Hope in fight against cancer

Impressive and promising new therapy in the fight against cancer.  Doctors have extracted T-cells from patients and reprogrammed them by inserting new genes. The new genes contain new instructions for the T-cells to target and destroy cancer cells in the body once they are sent back into the body.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/07/health/cohen-cancer-study/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

Mathematical analysis leads to better understanding of bacterial chromosomes

"In a new study, published online this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, SF State Associate Professor of Mathematics Mariel Vazquez and an international team of scientists offer a mathematical analysis of how these chromosomal rings are unlinked by XerCD recombination enzymes . . ."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131111161434.htm

High tech, detailed visualizations of biological procedures inside the cell

http://www.ted.com/talks/drew_berry_animations_of_unseeable_biology.html?utm_source=email&source=email&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ios-share

Can cells revert back to stem cell like conditions to repair themselves?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131101125504.htm

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) researchers have a new model for how the kidney repairs itself, a model that adds to a growing body of evidence that mature cells are far more plastic than had previously been imagined . . .

Sleep is necessary

Brains flush toxic waste in sleep, including Alzheimer’s-linked protein, study of mice finds:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/brains-flush-toxic-waste-in-sleep-including-alzheimers-linked-protein-study-of-mice-finds/2013/10/19/9af49e40-377a-11e3-8a0e-4e2cf80831fc_story.html

Possible new "missing link"

A newly discovered 1.8 million-year-old skull from former Soviet republic of Georgia may be the missing link that ties all of humanity together . . .

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57608080/newly-found-ancient-skull-could-rewrite-human-history/

High School Science Projects Make a Difference in the Real World

At age 15 a high school student, Jack Andraka, did what countless MD and PhD scientists have failed to do for years.  He developed a test to detect pancreatic cancer at an early stage. (Pancreatic cancer is so deadly because once it is detected in a person, it has usually already spread to other parts of the body and is therefore very difficult to treat.)

Watch a short 60 minutes news clip on Jack:

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50157066n

Recent breakthrough in treatment of Down Syndrome (in mice)

In chapter one, we explained the importance of scientific research for expanding our knowledge of all areas of science, especially medicine.  New treatments usually begin on animals before being declared safe in humans and recently alterations in a biochemical pathway have "cured" mice of Down Syndrome.

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-09/drug-cures-mice-down-syndrome-single-dose

A modern day Jurassic Park . . .

Scientists produce cloned embryos of extinct frog . . .

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130315151044.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fmost_popular+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Most+Popular+News%29

Cyanobacteria and their plasmids

As we discussed in Chapter 19, bacterial can contain extra circles of DNA called plasmids that are also transcribed and translated into proteins.   Here is an current example of how cyanobacteria expresses genes on a particular plasmid.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130315074607.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+sciencedaily%2Fmost_popular+%28ScienceDaily%3A+Most+Popular+News%29

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria

Some bacteria can now resist even the strongest antibiotics . . .

http://health.yahoo.net/news/s/nm/nightmare-bacteria-shrugging-off-antibiotics-on-rise-in-u-s

Baby born with HIV cured

A baby born with the HIV virus appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now 2½ and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of infection.

http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-baby-born-hiv-apparently-cured-213124051.html

Quadruple Stranded DNA

In another example of the need to constantly research things that we think we already know, scientists have found out that some strands of DNA form a quadruple strand . . .

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=four-strand-dna-structure-found-cells

New step towards cure for AIDS

Scientists have created a protein inhibitor that seems to perform exceedingly well in stopping the HIV virus from replicating.  If the HIV virus can't replicate, the patient will never develop AIDS.  

We will discuss how inhibitors work in Chapter 14 in a few weeks.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-16/scientists-hail-potential-cure-for-aids/4466766

Can humans regenerate limbs . . .

University of Manchester scientists have discovered the importance of reactive oxygen compounds in the regeneration of tadpole limbs.  They hope to apply this research to aid human medicine.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130113201141.htm#.UPQDfiBgbSo.email

Recent discovery in Mitosis

Scientists have learned that proteins aren't the only important main molecules of life in the cell.

Lipids serve an essential role in cell division (mitosis):

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn22592-chemical-key-to-cell-division-revealed.html

This study, which began after a new focus on progeria research, may be helpful in curing uncontrollable cell division (cancer).