Bioscience

The first study of Ewing’s sarcoma that screened hundreds of genes based on how they affect cell growth has identified two potential anti-cancer drug targets, according to a scientific paper by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) published this month in the journal Molecular Cancer.

Ewing’s sarcomas are rare, but aggressive cancer lesions that occur most frequently in the bones of teenagers. They represent nearly 3 percent of all childhood cancers. Patients are treated with a combination of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. This cancer can reoccur after surgical removal, and often spreads to the lungs, other bones and bone marrow. Once it spreads, or metastasizes, only 1 in 5 patients survive more than 5 years.

These lesions harbor unique chromosomal abnormalities that give rise to fusion genes that act as cancer-inducing proteins, or oncoproteins.

Bioscience

From processing forensic evidence to exploring brain function, to studying GPS mapping, teachers will participate in a wide variety of hands-on workshops at the 4th Annual Arizona K-12 Science Teacher Symposium Saturday, September 25, 2010 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is presented by The University of Arizona’s BIO5 Institute, and takes place on the UA campus in the Thomas W. Keating Bioresearch Building, 1657 E. Helen St.

Early registration is $25 and includes breakfast, lunch, and a resource CD. After September 8, registration is $40. Registration is payable by check, money order, or school/district purchase order.

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Bioscience

The night before his fourth birthday, Rohan Giare of Rockville rolled off his bed and gashed the bridge of his nose. Rohan's dad, not knowing whether he should focus on getting the bleeding to stop or go immediately to the emergency room, snapped pictures of the cut with his BlackBerry and sent them to his doctor friend, Neal Sikka.

"I just gave [Sikka] a ring," Vishal Giare said, "and got initial input on how serious it might be."

Sikka, an emergency physician at George Washington University, looked at the photos and recommended a trip to the hospital.

Bioscience

A couple of years ago, Emily Cory had an epiphany. She worked with raptors and owls at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. But she was fascinated by the one common raven there.

"She'd play horrible tricks on the volunteers, she'd get in so much trouble. She never forgot a thing, never missed a thing [and] that really got my attention," Cory says.

Cory began to realize just how smart this raven seemed to be. At the same time, she thought about her childhood in Sedona, where she used to watch helicopters from her house searching for lost hikers.

"I started thinking, 'Well how come nobody's put these two together?' Because clearly birds are easy to train — falconers have been training them for thousands of years. And ravens are super intelligent," she says.
 

Bioscience

A new study from North Carolina State University shows that genetics play a key factor in whether someone is willing to take a survey.

"We wanted to know whether people are genetically predisposed to ignore requests for survey participation," says Dr. Lori Foster Thompson, an associate professor of psychology at NC State and lead author of a paper describing the research. "We found that there is a pretty strong genetic predisposition to not reply to surveys."

Bioscience

What if you could stop cancer without irradiating or poisoning surrounding tissue?

A University of Arizona researcher has patented a nontoxic molecular therapy that stopped tumor growth and metastasis in lab and animal trials without affecting other cells.

Armed with a "first-in-class" patent awarded this month, Joyce Schroeder is now looking for grants to begin clinical trials on humans. The proof is years away, but Schroeder says she is certain that her new cancer drug will work on a particularly dangerous form of breast cancer.
 

Bioscience

Amanda Urbina started her junior year last week, but she already finds herself at the forefront of biomedical science – not as part of a required class, but participating in an actual research project.

"My research focuses on regenerating cartilage damaged by injuries that lead to osteoarthritis," said Urbina, who since her freshman year has worked in the laboratory of John A. Szivek, director of orthopedic research at the Arizona Arthritis Center in the University of Arizona's College of Medicine.

"I work with adult stem cells derived from the fat tissue of patients, which can be transformed into cartilage cells and placed back into a patient's joint," Urbina said.

Participating in research offers many benefits, said Glenda Gentile, who heads the Office of Undergraduate Research, housed in the UA's College of Science.

Bioscience

Arizonans have cleaned algae from cattle tanks, swimming pools and fish tanks for decades.

Now, Arizona researchers are developing algae as a promising 21st-century alternative fuel to power cars, trucks and planes and propel the state's economy into the future.

With its ideal climate and abundance of available land, Arizona is poised to become a major center of a multibillion-dollar, algae-based, biofuel industry.

Scientists at Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus say major innovations in research in recent years have put them on the brink of boosting production capabilities from thousands of gallons to millions - the difference between powering a few vehicles and fueling millions of cars and fleets of airliners.

Bioscience

I can’t tell you how inspired and full of hope I was after reading our “Health Care Heroes” supplement last week.

For nine years now, we’ve been telling you the stories of the special people who make up our health care community. Some you know or have heard of: doctors or researchers on the leading edge of new treatments or cures for the diseases that afflict so many.

Others are behind the scenes: volunteers who give people a caring hand when they need it most, or doctors who treat people who can’t afford it. All heroes, and all great sources of inspiration.

Bioscience

The Steele Children's Research Center at the University of Arizona College of Medicine has received a $1 million, four-year continuation grant from the National Institutes of Health to advance its research into the efficacy of curcumin in the treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, or IBD.

IBD refers to two inflammatory diseases: Crohn's Disease, which affects the entire gastrointestinal tract, and ulcerative colitis, which affects the colon. Both cause severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fatigue and weight loss.

Curcumin is the biologically active ingredient in turmeric – the key ingredient in curry – which has been used in India for thousands of years to treat colds, inflammation, arthritis and many other ailments.