Program to examine big ways small things are changing lives

Program to examine big ways small things are changing lives

BY JADE BOYD
Rice News staff

How will recent developments in genetics lead to gene-based tests, drugs and treatment methods? How will the latest discoveries in stem cell medicine result in breakthrough treatments for diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and heart attacks? How will new research in nanotechnology bring about cheaper, cleaner and safer transportation, as well as high-tech sensors for detecting environmental toxins.

These are but a few of the questions that will be addressed Feb. 16 by three faculty experts from Northwestern University’s Institute for Nanotechnology in a program titled “Small is Big: Science That’s Changing the Quality of Your Life.”

Sponsored by Northwestern, Rice University’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST), the Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology (CBEN) and the Alliance for NanoHealth and BioHouston, the free program will run from 6 to 9 p.m. in McMurtry Auditorium, Anne and Charles Duncan Hall.

Northwestern’s Institute for Nanotechnology and CBEN are both National Nanoscience and Engineering Centers (NSEC) that are funded by the National Nanotechnology Initiative via the National Science Foundation.

“The critical theme at the heart of CBEN’s programs is the close interplay between nanotechnology and biotechnology, and these prominent speakers from our sister NSEC in Chicago will offer us a wonderful new perspective on the subject,” said Wade Adams, director of CNST. “We are especially pleased to host Mark Ratner, who will be bringing copies of his well-known book on nanotechnology to be autographed before the lectures.”

The evening will begin with a reception followed by lectures from Rex L. Chisholm, the director of the Center for Genetic Medicine, the Adam and Richard T. Lind Professor of Medical Genetics and professor of cell and molecular biology and surgery at the Feinberg School of Medicine; Mark Ratner, the Charles E. and Emma H. Morrison Professor of Chemistry in the Weinberg College of Arts and Science; and Dr. John A. Kessler, the Benjamin and Virginia T. Boshes Professor of Neurology, chair of neurology and director of the Evelyn Frances Feinberg Clinical Neuroscience Research Institute at the Feinberg School of Medicine.

Chisholm will describe how recent advances in gene science, such as deciphering the human genome, are revolutionizing medicine by opening the door to new diagnostic tests, drugs and disease therapies. While these promise to improve medical care in many ways, they also raise serious ethical, legal and privacy issues. In understandable, nontechnical language, Chisholm will present an overview of the science, the problems and the promises associated with genetic medicine.

Ratner will focus on nanotechnology and the ways it may benefit the economy, the environment, human health and living standards worldwide. Ratner will explore how nanoscientists manipulate atoms and molecules to create materials with astonishing properties and practical benefits, and he will describe some of the world-renowned nanotech research taking place at Northwestern’s Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self Assembly.

Kessler will discuss the potential of stem cell therapies to treat diseases like diabetes and Parkinson’s, as well as injuries from heart attacks or spinal-cord trauma. He will explore how these therapies work and how stem cells derived from human embryos differ from adult stem cells, and he will explain what distinguishes “therapeutic” cloning from “reproductive” cloning. Kessler will also address some of the ethical and political controversies surrounding the use of stem cells.