Jackson
Posting Number: 2
Topic: Science/Technology
Title: When Good Cells Go Bad: K-State Scientist Researches Cellular Structure
Writer: Clark Johnson
Publication Name: M2PressWIRE
Date of Publication: August 13, 2010
Length: 389 words
Some scientific research experiments do not involve any effort to cure a disease but rather seek understanding of the biological function of a particular complex or organism. Jeroen Roelofs is a researcher at Kansas State University, originally from the Netherlands, getting his postdoctoral at Harvard Medical School. Proteasome 26S is a complex being studied by Roelofs that controls the disposal of defective proteins. A dearth of this complex can cause many diseases if defective proteins build up in cells and cause problems with biochemical processes. Roelofs has landed two grants in which he will study proteasome 26S in more depth hoping to find answers to how it works. He claims that he is trying to find out how a cell will work normally and naturally, looking to uncover details about cellular functions rather than dysfunctions. This technique usually leads to many new pathways being opened for other scientists to discover new facts and possibly new cures for related diseases in the long run. Though he does not intend to personally cure any diseases with his discoveries, he intends to expand our scientific knowledge so that future researchers can cure these diseases.
In conclusion, Roelofs is attempting to enter a cell for the purpose of documenting the process that proteasome 26S naturally goes through. Because he does not intend to cure any diseases with his findings, perhaps he is being generous to the scientific community by doing the hard, long work and leaving the more significant discoveries for other scientists. Otherwise, he could still make significant findings when he is observing the normal process of proteasome 26S, and those findings may end up creating cures. Roelofs work could prove to be unsuccessful, or it could turn out to be very significant and helpful to those affected by dysfunctional protein disorders.
We can almost say that all science research is beneficial in some way. Even for a reseach with no particular results, it opens a new trail for many other scientists to carry on. Doctor Roelofs's researh will open a new field for biologists to study on, and we can understand the human body more han we did before, and even lead to a greater understanding of all life forms. Good luck to Doctor Roelofs and his studies.
ReplyDeleteMany discoveries were made by having people look over material that was already studied and documented before. So I wouldn't be surprised if he turned over something new.
ReplyDeleteI believe this is a step in the right direction, as scouting out information on the problem is always the first step to solving it.
I agree that Dr. Roelof's work could potentially be very beneficial to the forward development of cures. As you have mentioned, it is also probably true that Dr. Roelof's work might go unnoticed, since he is leaving the significant discoveries up to other scientists.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great start to forwarding the development of cures and Dr. Roelof's work should be noticed even if he is leaving the other discoveries to different scientists.
ReplyDeleteDr. Roelof's work could prove to be very useful indeed, but the possibility of failure is there, as with any scientific endeavor.
ReplyDelete