October’s Lunch and Learn at Head Office was hosted by Laura G, our Facility Manager from Hull University to demonstrate the important research conducted at Hull and the daily life of her team…
The session received excellent feedback and it was nice for non – industry members of Agenda to find out more about ‘Tech Life’.
“We found learning about life as an Animal Technician very interesting. It was great to hear from someone obviously passionate about their job. Laura explained what had led her to this role: she didn’t get the A levels she needed to be a vet! We had not really thought about what the day to day activities must be within this role, and these were broken down clearly for us by Laura, who had also taken some video footage to illustrate some of the tasks. As in any job, there were routine tasks to do, but since animal welfare is at the heart of the job, these must always be completed to the highest standard. It was fascinating to hear what research is taking place and especially the details surrounding the cichlid fish and their castles.
We were amazed at the diversity encompassed within the technicians and their total commitment to the animal welfare needed to produce a calm and controlled habitat.
Although on the face of it people may assume, quite wrongly, that their work is akin to trial and error at whatever the cost to the subject.
We were also surprised at the scale of the projects they are working on and the aims of the group to provide consistent solid evidence to enable a better life for all.
It was an excellent overview of a role that we didn’t really know much about before the session.
Thank you, Laura!”
Earlier this week, we opened our office doors to two auditors who arrived to review our compliance within the following areas:
ISO 27001 Information Security Management Standard
ISO 9001 Quality Management Standard
ISO 14001 Environmental Management Standard
The full day audit by two inspectors took place on Tuesday 7th November and covered all aspects of the business
We are very pleased to announce that we passed the audit with flying colours!
A huge well done and thank you goes to our team who manage the standards on a day-to-day basis.
Researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen in Germany have begun deploying a technique which is focused on studying the effects of how a stroke damages the brain’s blood vessels. The CLARITY technique was first used by scientists to turn mice brains transparent in 2013 in Standford and also in 2016 when researchers used it to look further into the neuroscience of pain and pleasure.
The technique involves bathing the brain in a series of chemical treatments and then subjecting it to a series of electric currents. Everything remains intact whilst all opaque elements are removed leaving the brain transparent white in colour. It was thought that by conducting this method brain research could be revolutionised by offering simpler and more precise solutions to the regularly used methods of slicing and mounting 2-D slides.
The CLARITY technique could bring about more effective treatment for strokes, the fourth most common cause of death in the UK. Typically, scientists use dyes, 2D slides and neuro imaging as a means of determining the cause and effect of strokes in the brain. Dirk Hermann, Chair of Vascular Neurology at the University of Duisburg-Essen and Matthias Guzer from the Centre for Medical Biotechnology were able to examine mice brains in 3D and gain a clearer view of what was happening in the blood vessels.
The procedure began with a fluorescent gel being injected into the mouse heart enabling the solution to be circulated round the body. Following this the brains of the mice were then removed soaked in a chemical solution.
Hermann told New Scientist “You’re left with a brain that is clear like glass”. When the brains were placed under a microscope the researchers illuminated the gel and in addition to image processing, they were able to study the effects of a stroke on the brain’s bloody supply for the first time in 3D.
“You could see which capillaries had died and how the surviving ones were reorganizing themselves,” Gunzer told New Scientist.
There are more than 100,000 strokes in the UK each year, around 1 stroke every 5 minutes. 7% of all deaths in the UK are caused by stroke (6% in men and 8% in women). The scientists at Duisburg-Essen hope their work with mice brains will inform future research and pave the way for treatment in human stroke patients.
Here at Agenda we have a fantastic team with knowledge that covers all aspects of the life science industry. We cover Permanent, Contract and Facility Management recruitment so can provide staffing solutions at all levels for your business.
Through registering with Agenda, you cut out all the leg work. Our team of experts do all the hard work for you, right from the application process, through to the telephone interview and organising of the face to face interview. We also have an in-house screening team who conduct background checks and references on all our candidates, so that you can be sure you’re getting the right person for your role.
Our Contracts Team are available 24 hours via a mobile service and we are committed to ensuring that both client and candidate are kept up to date and happy.
To view a complete list of our vacancies, visit www.agendalifesciences.co.uk/jobs/, or to contact the team to see what we can offer you, call 08456 44 55 45.
Agenda Life Sciences are proud to be a sponsor at the joint LAVA/ESLAV/ECLAM Meeting on 25th – 26th September in Edinburgh.
This year the Laboratory Animals Veterinary Association (LAVA), the European Society of Laboratory Animal Veterinarians (ESLAV) and the European College of Laboratory Animal Medicine (ECLAM) will join efforts in what we hope will be an important milestone in the future of animals in research.
The three associations are organising their 2017 LAVA-ESLAV-ECLAM Conference themed on Reproducibility of Animal Studies.
The scientific programme will start on the morning of 25th September by a keynote lecture by Professor Malcolm McLeod.
The main goal of the conference will be to demonstrate how veterinarians and scientists can positively impact the “Reproducibility of Animal Studies”. The meeting will focus on five main areas of animal studies:
i) Perspective on reproducibility from funding bodies and regulators;
ii) Influence of designated veterinary surgeons on reproducibility;
iii) Influence on reproducibility of husbandry and animal welfare;
iv) Responsible research;
v) Experimental design.
We look forward to seeing at the Meeting.
Recent studies conducted at the University of California San Diego and at the San Diego Veterans Administration Medical Center have displayed positive results in which human neural stem cells (NSCs) were grafted onto the spinal cord injuries of rats, resulting in a functional recovery after one year. Researchers documented the progress of the NSC’s which continued to grow steadily even up to 18 months post implantation.
“The NSCs retained an intrinsic human rate of maturation despite being placed in a traumatic rodent environment,” said Paul Lu, PhD, associate professor of neurosciences and lead author of the study. “That’s a finding of great importance in planning for human clinical trials.”
The Journal of Clinical Investigation published the study which was aimed at addressing the time it would take for the human cells to mature inside the rodents. When it comes to cell biology, rats and humans have a very different pace. The gestational period in humans is 280 days whereas in rats it is significantly shorter at just 21 days. In comparison, the brain of 2-3-year-old child is equal in terms of body/brain weight ratios to a 20-day old rat. Taking this into account, researchers did fear that the rodents studies may not accurately reflect how using this approach in the future would work in humans.
“Most NSC grafting studies have been short-term, measuring survival times in weeks to a few months,” added co-author Professor Mark Tuszynski. “That’s not enough time to fully measure the growth and maturation rate of human NSCs or what changes might occur farther out from the original grafting. These are important considerations, not just for the basic science of stem cell biology, but for the practical design of translational human trials using NSCs for spinal cord injuries.”
Despite the cells being placed in a challenging ‘foreign’ environment, evidence of continued stem cell maturation was found, much to the surprise of the researchers. Improvements in mobility were noted only after the formation of further mature nerve cells. The expected pruning and cell redistribution activities that help the development of less but more mature cells were displayed as the grafts aged.
Other findings noted by the team included results showing that implanted NSC’s did not migrate from their lesion sites, but supportive astrocytes did, highlighting a future potential safety concern. No overall adverse effects were recorded and this did not lead to the formation of tumours or deterioration of limb function. With modified grafting procedures, it is hoped that cell leakage can be minimised.
Professor Tuszynski summarised the study by stating “The bottom line is that clinical outcome measures for future trials need to be focused on long time points after grafting. We need to take into account the prolonged developmental biology of neural stem cells. Success, it would seem, will take time.”
At this time, a wider understanding of this method is required in order to ensure that the results can be effectively analysed before it is considered for use in humans.