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Unfolded Protein Response (UPR): Cellular control for our errors in life
Abstract The unfolding protein response (UPR) is critical for the maintenance of cellular function under endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Under stress conditions, proteins in the ER may misfold and accumulate into aggregates. To prevent aggregate accumulation, BiP is released from ATF6, IRE1 or PERK to bind to the misfolded proteins and assist in ATP mediated ...
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To Cluster Or Not To Cluster: The Uses and Misuses of Clustering Algorithms
Abstract Clustering is a standard part of microarray data analysis. Indeed, the heatmaps and dendrograms characteristic of clustering algorithms are nearly synonymous with microarrays. But not all papers apply clustering algorithms in a valid or meaningful way. This review aims to offer some general guidelines of how a reader can distinguish appropriate cluster analyses from ...
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Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy: The silent, long-suffering enemy
Abstract Cardiac transplantation is currently the preferred choice of treatment for end-stage cardiac disease. Despite great advances in controlling rejection and infection episodes, cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) remains the leading cause of death after the first year of transplantation. CAV is an accelerated form of obliterative coronary artery disease that occurs in the heart transplant ...
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Awareness in action: MBP students help sexual violence survivors in DRC
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that there’s a world going on outside your Western blots and SNR imaging problems. However, ourselves and the students of the Department of Medical Biophysics (MBP) spurred a grass-roots initiative last year to address the growing horrors of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This is a ...
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So Many Departments, So Many Misleading Names…
In January of our final year, as graduation from undergrad drew near, some of us began to contemplate where our Bachelor’s degree in science would take us. The next most logical step was graduate school. But what kind of graduate degree did we really want? Surely it would have to be something in line with ...
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Technology vs. Evolution
Introduction Products of technology have effectively provided a buffer between nature and us. We, like every other species, evolve by natural selection acting on heritable phenotypic variations present in the population. However products of our technology, such as medical advances, allow us to transcend our natural limits and seem to have provided a wedge between ...
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My Imaginary Mentor
Maybe I’m a late bloomer, but I never needed an imaginary friend until I started graduate school. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t go around the lab talking to myself, or blaming failed experiments and empty reagents on this figment of my imagination. But I think that, as a kid, I didn’t know what I ...
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As of yet, not all doors are Open Access
Is Open Access (OA) a reality? Do successful models of OA journals exist? What are the potential benefits and repercussions of a move toward OA journal establishment? Invited speakers sought to answer these questions in an event hosted by the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI) at the University of Toronto in early March. The seminar ...
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Of Editors and Publishers
You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say. Martin Luther (1483-1546) The world of biomedical publishing was recently thrust into the media spotlight as a result of the standoff between the editorial board of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), and ...