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Suicide of Anthrax Suspect Puts Spotlight on Science

September 15th 2008 14:00
In fall of 2001, letters coated with anthrax spores were mailed to two U.S. Senators and others. This killed five people and injured more. Since then, the FBI has been trying to uncover who mailed the letters. On July 29, 2008, their latest suspect, Army researcher Bruce Ivins, died from an overdose of Tylenol. After months of questioning and investigation by the FBI, Ivins, who retained his job, is thought to have committed suicide due to guilt. Several people have claimed his unstable mental state, both recently and in 2001, may be why someone who had worked on an anthrax vaccine to save people for decades suddenly decided to infect and kill people across the U.S.


The real question is “Does the FBI finally have it right?” In 2002, they thought they had a culprit in Steven Hatfill. Hatfill worked with Ivins and was named a “person of interest” by ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft. Hatfill, by the way, just won $5.8 million for the damage sustained to his career by the false association of his name with the Anthrax case.

Currently, the FBI believes Ivins to be the guilty party since the DNA of the anthrax spores sent through the mail match the DNA of the anthrax spores Ivins worked on in his lab. While many believe this to be solid evidence of guilt, it does not seem quite so solid to this writer. Who else had access to this type of anthrax? Could someone have gained access inappropriately? Not only this, but there was a second DNA type (or strain) of anthrax mixed with the one that Ivins worked with. What about that? Finally, even if the anthrax came from Ivins lab, how do you answer the point that Ivins probably could not have made the fine powder that the anthrax spores were mixed with to lace the envelopes? Ivins may have been guilty, but more concrete evidence is needed to prove that.


So what exactly is anthrax and why do people care? Anthrax, like many serious pathogens, can kill someone within a very short time frame and with virtually no warning. When inhaled, anthrax can cause symptoms akin to the common cold such as a sore throat and fever. This is one reason it is so dangerous, people are sick so often with the common cold that they think nothing of being sick. Unfortunately, the symptoms do not simply go away but intensify. In only a few days, anthrax produces “severe breathing problems and shock”, according to the CDC website. Although anthrax is not contagious, there is little way to know if you have it. The CDC does note that victims of anthrax usually do not have the runny nose typically associated with the common cold. The common cold, however, is going to usually be guilty for causing cold-like symptoms, unless you have inhaled strange white powder of an unknown origin which caused you to fall ill.

Scientists have become concerned by these events since they could directly affect their ability to work with such organisms. Also, the possible actions of Ivins, who received awards of thanks for his research, has caused almost everyone to wonder if he is truly guilty, why he would commit such a heinous act and how the government will stop similar problems in the future.

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Actual Functionality for Prosthetic Limbs

September 12th 2008 14:00
Video of Mind-Controlled Arm - Link
According to a November 2007 Popular Mechanics article linked above, DARPA is funding scientists such as Dr. Stuart Harshbarger to develop a human-like mechanical arm. An arm such as this can actually “feel” what it is touching through 80 sensors in the prosthesis’s fingers and palm. The brain can then interpret this to make decisions on the grip strength necessary as well as other complex yet normal adjustments that most people make every day. This mechanical arm and hand also have a full range of movement plus some. Furthermore, this prosthetic, unlike others, is elegantly designed with fingers and grasping abilities that closely mimic a normal hand. This prosthetic is much different than the ones normally used today in that it is a sleek and elegant design and easily a vast improvement over the clumsy designs available today.

Harshbarger, who works at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, is hoping to “hard-wire” the prosthetic into patients by connecting it directly to their nerve fibers. This “mind-controlled” prosthesis would allow patients to simply think of an action and cause their prosthetic to move. Since the device would be wired to their nerves, their brain would send an electrical impulse down the nerve fibers and into the connections of the prosthesis, causing movement. For anyone who uses or knows someone who uses a prosthetic, this would be a major breakthrough in restoring independence and natural ability to those who have lost a limb.

There are approximately 3,000,000 amputees in the U.S. and with an extra 170,000 every year in North America. Of this number, 90% have lost a leg. Other patients are paralyzed from spinal cord injury. This affects 400,000 people in the U.S. alone. Hundreds of thousands of people are estimated to be paralyzed due to traumas and sickness. This affects everything they try to do, from the mundane to the complex. Many of these people are affected so seriously that they have become dependent on others for life-long care.

The demand for an advanced prosthetic would be overwhelming if it were ever to be released for the general public’s use. Unfortunately, the cost of such an elaborately designed prosthetic would probably be difficult to afford if insurance companies declined to pay for them. For the first phase of Harshbarger’s project, DARPA awarded over $30 million. Harshbarger’s lab is certainly not the only one exploring these ideas which means millions of dollars is being invested in finding something both groundbreaking and useful. Hopefully, these mind-controlled devices do not become breakthroughs that are financially unattainable for most people.
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Big Dog is Comin' to Get Ya'!

September 11th 2008 14:00
Boston Dynamics Big Dog Robot In Action - Link
Every day science seems to be racing toward a more complex, more technologically driven future. The current attempts to create a humanoid robot with artificial intelligence capabilities has shown remarkable progress of late. Most people have probably seen Asimov, the walking, psuedo-human robot shown in the car commercials on television. While this is a great advance, Boston Dynamics (BD) has recently contributed something significant as well, if a little different.

As shown on BD's site, linked above, they have created a machine that looks at first glance, to move more like a deer through the forest. This machine moves like a creature that is truly alive and if one didn't know better, it seems to think for itself. It is sturdy, allowing it to withstand a direct kick without falling over, even on ice. It is able to regain its balance, again on ice, by using movements that seem much too real for a mere machine. It can even carry 340 pounds while climbing over tricky piles of simulated rubble. One can't help but imagine a future where an ememy hears nothing and sees nothing until 200 of these machines carrying an automatic weapon comes over the hill allowing soldiers to remain far behind enemy lines and out of harms way. If you really want to amaze yourself, take a look at the other robots BD has engineered.

Funded by DARPA, or the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, this deer-like machine is called "BigDog" and can run at 4 mph and climb a hill of 35 degrees. BigDog is gasoline powered with a built-in computer that controls movements and adjustments. The various sensors and laser gyroscope allow BigDog to walk, avoid pitfalls, decide for itself which path to take (over rubble or around a ditch), and monitors the internal functions. This proves to be one step closer to artificial intelligence and one breakthrough closer to a completely different future for our children.
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Pros and Cons of GM Food

September 10th 2008 17:11
One issue that is hotly debated among scientists and the general public alike is genetically modified (GM) food. For those who are unsure what this is, GM food is considered to be any food product that has had its DNA modified in a lab. This may mean that genes were added by scientists, as in tomatoes which can withstand pesticide treatments that would typically kill them (a.k.a. round-up ready crops). Cotton is another crop that has been modified. It can now produce Bt toxin which kills certain bacterial pathogens. You may have heard of this specifically since there has been concern that the toxin is also killing butterflies that feed on the corn pollen. Modifications to a plant's DNA does not have to be so controversial or public, however. As of 2006, 89% of soybeans, 83% of cotton and 61% of corn in the U.S. was genetically modified in some way. Rice, tomatoes, squash and papaya have also been modified, although few people seem to realize it.

Currently, only 18% of our land mass is cultivated for agriculture. To make matters worse, urban sprawl and development claim 70,000 km2 per year of previously dedicated farmland. Add to this, the global population is expected to reach 9 billion by 2040 and a serious problem arises. How do we propose to continue feeding ourselves in the future when our population is rising and our farmland is shrinking?

One answer, some say, is through GM foods. These are resistant to more diseases, grow in less space, provide greater yield and need fewer pesticide applications. There are other benefits as well since they can be engineered to carry medicines. For example, bananas can now carry a vaccine for Hepatitis D. Simply doing something as simple as eating these bananas can save adults and children from becoming infected by a disease that is both horrible and incurable. Syngenta, a GM company, is now producing rice which contains 23 times more vitamin A than conventional rice. Since vitamin A deficiencies cause 500,000 deaths per year, the medicinal quality to such rice is significant. Foods such as these may be genetically modified, but they are positioned to affect the world’s population in positive and potentially life-saving ways.

Even China seems to be acknowledging the future importance of GM food. Although China has mostly grown GM cotton, they are now considering other important crops such as rice. And, they are putting their money where their mouth is, to the tune of around $267 million each year for the next 13 years. China plans to use this money for research on GM crops as well as education of their populus who may be biased one way or another, toward GM. Considering the recent dwindling rice suply and the uptick in demand, GM rice, which will produce a greater yield with less pesticide is, starting to become a real option for a country with over 1 billion people and shrinking ways to feed them.

GM foods have their own set of problems, however. Only one of these is that farmers who grow conventional (non-GM) crops must vigilantly ensure that GM crops are not growing in their fields. This can be difficult since seed from GM farms can be blown quite a distance and contaminate other fields. Trucks carrying GM seed can also spread GM crops if only a small amount of seed escapes from the truck into fields adjacent to the road. Unfortunately, GM crops are patented due to the fact they are altered in a lab with specific genes. The ramifications of this can be devastating. If GM plants are found in the field of a farmer who has not paid for GM seed, the farmer can be forced by the GM company to destroy their seed reserves to ensure destruction of GM seed that may or may not have accidentally mixed with their conventional seed.

Although there are many issues surrounding the GM pro/con debate, this should give you a peek into what GM food is and why so many people seem to either be staunch advocates or violent opponents of it.
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Earth May Not Need Spaceships to Explore Space

September 9th 2008 14:00
Ever wonder what might happen to your descendents 7.6 billion years in the future? Scientists have, and they have come to up with two different ideas. First, in 7.6 billion years, things in our part of the solar system will be very different. Although the sun and earth maintain a healthy relationship now, in the future that is expected to change dramatically. The sun, after all, is really just a star and as such, it is expanding in size. This is happening slowly, but it is happening. Eventually, the sun will become a red giant. That means the sun we know today will grow so large that it will consume Mercury, Venus, Earth and 20% beyond Earth’s current orbit in its flames. This increased size means also that the sun will glow 3,000 brighter. This could prove to be catastrophic for Earth since it will be destroyed in the heat and fire of the new red giant version of our sun.

This may not be exactly what happens, though. Some scientists hypothesize that the earth may actually get pushed outward from its current orbit and away from the sun, allowing it to escape destruction by fire. The idea is that as the sun transforms into a red giant, its gravitational pull on the Earth will lessen, allowing the Earth to change its orbit and drift further from the sun. Other factors are more difficult to predict. For example, what effect will the other planets have on the Earth’s orbit? If one dismisses the relatively small effects of the other planets, the Earth’s orbit is calculated to move three millimeters each year. Dr. Lorenzo Iorio at Italy’s National Institute of Nuclear Physics calculated this change in Earth’s movement, however, believes that this small movement will not be enough to escape the sudden expansion of the sun when it reaches the red giant stage. Unfortunately, even if the Earth does escape, the sun will collapse into a white dwarf after its expansion to a red giant. This will leave the Earth without the sun’s life-sustaining rays, presumably to leave people to starve and freeze to death slowly. Either way, our future on Earth isn’t looking too bright.

Source: Scientific American, Sept 2008
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Anesthetics and Post-Op Pain

September 8th 2008 14:45
Scientists have recently found a downside to some of the anesthetics used to put people to sleep for surgery. Apparently, not only do they allow patients to sleep through a surgery, but they cause patients to wake up in more pain. According to researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center, the reason this occurs is because the anesthetics react with certain nerve cell proteins called TRPA1. Proteins are the molecules eventually made from our genes (DNA). These proteins go on to do many things – they provide the basis for our cell walls, hair, skin, nails and almost everything else. The proteins on nerve cells, however, when combined with the effects of the anesthetics, increase the pain signal sent from the nerve cell to the brain. Like everything else, different patients respond differently to this, some feeling more pain than others, even though they may have had the same surgery and the same anesthetic. Luckily, now that scientists and doctors are aware of this phenomenon, they can either avoid the anesthetics that interact with these nerve cell proteins, or they can develop new drugs that can accomplish the same goal without the painful side-effects.

Sources: Sept 2008 Scientific American, June 24 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
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Tobacco Seen In a New Light

September 4th 2008 15:36

For years it has been known that tobacco causes cancer and it has been derided as one of the worst things you can do to your body. It is especially regrettable since all the problems tobacco causes are preventable. In the August 22 issue of Science, Dr. McCormick and colleagues have found a way to use tobacco plants to create vaccines against lymphoma that are directed specifically toward each patient.

By using a biopsy sampled from a tumor or lymph node, scientists can put a small piece of the tumor's DNA inside a virus, such as a tobacco virus. When this virus is then put into it's tobacco host, it starts to replicate, generating proteins from the patient's DNA along with the other viral proteins. The patient proteins can then be used as a patient-specific vaccine to jump-start the patient's immune system. The immune system can then directly attack the cancer cells. An added benefit is that the immune system does not attack normal cells, instead they head straight for the cancer cells to destroy them.

Although this type of technology has been used a bit in the past, only small companies did a lot of work with plant-based vaccines. McCormick's work, however, proved that 70% of the patients given the vaccine responded to it and that the vaccine could be ready for the patient in as little as 12 weeks. This is faster than the previous method of creating human vaccines via plants which was slow, complicated and usually took so long the patient had already begun chemotherapy treatements by the time the vaccine was ready.

Bayer AG, a well-known pharmaceutical company, has become interested in this new way of creating human vaccines and is set to open a facility which will use tobacco plants on a large scale for patient-specific lymphoma vaccines. Although it may be years before this type of technology becomes common and wide-spread, it will certainly change how we view cancer and the patient's options.
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Changes to the Site

September 4th 2008 14:21
Hello all!

I've made a few color changes to the site. I hope you like.

I plan to start posting on a regular basis so stop back by to read about some interesting developments in science - much like what you've already seen!

Hope you enjoy the small changes and the upcoming postings!
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FOXO Transcription Factors

February 19th 2007 23:23
Biology Lab
Current Biology has a quick guide to FOXO transcription factors. FOXO regulates longevity and tumor suppression. Scientists are able to manipulate the longevity gene in invertebrates, but mammals have proven more difficult to understand.

Source: Current Biology, Vol 17, R113-R114, 20 February 2007

FOXO Transcription Factors by Matthew E. Carter and Anne Brunet
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The Basics of Biofuels

February 19th 2007 22:40
Chris Somerville has written a primer on biofuels and published it in the current issue of Current Biology. The primer discusses how energy is measured and how to compare various sources of fuel. It then goes on to talk about corn and cane ethanol, biodiesel, cellulosic ethanol, some future possibilities for biofuels, and an alternative idea to biofuels.

It's an interesting read and all scientific terms are defined in the article.

Source: Current Biology, Vol 17, R115-R119, 20 February 2007
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