Insights Give Hope for New Attack on Alzheimer’s

According to new research post by Gina Kolata from New York Times Magazine regarding new development on the progression of Alzheimer's says it’s not the clumping of amyloids that causes the rapid progression of Alzheimer's but that the brain makes more amyloid then it can dispose of. It is normal for the brain to make amyloid, however researchers are now saying that the "clumping" theorie appears to be wrong. It turns out that most people with Alzheimer’s seem to make perfectly normal amounts of amyloid. They just can’t get rid of it. "It’s like an overflowing sink caused by a clogged drain instead of a faucet that does not turn off". "If researchers could find a way to speed up disposal, perhaps they could slow down or halt the disease. Researchers have also found that amyloid, in its normal small amounts, seems to have a purpose in the brain it may be acting like a circuit breaker to prevent nerve firing from getting out of control. But too much amyloid can shut down nerves, eventually leading to cell death. That means that if amyloid levels were reduced early in the disease, when excess amyloid is stunning nerve cells but has not yet killed them, the damage might be reversed."
I found this article to be an extremely interesting. I find Alzheimer's to be a devastating but fascinating disease, I would love if one day we can find a cure or some form of medication to prolong the disease. It’s a horrible disease to watch your loved one go through, so I hope this is a successful new breakthrough.

Pomegranate Juice Components Could Stop Cancer from Spreading

Scientist discovered that pomegranate and pomegranate juice could stop cancer from spreading. Components in pomegranates can reduce the movement of cancer cells and weaken them. Pomegranate juice can weaken cancer cells attraction to chemical signal that promotes the metastasis of prostate cancer to the bone. Since prostate cancer is one of the main leading causes of cancer related to death in men in the United States i think this good be an amazing thing. It amazes me how certain juices help our bodies.

Squidworm

New species are being discovered daily -- although most are prokaryotes.  Here is an interesting segmented worm, Teuthidodrilus samae, found at the bottom of the Celebes Sea -- off the coast of Borneo!
Although only about 3.5 inches long -- I won't be swimming there in the near future...

Doctors Don't Need to Fear Red Heads

Reading ScienceDaily.com there was a publish on the British Medical Journal explaing the issue on red headed humans. The research concludes that, contrary to popular belief, people with red hair do not bleed any more than other patients.Surgeon Jonathan Barry from Morriston Hospital in Swansea, say that "red haired patients are traditionally regarded with a degree of trepidation by surgeons and anaesthetists alike due to a reputation for excessive bleeding, reduced pain threshold and a propensity to develop hernias." Red heads studies showed that they are more sensitive to cold and heat pain and they need more anaesthetic than other people. I found this interesting because people make jokes about red heads "gingers" all the time.

US scientists create mice from two fathers

In Washington United States scientists used stem cell technology to create mice from two fathers. Scientists say that it could help preserve endangered species and even help same-sex couples have their own genetic children one day.The study was led by Richard R. Berhringer at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Scientists in Texas were able to manipulate cells from a male (XY) mouse fetus to produce an induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell line. This may be a way to help save endangered species one day in the future. It does not seem normal in my eyes though.

Humble Honey Bee Helping National Security

According to Anna Khot of The Naked Scientists, honey bees can be the answer to Britain's national security threats and drug smuggling. It is a known fact that honeybees have a great sense of smell and scientists are taking advantage of this fact by training them to sniff out drugs and explosives. They are able to train the bees by associating an odor with a reward.

“Bees are at least as good as sniffer dogs but are cheaper and faster to train, and available in much larger numbers. It is dependent on the specific odor, but bees can detect some odors that are present in parts per trillion - that’s equivalent to detecting a grain of salt in an Olympic-sized swimming pool,” says Dr. Nesbit, a research scientist at Insentience Ltd.

The process of training the bees is a simple one. They are placed in a holder where different odors are passed over them. Every time they smell an odor a small dose of sugar syrup is administered to them and they stick their “tongues” out to receive the award. After a few rounds of this, the bees stick their “tongues” out after smelling the odor without a reward being present. Once trained, up to 36 bees are loaded into a hand held sensing device. The bees can be trained to detect the same odor, or smaller groups of bees can be trained to detect different odors within the same device. The bees are exposed to a constant stream of clean, filtered air until a sample of air from an area requiring testing is sucked into the machine. An optical sensor records any bees extending their “tongues,” which is then interpreted by software. Based on a statistical population of bees, a simple odor present/absent response follows. The whole detection process takes around six seconds.

This article really caught my eye just because it's bout bees! Who would've thought bees could be used for anything other than producing honey (or causing allergic reactions). I feel that this could really become useful in the future once perfected. It's easier to train hundreds of bees than dogs!

Pain Free Mammogram: Digital tomosynthesis

According to an article in Science Daily radiologists have recently devised a better way to perform a mammogram. The digital tomosynthesis, is helping find cancer as small as 2 millimeters. This machine uses an xray tube that moves around the breast at at least 11 different angles taking multiple images.A computer then puts the information together to create a 3-D image. A traditional mammogram only used 2 angles and can be difficult to read due to dense breast tissue that looks similar to cancer. Elizabeth Rafferty, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital states, " I think for many radiologists the prospect of interpreting a mammography is very scary." comparing it to Where's Waldo she says ".....I'm trying to find the thing I'm interested in but it looks like everything else in a sea of normal structures." Another benefit of this new method is it uses less compression, making it less painful for the patient.

I think this is a great advancement and will hopefully save more women's lives with early detection. Many women put off getting mammograms done due to fear. Hopefully this method will give the radiologists a better look and detect cancer before it spreads.