Science Topics of the Week 3/13/2011

Out of respect for the Japanese affected by the recent earthquake and tsunami this week's science news all relates to Japan and the earthquake.

From Nature News

 Giant Shock Rattles Ideas About Quake Behavior

The earthquake in Japan and the tsunami that followed last Friday have been on everyone's minds the past week. This was a huge tragedy that will take years to recover from. Experts did not think this area was capable of an earthquake of this size despite being on the fault which has produced most of the largest earthquakes ever felt. The reason for this is because of the sea-floor age hypothesis which states that older crusts are less susceptible to earthquakes because older crusts will slide downward.

This new information raises questions about where else earthquakes could occur that they were not expected to occur and also why this long believed hypothesis has been changed. A reason for the disproving of the hypothesis has to do with the fact that plate shifts causing that area to be getting squeezed like in a vice as the Earth shifts.

Hopefully we can take this knowledge and use it to predict areas that may be affected by future earthquakes to make sure they are prepared.

From Nature News

 Quake hits Japanese Universities

When an earthquake hits, the general public doesn't always think about the impact on research not only in Japan, but its effect on research worldwide. As a scientist, this was something that I was concerned about.  Several research facilities were destroyed or damaged in the earthquake. Power outages have caused a loss of samples. If we lose power for a couple of hours, we freak out. I can't imaging losing it for as long as Japan has.

Some scientists wonder if they will ever get their careers back on track. While Japan has to halt their research and have also lost much of their current research, the rest of the world is moving forward. It becomes a reality that their ground breaking research will be scooped. That being said, within Japan they may at least be able to maintain their level in their career and only lose a few years. 

Also affected was the entrance exam that determines which university you will attend. Most of these are only given once a year which would put potential new scholars behind on beginning their studies for another year.

JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images

 Radiation Data from Japan Disaster Starts to Filter Out

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) has been keeping a lid on the data regarding the radiation that is leaking from the nuclear plants in Japan following the earthquake and tsunami last week. This has been met with some criticism due to the feeling that people have the right to know what they are being exposed to in different areas. I agree with the need for that knowledge; however, I understand the need to prevent public panic. I do feel that the knowledge should at least be available to those who can direct the right knowledge to the public as needed.

That being said, some data is getting out. It is known that a large meltdown at Fukushima has not occured. This is known by the lack of high levels of zirconium and barium which would signal a meltdown. High levels of xenon, iodine and casesium have been reported. Low levels are expected to move across the Pacific.

Science Topics of the Week 3/6/2011

"Light Sheets" Image Life in 3D

Nature Methods reports on a new method to image live cells in a 3D environment without damaging the cells. Previously, exposing live cells to light would cause damage to the cellular processes preventing them from producing accurate images. This new technology focuses the light beam to allow for only a small area to be exposed to the light to limit the damage.

As a cell biologist, this is a great technology. The ability to study fixed cells in 3D has been available for awhile, but the processes occurring in live cells are of interest to get an accurate picture. My favorite quote from the article was " There's alot you can learn from actually watching things wiggle around." Very true!

Sylvain Dubey from NY Times

Invasive Animal Species Upend a Darwin Idea

Darwin had it right with his theories of evolution and natural selection...until now. The hint of this change has been seen across species for a few years now, but a study has been done with frogs, toads and salamanders. Darwin reported that an invasive species enters an environment where a closely related species is living, the invasive species will be unsuccessful. However, this has been found to be untrue in amphibians. Actually, when close relatives are already doing well in an environment, new species do well also.

This makes sense to me as similar species will require similar environments to survive and as long as there is enough resources in an area, both species can survive in an area together. This would only become an issue if there was not enough resources and it would be interesting to study what happens in those environments.

From Nature News

Enzyme Can Strengthen Memories

Researchers have discovered the enzyme protein kinase Mζ (PKMζ) will strengthen long term memories. This is important for cases of dementia and amnesia and for allowing people to remember the important things that always seem to slip as you get older. A study done on memory in rats found that increasing this enzyme increases the long term memory in rats.


This research is important as advances in medicine allow people to live longer. While people are living longer, developments that help their brain age as well as the rest of their body have been slow going. An important part of who you are is formed by your memories and discovering a way to maintain them as you age is important.

Diamonds Deliver on Cancer Treatment

From Science/AAAS

The efficacy of cancer drugs is decreased due to cancer cells natural desire to pump the drug out of the cell. The creation of nanoparticles shaped much like a diamond prevent cancer cells from pushing them out since cellular processes can carry these particles. These nanodiamonds are non-toxic and can be loaded with an electrical charge which would allow for drugs to be attached and distributed. This was studied in a rat model and showed a decrease in tumor size greater than drugs without the nanodiamonds.


This research still needs to be studied in more detail and on larger models than rats, but this type of drug delivery method can be used in more than just cancer drug delivery to aid in the administration of those drugs.

Science Topics of the Week 2/27/2011

From Nature News/Enzo Porrello

From NY Times/Getty Images

Young Mammal Hearts Heal Themselves and Newborn Mice's Hearts Can Heal Themselves

This article, reported on in both Nature News and the NY Times, provides interesting news for stem cell researchers attempting to regrow the heart. It has been known that Zebrafish can regrow their cardiac tissue, and now it has been reported in Science that newborn mice can do the same. This study suggests not only that there is a limited time window for this opportunity but also that the new cardiac tissue come from the existing cardiomyoctes and not from stem cells.

The article suggests that this provides a draw back for stem cell researchers; however, as a stem cell researcher, I disagree. Any study suggesting timing effects for regrowth as well as a mechanism for regrowth provide valuable insight into the processes that drive stem cells.

Steve  Gscmeissner/Science Photo Library

How Tumors Resist Chemotherapy 

This article reports on the finding of a protein which,when found in lower levels than usual, make tumor cells resistant to Taxol. Taxol typically acts on tubulins to prevent cell division and cause cell death in the cancer cells. When these cells have low levels of MCL1, those cells are resistant to treatment.

Additionally, the FBW7 gene, when lacking in cancer cells, cause those cells to produce less MCL1 and to be resistant to treatment. Combined, these results suggest that drugs may be tailored to cells to prevent this effect, but there remains lots of work to be done to design these drugs.

The article cautions that this does not mean a huge change in cancer treatment because of the time to create new drugs with an effect. This is always a caution with new discoveries in basic science and the translation to a drug treatment. I think that this will be a good step towards creating better treatments for some of the more resistant and more deadly cancers.

Image from Fish and Wildlife Service

Eastern Cougar Is Declared Extinct, With an Asterisk

The eastern cougar was declared extinct after not being seen for 7 decades. However, some people believe the easter cougar to not be a separate species and it is actually not different from the western cougar. 

Regardless of whether it is decided that the eastern cougar is different from the western cougar and declared an extinct species, I always find it disheartening when a species is declared extinct. It is tough to watch the species dying under the will of humans.

Targeted Gene Editing Enters Clinic

Gene therapy to disrupt a gene known to be involved in HIV entering cells has been tested on men known to have HIV and who are taking the currently available therapies but who still have low immune count.

This gene, CCR5, was selected based on a known population which has a natural resistance to HIV. When the cells were injected, they raised the patient's CD4+ cell count. The researchers suggest that this method could be used to create many resistant cells in a patient.

Of all the stories I covered this week, this one was the most impactful to me. I have been hoping for the discovery of the means of resistance within these populations which do not contract HIV and using this genetic discovery to move HIV therapy forward seems like it will have a great future.

Hot Topics In Science Week of 2/20/2011

The news reported this week that are science related that I found interesting.

Image from BBC

Spice Drug Fights Stroke - Tumeric is a component of Indian curry and has been known for awhile to have health benefits. Only recently has researchers began to discover ways to make drugs out of this compound. In this report, the component of tumeric, curcumin was modified to cross the blood brain barrier and is effective up to 3 hours after a stroke in repairing four of the signaling pathways damaged in stroke cases. 

In my opinion, the use of tumeric as a potential source to create drugs provides a two fold benefit, providing new drugs and increasing interest in "natural" substances. Some natural substances may provide great health benefits, but without the studies behind them regarding their safety and efficacy they should not be taken without caution.

Image from BBC

 Brain Region Associated with Relapse Found in Rats

This study found that the medial prefrontal cortex is the area involved in state dependent heroin relapse. When rats were given heroin, allowed to rehab, and then given inhibitors to this area of the brain and exposed to heroin again, then did not take the heroin. This same mechanism does not apply to cocaine as cocaine relapse acts differently.

There are a few issues with this study in my opinion. First, it only applys to heroin in rats which needs to be remembered. Humans are often on several drugs at once and finding a brain area for relapse in all of them will take some time. Also, I am not sure that this suggests lack of relapse or lack of liking for the heroin which are two different things. That being said, anyone who has ever been addicted to anything (even cigarettes or coffee), knows the power of relapse and finding a way to lessen this power would be great.

Image from
K. Ma/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Genzyme Deal Set to Alter Biotech Landscape

Genezyme, a biotech company known for designing drugs and other therapies for rare diseases has signed a deal with the pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis. This is a $20 billion deal and the largest deal in 2 years. 

Concerns with large pharmaceutical companies acquiring small (or not so small in the case of Genezyme) biotech companies include the conflict of interest that can occur in instances of this. The small biotechs now have to answer to the desires of the pharmaceutical company which narrows the research field for different diseases. This does provide an avenue for small biotechs which may have great idea but lack resources to create items they would not have normally been able to design.

Image from AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A

Dumped Drugs Lead to Resistant Microbes

In Patancheru India, large amounts of antibiotics were found dumbed in the rivers. These antibiotics are being discarded as waste and then they build up in the drinking supply and create bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. 

This is a huge concern currently in America, and even though this study was done in India, it could have far reaching effects.  Bacteria are capable of becoming resistant to the available antibiotics more quickly than we can design new ones and this is causing a rise in things such as MRSA. If this continues unchecked, more and more diseases will be antibiotic resistant and an increase in deaths will occur. We need to realize that bacteria are more efficient at what they do than we are at defeating them and we need to figure out a way to outsmart them.