Rivers ran with gold three billion years ago [Nature Science Update]

Okay, the data may be controversial but what I found amazing was that half of all the gold ever mined comes from one area. Wow! ANd all we are doing is dispursing it so it will never be found in one place ever again ;-)  comment []1:16:51 AM    

Chemists show proteins behave differently inside cells than they do in water solutions [EurekAlert!]

This is huge. One of the dogmas of protein folding had been that if you denatured a protein, you could get it to sponatanously refold under the right conditions. Turns out the right conditions are not in a test tube but in a cell. How obvious. After the fact. I wonder what affect this will have on protein modeling. Most times, the models are based on a surrounding aqueous medium. What happens when you surround the protein with tons of other proteins, instead of with water? ANd the main investigator was a senior when he started. I think he has quite a future ahead of him, if he chooses to pursue this.  comment []12:33:27 AM    

Cancer research boosts local biotechs' stocks. San Francisco Chronicle Sep 13 2002 5:45PM ET [Moreover - moreover...]

Well, it isgreat to see your stock go up 30% because of some test tube experiments. This is the Lottop version of Biotech. The number of companies that demonstrated great test tube data, yet failed to ever get anything useful into a human being is huge. Only a select few actuall make a product that helps people. Yet, some people will buy the stock of a company that can not have anything useful for 4-5 years. This is known as the 'greater fool' approach to investing. There will always be someone to take the stock off your hands. This worked in the bubble we just had, but I would not think it will be very successful in this market. At least for anyone other than the market makers on Wall Street.  comment []12:08:46 AM    

Hopkins researchers study heart defect that kills athletes. Physicians at Johns Hopkins, with colleagues around the globe, are seeking families to help them learn more about a rare heart condition that kills athletes and seems to run in families. [EurekAlert - Medicine & Health]

This affects 1 in 5000. That is a huge number of possible patients. It is amazing how well we can do even when things do not work right. Pistol Pete Maravich played profession basketball but died of a heart attack after he retired. It turned out he had an abnormal heart, which only had 1 coronary artery. Yet, he played at a physical level far beyond any of us could. Just amazing.  comment []12:54:27 PM    

Bicycle handlebars pose serious health risk to children. Bicycle handlebar-related abdominal or pelvic organ injuries pose a serious health risk to children and result in substantial health care costs, according to a study from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. In non-motor vehicle related bicycle crashes, as many as 80 percent of internal organ injuries are associated with handlebar impact. Requirements for safer handlebar designs may reduce the risk of these costly injuries. [EurekAlert - Medicine & Health]

Hospital costs much higher for motorcycle crash victims who don[base ']t wear helmets. Motorcycle riders who crash without a helmet rack up far larger hospital bills than those whose heads were protected in a crash, a new study finds. From the emergency room door to the trauma center to the rehabilitation unit, the authors report, care for unhelmeted crash victims cost substantially more and kept patients in the hospital longer than care for patients who wore helmets. [EurekAlert - Medicine & Health]

What about retractable handlebars on motorcycles? My guess is that helmut use by children has decreased the number of head traumas, so we can now see what other injuries are possible. But, how many children ride bikes so that 900 have an injury? What is the incidence and is it something we can really reduce? Was there and age distribution of incidence and injury severity? Would new handlebars really change anything? Would education about the proper way to fall be more useful? Don't know. Can't say. At least from the article.  comment []12:42:39 PM    

Scientists identify 'genetic signature' of stem cells. Princeton University scientists have taken a major step toward identifying the "genetic signature" of stem cells, discovering a subset of genes whose products may give these cells their unique traits. [EurekAlert - Medicine & Health]

This is the sort of work that comes from knowing the sequence of many of the human genes. You can look at the specific genes that are expressed in a specific population of cells, creating a 'fingerprint' of that cell type. Now, the tricky thing is this. You can tell what the fingerprint is for a population of similar cells. But, do ALL the cells express the entire complement of genes or do they some express some, while others express the other proteins? That is, if you looked at a single cell, does it have the whole 'fingerrint' or only part of it? A lot of single cell research indicates that gene expression is stochastic, that is, random. You can take 2 identical cells, examine them separately and you will find that, although some genes are expressed similarly, there are some genes that are specific to one cell or the other. It is this randomness that gives cells, and life, their ability to adapt. If every cell in a population was always expressing the same things, then a single attack could bring them all down. Ig there are some differences, then chances are that they will not ALL be vulnerable to the same thing. This work is important but it is still looking at a population of cells. For pluripotetent stem cells (these are the sine qua non for stem cell therapies.), you may need to get down to the single cell level.  comment []12:34:36 PM    

EGFR media briefing. Dr. Alan Sandler of Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center to speak on the science behind the EGFR class and clinical experience to date. Learn more about the role EGFR-TKIs play in cancer treatment. By blocking cancer[base ']s ability to use certain signaling (or chemical) pathways implicated in the growth and division of a variety of solid tumors, the emerging EGFR-TKI class is at the clinical forefront of battling many cancer types, including lung, breast and prostate cancers. [EurekAlert - Medicine & Health]

EGF antagonists may have a very important use in oncology. Immunex/Amgen is working on such a product. But, so far, a lot of the products have been duds, with little therpeutic values. It might be worthwhile to hear this presentation. Maybe I'll drop in at Starbucks to hear it online.  comment []12:23:47 PM    

Hormone replacement therapy may improve breast cancer detection and survival rate. A study of nearly 300 breast cancer patients in Oregon found that the tumors in those women, who had been receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT), were less aggressive and easier to detect on mammograms. It also reports that HRT users had higher survival rates than nonusers. [EurekAlert - Medicine & Health]

This is such a good example of why medicine and the study of biology can drive you nuts. One study indicates that HRT can increase a woman's chances of breast cancer. Now this study shows that those on HRT had tumors that were much easier to see by mammograms than by palpitation. So, if the original study used mammograms to find the tumors, it would have picked up more from HRT simply because, for some reason, HRT increases the ability of mammograms to see the tumors. But it may not really increase the number of tumors. Not having seen the study, I can not say but this study certainly seems to indicate that HRT makes tumors much more visible to mammograms.

The HUGE news is that HRT actually seems to provide positive survival benefits.Of 144 women on HRT, 100% were still alive after 6 years. For the 148 who were not on HRT, 19 were dead at the 6 year mark. MAn, biology is sure confusing. And it is something that the media has an incredibly hard time explaining, because of this. Complexity is not something mass media want to deal with.  comment []12:21:07 PM    

Early humans smart but forgetful [New Scientist]

Very interesting work but there is really no hard evidence from this article that they were forgetful. That seems like a conjecture but the article does not explain where it really comes from.  comment []12:10:21 PM    

Fossil find reveals world's oldest penises [New Scientist]

New Scientist continues to be the best tabloid in science. What a great title and sure to get your attention. if they said it was a bivalve penis, who would look. It is actually an interesting little find. Who knew that these shellfish had TWO penises? Now I do. I'll be able to drop this into so many conversations. Now here is an image:

They have to use a type of bicycle pump to eject the sperm into the female.

comment []12:07:05 PM    

GENOME RESEARCH:
NSF's Ark Draws Alligators, Algae, and Wasps
Jennifer Couzin
Science Sep 6 2002: 1638-1639. [Summary] [Full Text]   [Science]

I remember when the first virus was sequenced. How far and fast we have come. I expect in a few years that there will be high school students doing this.  comment []9:40:35 PM    

CONFRONTING TERRORISM:
Profile: Janet Shoemaker, Shaping the Politics of Bioterrorism
David Malakoff
Science Sep 6 2002: 1632. [Summary] [Full Text]   [Science]

Man, it is scary to think what the Patriot Act would have been without people like this. (It's bad enough as it is.) I'll have to keep an eye out for her and see what else she can get done. Someone with a good perspective on the risks of bioterrorism would be extremely valuable in this times.  comment []9:36:31 PM    

INFLAMMATORY ARTHRITIS:
How Immune System Gangs Up on Joints
Mary Beckman
Science Sep 6 2002: 1626-1627. [Summary] [Full Text]   [Science]

Immunex made tons of money with its RA drug, Enbrel. This paper may help create a better understanding of the underlying disease, [permitting the day when we can cure RA rather than stymie its progress.  comment []9:31:38 PM    

PLANT EVOLUTION:
Elaborate Carnivorous Plants Prove to Be Kin
Elizabeth Pennisi
Science Sep 6 2002: 1626. [Summary] [Full Text]   [Science]

Man, I love carnivorous plants. It is such a wonderful example of how life figures out really bizarre ways to survive. These plants often live in an environment that makes it difficult to get nitrogen. So, they evolve to get the nitrogen from the amino acids found in insects. And, DNA evidence indicates that Darwin's original conjecture about the relatedness of some of these plants is indeed correct. That is good science, when new technologies, undreamed of by the original scientist, nevertheless support his theory 150 years later or so. Cool.  comment []9:29:45 PM    

Personal body part grown in a dish [EurekAlert!]

I love New Scientist. It is such a rag (and I mean that in the BEST possible way.) The headline does not report what body part was grown but it IS personal. It was a rabbit penis. Of all the organs to recreate!! I guess John Bobbitt would be relieved!  comment []9:13:30 PM    

Nitrogenase MoFe-Protein at 1.16 Å Resolution: A Central Ligand in the FeMo-Cofactor
Oliver Einsle, F. Akif Tezcan, Susana L. A. Andrade, Benedikt Schmid, Mika Yoshida, James B. Howard, and Douglas C. Rees
Science Sep 6 2002: 1696-1700. [Abstract] [Full Text][Supporting Online Material]   [Science]

Structure, Mechanism, and Regulation of the Neurospora Plasma Membrane H+-ATPase
Werner Kühlbrandt, Johan Zeelen, and Jens Dietrich
Science Sep 6 2002: 1692-1696. Published online August 8, 2002; 10.1126/science.1072574 (Science Express Reports) [Abstract] [Full Text] [Supporting Online Material]   [Science]

Mast Cells: A Cellular Link Between Autoantibodies and Inflammatory Arthritis
David M. Lee, Daniel S. Friend, Michael F. Gurish, Christophe Benoist, Diane Mathis, and Michael B. Brenner
Science Sep 6 2002: 1689-1692. [Abstract] [Full Text] [Supporting Online Material]  [Science]

Identification of a DNA Nonhomologous End-Joining Complex in Bacteria
Geoffrey R. Weller, Boris Kysela, Rajat Roy, Louise M. Tonkin, Elizabeth Scanlan, Marina Della, Susanne Krogh Devine, Jonathan P. Day, Adam Wilkinson, Fabrizio d'Adda di Fagagna, Kevin M. Devine, Richard P. Bowater, Penny A. Jeggo, Stephen P. Jackson, and Aidan J. Doherty
Science Sep 6 2002: 1686-1689.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Supporting Online Material]   [Science]

Questions Regarding Nuclear Emissions in Cavitation Experiments
M. J. Saltmarsh, Dan Shapira, R. P. Taleyarkhan, R. C. Block, C. D. West, and R. T. Lahey Jr.
Science Sep 6 2002: 1603. [Full Text]   [Science]

I've got my feed for Science going. Here are some things I will be reading.  comment []3:19:18 PM    

Engineering Food for Africans. Behind the protests, Africa has been developing genetically modified foods of its own, with the help of countries like the United States. By Marc Lacey. [New York Times: Science]

A balanced article. The worries generally come from plants that have had an herbicide gene added to them (especially when the company selling the resistant seed also makes the herbicide). This is the vision of Frankenfoods that makes the environmentalist press releases. They have a wedge here, because these genes have not been fully vetted by natural selection and could possibly end up somewhere novel. The chances of this are extremely small but can never be made zero. However, alterations that provide disease resistance or simply increase the copy number of normal genes do not present these sorts of problems. These are more difficult to make than herbicide resistant strains because they require a more intimate understanding of the biology of the plant. But we are getting there and the 2nd generation modified plants will provide some very important traits to the poor farmers of the world.  comment []3:05:56 PM    

Scientists explore large gas hydrate field off Oregon coast [EurekAlert!]

The article does not mention the effect that these methane hydrates could have on global warming. Methane is a greenhouse gas. If these hydrates were released from the ocean floor and entered the atmosphere, global warming would rapidly increase. In fact, some scientists have hypothesized that this has happened before in the past. And, looking at these hydrates as an energy source would only continue the use of hydrocarbon fuels. Unless they find some cycle that allows the removed methane to be replenshed. Then it might be workable.  comment []2:50:01 PM    

Corn Disrupts Caterpillars' Digestion to Protect Itself [Scientific American]

By simply overexpressing a gene already present in corn, the researchers were able to disrupt the grow cycle of the caterpillars. This could be a very important advance. It also means that I will have to get a subscription to PNAS, since it is where this article was published. PNAS is one of my fvorties but you have to pay a full years subscription even for a partial year. At least if I read their subscription page correctly. Does not seem quite fair.   comment []2:45:17 PM    

They really optimized homologous recombination (i.e. adding in genes that already exist) so that 1% of the plants have the altered genome. This should be a huge boast since it really is a much morespecific way of affecting genes that typically used. These 'old fashioned' methods tried to alter gene copy number by soaking the seeds in a mutagen and then selcting for the ones you wanted. All sorts of unintended changes could be wrought in this approach.  comment []2:22:47 PM    

What do you mean throw out the food guide pyramid?. Exercise an hour a day? Eat up to 25 percent of total calories in added sugars? The barrage of coverage surrounding National Academies' Institute of Medicine's Dietary Reference Intake Report released Sept. 5 has people even more confused about eating healthfully. Rachel Johnson, Ph.D. R.D., professor of nutrition and acting dean of the University of Vermont's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a contributor to the Institute of Medicine's report clarifies several key points in the report. National Academies' Institute of Medicine [EurekAlert - Biology]

Yes, I am confused. Mostly because the media just does such a lousy job reporting it. There is no 'one approach fits all'. Different people can tolerate different diets. We need to develop better approaches for screeningpeople to put them in the right category. For me it is a low carbo, high prtein, coupled with exercise. When I exercise, I put on muscle pretty fast. If I eat a lot of carbs, it goes straight to fat but meat does not. 46 years of eating has taught me this.  comment []9:12:24 PM    

West Nile virus reaches California [New Scientist]

This virus will pretty much be where ever there are mosquitoes so we need to develope better anti-mosquito technology.  comment []9:08:04 PM    

Athleticism and body weight tied to ALS and other motor neuron diseases [EurekAlert!]

ANother report where doing something results in increasing the chances of getting 'X' 2 fold. But no where does it say what the prevprevalencealcen is. SO it could be 1 in a million to 2 in a million. Not something to get upset about. We just do not know.  comment []9:03:24 PM    

Biotech companies, environmentalists playing blame game. CNN Sep 8 2002 2:45PM ET [Moreover - moreover...]

I am not a fan of the companies creating GM food, but people ARE starving while the 2 sides, often nice and comfortable in their air-conditioned offices, fire off dueling press releases. Both sides are using this to their political advantage, to increase their financial coffers, while people die. Americans more than anyone have tried to get food and medical aid to the people of the world who need it. We as a people are extremley caring but it is painful to watch leaders twist this to their own ends.

  comment []12:46:31 AM    

Re-emerging field contributes to 10,000 patents yearly [EurekAlert!]

Gosh. I love press releases. And the ability to search databases means that you can create a PR using hard numbers that really explains little. But it does have numbers so it must mean something. I have worked in biology for over 20 years and I have never heard the term 'operations research.' But, according to this PR, since I have used the word simulation, I must be involved in it.  comment []12:37:40 AM