Stephanie Swift › mmmbitesizescience

Stephanie Swift: ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Stephanie Swift is a British postdoctoral scientist at McMaster University, Canada, where she works to understand how viruses interact with the immune system. She writes about lots of different aspects of science, and is very pleased to live in a wonderfully intricate world full of glorious things to write about.

Stephanie Swift: All Posts

Vaccine delivers an immune double whammy to fight tuberculosis

Posted 19 June 2013 by Stephanie Swift

Vaccination is a hugely important public health intervention, perhaps the biggest in the history of mankind. While many childhood diseases are now effectively controlled by immunisation programs (as long as parents vaccinate their kids), there is still no effective vaccine for other serious infections like adult tuberculosis (TB). Most adult TB vaccines under development focus on boosting the "adaptive" immune response to generate highly activated immune cells to fight off M. tuberculosis bacteria. New research has now revealed that it's... Read more

Posted in Bacteria, Disease, Immunology, Medicine, Microorganisms, Science, Vaccines |

0 Comments | Permalink

Turning insect viruses into cancer therapies

Posted 7 June 2013 by Stephanie Swift

Gene therapy is a pretty promising approach for lots of different diseases, and has already overcome a huge hurdle with the approval of the very first gene therapy product, Glybera, by the European Commission in 2012. At its core, gene therapy uses a delivery vehicle to deposit a chunk of DNA in particular cells of the body. That courier is often a virus that has evolved to penetrate cells incredibly efficiently, and its genetic payload can be designed to normalise... Read more

Posted in Disease, Medicine, Microorganisms, Science, Viruses |

0 Comments | Permalink

Fish parasite inspires sticky surgical tissue patch

Posted 3 June 2013 by Stephanie Swift

Surgeons still find it tricky to quickly and reliably stick a wet, slippery organ back together during invasive procedures. The currently available selection of 'stick-you-together' products - staples and chemical glues - do a decent job, but make a bit of a mess of nearby nerves and blood vessels, and often cause swelling, itching, scarring and, sometimes, infection. Yet lots of parasitic organisms have evolved excellent ways of entering - and sticking to - their host. The freshwater fish parasite,... Read more

Posted in Bioengineering, Marine, Microorganisms, Parasites, Science |

0 Comments | Permalink

It’s great to be a woman scientist; it’s challenging to be a woman scientist

Posted 22 May 2013 by Stephanie Swift

I recently volunteered to help organise an event run by the Canadian Science Policy Centre that looked at the status of women in science and technology. To be frank, I was mightily fearful about participating in such an event. I had the idea that it would quickly degenerate into a depressing evening of man-bashing. Yet, as it turned out, it was actually a wonderfully empowering, evidence-based look at women working in STEM fields (or maybe I just thought so because... Read more

Posted in Science |

4 Comments | Permalink

How to survive the bacterial antibiotic revolution

Posted 13 May 2013 by Stephanie Swift

These days, we have a pretty serious problem when it comes to our ability to kill resistant bacteria causing serious illness. People petition governments to urge action, while drug companies lament over how those pesky bacteria evolved to defeat their beautiful antibiotics - and their projected profit margins. Yet, it's not all bad. There are a few little ways that us humans can fortify our bodies with a sturdy shield against nasty bugs. Nurture good bacteria Keeping your good bacteria,... Read more

Posted in Bacteria, Disease, Microorganisms, Science |

4 Comments | Permalink

The Science of Guns and Violence in America

Posted 26 April 2013 by Stephanie Swift

I read a Nature News article recently about gun control in the USA that horrified me so much that I now have to write a bit about this horrifying topic myself. It goes without saying that there is a huge problem in America that stems from people who should never have access to guns being able to get access to guns. In many states, people with criminal records can get a gun. People with mental health issues can get a... Read more

Posted in Science |

0 Comments | Permalink

Stem Cells Wanted: Alive Not Dead

Posted 15 April 2013 by Stephanie Swift

Stem cell therapies are taking off, in a surprisingly unregulated way. While most humans have to go to places like South Korea to receive them, horses, dogs, cats, pigs and tigers are already being treated in North America. The most overzealous stem cell companies bluster about their currently unlicensed ability to beat down cancer, diabetes, blindness and a whole raft of other diseases, a stretch given the paucity of clinical data available, yet such therapies are nevertheless generating a new... Read more

Posted in Bioengineering, Disease, Medicine, Science |

2 Comments | Permalink

Eating too much salt sends immune system haywire

Posted 3 April 2013 by Stephanie Swift

When it comes to knowing whether eating too much salt is a bad thing, there is a surprising lack of "verified-by-science" information available*. A certain level of salt, or sodium chloride, is a biological necessity that keeps muscles pumping and nerves firing off electronic signals. Yet lots of studies have suggested that high levels of dietary salt could contribute to problems with blood pressure and heart disease, which is why the CDC (and probably your mum) tells you to reduce... Read more

Posted in Disease, Immunology, Science |

0 Comments | Permalink

The Evolution of the Impenetrable American Bedbug

Posted 26 March 2013 by Stephanie Swift

Most of us are quite content to share our beds with a partner or a kitty, but are less inclined to extend the same warm welcome to the common bedbug, Cimex lectularius. These parasitic insects, which feed exclusively on blood, have undergone a population explosion since the mid-1990's, with infestations recently hitting the headlines all over the globe. Buildings full of warm and cosy human nests, such as blocks of flats and hotels, are enticing bedbug havens. Although pesticide sprays... Read more

Posted in Evolution, Genetics, Science |

0 Comments | Permalink

Converting weeds into flowers: artificial stem cells create a blood supply for bioengineered organs

Posted 19 March 2013 by Stephanie Swift

Regenerating the human body by growing whole new organs or patching up damaged ones from just a few cells scraped from your own tissues is a fascinating area of science known as bioengineering. Every living cell in such an organ is sustained by the blood, which supplies food and gases and flows through a conduit network of hollow vessels. Successful organ bioengineering relies on establishing such a system of blood flow capable of reaching and supporting the energy demands of... Read more

Posted in Bioengineering, Medicine, Science |

0 Comments | Permalink