Cuts and Tumor Growth.

There is a new study that found, my the use of mice, that if someone has a predisposition to getting cancer, having a cut or a burn can increase the chances of that person getting tumor growth around the cut or burn. The article goes on to say that a lot of cancers are related to wounds. That of liver, bone and skin to name a few. The study, done by Sunny Wong and Jeremy Reiter of the University of California, San Francisco concluded that when they 'infected' mice with a mutated cancer cell, no tumors were found on those mice who were not injured at the time. However, when doing the same process to mice who were injured, a cluster of tumors arose at the injury site.

I found this article interesting because I had never really thought of cancer being one of those things that could be effected by a simple cut or minor burn, etc. Sure, it does make sense that if someone already has cancer and are on chemo therapy and gets a cut or burn, of course they are at more risk of infection and other things because their immune system is compromised. Again, this article made me think that such a simple thing as a cut could actually create tumors in someone who is in a predisposition for cancer.

This article was found here

New Genetic Test Leads to Exposure of Incest

An article was published in the journal Lancet on February 11, 2011 about the exposure of incest cases from genetic tests. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have been studying child birth defects and developmental delays, and have been performing a new type of genetic test, called single nucleotide polymorphism-based arrays, to plot out a person's genetic makeup. The tests enable them to locate missing or duplicated genes by mapping out a child's genetic code. Often, the inconsistencies found in these tests can explain the child's disability. In several cases, however, scientists found large, duplicate pieces of DNA believed to be inherited from an inappropraite relationship between two relatives. The main concern that stems from this discovery is the possibility of evidence of child sexual abuse, most often girls between ages twelve and sixteen. Doctors now have routine tests to check if a child's disability is caused by incest. If a case does involve incest, doctors are obligated to tell authorities about cases of suspected child abuse.

This discovery of incest cases from new genetic tests has left teams of researchers with an abundance of legal and ethical questions. Dr. Arthur Beaudet, chairman of molecular and human genetics at Baylor, says, "The concern mainly stems from the possibility of children being sexually abused in the home." I think this discovery could turn out to be extremely helpful in court cases of child sexual abuse where no other evidence is available. It may expose some dark family secrets, but it may also provide closure for the victims of this type of abuse. What do you think?

Mummified Forests

An article that appeared on Biology News Net reports that a mummified forest was discovered in Northern Canada and that discovery is helping scientists understand how plants struggled to deal with global cooling long ago. The researchers have decided that the mummified plants and trees will help them predict how today’s plant life in the Arctic will respond to global warming. Scientists actually think that more forests could emerge across North America as the Arctic ice starts to melt. The exposure of the wood to air would cause it to release large amounts of methane gas and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which could actually boost global warming. This research also shows how the old plant life’s environment changed. Researchers were able to gather that the mummified plant life started growing in a warm and fertile environment, but then had to endure a decline in light and temperature.

I thought that this article was very interesting. I did not even know that there was such a thing as mummified forests. The fact that they can be just as destructive as they are helpful is something that really fascinates scientists as well as people.

FDA Cracks Down on Illegal Supplements

According to an article on comcast.net News the FDA is cracking down on the manufactures of supplements made to enhance sexual activity, increase weight loss, and those used for body building. According to the FDA the manufacturers of these products are incorrectly labeling them trying to cover up ingredients that they contain that can cause serious side effects including stroke, organ failure and death. FDA commissioner Margaret Harnburg says "the manufactures selling these tainted products are operating outside the law." The manufactures are supposed to ensure that these products are safe and they do not currently require FDA approval. The FDA is currently trying to get these companies to pull the products from the market; the government does not currently have the power to issue a recall. The FDA however is issuing warnings about the products to create awareness and have stated that the companies could face criminal prosecution.

Sibutramine is one of the ingredients being looked for, this product was recalled because it cause an increase risk of heart attack and stroke, but companies continue to use it in their weight loss supplements. Anabolic steroids and steroid analogs also are being used in body building products. Also drugs that should only be used in prescription medications are being used in sexual enhancement supplements. Michael Levy director of labeling compliance for the agency warns that consumers should avoid products that claim to have the similar effects as prescription drugs, and also drugs with ingredients in a foreign language or those marketed in mass e-mail.

I think this is great news for consumers. There are so many things on the market these days that are harmful to people, but companies only concern most of the time is making money. Consumers are so convinced by the lies these companies tell in order to sell these products, that they purchase them not knowing of their real side effects.

Multivitamins

According to Anahad O'Connor from the New York Times Magazine multivitamins can be the reason why you’re not getting a full night’s sleep. "Some users claiming that multivitamins shorten sleep and lead to more frequent awakenings in the middle of the night." A study was conducted in 2007, researchers tested many people’s sleep habits including if they took any medication or vitamins they also had them keep a sleep log for two weeks. "Scientist found a slightly higher rate of poor or interrupted sleep in people taking multivitamins. But because they found only an association, they could not rule out the possibility that people with poorer sleep are simply more likely to seek out multivitamins." If you find this to be true, you have to separate the effects of each vitamin, studies show that vitamin B and B6 can lead to deep dreaming which can wake you. Researchers say if people think their multivitamin is the reason for them awaking at night, a good solution would be to take the pills in the morning.

Slim Spoils for Obesity Drugs: Pharma Struggles to Find Safe Treatments

In Scientific American an article by Heidi Ledford discusses approval of a drug for obesity. An new drug Contrave, was the first obesity drug to win a recommendation for approval in more than a decade. It has been a difficult task to develop a safe drug for obesity. The goal of these drugs is to block receptor in the brain that respond to appetite, but adverse reaction such as suicidal tendencies are feared.



Contrave, developed by Orexigen Therapeutics, based in La Jolla, California, and co-founded by Cowley, director of the Monash Obesity and Diabetes Institute in Victoria, Australia, is a combination of two medications. One is an anti-depressant, the other is used to treat alcoholism. Together it is said that they boost the activity of a brain circuit called POMC pathway, which reduces hunger. The final decision on approval is expected early next year.



Studies have shown that even with this drug only a 8 percent decrease in body weight was reported after 6 months. It says that the next drug that is likely to face the FDA will target metabolism.



In my opinion, there should not be any drug for obesity. It seems that there is a drug prescribed for everything these days, I think the risks are to great to use unless there are no alternatives. Our society needs to change if obesity rates are to decline. I recently read that the food additives used today are actually designed to addict us to them, obviously attributing to obesity. It seems all food in the market is bad for you in some way. The FDA needs to change what food is readily available to our society and people need to make healthier choices.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=slim-spoils-for-obesity-drugs:

Single-cell Predator Gives us Clues to the Animal Kingdom's Birth.

According to NY Times up until recently Choanoflagellates (one celled organisms) were considered not very important to track by the E.P.A (Environmental Protection Agency).

They are tiny single cell predators that live in oceans and lakes. They can propel themselves in water and collect bacteria and food in their 30 to 40 tentacle like filaments. They are pretty much the bottom of the food chain in water. There are thousands to millions of them in our waters.

But what makes them important is that a new study suggests that they are the closest living single-celled relative to animals. Upon comparing them and their DNA, they discovered they had genetic similarities shared exclusively by the two, and shared 78 proteins.

What scientists are eager to learn is how single celled organisms can evolve into multi cellular organisms. Single-cell organisms of animals today have long been extinct. So the discovery of how closely related Choanoflagellates are to animal cells, is a huge step into learning on how things came to be.

Of course this is very interesting. And you would think today that every single thing alive would be studied before just considering it useless. But its amazing that scientists today are discovering all the time things that they thought weren't of value, are extremely important. And of course thats due to how much there is to study in the science world. But its a really great find.