Category: MIL-OSI

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In a significant development in the fight against fatal cancers, University of Otago researchers have pinpointed a key feature that leads to the aggressive spread of colon cancer. Led by Associate Professor Aniruddha Chatterjee and Drs Euan Rodger and Rachel Purcell, researchers discovered abnormalities in the DNA instruction code that lead to the aggressive spread of colorectal (bowel) cancer – Aotearoa’s second highest cause of cancer death. Dr Rodger says the finding – published in the Cell Press journal iScience – is a significant step towards the detection and prevention of tumours that spread or grow rapidly. The main cause of cancer-related death is the spread of tumours to distant organs, referred to as metastasis. “Despite this profound impact, how tumours become metastatic and so deadly, and what is different about these tumour cells remains largely unknown. The DNA instructions – the blueprint of a cell – and how and where these instructions go wrong in cancer cells provide important clues in understanding why this happens,” Dr Rodger says. Methylation – a chemical modification of DNA – can control how the DNA code will behave in a cell. Therefore studying DNA methylation levels (also referred to as the epigenetic code) in the lab and in patient tumour samples has the potential to understand metastasis and utilise the knowledge for patient benefit. The research team studied the DNA methylation map and also how the DNA behaves in bowel cancer patients. In each of 20 patients, they then analysed clinical samples from the primary colon tumour and the tumours that had spread to the liver. “We have discovered almost 300 gene regions that show distinct DNA methylation levels in liver metastasis,” he says. “These changes are unique to aggressive liver metastasis and are not present in primary tumours or in normal colon. The genes that have the unique methylation signature have important functions in cells. “This work shows that cancer cells could use unique methylation patterns to become aggressive.” Associate Professor Chatterjee says the finding is particularly significant for Aotearoa where 1,200 people die from bowel cancer every year. “Patients with distant metastases, such as liver metastasis as we have studied in this work, unfortunately have very low five-year survival rates. “Alarmingly, the incidence of colorectal cancer is increasing in people under 50 years old and in Māori and Pasifika populations at a faster rate. Māori and Pasifika are also more likely to present directly to emergency departments with advanced colorectal tumours,” he says. “Our work will open new avenues for understanding why cancer cells become so aggressive and will lead to better outcome prediction and new targets to treat these tumours in the future.” Associate Professor Chatterjee and Dr Rodger will undertake more research on metastatic cancers with the aid of funding from the Health Research Council and the Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi Marsden Fund. Publication details An epigenetic signature of advanced colorectal cancer metastasis Euan Rodger, Gregory Gimenez, Priyadarshana Ajithkumar, Peter Stockwell, Suzan Almomani, Sarah Bowden, Anna Leichter, Sharon Pattison, John McCall, Frank Frizelle, Michael Eccles, Rachel Purcell and Aniruddha Chatterjee (all of the University of Otago), Antonio Ahn (University of Melbourne), Sebastian Schmeier (Evotech SE, Germany) iScience For more information, contact: Associate Professor Aniruddha Chatterjee Department of Pathology, Dunedin School of Medicine University of Otago Email aniruddha.chatterjee@otago.ac.nz Dr Euan Rodger Department of Pathology, Dunedin School of Medicine University of Otago Email euan.rodger@otago.ac.nz Lea Jones Communications Adviser, Media Engagement University of Otago Mob +64 21 279 4969 Email lea.jones@otago.ac.nz

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Rafa Winurdi’s finishing school is not the kind with one ‘n’. Rather than balancing books on her head while descending a staircase and practising perfect elocution, the intrepid Otago Bachelor of Arts tauira practised making international friends while on an Otago Global Student Exchange at a Finnish school, the University of Helsinki, instead. Parties, pasta at two in the morning, an outdoor adventure race, and marching and singing with others while brandishing burning torches for Independence Day celebrations in the capital city are etched in Rafa’s memories of her semester 2, 2022, exchange. “When I was on exchange I was doing stuff that I wouldn’t think of doing back home. My mindset during the whole thing was: What are the chances you’re going to meet these people again?” The exchange allowed Rafa’s sense of adventure, instilled from childhood, to flourish. “Just be adventurous on [exchange] and don’t think of the consequences. Just make memories.” It was the first time Rafa had ventured overseas from her home in Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta. Rafa is an international student whose Otago studies began online in 2021 during the height of travel restrictions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Otago Global Student Exchange Programme • Travel the world while you study towards your Otago degree on an Otago Global Student Exchange • Study for one or two semesters at one of Otago’s prestigious partner universities in more than 30 countries • Travel grant/awards available • Continue to receive your StudyLink L&A • See Exchange information for Otago students for additional information and how to apply! Until she went to Finland in the second semester of 2022 she was based at home in Indonesia.Finland seemed the obvious choice for Rafa and her parents when perusing the list of more than 100 partner universities available to visit on an exchange trip. Finnish education is famously high ranking. “I wanted to find out why their education is world-class. I went there basically because they have a good education. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have gone because it’s kind of like in the middle of nowhere,” she says. Being one of the world’s top performers in tertiary and secondary education could be related to the country’s laidback approach to study. “I learned they were very laidback in the sense that if I don’t want to do this paper anymore, I can just drop it. So, it was really student-lead and they really cared about their students’ wellbeing. “I think that’s kind of like their whole ideology even before university. There wasn’t really much pressure.” While at first appearing to be “in the middle of nowhere”, Finland was the starting point for other journeys and launched Rafa into an unforgettable round of international travel. From Finland she visited the bordering countries of Sweden and Estonia, went snowmobiling in Lapland, and also popped in a visit to a friend in Amsterdam at the end of her trip. She is a strong advocate for the Otago Global Student Exchange programme and recommends the experience to anyone seeking the thrill of overseas adventure.

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Big ones, little ones, prehistoric ones, modern ones – all sorts of penguins will be part of an educational penguin game being developed by an Ōtepoti videogame company with help from an Otago University palaeontologist. Spookysoft Games creative director Stef Animal says ‘My Year of Penguins’ is a series of 12 “mini games” alongside 12 video documentaries featuring lots of information about historical and modern-day penguins. “There’s cute cartoon penguins in the games, and then educational documentaries we’ve been making to go along side it,” Animal says. “It’s nice that kids can learn about penguins that exist now and also the history of penguins.” Animal is from Ōtepoti and says there are plenty of penguins there. “They’re quite fun to draw and fun to look at.” Aotearoa New Zealand is also one of the places where penguins originally come from and has been described as the ‘nursery’ for penguin evolution by palaeontologists, she adds. “I think penguins are really popular, kids love them, it’s a good way to attract kids to the game.” Putting the game together has seen her working with a few penguin experts including palaeontologist Dr Katie Matts who finished her PhD at Otago last year, and Jordana Whyte of The Wildlife Hospital, Dunedin. Animal and videographer Rachel Anson recorded Dr Matts recently talking about penguins for the game in the University’s Geology Museum. Dr Matts says she gave Animal information about fossil penguins, penguin skeletal anatomy and their history, and was able to show a few specimens. She made a point of keeping the younger audience in mind and avoided going “too deep” into specific areas. She says she has given presentations at school and public talks before but being a part of a documentary or video game is something new. Her PhD focused on the extinct Platydyptes penguin. “It’s got this interesting place in penguin history because it had some of the more archaic basal features but also some of the more modern features as well.” Animal says she would try and make video games as a kid and got back into it as a hobby while she worked as a chef. “It turns out it’s a little bit tricky, but it’s not as hard, and you get to sit down which after years in hospitality I really appreciated.” ‘My Year of Penguins’ is the fourth game Spookysoft Games has created. Animal and three others accessed funding from the Centre of Digital Excellence (CODE) a couple of years ago to develop such games. CODE is funded by Kānoa – Region Economic Development & Investment Unit and was created to help boost Ōtepoti’s game development sector. New Zealand On Air commissioned Spookysoft Games to put together a game called ‘Animal Tracks’ which sees the player make music using noises from birds and animals native to Aotearoa. In addition to ‘My Year of Penguins’ Spookysoft Games is also working on a comic-making game which sees kids using pre-made images and characters. “It’s for kids who don’t like drawing but like playing with computers and being creative.” Spookysoft Games was able to hire several illustrators to provide the players with lots of different illustrations. -Kōrero by internal communications adviser, Koren Allpress

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Following the news yesterday that people working at the Taratahi Institute of Agriculture could be forced to go without pay, the Tertiary Education Union (TEU) called on the Minister to step in immediately to support those affected and their families.

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Today, the Environmental Protection Agency released new pollution standards for cars and trucks. These new standards are expected to reduce emissions by approximately 30% compared to 2021 levels, or about 7.3 billion metric tons of climate pollution, which is crucial to mitigating climate change and align with our national goal of cutting emissions by 50-52% from 2005 levels by 2030. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued the following statement from Marcene Mitchell, senior vice president of climate change:

“This new rule is the strongest-ever emissions standard of its kind, surpassing previous regulations and significantly reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Tackling tailpipe emissions, which pose the biggest source of climate pollution in the US, is critical to combating global warming. The auto industry has the technology to make cleaner vehicles, and like all of us, they must do their part to help us reach our climate goals.

These standards will lead to improved public health with cleaner air that supports healthier communities and a better quality of life for all. WWF looks forward to continuing to work with the EPA and other partners to further advance policies to promote a cleaner, healthier planet for future generations.”

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• La Hora del Planeta, el movimiento colectivo más grande del mundo a favor del medio ambiente, regresa en 2024 como una luz de esperanza e inspiración para el futuro de nuestro planeta.
• Los lugares más emblemáticos de Estados Unidos, incluidos el Empire State Building, la Space Needle, las Cataratas del Niágara y la Torre Willis, apagarán sus luces durante una hora.
• Se invita a todas las personas a que dediquen 60 minutos a hacer algo positivo por el planeta: en el Banco de Horas del sitio web de WWF podrán encontrar ideas personalizadas.

El 23 de marzo a las 8:30 p.m. hora local, la Hora del Planeta de WWF regresará para unir a millones de personas en todo el mundo en apoyo y celebración de nuestro planeta. En un mundo cada vez más dividido que lucha contra los impactos del cambio climático y la pérdida de la biodiversidad, la Hora del Planeta trae la positividad, inspiración y esperanza que se necesitan actualmente.

Desde 2007, la Hora del Planeta ha sido conocida por su icónico momento de “apagar la luz”, cuando los lugares emblemáticos y hogares de todo el mundo apagan sus luces. Este año, mientras los principales monumentos apaguen sus luces para celebrar la Hora del Planeta, WWF invita a todos a “darle una hora al planeta” dedicando 60 minutos a cualquier actividad ecopositiva, desde hoy hasta el Día de la Tierra, a celebrarse el 22 de abril. Una herramienta interactiva disponible en línea mostrará actividades sugeridas para diversos estilos de vida e intereses, mismas que los participantes podrán registrar como contribución a un “Banco de Horas”.

Katy Fenn, directora de Educación y Compromiso con la Marca de World Wildlife Fund, dijo: “En el Banco de Horas hay actividades para todos: desde aquellas relacionadas con la comida y el fitness hasta el arte y el entretenimiento. Nuestro objetivo es contabilizar 100,000 horas aquí en Estados Unidos. Este nuevo enfoque de campaña demuestra que las acciones ambientales pueden ser fáciles, divertidas e impactantes. Al ampliar la participación a aquellos que aún no están comprometidos con el medio ambiente, esperamos crear conciencia e impulsar acciones colectivas para proteger nuestro planeta”.

Para obtener más información, visita: https://lahoradelplaneta.us/

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Materiales disponibles

Materiales para redes sociales aquí.

Fotografías de ediciones anteriores de la Hora del Planeta aquí.

Acerca de la Hora del Planeta

La Hora del Planeta es el movimiento ambientalista global más emblemático de WWF. En los últimos 17 años, ha crecido hasta convertirse en el movimiento colectivo más grande del mundo a favor del medio ambiente, inspirando a personas, comunidades, empresas y organizaciones en más de 190 países y territorios a tomar medidas para nuestro futuro colectivo.

Históricamente, la Hora del Planeta se ha centrado en la crisis climática, pero más recientemente, la Hora del Planeta se ha esforzado por abordar una variedad de preocupaciones que enfrentan las personas y el planeta. El movimiento reconoce el papel que desempeñan las personas en la creación de soluciones ante los mayores desafíos ambientales del planeta y demuestra el poder de millones de personas que trabajan juntas para lograr un objetivo común.

Acerca de World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WWF es una de las organizaciones de conservación líderes en el mundo, que trabaja en casi 100 países durante más de medio siglo para ayudar a las personas y la naturaleza a prosperar. Con el apoyo de más de 5 millones de miembros en todo el mundo, WWF se dedica a brindar soluciones basadas en la ciencia para preservar la diversidad y abundancia de vida en la Tierra, detener la degradación del medio ambiente y combatir la crisis climática. Visita Descubre WWF para conocer las últimas noticias y recursos mediáticos de WWF, y síguenos en X y Youtube.

WWF es una de las principales organizaciones conservacionistas del mundo y trabaja desde hace 60 años en casi 100 países para ayudar a las personas y la naturaleza a prosperar. Con el apoyo de 1.3 millones de miembros en los Estados Unidos y más de 5 millones de miembros en todo el mundo, WWF se dedica a ofrecer soluciones basadas en la ciencia para preservar la diversidad y abundancia de la vida en la Tierra, detener la degradación del medio ambiente y combatir la crisis climática. Visita Descubre WWF para conocer más y síguenos en Instagram, Threads, X y YouTube para que te mantengas al día con las últimas noticias sobre conservación.

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Esta semana, el Senado aprobó dos proyectos de ley bipartidistas propuestas por Tom Carper, presidente del Comité Senatorial de Medio Ambiente y Obras Públicas y los senadores Shelley Moore Capito y John Boozman, que ayudarán a reducir la contaminación por plásticos mediante la inversión en los sistemas de reciclaje y compostaje de Estados Unidos. La Ley de Responsabilidad de Reciclaje y Compostaje solicitaría a la Agencia de Protección Ambiental (EPA, por sus siglas en inglés) recopilar datos adicionales sobre el reciclaje y una estrategia nacional de compostaje, mientras que la Ley de Accesibilidad e Infraestructura de Reciclaje crearía un programa piloto de la EPA para construir proyectos de infraestructura de reciclaje en áreas rurales y comunidades de escasos recursos. En respuesta a ello, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) emitió la siguiente declaración de Alejandro Pérez, vicepresidente senior de políticas y asuntos gubernamentales:

“La semana pasada, 61 activistas y personal de WWF se reunieron con miembros del Congreso para solicitar medidas para hacer que los sistemas de reciclaje y compostaje sean más accesibles para todos los estadounidenses. Hoy felicitamos al Senado por aprobar, con un fuerte apoyo bipartidista, dos medidas importantes que facilitarán que más personas reduzcan los desechos plásticos. La adopción de estas prácticas propuestas es un paso positivo para evitar que los plásticos lleguen hasta nuestros océanos, ríos, vertederos e incluso nuestros cuerpos. Ahora instamos a la Cámara de Representantes para que apruebe estos proyectos de ley que contribuirán a mejorar los sistemas de gestión de residuos de Estados Unidos, con la confianza de que cuentan con un fuerte apoyo tanto de los consumidores como de las empresas para actuar. Las futuras generaciones están contando con nosotros para mantener el plástico alejado de la naturaleza”.

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On March 23rd at 8:30 pm local time, WWF’s Earth Hour will return to unite millions worldwide in support and celebration of our planet. In an increasingly divided world struggling with the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss, Earth Hour provides much-needed positivity, inspiration, and hope.

Since 2007, Earth Hour has been known for its iconic “lights out” moment, with landmarks and homes worldwide switching off their lights. This year, while major landmarks go dark to celebrate Earth Hour, WWF encourages individuals to ‘Give an Hour for Earth’ by spending 60 minutes participating in any eco-positive activity from now until Earth Day on April 22nd. An interactive online tool will suggest activities for various lifestyles and interests, and participants can log their contribution to the national and global ‘Hour Bank’.

Katy Fenn, Director of Brand Engagement and Education, said: “From food and fitness to art and entertainment, there’s an activity for everyone in the Hour Bank, and we are aiming to bank 100,000 hours here in the United States. This new campaign approach proves that environmental action can be easy, fun and impactful. By expanding participation to those who are not yet environmentally engaged, we hope to raise awareness and spur collective action in protecting our planet.”

For more information, visit https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/earth-hour.

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For more information, please contact:

tara.doyle@wwfus.org

Assets

Link to social media assets here.

Link to previous Earth Hour photos here.

About Earth Hour

Earth Hour is WWF’s flagship global environmental movement. Over the past 17 years, it has grown to become the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organizations in more than 190 countries and territories to take action for our collective future.

Historically, Earth Hour has focused on the climate crisis, but more recently, Earth Hour has strived to address a range of concerns facing people and the planet. The movement recognizes the role of individuals in creating solutions to the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges and demonstrates the power of millions of people working together towards a common goal.

About World Wildlife Fund (WWF)

WWF is one of the world’s leading conservation organizations, working for 60 years in nearly 100 countries to help people and nature thrive. With the support of 1.3 million members in the United States and more than 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment, and combat the climate crisis. Visit worldwildlife.org to learn more; follow @WWFNews on Twitter to keep up with the latest conservation news; and sign up for our newsletter and news alerts here.

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The Senate this week passed two bipartisan bills from Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper, Ranking Member Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, and Sen. John Boozman that would help reduce plastic pollution by investing in America’s recycling and composting systems. The Recycling and Composting Accountability Act would direct the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to collect additional data on recycling and a national composting strategy, while the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act would create an EPA pilot program to build recycling infrastructure projects in rural and underserved communities. In response, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) issued the following statement from Alejandro Pérez, senior vice president of policy and government affairs:

“Last week, 61 WWF activists and staff met with members of Congress asking for action to make recycling and composting systems more accessible for all Americans. Today, we commend the Senate for passing two important measures with strong bipartisan support that will make it easier for more people to reduce plastic waste. The adoption of these practical proposals is a positive step forward to keeping plastics out of our oceans, rivers, landfills and even our bodies. We now urge the House to pass these bills to improve America’s waste management systems with the confidence that they have strong support from consumers and businesses alike to act. Future generations are counting on us to keep plastic out of nature.”

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Our Ignite consultants wrapped up their Semester One projects at a special event with their Dunedin based client organisations recently at the Business School. Each semester, student-run charitable organisation Ignite Consultants pairs groups of the best Otago University students with local Dunedin not-for-profit organisations, helping with business needs such as finance and marketing. Clients in this round were the City of Dunedin Pipe Band, Ōtepoti Seed/YouthGrow, Diving Ōtākou and Give to Grow Ōtepoti, and each of these groups were delighted to work with a team of Ignite consultants, lead by an Ignite project manager. Ignite Dunedin CEO Sam White is a final year BA LLB student at Otago and says she is extremely proud of the tangible impacts the Ignite teams made for their clients and the communities those clients serve. The Pipe Band was particularly pleased with the focus the team had on the band’s connection with the Highlanders and the advice they gave on how to leverage this to drive recruitment. Both parties were pleased with the results and it was a great project, says Caleb Oakley, Project Manager. Kaitlyn Payne, Project Manager for Ōtepoti Seed says “the consultants’ recommendations provided guidance around creating a social enterprise, organising the finances and resources of the organisation, strategies for marketing and for distributing the seeds. The clients described the report as a “roadmap” which would be useful to refer to help structure the organisation.” Another garden-themed client, Give to Grow Ōtepoti, which redistributes gardening tools from those who have a surplus to those who need tools, worked with a team led by Emile Aiken, Project Manager. Recommendations covered volunteers, governance, accounting processes, fundraising, donations, strategic partnerships and developing a social media presence.“The client was overjoyed by the detailed and pragmatic recommendations the consultants provided her. She expressed her gratitude, saying the consultants’ work provided clear direction for growth” says Emile. At Diving Otago, a springboard diving club based at Moana Pool, the consultants made recommendations on formalising roles and defining mission and values, marketing, funding and grants.“The club was very happy with the work our consultants did and they plan to implement the recommendations” says Sophia Davis, Project Manager. Ignite will farewell CEO Sam White later this year, as she comes to the end of her studies. Sam began her Ignite journey in 2020 and says “I worked initially as a consultant for K9 Medical Detection NZ. I loved my time with Ignite so much that I wanted to stay on for as long as possible. “In 2021, I became a member of the student leadership team as a project manager, a role in which I remained in for two years. During this time, I managed five different projects and met many incredible people and organisations along the way. “Most of our Ignite Consultants come from the Business School but we also recruit students from across the University. This is a fantastic way to grow skills and to give back to the community.” About Ignite Ignite is a charitable organisation started by students at the University of Otago, who saw the potential to combine the skills of passionate and talented young students and to help build strategic partnerships with not-for-profit organisations who need their help. The students mix their business skills with entrepreneurial ability to create socially innovative ideas that will spark change and fully maximise the potential of all not-for-profit groups involved. www.igniteconsultants.co.nz/ -Kōrero by Communications Adviser, Sally Knox