It’s all in the family

AlexandraFiott

Whatever you inherit comes from your biological family. Unfortunately, this includes disease. Talking about inherited conditions can make people anxious, making them unwilling to discuss the issue with their relatives. After speaking to a number of people my impression is that it seems taboo to discuss these things. People seem to feel that they will be stigmatised or treated differently because of a genetic condition.

A fear of social stigma hinders beneficial research. Research needs the collaboration of patients, since by investigating their condition researchers can in the long run develop a treatment or therapy. Not only that, but avoiding certain discussions means that relatives who might be at risk of developing the same problem would not be aware of it. If a condition is detected too late there might be very little that can be done.

It is very useful to discuss these matters with your family and speak to your doctor together. By building a medical family tree you can easily see who might inherit what. This way, your relatives will learn more about their health and then seek treatment. For example, a cousin might learn that she has an increased risk of breast cancer and would therefore attend screening sessions to catch the cancer before it spreads. Not knowing that something is there does not make it go away but discussing medical matters with your family could save a relative’s life.

“It is very useful to discuss these matters with your family and speak to your doctor together”

Scientific studies need family medical information. Scientific studies using family trees have already shown how useful this information is in identifying families with a high risk for inheritable cancers, like colon and breast cancer. Other research showed that families can benefit from preventative treatments against cardiovascular diseases like diabetes.

Local research has recently used this technique to find new genes, knowledge that can be developed for new treatments. The researchers were studying the genetic background of the protein which carries oxygen in our blood, haemoglobin. This protein switches from foetal haemoglobin to adult haemoglobin 3–6 months after birth. People with thalassemia have a problem with the adult version. Therefore, by studying local families that naturally cope well with the disease, they discovered the KLF1 gene that compensates for the malfunctioning adult protein by raising foetal haemoglobin levels. This was only possible with the help of family trees.

Speaking to a doctor to prepare a medical family tree (pictured) is done in the strictest confidentiality. You may also create your family medical history on https://familyhistory.hhs.gov/fhh-web/home.action to discuss with your family and doctor. I believe that it is in our best interest, apart from being potentially beneficial to the rest of humankind, to help in the creation of our own family medical trees.

If you have any queries when your physician or consultant asks you to prepare a family tree feel free to discuss them rather than avoiding family trees.

Should Malta Be The Next China?

JonathanCBorgAfter repeatedly visiting Asia, I totally disagree with comments occasionally made that China’s industrial success is wholly attributed to its ability to replicate low quality versions of branded products at rock-bottom prices. In China there are many good examples of good quality products and brands being produced such as Audi, Airbus, and Armani. Based on these facts, what Maltese industry and policy makers should focus on is making our industry more competitive by improving the current situation and analyzing products being developed elsewhere.

The Maltese industry is not really dying. Our industry has indeed changed, for example from textiles to pharmaceuticals. Overall, the number of employees has declined. However, this is either due to industry becoming more efficient hence able to produce more with less, or due to the way statistical data is being collected.

Malta’s industrial sector can become more competitive. However, what does it mean to ‘be competitive’? Goods should be produced with shorter delivery periods, better costs and quality compared to competitors. Since we lack raw materials cost is very challenging to compete on. On the other hand, improving quality provides much more opportunity. Quality can be improved by increasing the external quality of the products manufactured, the product’s functionality, the interactions that take place with clients during product development, the quality of support and after sales services, management of operations, and how operators work. Core to adopting this quality-based approach is the need to focus on shifting from just manufacturing products to designing and manufacturing products in Malta.

“Goods should be produced with shorter delivery periods, better costs, and quality compared to competitors”

To design their own products, Maltese manufacturing firms need to set up an internal Research & Development unit. At the same time, industry needs support through government policies and incentives. In their publication ‘Vision 2015’ American consultants clearly specify product design as an enabler to higher value added manufacturing. The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise & Industry has also recommended starting a Malta Business Research & Innovation Body. These recommendations need urgent implementation to shift Malta’s manufacturing industry towards becoming ‘design driven’.

The UoM’s Faculty of Engineering has been actively contributing towards a design driven approach. Our undergraduate engineers are purposely trained in this design-centric approach. Additionally, some final year student projects focusing on design are sponsored by industry: an excellent win-win mechanism. A number of both mechanical and electrical engineers have also benefited through an evening M.Sc. in Integrated Product Development. The Faculty also collaborates with industry through MCST funded Research & Innovation projects. More financial support to University would help every academic active in research to regularly receive decent research funds.

Considering the above, Malta does not and should not aim to be the next China. On the other hand, Malta should nurture its unique strengths such as a highly educated, flexible English-speaking workforce. We should aim to address weaknesses related to Malta’s manufacturing sector. This requires short-term and long-term commitments from our policy makers. Business leaders can also proactively embrace change by aiming to offer quality and innovative solutions, rather than aiming for higher production rates of existing products. The Maltese industry should support continuous training and collaborate on research activities with University. The UoM can help them become more innovative. Like Airbus, Armani, and Audi, Maltese business leaders should exploit, rather than fear, Asian industry. Some Malta based entities, such as Toly Products Ltd, are already going down these routes and are reaping the rewards of growth during a recession. Clearly others should aim to do the same to keep Malta competitive.

Incubator Helps Start-ups take off

BenMcClure

 

The old saying goes: it takes a village to raise a child. In other words, to get it right a community effort is needed, shared by family and friends who pass on their experience and knowledge to the youngster.

The same saying applies to building technology companies. Budding technology entrepreneurs in Malta need plenty of nurturing and guidance to get their innovations off the ground and into the marketplace. A supportive and well-connected entrepreneurial community is what is needed to transform Malta’s innovations into start-up ventures that will expand the economy.

The good news for Malta is that the basic components of a technology start-up community already exist. The University of Malta is a hothouse of world-class scientific, engineering, and creative research that holds the potential to spin out exciting commercial ventures. A new generation of bright, technically-skilled graduates is starting to pursue entrepreneurship as a career path. Malta lacks a professional venture capital investment industry, but does have high net worth entrepreneurs and private ‘angel’ investors. Many of these have valuable experience gained abroad and are hungry to find and fund high-potential technology companies. The government is exploring ways of encouraging early-stage investment by way of tax incentives and seed fund development. Ideas, entrepreneurial energy, and money — the key ingredients for raising technology start-ups — are all here on the island.

“Tucked away in their laboratories, garages, and workshops, Malta’s innovators are not networking”

So, what is holding us back? I recently spoke to Steve Blank, a highly successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur and investor. I asked him what he thought was missing. His reply: ‘much of the Valley’s alchemy lies in connectivity’.

Innovators, entrepreneurs, investors – Malta has got them all. Unfortunately, they are not finding each other. Tucked away in their laboratories, garages, and workshops, Malta’s innovators are not networking. They need skilled and experienced business people to push their technologies past the idea stage. Wealthy angel investors are here in Malta, but they frequently operate ‘under the radar’ and can be hard to access. In the absence of connections, both investors and innovators miss out on potentially rewarding opportunities. Promising young ventures, which might takeoff with a little support and funding, consequently get left to struggle on their own.

The University of Malta Business Incubator will start operations this year and create a platform for new start-ups. Opening its doors to researchers, students, and aspiring technology entrepreneurs, the incubator will provide them with space to plan, launch, and grow businesses. There, a network of seasoned entrepreneurs, business mentors, and angel investors will join them. These ‘parents and village elders’ will be mobilised to concentrate efforts to guide start-ups to create a company, raise capital, and reach the marketplace. We aim to make the incubator a lively hub to create businesses.

Building a company, like raising a child, is a lot of hard work. Bringing the community together under one roof, where it can do the job right, will ease the labour of start-up development, and improve the odds of scoring triumphs.

 

Ben McClure is Manager at the University of Malta Business Incubator

benjamin.mcclure@um.edu.mt

 

Diabetes: from genes to blood

Alexandra Fiott
Alexandra Fiott

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a disease that affects over 250 million people worldwide. Many in Malta suffer from the disease because of our high carbohydrate diet and lack of physical activity. Type 2 diabetes arises when levels of the sugar glucose remain very high in the blood. Testing normally involves frequent finger pricks to determine blood sugar levels, or otherwise a patient can take a sugary drink followed by regular urine/blood testing over 2 or more hours.

Alexandra Fiott (supervised by Prof. A. Felice) studied whether the absolute HbA1c levels (the haemoglobin fraction with sugar attached multiplied by the haemoglobin concentration) would provide a better method to describe the link between one’s genetics and diabetic condition. She attempted to reduce the frequency of the testing needed while using a relatively non-invasive test — the withdrawing of one tube of blood, while investigating the genetics of diabetes.

Haemoglobin (Hb) transports oxygen throughout the blood through red blood cells. The HbA1c forms when glucose binds to haemoglobin. This can be used as an indirect measure of average blood sugar concentrations. Measuring HbA1c levels is rapid, but unfortunately the results are influenced by factors that affect red blood cells. With around 5% of Maltese having red blood cell disorders, an alternative measurement would help reduce inaccurate results and unnecessary worry for patients. The absolute HbA1c was used for this study.

The genetics and blood profile of five different patient groups were determined using genetic and biochemical methods: adults with a normal blood profile, anaemics, beta-thalassaemics, pregnant women, and type 2 diabetics (on limited treatment). Statistical analysis did not reveal an improved link, but the absolute HbA1c did help distinguish between the different patient groups.

To improve the reliability of these results, a separate set of experiments was carried out to see whether a known Maltese variation in haemoglobin, with a prevalence of around 1.8% in the Maltese population, has an effect on the amount of sugar that binds to the haemoglobin. This variant was found not to influence the blood glucose levels and therefore the HbA1c.

Taken together these results showed that the absolute HbA1c does not improve the link between the genetics and blood profile of the patients. However, it could distinguish between different groups of patients.

 

This research was performed as part of an M.Sc. (Melit.) in Biomedical Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at the University of Malta.

Deep Sea Malta

Kimberly Terribile
Kimberly Terribile

The deep sea covers 70% of the Mediterranean seabed, with Malta on the boundary of the Sea’s two main biogeographical sectors. Despite its importance in detecting changes in biodiversity, research on what lives in this habitat lags behind. Kimberly Terribile (supervised by Prof. Patrick J. Schembri) characterised the marine life on the seabed in deeper waters around Malta as a first step to find out what lives far beneath our waves.

Terribile studied species by-catch samples that were caught from depths of 72 to 201m during deep sea trawls from 2009–2011. These were part of the Mediterranean International Trawl Surveys (MEDITS), which is meant to assess the state of fish stocks around the Mediterranean. Over 100 samples were analysed, which showed that light and the grain size of the sea bottom greatly influence the species that can live there. The type and number of species found were different from distributions seen in the western Mediterranean. She also mapped which species groups were found where.

Taken together, these results show that the assemblages of species in the western Mediterranean are different from those in the central and eastern areas. The knowledge of these ecosystems is essential to properly manage these areas to maintain the health of fish stocks and for the management of the marine environment around Malta.

Mapping the deep sea holds strong commercial importance. By knowing where important feeding, spawning, and nursery areas may occur, fish stocks and other commercially important species can be properly managed to maximise the catch from the Mediterranean without causing the populations to collapse.

The study attempted to start understanding the deeper seas around Malta. Fish do not exist individually, they need to breed, shelter and feed on other organisms. To maintain commercial fish you need to understand how all species affect each other. The study is a first step in maintaining our seas for tomorrow.

 

This research was performed as part of an M.Sc. (Melit.) in Biology at the Faculty of Science. This project forms part of a collaboration between the Department of Biology and the Maltese Government’s
Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture.

Etna

The ancients saw volcanoes as the wrath of their mighty gods. Volcanoes have been blamed for clearing whole towns, even planet-wide extinctions. A local team based in Gozo has just found out if Etna affects the Maltese Islands. Words by Dr Edward Duca.

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Does Alcohol kill brain cells?

This myth is HUGE! Urban legend says that drinking kills cells, some even say: ‘three beers kill 10,000 brain cells.’ Thankfully, they are wrong.

In microbiology labs, a 70% alcohol 30% water mix is used to clean surfaces pretty efficiently. It seems our neurons are made of sturdier stuff.

Alcohol does affect brain cells. Everyone knows that and it isn’t pretty. Alcohol can damage dendrites, which are delicate neural extensions that usually convey signals to other neurons. Damaging them prevents information travelling from one neuron to another — a problem. Luckily, the damage isn’t permanent.

Racing into the Future

LogoWay back in 2007, a dedicated group of six people put together a formula-style race car in just six months to compete in a prestigious international competition called FSAE. Since then no other team has participated. Students were always interested to build a racing car but found it too hard to actually carry out — the underlying logistics were simply too much.

In December 2012, a group of motivated university students founded the University of Malta Racing (UoMR) team. Their mission statement: ‘To encourage and facilitate students of the University of Malta to unite together as a team in the planning, design and construction of a Formula-style race car and to participate in the Formula SAE, or similar competitions.” They were brought together by a love of cars, engines, speed and a competitive spirit.

Welding-BenchThe 2007 team placed 17th out of 20 teams. The new team has stiff competition and huge challenges to overcome for the upcoming competition in July 2014. Foreign universities compete every year and build a database of knowledge and experience which students use to continue improving their cars. For the UoM to compete eff
ectively with top-class international universities, there must be a strong framework which supports and encourages students from every faculty, especially the Faculty of Engineering. To overcome this challenge the team extensively researched the parts, materials needed and procedure to build a competitive vehicle. The PR and Finance team of the UoMR also drew up a sponsorship proposal, which was used to attract sponsors and collaborators. Without them the project would not be possible.

The team is currently working on the car’s design. At the same time they are fabricating some parts and structures inside their workshop at University. They are looking for financial or in kind assistance from driving enthusiasts and organisations. •

For more information on UoMR and contact details visit: uomracing.com. The University of Malta’s research trust, RIDT, fully supports the UoM racing team initiative. The trust aims to sustain and grow the UoM’s research activity. Please consider making a contribution at www.ridt.eu