Quirks & Quarks for September 26, 1998
Quirks & Quarks for September 26, 1998
No kidding around
Welcome to Willow the goat, Canada’s first transgenic dairy animal, born at Nexia Biotechnologies in Montreal. Willow is a BELE goat, which stands for Breed Early Lactate Early and she's been genetically engineered to carry a human gene. Transgenics is a fast-moving field and there are lots of questions. Dr. Jeff Turner, the chief executive of Nexia Biotechnologies, shares more about Willow, how she was produced and what her genetic make-up means. Dr. Steve Stice, chief scientific officer and founder of Advanced Cell Technology in Worchester, Massachusetts, is creating tansgenic cattle. He speaks about the differences of working with cows instead of goats and why transgenic cattle are being produced.
Dr. Jerry Yang is a professor of animal sciences at the University of Connecticut Transgenic Animal Facility. He’s also working on creating transgenic cattle, but with one less step. He explains how and why it's done.
Infant Pain
Until very recently, researchers thought young children didn’t experience pain and because of that they didn’t do anything to relieve the pain. But now that’s changing, and doctors and scientists are researching the ways infants feel pain and are discussing uses of anaesthetic. Dr. Anna Taddio, a research pharmacist at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, has been investigating the pain baby boys feel at the time of circumcision. She’ll be presenting her research on infant pain response next week at the international Forum on Pediatric Pain in Hunt’s Point, Nova Scotia.
This week she shares her research with us.
Nutrition Column: A Cup of Kava
Dr Carol Greenwood, Professor of Nutrition at the University of Toronto and the Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, joins us to talk about the science of the things we eat. She looks at Kava, a root from which tea is made, now used in extract form as an anti-depressant. Dr. Greenwood brings out questions about using herbals and reminds "natural" isn't necessarily healthy. Europa: A look at the icy moon of Jupiter
Galileo, the Jupiter space probe, is now entering the final stages of it’s long mission of exploration. While there's still time, scientists are focussing their study on the most interesting of the many moons of Jupiter: Io and Europa.
Last week we visited Io (September 19, 1998) -- and heard about its spectacular volcanoes and searing heat. Dr Torrence Johnson, chief scientist of the Galileo mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California shows us the contrast of Europa, Jupiter's icy moon that may hide an ocean. Check out updates at The Galileo Project website.“Spare Quarks”
Producer Jim Lebans tells us about two "almost-there" inventions: the micro-needle and a prosthetic device for the blind that turns shapes into sound.
Question of the week
Carolann Lacroix, the assistant curator of the Herbarium at the University of Guelph answers a listener's question about stinging nettles, a plant carrying silica hairs which puncture the skin and cause allergic reactions.
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