Helpful Science Site
A quick way to keep up with emerging science is EurekAlert. Each day the site lists breaking news in science in synopsis form. A quick 10 minutes keeps you on top. It also contains links for further information.
A closer look
This isn’t the sort of thing that grabs headlines, but I think this is really important news. Researchers at Lawrence Livermore Lab (about 20 miles east of here) and from other countries have developed techniques to look at single molecules of protein folding up. This is a breakthrough in being able to get the details of how proteins fold–and mis-fold–a source of disease including cancer.
And out northeast of here they’ve built the highest resolution PET scanner known. It’s for looking in detail at the physiological processes of small things like mousies and cells, e.g., cancer cells.
PET works by detecting short-lived radioactive tracers that emit positrons, or anti-electrons. Those tracers can be attached to other molecules that are targeted to particular cells. For example, highly active cells, such as cancer cells, can be tagged with radioactive glucose.
It’s improvements in instruments like these that produce all new understanding down the line.
Catch-22
In the latest issue of Nature there is an article about a class of molecules that seems to extend the lifespan of yeast by down-regulating the p53 gene (a tumor suppressor) and blunting the trigger of apoptosis. (Whoopie for yeast!) It’s action mimics the life extending process that occurs with caloric restriction. The good news is that these chemicals occur in red wine. So instead of starving there’s the prospect that one could live long by enjoying a robust glass of Cabernet or Shiraz.
But there’s a hitch.
IBM sensing the future
I.B.M. Looks to Genetics to Map a New Business
IBM now has 150 PhDs on their life sciences division staff, and they’re not computer jocks. Big Blue jumped into life science about 5 or 6 years ago. They know that life science–from research to medicine to perhaps personal health care–will be one of biggest phenomena and most lucrative markets of the future.
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