A UAE study putting green algae under the microscope to boost the fight against cancer demonstrates the value of painstaking research when striving for life-saving scientific breakthroughs, experts say.
A dedicated team at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) is exploring how the behaviour of green algae – primitive organisms typically found in bodies of water – can support future treatments for cancers as well as chronic lung disease and reproductive illnesses.
Dr Azam Gholami, an associate professor of physics at NYUAD, is examining the algae’s hair-like protrusions called flagella, only one millionth of a metre in size, that beat in unison to generate the flow of green algae.
Similar bundles of flagella work in some human cells, so studying algal flagella may provide insights into how certain cells, such as cancer cells, move through the human body, potentially leading to new ways to slow the spread of the disease.
"Understanding the cilian flagella dynamics will help to understand how to prevent airway type of diseases in humanity, which raise the chances of getting cancer," Dr Gholami said.
"That will also contribute to, at the end, to cancer research … as the structure of green algae is very similar to those [cells] in our own system, whatever knowledge we gain could also be applicable to humans or animals."
She said understanding the wave patterns of the flagella and way the small hair-like structures function "is very important for human health".
Dr Gholami has put a proposal forward to NYUAD to understand the similarities between green algae and cellular structures within the human brain.
"In our brains we have these ciliary protrusions but it's not quite clear how day and night cycles affect their movement," she said. "We can look at how these ciliary protrusions in green algae react to different kind of signals, like calcium concentrations, or when they are exposed to different light conditions."
Paving the way for prize-winning progress
Breakthroughs in science are often unexpected, with what might seem abstract research sometimes having real-world applications that had not been predicted earlier.
The history of science is replete with cases where insights from basic or fundamental research resulted in advances in fields such as medicine.
Progress in understanding, for example, how genes are regulated or how cells communicate, move and die may result in advances that could save lives or achieve progress in industry.
One of the key cases, said John Oxford, emeritus professor of virology at Queen Mary University of London and co-author of the textbook Human Virology, was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Prof Oxford said the messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines, billions of doses of which have been administered, were developed because of many years of basic studies on mRNA by researchers, notably Katalin Kariko.
A Hungarian-American biochemist, Ms Kariko had struggled earlier in her career to gain professional recognition for her work on mRNA but she persisted, eventually working in collaboration with a University of Pennsylvania colleague, Drew Weissman.
In 2023 the pair were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine following the success of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines.
"That’s a perfect example of a group spending years and years and years looking at mRNA, then it’s transformed to a practical vaccine, which has saved millions of lives," Prof Oxford said.
"You push ahead … and more often than not, something will come of it, perhaps in an unexpected way. Politicians worry about spending money on basic research but there are plenty of examples of how the basic research can transform overnight to a practical project."
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences in the US cites a number of other examples of basic research that has, ultimately, resulted in medical breakthrough.
One of them, the institute outlined in a briefing document, concerns proteasomes, which are complex aggregations of proteins within cells that break down unwanted proteins.
After researchers discovered the existence and function of proteasomes, others in the field developed a drug, bortezomib, that is now used to treat some types of cancer.
Also known as Velcade, it is a proteasome inhibitor that, by preventing them from breaking down unwanted proteins in cancer cells, causes these proteins to build up so that the cells die.
Abu Dhabi study holds promise
Dr Hector H Hernandez, who holds a PhD in chemistry and structural biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technologym and owns Tulif Holdings, an agritech company in Abu Dhabi, described Dr Gholami’s research as "really exciting".
"Understanding how cells clear disease can lead to better and more specific therapies," he said. "This could be very impactful for the UAE and GCC. We suffer from asthma and other respiratory disease caused by sand storms and smoking. Understanding how the cells stop clearing diseases can help with the development of better ways to heal people."
Dr Bharat Phankania, a senior clinical lecturer at the University of Bath Medical School in the UK, described fundamental research and development as "absolutely necessary".
"When you do research and development to understand biological processes, you can also understand how you can overcome erroneous biological processes," he said.
Dr Pankhania said that Crispr, a gene-editing technology that emerged after many years of fundamental research into how genes function and how they can be manipulated, is proving vital in the development of targeted cancer vaccines, which stimulate the recipient’s immune system to attack cancer cells.
He also highlighted how fundamental research could prove useful in fields outside of medicine, such as by giving researchers the genetic tools to develop crops better able to cope with the weather extremes created by climate change.
"If we don’t do research and development into crops that can still grow in very hot places, very wet places … we’ll go without food," he said.
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog:
From: Wimbledon, London, UK
Education: Medical doctor
Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures
Favourite animals: All of them
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The specs: 2018 Jeep Compass
Price, base: Dh100,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.4L four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 184bhp at 6,400rpm
Torque: 237Nm at 3,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.4L / 100km
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
Company%20Profile
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
The five pillars of Islam
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
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FIXTURES
Saturday
5.30pm: Shabab Al Ahli v Al Wahda
5.30pm: Khorfakkan v Baniyas
8.15pm: Hatta v Ajman
8.15pm: Sharjah v Al Ain
Sunday
5.30pm: Kalba v Al Jazira
5.30pm: Fujairah v Al Dhafra
8.15pm: Al Nasr v Al Wasl
NEW ARRIVALS
Benjamin Mendy (Monaco) - £51.75m (Dh247.94m)
Kyle Walker (Tottenham Hotspur) - £45.9m
Bernardo Silva (Monaco) - £45m
Ederson Moraes (Benfica) - £36m
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THE%20SWIMMERS
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Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
Racecard
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Company%20profile
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Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
Date started: August 2021
Founder: Nour Sabri
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace
Size: Two employees
Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
