Biomedical Science:

This page of my personal blog focuses on my career direction and interest which is in Biomedical Science. I will be sharing with you Biomedical Science study topics , websites and revision advice and guidance. I will also tell you how I started my Biomedical Science Training programme and portfolio. I will also be sharing with you advice and guidance on how to find a laboratory to complete your professional registration and other information related to training portfolio and Medical Science research and advancement.

IBMS Portfolio and HCPC Registration: My Story

In order to become a Biomedical Scientist in the UK you must have a Biomedical Science accredited degree (BSc), you are also required to complete a portfolio to gain registration with The Healthcare and professionals council (HCPC). After I completed by degree I was looking for a job as a Biomedical scientist, as  I was looking for a job it is then that I found out that to become a Biomedical Scientist I must have completed a Portfolio which is given to you by the Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS). In order for you to apply for a IBMS portfolio you must be working in a laboratory that has been accredited by the IBMS to train staff and is UKAS accredited. Unfortunately because I was not informed of all this when I was at Uni this was a bit of a surprise to me as I thought after completing three years of a IBMS accredited degree which is a difficult course to just pass I will most definitely be able to get job after graduation.

Well, how wrong was I, the journey ahead was difficult. Fortunately for me (Alhumdullilah) as I was already working in a Hospital, I started to apply for jobs in the lab, after a few rejections I finally got a job in a Pathology lab at the Luton and Dunstable Hospital as a Higher Biomedical Science Support worker my first step towards becoming a Biomedical Scientist. However because this job was Bank which basically means part time, when I asked for a portfolio and told them that I have a degree they were unable to apply for me because I was a part time employee and not a full time. 

Long story short I was then able to get a permanent position in the same lab as a Biomedical Science support worker and then eventually got my portfolio. However without going on, it is very difficult to even begin your portfolio let alone finish it and get registration (at least for the lab that I was in). I realised how hard it was to complete the portfolio and it may be a long time before I can become a fully registered Biomedical Scientist. However, whilst working at the Pathology lab I was able to gain a higher position as a Associate Practioner which was really good as I finally began to have some lab experience.

Currently Alhumdullilah I have manged to get a Biomedical Science trainee position and I am going through my portfolio in a timely manner. I have much more help and support because a trainee position is a position that can help you not only complete your portfolio and make you a Biomedical Scientist but you also gain lab experience in a particular lab e.g Biochemistry where I am working in at the moment. I am also getting payed as I am doing this which is really great. It has been two years and I have finally reached this position. In-Sha-Allah (do duah for me) very soon I will be a registered Biomedical Scientist.

If you have any questions in regards to anything that I have mentioned above please leave a comment and I will answer  asap. If you have any question related to the IBMS portfolio and what it consists of, what you have to do, how long it takes etc. Please don't worry I will be updating this page and giving you a full video explaining to you basically all of that. Stay tuned guys until next time , take care.

COVID-19:

A great pandemic has hit the globe known as Covid-19 which is the coronavirus found in the year 2019. This virus originated from Wuhan, China and due to the Chinese government hiding and lying about this virus it soon spread all over the world rapidly. As we know it today this is a disease that is affecting the whole world with approximately 5.1 million people affected worldwide and 335,000 death as of 22nd May 2020 (Global health Strategies). This disease is believed to be originated from bats and through zoonosis its animal reservoir has infected the human population, the exact way not known, There have been many strains of coronavirus in the past and out of them about two have infected humans and have caused harm. They are Middle Eastern Respiratory virus (MERS) which was in 2011 I believe so, another one before that was the SARS virus in the year 2000. This latest 2019 Coronavirus strain known as covid-19 is the most severe and deadliest one so far taking more lives then any other virus. It has surpassed the yearly death rate of the common flu and any other virus. The (R0) value is believed to be 3 which is basically the degree of spreadability. It is exponential growth. Another factor to look at is the series interval (SI) which is about 7.1 days which is the days it takes for one person that has covid-19 until the signs and symptoms are shown in the second person that has been affected. This shows that Covid-19 spreads out in a longer period of time, and if we compare this to Influenza it has a SI value of 2.5 which means it spreads quicker. The virus spreads through coughing or sneezing and any type of other physical contact. It is believed that Covid-19 is also air borne for about 2-3 hours and can survive surfaces for up to 24 hrs. 

The basic pathophysiology behind Covid-19 is that it affects the respiratory system and attacks the alveoli. Once the virus comes down into the alveoli it attaches itself to type two pneumocytes (alveolar cells). There are two types of alveoli cells, type 1 which are for gas exchange and type 2 are structures that produce surfactants. This is important because surfactant decreases the surface tension within the alveoli and reduces the collapsing pressure. The Spike proteins (every virus has proteins) on the Covid-19 virus basically bind onto the specific receptors on the type 2 pneumocytes. This receptor is called Angiotension converting Enzyme type 2 (ACE-2). When it binds onto this enzyme it allows the virus to actually be engulfed and taken into the cell. Once it is bought into the cells it then releases its RNA. Because inside the virus you have (positive sense +) single stranded RNA (ssRNA) virus. So it is releases, the ssRNA into the actual cytoplasm. Once it is released, it can actually use the host cells ribosomes and take mRNA and convert it into proteins which is knows as the process of translation. So in this process the ssRNA gets converted into protein molecules. E.g poly proteins. After it has synthesised its proteins it can also use another enzyme the (positive ssRNA) can use another enzyme which is called RNA dependent polymerase and synthesise RNA. Basically it takes single stranded RNAs and makes more copies of ssRNA. 

The poly proteins as mentioned before need to be made and converted into components of the virus . They will make up the nuclear capsule, the spike proteins etc. In order to do this you need specific enzymes that (podiolise) these proteins into the viral components. other enzymes e.g are called proteioneses that converts the proteins into specific virus components. Then we get a ton of ssRNA and the viral components and when these two are joined together you get loads of virus particles. During this process the type 2 pneumocytes are being destroyed and release specific inflammatory mediators which bring the macrophages and secretes a ton of cytokines e.g Interlukins 1, 6 and tumour necrotic factor alpha (TNF-alpha). These cytokines comes into the bloodstream and cause the endothelial cells to undergo dilation so it will cause the smooth muscles to dilate and it increases the capilairy permeability by causing endothelial cell contraction. Th plasma fluid starts to leak out into the intestinal spaces and potentially into the alveoli. Basically it drowns out the surfactants. The surfactant decreases surface tension, so if it's drowned out the surface tension will increase. increase in surface tension increases the collapsing pressure. What ultimately happens is the is the alveoli Strats to collapse. This leads to decrease in gas exchange, which leads to hyperaemia and that's very dangerous. And also causes increase work of breathing.

The next thing that happens is that all of these inflammatory mediators bring in neutrophils and they start to accumulate to the seat of the virus causing inflammation and destroy the virus. They do this by reactive oxygen species ROS e.g proteases, they might destroy some of the virus but will also end up damaging all of the alveoli cells. This results in no proper gas exchange and decrease in surfactant.

All the fluid accumulating also leads to consolidation which alters the gas exchange process leading to hypoxia. What also happens is the specific postglandins also increase the body temperature which is a symptom of cover 19 and you also have a productive cough and shortness of breath.

What can also happen is if it gets sever and the systemic inflammatory response starts carrying on to other body parts this can have castrophic  effect on the body eventually leaving to multi system failure and death. The incubation period which is the period from when it affects the patient to sign of symptoms is about 14 days.

Cover 19 is a virus that is still up and running in the world and is getting more deadly in terms of the number of deaths and cases. New Zealand recently reported no new cases of cover 19 and has declared itself covid free. For more latest news and updates as the situation changes daily so please read on and keep up to date on any further updates.

Please also visit ninja nerd science on YouTube and watch the full 2 part series on covid 19.