Question: Ok, @laura what exactly do you do, and how is it going to be used in the real world?

Laura Newton answered on 19 Jun 2015:

Hey TommyJ!

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you!

There are 2 projects I’m working on.
1) finding a way to measure heme in cells
2) finding a way to help cells when there is too much heme

These are important and could be used in the real world like this:
1) we can’t measure it at the moment which makes monitoring the damage it causes difficult as well as what exactly causes its levels to increase. Having too much heme in our cells isn’t good for them and it’s increased in people with diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease as well as when skin is hit by UV light. So if we can detect it we could potentially diagnose these disease sooner.

2) if we can help our cells get rid of the excess heme more quickly then potentially we could prevent the development of these kinds of diseases or even treat them when they arise.

I’m trying to do this by
1) Making a molecule (a probe) that I can put into cells that will bind to heme and change colour, then I can measure the colour change and work out how much heme there is

2) There’s an enzyme that our cells can make that breaks down heme. How much our cells actually do make is controlled by a different protein. I’m trying to make a molecule (a drug) that can bind to that protein and make the cell make more of the enzyme. If they can make more of the enzyme then they can break down more heme.

Hope this answers your question! Let me know if you have any more 🙂

Laura