Jim



Hello everyone, my name is Jim! (Also aka ZiJing, Jared, Jimbo, Jimmy, Jimbob, Jimboy, not James though) I am from the vibrant city of Rancho Cucamonga, California. I am an upcoming Junior at Los Osos High School, which is one of California's Most Distinguished Schools.

 I am here because I want to explore my interest and ability in the field of biology, as I plan to major in Biochemistry or Molecular Biology with a focus on premed and hopefully make my career as an anesthesiologist. However, my focus has changed towards the business field. I now wish to major in Economics and focus on marketing, as I wish to work in a people-orientated field that allows me to express ideas and help others market their innovations.

My interest in biology (and science overall) initiated when I enrolled in my school's AP Chemistry course. Believe it or not, I used to despise anything related to science and mathematics because I thought numbers looked like mythical symbols in //Indiana Jones//. However, AP Chem has opened my world to a whole new level of science that involves hands-on experiences and the process of discovery and achievement. I began showing more of a interest towards science when my mom informed me of her anesthesiologist's incompetence at putting her to sleep when she was giving birth to me. I have taken an Honors Bio course during my freshman year and the AP Chemistry course as a sophomore. I am going to take the AP Biology course next year. I have participated labs including extracting DNA from strawberries, dissecting a piglet, titration, and making solids out of precipitation reactions. In addition on my journey to the future, I volunteer at a local Kaiser Permanente, Los Angeles' first hospital. I currently volunteer for the Oncology Department, Anesthesiology Department, and ICU. However, I have decided to major in Economics and enter the business field. I enjoy communication, marketing, and public speaking. My interest in biology or any biological sciences have not wavered. At school, I am in my school's chapters of Future Business Leaders of America and National Honors Society. I have been playing the piano since five years old, first under my grandmother in China, then under a super dope Russian teacher when I moved to the U.S. I am on my way to take my Advanced Level test of the Certificate of Merit, which will qualify me as a beginner professional pianist.

I enrolled in the BLI Biological Research program because I want to obtain some hands-on experience in a biological environment. I am very enthusiastic, and I wish to learn lots.

One thing that I've done that may surprise you guys is that I was alive before I died.

Research Topic: Biopharmaceuticals
Biopharmaceutics is the study of the action and relationships of drugs within and with the body, which can, in many respects, be envisioned more accurately as the actions and response of the body on an administered drug, and the process and ability of the drug to bypass biological membranes to achieve its full effect. It includes studies of the mechanisms of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination; onset of action; duration of effect; biotransformation; bioavailability; and effects and routes of excretion of the chemicals of the drug. 

The basics of biopharmaceutics is entailed with the response of biological systems before and after a drug is administered into the body. Biological response is expressed as alteration of biologic process existing before drug was administered, i.e. the natural reaction of the immune system, antibodies, and white blood cells to a pathogen prior to the intake of any drugs. Drug tolerance is the body's ability to adapt to the presence of the drug, in which the magnitude of the body's response to a particular drug depends on two factors: Concentration of the drug at its site of action, and sensitivity of the receptor site to the drug. The observed effect of drug from a dosage form is equal to the inherent pharmacological of the drug plus its ability to reach the receptor site in appropriate concentration. Overall, the intensity and duration of the effect of drugs depend on the biological response of the body and the dosage and concentration of the drug. 

Pharmacokinetics is the study of the movement of drug in the body and how the body cooperates with the drug. More specific than the general "biopharmaceutics," it mainly focuses on the drug absorption (process of entering the body and biomembranes), distribution (dispersion throughout the fluids and tissues of body), metabolism (irreversible transformation of parent compounds into daughter metabolites), and elimination/excretion (elimination of drug from the body). <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> Another specific branch of biopharmaceutics is bioavailability, which focuses on the rate and extends of drug absorption. The three main kinds of factors affecting absorption are: physiological, physicochemical, and form factors. In the physiological section, the membrane physiology of the body, the availability of passages for drugs to cross the membranes, and gastrointestinal physiology, which includes the effect of food on the drug, are the three factors affecting absorption. When crossing the membrane, the drug carrier molecule may be highly selective for the drug molecule, therefore, drugs of similar structure may compete for sites of adsorption on the carrier (competitive inhibition is possible), and too much absorption can cause saturation at the adsorption site. Absorption into the cell can be assisted by vesicles through pinocytosis and phagocytosis, through pores, and by ion pair formation. With addition of going through membranes, drug substances may travel in the circulation through the gastrointestinal tract, a muscle tube that extends from the mouth to the anus consisted of four main areas (the oesophagus, the stomach, the small intestine, and the large intestine/colon). In this area, the bioavailability can be affected by food, which can alter the pH or create complication between the drug and the diet.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">Biological membranes is also an important concept in biopharmaceutics. There are four major types of biomembranes. Blood-brain barrier is the membrane that separates the circulating blood from the brain extracellular fluid in the central nervous system. The renal tubule is the portion of the nephron (the filtering and excretory unit of the kidney consisting of the glomerulus and tubules) containing the tubular fluid filtered through the glomerulus, a compact cluster of capillaries found in the kidney which functions to remove certain substances from the blood before it flows into the convoluted tubule. The glomerulus, along with blood capillaries combined, are also a major type of biomembranes. The last type of biomembranes is the placental barrier, which is the outer membrane of the placenta that allows nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">Biopharmaceutics is a prestigious and arduous field that, if mastered, offers a vast array of careers ranging from anesthesiologist to a drug salesperson. It involves chemistry, business, and genetic engineering. "Recently, new production methods have been developed involving plants such as carrot cells, tobacco and rice seeds that are able to cost-effectively and safely produce biopharmaceuticals. A recent plant shut-down at Genzyme highlights the concern of conventional methods that use animal cells and animal components in biomanufacturing because of the risk of adventitious prion and viral pathogens of animal origin. This shut-down led to drug product shortages and helped advance the approval of a plant-produced alternative to Cerezyme" (Biotechnology in the Global Economy, ota.fas.org ). Biopharmaceutics will truly be a subject of study that can potentially alter humans' ability to evolve and therefore altering the future of Earth. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">**__Design Project: Bacteria that Prevent Aflatoxin__** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5;">**The Problem**: Fungi grown on moldy foods and crops have caused significant health issues for the general population. Not only the fungi make the foods appear unpalatable, they also cause extremely pernicious food poisonings that have the potential of causing diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain/cramp, malaise, and even deaths. Food poisoning can be caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi, oh myyy! Fungi grown on food produce mycotoxins that cause the food poisonings. Mycotoxins are some of the world's most toxic poisons. The main focus of this project is on aflatoxin, the most dangerous and common mycotoxin. Aflatoxin is a carcinogen that can cause liver cancer, kidney cancer, and many other diseases related to the whole body. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5;">The Idea/Solution **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5;">: Using a common, harmless, and symbiotic strain of E. coli in the human guts to destroy the aflatoxin proteins before they can cause any problems. By successfully designing this bacteria, food poisoning by means of aflatoxins can be quickly eradicated quickly and efficiently, instead of waiting forever on test results for aflatoxin proteins inside the body. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5;">**Competing Techhnologies**: There are tests available to detect the presence of aflatoxins in the body, but they usually take a long time. Most cures for aflatoxins are very complex, and they involve emergency procedures. Most of aflatoxin cures are for organisms other than humans. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">__**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5;"> Process of Creation - The Design **__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> >
 * 1) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5;">//De////tection//: the engineered E. coli must identify the aflatoxin proteins.
 * The species E. coli is used due to common niche in the guts and their **gram-negative qualities**, in which they have a soft, gel-like, and membranous plasmic membrane. [[image:http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/everyday/agriculture/images/e_coli.jpg width="681" height="344" caption="E. coli"]]
 * The aflatoxin releases a substance called **AFB1-guanine adduct** into the body system. Urine tests for aflatoxins in the body are also for the purpose of locating this substance, but the result takes about twenty-four hours to be revealed. The bacteria require a **promoter linking to the substance MAI-16885**, an immunogen that can cause a immune response from the bacteria.
 * When the promoter senses AFB1-guanine adduct, the promoter activates the immunogen, which in turn activates an immune response from the bacterial cell.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">2. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Invasion //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">: the engineered E. coli must be able to attack the aflatoxin proteins after identifying them. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">
 * A **strong acidic protease gene**, discovered in the yeast species Saccharomycopsis fibuligera, can be added to the E. coli bacteria to make the acidic protease that can dissolve the aflatoxin proteins.
 * The protease is engineered to fit the structure of all aflatoxins, in which they have a common tail of -OCH3.
 * A **Buffer gate** is required. When the AFB1-guanine adduct is present, the process begins. When the AFB1-guanine adduct no longer exists in the guts, the process stops. [[image:http://www.atariarchives.org/ecp/figure10-1.gif width="515" height="113"]]

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Process of Poison Protein Extermination: ** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> The promoter of the E. coli bacteria stimulates an immune response from the bacteria, and they allow the bacteria to realize that the threat comes from extracellular forces. The trick of being a gram-negative bacteria is that they, because of their soft plasma membranes, are able to release vesicles that are able to contain proteins and other substances. The bacteria then release vesicles that capture the aflatoxin protein molecules. Before the vesicles are released, the ribosomes in the bacteria produce the acidic protease, in which a vesicle captures inside the cytoplasm. (The ribosomes only produce the protease when the Buffer gate is triggered.) The vesicle then delivers the protein to the plasma membrane, in which another vesicle is immediately formed, containing the acidic protease. The vesicle then travels to its nearest aflatoxin molecule and captures it. The vesicle moves back into the cytoplasm, and shrinks itself by injecting most of its cytoplasmic material back into the bacterial cell. This causes the acidic protease to come in contact with the aflatoxin protein, but not small enough that the acidic protease or the toxic protein will come in contact with the plasma membrane of the vesicle. The denaturation begins as the acidic protease literally burns off the hydrogen bonds of the toxin proteins. We don't have to worry about the protease attacking other proteins because of its special "gate" for the tail end of -OCH3 in aflatoxins. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> This leads to... <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> And finally... <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">(Detailed diagram of this process is available on the PowerPoint.) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">__**List of Genetic Devices:**__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">
 * Promoter linking to immunogen MAI-16885 || AFB1-guanine adduct ||
 * 0 || 0 ||
 * 1 || 1 ||
 * Formation of acidic protease || Response from MAI-16885 ||
 * 0 || 0 ||
 * 1 || 1 ||
 * Formation of acidic protease || Formation of vesicles/packaging of acidic protease/release of vesicles ||
 * 0 || 0 ||
 * 1 || 1 ||
 * 1) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">A harmless strain of the bacteria Escherichia coli
 * 2) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Promoter linking to the immunogen MAI-16885
 * 3) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Acidic protease gene sequence from the bacteria species Saccharomycopsis fibuligera
 * 4) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Buffer gate

__**<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Expecte ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">d ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"> Results **__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The system should eliminate all traces of aflatoxin proteins that enter the body. The bacteria should be able to reproduce and continue to help terminating aflatoxins if they enter the body again.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;">
 * __<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Potential Problems __**


 * 1) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The storage/destruction of the acidic protease after immune response is over. If the protease is sent back to the bacterial cell after the process is over, where can it be stored? Inside a tiny vesicle inside the cell that can store the protease, which renders its usage to be forever? If we do that, the protease gene and the ribosomes would not need to reproduce the protease ever again. That would be depressing. If we leave the proteases outside of the cell after the process is over, how can we be sure that they would not cause a side effect to the body, like clustering the small intestine?
 * 2) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The accident of a vesicle containing the acidic protease gets destroyed by the protease due to its acidity. Boy, that would suck.
 * 3) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">For the safety of my employees, the safety features required are that each person has to wear goggles and gloves (like normal lab procedures). There are not much extremely dangerous things in this lab, but everyone should watch out for machines such as centrifuges and other machines that can emit radiation. Researchers should also wear suits to prevent biohazard.
 * 4) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">In order to help protect the environment, the research and production of the bacteria should be conducted in a sealed lab with daily sanitizing chemicals to purify the lab from any unintended biohazard. The research lab should be completely concealed with occasional wall/floor/ceiling checks for any holes or any possibility for a bacterial leakage. Any unintended chemicals that are byproducts of the research should be completely sanitized using chemical means.
 * 5) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Future possible evolution of the engineered bacteria could lead to an impediment to the future use of this bacteria. The promoter could evolve to be too sensitive that the bacteria could start attacking any sources of any chemicals the promoter detects. The bacteria could also evolve into a special powerhouse just for the production of the acidic protease, which could lead to an excessive amount of the protease being released into the body.
 * 6) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">One inefficiency of this bacteria is the process of somehow putting the bacteria inside the body. Could people take pills containing the bacteria, or using surgery, or by some other means...?
 * 7) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">My design could also be a possible threat to the security of the public. This designer bacteria, one of the first species of symbiotic bacteria in our guts that perform major chemical functions that could benefit or hurt our bodies could throw off the balance of symbiosis in our guts, as this bacteria could become dominant enough that other symbiotic bacteria could be affected in a negative way.
 * 8) <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I think that the rewards from this discovery are more important than the risks. In 2004, several hundred Kenyans became severely ill, and 125 died, of acute aflatoxicosis: a disease of liver failure associated with consuming extremely high levels of aflatoxin in food. Aflatoxin is also a carcinogen, which means it has the potential to cause cancer anywhere in the body. This bacteria can prevent, or even eradicate, the possibilities of causing these pernicious and calamitous effects of aflatoxin.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #008080; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">__Testing__ >
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">The testing for the bacteria's effectiveness should be performed on a Petri dish (because testing on animals is just immoral). The Petri dish should be stored in a container with a temperature similar to our intestine's temperature(37-40°C). The engineered bacteria should be first be placed on the Petri dish, then a dose of aflatoxin should be added. We can then determine the affect of the bacteria, which we enable us to tinker with the bacteria until the ideal form of the bacteria is reached.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Testing ultimate helps to ameliorate the bacteria system because it enables us researchers to see the system's flaws in its performance. By determining the factors that cause a loophole in the system, we can formulate ideas of how to improve the system, instead of sitting there magically make the system happen using magic words created by Latin.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; font-family: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">During the process of testing, we can search for more possible ways of enhancing the current system by observing the actions and outcomes of the system. If we are able to notice something that we can possibly improve on, we can annex another substance onto the system to improve its capability to work more efficaciously.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #454545; display: block; font-family: Noteworthy; font-size: 18px;"> *Links of sources are available in the Word document to this corresponding project.*