Media releases

• Public Brock talk to explore ‘living in the Anthropocene’

  Monday, November 20, 2023 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: November 20 2023 – R0110

  An upcoming free public lecture will investigate what it means to be living in the Anthropocene — a proposed new epoch in geological time.

  Following the announcement of annually layered sediments of Crawford Lake, Ont., being selected as the proposed ‘golden spike,’ Brock Earth Sciences Professor Francine McCarthy and Philosophy Professor Christine Daigle will explore key questions about an important transdisciplinary concept spurred by the significant scientific advancement.

  The pair will share insight from their respective fields during ‘Are we now living in the Anthropocene?’ at the Niagara Falls History Museum on Thursday, Nov. 23.

  McCarthy, a micropaleontologist whose research focuses on lakes as natural archives of environmental health, has led Brock’s involvement in defining the new geological epoch.

  During Thursday’s talk, McCarthy will discuss how clear evidence of human impact as early as the 13th century has shaped the course of history, while also emphasizing it is the culmination of human impacts that overwhelmed and permanently altered the Earth system during the ‘Great Acceleration’ of the mid-20th century.

  “The initiative to define the Anthropocene as a geologic epoch has implications well beyond the Earth sciences, and the selection of Crawford Lake as the proposed GSSP (‘golden spike’) location underscores this,” McCarthy said.

  The talk will explore the indicators that have triggered the new epoch, drawing on the scientific evidence preserved in the unique sediments of Crawford Lake.

  But, as noted by McCarthy and Daigle, in addition to defining the Anthropocene itself, humans must now consider how to live in the Anthropocene, and most importantly, reflect on what can be learned from the scientific evidence and how it can shape human behaviour moving forward.

  This is of particular interest to Daigle, an expert in existentialist philosophy and feminism whose research in recent years has focused on the notion of environmental vulnerabilities, including philosophical questions about the Anthropocene and the concept of extinction.

  “Learning about the Anthropocene scientifically also triggers philosophical questions about human responsibility toward the Earth systems and all living beings — urgent questions in this ongoing environmental crisis,” Daigle said.

  Everyone is welcome to attend the free public lecture on Thursday, Nov. 23 at 7 p.m. at the Niagara Falls History Museum.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases

• Brock-led immunotherapy research shows potential to extend healthy lifespan of humans

  Thursday, November 16, 2023 | By Brock University

  MEDIA RELEASE: November 16 2023 – R0109

  A Brock-led international research team has discovered a groundbreaking immunotherapy method that could potentially add years to healthy aging.

  The research, published in the journal EMBO Molecular Medicine, introduces an innovative method to address health issues arising from poor lifestyle choices, which can cause damage to biomolecules and contribute to the development of diseases later in life.

  Professor of Health Sciences Newman Sze and his team developed an approach that involves directing the immune system to clear out accumulated proteins damaged by inactive lifestyles, unhealthy diets, various stresses and genetic factors, root causes of aging and age-related diseases.

  “Age-related chronic diseases are a major health-care burden,” says Sze, the Canada Research Chair in Mechanisms of Health and Disease. “We therefore developed a first-of-its-kind monoclonal antibody drug that harnesses the immune system to target and remove these abnormal proteins, providing an effective treatment for age-related health problems.”

  As time passes, environmental stresses and physiological conditions cause biomolecular damages in tissues. One of these changes, called isoDGR, triggers chronic inflammation in the body and leads to tissue degeneration.

  Uncontrolled chronic inflammation, in turn, can lead to conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis and Alzheimer’s disease.

  While the accumulation of isoDGR has been identified as a ‘molecular clock’ of aging, the new research paper says potential benefits of targeting these structures with specific immunotherapies remain largely unknown.

  Sze and his team created monoclonal antibodies called isoDGR-mAb. These lab-engineered proteins are designed to boost the immune system’s ability to attack unhealthy cells or abnormal molecules. Such immunotherapies are already being used to treat various cancers, autoimmune disorders and infectious diseases.

  Using animal models, the team found that these lab-engineered molecules stimulated the immune system to clear out the proteins in tissues that had been damaged by isoDGR. Treatment with isoDGR-mAb not only doubled lifespan but also preserved behaviour and co-ordination functions and reduced pro-inflammatory cytokine levels in the circulation and body tissues.

  Sze says the team’s findings could lead to the development of immunotherapy-based interventions to extend the healthy lifespan of humans.

  “The existing treatments for age-related diseases primarily address symptoms,” says Sze. “Our pioneering mAb, uniquely focused on targeting the root causes of chronic diseases, is anticipated to substantially extend human health span.”

  As Canada Research Chair, Sze studies diseases that occur as people age, specifically diseases related to the brain and the blood vessels becoming damaged. His lab has developed new research methods that investigate how body tissues deteriorate over time, and created new drugs to guide the immune system to eliminate abnormal biomolecules.

  This latest paper, “Immunotherapy targeting isoDGR-protein damage extends lifespan in a mouse model of protein deamidation,” involved researchers from Brock as well as universities in Singapore, China, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

  The team’s Brock researchers include Health Sciences Professors Deborah O’Leary and Evangelia Tsiani, Health Sciences Associate Professors Adam MacNeil and Rebecca MacPherson, and graduate students Ranjith Iyappan, Evelin Melekh and SoFong Cam Ngan.

  Funders for this research include the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation, Ontario Research Fund and Brock University.

  For more information or for assistance arranging interviews: 

  * Doug Hunt, Communications and Media Relations Specialist, Brock University dhunt2@brocku.ca or 905-941-6209

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  Categories: Media releases