Medical advance from ocean studies (1982)

at sea buggy research scientists create products which enrich the quality of our lives products to increase our food supply dyes and pigments which surround us with color pharmaceuticals to improve our health products which reaffirm the value of science to mankind as part of its continuing program in support of Science Education ciba-geigy is pleased to present this issue of the science green report the science green report developments in science engineering and medicine which help solve the problems of modern life the oceans covering three-quarters of our planet are also the environment of 80 percent of Earth's life forms today ocean life research is proving to be a significant source of such medications as antibiotics and anti-cancer drugs as well as important new medical knowledge currently science is expanding its efforts to harvest medical discoveries and materials from the oceans this is a report on those growing efforts medical advances from ocean studies [Music] the ocean an environment teeming with plants and animals rich with chemicals and nutrients charged with the stored energy of sunlight today man is returning to the Living oceans in search of scientific advances the research expeditions of New York's Osborn laboratories for example cover the waters around Jamaica and the British Virgin Islands specimens are taken for the aquarium as well as for the medication program ocean species vary in their medical usefulness some are only slightly effective as medicines others have bad side effects still others are less effective than now available medications but for each new species collected and tested there is a chance of a major medical discovery at Osborne laboratories the scientific sifting process commences in order to test a newly collected sponge toxin as sea urchin female is coaxed into releasing her eggs while gamete sex cells are collected from the male sea urchin the eggs are fertilized in a culture dish and some sponge toxin edit after a one-day wait the samples are checked there are normal larvae but also abnormal larvae evidence of the sponge toxins biological effects poisonous jellyfish and other venomous creatures are also starting to benefit medical science they're injurious toxins in use worldwide both in research and in the treatment of cardiovascular and nerve disorders at the Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center dr. Finley Russel specializes in studies of venomous creatures of both land and sea possible sources of tomorrow's medications in Washington State jellyfish are harvested at Friday Harbor Biological Station for testing as a diagnostic tool their ability to Luminess or glow when stimulated is the key to this technique jellyfish extract and test patient blood are placed in a spectrophotometer if calcium ions are present flash of light results it's brightness level can indicate cancer or parathyroid problems at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution blood of horseshoe crabs is collected to be used in detecting endotoxins poisons produced by some species of bacteria up to 1/2 the crabs blood may be removed without harm the fluid is then centrifuge to separate useful components to be extracted freeze-dried and shipped to researchers at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore researcher Jack Levin has found this horseshoe crab extract effective in the diagnosis of some types of blood poisoning urinary tract infections and meningitis bacterial infections of brain fluid solid gel indicates deadly endotoxins while the control fluid is clear and colorless this sea life diagnosis system simple and sensitive is now superseding others for these disorders Woods Hole is also a leading world Center in applying marine science to researching medical mysteries new knowledge of the squids for instance is helping explain the human nervous system [Music] currently squid nerve studies are being carried out by a national institute of health expert dr. David Gilbert the squids nerve fiber 500 times larger than a human nerve makes it an ideal research subject a human nerve would be too small to probe in this fashion in fact much basic knowledge of human nerve functions has come from the squid here an electrode is inserted within the nerve measure and analyze signals moving through it another nerve study project involves responses of divers nervous systems to extreme pressure and in particular why such high pressure may produce nervous tremors brief periods of unconsciousness and even death a small pressure chamber holding a squid nerve axon is used to simulate the critical conditions [Music] in another woods whole project toad fish are used to study human diabetes unlike man's the insulin producing cells of toad fish are concentrated in a single mass insulin release can thus be more easily studied biting close to its malfunction known as diabetes here radioactive insulin producing toadfish cells visible at right are placed in a test tube a growth medium is added then the mixture is cycled through a radiation monitor as insulin is released the radiation count changes providing close to the nature of diabetes at a University of California Berkeley Laboratory leeches are being studied in order to better understand the brain [Music] while the human brain has billions of nerve cells the leech with only a few hundred provides a simple model for studying the brains equivalent of an electronic circuit each segment of the leeches body has its own nerve center find glass electrodes permit probing of these centers to determine their structures and functions [Music] much was learned from this smaller leech species also a source of a valuable anti blood clotting drug by comparison however the new half a metre long leech provides more progeny hence is a better source of both anticoagulants and test subjects [Music] studies at Albert Einstein College of Medicine involve the eyes of the cowfish which move independently of each other dr. michael bennett demonstrates rotating the cow fish's head makes the fish's eyes shift allowing its retina to remain locked on a single visual target but what causes the eyes to move and what controls how much they move the phenomenon is studied by a-- this apparatus as the cowfish is rotated it's nerve signal its eyes to move and the nerve signals are recorded for studying studying cowfish eye coordination could help explain how human eye movements are coordinated as subjects still incompletely understood along the California coast highly trained dolphins are used by researchers to study the effects of extreme pressure on living organisms as part of the research this dolphin has been taught to trigger a camera on the seabed thus photographing itself at 500 meters pressure has completely collapsed the dolphins ribcage his lungs are useless from such Clues it was proven that dolphins can survive for limited periods on the oxygen stored in their bloodstream alone at the Navy mammal training center near San Diego director dr. Samuel Ridgeway comments this type of study is the fact that through investigation of the diving physiology of marine mammals we might be able to get information that would be useful for solving certain human medical problems such as diving decompression sickness fetal asphyxia shock perhaps even things like sudden infant death syndrome that are related to breath holding and other cardiovascular responses that the organism makes to learn how high-pressure affects the human heart sea lions with implanted radio telemeters broadcast their heart rates to surface recorders in controlled dives the sea lions normal heartbeat is about 100 beats per minute on the surface but much less at great depth this one has been taught to slow his heart on command to as low as 10 beats per minute altering his metabolism and decreasing his oxygen intake can man learn these crisis survival skills some physiologist think so today marine scientists at universities Research Laboratories medical centers and maybe installations are improving medical diagnosis and treatment as well as advancing human understanding of basic life processes for the benefit of all mankind science screen report has been produced by ciba-geigy corporation with headquarters in Ardsley New York as part of its continuing program in support of science education [Music]