News in a nutshell

This week's news includes the new use for naturally produced exosomes in drug delivery, a look at the current state of science in Japan, a novel early-stage marker for lung cancer, a new proposed ban for GE alfalfa, vibrations that lessen pain, and the discovery of a giant, hop-less rabbit.

Exosome-driven drug delivery
Vesicles secreted by the body's own cells could be used to effectively transport drugs to hard-to-reach places, such as the brain. In a study from Nature Biotechnology, researchers were able to harvest exosomes (vesicles secreted by a variety of cells to transport proteins in and out of cells) from mice, target them to brain cells by fusing proteins that bind to brain-cell receptors, and pack them with small interfering RNA molecules to silence BACE1, which plays a role in the formation of the myelin sheaths that are hallmarks of Alzheimer's diease. This proof-of-concept study suggests that exosomes may be useful in treating diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and muscular dystrophy, and according to BBC News, the researchers expect to begin trials in human patients within five years.

Japan's earthquake affects local science

Graduate School of Science building at Tohoku University Wikipedia, Los688

Although there have been no reported casualties at universities and research centers, there's a long road ahead for the recovery of science in Japan, Nature News reports. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake that shook the Northeastern coast of Japan earlier this month left some campuses and research facilities flooded and without power, with some buildings too dangerous for inspecting teams to enter. Tohoku University, located in the city of Sendai not far from the quake's epicenter, was particularly hard hit. Tens of millions of US-dollars-worth of instruments were damaged, including some the world's best electron microscopes. And with looming threat of nuclear radiation leaking from the Fukushima Daiichi plant, the damage is sure to linger, as some scientists, mainly non-Japanese researchers and students, are fleeing the country.

New marker for lung cancer
Counting lung cancer cells in the blood both before and after chemotherapy may provide a good measure of how well the cancer responds to treatment, and more importantly, the likelihood of it returning, a new study from the Journal of Clinical Oncology found. Patients with higher numbers of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) had cancers that were more aggressive than patients with fewer CTCs, as well as lower survival rates. These circulating tumor cells provide a novel biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which could allow doctors to diagnosis the disease earlier and improve patient outcomes.

More trouble for GE alfalfa

Medicago sativa (alfalfa), Wikipedia/Fir0002

Last week, a California-based environmental law group filed a lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for its recent decision in deregulating alfalfa genetically engineered (GE) to be resistant against Monsanto's weed killer, Roundup. It's the second lawsuit filed by The Center for Food Safety (CFS) -- the first of which prompted a federal court to ban the GE crop in 2007. But the USDA lifted the ban this past January, arguing that Roundup Ready alfalfa did not present a greater plant pest risk than other alfalfa varieties. Fortunately, there is new hope for sustainable farming in the form of novel technologies that aim to sidestep the ongoing debate over GE crops.

Good vibrations fight pain
Painless stimuli such as vibrations may be a welcome relief for patients suffering from chronic pain: According to a new study from the European Journal of Pain, a high-frequency vibration applied to the skin is capable of reducing pain by more than 40 percent. The authors suggest that the stimulus may be acting as more than just a distraction from the pain, it may be interfering with pain signals flowing to the central nervous system.

Giant, ancient rabbit found
The skeletal remains of a 26-pound rabbit was found on an island off the coast of Spain. Dubbed the Minorcan King of the Rabbits, this ancient rabbit lived approximately three to five million years ago and now adds evidence to a curious rule concerning the evolution of animals in islands. The so-called "island rule" states that big animals will get smaller and small animals (such as rabbits) will get bigger when the population is isolated on an island, perhaps due to the lack of mainland predators. In this case, the King is a whopping six-times larger than living European rabbits, but due to a rigid spine and short legs, it was also unable to hop.


Related stories:

Fallout at Fukushima
[22nd March 2011]

Alternative Agriculture
[1st February 2011]