👩🔬 I feel somehow simultaneously smarter and dumber after watching this video. Haha! In all seriousness, your project sounds really cool, and I hope you can make breakthroughs sooner rather than later!
If you don't mind to answer questions, In which university you studied ur bachelor degree? and studying biophysist is interesting for a person who likes biology and physics, how was your experience in the university ,is there a job opportunity in your country
I’m glad that you’re seeing it through, I got my bachelors in biochem but soon realized there was no money in it at the bachelors level & had to go back to school for nursing to get by, I’m saving so I can pursue my masters & hopefully a PhD at some point. My knowledge of biochem has served me well in the clinical setting, dealing with infection & understanding vector borne diseases but it’s not enough, I want to do research.
I was not expecting one of the booktube channels I subscribe to to be talking about HDL, but I’m here for it! I’m a MLS (Medical Laboratory Scientist) and a small part of my job is to run patient specimens through our analyzers to measure their HDL levels so I was geeking out a little watching this lol. Good luck in your research and feel free to share more about it in the future! 👩🏻🔬
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance Enzymatic reactions whose end product includes a dye whose color intensity is directly proportional to HDL concentration. First the specimen has to be treated with magnesium sulfate and dextran sulfate to render lipoproteins containing ApoB inactive to the enzymes used in the procedure so you’re not measuring the wrong cholesterols.... But I personally just sit it on a machine and it does all that for me 😆
It’s great to hear what you’re up to in the lab! And I appreciate you breaking everything down in the video so people like me, who value science but struggle to understand the more complex material, can follow along.
Okay first can I just say your Science Behind the Magic series is such a fun blend way to blend lit/science and this background of what you do is great! It also seems like such a coincidence because I just started a biochem class and a microbio class this week. Physics has always intimidated me (never took it in high school and then I didn't like the first professor who I took it with in college lol basically I never got in to it!) but it's always cool to see how all these fields overlap. I wish you the best of luck with your project! Sounds like it's going to be SO satisfying to one day say you completed it :)
Good luck with your classes!! I think bad physics teachers is the number one reason people are scared of physics and it makes me sad. It leans heavily on math which also intimidates people BUT you can teach physics concepts without math and we just choose not to and I don't really understand why. Thank you so much for this kind comment, it really made my day 😊
New subbie!!! I’m also a PhD student in Biochemistry with a structural (using Cryo-EM) component to my thesis project. I loved hearing about your project!!!
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance i m also learning neural computation but length/space constant doesn't makes intuitive sense to me...could u guide me some resource?
Hi😊 I’m a 4th year student in Japanese college. I started to study some proteins associated with microtubule from biophysical perspective 6 months ago. I enjoyed your video and subscribed your channel !! I hope your research will go well☺︎
That video was fascinating, thank you for sharing with us a glimpse of your research, I'm really hoping it changes lives someday! 🤯 I have a Scientific Translation class this semester (it's my last one before I get my bachelor's degree) and it has inspired me to do more research on my own. We've mainly been translating vulgarization texts on feathered dinosaurs for now, but my teacher wants us to dive into Archeology and Geology as well. So many things to learn and discover! 👌🤗
Oh, so cool to hear about what you're working on! I didn't realize what it was before, but now I realize that one of my old friends is in the same general area. I remember him telling me (now over a decade ago) about foldingathome and the protein folding work he was working on. Very neat!!
Protein folding is such an interesting field and there are lots of cool angles to come at it with. One group made a computer interactive game that helped them learn structures, it had to do with thermodynamics and having thousands of people playing with permutations. Its just really cool, and at times extremely confusing 😅
This is so cool! For my thesis when I did my Human Biology degree,I had to research how fast muscle cells regenerate after being damaged in old mice vs new mice. That was a blast but this is on a whole other level and it’s fascinating!
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance old mice took longer to regenerate than younger mice. Other people went on to look into that deeper so I’m not sure why the old mice took longer other than old age 😅
That is so cool and very well explained :) I work in one of those pharmaceutical companies usually trying to stop proteins from doing things we don’t want them to... and yes, most of the time we have yet to understand how things actually work...
I’ve been in CryoEM too and will be starting my PhD using the same method to look at proteins that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases in the brain. Just found your channel. Nice work explaining!
Ooooo! Cryo EM is so cool! Such a great tool for actually being about to solve membrane protein structures. I haven't gotten a chance to do it myself, but I love popping in Cryo EM images of the bacterial efflux pumps I work on into my presentations. So tiny and and cute!
Thank you for sharing your interesting reasearch project! Protein structure is such an amazing topic, physiscs, chemistry and biology as so connected here
That was fascinating! I've had a recent personal interest in cholesterol given that the past couple of times I've had bloodwork done my cholesterol level was so high that they couldn't get a reading on the level of bad cholesterol. The suggestion has been put out by my doctor that maybe eating pizza for 4 dinners per week is perhaps not the healthiest choice...
I feel you, my cholesterol has been high since 7th grade but also heart disease is not super common in my family but high cholesterol is so I am hoping for the best. But I would say that is a lot of pizza a week lol
Wow! You explained this so well. I liked the graphics of AP0A1 and ABCA1. I also love how you described the ringlets resembling your hair! Finding out how those membrane proteins pump fat makes me wonder what the implications of that discovery might be. Fascinating, Angela!
Thanks for watching! And for this it might help people understand how HDL is made and what HDL is more helpful than others so drugs can be made to help encourage that. Atleast that's what we imply on grants lol its mostly just a fun scientific question for me
👩🔬 thanks for this! I teach a medical physics course at my Uni and I will point my students to your video so they can see the biology and physics overlap in your PhD!
Well I never did much with science but nutrition is a hobby/passion of mine. I like to read a couple of books on nutrition a year and my work we read studies about them and talk about them on our podcast in a fitness settings
Yea I feel like school can really suck the fun out of things. Like even reading was a struggle for me in high school with all the boring required reading.
That's pretty cool! My family's history is filled with males who had heart attacks or who died suddenly in their 50s. Part of it seems to be idiopathic hypertension, but blood tests in more recent family members (who are still alive, thank goodness) shows high levels of LDL, and low levels HDL. I'm quite interested to hear what you find. When I was returning for my grad work, I almost went into molecular biology to study cryoproteins at Carleton U at the urging of my potential advisor (Kenneth Storey) there. In the end, I decided I didn't want to be a lab rat so moved to BC for a topic that had me in the field instead. But, I'm still fascinated by the cryoprotein work.
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance If I could start school over, I'd go into Alzheimer's research. I've seen relatives and friends of the family get it. Curiously, some of my relatives seem immune to any age-related cognitive declines, and possess sharp memories, quick reflexes, abilities to learn new skills and academic knowledge quickly despite being in their 60s and 70s. I'd like to do some comparative DNA work with my relatives to find out why some succumb to Alzheimer's while others don't even get normal aging deterioration.
Hi :D It was good to find another book scientist :D I am trying to pursue also a PhD but in chemical engineering. It's never easy but when it works is AMAZING!!! It was fantastic listening to you talk about your work although bio things are not my fav 🤣🤣🤣
@@CarbonBondedBooks Catalysts for VOCs selective conversion in my Master thesis were Gold metal complexes now In my PhD will be Metal complexes but heterogenized over several materials :D And you?
@@ScientistsReadingWorld that sounds dope! Are you looking at more of a car exhaust application or larger scale industrial emissions? I'm not in school anymore (I'm a masters student drop out 😂😂), but I love hearing about other people's research! Academia just wasn't for me. I'm currently an operations excellence manger for a carbon fiber manufacturer.
@@CarbonBondedBooks ahaha thank you I always wanted to be a scientist xD but getting is phd scholarship is super hard but I am trying again. It's more focus on the industrial Vocs like toluene etc :) Totally understand xD sometimes just want to flip the table xD Uhhh that is so cool 😍😍😍 if I went to industry I would love to work or in control systems or design of factories ^^
Chemical engineering has always intimidating so you are not alone! And yes I love meeting scientists on booktube. Another channel is krakentoagoodbook. She is a biostatician near the end of her phd as well!
I recently learned about biophysics, and it’s great because I’m liking both physics and microbiology. Do you have any thoughts on how virology is related to this larger field, anything on resources to look into?
I could never write the papers that you humanities majors have to put together. I really hate writing haha probably why I started a booktube channel instead of a blog lol
👩🔬 I was hoping there was a bohr model emoji, but I guess we aren't there yet, haha. Awesome video! It's so cool that you're working on research that has such a potential to help people!
This is such cool science. I don't have the head for things like this, but everything you talked about seems so meticulous. Are the machines you use for your research particularly difficult to use? I could imagine trying to capture such small organisms would take a lot of work. I hope your research goes well :).
The electron microscope takes a lot of dexterity and expertise to use although they are becoming easier to use. Thanks for the hope! I kind of need it lol
I feel like I've had to deal with APOA1 in some of the analyses I've done with collaborative projects. Anyway, yay science! This was a great idea to talk about your work. :D 👩🔬
Hey there😃 It was lovely to hear about your research...I wish to pursue a career in biophysics as well but I'm quite confused as to what subjects I should focus on 😕 If you don't mind, can you provide some insight as to which subjects you studied to get in the field? It would be of great help to me to get someone's perspective who's actually been in that field :) Wish you all the best in your life!!
This is awesome!! What an amazing and important field to be working in. This was fascinating and I would love to know more. How long have scientists been looking into ABCA1?
I think the first time ABCA1 was thought about was in reference to Tangier's disease (I think around the 90s) which is the beginning of how we learned that HDL can have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease.
Nice presentation! I am considering a PhD in Biophysics or Computational Biology Next Fall 2025. I am curious to know how much wet lab you do, how much code and in what languages. I have two degrees; one in Physics and another in Medical Microbiology but I honestly did not like my bio one because of the long lab hours. Is it possible to go ALL computational? I wanna have my lab on my computer in my backpack lol
So does each APOA1 particle is a blue sphere on the initial HDL drawing correct? Or does just a single APOA1 protein form a ringlet around the HDL? And ABCA1 somehow has a mechanism or something unknown that signals to APOA1 (which is what you are looking for structure-wise) that if HDL exits through the channel, APOA1 gets attached? Your work sounds fascinating but biophysics is definitely not a strong suit of mine. I'm so glad you posted this though while I am listening to 'The Gene' which is discussing DNA (right now the history of DNA, mRNA, proteins and Pauling's discoveries on protein structure) because at least I am in my most bio-state of mind. It sounds like a fascinating project, though, and I wish you the best of luck in your research!
ApoA1 forms what we believe is a double belt around HDL particles, atleast in the initial state (it goes through a whole process of maturity in the plasma) but I don't think this is for sure known. The structure my lab found we think its potentially how the double belt will form cause what you see is actually two apoA1s overlapping. And with ABCA1 I think my PI wants it to be a docking site that loads apoA1 up with cholesterol and lipids and then its released as a baby hdl particle but I think ABCA1 more helps change the environment of the cell membrane which does recruit apoA1 to load about on these materials. And I need all the luck I can get so thank you!
That's so cool. I major in Physics, and I love Biology, so I wanted to do Biophysics as well for PhD, particular in DNA/RNA or protein folding. Can I get any advice regarding this?? Thanks
The relationship between cholesterol and heart disease is very complicated so I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I have had high cholesterol since 7th grade cause my liver just loves to make cholesterol lol
Woah, very cool! I've heard a lot about ApoE due to it's association with Alzheimer's risk, but not much about ApoA. Out of curiosity (and because structural bio is not my forte lol), how do you go about determining which conformation is the active vs. inactive state?
With this protein it functions with this molecule called ATP so I would use chemicals that mimic ATP in different states to try and freeze the protein in different positions.
I appreciate the diagrams you included. They definitely helped with my understanding. Once you complete your PhD, will you be working in the medical research /pharmaceutical area or will you continue in the academic setting? 👩🏽🔬🧬🦠
Would you say Biophysics is a good PhD to pursue if I want to stop/reverse aging? I know that a lot of research has been performed concerning the telomerase enzyme (as we age, there is less telomerase activity and our telomeres shorten, causing senescent cells). There are several avenues to look into for aging, and I was thinking of starting my own lab to combat aging. However, my physics bachelor's is not enough for me to really understand the various causes and effects of aging, and I was considering getting a masters in biophysics and potentially pursuing a PhD if it is promising.
I initially subscribed to your channel because of the science stuff. I work in a lab too, although it's a completely different kind. I'm a PA in a surgical Pathology lab. So it's different, but I understood everything you were saying. 😆 Do you use electron microscopy?
Is ABCA1 found only in hepatocytes and enterocytes or does it appear to be ubiquitous? Do you know if it is found in neural junctions? Do you know if it is found in the mitochondrial membrane? Do you know what activates ABCA1? Does ABCA1 transport a certain kind of lipid or is it relatively robust, e.g. can it only transport cholesterol or can it transport phytosterols as well? Do you work with microarrays at all? I was interested in them when I was getting my degree (bio and math). I went to a smaller school so some of are science equipment was a bit dated. I had two semesters of biochem. My biochem teacher loved blood lipid chemistry. I'll have to pull out my old binder. Sorry for all the questions.
ABCA1 to my knowledge is not ubiquitous. It can be found in macrophages and hepatocytes but I am not completely confident those are the only two places. Now answering this question ABCA1 does seem to play a role in neurons BUT I don't know if they express at neural junctions. I believe ABCA1 is primarily a plasma membrane transporter and I don't think its typically found on mitochondrial membranes. ABCA1 works with ATP, so the presence of this molecule and its hydration is what powers this pump. ABCA1 seems to flip lipids non-specifically but also has some point mutations in disease states that prevent the flipping of specific types of phospholipids. I do not work with microarrays. And no need to apologize! Hopefully these answers are satisfactory!!
How do you know which side of the trans membrane protein is the internal (from the cell’s perspective) vs the extracellular side? I see the transmembrane barrel in the middle, and there it looks like a clamshell on the bottom in the video. Do you have any indications on what biomolecules other than cholesterol interact with this protein? If a secondary messenger says “our membrane is too wiggly” then it’ll probably fit in the clamshell and the external face will chelate cholesterol. My name is Riley. Got my Bachelors in Biochemistry in April and now, after being a teacher, realize I don’t like being a teacher. Have an extra seat for a young buck in your lab?
In undergrad you need to major in physics, chemistry, biology or if they have a biochem or biophysics major then that and I think all have math requirements for those majors.
Hello! Great video! I am interested in taking biophysics as my major and I was wondering where you went for undergrad and what your journey was like to go into doing a Phd.
I am a physics student and I have a presentation about the "latest developments in Biophysics" ...and until now I don't have any idea about biophysics....You are really amazing and also a PhD student so can you give me some idea about the latest developments?
I’m originally from Lynn Mass and lived in Mass much of my life. Which school are you attending for your PhD? Boston is my favorite city..it’s a great college town.
woaw! I also wanted to do a phd in anything that concerns biomolecular structures and dynamics. Is it heavy math? haha. I'm currently taking BS in biology and worrying that my maths are not enough for the field.
That's a cool project! I'm postgraduate student in biophysics with an undergraduate degree in physics and I'm struggling right now with the course of photobiophysics & photobiology. Is that normal? hahaha You said you have a physics background, you might know what I mean :D Jokes apart, good luck with your career! :)
I think what you really do in the lab is catching up on your TBR lool. I am curious about the practical implications of that structure. So, once you discover that structure will that help with Cholestrol control and ultimately less heart attacks?
Listen... audio books are a thing right 😉 in reality I am more in basic science so no real practical or translational applications planned. But in theory drug designers use structures to make more effective drugs.
Hi! I really loved how you broke down everything in this video, I have a question though. I am deciding to learn biophysics, the question is do I learn the subject in med school and? And if so can I become a biophysicist after graduation, I tend to mention that I’m in Europe, much appreciate it!
I want to know more about biophysics. I am in my first yr of my msc physics. I want to do my research in biophysics field. Can u please guide me what to do.
Hey, interesting video. I'm Physics Major and have an inclination to work on biology questions. Can you further elaborate on the Physics part that you are using in solving your biological question? Like do you do any pen/paper work, any computation, meaning how is physics really applied to that question?
My further question is, I have no background in Biology whatsoever, but I've found it really interesting nonetheless. I've read books on evolution and there was this one course in Basic biology which I found very intriguing. Could you please tell me what are the prerequisites required to apply to PhD programme in Biophysics if you are Physics major. Also meanwhile I'm trying to apply to projects that involves BioPhysics. It would be great if you could guide me here a bit :)
@@shashanksadafule biophysics is an interdisciplinary field... So you can apply.. For physics part the subject literally says mix of physics and biology.. Like for protein part you see many physical laws governing it.. Thermo laws, quantum physics is also used since you're dealing at Molecular level where certain phenomenon are explained by theories of QP.. One basic example I can give of physics in biology is.. How you breathe and how certain pathology means numerical values may differ... The most basic example which one reads in high school is of how negative pressure is responsible for residual volume in lungs... Yet you go info numerical part to use to diagnose diseases..
Mam I am confused to chose my career as I’m good in physics and chemistry so I am confused to chose between biochemistry , mbbs, and biophysics so what should I do
Fun. 😊 hahaha I love you trying to explain cryo-EM without touching diffraction beyond saying the word 💀🤣 oh god membrane proteins are such a nightmare. Insoluble little jerk faces. Do you use nano disks or detergents to solubilize your membrane protein for cryo-EM?
Omg loved this video, I love hearing about research!! Your project sounds awesome and you did such a fantastic job explaining it! Protein isn't just chicken indeed😂 I'm a grad student as well, only doing an MSc though, and your channel is part of what inspired me that I could join booktube and be a grad student at the same time😊👩🏻🔬 I'm in Physiology & Pharmacology, and my project is somewhat related to lipids as well, but my lab is focused on reproductive physiology, and my project is about the effects of obesity on early embryo development! I'm curious though, because one of my roommates is doing her project in structural biology, are you using NMR and/or x-ray crystallography in addition to cryo electron microscopy to look at the structure of your protein? I know she uses those to look at a subunit of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter, which is a transmembrane protein as well, so I wasn't sure if they would be applicable to what you're doing!!
This comment made my day, so happy to hear that you also started a booktube channel, I will have to check it out! Also that research sounds amazing. I would need A LOT more protein to use those methods but I do love the science behind NMR machines.
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance Ahhh interesting! I feel your pain lol, embryos don't provide me a lot of genetic information (or material in general) to work with so there are lots of techniques I can't do either
👩🔬 I feel somehow simultaneously smarter and dumber after watching this video. Haha! In all seriousness, your project sounds really cool, and I hope you can make breakthroughs sooner rather than later!
This seems to be a common consensus. I just want to get some results, write this paper and go teach 😆
If you don't mind to answer questions, In which university you studied ur bachelor degree? and studying biophysist is interesting for a person who likes biology and physics, how was your experience in the university ,is there a job opportunity in your country
I’m glad that you’re seeing it through, I got my bachelors in biochem but soon realized there was no money in it at the bachelors level & had to go back to school for nursing to get by, I’m saving so I can pursue my masters & hopefully a PhD at some point. My knowledge of biochem has served me well in the clinical setting, dealing with infection & understanding vector borne diseases but it’s not enough, I want to do research.
I was not expecting one of the booktube channels I subscribe to to be talking about HDL, but I’m here for it! I’m a MLS (Medical Laboratory Scientist) and a small part of my job is to run patient specimens through our analyzers to measure their HDL levels so I was geeking out a little watching this lol. Good luck in your research and feel free to share more about it in the future! 👩🏻🔬
Happy to give you a good surprise!! How do people measure HDL levels?
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance Enzymatic reactions whose end product includes a dye whose color intensity is directly proportional to HDL concentration. First the specimen has to be treated with magnesium sulfate and dextran sulfate to render lipoproteins containing ApoB inactive to the enzymes used in the procedure so you’re not measuring the wrong cholesterols.... But I personally just sit it on a machine and it does all that for me 😆
Found your channel through Erik's sci-fi recs video and it is everything, so happy to be here! 👩🔬🔬⚛️
Happy to have you here!!
It’s great to hear what you’re up to in the lab! And I appreciate you breaking everything down in the video so people like me, who value science but struggle to understand the more complex material, can follow along.
I am glad this was easy enough to follow along with! I really wanted it to be as accessible as possible.
Okay first can I just say your Science Behind the Magic series is such a fun blend way to blend lit/science and this background of what you do is great! It also seems like such a coincidence because I just started a biochem class and a microbio class this week. Physics has always intimidated me (never took it in high school and then I didn't like the first professor who I took it with in college lol basically I never got in to it!) but it's always cool to see how all these fields overlap. I wish you the best of luck with your project! Sounds like it's going to be SO satisfying to one day say you completed it :)
Good luck with your classes!! I think bad physics teachers is the number one reason people are scared of physics and it makes me sad. It leans heavily on math which also intimidates people BUT you can teach physics concepts without math and we just choose not to and I don't really understand why. Thank you so much for this kind comment, it really made my day 😊
New subbie!!! I’m also a PhD student in Biochemistry with a structural (using Cryo-EM) component to my thesis project. I loved hearing about your project!!!
Welcome!! Glad you found this interesting! What is your project about?? If you don't mind sharing 😊
Omg, thank you for mixing science and reading! Your showing me that I can do it both!! Now about reading research articles...
I wish I could have those articles count towards me reading goals lol
What interesting research! I am also a PhD; I worked in a MS research lab. You will be a great educator within this field! Best wishes to you!! 🔬 🧪 🧬
I was teaching students about MS this year, particularly what happens to the physiology of neurons. Thank you for the kind words!
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance i m also learning neural computation but length/space constant doesn't makes intuitive sense to me...could u guide me some resource?
Hi😊 I’m a 4th year student in Japanese college. I started to study some proteins associated with microtubule from biophysical perspective 6 months ago. I enjoyed your video and subscribed your channel !!
I hope your research will go well☺︎
Time to embrace the inevitable biology videos that are about to pop-up on my feed!
That video was fascinating, thank you for sharing with us a glimpse of your research, I'm really hoping it changes lives someday! 🤯 I have a Scientific Translation class this semester (it's my last one before I get my bachelor's degree) and it has inspired me to do more research on my own. We've mainly been translating vulgarization texts on feathered dinosaurs for now, but my teacher wants us to dive into Archeology and Geology as well. So many things to learn and discover! 👌🤗
Oh, so cool to hear about what you're working on! I didn't realize what it was before, but now I realize that one of my old friends is in the same general area. I remember him telling me (now over a decade ago) about foldingathome and the protein folding work he was working on. Very neat!!
Protein folding is such an interesting field and there are lots of cool angles to come at it with. One group made a computer interactive game that helped them learn structures, it had to do with thermodynamics and having thousands of people playing with permutations. Its just really cool, and at times extremely confusing 😅
So interesting, I sometimes miss research in the lab. Very cool to hear what you do!
Research is cool but I am going to be excited to focus more on teaching in the next steps of my career!
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance that is super exciting!!
This is so cool! For my thesis when I did my Human Biology degree,I had to research how fast muscle cells regenerate after being damaged in old mice vs new mice. That was a blast but this is on a whole other level and it’s fascinating!
That project sounds so cool, what was the biggest difference in the regeneration??
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance old mice took longer to regenerate than younger mice. Other people went on to look into that deeper so I’m not sure why the old mice took longer other than old age 😅
That is so cool and very well explained :) I work in one of those pharmaceutical companies usually trying to stop proteins from doing things we don’t want them to... and yes, most of the time we have yet to understand how things actually work...
I still find it amazing that we don't really know how Tylenol works and we have been using it forever
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance yes, and the same for aspirin, that has so many different modes of action...
I’ve been in CryoEM too and will be starting my PhD using the same method to look at proteins that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases in the brain. Just found your channel. Nice work explaining!
Thanks for watching and good luck with your research!
I came for books, I stayed for the education. So cool to hear about what you do for work. :)
Thanks for staying to learn a thing!
Ooooo! Cryo EM is so cool! Such a great tool for actually being about to solve membrane protein structures. I haven't gotten a chance to do it myself, but I love popping in Cryo EM images of the bacterial efflux pumps I work on into my presentations. So tiny and and cute!
This is so frickin cool Angela
Thanks Rachel!!
Thank you for sharing your interesting reasearch project! Protein structure is such an amazing topic, physiscs, chemistry and biology as so connected here
Thanks for watching, I agree protein structure is such a fascinating field!
That was fascinating! I've had a recent personal interest in cholesterol given that the past couple of times I've had bloodwork done my cholesterol level was so high that they couldn't get a reading on the level of bad cholesterol. The suggestion has been put out by my doctor that maybe eating pizza for 4 dinners per week is perhaps not the healthiest choice...
I feel you, my cholesterol has been high since 7th grade but also heart disease is not super common in my family but high cholesterol is so I am hoping for the best. But I would say that is a lot of pizza a week lol
Wow! You explained this so well. I liked the graphics of AP0A1 and ABCA1. I also love how you described the ringlets resembling your hair! Finding out how those membrane proteins pump fat makes me wonder what the implications of that discovery might be. Fascinating, Angela!
Thanks for watching! And for this it might help people understand how HDL is made and what HDL is more helpful than others so drugs can be made to help encourage that. Atleast that's what we imply on grants lol its mostly just a fun scientific question for me
👩🔬 thanks for this! I teach a medical physics course at my Uni and I will point my students to your video so they can see the biology and physics overlap in your PhD!
Glad I can help show how these two disciplines overlap!
How very interesting. I feel less smart now, and yet at the same time, I feel like I learned something today! 🪢(looks like a double helix)
Then I feel accomplished!!
That is so cool! Thank you for explaining it! 🤓
Thanks for watching!!
🔬 Fascinating stuff, I knew I wouldn't have a clue but very interesting. Most of the science I know I learned from reading science fiction.
Glad it was still atleast interesting!!
I loved microbiology in college and this brought back memories! I'm so excited for your research and what you will find out! 👩🏻🔬
Hopefully these were good memories 😆
Well I never did much with science but nutrition is a hobby/passion of mine. I like to read a couple of books on nutrition a year and my work we read studies about them and talk about them on our podcast in a fitness settings
Nutrition is always really interesting. I did take a course on that in college and found it really interesting!
Magic has nothing on the cool weirdness that is science!
Awww thanks!!
Love this video. Thank you so very much for sharing it.
Thank you for watching!
this is so cool! I regret that teenage me was so put off by biology/chemistry/physics because today I think it is fascinating!!!
Yea I feel like school can really suck the fun out of things. Like even reading was a struggle for me in high school with all the boring required reading.
That's pretty cool! My family's history is filled with males who had heart attacks or who died suddenly in their 50s. Part of it seems to be idiopathic hypertension, but blood tests in more recent family members (who are still alive, thank goodness) shows high levels of LDL, and low levels HDL. I'm quite interested to hear what you find.
When I was returning for my grad work, I almost went into molecular biology to study cryoproteins at Carleton U at the urging of my potential advisor (Kenneth Storey) there. In the end, I decided I didn't want to be a lab rat so moved to BC for a topic that had me in the field instead. But, I'm still fascinated by the cryoprotein work.
I also started this research because of my family history with HDL and cholesterol.
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance If I could start school over, I'd go into Alzheimer's research. I've seen relatives and friends of the family get it. Curiously, some of my relatives seem immune to any age-related cognitive declines, and possess sharp memories, quick reflexes, abilities to learn new skills and academic knowledge quickly despite being in their 60s and 70s. I'd like to do some comparative DNA work with my relatives to find out why some succumb to Alzheimer's while others don't even get normal aging deterioration.
Hi :D It was good to find another book scientist :D
I am trying to pursue also a PhD but in chemical engineering.
It's never easy but when it works is AMAZING!!!
It was fantastic listening to you talk about your work although bio things are not my fav 🤣🤣🤣
I am amazed at how many ChemEs I find in the booktube community! That's so awesome! What are you researching?
@@CarbonBondedBooks Catalysts for VOCs selective conversion in my Master thesis were Gold metal complexes now In my PhD will be Metal complexes but heterogenized over several materials :D
And you?
@@ScientistsReadingWorld that sounds dope! Are you looking at more of a car exhaust application or larger scale industrial emissions? I'm not in school anymore (I'm a masters student drop out 😂😂), but I love hearing about other people's research! Academia just wasn't for me. I'm currently an operations excellence manger for a carbon fiber manufacturer.
@@CarbonBondedBooks ahaha thank you I always wanted to be a scientist xD but getting is phd scholarship is super hard but I am trying again. It's more focus on the industrial Vocs like toluene etc :)
Totally understand xD sometimes just want to flip the table xD
Uhhh that is so cool 😍😍😍 if I went to industry I would love to work or in control systems or design of factories ^^
Chemical engineering has always intimidating so you are not alone! And yes I love meeting scientists on booktube. Another channel is krakentoagoodbook. She is a biostatician near the end of her phd as well!
So cool! Thx for sharing! 🧬🔬❤️
Sounds super fancy
It really isn't as fancy as it sounds 😆
That is so cool. I knew god gave you that beautiful brain with those great strings of hair for a reason. So proud of you
Thanks dad!!
I recently learned about biophysics, and it’s great because I’m liking both physics and microbiology. Do you have any thoughts on how virology is related to this larger field, anything on resources to look into?
This sent me back to AP bio/physics/Chem in high school. As a humanities major, I have so much respect for STEM people. I could never, but go you👏🏻 🧪
I could never write the papers that you humanities majors have to put together. I really hate writing haha probably why I started a booktube channel instead of a blog lol
Thanks for sharing! 👩🔬👩🔬
Thanks for watching!!
👩🔬 I was hoping there was a bohr model emoji, but I guess we aren't there yet, haha. Awesome video! It's so cool that you're working on research that has such a potential to help people!
There really should be a bohr model emoji!
This is such cool science. I don't have the head for things like this, but everything you talked about seems so meticulous. Are the machines you use for your research particularly difficult to use? I could imagine trying to capture such small organisms would take a lot of work.
I hope your research goes well :).
The electron microscope takes a lot of dexterity and expertise to use although they are becoming easier to use. Thanks for the hope! I kind of need it lol
I feel like I've had to deal with APOA1 in some of the analyses I've done with collaborative projects. Anyway, yay science! This was a great idea to talk about your work. :D 👩🔬
I had to film this for a school project anyways so figured I might as well make content at the same time 😆
🧬🔬. Impressive, all I do is read and paint and you are discovering things 🙂
I wish I could paint or draw so I think that's really impressive!
This should go on your cv 😎
Hey there😃 It was lovely to hear about your research...I wish to pursue a career in biophysics as well but I'm quite confused as to what subjects I should focus on 😕 If you don't mind, can you provide some insight as to which subjects you studied to get in the field? It would be of great help to me to get someone's perspective who's actually been in that field :)
Wish you all the best in your life!!
You guys and biochemists are the reason doctors have Jobs.
I don't even know what question to ask 😂 This sounds like a super cool project though.
The best questions come from people who say this! Thanks for watching 😊
❤ Love this
So cool! 🧬 🧪
Thank you
This is awesome!! What an amazing and important field to be working in. This was fascinating and I would love to know more. How long have scientists been looking into ABCA1?
I think the first time ABCA1 was thought about was in reference to Tangier's disease (I think around the 90s) which is the beginning of how we learned that HDL can have a protective effect against cardiovascular disease.
Nice presentation! I am considering a PhD in Biophysics or Computational Biology Next Fall 2025. I am curious to know how much wet lab you do, how much code and in what languages. I have two degrees; one in Physics and another in Medical Microbiology but I honestly did not like my bio one because of the long lab hours. Is it possible to go ALL computational? I wanna have my lab on my computer in my backpack lol
So does each APOA1 particle is a blue sphere on the initial HDL drawing correct? Or does just a single APOA1 protein form a ringlet around the HDL? And ABCA1 somehow has a mechanism or something unknown that signals to APOA1 (which is what you are looking for structure-wise) that if HDL exits through the channel, APOA1 gets attached? Your work sounds fascinating but biophysics is definitely not a strong suit of mine. I'm so glad you posted this though while I am listening to 'The Gene' which is discussing DNA (right now the history of DNA, mRNA, proteins and Pauling's discoveries on protein structure) because at least I am in my most bio-state of mind. It sounds like a fascinating project, though, and I wish you the best of luck in your research!
ApoA1 forms what we believe is a double belt around HDL particles, atleast in the initial state (it goes through a whole process of maturity in the plasma) but I don't think this is for sure known. The structure my lab found we think its potentially how the double belt will form cause what you see is actually two apoA1s overlapping.
And with ABCA1 I think my PI wants it to be a docking site that loads apoA1 up with cholesterol and lipids and then its released as a baby hdl particle but I think ABCA1 more helps change the environment of the cell membrane which does recruit apoA1 to load about on these materials.
And I need all the luck I can get so thank you!
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance All of this was so cool! Thanks for answering the questions.
That's so cool. I major in Physics, and I love Biology, so I wanted to do Biophysics as well for PhD, particular in DNA/RNA or protein folding. Can I get any advice regarding this?? Thanks
Cool stuff! 👩🔬🧬
Thanks for watching!!
*nods sagely* ah yes the tiny inside human meat. And it all looks like party decorations. I have no further questions. :p
I am now going to only call proteins tiny inside human meat. And the comparison to party decorations....Your insights are so valuable 😆
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance thankyou the science world doesn't know what it missed when I picked arts subjects :p
this is awesome and frightening as my LDL is too high. :(
The relationship between cholesterol and heart disease is very complicated so I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I have had high cholesterol since 7th grade cause my liver just loves to make cholesterol lol
So interesting! Would you say that a physics major is advisable to go deep in biology? Nowadays I feel like there is a change in science.
Woah, very cool! I've heard a lot about ApoE due to it's association with Alzheimer's risk, but not much about ApoA. Out of curiosity (and because structural bio is not my forte lol), how do you go about determining which conformation is the active vs. inactive state?
With this protein it functions with this molecule called ATP so I would use chemicals that mimic ATP in different states to try and freeze the protein in different positions.
I appreciate the diagrams you included. They definitely helped with my understanding. Once you complete your PhD, will you be working in the medical research /pharmaceutical area or will you continue in the academic setting? 👩🏽🔬🧬🦠
Glad the diagrams helped make things clearer! I plan on focusing on teaching and education research next!
Would you say Biophysics is a good PhD to pursue if I want to stop/reverse aging? I know that a lot of research has been performed concerning the telomerase enzyme (as we age, there is less telomerase activity and our telomeres shorten, causing senescent cells). There are several avenues to look into for aging, and I was thinking of starting my own lab to combat aging. However, my physics bachelor's is not enough for me to really understand the various causes and effects of aging, and I was considering getting a masters in biophysics and potentially pursuing a PhD if it is promising.
I initially subscribed to your channel because of the science stuff. I work in a lab too, although it's a completely different kind. I'm a PA in a surgical Pathology lab. So it's different, but I understood everything you were saying. 😆 Do you use electron microscopy?
I have used an electron microscope! I am glad everything made sense even though its different from what you do.
Is ABCA1 found only in hepatocytes and enterocytes or does it appear to be ubiquitous?
Do you know if it is found in neural junctions?
Do you know if it is found in the mitochondrial membrane?
Do you know what activates ABCA1?
Does ABCA1 transport a certain kind of lipid or is it relatively robust, e.g. can it only transport cholesterol or can it transport phytosterols as well?
Do you work with microarrays at all? I was interested in them when I was getting my degree (bio and math). I went to a smaller school so some of are science equipment was a bit dated. I had two semesters of biochem. My biochem teacher loved blood lipid chemistry. I'll have to pull out my old binder. Sorry for all the questions.
ABCA1 to my knowledge is not ubiquitous. It can be found in macrophages and hepatocytes but I am not completely confident those are the only two places.
Now answering this question ABCA1 does seem to play a role in neurons BUT I don't know if they express at neural junctions.
I believe ABCA1 is primarily a plasma membrane transporter and I don't think its typically found on mitochondrial membranes.
ABCA1 works with ATP, so the presence of this molecule and its hydration is what powers this pump.
ABCA1 seems to flip lipids non-specifically but also has some point mutations in disease states that prevent the flipping of specific types of phospholipids.
I do not work with microarrays.
And no need to apologize! Hopefully these answers are satisfactory!!
Damn I was hoping to see u in the lab
How do you know which side of the trans membrane protein is the internal (from the cell’s perspective) vs the extracellular side? I see the transmembrane barrel in the middle, and there it looks like a clamshell on the bottom in the video. Do you have any indications on what biomolecules other than cholesterol interact with this protein? If a secondary messenger says “our membrane is too wiggly” then it’ll probably fit in the clamshell and the external face will chelate cholesterol.
My name is Riley. Got my Bachelors in Biochemistry in April and now, after being a teacher, realize I don’t like being a teacher. Have an extra seat for a young buck in your lab?
What are the required a levels for biophysics? Can I still pursue this degree without maths?
In undergrad you need to major in physics, chemistry, biology or if they have a biochem or biophysics major then that and I think all have math requirements for those majors.
I love this video. You're smart & cool too. 😁
Thank you so much!!
yea i got none of that, well maybe a little of it, my dad and one of my older brother also works in science
Well feel free to ask any questions if you want 😊
Hello! Great video! I am interested in taking biophysics as my major and I was wondering where you went for undergrad and what your journey was like to go into doing a Phd.
My undergrad was in Physics. I went straight into Graduate school (although lots of my cohort did a masters or work first so lots of paths available)
I am a physics student and I have a presentation about the "latest developments in Biophysics" ...and until now I don't have any idea about biophysics....You are really amazing and also a PhD student so can you give me some idea about the latest developments?
I’m originally from Lynn Mass and lived in Mass much of my life. Which school are you attending for your PhD? Boston is my favorite city..it’s a great college town.
I have to make an SOP on Biophysics of epithelial cell, Can you help me suggesting, with what thinking approach can I start?
Oh that's really interesting! I was wondering what it is you're doing in the lab. How is the dissertation-writing process going?
I am in the outlining phase!
woaw! I also wanted to do a phd in anything that concerns biomolecular structures and dynamics. Is it heavy math? haha. I'm currently taking BS in biology and worrying that my maths are not enough for the field.
I wouldn't say its heavy in math, more so you need to be more comfortable with programming.
Very cool
This was really cool! Did you have a physics background before or a biology background?
I got my BS in physics and then joined the biophysics department and learned all the biochemistry and cellular biology!
That's a cool project!
I'm postgraduate student in biophysics with an undergraduate degree in physics and I'm struggling right now with the course of photobiophysics & photobiology. Is that normal? hahaha
You said you have a physics background, you might know what I mean :D
Jokes apart, good luck with your career! :)
I think what you really do in the lab is catching up on your TBR lool.
I am curious about the practical implications of that structure. So, once you discover that structure will that help with Cholestrol control and ultimately less heart attacks?
Listen... audio books are a thing right 😉 in reality I am more in basic science so no real practical or translational applications planned. But in theory drug designers use structures to make more effective drugs.
Thanks
Enjoyed the video
Thanks for watching!!
Hi! I really loved how you broke down everything in this video, I have a question though. I am deciding to learn biophysics, the question is do I learn the subject in med school and? And if so can I become a biophysicist after graduation, I tend to mention that I’m in Europe, much appreciate it!
I want to know more about biophysics. I am in my first yr of my msc physics. I want to do my research in biophysics field. Can u please guide me what to do.
🔬is just using physical science techniques to understand biology called biophysics?
👽Thank You!!!
Hey, interesting video. I'm Physics Major and have an inclination to work on biology questions. Can you further elaborate on the Physics part that you are using in solving your biological question? Like do you do any pen/paper work, any computation, meaning how is physics really applied to that question?
My further question is, I have no background in Biology whatsoever, but I've found it really interesting nonetheless. I've read books on evolution and there was this one course in Basic biology which I found very intriguing. Could you please tell me what are the prerequisites required to apply to PhD programme in Biophysics if you are Physics major. Also meanwhile I'm trying to apply to projects that involves BioPhysics. It would be great if you could guide me here a bit :)
@@shashanksadafule biophysics is an interdisciplinary field...
So you can apply..
For physics part the subject literally says mix of physics and biology.. Like for protein part you see many physical laws governing it.. Thermo laws, quantum physics is also used since you're dealing at Molecular level where certain phenomenon are explained by theories of QP..
One basic example I can give of physics in biology is.. How you breathe and how certain pathology means numerical values may differ...
The most basic example which one reads in high school is of how negative pressure is responsible for residual volume in lungs...
Yet you go info numerical part to use to diagnose diseases..
@@shashanksadafule majority work in science is now computational.. You do use pen paper but computational part constitutes the most of it..
@@jackyjack9660 hey thanks:)
You lost me at electron density :D Thanks for humbling me.
Feel free to ask any questions if you want!!
Hello, can I use biophysics for dentistry
Mam I am confused to chose my career as I’m good in physics and chemistry so I am confused to chose between biochemistry , mbbs, and biophysics so what should I do
Hey , can a graduate of biochemistry do a master in biophysics ? Is it possible ?
I had a physics degree and went into biophysics and I know biochemists who also transitioned into biophysics so it can be done
Were you always good at math/physics/biochem?
Fun. 😊 hahaha I love you trying to explain cryo-EM without touching diffraction beyond saying the word 💀🤣 oh god membrane proteins are such a nightmare. Insoluble little jerk faces. Do you use nano disks or detergents to solubilize your membrane protein for cryo-EM?
Nice
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It's kind boggling to me how long it takes to get a PhD
I wish we did more a European model where its a fixed number of years instead of the 4-7 year range here in the states lol
⚗️
I’m not smart enough to have questions, lol
The best questions are usually from people who think their questions are "too dumb" but then the whole room realizes they have the same question.
Omg loved this video, I love hearing about research!! Your project sounds awesome and you did such a fantastic job explaining it! Protein isn't just chicken indeed😂
I'm a grad student as well, only doing an MSc though, and your channel is part of what inspired me that I could join booktube and be a grad student at the same time😊👩🏻🔬 I'm in Physiology & Pharmacology, and my project is somewhat related to lipids as well, but my lab is focused on reproductive physiology, and my project is about the effects of obesity on early embryo development!
I'm curious though, because one of my roommates is doing her project in structural biology, are you using NMR and/or x-ray crystallography in addition to cryo electron microscopy to look at the structure of your protein? I know she uses those to look at a subunit of the mitochondrial calcium uniporter, which is a transmembrane protein as well, so I wasn't sure if they would be applicable to what you're doing!!
This comment made my day, so happy to hear that you also started a booktube channel, I will have to check it out! Also that research sounds amazing. I would need A LOT more protein to use those methods but I do love the science behind NMR machines.
@@LiteratureScienceAlliance Ahhh interesting! I feel your pain lol, embryos don't provide me a lot of genetic information (or material in general) to work with so there are lots of techniques I can't do either
👩🔬👩🔬👩🔬👏👏👏
Indagrreated phd
🧪🧑🔬