Networking a Cure for HIV

    

Fig.1. HIV illustration (left, credit: ©iStock.com/Rost-9D) and receiving treatment (right, credit: WHO).

Editor’s Note: SciColl held our first community workshop on Emerging Infectious Diseases in October 2014. This October, we're posting several pieces that highlight the important work where collections continue to play an integral role.

Editor’s Note: SciColl intern, Eden Absar from the University of Houston, contributed this article as part of her time in the SciColl office during Summer 2017. 

The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an enigma of an infection that has puzzled scientists, doctors, and researchers since the first presented case in the 1980s. Although the modern medical community continues to study it and gather information, a cure for the disease remains elusive. According to the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, as of 2015, there are nearly 37 million people worldwide who have been infected by HIV. Of that number, 1.8 million are children under the age of 15. In 2015, approximately 150,000 children were newly infected with HIV - a rate of nearly 400 new pediatric HIV patients every day. These numbers present a huge problem that appears to grow threateningly larger in the face of the lack of a cure for the disease.

Scientific Collections vs. Pandemics: an unfair match?

Fig. 1. Ebola Signs and Symptoms.

Editor’s Note: SciColl held our first community workshop on Emerging Infectious Diseases in October 2014. This October we're posting several pieces that highlight the important work where collections continue to play an integral role.

Editor’s Note: SciColl intern, Ebubechi Okpalugo from Pembroke College, contributed this article as part of her time in the SciColl office during Summer 2017.

Sweeping across three countries and claiming over 11,000 lives, the 2014 West African Ebola outbreak is almost impossible to forget. First identified in 1976, in a remote village named Zaire in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo, there have been multiple outbreaks of the virus since. But the 2014 pandemic, caused by the Zaire strain, has been the most deadly. Striking on the border of three of the poorest African nations, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia, the virus spread to an unprecedented scale. Liberia, the worst hit, was not officially declared Ebola-free until the 13^th of January 2016.

Could it have been stopped quicker? That’s where scientific collections come in.

Monday Morning Coffee Break: July 18

(Credit: iStock) 

#technology #mobileapp #botany #plant #disease #diagnosis

The Greatest Hits

Fig.1. Museum in Pennsylvania (Credit: Michelle J. Enemark, 2011) and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault 
 (Credit: Mari Tefre, Global Crop Diversity Trust, via Flickr) 

Editor’s Note: After two years of exciting and engaging work, staff writer Adele Crane will be leaving Scientific Collections International for graduate school in Arizona. Out of 214 posts garnering more than 34,500 views, Adele chose some of her favorite articles.

From a small natural history museum in Pennsylvania to a seed-bank built to survive doomsday scenarios, collections reside all around the world in many forms. My work over the past two years with Scientific Collections International (SciColl) has been to chip away at only a fraction of the specimens and samples out there, exploring a slew of topics from microbes in your backyard to moon rocks - and on rare cases, even both!

When we initially started the blog, we wanted to connect collections to disease research and response. Articles on cross-disciplinary and novel approaches to outbreaks would lead up to SciColl’s very first workshop on Emerging Infectious Diseases. The workshop was indeed timely, coinciding with the Ebola epidemic in Africa, and it highlighted the need to make this type of active outreach ongoing, instead of sporadic.

Perhaps as a preface to the type of work I will pursue in graduate school, my favorite articles were a fantastic education on how to bridge unique specimens with historic and current disease research. To break down the broad topic of “emerging infectious diseases,” we focused on smaller case studies of known and relatively unknown pathogens that affect millions around the world:

• Disease Collections and How They Can Save the World: In 1976, a broken vial of blood transported in luggage from the Democratic Republic of the Congo found its way to the young Belgian scientist, Peter Piot. The blood carried one of the most feared pathogens in current disease research. 

• C. Miguel Pinto, the Disease Detective: A conversation with C. Miguel Pinto in our very own museum explored the cross-section of disease research and classic taxonomy, in which basic evolutionary principles are tested. 

Fig.2. Plate of microorganisms that were cultured from the soil
(Credit: Julia Stevens)

Over the course of the blog, we looked beyond case studies and current research challenges. How can ancient specimens inform future problems? There are many examples where collections were used to further important research in areas like environmental change and food security.

When we take a step back, the larger impacts of educating the next generation of scientists or bringing countries together to protect biodiversity are extraordinarily important. After working with SciColl, I am grateful to have gained that perspective and I hope to hear many more of these stories in years to come:

• Microbes and Middle Schools: Citizen science has the ability to reach both students and researchers in powerful ways. Collections that not only support invasive species studies but engage middle schoolers in science are a cornerstone of ongoing work at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. 

• Seeds for the End of the World: Seed banks preserve both biological diversity and cultural heritage. Banks around the world, from Peru to Norway, are working to provide a future for agriculture and historical practices. 

• Smart Collecting: A New Collecting Culture: What began as a short discussion in our Emerging Infectious Disease workshop turned into a larger conversation about a “collecting culture” that could be improved for museums and biobanks alike.

The Origin(s) of Outbreaks

Fig.1. Color print of Aedes aegypti mosquito
 (Credit: Emil August Goeldi, 1905) 

On Monday, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) declared a yellow fever epidemic in three provinces, including the heavily populated capital of Kinshasa. The current outbreak has killed more than 300 people in Angola and depleted the world’s vaccine stockpile to protect people in Angola, DRC, and Uganda. Although the outbreak is largely confined to central Africa, scientists worry about its potential spread to Asia, where 2 billion people live in areas infested with the disease’s vector, the Aedes aegypti mosquito.

Public health officials do not yet know which factors led to this event becoming the deadliest yellow fever outbreak since 1971. Whether the virus became more virulent or it came in contact with new populations, the question of why now sits at the heart of every outbreak. To answer this question, scientists are teasing apart the genetic and environmental factors that make a disease tick. 

Monday Morning Coffee Break: Feb. 22

(Credit: AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan) 

#mosquitoes #samples #Zikavirus #emergingdiseases #climatechange

In the News: PNAS Editorial Released

Fig.1. Ebola response worker in full personal protective equipment
 (Credit: UNMEER via Flickr, 2014) 

An editorial based on SciColl’s 2014 workshop on emerging infectious diseases has just been released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. From the first case to a worldwide eradication effort, scientific collections are necessary for disease research and response. This week, public health officials join in the fight against mysterious diseases and call for increased communication and collaboration.

Our 2015 Annual Report!

During the second year of SciColl activities, we engaged the community in new and exciting ways. We launched the Global Registry of Scientific Collections and participated on five social media platforms, which helped spread the word about our Emerging Infectious Diseases Workshop report and other collections research. See our 2015 Annual Report for the full highlights!

Curious about what we are doing in 2016? Sign up for blog updates, follow us on Twitter, or contact us directly to get involved.

Monday Morning Coffee Break: Dec. 28

(Credit: AYACOP) 

#emerginginfectiousdisease #disease #globalspread

Scientific Collections in Disease Response

One year ago, some of the world's leading minds in emerging infectious disease research met at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History to discuss the role of scientific collections in disease response. Scientific Collections International (SciColl) brought people together from different disciplines and across various collections to create connections and spread ideas. Read to learn more about how collections are placed in a larger dialogue about disease research and response:

Workshop Report

Press Release 

Old Blood and New Science

Fig.1. This Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopicts) can carry dangerous emerging diseases (Credit: James Gathany, CDC)

Little over a year ago, the first locally acquired case of the mosquito-borne disease chikungunya appeared in the continental United States. This virus had only been recognized seven months prior in the Western Hemisphere, but quickly joined diseases such as Ebola and hantavirus on the ever-growing list of emerging infectious diseases.

In the News: A New Member of the Family

Fig.1. Left and right view of a hand of Homo naledi, a recently discovered species of extinct hominin found in South Africa (Credit: Lee Roger Berger research team, 2015)

From bones hidden in the depths of a South African cave to century-old mold, these scientific discoveries change our understanding of human evolution and disease. Read to learn more about a new hominin, trade and caffeine, tracking diseases, and more:

In the News: Lessons in Food and Health

Fig.1. Seeds from the NUAC Farm in Northern Uganda, part of an effort by the US Agency for International Development to aid in a global effort for food security (Credit: USAID via Flickr, 2012)

Collections offer valuable lessons in global health, food security, and biodiversity. Read to learn about mitigating emerging infectious diseases, providing a future for herbaria, and protecting our crops in the coming century:

Conferences chatterings (and tweetings)

Monday Morning Coffee Break: April 20

(Credit: iStockPhoto) 

#climatechange #parasites #emergingdiseases #infectiousdiseases

Monday Morning Coffee Break: April 13

(Credit: iStockPhoto) 

#climatechange #emergingdiseases #diseaseoutbreak

Report explores use of scientific collections in combating emerging infectious diseases

Editor's Note

The October 2014 workshop report can be seen here. For more information about SciColl, visit www.scicoll.org.

WASHINGTON -- Scientific Collections International, or SciColl, a global consortium devoted to promoting the use and impact of object-based scientific collections across disciplines, hosted a two-day workshop in October 2014, bringing together some of the world’s leading minds in emerging infectious diseases.