Posted on 05/12/2011 1:53:07 PM PDT by decimon
A 16-year-old from the Toronto area used a supercomputer system to find a new drug combination that shows potential in treating the genetic disorder cystic fibrosis, and won top honors for his work.
Marshall Zhang, an 11th-grade student at Richmond Hill's Bayview Secondary School, received first place Tuesday (May 10) in the 2011 Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge, a contest in which students conduct their own research projects with the help of mentors.
Cystic fibrosis is a potentially fatal condition caused by a genetic mutation, or error. It causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs and elsewhere. Cystic fibrosis occurs most among white people of northern European ancestry, in about 1 out of 3,000 live births. In the past, most people with cystic fibrosis died in their teens, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Clinical trials under way suggest that specific drugs may help correct this problem, although no one has found a cure. [10 Worst Hereditary Conditions]
At his mentor's lab, Zhang used the Canadian SCINET supercomputing network to investigate what these drugs might be doing to fix the problem at the molecular level. Using the computer, he identified how two drugs each interacted with a mutant protein thought responsible for most cystic-fibrosis cases. Zhang then tested his findings using living cells.
He found that when combined the drugs became more effective than either alone, because they interacted with different parts of the protein.
"The cells treated with the two drugs were functioning as if they were the cells of healthy individuals," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Ping
Amazing what a fresh set of eyes, without a learned ‘bias’ can discover, isn’t it?
If they're the right eyes.
The politically correct preferred method of dealing with CF is to abort IT before IT is born.
Impressive young man from the looks of it.
I hope this helps people. One of my college friends has a nephew with CF. They didn’t know they were carriers until the child was born. Their other child does not have CF, but is also a carrier, of course.
Think we could get Marshall to find a cure for liberalism??
My nephew/sisters son has CF. There is all sorts of big promising treatments coming out. The more people care the more I know and my family knows a cure will be found. My nephew is turning 12 this weekend.
God bless this kid.
Hey, the guy is a super-duper analyst of medical interactions. He's no miracle-worker.
Thanks decimon
CF has its highest incidence among French Canadians.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.