s disease, formally known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), is perhaps the best known in a family of neuromuscular diseases that affect around 3,000 Canadians a year.

It is generally fatal. But, like many medical mysteries, researchers are progressing towards eventual treatment and cure.

The latest advance has been contributed by Joseph McNeil, 18, a Grade 12 student at the Richmond Academy in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

He has opened a new line of investigation into ALS with the results of a project into the use of green tea as an aid to motor neuron growth.

Joseph tested different concentrations of two green tea chemicals – one, an anti-oxidant, the other an amino acid – on the cultured motor neurons of mice, looking at the chemicals’ impact over different periods of time. Among his results: an increase in cellular growth by 16 to 30 per cent.

The results show definite promise, but it was the quality and substance of Joseph’s presentation that won him the 2009 Nova Scotia regional Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge.

Joseph has been working for the past two years with Drs. Victor Rafuse and Alli Murugesan of the Anatomy and Neurobiology Laboratory at Dalhousie University, Halifax, developing lab skills and refining his research focus.

Dr. Rafuse, whose laboratory developed mice motor neurons cell cultures, called it “intriguing” that Joseph obtained such promising results. “Right now we can show that neurons respond in a positive manner – they grow better, they look healthier.”

Joseph is excited to start his undergraduate degree at Dalhousie next year and feels his SABC will be a tremendous boost no matter what career path he chooses.

Discovery of herbal remedies’ effect on cancer wins Nova Scotia high school students first place in annual science competition
Top Regional Winners to Compete in National Final, Ottawa, May 6

Halifax, Nova Scotia, April 24, 2008 “Two grade 12 students from Citadel High School in Halifax took home top honours in the Nova Scotia Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge (SABC), held at the IWK Health Centre on Thursday.”

Mohanad Khairy and Eleizer Marval won first place for their research into the effects of herbal remedies on the spread of cancer cells. Since last fall, Mohanad and Eleizer have been working under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth West from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Dalhousie University. On Thursday, they presented their project to a group of judges comprised of representatives from Nova Scotia’s scientific community. As first-place winners, the students and their school shared a cash prize of $2,200 and they will go on to represent Nova Scotia at the national SABC final competition.

“It is a real pleasure to host this program in Nova Scotia,” said Marli MacNeil, CEO of BioNova. The enthusiasm and creativity these students bring to their projects put us in good stead for future leaders of the province’s life sciences industry.

This is the tenth year that Nova Scotia has hosted the regional SABC, which is coordinated annually by BioNova and is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council program. The competition invites high school students to learn about biotechnology by allowing them to conduct research projects of their own design. All of the students in the competition were mentored by professional scientists, with access to labs and equipment normally reserved for graduate level research. The SABC’s primary objective is to encourage more students to pursue studies and employment in the life sciences.

The 2008 runners-up were:

Second Place Ruth Laing
School: Sir John A. MacDonald High School
Project: Environmental Applications of Leptothrix Bacteria
Mentor: Dr. Graham Gagnon, Dalhousie University

Third Place Joseph McNeil
School: Richmond Academy
Project: Camellia Sinensis as an Aid in Regenerative Nerve Therapy
Mentor: Dr. Victor Rafuse, Dalhousie Univeristy

Fourth Place Alexandra Blay and Cheong-Min Baek
School: Sacred Heart School of Halifax
Project: Ducking the Problem using duckweed to remove ammonia from water sources
Mentor: Dr. Jonathan Blay

All 14 regional winners from across Canada will present their projects for judging by federal public service and private sector experts in Ottawa on May 6. For the first time, the national competition will be done face-to-face, with regional finalists flown to Ottawa for the event.

Awards for the Nova Scotia SABC were presented by BioNova President Jean-Paul Deveau, Jason Locklin of sanofi-pasteur and Quy Ha of BioTalent Canada during BioNova’s annual Celebration of Research Excellence.

BioNova represents the more than 3,400 men and women working in the province’s life sciences community. Members include companies, universities, hospitals, research institutions, government agencies, suppliers and students. BioNova provides leadership and support to its members while advocating for the continued growth of life sciences industry in Nova Scotia. BioNova has as part of its mandate to promote and encourage careers in life sciences through programs like the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge. For more information: www.bionova.ca; www.sanofibiotalentchallenge.ca

For more information, please contact:
Rocky Hynes
Director of Education and Communication
BioNova
902-425-4993 (office)
rhynes@bionova.ca

An inspiring teacher who died from ovarian cancer prompted Victoria Bentley to see if she could use her scientific knowledge to find a new treatment for the disease which is the fifth-highest cause of cancer deaths in Canada.

Knowing that ovarian cancer grows in response to the hormone estrogen just like breast cancer she wondered if Tamoxifen — the breast cancer treatment drug– would also suppress ovarian cancer cells. The sixteen-year old Halifax student applied Tamoxifen to human ovarian cancer cells which made them “supersensitive” to levels of estrogen. Instead of the hormone causing the cancer cells to proliferate, it inhibited their growth she said.

Tamoxifen is not approved for use for ovarian cancer and there is a lack of concrete evidence that it could work until now says Bentley.

“It’s surprising that something that I showed to be a viable treatment option was not recognized as such by such important institutions as the US FDA.”

Equally surprising perhaps is that busy with piano lessons and practice, national debating contests and school that the Grade 11 student had time to do medical research.

Her experiment also uncovered a potential new tool for assessing the effectiveness of ovarian cancer treatments. Bentley explains: “I demonstrated that the expression levels of progesterone receptors are linked to cancer cell inhibition.” In other words, if the cancer treatment is working then progesterone receptor expression changes.

“The practical applications of biotechnology are astounding, and I think that this is an amazing field of work” she says.

“This project also exposed be to the thriving biotechnology sector within Nova Scotia, which I really wasn’t aware of up until now.”

Her mentor was Dr. Michelle Mujoomdar, post-doctoral fellow, Department of Biology, Dalhousie University.

(l-r) Dale Yakutchik (sanofi-pasteur), Victoria Bentley, JP Deveau (BioNova)