Tag Archives: research
Lab Tech Found With No Pants & Roaming Monkeys
Scientists are doing revolutionary things, battling cancer, AIDS and even playing with monkeys while intoxicated.
Two monkeys were out of their cages when cops found Mitchell at Georgia Health Sciences University in Augusta last week, WJBF-TV reported, but veterinarians said they were fine.
Study Shows Black Girls Get Less Benefit From Exercise
Everywhere you turn you hear more and more talk about health and fitness because we are amidst an “obesity crisis,” and with Taco Bell’s creative use of nacho cheese, it is only getting worse.
The authors, a pair of British researchers using data from a government health study that followed American adolescents for several years, said their findings pointed to a significant metabolic disadvantage for African-American girls hoping to maintain a healthy weight
[Photos] Harry Potter Inspired Paper Can Spell Out Your Blood Type
It’s due time that scientists invent magic, or something that would appear to be magic in the rural parts of the world and if cell phones and holograms aren’t cutting it, what about this magic paper?
While watching Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Professor Wei Shen of Monash University in Australia was struck by a brilliant idea. What if he took the concept of Tom Riddle’s diary being able to magically formulate replies to anyone who writes in it, and use it to make a piece of paper that can spell out your blood type?
Cancer Cell Killing Virus
In brighter news, researchers stationed at Penn State have discovered a virus that kills cancer cells. It has a pretty awesome name as well. Cancer as we all know needs to be stopped. One day some fire breathing grapple hand man will be able to kill the bad cells in our bodies, but until then, this virus will have to do.
The virus is called adeno-associated virus type 2, and the scientists showed in the lab that it kills breast cancer in three stages. That’s a big deal because different stages of cancer now require different types of treatment, and it’s difficult to get it just right. They published their results in Molecular Cancer.
The scientists still don’t know how the virus takes down cancer, which is crucial for developing a drug or other type of therapeutic. If they figure out which viral genes are at work, some type of gene therapy might be the way to go. Or they could test drugs, or even use the virus itself as a remedy.
Other studies have shown the virus also kills cervical cancer, so it’s an exciting lead. But it’s a long way from petri dish to medicine. If animal studies are successful, then the treatment has to pass three rigorous phases of human trials. But since breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world and leads to the most deaths in women, a potential alternative to chemo and radiation is something to cheer for.
As the article states, it will still be a while before the use of the virus will be any help, but it is still a positive moment. If I could talk to cancer, I would probably say something like, “Hey! No! Stop it!” Sometimes I like to think that my voice can make a difference too.
