So far, since only one entry has been submitted by Rita - Rita, you are the winner of round one by default. I say even without competition for that round, take a bow for the work you put into researching your answer for round one.
Now I'll present those who wish to play along with our basic game instructions and round two of the scavenger hunt:
This is an online scavenger hunt to determine which Lyme disease research being conducted in which universities and colleges involves or has involved members of the 2006 Lyme disease guidelines group.
I'm going to list Lyme disease related research either completed or currently being done in Column A, and in Column B, list the educational institution where the research was (or is) being conducted.
How to play:
Match the research in Column A with the correct educational institution in Column B.
Determine if members of the department involved are A) currently doing research with a member of the 2006 Lyme disease guideline authors or B) have worked on any research in a past with said guideline author(s).
Write your matches and mentions of any guideline authors in a comment and submit your comment for posting.
You can use google, Wikipedia, and any on and offline tools for your answers.
Roughly one week (perhaps we should make this two?) after I post a round, I'll post the correct answers as well as post the next round of the game. I intend to run the game for several weeks - end date to be announced later.
If anyone wins all rounds, after that win is confirmed, the next post I write will be based on the winner's selected topic of choice and include hand-drawn illustrations by me.
Research Description | Educational Institution |
1)
| A) Medical College of Wisconsin |
| 2) B. burgdorferi binds to members of a family of receptors on the surface of human cells termed "integrins", which are important in many cellular processes, including inflammation and blood vessel growth. Using a phage display library of B. burgdorferi genomic DNA, we identified a B. burgdorferi protein that mediates bacterial binding to β3-chain integrins, and have defined portions of this protein that participate in integrin recognition. Our current work focuses on determining the role of Borrelia-integrin recognition in the course of infection and the development of Lyme disease in the mouse model. We have also studied the mammalian cell response to B. burgdorferi strains that do or do not express the β3-chain integrin ligand, and by microarray analyses, have identified several signaling/regulatory pathways that show integrin-ligand specific changes in expression. Some of these may be important to the ability of this organism to disseminate from the site of the tick bite to other tissues. We also discovered that another B. burgdorferi protein, BBB07, signals through integrin α3β1 to promote a proinflammatory response in human chondrocytes, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of Lyme arthritis. Our phage display library was also used in vivo to identify B. burgdorferi proteins that bind to vessel walls in specific tissues such as the joint and heart, and further characterization of these proteins is underway. | B) Tulane University |
| 3) Critical to this work has been our development of green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporters that enable us to track live spirochetes in ticks and mice. Our live-imaging studies have fundamentally changed our understanding of the transmission process. In order to reach the mouse, spirochetes disseminate through the midgut into the salivary glands in order to access the salivary stream which they “ride” into the vertebrate host. We have found that dissemination of spirochetes in ticks is actually biphasic. In the first phase, which we have termed “adherence-mediated migration, spirochetes replicate in close association with differentiating midgut epithelial cells, “working” their way as aggregates or networks to the base of the epithelium. In the second phase, they transition into typically motile spirochetes, complete the penetration through the midgut, and then move on to the salivary glands en route to the mouse. Most recently, we have found that spirochetes lacking RpoS are deficient in this process and we are developing various strategies to identify the RpoS-dependent genes involved. | C) University of Connecticut |
There is much to learn from playing this game in and of itself that you gain something whether you win or lose. (I also have a point to make in playing it, and I'll reveal it at the end of the series... It might not be the point you suspect I'm going to make.)
This work by Camp Other is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution
-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
This is a message for a reader named Susie:
ReplyDeleteSusie, I received your comment with answers for this post, but had to delete it because it was attached to a different post - plus, while you did part 1 of the hunt, you need to complete part 2 to qualify for this round.
Can you please resubmit your answers and include part 2, which is listing members of the guidelines who have done research with the faculty from the above institutions? Thanks!
To all participating in this:
ReplyDeletePlease note that your answers will be posted at the close of a round so as to encourage competition and your own research. So don't expect answers to be posted here just yet.
CO,
ReplyDeleteWinner by default is fine with me, but I'm a bit surprised that no one (other than Susie) was curious enough to do a bit of internet research. Then again, it does requires both time and concentration (or at least a willingness to keep trying despite getting distracted/lost from time to time).
I'll be back to reading and posting comments here once a family situation (directly related to the extensive flooding in Vermont) has settled down a bit.
I just wanted to say that I really appreciate all of your efforts to stick to the science of Lyme disease. Your blog entries, comments and links have been very educational for me and no doubt many others. I believe you are a natural skeptic who likes to weigh the evidence on its own merit. Although you will never please everyone, you do provide a forum for healthy debate for anyone who wishes to participate.
Rita,
ReplyDeleteI think time and concentration are needed, so I'm trying to give anyone who wants to and is up to the task a week or two to respond. I think due to my own situation here, the next post may not be posted on the early side (weekly) anyway. Hopefully the extra time encourages more participation, but even if it does not, those reading along will learn more about the kind of research that's being done out there.
I'm sorry to hear that you're dealing with a situation involving extensive flooding. I hope whatever is happening there goes okay and is straightened out soon.
I'm doing what I can to write about the science side. It's not always easy, and in a way, I wonder if it would be better if I had not contracted Lyme disease - if that would ensure a greater sense of objectivity from me. On the other hand, I probably would not have been motivated to write about it if it hadn't happened to me. It's an odd position to find myself in.
If I could see one of my wishes come true, it would be to see others take up the cause and begin writing their own questioning blogs on Lyme disease and other tickborne infections. Just present the science and ask questions about it. Show all the angles. You don't even have to come to a solid conclusion on all topics or aspects of Lyme disease. The point is to keep the discussion going and learn.
There are hundreds of Lyme disease blogs out there, and only a very few look at the science with any regularity.
Established the rhesus monkey model of Lyme disease = B) Tulane University.
ReplyDeleteThe development of green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporters that enable us to track live spirochetes in ticks and mice = C)
University of Connecticut.
Our current work focuses on determining the role of Borrelia-integrin recognition in the course of infection and the development of Lyme disease in the mouse model = A)
Medical College of Wisconsin.
Thanks, CO.
To the reader named Rick:
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in this round. Please note, though, that you need to complete the second part of the scavenger hunt in order for your entry to fully qualify:
"Match the research in Column A with the correct educational institution in Column B.
Determine if members of the department involved are A) currently doing research with a member of the 2006 Lyme disease guideline authors or B) have worked on any research in a past with said guideline author(s)."
The portion in bold is the second part of your entry. Please submit that, too, in order to be fully qualified for this round. I will post what you submitted so far, but the above is needed for round consideration.
CO,
ReplyDeleteI've completed the first part, but need a bit more time to figure out the IDSA connection. Since I'm currently preoccupied with getting U.S. prescriptions filled for the first time using an internet pharmacy and a compounding pharmacy in the U.S., I was wondering how many days (if any) I might have left to do a bit of research to provide a complete response to part 2 of the scavenger hunt.
Rita,
ReplyDeleteI am a bit preoccupied myself lately, so for you and everyone participating, I will set the deadline for this Friday. Hopefully that will give people more time to do part B. It does mean the rounds will take longer to collectively finish, though.