Saturday, March 31, 2007

MARs probe discover Martian nematode worm

Source: LeSolara News Agency
The probe that was launched into space and landed on Mars has discovered a Martian fossil. It looked like a nematode worm. Dr William Kandinsky, one of the researchers responsible for the Mars probe design was excited over the findings. He told reporters at a press conference yesterday: "All of us are excited over this discovery. For the first time, we have discovered alien multi-cellular life in the Red Planet. It's possible that more complex lifeforms may exist in the vast expanse of the universe where conditions are suitable for the development of life."
It was rumored that the team responsible for the design of the Mars probe considered designing more advanced probes and sending them to Mars to look in every nook and cranny for signs of complex life. However, Dr William added cautiously,"as much as we want to extensively explore the Red Planet, the reality is that we need funds to proceed, and I would like to appeal for the support of the US President in this endeavour. However, I would urge more calm and restrain as it is only an idea thrown out during the euphoria of the fossil discovery."
For researchers at SETI (Search for Extra Terrestial Intelligence), there was cause for celebration. Dr Alain Armstrong remarked:"The Mars probe has shown to us the first signs of complex life. This has given hope to those who have dedicated their lives to searching for extra terrestial intelligent life."
Even a select group of people, especially those who claimed to be abducted by UFOs felt vindicated by the discovery. We interviewed Mr Joel Ninewater, who has been claiming to be a victim of alien abduction. He claims to have entered a gateway into an alien world whilst hiking through the Amazonian forests. He further claims that the aliens treated him like a laboratory rat, inserting funny objects into his genitals. He vividly remembered one experiment where his head was severed from his body and placed near his foot. Amazingly he survived to tell the tale. When told of the Mars nematode worm, Mr Joel loudly exclaimed:"I am not surprised at this finding! I was fed with worm-like looking stuff when I was a lab rat! I ain't surprised if Mars was of those aliens' labs!"
We approached a prominent biologist, Dr Charles Dawkin, and asked him to give a species name to this nematode worm. Dr Charles politely declined, mentioning as a matter of fact that the honor should go to the discoverers of this nematode worm instead. We proceeded to ask Dr William if he had any species name in mind for this nematode worm. Dr William's immediate reply was that he might need to enrol in additional latin classes before he can even think of a name for this nematode worm since the species name of organisms is in latin most of the time.
If you have read the above article, you would realize that it is a product of my fabrication. Earlier on, the name of my fabricated news agency was called Solara News Agency. I realized that such an agency existed, and have since changed it to LeSolara News Agency in order to avoid misrepresentation. HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY TO ALL!!!!!!!!!

The wonders of cell fusion


In the past, scientists fuse cells of different types creating a heteokaryon. It used to be that the Sendai virus is a popular tool for cell fusion, although now there are chemical means available. It can be shown that proteins from one fusion partner can affect the gene expression in the other partner's nucleus. There are interesting types of fusion. The fusion of a stem cell with a differentiated cell. The fusion between a metastasizing cell and a non-metastasizing cell. The fusion between a cancer stem cell and a normal stem cell. The fusion between a B cell and a rapidly dividing mammalian cell. The fusion between a mammalian cell and an immortal cell line to allow them to survive in culture. Or in recent debates on Aaron Ng's blog, the fusion of cells from a crane and an amphibian such as a frog or a toad???!!!!!


Citations

1) CELL BIOLOGY: ON MECHANISMS OF CELL-CELL FUSION http://scienceweek.com/2005/sw050520-3.htm

Friday, March 30, 2007

Using cancer stem cells as a model to study differentiation program in normal stem cells

Pioneering work has been done on cancer stem cells, and it has been found that they could give rise to a heterogeneous population of cells. Cancer stem cells were found on brain tumors, colorectal cancers and breast cancers.
Cancer stem cells are in many ways similar to normal stems cells. Both are capable of self renewal and asymmetric division that gives rise to a heterogeneous population of cells. The only difference is that the former is a rogue agent, and is refractory to inhibitory signals in its surrounding milieu. However, studying the pathways that allows it to give rise to a heterogeneous population of cells is pretty interesting, and may give researchers an idea how to grow a tissue from a normal stem cell, except that this time it's growing normal tissue as oppose to cancerous tissue.
Citations
1) Singh SK, Clarke ID, Terasaki M, Bonn VE, Hawkins C, Squire J, Dirks PB. Identification of a cancer stem cell in human brain tumors. Cancer Res. 2003 Sep 15;63(18):5821-8.
2) Al-Hajj M, Wicha MS, Benito-Hernandez A, Morrison SJ, Clarke MF. Prospective identification of tumorigenic breast cancer cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Apr 1;100(7):3983-8.
3) O'Brien CA, Pollett A, Gallinger S, Dick JE. A human colon cancer cell capable of initiating tumour growth in immunodeficient mice. Nature. 2007 Jan 4;445(7123):106-10.

The day that is Friday (a poem by me)

The final lap of the week beckons,
a rejuvenating call to the tired ones,
exhausted from the earlier laps!
Morning begins with a tone of optimism,
everyone teeming with energy,
even the strictest starts practicing leniency.
Afternoon arrives with more fanfare,
long discussions of weekend plans permeate the air,
bachelors plan their brief getaways,
parents contemplate on their next family trip,
kids await in anticipation.
Evening comes with a flourish of activity,
with lifts full during knock-off hours,
voluminous traffic jamming up the freeways,
almost as if a race has begun.
Comes nightfall, a premature start to the weekend!
Pubs, entertainment joints and nightspots,
spark to life during the gallivanting hours.
Time flies during moments of pleasure,
the next week’s beginning lying in the corner,
but we can hopefully look ahead,
keeping next Friday’s arrival in our sights!

Smarter vehicles for drug delivery

Pharmacology is still a relatively young science. In the good old days of drug development, there would inevitably be side effects for most drugs that we take, as they will act on other tissues and organs, other than the intended targets.
For more specific targeting of the cells, using the virus offers an effective tool. One group managed to develop a liposome-based vector whereby the liposome was decorated with viral envelope fusion proteins (Kaneda, 1998). Developing viral nanoparticles as a vehicle to deliver drugs is also another development in progress.
After all, it's using the scourge of mankind as a delivery vehicle of therapeutic agents to specifically target cells of interest whilst leaving the rest alone. Specific drug delivery will eventually lead to fewer side effects.
Citations
1) Kaneda, Y. Fusigenic sendai-virus liposomes : a novel hybrid type liposome for gene therapy. Gene therapy 1998, vol. 14, no 5, pp. 387-572 (2 p.3/4), pp. 553-572.
2) Virus Nanoparticles Provide Convenient Oral Drug Delivery Vehicle. http://nano.cancer.gov/news_center/nanotech_news_2005-10-10a.asp

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Supper time and some possible freebies to come along!!!

Went to the 24 hours McCafe at East Coast for some supper. I was surprised to see some students mugging. Oh yeah, I forgot, it's revision time for the undergraduate lads at NUS, NTU, SMU, etc. It's the time when final examinations are around the corner.

For bloggers or readers interested in obtaining some sort of bond free funding for postgraduate studies, kindly click on the link here. No strings attached postgraduate scholarship.

A perspective on the perception of scholarship bonds and obligation

Disclaimer: This blog article has NEITHER to do with the defense of scholarship bond breakers NOR condemnation of the latter. This blog article should be read in the spirit of a perception of a scholarship bond/contract, and the reason(s) affecting it. Lastly, the contents discussed MAY NOT necessarily apply to all bond breakers.

I happened to have an exchange with a civil servant via email and an interesting topic pertaining to the perception of scholarship bonds and obligations cropped up. It was mentioned to effect that some scholars who went to America to pursue their undergraduate studies had a more lenient and sympathetic view of bond-breakers.
First and foremost, America champions itself for being the proponent of capitalism. It doesn't come as a surprise that the highest bidder for human capital would be able to land the services of an employee whose talents are highly sought after. Neither is it surprising that big companies can afford the liquidated damages stipulated within a scholarship contract.
Thus. it can be seen that if one is in a country that is known as a bastion of Capitalism, his perception might change. The typical capitalist believes in an economic system whose production is privately owned, and operated FOR PROFIT. The consequence is that the scholar, with his highly sought after talents might view his scholarship contract as any other contract, and values of obligation to the state (Singapore) is replaced by a "I will only work for the highest bidder" mentality.
I would like to take readers back to an oft-mentioned issue, the pegging of ministerial salaries to the top earners within the private sector. It can be seen that our leaders are aware of the inevitable enroachment of capitalism. At the same time, they feel that they want to retain personels whom they feel are talented. What is their response then? Pegging of salaries to the very best within the private sector.
Our forefathers used to preach the values of altruism for a cause, placing country before self. However, in our modern era, can these such values withstand the onslaught of capitalism?

Using the HIV virus against itself


The HIV virus is known to be able to dock on the CD4 receptor of CD4 T cells via its GP120, infecting the CD4 T cells in the process.


I doodled out a possible therapeutic strategy, using the HIV virus against itself. Now, RNAi technology is improving, and it's possible to produce permanent cell-lines producing siRNA to knock down genes. Using genetic engineering techniques, siRNA inserts that target HIV virus genes can be designed. By genetic engineering, this therapeutic version of the HIV virus based on the principle of retroviral RNAi can be designed, with the harmful genes deleted.


What happens is that this therapeutic HIV virus is still able to infect CD4 T cells, BUT it can enable the CD4 T cells to knock down the genes of the pathogenic and harmful HIV virus. It can knock down the expression of harmful HIV virus genes in infected CD4 T cells and boost the RNAi defense of uninfected CD4 T cells against the HIV virus. It's a form of retroviral gene therapy cum defense against the pathogenic HIV virus.


Citations

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

University Scholars Program, an admirable initiative in uncertain waters

Disclaimer: The parts where I mentioned about grade fixated personels' perspectives DO NOT represent my point of views, but rather the point of views of the former.
Allow me a little introduction. The University Scholars Program at the National University of Singapore is a premier undergraduate program designed to develop the intellect, leadership and personal potential of promising students. There is a high degree of academic rigour involved in the courses offered, and there is higher expectations required of a student taking a University Scholars Program module in terms of preparation, homework, assignment and research. The academic requirements of a University Scholars Program module is higher than that of a General Elective module, taken by students outside the University Scholars Program. Quoting the website of the University Scholars Program, it offers a rigorous broad-based multidisciplinary curriculum and exciting local and overseas research and beyond-the-classroom learning opportunities. Students are admitted into the University Scholars Program on the basis of academic results and co-curricular activities records. They also have to write an essay and go through an interview. Thus, it doesn't come as a surprise that top students are admitted into the University Scholars Program.
From my research on graduate school admissions overseas especially the United States, I must qualify that going through the University Scholars Program would be able to put a candidate in an advantageous position. Graduate school admissions committees place a premium on a challenging academic curriculum because this will reflect to them the ability of the candidate to handle graduate school course work. In addition, modules offered by the University Scholars Program diverse as they are have an indepth coverage of the respective discipline or sub-discipline. Thus, I would like to qualify that as far as the University Scholars Program is concerned, it's main benefit is rather catered to those intending to go to graduate schools.
Now, readers may question, what about the "uncertain waters" in my title? The uncertain waters refers to our grade-fixated society. However, I also must qualify that the situation is helped in no part by the bell-curve grading policy adopted by the University Scholars Program in the grading of its modules. It may be attributed to a prevailing Asian mentality that results in a fixation on grades. Indeed, a grade-fixated head hunter did admitted to me that he has a tendency to look for graduates with top honours degrees. Even some sectors within the civil service at entry level require graduates with good degrees, like Monetary Authority of Singapore. For graduates intending to obtain scholarships from agencies like A*STAR, they would need a second upper honors or better. Hence, it may not be that surprising that even students are fixated over grades.
Allow me to touch on the open fact about the University Scholars Program's bell curve grading policy. From the perspective of a student who is fixated over grades, he/she will not relish the prospect of participating in the University Scholars Program. The reason is two-fold. He would be better off taking an ordinary General Education Module, which is nowhere as academically rigorous as a University Scholars Program module, and have more time for his other modules and degree course work. The second reason is that the grade fixated student do not want to risk scoring a poor grade as a result of the bell curve grading policy adopted by the University Scholars Program in a class of top students. Thus, if we take academic demands, time dedicated to the module and bell curve into consideration, for every grade that a grade-fixated student can score for a University Scholars Program module, he can score at least two grades better for an ordinary General Education Module, and he will see no reason why he should participate in the University Scholars Program. Another consideration is that a student can exercise a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option on a General Education Module outside his faculty, but a student in the University Scholars Program cannot exercise the Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory option on a University Scholars Program module. A module that is declared Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory will have no bearing on the CAP/GPA.
From my interaction with friends who opted to leave the University Scholars Program, I was told that they made the choice because they did not want to affect their chances of getting a First Class Honors. They are brilliant lads, and I think it's some sort of a waste that they chose to leave the University Scholars Program. And I do know friends who were of First Class honors calibre not being able to obtain a First Class Honors because their CAP/GPA were pulled down by a string of B pluses or B grades obtained for their University Scholars Program modules, when they could have obtained better grades for reading ordinary General Education Modules instead.
In the uncertain waters lies the harsh dose of reality. To the grade-fixated student, there is no comparative advantage in taking part in the University Scholars Program if grades was his end. The only reward for successfully completing the University Scholar Program is a certificate recognizing that one is a University Scholar. However, the sad fact is that for the grade-fixated employer, only the Honors classification matters. I would like to believe that the University Scholars Program would like its graduates to be leaders in their field and in the society. However, the challenges that it faces comes against the backdrop of a grade-fixated society like ours. If, for example, a University Scholar upon graduation obtained a not-so-good Honors degree (because of a few Bs in his University Scholars Program modules) and is passionate about working in the MAS (Monetary Authority Singapore), but does not make the academic requirements of a graduate officer at MAS, I don't see how to expect an alumnus in this case to be a leader if he cannot end up doing something he has the passion for.
An oft aforementioned point in this write-up so far is the use of bell shaped curve as a grading policy by the University Scholars Program. Some grade fixated students will argue that since they are already undergoing a rigorous curriculum, why should they be penalized by virtue of their position on the bell shaped curve? They will not think it's worth the while to spend to much time on a module, and be placed on a Bell curve, ending up with a B, when he could have gotten an A for doing a lot less in an ordinary General Education Module, and get to spend more time for his other modules. There is also the additional arguement by the grade-fixated students that since the University Scholars Program has already siphoned out the top students during the initial application process of essay writing and interviews, why go to the extent of segregating them further in the University Scholars Program modules? Why go so far to separate the A pluses, As, A minuses, B pluses, etc, over a small difference in marks? Since the University Scholars Program has identified the top students, shouldn't they deserve better?
Grade fixation presents a steep challenge to the University Scholars Program, and in the eyes of a grade-fixated student, in order for the University Scholars Program to be attractive, it needs to address the disadvantages that a student in the University Scholars Program faces vis-a-vis a student taking ordinary General Education Modules. If the University Scholars Program wants to address this disadvantage, what are the possible solutions then? There is a possible solution suggested by Lee Chenghao, a commentator on Aaron Ng's blog in his exchange with A*STAR's outgoing chairman Mr Philip Yeo about A*STAR's 3.8 GPA and I will quote it in its entirety,"why not have a system that recognize individual modules have different difficulty and adjust the rates accordingly? Then, the final criteria would be difficulty x GPA. This solution by Lee Chenghao recognizes the difficulty of University Scholars Program modules, and allow the moderation of CAP/GPA. In that way, students in the University Scholars Program on their way to a good honors degree will not lose out to ordinary students taking General Education Modules, which will help the former more in the environment of grade fixation.
I also learn from friends that the University Scholars Program strives to promote its name by participating in joint programs with Ivy League universities and other top universities worldwide. It remains to be seen if the University Scholars Program has conducted outreach to government agencies and scholarship agencies like A*STAR to promote its name, i.e. a University scholar with a CAP of say 4.3-4.4 is equivalent to a non-University Scholar with a CAP of 4.5 or First Class Honors.
That being said, I still believe that the University Scholars Program with its goals and philosophy is vintage seed, BUT the soil conditions is still not suitable as yet.

Antiviral peptides against HIV

Anti-microbial peptides are an important component of innate immunity. These anti-viral peptides are responsible for disrupting the membrane integrity of the microbes. In the case of viruses, anti-viral peptides can be developed to target the virus envelope protein. Researchers have already found antiviral peptides that can target the West Nile virus envelope protein (Bai et al, 2007). Another group has found that an antiviral peptide that targets a domain of the human T cell leukemia virus envelope glycoprotein (Pinon et al, 2003).
Currently, there are efforts to design antiviral peptides against the HIV envelope. BMS-378806 binds to GP120 and inhibits interaction of the HIV envelope protein with CD4 receptors (Lin et al, 2003). Perhaps, we need an additional arsenal of antiviral peptides to completely disrupt the integrity of the HIV virus envelope.

Citations
1) Bai F, Town T, Pradhan D, Cox J, Ashish, Ledizet M, Anderson JF, Flavell RA, Krueger JK, Koski RA, Fikrig E. Antiviral peptides targeting the west nile virus envelope protein. J Virol. 2007 Feb;81(4):2047-55.

2) Pinon JD, Kelly SM, Price NC, Flanagan JU, Brighty DW. An antiviral peptide targets a coiled-coil domain of the human T-cell leukemia virus envelope glycoprotein. J Virol. 2003 Mar;77(5):3281-90.

3) Lin PF, Blair W, Wang T, Spicer T, Guo Q, Zhou N, Gong YF, Wang HG, Rose R, Yamanaka G, Robinson B, Li CB, Fridell R, Deminie C, Demers G, Yang Z, Zadjura L, Meanwell N, Colonno R. A small molecule HIV-1 inhibitor that targets the HIV-1 envelope and inhibits CD4 receptor binding. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2003 Sep 16;100(19):11013-8.

Tumor cells and evolution

This is a radical viewpoint, and I could even be wrong, worse, get lambasted for it. Somewhere along evolutionary time, different types of cells gradually "learnt" how to cooperate together, and function to the needs of the community of cells. When they were required to undergo apoptosis, they underwent apoptosis. When they were detached from the extracellular matrix, they underwent anoikis. When they were required to secrete certain substances, they did so. When cells obeyed the laws of their community, the entire community benefits.

Tumor cells are a different kettle of fish. They are rogue members of the community. Not only are they refractory to inhibitory signals from the community, they grow and multiply with abundance, competing with the rest of the community for nutrients. They are able to detach from the extracellular matrix and metastasize to other organs. Eventually, the being dies from cancer.
From my perspective, ancestor cells were tumor-like in nature. They grew with abundance until nutrient supply became limiting, and probably pressure was on them to coorperate each other. Apoptotic mechanisms could initially be rudimentary, with the apoptotic process improving during evolution (Gordeeva et al, 2004). The next step in evolution will be the development of the cellular policemen - tumor suppressors and metastatic suppressors. Tumor suppressors prevent cells from walking the path of transformation into tumor formation, inducing apoptosis, in the case of p53 inducing apoptosis via BAD, or APC (Adenamatous Polyposis Coli) in the control of the Wnt/beta catenin pathway. In fact, it was even shown that multiple tumor suppressors are able to negatively regulate telomerase (Lin & Elledge, 2003), the enzyme responsible for lengthening telomeres in tumor cell-lines, which confers immortality. Metastatic suppressors play a different function in that they suppress metastasis in tumor cells, preventing them from invading other organs. These cellular policemen are a necessity for a community of cells to aggregate together within a tissue and perform their respective roles, and arrest any "criminal" in sight.
I always thought that every time I look at a cancer cell devoid of control by tumor suppressors and metastatic suppressor, it's like coming face to face with a modern living fossil of an ancestral relic. Cancer cells are known to be hardy and can proliferate independently of the body in culture vessels, just like our microbial counterparts. Ancient cells are hardy, and are known to survive harsh conditions. It's not hard to imagine the tumor-like ancestral cell growing in the primordial soup of cells. However, then again, I could be wrong.
Citations
1) Gordeeva AV, Labas YA, Zvyagilskaya RA. Apoptosis in unicellular organisms: mechanisms and evolution. Biochemistry (Mosc). 2004 Oct;69(10):1055-66.
2) Lin SY, Elledge SJ. Multiple tumor suppressor pathways negatively regulate telomerase. Cell. 2003 Jun 27;113(7):881-9.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

DARN phone, woke me up

Received a phone call in the wee hours of the morning. Couldn't go back to sleep. Replied to some comments by Mr Philip Yeo in this blog. Saw this month's issue of the DISCOVER magazine on the table. Good read. Can tire my eyes and let my imagination run wild in my dreams. That's the inspirational source of my doodles. Good night, ooops good morning everyone! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

A suggestion for NUS, NTU, SMU, A*STAR and any institutions with a sizeable undergraduate population

I figure as we speak of a knowledge-based economy, undergraduates should be given a platform to seek knowledge, express their knowledge and hold discussions in their areas of interests.
For instance, if Singapore wants to promote science and technology, it will be good for institutions like NUS, NTU or A*STAR to have an undergraduate science and technology publication. Undergraduates can publish any thing from preliminary findings to little experiments they did behind their supervisors back and even experimental failures in typical format required for submission to a journal, i.e. an abstract, introduction, materials and methods, discussion and citations. Undergraduates can also choose to publish doodled ideas or forecasts within their area of interests in the form of a review or insight article.
The advantages of having such a publication is that it trains undergraduates intending to pursue a career in science in the art of writing a manuscript to be submitted to a journal for publication, an important skill that every scientist should possess. Such an undergraduate publication also allows undergraduates to freely exercise their creativity in order to advance their field of interest. It can also encourage healthy debate amongst undergraduate on an academic subject. For example, undergraduate A submits an earlier publication on why so and so causes cancer. Undergraduate B can critically examine A's publication and write "a critical review of undergraduate B's publication on why so and so causes cancer for his publication.
I was thinking that a blog format can be adopted whereby a publication article after editing can be uploaded, with a comments section by experts in the field. What do you think?

Oil production and economy

Someone posted a message about oil production, which happened to be an important topic. He highlighted the issue of peak oil production in a comment in my blog, and mentioned that the oil supply might run out during the next few years.

First and foremost, oil is needed for the economy to run. A spike in oil prices will increase the costs of production, which lead ultimately lead to an increase in goods and services. However, from my perspective, the decrease in oil supply may be due to the politics amongst OPEC countries. According to the BBC news report whose link I produce below, Iran and Venezuela are backing oil cuts. Iran is intending to trade oil for EUROs, but I am not sure if it does Singapore any good to be trading oil with Iran in the near future, since we are America's allies. I am not sure whether we have accumulated enough EUROs to purchase oil. Venezuela on the other hand is trading oil for commodities. For example, Venezuela has inked a deal with Cuba for a supply of doctors and paramedics to set up clinics in shanty towns in exchange for oil (thirdworldtraveler.com). Since Venezuela is developing its medical industry, perhaps Singapore should send its over-supply of Life Science graduates to Venezuela to support its medical/biomedical industry in exchange for oil. I don't mind being shipped over to Venezuela. Can ogle at beauties from the land of Miss Universes. Okay, okay, I was kidding on the Life Science part. Don't take me seriously on it.
However, on a serious note, some "bioengineers" have attempted to engineer microbes to produce petroleum products. That may have some impact on the oil industry.

Citations
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6258243.stm

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Iraq/Iraq_dollar_vs_euro.html

The minimal cell

A lecturer once told me that there was an endeavour by scientists to create a minimal cell from scratch by introducing a minimal set of genes. Almost like creating "life" from "dust". I figure wouldn't it be better to knock out gene by gene via homologous recombination and find out the minimal set of genes for survival?

Surprise, surprise Google, and the B cell story continued, with a possible alternative to B cell hybridoma


I was pleasantly surprised when I typed "lytic phase lysogenic phase", two phases in the "life cycle" of some viruses in the google search engine. Earlier on, I published a blog article titled "A potentially radical new approach to genetic engineering and production of precious proteins". The article in my blog came in 9th out of out of 43,800 pages found. When I typed in "lytic lysogenic phase", my blog article came in 19th out of 45,700. The blog article wasn't so much about virology, but rather harnessing the use of virus to produce precious proteins, and I noticed the rest of the websites were either academic resources or online textbooks about virology. Mine was the only blog amongst them. I understand Google utilizes the PageRank, whereby pages with the most visits will be ranked higher. I was even more surprised becacuse the blog article was published on March 23rd, 2007. I really who were the ones visiting my blog.

I would like to take my suggestion further into the B cells. It's possible to use a similar radical method of genetic engineering technique for B cells. B cells is the most ideal candidate to produce antibodies, but the problem is that one B cell can only produce one type of antibody. Thus, how to get around it? We can call upon our good tiny "friend", the Epstein Barr virus. This Epstein Barr virus is capable of infecting B cells (Wikipedia, Teramoto et al, 2000). The Epstein Barr virus is capable of entering lysogenic and lytic phase (Tsurumi, 1997). It is capable of transforming B cells into B cell lymphomas induced by the Latent Membrane Protein 1 (Specks and Strominger, 1989) and is capable of rapidly growing in in vitro cultures (Smith et al, 1987) during the latent (lysogenic phase) phase. Lytic phase can be induced, and the genes encoding the antibodies can be expressed by genetic engineering of the virus, just like how lytic phase genes can be expressed.

This can lead to the production of precious bodies, but this time, it's using a B cell lymphoma as opposed to a hyridoma.

The original packaged virus can be obtained during the lytic in certain cells be co-infection of a handicapped helper virus.


Citations

1) Teramoto N, Gogolak P, Nagy N, Maeda A, Kvarnung K, Bjorkholm T, Klein E. Epstein-Barr virus-infected B-chronic lymphocyte leukemia cells express the virally encoded nuclear proteins but they do not enter the cell cycle. J Hum Virol. 2000 May-Jun;3(3):125-36.


2) Smith LJ, Braylan RC, Edmundson KB, Nutkis JE, Wakeland EK. In vitro transformation of human B-cell follicular lymphoma cells by Epstein-Barr virus. Cancer Res. 1987 Apr 15;47(8):2062-6.


3) Tsurumi T. Molecular mechanism of lytic phase of Epstein-Barr virus DNA replication. Nippon Rinsho. 1997 Feb;55(2):321-7.


4) Ragoczy T, Heston L, Miller G. The Epstein-Barr virus Rta protein activates lytic cycle genes and can disrupt latency in B lymphocytes. J Virol. 1998 Oct;72(10):7978-84.


5) Speck, S. H. & Strominger, J. L. (1989). Transcription of Epstein–Barr virus in latently infected, growth transformed lymphocytes. In Tumorigenic DNA Viruses: Advances in Viral Oncology, pp. 133-150. Edited by G. Klein. New York: Raven Press.


Monday, March 26, 2007

Shouldn't PSC be following A*STAR's example?

I find the proportion of PSC scholars from well-to-do families at 53% alarming, compared to A*STAR with a majority of over 70% from HDB homes (Figures as quoted by Mr Philip Yeo).

April 5, 2006
Profile of govt scholarship holders
By Leslie Koh

STUDENTS from better-off families made up about half of government scholarship holders last year. Around one out of two came from families that earn more than $5,000 and live in private homes.
Figures from the Prime Minister's Office show that 53 per cent of Public Service Commission (PSC) scholarship holders came from families earning at least $5,000. This places them in the top one-third of families by income as only 37 per cent of all families in Singapore earned $5,000 or more in 2004.
PM Lee Hsien Loong also said 47 per cent of PSC scholarship holders live in private homes, putting them among the 15 per cent of all families here that can afford more expensive private housing.He gave these figures in a written reply to Nominated MP Tan Sze Wee in Parliament on Monday.
These figures are likely to fuel concerns that poorer families find it harder to move up the social ladder, as students from poorer homes have a lower chance of getting sought-after government scholarships that often pave the way for a good career in the civil service.In a column last year, recent graduate Soon Sze Meng asked if social mobility is on the decline here.Wealthier and better-educated parents can send their children to better schools, he noted, and they will, in turn, do better and win scholarships.
Sociologist Alexius Pereira of the National University of Singapore took a different view of the numbers, saying they give little cause for worry.It is common across the world for the highly educated to make it into the top social class, he noted. In the United States, students from richer families dominate the newcomer list at top Ivy League universities every year.'At these universities, only 5 per cent are from underprivileged families. In Singapore, half of scholarship holders come from average-income families. That's okay,' he said.
The PSC, which gives out about 50 scholarships each year, stressed that it awards them based on students' abilities and potential, not on their socio-economic background.'PSC scholarships are not study loans or bursaries which are granted based on financial need,' said the director of the PSC secretariat, Mrs Choo Lee See.The statistics appear not to have changed much over the past few years.At a scholarship award ceremony in 2000, PM Lee said 49 per cent of the 110 recipients that day had at least one parent who was a professional or manager. He also stressed then that restricting scholarships to poorer students is not in line with Singapore's principles of meritocracy and equal opportunity.
Dr Pereira also noted that Singapore's meritocratic system ensures that bright but poor students do not miss out.'If you're stupid and rich, you can't buy yourself out of it. But if you're bright but underprivileged, there are enough safeguards to ensure you can still make it.'
I like to believe that tax payers would like to see their monies being used to help those, who truly deserve it. I am referring to poorer, but academically bright students. I have a viable solution that may well work. Award the sum of monies that the scholarship contract is worth inversely proportional to the income of the family. Thus, if a scholar comes from a very rich family, the amount of monies awarded to his scholarship is less or even nil (in the case of a scholar hailing from a family of millionaires) , i.e. a scholar in name. At the end of the spectrum, the poor student should be awarded more monies for his tuitions fees, living expenses and air tickets. I figure this is a more egalitarian way of doing things.
Furthermore, instead of giving out the full sum of monies to the 53% of the scholars from well-to-do families, we can set aside the sum saved and even open up more places for scholarship to poorer students. Before long, PSC would be giving out scholarships to more than 70% of applicants from poorer families living in the HDB heartlands.

Antigen shift in silico

It would be nice to have a mini supercomputing laboratory right now. I can have a database of influenza virus genome and generate possible combinations of influenza viral genes reassortment in silico. It really gives me a sneak preview on the potentially deadly strains that can arise.

Chemokines and metastasis

I read a few published papers that carried out an invasive assay, known as the matrigel assay for tumor cells (Wurfel et al, 1999). I realized one weakness - the failure to consider the role of chemokines in metastasis. Chemokines have been shown to be involved in metastasis (Muller et al, 2001). Chemokines can induce chemotaxis in metastatic tumor cells, and allow them to invade other organs. Indeed, the chemokine SDF-1 together with its associated receptor, CXCR4, are involved in the trafficking of normal stem cells and cancer stem cells, which has metastatic potential (Kucia et al, 2005).
In the absence of chemokines from the matrigel, some tumor cells may not migrate. Thus, I believe it may be a little bit premature to conclude that the non-migrating tumor cells have no or little metastatic potential. Perhaps, considerations can be made to coat the matrigel pores with chemokines to mimic physiological conditions.
Chemokines play an important role in cancer biology. Indeed, there is a focus on chemokine antagonists in cancer therapy now (Yan et al, 2006).
Citations
1) Wurfel J, Rosel M, Seiter S, Claas C, Herlevsen M, Weth R, Zoller M. Metastasis-association of the rat ortholog of the human epithelial glycoprotein antigen EGP314. Oncogene. 1999 Apr 8;18(14):2323-34.
2) Muller A, Homey B, Soto H, Ge N, Catron D, Buchanan ME, McClanahan T, Murphy E, Yuan W, Wagner SN, Barrera JL, Mohar A, Verastegui E, Zlotnik A. Involvement of chemokine receptors in breast cancer metastasis. Nature. 2001 Mar 1;410(6824):50-6.
3) Kucia M, Reca R, Miekus K, Wanzeck J, Wojakowski W, Janowska-Wieczorek A, Ratajczak J, Ratajczak MZ. Trafficking of normal stem cells and metastasis of cancer stem cells involve similar mechanisms: pivotal role of the SDF-1-CXCR4 axis. Stem Cells. 2005 Aug;23(7):879-94.
4) Yan L, Anderson GM, DeWitte M, Nakada MT. Therapeutic potential of cytokine and chemokine antagonists in cancer therapy. Eur J Cancer. 2006 Apr;42(6):793-802.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

The critic in the age of new media, a comment on 'A*STAR vs Elia Diodati in The Sunday Times, 25th March

Controversy, sensationalization, gossip, speculation and exaggeration, popular words to describe certain articles, barring the educational, academic and analytical ones.
I would like to reproduce an article published in The Sunday Times, 25th March
A fresh bout of verbal sparring has erupted between outgoing A*Star chief Philip Yeo and a blogger whom the agency threatened to sue for defamation in 2005 By Melissa Sim Mar 25, 2007 The Straits Times IT WAS supposed to be a civil chat over a cup of tea, a chance for two old sparring partners - Mr Philip Yeo, chief of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) and PhD student Chen Jiahao - to air their differences. Instead the online world has enjoyed a fiesty cyberspace spat between two Singaporeans who seem more destined to cross swords than bury hatchets. The last time they clashed was in May 2005 and almost ended in court with A*Star threatening a defamation suit against Mr Chen. This time, the exchange occurred on Mr Chen's new blog and was sparked by his comments, on Feb 16 this year, on a Financial Times article - that appeared on Feb 14 - about the differing views of National Neuroscience Institute director Lee Wei Ling and Mr Yeo over biomedical research here. Mr Yeo saw his comments and suggested on the blog, on Feb 20, that as he was going to visit Mr Chen's place of study - the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) - they get together for a chat. Mr Chen, 25, agreed but asked that a third party be present and that the conversation be recorded and posted on the blog. Mr Yeo turned that idea down, telling The Sunday Times: 'As I plan to visit UIUC, I thought I could invite him for tea on a one-to-one basis. Instead, he wanted to interrogate me with a witness and publish our meeting! Arrogant chap.' Then the gloves really came off. Mr Yeo brought up the 2005 defamation incident on Mr Chen's blog. He had wanted to clarify that A*Star had not objected to Mr Chen's comments on A*Star's grade point averages (GPA) policy but took action over accusations it had bribed partner universities and some of their academic staff. Mr Yeo also said A*Star had never asked Mr Chen to take down his website, but to just remove offending and defamatory statements. Mr Chen, who had made an unreserved apology at the time, told The Sunday Times that he was surprised Mr Yeo had brought up the past, especially as the A*Star chairman had previously said he considered the matter closed. But this skirmish was far from closed with the protagonists unleashing a to-and-fro exchange that would have done centre court at Wimbledon proud.
Mr Chen, a former Public Service Commission scholar, hit the first volley, querying A*Star's need for such a high GPA requirement. He cited a supposed A*Star scholar at UIUC who had a mental breakdown because he failed to meet A*Star's 3.8 GPA level.
Mr Yeo hit back: 'Another half-truth or lie? Chap was never an A*Star scholar that I am aware of.'
Mr Chen changed tack, demanding to know if high GPAs necessarily translated into good researchers. Mr Yeo unleashed his forehand - or perhaps backhand - on that, saying Mr Chen's pontificating on R&D talent was like a 'small frog in a deep well' who 'cannot comprehend the majesty of the ocean. Yet it croaks noisily'.
That, retorted Mr Chen, was an attack on my moral character so there would be no point meeting for tea. 'Pity,' said Mr Yeo. The colourful exchanges prompted some onlookers to query if the Philip Yeo leaving the comments was the real McCoy. Mr Yeo told The Sunday Times that he leaves comments only on blogs that run down A*Star and always leaves his name. Indeed, he made it clear on Mr Chen's site that he dislikes blogger anonymity. Mr Yeo said some comments were from 'a rude young generation who hides behind blog anonymity spewing vitriolic words without real knowledge or depth of thinking. Sad for the future of the next generation'. That remark arose after Mr Yeo had painted a scenario of a youngster telling an old man that the old were unable to understand the young because the old grew up in a primitive world without TV, jets or space travel. The old man replied: 'You're right, son. We didn't have those things when we were young...so we invented them. Now, you arrogant little XXXX, what are you doing for the next generation?' That was like a red rag to a bull to the youngsters in the online community. One called Prima Deli said: 'Mr Philip Yeo, I'm afraid your time has passed. NEXT.' Mr Yeo did think some posters were 'rational and honest' and he discussed issues such as grade inflation with them. So any chance for that chat, once the dust settles? 'No,' said Mr Chen. 'Mr Yeo's comments on my blog have led me to believe that he is more interested in calling me names rather than (have an) insightful policy discussion.' And to think it all started with an invitation to tea.
Note: The source is an electronic version. The original page 3 article quoted a set of exchanges between Mr Philip Yeo and Chen Jiahao in Elia Diodati's blog.
I scanned through the hard copy of The Sunday Times, there were interjections of Philip Yeo......Elia Diodati (Chen Jiahao) multiple times. One would be forgiven if he has mistaken the writer of the article for a "boxing commentator". Yet, I saw the word "grade inflation" only ONCE, a subject of great interest to academics, and that is towards the end of the article.
A sad day for the critic indeed. What it takes to be a critic? One who KNOWS his opponents THOROUGHLY, and is able to acknowledge the merits of his opponent's position, yet sharp enough to point out certain weaknesses. The critic does not seek to destroy, but to advance the subject of interest he is addressing, by taking the subject to a higher level.
I am a self-confessed critic of A*STAR's 3.8 GPA requirement because I believe in a set of indicators that reflect a candidate's aptitude for research, yet I acknowledge the merits of the requirement. Graduate schools look out for a good GPA for science subjects, if the applicant wish to pursue a postgraduate course in the science discipline. Admittedly, I was a participant in Elia Diodati's blog and got into a good discussion with Mr Philip Yeo. The discussion went on to a higher level as we discussed the issue of grade inflation. It has been an interesting development as far as the discussion was concerned. Amazing that such an interesting issue warranted a mention ONCE towards the end of the article, and that was by Mr Philip Yeo.
Yet, I find sad that this discussion I was engaged in was portrayed as some sort of a "boxing match". I am not in the habit of "punching" up opponents. I am no basher or destroyer in other words. I find sadder still that the organization A*STAR was made to look something like a boxing federation involved in 2 rounds of bouts, with the supposedly headline grabber "A*STAR spat: Round 2". For an organization with highly qualified personalities in diverse disciplines to be dragged in was really regrettable.
Allow me to be philosophical but I believe the media plays a role in the evolution of a society. Thought provoking articles involving exchanges between personalities from different schools of thought are food for thought. The readers sits up and reflects thoughtfully. On the other hand, articles written to the tune of verbalized boxing matches are junk food to the brain. It simply passes through one ear and out of the other.
Thus, what now is the role of a media? My limited experience as a voluntary journalist during my undergraduate days taught me one thing. To be ACCURATE. When I was first accepted as a journalist for my undergraduate publication, I browsed online looking for materials on how to be a good one. A vitriolic comment lambasting journalists soon caught my eye. It read something like,"the main agenda of journalists is to write controversy for cash". Apparently, I surmised that the commentator must have been suffering the consequences of some articles. There is also a question of ethics. Should interviewees be treated as means to an end or as ends themselves? I always believe that interviewees should be treated as ends themselves, to illuminate their views to all and sundry in the unadulterated form. Of course, editing for language errors still has to be done, but nonetheless, the intended message stays unchanged. It is completely different when a journalist uses his interviewees as means to an end, be it sensationalization, gossip, exaggeration, whatever ostensible end. The consequence is that the unwitting interviewee becomes a subject of unwanted speculation, and worse, innocent parties start getting dragged in.
What now, for readers in the know of the recent spate of events? Remember I spoke about ACCURACY, and for the critic, to know the subject of criticism fully? I understand that Mr Philip Yeo is the main man in the center, and hence, I would urge readers and potential critics alike to read into the main subject matter extensively. I do not know how the article has affected readers' and potential critics' impressions of Mr Philip Yeo, but I will reproduce a series of quotes on diverse topics from Mr Philip Yeo himself in my correspondence with him both in other blogs and my blog. I believe in ACCURACY, hence, the source himself.
I have said my fill, and please, I don't want to be mistaken as an attendant of a "boxing match" in future.

The flu plaque: A continued discussion of evolutionary mechanisms of viruses

In the past discussions, I mentioned briefly about two or more viruses within a host's genome entering lytic phase, which possibly results in antigen shift, whereby there is reassortment of viral genome giving rise to a deadly virus.

Recently, I found an interesting paper about a pathway of airway epithelial cell infection by macropinocytosis (Ketterer et al, 1999). Macropinocytosis involves the formation of large ruffles in the cell membrane, allowing the cell to engulf large quantities of fluid from its surrounding medium. The influenza virus can be taken into the cell by macropinocytosis (Influenza organism).
Within a host, the process of macropinocytosis may result in the virus particles belonging to the human and animal strains being taken up by the cell, and subsequently lead to infection. The process of antigen shift follows. Macropinocytosis may render the cell vulnerable to infection by more than one viruses.
Citations
1) Ketterer MR, Shao JQ, Hornick DB, Buscher B, Bandi VK, Apicella MA. Infection of primary human bronchial epithelial cells by Haemophilus influenzae: macropinocytosis as a mechanism of airway epithelial cell entry. Infect Immun. 1999 Aug;67(8):4161-70.

2)Sieczkarski SB, Whittaker GR. Characterization of the host cell entry of filamentous influenza virus. Arch Virol. 2005 Sep;150(9):1783-96.

3)Influenza organism http://www.biohealthbase.org/GSearch/Inf_Organism.jsp?decorator=influenza

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Can Professor Sidney W Fox's work influence the field of immunology?

Professor Sidney W Fox was credited with his discovery of life origins. In 5 months time, it will be the 9th anniversary since he has passed on. The brainchild of Professor Sidney's work, the protocells can be synthesized from amino acids and small peptides. Further work proved that these protein spheres can reproduce and divide. Can these protocells possibly be the handy tool of immunologists? Imagine being able to synthesize microspheres made up of a whole range of antigenic peptides. Our immune system is always on the lookout for antigen. Can antigenic microspheres be used as a bait to trick the immune system into a response, and induce immunity to the pathogen itself?

Citations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidney_W._Fox

Mr Philip Yeo, up close and personal

Foreword

It all started with Mr. Philip Yeo’s engagement of a blogger directly in his own turf, a FIRST NOTABLE attempt by a high-ranking civil servant to directly engage bloggers. I have a personal confession to make. I am one of Mr Philip Yeo’s critics, and still remain one up till this day. I still disagree with A*STAR’s requirements of a 3.8 GPA, however, I figure the best course of action will be agreeing to disagree in a gentlemanly manner. I am not the type who criticizes for the sake of criticism or insult for the sake of insulting. Neither do I belong to the category of “green-eyed bloggers” envious of A*STAR scholars. I am also not in the same category as A*STAR bashers who lambaste A*STAR out of animosity. Better to make new friends is my motto, and I have told Mr Philip Yeo that my blog is open to all visitors, including those from A*STAR. Thus, there is no reason for me to have green eyes over any A*STAR scholar. As a side note, I communicated on the phone with an A*STAR scholarship officer, Edwin, as a nosey and busybody graduate and discussed with him my qualifications and the nature of my undergraduate curriculum. I was told that I was possibly eligible for the A*STAR overseas Ph.D. scholarship. However, it’s my intention to study medicine in a medical school that offers graduate level entry. The only reason why I studied Biomedical Science was because I wanted to know the exact science behind the medicine, and hopefully the knowledge I gained will serve me well later on. I hope to be an oncologist, however I am also open to the field of pediatrics. I have grown to love kids from my current job as a Life Science facilitator. I saw myself as a motivator, helping kids to negotiate learning obstacles in their lives. Before I get carried away with my rambling, readers would like to know how my exchange with Mr. Philip Yeo first started. Well. Initially, I was piqued by a provocative comment (in my opinion) by Mr. Philip Yeo into an initial exchange on Elia Diodati’s blog. Below are the excerpts of the exchange. My moniker was Dr Dee, a DC comic villain whom cartoon network fans might be familiar with.
A SENIOR MOMENT
A very self-important university freshman attending a recent football game, took it upon himself to explain to a senior citizen sitting next to him why it was impossible for the older generation to understand his generation.
“You grew up in a different world, actually an almost primitive one,” the student said, loud enough for many of those nearby to hear. “The young people of today grew up with television, jet planes, space travel, man walking on the moon, our spaceships have visited Mars. We have nuclear energy, electric and hydrogen cars, computers with light-speed processing and…,” pausing to take another drink of beer.
The Senior took advantage of the break in the student’s litany and said, “You’re right, son. We didn’t have those things when we were young…..so we invented them.Now, you arrogant little XXXX, what are you doing for the next generation?
- Mr Philip Yeo
A SENIOR MOMENT REVISITED
An octogenarian came back to a city he once lived in after a long trip. He was surprised by the city’s transformation over the years in his absence, with the landscape dominated by new buildings with modern architecture. He wanted to capture the modern landscape in a camera. He walked into a camera shop and was shown a variety of sleek looking digital cameras. He was taken by surprise because the cameras were so much different from the ones that he used when he was young. He asked the sales personel if these digital cameras needed an external flash and asked why the cameras were so much different from the ones that he was used to during his younger days. The sales personel replied with a smile,”Sir, during your years of absence, your junior generations came up with innovative inventions like the lithium battery and especially the microchip. The microchip that is found in this camera is found in many other electronic devices. Your junior generations’ inventions has not only resulted in new applications, but has also pushed current technologies like photographic technology to new heights.”
- Me (Dr Dee)
This initial exchange was the impetus leading to a series of exchanges between Mr. Philip Yeo and me. Our initial exchanges were about the 3.8 GPA requirement by A*STAR. Being the critic that I was, I naturally took the opposition camp. Both sides presented their side of the story. However, my discussion with Mr. Philip Yeo diverted to other topics later when we commented on Aaron Ng’s (an undergraduate at the National University of Singapore) blog, and later on, in my blog. Even as we stand at opposite camps, off the debating field, I must admit that I am thankful to Mr. Philip Yeo for his kind patience in entertaining my questions. As time passes, blog posts will be archived together with the comments and disappeared into obscurity. Thus, it will be a waste not to consolidate the series of replies and quotes by Mr. Philip Yeo. Many would have formed an impression of Mr. Philip Yeo from the interviews he had given to media. Some will remember him as someone who will not mince his words, and speak his mind. However, I was fortunate to have been given a glimpse into a side of Mr. Philip Yeo that someone reading the mass media would not have been exposed to. I slowly got to learn why Mr Philip Yeo dared to say things that well by his own admission may make readers “hate his guts” (see section 1.2 part iv and section 1.7 part ii). I am sure readers are curious to learn more about the side of Mr. Philip Yeo that they have never been exposed to. For the critics, I will say it’s important to hear their rival’s side of the story, and then make judgements for themselves. Since this write-up is about Mr Philip Yeo up close and personal, I choose not to give a narration but will reproduce quotes by Mr. Philip Yeo in the Blogosphere on diverse topics instead. I will reproduce the quotes in their original form and only edit language errors. I have categorized the topics for easy reference.
1.1 Quotes on his education and early career

i) Only 22 of us in the 1965 class of Pre-University Science students at SJI. In Fall 1966, 11 of us were sent overseas to study Engineering. No Science. No Medicine.To study at BS level only, as the funding was from Colombo Plan donors such as UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. – Mr. Philip Yeo on his secondary to university education in a comment on my blog.

ii) The IES (Institution of Engineers Singapore) made me a Fellow many moons ago. Did BS (Industrial Engg) 1970 at U of Toronto on a Canadian Govt Colombo Plan scholarship. 2 years MS (Systems Engg) 1974 at U of Singapore. Offered a U of Spore scholarship to do a overseas PhD in Industrial Engg but I turned it down as it would add another 5 years to my bond period. Went off to Harvard U for the 2 years MBA in 1974 under the US Govt Fulbright scholarship. – Mr. Philip Yeo on his tertiary education and postgraduate years on Aaron Ng’s blog.

iii) Yet 10 years of bond though Singapore paid nothing. Had to serve in the Spore Admin Service (1970 to 1999) though I was an engineer by training and at real work. Never pushed any papers. Pushed weapons design and production in Mindef and from 1986 industrial development at EDB. A*STAR from 2001. – Mr. Philip Yeo on his Colombo Plan scholarship in his response to my queries on Aaron Ng’s blog.

iv) Aid from Canada to Singapore.The recipient must serve his country. He/she cannot stay in the donor’s country. Cannot break bond. - More from Mr. Philip Yeo on the terms of the Canadian Government Colombo Plan scholarship in his response to my further queries on Aaron Ng’s blog.
v) I must have met Mr Tooh Fee San when I visited Chinese High 10 years ago?Teachers like Mr Tooh Fee San will always be remembered. MOE should put up a “Hall of Gratitude” to great teachers like him. Our SJI Pre U (JC nowadays) old Maths teacher Mr. Cheah taught and “tortured” us with weekly Maths tests (Applied Maths and Further Maths then) to vie for the top three names to be placed by him on the class’ plain notice board.That was “The Prize”. Almost the whole class achieved As for the two subjects at “A” level exams. Our Chemistry teacher was a “Master of Disappearing Acts”!Without the physical presence of the teacher, no student could go into the chemistry lab in those ancient days. So the 22 of us pooled our efforts and raised funds to set up a private chemistry lab.No one ever remember or missed the Chemistry teacher. - Mr Philip Yeo remembers some teachers in his comment on Aaron Ng's blog.
1.2 Quotes on Mindef and his relationship with Dr Goh Keng Swee.

i) I started the design and development of the Singapore 155 mm artillery guns when I was in Mindef till 1985 and built them when I led the Singapore Technologies group from 1987 to 1994, even when I was Chairman, EDB from 1986. – Mr Philip Yeo on his Mindef contributions on Aaron Ng’s blog.

ii) Dee,Mindef chaps are not paper pushers. Ha!Philip – Mr Philip Yeo in response to my queries on the way Mindef people work on Aaron Ng’s blog.

iii) I was Chairman, Defence Science Organization Executive Committee from 1976 to 1985. UAV were useful things. - More from Mr. Philip Yeo on his Mindef contributions on Aaron Ng’s blog.

iv) Dee, I was merely relating the old 1985 SIA matter as a joke. I had been in Mindef from June 1970 to Dec 1985 ~~ well past my 10 years of bond. SIA is running well today. In 1985, Dr. Goh Keng Swee thought otherwise of SIA. He really wanted me to go there to fix it as he said. Hard to say NO to Dr. Goh KS. Even when I was at Harvard Biz school in 1974-76, Dr. Goh KS would ask my Perm Sec(Defence) to write to me to come back to Mindef and not waste my time in Boston! When I returned home in May 1976 and went to see him in his office, he went to his big cupboard and personally carried out 10 heavy project files saying: I have kept these for you for the last two years! He would NOT give these projects to anyone else. I was determined to “do it” in 2 years to “get rid” of them. With only 7 years service, not counting the 2 years at Harvard, he made up for the project workload torture by promoting me to Perm Sec (Defence Technology) at the age of 32 plus years-old in Sept 1979. I could not “morally” run away to greener private pastures. Dr Goh always knew whenever I was restless. He would ask: Are you bored? Then he would send more work to me! He said: No one dies of overwork. One dies of boredom. He used to challenge my Mindef engineers and I why we could NOT design and make this or that weapon. Being proud scholar engineers, we would really be hot and angry around our collars. We would then work our butts off to prove him wrong. And when we did it, he will chuckle and congratulate us. The satisfaction that we proved him wrong again was our reward. (Recently, some ignorant young “toady” blogger wrongly called me an iron rice bowled paper pusher!). I learnt the Power of Ridicule from Dr. Goh KS and used it “well” with my chaps too. I have no shortage of private offers. But I think I owe my 2 kids some time with them. – Mr Philip Yeo in response to my query on SIA matters, and an account of his working relationship with Dr Goh Keng Swee, former Minister for the Interior and Defense on Aaron Ng’s blog.
v) Dr Goh KS autographed 3 of his economic books and gave them to me. I have yet to find time to read them! Oops! I usually read science and technology books and ancient history. Whenever I need help on economic matters, I used to go to Dr. Goh KS for free advice. – More from Mr. Philip Yeo on Dr. Goh Keng Swee on Aaron Ng’s blog.

vi) Dee, Dr. Goh read and lectured on military history to our senior officers. His library was a great collection of books. I was only interested in the weapon developments. My collection were weapons. - Mr Philip Yeo’s comments on Dr Goh Keng Swee’s reading and teaching interests on Aaron Ng’s blog.
1.3 Quotes on scholarship matters

i) I reduced the bond to 6 years for the EDB Glaxo scholarship. PSC had no choice but to catch up. For the A*STAR scholars, for 8 years of funding of BS (3 years, 6 years bond ) and PhD (5 years, 5 years bond), I made the bonds concurrent. Hence, total service period is 6 years only. When the scholar comes home after the BS to do the compulsory lab attachment of 1 year, the service obligation is reduced by 1 year. After the US 5 years PhD training, chap need to serve 5 years only. Good deal. Must have high bar of academic standard. - Mr. Philip Yeo on administration of scholarship on Aaron Ng’s blog.

ii) During my 1986 to 2000 tenure at EDB scholars give it a try for first two years after their graduation as they are on probation. If they cannot make the grade, they are allowed to leave for other opportunities. Obviously they have to pay up the remainder liquidated damages of their original 6 years contract. The Chng Hee Kok case was about scholars (1 EDB, 2 NCB) who on graduation did NOT come home to serve at all. One hypocritical chap said that his goal was “to serve the world (US) and not Singapore”. He wanted to be in the US for some 15 years before he comes home. If I had served my 10 years bond, no one can stop me. Right? – Mr Philip Yeo on EDB scholarship and the MP Chng Hee Kok case on Aaron Ng’s blog.

iii) If they want to leave before their 6 years bond is up, they are free to do so with payment of liquidated damages. If they want a transfer to another dept, who wants them, they carry their remainder bond over. Since 1986, very few cases. We are not cruel. – Further elaboration from Mr. Philip Yeo on EDB scholarship when he pointed out my misunderstanding in an earlier posted comment on Aaron Ng’s blog.
iv) When I was Chairman, NCB (1981-1987) I permitted NCB scholars to do their self funded PhD studies after their BS and on their return, transferred their bond to NUS (U of Singapore then). No liquidated damages recovery. Free bodies to NUS. NCB had no funds for PhD studies but did not hold back anyone wanting to do so. Likewise, EDB scholars were free to do their PhD studies on their own and were then released to NUS. Since 2001, EDB and PSC scholars have been transferred to A*STAR for funding their PhD studies. Concurrent bond. Means for their BS (3/4 years) and PhD (3 to 5 years) studies, their bond obligation is still 6 years. During their PhD studies, A*STAR scholars have a home stipend in addition to the overseas stipend and tuition. No compromise on high GPA. No free lunch. - Mr Philip Yeo on NCB, EDB and A*STAR scholarships on Aaron Ng’s blog.
v) PSC scholars from well to do homes can well afford to break bond. PSC would not "name shame" their bond breakers since EDB and NCB named bond breakers in 1998. PSC feared that applicants will shy away from PSC scholarships. EDB (since 1990) and A*STAR (since 2001) have awarded overseas scholarships to young Malaysians who studied in Singapore school and took the same O and A level exams. In the 1990 first batch of EDB Glaxo scholars, I personally interviewed and selected 34 scholars to go to UK and US for their BS/MS in 4 years. 8 of the 34 were Malaysians. Almost all have become Singapore Citizens. For A*STAR, these HUNGRY non-Singaporeans are encouraged to take up Singapore Citizenships.http://www.a-star.edu.sg/astar/front/studentsandscholarships/newsletter/new_sin_scholars.htm
- Mr Philip Yeo comments on PSC (Public Service Commission), and on his role in the selection of scholars EDB Glaxo scholars on my blog.
vi) Not when I am in charge of NCB and EDB. Also A*STAR. Ha! - Mr Philip Yeo, alluding to the fact that NCB, EDB and A*STAR had different scholarship policies from that of Public Service Commission when he headed them, in a comment on my blog.
vii) That was a great article! Genghis Khan chose the best and bravest leaders from ALL levels of society. Not the traditional selection from the noble families. Just as I chose bright and HUNGRY scholars for A*STAR. Over 70 % of them from HDB homes. No sons and daughters of the rich and famous etc. etc. – Mr. Philip Yeo commenting on his selection of scholars on Aaron Ng’s blog.
1.4 Quotes on his educational philosophy and contributions as an educator

i) Good of you to give the Normal Stream students the due attention and encouragement. Like the placebo effect, they can then be self-motivated to succeed. The smart students can fend for themselves. The weak students should be given due attention to make themselves smart. Better teachers for the weaker students to leverage themselves up.When they succeed, they can go autopilot. – Mr. Philip Yeo in response to my earlier blog post describing my teaching experience with Normal Stream students. It is clear he believes that weaker students need better teachers.
ii) I took charge of this school (Queenstown Secondary School) in 1980 for two years to help the kids move up the ladder. The RI and RGS do not need any help from demanding people. - Mr. Philip Yeo in a comment on my blog on his role as an educator.
1.5 Musings

i) The frog used to be a common lab ally for researchers.Now the zebra fish etc etc has pushed it out of the lab table? IMCB has a extra large collection of zebra fish!Can start a zebra fish shop. – Mr. Philip Yeo musing on zebrafish in comment 114 and 124 of Aaron Ng’s blog.

ii) Chap (referring to Fareed Zakaria of Newsweek) is unfair. US is a mature independent nation since 1776. Singapore is a young nation since 9 August 1965. In 1965, our per capita GDP was about US$600. Only 22 of us in the 1965 class of Pre-University Science students at SJI. In Fall 1966, 11 of us were sent overseas to study Engineering. No Science. No Medicine. To study at BS level only as the funding was from Colombo Plan donors such as UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. From 1990 to 2000, NSTB gave no priority to PhD education. At EDB, from 1986 to 2000, I gave out over 340 BS/MS overseas scholarships. I took charge of NSTB (now A*STAR) in Feb 2001. Transferred some EDB scholars over to A*STAR for PhD education abroad. In July 2001, we started selecting and sending Singaporeans for overseas PhD training Science and Engineering.
As at March 2007, we have 75 PhD scholars in the US and 11 in the UK. 86 in all.
Another 200 plus are doing their PhD at NUS and NTU. 240 BS to PhD scholars too.
Come 2020, they will all be able to play their part and prove this chap (Fareed Zakaria) wrong. :-D - Mr. Philip Yeo in response to an article to an article by Fareed Zakaria titled “We all have a lot to learn” accessible at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10663340/site/newsweek/ in my blog.
iii) The trebuchet changed siege warfare. The movie “Kingdom of Heaven” (Crusaders) showed some trebuchet-looking siege weapons. The Mongols made Chinese slave engineers build the best trebuchet. – Mr. Philip Yeo muses on siege warfare on Aaron Ng’s blog.
iv) Dear Ching Hock, I am not perfect. I try hard to find Cranes (Chinese symbol for wisdom?) amongst young Singaporeans. And some Frogs and Toads hide in their midst. Yuk! I prefer to buy “ready for cooking” frog legs from Cold Storage. Supposed to be good for people with asthma. Philip - Mr Philip Yeo muses on two very different group of young Singaporeans on Aaron Ng's blog.
1.6 Quotes on the future
i) Dee, http://app.sprinter.gov.sg/data/pr/20061222999.htm From the above you can see my role as Senior Advisor for Science & Technology (S&T) to the Minister of Trade and Industry. I am confident that my younger successor Lim Chuan Poh (ex-Mindef like me) who is ably assisted by Deputy Chairman, Prof. Dr Tan Chorh Chuan will be able to carry on and build upon my basement and ground level work of the Feb 2001 to March 2007 period. They know that I have set high standards for them to maintain. Each senior government officer has his/her own capability. I am neither civil nor a servant. I am not indispensable but irreplaceable. We cannot clone ourselves yet. I stayed on and worked for the Singapore government because I had Dr Goh Keng Swee as a great role model. Every time that I was fully tempted to leave for greener pastures, he will call me up for free lunch and load me up with more work to distract me. I could not desert a man who have worked selflessly and have laid the foundation for the Singapore economy that we have today. Philip. – Mr Philip Yeo expressing his vote of confidence in his successor ,Lim Chuan Poh, and a debt of gratitude towards Dr Goh Keng Swee in a comment on Aaron Ng’s blog.

ii) By 2010, we would have given out 1000 A*STAR scholarships. The 2002 BS-PhD batch will be home by 2011.The last BS-PhD of 2010 will only be home by 2019.The aim is to achieve 50/50(ratio of local researchers to foreign researchers) by 2020. – Mr Philip Yeo in a comment on my blog on his aims for A*STAR.

iii) Getting married is a serious matter. Monogamy is not always the best solution. SPRING should aim to have many close girl friends of the likes of A*STAR, EDB, IES, MAS etc etc. Polygamy does pay. Wait for me to go to SPRING on 1st April 2007. – Mr. Philip Yeo, comments on SPRING, where he will assume the position of Chairman in 1st April 2007.
iv) The chaps now running A*STAR, EDB, IES, MAS have worked with me for many moons. I am counting on their help to SPRING to give HOPE and HELP to our SMES. Hope SPRINGs eternal. – Mr Philip Yeo, outlining his hope for the development of SMEs.
1.7 His side of the story

i) Trying to use all means, including Ridicule psychology, to get more Singaporeans, Male and Female, to do graduate studies and to man A*STAR labs and industries etc etc. Have no responsibility for the universities manning. Gender breakdown of 670 A*STAR scholars: 61 % Male, 39 Female. Biomedical Sciences: 48 % M, 52 % F.Physical Science/Engg: 80 % M, 20 % F. The male chaps are just 2/3 years behind the female because of NSF. – Mr Philip Yeo in his comments on my blog explaining why he mentioned in an interview with The New Paper about awarding scholarships to hungry foreigners, who are willing to take up Singapore citizenship. He was willing to use all means including Ridicule psychology to get more Singaporeans to do graduate studies.

ii) YES! :-D Learnt this practice from Dr. Goh Keng Swee: Must be cruel to be kind.They will hate my guts now but when they get their PhD they might wake up and thank me. Ha! Ha! – A reply by Mr Philip Yeo when I asked him in my blog if his “got a basic degree, wash test tube” remark was part of his Ridicule psychology practice.
1.8 Reading materials of interest
i) European and Middle East History from 500 BC. Have a good collection from Darius I, Alexander, the Greek Wars, Genghis Khan etc etc. Now (as of March 17th, 2007) reading a good book: The Great War for Civilisation by Robert Frisk, a journalist. – Mr. Philip Yeo on his collection of books in his comments on Aaron Ng’s blog.

ii) The Sayings of Râmakrishna: 200-299248. Be not like the frog in the well. The frog in the well knows nothing bigger and grander than its well. Means that the noisy croaking frog thinks that his well is the greatest thing in his limited vision. Until he hops out to see the mighty ocean. And when he hops into the ocean, he will be a dead salted frog. Those who know little, makes the most noise. Old English saying: Empty vessels make the most noise. Ramakrishna: His Life and Sayings (2002 Paperback) by F. Max Muller – Mr. Philip Yeo on the Sayings of Ramakrishna in his comments on Aaron Ng’s blog (comments 112 and 130)

iii) I usually read science and technology books and ancient history. – Mr Philip Yeo commenting on his reading interests in Aaron Ng’s blog.
1.9 The family man
i) I am afraid that grandchildren supply will be still a long way to go. My kids are too busy. One slaving away on research. The other still in college. – Mr Philip Yeo’s reply when I spoke to him about family time and possibly playing with grandchildren on Aaron Ng’s blog.

ii) Dee, I chat with them regularly on AIM as matter of habit although we have do use Skype sometimes. Boston and La Jolla, three US hours apart. Philip – Mr Philip Yeo on keeping in touch with his son and daughter, both of whom are overseas.
2.0 FOOD!

i) Ooops! Frog legs are tasty. Ha! I will hunt for the frog legs porridge (when a blogger recommended good frog leg porridge at Geyland Lorong 9). Many thanks!Fish porridge has been my first choice. – Mr. Philip Yeo comments on his choice of culinary delights in Aaron Ng’s blog (comments 113 and 128).
It is my hope that the curious ones reading this write-up will eventually have their curiosity satisfied. For those with a differing opinion, I would urge all those involved to engage in a healthy cum productive discussion, free from ad hominen attacks and mudslinging. If I can do it, so can the rest. After all, I opened this tavern for travellers to make friends over free flow of beverages!
Note: I have received an email from Mr Philip Yeo about an earlier error on the numbers of A*STAR scholars in US and UK, and I have made the corrections in 1.5 part ii. The bold text is the corrected version.