In 2016, the Zika virus dominated all other public health concerns. It was an epidemic in South America and threatened to become one in Asia. Zika is a flavivirus that is mainly spread by the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito. Symptoms range from mild fever to body aches, while an infection during pregnancy could cause foetal brain defects, such as microcephaly.

This year Zika isn’t the hot topic that it was, but it remains a research priority and health concern.

Recently, Assistant Professor Julien Pompon and his team, from the Emerging Infectious Diseases Programme at Duke-NUS Medical School (Duke-NUS), published research that identified the main carrier for an Asian Zika virus strain and compared different Zika virus strains. This work increases our understanding of the virus transmission.

Asst Prof Pompon compared the susceptibility of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus to an Asian Zika virus strain (H/PF13). The mosquitoes from these species were orally fed infected blood and, at seven days post infection, were examined to determine their infection rate and genome copies of the virus. High infection rates and genome copies indicate that the mosquito is more susceptible to picking up and transmitting a virus.

SingHealth Residency recently held the SingHealth Hackathon 2017 where staff and students from SingHealth and Duke-NUS, submitted proposals for innovations that would promote better coordination, communication and rehabilitation to improve patient care systems.  Fifteen teams competed in the Hackathon, and three teams were selected as top prize-winners.

Last week, Microscope talked to Duke-NUS students from CHIT, one of the winning teams. This week we chat with Lim Sze-Xian, Duke-NUS MD/PhD student and member of the winning team Move It!, about his experience working with a diverse team, his main takeaway and why he entered the Hackathon.

Describe Move It!

Move It! is an application that immerses patients in an interactive video game, which encourages them to perform rehabilitation exercises so as to recover their strength and range of motion more quickly. Move It! makes rehabilitation exercises easy to follow so patients know how to move their limbs by themselves safely, without the need of having a physiotherapist supervising them. The exercises that the patients are shown are customised to their specific condition. Our team is working towards commercialising the application so that patients will be able to start to benefit from it.

How did your team come up with the idea for your entry?

In this continuing conversation series with members from Centre for Technology & Development (CTeD), let’s find out more from Cheryl McCaffery, Deputy Director of CTeD, about how you can work with CTeD to assess a technology’s potential for commercial development.

CTeD is always happy to hear about new technologies arising from Duke-NUS research programmes. Whenever a new technology is devised (e.g. a new drug or method for diagnosing a disease), you are welcome to speak to us for advice on all aspects of intellectual property protection and commercialisation.

New study discovers pervasive RNA changes in the epileptic brain

Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurological disorder afflicting over 60 million people worldwide. The disorder is characterised by a tendency to have recurring, unprovoked seizures, and can cause other health problems. While seizures can be in part controlled by medication, there is currently no effective cure for epilepsy.  More fundamental research is needed to better understand the disorder and to identify treatment targets.

DNA is a molecule that carries the genetic instructions used in the growth and function of all living organisms, while RNA is a molecule that, amongst other functions, is essential for the transmission and use of these genetic instructions. Both DNA and RNA are essential for all known forms of life.

Currently, most of the research in epilepsy is focused on mutations and variations in the DNA. However, other types of variations might occur specifically in the RNA, which is a process called RNA  editing. Hence, it may be important to examine both DNA and RNA variations in epilepsy. This new research shifts the focus from solely analysing DNA, to analysing RNA editing in the epileptic brain.

In a study published in Genome Research, Duke-NUS Medical School’s (Duke-NUS) Associate Professor Enrico Petretto examined the role of RNA editing in the brain and discovered a new disease mechanism for epilepsy. The study’s findings breathe new life into the field of RNA editing research and therapy development for epilepsy.