Striving for sustainability by Karoliina Lummaa

Posted on May 22, 2020 by limala

Karoliina Lummaa, collegium researcher, TIAS

Climate change, biodiversity loss and other global environmental crises pose a monumental challenge to societies. We are now facing the situation where societies need to be reconstructed ecologically within the next ten to thirty years, and the reconstruction has to be implemented in ways that are socially just, culturally imaginable and economically feasible.

The ecological, social, cultural and economic facets of societal development are elemental in the sustainable development framework, which is nowadays broadly adopted in politics and business policies, nationally and internationally. In 2015, all United Nations member states agreed on 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The concept of sustainable development was first introduced by the so-called Brundtland Commission (initiated by the United Nations and chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland) in their report Our Common Future (1987), where sustainable development is defined as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Continue reading →

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What is life? By Jianwei Li

Posted on May 8, 2020 by sisuka
Jianwei Li, head and torso, photograph in front of trees

Jianwei Li, Collegium researcher and group leader in MediCity

“Jianwei, can you tell us what life is?” This is a question asked by an opponent Prof. Harutyunyan in my PhD thesis defense. The answer to this question is quite simple by telling the audience without hesitation three main characteristics of life: compartmentalization, metabolism, and reproduction. Such a certain answer is well and perfectly defined if the word “life” means biological life in science. However, science is not all.If you have ever been asked the same question, I bet the first reaction of most of us is to regard the word “life” as our existence or everyday living and cannot come up with an answer immediately.

What is life in this respect? The answer becomes complicated. 1000 people have 1000 kinds of opinions. Life cannot be predicted precisely. Continue reading →

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Koronavirus muokkaa toimitusketjuja, entäpä ilmastonmuutos? Sini Laari

Posted on April 17, 2020 by limala

Tutkijatohtori Sini Laari

Koronaviruksen leviäminen globaaliksi pandemiaksi on nostanut toimitusketjut valokeilaan. Monet yritykset ovat jo pitkään ulkoistaneet tuotantonsa halvemman kustannustason maihin. Samoin ne ovat pyrkineet vähentämään varastoon sitoutuneen pääoman määrää, ja pitävät vain pientä varmuusvarastoa luottaen globaalin logistiikan tehokkaaseen toimintaan. Kun koronavirus iski Kiinaan, monet toimitusketjut ajautuivat vaikeuksiin, kun tuote- ja komponenttipula aiheutti dominoefektin lailla toimitushäiriöiden sarjan ja paljasti moniportaisten toimitusketjujen haavoittuvuuden. Koronavirus aiheutti esimerkiksi pitkistä logistisista ketjuista riippuvaiselle autoteollisuudelle valtavat tappiot tuotantolaitosten seisahtuessa ja uusien autojen myynnin sakatessa lähes kokonaan. Korona iski rajusti myös risteilyvarustamoihin, mikä voi kerätä Suomen meriteollisuuden taivaalle synkkiä pilviä. Maaliskuussa monet suomalaiskuluttajat puolestaan näkivät ensimmäistä kertaa elämässään markettien hyllyjen ammottavan tyhjinä. Yllättävä kysyntäpiikki tyhjensi mm. wc-paperihyllyt, kun toimitusketjut eivät pysyneet hamstrauksen perässä. Viime päivinä puolestaan Suomessa huolta ja julkista keskustelua on herättänyt erityisesti suojavarusteiden saatavuus. Asiantuntijat ennustavatkin koronaviruksen seurauksena muutoksia toimitusketjujen rakenteeseen. Monet yritykset harkitsevat varmasti alihankintaketjunsa lyhentämistä ja paikallisten toimittajien määrän lisäämistä. Continue reading →

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2019 Novel Coronavirus – 2020 New Challenge!

Posted on March 31, 2020 by sisuka
Yu Cao, TCSM Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Medicine

Yu Cao, TCSM Postdoctoral Researcher, Faculty of Medicine

New coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV), was discovered due to Wuhan, Hubei, China, virus pneumonia cases in 2019, and was named by the World Health Organization on January 12, 2020. [1] Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that are known to cause colds and more serious diseases such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The new coronavirus is a new coronavirus strain that has never been found in humans before. The real appearance of 2019-nCoV is show in a rendered pseudo-color photo. [2] The image looks so harsh, but it also shows the 2019-nCoV virus’s ugly face, covered with crowns on its surface, like a demon’s mouth

2019-nCoV is the seventh known coronavirus that can infect humans, and the remaining six are HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, HCoV-HKU1, SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV.[3] This virus can cause severe respiratory illnesses, it has infected more than six hundred thousand people in world to date and killed at least 30000 people, and spread to more than 190 other countries and territories. Continue reading →

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Classics in Time of Pandemic: Lock-down Reflections from the Ivory Tower by Michiel Meeusen

Posted on March 29, 2020 by limala

Bust of Apollo Belvedere wearing a mouth mask © Shutterstock

Western literature starts with a disease. At the beginning of the Iliad, Homer sings of an “evil pestilence” (1.10) sent by the Olympic god Apollo to devastate the camp of the Greeks during their siege of Troy. Apollo, the god of medicine and healing (among other specialisms), could bring ill health and deadly plague with his arrows too. It is this darker side that the Greeks get to face: “his coming was like the night” (1.47).

The Trojan war has been dragging on, non-stop, for almost a decade now but is about to enter its decisive phase. Unsurprisingly, the morale among the Greeks is at an all-time low, war-wearied, traumatized, and homesick, as they have become. An extremely irritable situation even for the noblest Greek hero. Add an epidemic to this epic mess and see what happens. (Homer’s thoughts, not mine.)

To give you some context. The angry god mainly targeted his plague arrows at Agamemnon (the Greek general), who had dishonoured Chryses (Trojan priest of Apollo) by scornfully rejecting the glorious ransom he offered in exchange for his captive daughter Chryseis (now Agamemnon’s personal booty). Long story short: Agamemnon eventually gives in to the plea of the assembled Greeks to release Chryseis and appease Apollo. After all, he “would rather the people be safe than perish” (1.117). Subsequently, he confiscates Briseis, the sweetheart of Achilles, thus triggering the next crisis. Great leadership for sure! Continue reading →

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Pascal’s Wager for Climate Denialist by Hemmo Laiho

Posted on March 20, 2020 by limala

TIAS Post-doctoral researcher Hemmo Laiho

Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), a famous French mathematician, is also famous for a philosophical slash theological slash game-theoretical thought experiment known as Pascal’s wager. You can find the thought experiment in the section §233 of the collection of his notes titled as Thoughts (Pensées, originally published 1670) and from many secondary sources. Skipping details and nuances and already adapting the original version for my purposes, the experiment goes roughly as follows.

You cannot prove by reasoning whether God exists or not, but you can legitimately think what consequences there would be if you believed in God and acted accordingly or if you did not. You can also speculate about the gravity of these consequences in two opposing scenarios, in one of which there is God and in the other of which there is no God. You end up facing four options and possible results: (1) If you are a true believer and God exists, it can be expected or at least supposed that your gain is enormous or indeed infinite (eternal rejoice, you know). (2) If you are an unbeliever and God exists, then you risk infinite gain, possibly facing infinite loss (perhaps you are not allowed in Heaven). (3) If, on the other hand, you believe in God but God does not exist, it can be supposed that you end up limiting your choices in this life, whereas (4) as an unbeliever you would gain more. Such mundane things, however, are disproportionate to infinitely good and infinitely bad, which is why it is rational for you to opt for the first alternative, that is, to believe in God and act accordingly. Continue reading →

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Where has winter gone !?…..Is climate crisis knocking at our doors? by Lokesh Kesavan

Posted on March 6, 2020 by kaihak
Lokesh Kesavan

Lokesh Kesavan, TCSM Postdoctoral Reseacher, Department of chemistry

By this time, most of us realized that, something is abnormal in the environment and in the climate due to absconding snowy, cold, sub 0 ℃ weather, which is hallmark condition of Finland during the months, December-March. This raises everyone’s eyebrow with a common question ‘where has winter gone?’ This winter seems to be very warm and all the snow which was about to fall, has gone melted in the sky already and falling as rain. Most importantly, the depressing darkness is completely vanished away from the scene during the daytime. There are people who like unusual warm weather in winter season, but most of the Finnish people like regular bone chilling cold weather. However, what everyone would like to have is the bright sunlight during the daytime of the winter season, which we have been gifted this year by the nature. Wait a minute! Is this truly a life enriching gift or the beginning of disaster? Is climate change crisis finally knocking at our doors? These questions have to be contemplated seriously by meteorologists and other scientists, also by climate change denying politicians. Continue reading →

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How to thrive and keep sane in academia? Looking back to my 2+ years in TIAS by Minna Santaoja

Posted on February 20, 2020 by limala

TIAS Alumni Dr. Minna Santaoja

TCSM postdoctoral researcher Nicolino Lo Gullo brought up the issues of mentoring and mental health of academics in his recent post to TIAS/TCSM blog. These are issues I want to pick up as well, as I summarize my experiences in TIAS.

I was working as a postdoctoral researcher in TIAS from October 2017 to the end of 2019. It was wonderful and horrible time. The timing of the TIAS position was perfect, as I had just finished working in an Academy of Finland funded project on sustainable diets (POPRASUS) and did not know what, or rather where, I was going to do next. It was a self-esteem boost, at first, being a collegium postdoc, one of the selected few. But soon came the hangover and the familiar impostor syndrome kicked in. I was supposed to be doing some sort of top-notch research, but I was struggling to get any writing done at all. I had let the competitivity and the misplaced emphasis on publication metrics crawl under my skin. Continue reading →

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Crystallography, a (tragic) love story by Pedro Dinis

Posted on February 4, 2020 by kaihak

Pedro Dinis, TCSM Postdoctoral Reseacher, Department of Biochemistry

Given free-reign by the Turku Collegium of Science and Medicine to write about anything made the choice of topic quite easy, as macromolecular crystallography has accompanied my budding scientific career. It also comes at a critical juncture in the field with the emergence of cryogenic electronic microscopy (Cryo-EM).

Two parts science, one part art

A young researcher eagerly enters a lab for the first time. His goal a simple affair, to crystallize a protein. He manages to get his protein both as pure and as concentrated as possible. The future is looking bright. But, what is the next step?

One could scour the literature regarding the topic of protein crystallization, without finding the precise way to do so. And the reason is not some cabal of old scientists gate-keeping future generations, but a simpler explanation: there is no exact way to lead a protein to form crystals. Each protein is as each individual, a unique, special snowflake. All that researcher has, as indeed we all do, are simple guidelines. You need to mix the protein with SOMETHING that will lead it to a controlled precipitation, i.e. crystal formation, instead of uncontrolled precipitation (think of curdling milk). Because the Universe is vast and full of SOMETHINGs, the best the scientific community has to offer is mixtures of salts, buffers and other precipitants that were previously shown to crystallize a protein (crystallization screens). Continue reading →

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No snow for skiing – a real problem or not?

Posted on January 24, 2020 by kaihak

Ilkka Heinonen, Academy Research Fellow and former Collegium Researcher, Faculty of Medicine, Turku PET Centre

It should be winter time and many people would love to ski, but there is currently simply no snow for skiing. Luckily this is not a problem as we have ski tunnels, such as one in Paimio very close to Turku. Even people from Helsinki region drive there during the weekends to enjoy skiing.

Cycling pathways are now often icy and have sand and even small rocks, but skiing can also be done with roller skies. Impivaara in Turku is great place for this even if there is no snow. Too few skiers go there, but everyone should try!

Any physical activity such as walking or cycling is good for our health, but cross-country skiing appears to be especially good exercise for us. Even science supports that cross-country skiing is associated with lower incidence of diabetes and hypertension, and ultimately even lower all-cause mortality. A recent study published in Psychiatric Research also indicates that people who participate in long-distance skiing events such as Vasaloppet have lower incidence of depression, as well as low all-cause mortality. Continue reading →

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