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GHRH

October 6, 2011 in Peptide

Friday, May 4th, 2007, Halifax, NS, 2nd graders pondered growth as the team of Meghan Serratore (BFA graduate ’07, NSCADU) and Carrie-Lee Trider (BSc, SMU) introduced the peptide Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone (GHRH), which they explained causes growth. To put us all in the mood, Meghan read the story of “Jack and the bean stalk” in which Jack eats one of the magic beans and becomes himself a giant, because the bean contained GHRH. Jack experienced an increase in his growth hormone levels, which caused the tissues of his body to build up and grow in size. Stimulation of the division and multiplication of his chondrocytes, cells responsible for long bone elongation, caused Jack to grow to giant size such that the giant and he become friends and his family and the giant’s settled down together and lived happily ever after. Discussing the factors that control growth in plants and animals, the students knew about the importance of water, sunlight and nutrition for healthy growth. Comparing the sizes of the tallest and shortest students with the heights of their parents, they recognized the effect on size of the genes that they inherit. Carrie-Lee seeded a discussion on crystal growth as she saturated a hot solution with salt and left it to stand with a nail suspended in the vessel; something to see what happens on Monday. Moreover, the students made accordion folded books, which grow as one opens the pages and provide a journal to mark their growth from this wonderful Molecules of Life Project on GHRH.

Finishing our fourth MLP presentation in 2007, (11th total!!), team GHRH was thanked for keeping the MLP experience growing, and growing, and growing in 2nd grade in Halifax.

Team GHRH, Meghan Serratore (BFA graduate ’07, NSCADU) and Carrie-Lee Trider (BSc, SMU) in front of their poster on Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone

Crystal growth hidden among plant growth.

the joy of folding accordion journals.

and gluing on the covers

Tags: GHRH, Growth Hormone Releasing Hormone
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Gastrin

October 5, 2011 in Peptide

The Molecules of Life Project (MLP) has its debut with Gastrin.

Friday the 13th of October in Mrs Grant’s second grade class at Oxford Elementary School, the MLP took off with explosive force thanks to the creative talents of Jason Dalziel (B.Sc. DAL) and Stephan Schultz (MFA, NSCAD), aided with some pennies, mentos and diet pepsi. Stephan described clearly the molecule of life, “Gastrin as the traffic cop that controls the flow of acid and mucus into the stomach” as well as “Art as that sweet taste on your fingers after you do something fun like sticking a mento into a diet pepsi”. Jason told how “some acids you eat and some eat you” and the students relayed their own stories of the acidic pain of having orange juice squirt into your eye and the feeling of having eaten many bowls of ice-cream or having drunk many glasses of milk. In the process, the students all learned a little about acid, mucus and the workings of the stomach while having great fun experimenting in groups of two together. With eleven more peptides to go, MLP thanked team Gastrin for a marvelous MLP blast-off at Oxford.

Tags: Gastrin
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Enkephalin

October 5, 2011 in Peptide

Friday, December 1st, 2006, Halifax, NS, 2nd graders were captivated with neurons firing at full force reading “The Incredible Enkephalin Starring The Nervous System”, thanks to MLP students Rachel Comeau (BSc, DAL) and Ashley Thimot (BA, NSCADU). Attempting to employ citrus fruit to power a light on, Rachel illuminated the students’ interests as she explained that in a similar way but opposite direction as chemical energy is turned into electrical energy and light, the brain can store information from the senses by way of the nervous system. Playing telephone, whispering a word clue from one to another, the students learned of the importance of proper neuronal firing. Equipped with comics and activities, Ashley informed the 2nd graders of their sixth sense, pain reception, and relayed the story of how enkephalin is released from the pituitary gland to cause analgesia, relief of pain after an injury. Taking turns reading the comic aloud, and working individually on activities such as word searches and connecting the dots, the students gained an appreciation of their nervous system and that incredible natural pain reliever enkephalin.

Half way through our first MLP voyage, wIth six more peptides to go, we thanked team Enkephalin for a pain-free MLP learning experience in 2nd grade in Halifax.

Team Enkephalin, Rachel Comeau (BSc DAL) and Ashley Thimot (BA NSCADU) presenting the story of “The Incredible Enkephalin Starring The Nervous System”,

A comic book …

…and activity book, hurray!