Behov for et tydeligt teknologibegreb: om teknologi og teknologisk dannelse i STEM

Der er en voksende erkendelse af, at teknologisk udvikling øger kompleksiteten i verden. Tekno-logi er en af de stærkeste kræfter der former samfundets udvikling. Det er nødvendigt at udvikle undervis-ning som fører til teknologisk dannelse – en bred forståelse af teknologi og teknologiens rolle i samfun-det. Men fagligt og didaktisk er teknologi fortsat langt fra veletableret som STEM-område i grundskolen.Denne udfordring er taget op i en række lande, og der er behov for at vi i Danmark også gør det. I denne aktuelle analyse peger vi på en række nationale forhold der spiller en rolle, ligesom vi giver en række eksempler på beskrivelser af teknologi og teknologisk dannelse i undervisningskontekst

Increased sensitivity to interferon-alpha in psoriatic T cells

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by abnormal epidermal proliferation. Several studies have shown that skin-infiltrating activated T cells and cytokines play a pivotal role during the initiation and maintenance of the disease. Interferon (IFN)-α plays an important role in host defense against infections, but recent data have also implicated IFN-α in psoriasis. Thus, IFN-α induces or aggravates psoriasis in some patients, and mice lacking a transcriptional attenuator of IFN-α/β signaling spontaneously develop a psoriasis-like inflammatory skin disease characterized by CD8+-infiltrating T cells. In this study, we therefore investigate IFN-α signaling in T cells isolated from involved skin of psoriatic patients. We show that psoriatic T cells have increased and prolonged responses to IFN-α, on the level of signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) activation, compared with infiltrating T cells from skin of non-psoriatic donors. Functionally, the increased IFN-α signaling leads to an increased binding of STAT4 to the IFN-γ promotor, IFN-γ production, and inhibition of T cell growth. In contrast, to STAT responses to other cytokines were not changed in psoriasis. In conclusion, we provide evidence that psoriatic T cells have an increased sensitivity to IFN-α. Thus, our data suggest that increased IFN-α signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis

Constitutive activation of a slowly migrating isoform of Stat3 in mycosis fungoides: Tyrphostin AG490 inhibits Stat3 activation and growth of mycosis fungoides tumor cell lines

Mycosis fungoides (MF) is a low-grade cutaneous T cell lymphoma of unknown etiology. In this report, the Jak/Stat (Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription) signaling pathway was investigated in tumor cell lines established from skin biopsy specimens from a patient with MF. Jaks link cytokine receptors to Stats, and abnormal Jak/Stat signaling has been observed in some hemopoietic cancers. In MF tumor cells, a slowly migrating isoform of Stat3, Stat3(sm), was found to be constitutively activated, i.e., (i) Stat3(sm) was constitutively phosphorylated on tyrosine residues, and tyrosine phosphorylation was not enhanced by growth factor stimulation; (ii) band shift assays and immunoprecipitations of DNA/Stat complexes showed constitutive DNA-binding properties of Stat3(sm); and (iii) Stat3(sm) was constitutively associated with Jak3. The abnormal activation of Stat3(sm) was highly specific. Thus, neither the fast migrating isoform of Stat3 (Stat3(fm)) nor other Stats (Stat1, Stat2, and Stat4 through Stat6) were constitutively activated. The Jak kinase inhibitor, tyrphostin AG490, blocked the constitutive activation of Stat3(sm) and inhibited spontaneous as well as interleukin 2-induced growth of MF tumor cells. In conclusion, we have provided evidence for an abnormal Jak/Stat signaling and growth regulation in tumor cells obtained from affected skin of an MF patient