• Question: Hi Gemma i was just wondering how could you extend your research with this topic???

    Asked by caityhope to Gemma on 13 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by kluss.
    • Photo: Gemma Sharp

      Gemma Sharp answered on 13 Jun 2011:

      Hi Caity,

      Really good question, this is the sort of thing I have to think about every day 🙂

      So at the moment I’m looking at how some cells from the uterus behave when I add certain chemicals to them, and then building a computer model of my work.

      There are a few ways I could extend that topic… Instead of cells, I could look at the same thing in chunks of tissue taken from the uterus to see if the cells behave the same as the tissue. Or instead of looking at how different proteins are produced by the uterus, I could look at muscle contractions to see if some chemicals make the uterus muscle contract more or less.

      I could build those things in to a computer model too. In fact, a group of scientists working in this field are getting together next week to discuss whether or not we’d be able to build a ‘virtual uterus’ – like a full computer model of the uterus that shows which bits contract and how strongly throughout labour.

      All of those things might help us understand what makes women give birth when they do, so they’re all ways I might be able to extend my research. I probably won’t get a chance to test them all in the next 2 and a half years, but I’m going to pick out the ones I’m most interested in and focus on those.

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