Sunday's post is a day late, thanks to a severe case of the homeworks. Actually, Tuesday's might not come at all due to the same extensive case, which will be culminating in four simultaneous tests. :( I'll be twittering my butt off now, though, since I have *gasp* my computer back!!
Today, I have a hefty dose of Vitamin Soft-Sciences. And I'm going to spew it all over your computer screens.
Enough of that.
First up today is a study utilizing electrodes to treat otherwise unresponsive OCD, or obsessive compulsive disorder. The study, published in the October Archives of General Psychiatry, implanted electrodes in the nucleus accumbens portion of the brain (which plays a role in rewards) in 16 patients whose OCD was unaffected by other treatments. Then the study took place in three parts. First, active stimulation (whatever that implies) was given over an eight month period to all participants, during which they were assessed for symptoms every two weeks using a 40 point scale. Then comes the double-blind portion, in which for one month the patients were randomly assigned treatment or having the electrodes turned off for two weeks at a time. Much assessing took place. Finally, a year of stimulation again with 3-month assessments. So...did it work? Kinda! Nine patients responded appreciably and decreases in symptoms were pretty evident (check out the link at bottom for details). Side effects were forgetfulness and...uh...what's the term for...er...oh, right, word-finding problems.
While we have brains on the brain, there are also new and exciting findings concerning the breath-holding symptoms of Rett Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder affecting 1 in 10,000 girls. Breathing problems is just one of the symptoms, and can be lethal (not to mention terrifying). Researchers found that in a mouse model with Rett Syndrome, the portion of the brain that controls breathing was actually low on a transmitter, aminobutyric acid. So, by supplementing the aminobutyric acid and also stimulating a certain type of receptor, they successfully stopped the mouse's breathing problems, all using drugs already approved by the FDA. Hopefully this approach will be made available quickly to help those who need it!
Last for today, because I've got quite a bit of studying to get to, new information has been found regarding terminal cancers and how to stop them in their latest stages. Before, there didn't seem to be much you could do once the cancer had "spread." Now, however, research is starting to show how those cancers spread and ways to target that method - specifically, something called platelet endothelial cell adhesion 1...or PECAM-1. By creating an antibody, the anti-PECAM-1 antibody, a new approach becomes available for combatting several types of terminal cancers. Details are in the link at the bottom of this post, but beware, it's a little full of itself. :p
See you later!
-Miss Mouse
References and Links:
Shockingly OCD
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/569171/
Okay, you can breathe now
http://www.physorg.com/news205425548.html
It's not over til it's over (Cancer, I mean)
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/568884/
Monday, October 4, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
30 September 2010 - Bashful Apologizing, Nifty Site, New Planet, and Teeth.
I am super bad at the blogging right now, I'm so sorry. I keep getting ready to write, pulling up Twitter to view all the delicious Science of the day, and realizing that I can't access my feed on this computer (at least not politely). My own lappy, she is le broken.
When she is le fixed, I will be much more psyched about writing 24-7. In the meantime...call me majorly unreliable. I'm writing a book, though... does that count? :p
I CAN however, peruse the awesomely awesome major Sci news sites and pick out a few intermesting headliners for ya. Here ye be:
First is not news at all, but this really cool site I found while trying to figure out what the disappearing "star" in the sky was. By entering your coordinates in this site, you can find all kinds of nifty things going on when you look up (provided it isn't terribly cloudy).
Also on the topic of the world beyond our atmosphere, I'm really, really excited about this: a potentially habitable planet has been located circling the red dwarf Gliese 581 in the Libra constellation, 20 light years away. Actually, two new planets were found, but one in particular seems to be in the ideal position to sustain life. It's approximately 3 or 4 times as massive as Earth, orbits the star in about 37 days, and one side is perpetually facing the star (resulting in a wide range of more or less steady temperatures). It's called Gliese 581g, and before we found it (and another, which is apparently a less exciting planet) there were two others, c and d, that were on opposite sides of the habitable zone. One was too hot, one was too cold, and now we have baby bear's planet. One thing I'm not sure I agree with is the claim that the swiftness with which it was detected insinuates a higher rate of occurrence of nearby habitable planets, but I suppose I'm not very good with statistics. One way or another, isn't that neat?
Next, research at the University of Illinois has proven it possible to reattach teeth by buttering them with stem cells. Okay, it isn't quite that simple. Their experiment took stem cells from the mouths of mice, marked and grew them, applied them to rat molars, and attached those where they ought to go. While not the most delightful thing to think about, the results showed the stem cell treated teeth successfully integrated back into the mouth, whereas non-treated teeth had no such luck. The hope is to use the method to battle tooth loss from injuries, dental problems, or even replace missing teeth with false ones in a more true manner.
Mmkay, that's it for tonight. I've got work to do. :) See you soon!
-Miss Mouse
References and Links:
Leave stem cells under your pillow
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100929123630.htm
Baby Bear's Planet G
http://www.physorg.com/news204999128.html
When she is le fixed, I will be much more psyched about writing 24-7. In the meantime...call me majorly unreliable. I'm writing a book, though... does that count? :p
I CAN however, peruse the awesomely awesome major Sci news sites and pick out a few intermesting headliners for ya. Here ye be:
First is not news at all, but this really cool site I found while trying to figure out what the disappearing "star" in the sky was. By entering your coordinates in this site, you can find all kinds of nifty things going on when you look up (provided it isn't terribly cloudy).
Also on the topic of the world beyond our atmosphere, I'm really, really excited about this: a potentially habitable planet has been located circling the red dwarf Gliese 581 in the Libra constellation, 20 light years away. Actually, two new planets were found, but one in particular seems to be in the ideal position to sustain life. It's approximately 3 or 4 times as massive as Earth, orbits the star in about 37 days, and one side is perpetually facing the star (resulting in a wide range of more or less steady temperatures). It's called Gliese 581g, and before we found it (and another, which is apparently a less exciting planet) there were two others, c and d, that were on opposite sides of the habitable zone. One was too hot, one was too cold, and now we have baby bear's planet. One thing I'm not sure I agree with is the claim that the swiftness with which it was detected insinuates a higher rate of occurrence of nearby habitable planets, but I suppose I'm not very good with statistics. One way or another, isn't that neat?
Next, research at the University of Illinois has proven it possible to reattach teeth by buttering them with stem cells. Okay, it isn't quite that simple. Their experiment took stem cells from the mouths of mice, marked and grew them, applied them to rat molars, and attached those where they ought to go. While not the most delightful thing to think about, the results showed the stem cell treated teeth successfully integrated back into the mouth, whereas non-treated teeth had no such luck. The hope is to use the method to battle tooth loss from injuries, dental problems, or even replace missing teeth with false ones in a more true manner.
Mmkay, that's it for tonight. I've got work to do. :) See you soon!
-Miss Mouse
References and Links:
Leave stem cells under your pillow
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100929123630.htm
Baby Bear's Planet G
http://www.physorg.com/news204999128.html
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Hey!
It's definitely been a long time, huh? I was going crazy, I couldn't help it anymore, I had to get back to Science...so here I am!
To start us off tonight, Scientists from a group called NORDynamIC (wow.) have published a paper regarding depression and its effect on treatment for Hepatitis C (and vice versa). The combination of treatments used for chronic HCV can sometimes result in major depression, which was tested via Major Depression Inventory tests, or MDIs. Results showed that of 306 previously non-depressed HCV patients (determined with MDIs), 114 developed major depression over the course of treatment. This would sometimes result in early termination of treatment and lead to lower success rates. Also noted in the study was that a mere 1/3 of those depressed patients were correctly diagnosed for the depression in routine examinations. No fun! A separate U.S. study highlighted lower productivity and higher health benefit costs in chronic HCV-affected employees, as well. To read more, check out the link at the bottom of the post.
Next, in case you haven't heard, a new topical gel has been presented as a preventative for HIV infection in women whose partners do not use protection. The vaginal gel, called tenofovir, comes with a 39% lower chance of infection, and it turns out it also protects against herpesvirus (HSV-2) by 51%! Apparently, HSV-2 infection can increase the chances of contracting HIV, so they're pretty impressive results! I'm not sure I'd rely on those numbers if I didn't have to, but it's absolutely a step in the right direction!
Last for today, a new study of Down's Syndrome mice has taken our knowledge of the matter a step further. According to the article, when an embryonic brain is developing it requires a certain balance of excitatory and inhibitory neurons. When there are more of chromosome 21's genes Olig1 and Olig2 in Down's Syndrome mice, significantly more inhibitory neurons are produced, throwing the brain's development out of balance. When the two genes were genetically engineered to appear only in their normal quantities...voila! Normal balance! Very cool. Since people have the same two genes, this study will likely have a very large impact on the understanding and future treatment of Down's Syndrome.
Hopefully I'll see you here again on Thursday and be back in the normal swing of things! :)
-Miss Mouse
Hopefully I'll see you here again on Thursday and be back in the normal swing of things! :)
-Miss Mouse
References and Links:
Sad Hepatitis C Patients
HIV and Herpes Goo
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