Researchers eliminate leukemia in mice

Scientists have corrected a flaw in cancer cells that lets them evade the normal cell-death process, and as a result they eliminated leukemia cells from mice. With this achievement, the researchers confirm that a key anti-cell-death molecule called BCL-2 is required by many types of cancer cells to survive, and that silencing it with designer drugs may prove to be an effective new avenue for cancer therapy. Using drugs to manipulate apoptosis, or ”programmed cell death” in cancers ”is a new paradigm that hasn’t been well explored yet.”

‘Fossil genes’ reveal how life sheds form and function

Reading the fossil record, a paleontologist can peer into evolutionary history and see the surface features that plants and animals and, occasionally, microbes have left behind. Now, scouring the genome of a Japanese yeast, scientists have found a trackway of fossil genes in the making, providing a rare look at how an organism, in response to the demands of its environment, has changed its inner chemistry and lost the ability to metabolize a key sugar.

Nuclear power helps protect Japan from rising oil prices

Nuclear power contributes to Japan’s energy security by reducing the economic impact of an oil price shock, a new study concludes. The study estimates that in the absence of nuclear power, the cumulative impact of a single oil price shock (25-percent change in oil prices) could result in a loss of up to 2 trillion yen (U.S. $18.2 billion) in gross domestic product. On a per-megawatt basis, this places the value of nuclear power at roughly 42 million yen (U.S. $382,000) per megawatt of installed nuclear capacity. That’s about 15.7 percent of the capital cost of a nuclear plant in Japan.

Glaciers Surge When Ice Shelf Breaks Up

Since 2002, when the Larsen B ice shelf broke away from the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, scientists have witnessed profound increases in the flow of nearby glaciers into the Weddell Sea. These observations were made possible through NASA, Canadian and European satellite data. Two NASA-funded reports used different techniques to arrive at similar results. Researchers said the findings prove ice shelves act as ”brakes” on the glaciers that flow into them. The results also suggest climate warming can rapidly lead to rises in sea level. Large ice shelves in the Antarctic Peninsula disintegrated in 1995 and 2002, as a result of climate warming.

Central corneal thickness impacts glaucoma treatment

In a new study, researchers have demonstrated the significance of central corneal thickness on the clinical management of patients with glaucoma and those suspected to have glaucoma. While confirming previous research about the relevance of CCT in glaucoma management, this study represents one of the first attempts to determine exactly how great an impact CCT has on a patient’s intraocular pressure (IOP), fluid build-up inside the eye that is a glaucoma risk factor. Results found that CCT affected more than half of the patients in the study. ”We were astounded to find that so many of the glaucoma patients in our study needed an IOP adjustment, based on their CCT measurement.”

Modified linseed produces healthier omega 3 and 6 fatty acids

In research reported this month in The Plant Cell, scientists succeeded in producing genetically modified linseed plants that accumulate significant levels of very long chain poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in seed. This is the first report of the successful engineering of very long chain PUFA into an oilseed crop, and is an excellent example of how genetic engineering of agronomically important species can provide real benefits to human health and nutrition and the environment.

Obese trauma patients more likely to die of their injuries

Critically injured obese trauma patients have higher rates of death than nonobese trauma patients. According to a new study, 18.9 percent of the U.S. population is obese, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher. Obesity can interfere with the body’s response to injury — obese patients have reduced lung capacity and a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease. Obesity also makes surgery more difficult and risky, and radiographic images less reliable, the article states.

Combination laser and ointment therapy effective in treating vitiligo

Patients with vitiligo, a skin disorder characterized by patches of white, or de-pigmented skin, had better repigmentation of these patches when they were treated with a combination of laser therapy and tacrolimus ointment than patients treated with laser therapy alone. Vitiligo is a skin pigmentation disorder that affects one percent to two percent of people worldwide. Patients with vitiligo develop white patches on their skin, referred to as ”lesions.”

World’s most powerful MRI for decoding the human brain

The University of Illinois at Chicago unveiled today the world’s most powerful magnetic resonance imaging machine for human studies, capable of imaging not just the anatomy but metabolism within the brain. This advanced technology ushers in a new age of metabolic imaging that will help researchers understand the workings of the human brain, detect diseases before their clinical signs appear, develop targeted drug therapies for illnesses like stroke and provide a better understanding of learning disabilities.

Wastewater could treat itself, power city

The energy stored in Toronto’s municipal wastewater could be harnessed to run water treatment facilities and contribute power to the city grid, says new U of T research. The study, published in the August issue of the Journal of Energy Engineering, is the first to measure the energy content of the raw municipal wastewater in the Ashbridges Bay, North Toronto, Highland Creek and Humber plants. The research revealed that the wastewater contained enough organic material to potentially produce 113 megawatts of electricity or close to 990 million kilowatt hours a year.

Fibromyalgia prohibits sufferers from breast-feeding

New mothers with fibromyalgia (FM) face multiple barriers to breast-feeding their babies, according to a new study. For the study, researchers analyzed the written stories and tape-recorded interviews of nine mothers with FM, ranging in age from 26 to 36. All had given birth to at least one child before being diagnosed with FM, a chronic disorder characterized by widespread pain and fatigue. Because there is no cure, patients often undergo physical therapy, counseling and medication to alleviate their symptoms.

Heavy Metal Rocks Plant Cells too

Heavy metals can trigger widely varying stress reactions in plants. A team at the Campus Vienna Biocenter was now able to provide evidence for this in a research funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF). The results, now awaiting publication, are an important basis to comprehend how plants cope with an increase in heavy metal concentrations in the soil – and how these abilities can be profitably utilised.

Water and methane maps overlap on Mars: a new clue?

Recent analyses of ESA’s Mars Express data reveal that concentrations of water vapour and methane in the atmosphere of Mars significantly overlap. This result, from data obtained by the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS), gives a boost to understanding of geological and atmospheric processes on Mars, and provides important new hints to evaluate the hypothesis of present life on the Red Planet.

Vanilla may have a future in sickle cell treatment

In addition to its popular role in flavoring ice cream, fudge and cake frosting, vanilla may have a future use as a medicine. Recent laboratory research has strengthened the possibility that a form of vanilla may become a drug to treat sickle cell disease. After specially bred mice received a compound that turns into vanilla in the body, they survived five times longer than mice that did not receive the chemical. All the mice had been subjected to low oxygen pressure, a condition that causes their red blood cells to form the hazardous sickle shape.