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Could deadly shellfish venoms fight pain and save lives5 March 2008 The deadly toxins associated with ‘red tide’ algal blooms are being investigated as potential drugs by a New Zealand scientist who’s in Paris this week for the For Women in Science Awards.Auckland University researcher Margaret Brimble finds and recreates rare molecules derived from nature that could act as antimicrobial, anticancer or antiviral drugs. It can take years to identify the complex set of steps, often 20 or more, required to synthesise these naturally occurring compounds in the laboratory. But once a process has been defined for a particular compound, it can be used as a starting point for modifications to make a more drug-like molecule. Among the most interesting molecules Brimble has worked on are the toxins associated with ‘red tide’ algal blooms in coastal waters. Eaten via contaminated shellfish, these algal toxins can kill – through extreme cardiovascular and neurotoxic effects. Some of these toxins are being exploited as the basis of new drugs that may one day be used to treat a variety of conditions including pain, epilepsy, stroke and cancer. Brimble also makes natural compounds produced by a fungus that blocks the telomerase enzyme discovered by one of this year’s L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women In Science Laureates, Elizabeth Blackburn. These compounds are potential new anticancer agents. And a molecule she worked on for New Zealand biotech company Neuren Pharmaceuticals is undergoing human clinical trials as a treatment for traumatic brain injury in collaboration with the US Army’s Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Brimble was the 2007 Laureate for Asia Pacific for her contribution to the synthesis of complex natural products, in particular shellfish toxins. She is returning to Paris this week to attend the 10th anniversary celebrations of the L’ORÉAL- UNESCO For Women In Science program. Last month Brimble was honoured again by her countrymen, with a World Class New Zealand Award from Kea New Zealand and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, for her contributions to research, science, technology and academia. Brimble will be joined in Paris by three current and past Australian winners of the L’ORÉAL-UNESCO For Women In Science award. They are: · Elizabeth Blackburn, an expatriate Australian, and the 2008 Laureate for North America, honoured for her discovery of the nature and maintenance of chromosome ends and their roles in cancer and ageing. · Jenny Graves, 2006 Laureate for Asia Pacific. Her study of kangaroo, platypus and other marsupial genomes has revealed the fate of the human male Y chromosome, and much else about what it is to be human · Suzanne Cory, 2001 Laureate for Asia Pacific. By understanding exactly how cancer cells evade the normal process of slow death, Cory hopes to open the way to a new generation of cancer drugs. To interview any of the researchers in Paris contact: · In Australia: Niall Byrne, +61 (3) 9398 1416, +61 (417) 131 977, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au. · In Paris: Megan Ryan, +61 (400) 641 737, mryan@au.loreal.com · In New Zealand: Tanya Abbott, +64 9 526 8395, +64 21 678 497. |
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