The icky stuff you see floating on the top of stagnant water may become the latest weapon in spotting cancer cells circulating in a bloodstream.  That’s the bottom line from renowned scientist, Yoshinobu Baba, Ph.D. , and his research with the pond-scum microbe called Euglena.

According to an article from the American Chemical Society, “Baba’s team turned to Euglena in an effort to solve the medical problem of detecting the minute number of cancer cells that break off from the original, or primary, tumor site and travel through the bloodstream. Those cells, termed circulating tumor cells (CTCs), enable cancer to spread, or metastasize, and start growing at distant sites in the body. Metastasis is the main reason why cancer can be such a difficult disease to treat. Detecting those cells would raise a red flag so that doctors could treat or more intensively monitor patients.”

Baba’s novel technique uses Euglena to help detect those minute cancer cells.  It’s an ingenious combination of scientific brilliance and Mother Nature.

For the complete article, with the scientific premise behind the technique, visit the American Chemical Society’s Web site at this link:  http://bit.ly/GRiV8R

Image courtesy of Yoshinobu Baba

(The Guardian / UK)  “Taking a low dose [75-milligram] of aspirin each day may prevent cancer and stop it spreading, according to three papers to be published in leading medical journals on Wednesday. It could also possibly have a use as a treatment for the disease.

“Dr Peter Rothwell from Oxford University and the John Radcliffe hospital and colleagues, the authors of the studies in the Lancet and Lancet Oncology have previously shown that long-term daily aspirin, for 10 years or so, reduces the risk of colorectal (bowel) cancer and other common cancers, but some experts have voiced concerns over potential long-term side-effects, because aspirin can cause stomach bleeding.

“The new studies reinforce aspirin’s claim to be a weapon against cancer. They show that taking daily low-dose pills for just three years can reduce your risk of cancer by about a quarter — 23% for men and 25% for women. The risk of dying of cancer is cut by 15% — and by 37% for those who take aspirin for longer than five years.

“The second study found that aspirin helped prevent the spread of cancer — or metastasis — to other organs, which is a serious threat to the patient’s survival. Aspirin reduced the proportion of cancers that spread instead of staying localised by 48%.

“The drug also reduced the risk of being diagnosed with a solid cancer that had already spread by 31%. For patients initially diagnosed with a local cancer, the risk of later metastasis was reduced by 55%.”

For the complete article, visit http://bit.ly/GDovty

Image courtesy of Scot Frei / Corbis

ABC News / Australian 9NEWS:   “A U.S. transgender woman has been charged with practising cosmetic surgery without a licence after she injected a patient’s buttocks with a cocktail of substances including cement and [tire] sealant, police say.

“Oneal Ron Morris, 30, was arrested last Friday for conducting a botched butt implant at a Miami home last May, ABC reports.  Police said Morris shot a mixture of cement, glue, mineral oil and ‘Fix-A-Flat’ [tire] mender into the woman’s buttocks and then sealed the amateur incision with super glue.

“Morris, who appears to have an ‘enhanced’ rear end herself from police photos, first met her victim to discuss the procedure in May 2010.  ‘They agreed on the price of $700 for the procedure, which was intended for cosmetic purposes,’ Sgt William Bamford told ABC.  But the patient soon complained of serious pains in her abdomen and throughout her body, and was hospitalized.”

For the complete head-shaking story, visit http://bit.ly/rwQ7if

Police photo of Oneal Ron Morris courtesy of ABC News / Australian 9NEWS

Just when you thought scientific research couldn’t get any more bizarre, here’s a new benchmark:  Researchers at the University College London have apparently discovered a link between the number of Facebook friends and the size particular of brain regions, such as the amygdala, where memory and emotion are processed.

The researchers do not suggest whether they believe it was Facebook activity that increased the size of these portions of the brain — or — if someone’s amygdala size, for instance, influences a person’s desire to acquire Facebook friends.

If you’d like to know more about this unusual study, check out the Reuter’s report here:  http://reut.rs/rm6Apb.  And, yes, feel free to share the details with your friends on Facebook.

Image courtesy of Reuters

According to the Associated Press, “IBM’s supercomputer system, best known for trouncing the world’s best ‘Jeopardy!’ players on TV, is being tapped by one of the nation’s largest health insurers to help diagnose medical problems and authorize treatments.  WellPoint Inc., which has 34.2 million members, will integrate Watson’s lightning speed and deep health care database into its existing patient information, helping it choose among treatment options and medicines.”

I have mixed feelings about this development.  We all remember how the HAL 9000 turned against the astronauts in 2001: A Space Odyssey.  Sure, that was science fiction.  But so were artificial satellites when they were envisioned a decade before Sputnik by the master science-fiction writers Arthur C. Clarke and Robert Heinlein.  Computers are marvelous tools.  But good ol’ fashion intuition, by a seasoned physician, is (with current technology) impossible to replicate.

For the full AP article, visit http://bit.ly/n621oi

Photo courtesy AP and IBM

According to a news report from the BBC, the world’s smallest electric motor “could have applications in both nanotechnology and in medicine….

“The butyl methyl sulphide molecule was placed on a clean copper surface, where its single sulfur atom acted as a pivot….  As well as forming a part of the tiniest machines the world has ever seen, such minute mechanics could be useful in medicine — for example, in the controlled delivery of drugs to targeted locations.

“The next thing to do is to…couple it to other molecules, lining them up next to one another so they’re like miniature cog-wheels.”

To read the complete BBC report, visit http://bbc.in/qZKTg4

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new drug — Zalboraf — that has shown effectiveness in treating a challenging, and in some cases fatal, form of skin cancer.  This is the second melanoma treatment to be approved this year; in March, the FDA approved the drug Yervoy.  For more information, review the article at http://bit.ly/pxhyhW

As reported in the European Respiratory Journal, dogs can be trained to sniff the breath of patients and confirm cases of lung cancer.

The four dogs in the study were two German shepherds, a Labrador retriever, and an Australian shepherd.  The dogs’ overall accuracy was 71%.

For additional details, take a look at the following excellent report in today’s Daily Mail: http://bit.ly/q0ChrB

The Los Angeles Times reports that MIT scientists have created a drug that “…takes advantage of a molecule called double-stranded RNA, which is produced by many, many viruses when they infect mammalian cells. Uninfected, our cells usually don’t make this double-stranded RNA, and to some extent our cells have evolved to recognize this structure and respond. Just not potently enough. The drug created by the MIT team can enter mammalian cells and is engineered to induce the cells to commit suicide if — and only if — they contain double-stranded RNA.”

The scientists’ preliminary studies were effective against 15 virus types, including Dengue fever and H1N1.  It will be interesting to see if the next phase of research can replicate this significant level of success.

For the full LA Times article, visit http://lat.ms/q077Jb

“Scientists for the first time have used gene therapy to successfully destroy cancer tumors in patients with advanced disease — a goal that has taken 20 years to achieve.  Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania engineered patients’ own pathogen-fighting T-cells to target a molecule found on the surface of leukemia cells.  The results provide ‘a tumor-attack roadmap for the treatment of other cancers,’ including those of the lung and ovaries as well as myeloma and melanoma, researchers said.”

For the complete article, visit http://reut.rs/p3tGN9

Photo courtesy of Reuters

One of my readers asked me to research something he spotted a couple of years ago: a mouse suspended in mid air without any perceivable support mechanisms.

Yes, it did occur. It was a rather unique NASA experiment. The trick? Scientists used a superconducting magnet to levitate the water inside of a mouse. Here’s an article from LiveScience: http://bit.ly/kb330d

If NASA could develop the system on a larger scale, it’s possible that the same technique could be used with humans to simulate the effects of microgravity. (We’re 60 – 70% water, so the technique should, in theory, work.)

If that fizzles for NASA, fear not: Perhaps the gadget could become part of the next Cirque du Soleil show in Vegas.

A recent study of 700 lunches packed for children attending daycare found that nearly all of the lunches were at an unsafe-to-eat temperature by lunchtime.

It was common for the researchers to find milk, fruit, and meats above 40 degrees F.  It was also common for hot items, such as soups, to have cooled to the point that could foster bacteria growth.  It only takes an hour or two for bacteria levels to rise enough to make a child sick.

According to the CNN article that discussed the research, “If your child complains of a stomach ache or is vomiting or has diarrhea, it’s not necessarily a bug caught from another child.”

There are easy steps to help your children’s food stay at the proper temperature.  Many of these steps are outlined in the following CNN article  http://bit.ly/qmloax

A couple of weeks ago I described how living organs for transplant procedures are being created with stem cells.  Well, the breakthroughs on the bioengineering front continue to happen fast and furious.

Just recently, researches have successfully “printed” a living blood vessel using a fluid containing a brew of blood-vessel cells and muscle cells.  This is an ingenious application of 3D printers — remarkable devices that can create three-dimensional objects by applying multiple layers of a liquid construction material.  (For more info, visit this Wiki article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing.)

Printed blood vessels could have tremendous applications in surgery.  For instance, a patient awaiting bypass surgery could have blood vessels printed in the days leading up to the procedure — with the vessels made from a small sampling of his or her own cells.  The ultimate vision is to print complete organs — even new hearts — as an alternative to transplants.

Given the pace of this technology’s development, I believe were only talking a handful of years before we see it saving lives in major hospitals.  Very exciting.

Numerous reports came out today citing the National Institute of Health and its thought that a “universal” flu shot is not to far off.  The intent is to create a single shot for all strains of flu, and potentially eliminating the need for annual flu shots.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/nYgYhb.

Photo courtesy International Business Times

Many patients don’t survive the waiting list for a donor organ.  I know, first hand, as I lost a long-time friend while he was waiting for a compatible donor heart.

This logjam is beginning to open with the medical community’s announcement that a patient received a trachea (“windpipe”) that was created with the patient’s own stem cells.  (Stem cells are a versatile type of cell that can transform into many types of cells. http://1.usa.gov/ubcAp)

The trachea was constructed with an artificial “skeleton” of a spongy material which was then immersed in a solution of stem cells.  The cells grew into the sponge material, creating a living organ in less than two weeks.  The resulting trachea was then implanted into the patient (who was suffering from tracheal cancer).  The patient’s body accepted new-formed organ as if it was the original trachea.

In theory, the same process could be used to create other, more complex organs:  liver, pancreas, heart, etc.  We’re still quite a ways from this level of organ development.  But the medical door is now open a crack.  Further progress is just a matter of time.

For more information and additional photos, take a look at a recent article at CNN http://bit.ly/qAibNI.

Image courtesy Harvard Bioscience

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have announced $41.5 million in grant money for the re-invention of the toilet — the porcelain appliance that’s been a staple of homes and living quarters since the 1700s.  The Foundation stated that current toilet technology is too costly for families in third-world communities, and requires water and sewer connections that many developing societies do not have.  So they’re reaching out to inventors and creative thinkers, everywhere, for a new solution.

If you have some clever ideas swirling in your head, take a look at the  “Reinvent the Toilet Challenge” information PDF at http://bit.ly/p4qVZs

You can also read a great overview article at http://bit.ly/ottbCy

Image courtesy of CNN

The pace of research and discoveries in the field of medicine, in cancer research particularly, is nothing less than stunning.  Some of the greatest strides are in the field of “personalized medicine,” where diseases are treated at the genetic level — with treatments optimized for each individual patient.

Scientists have discovered that any particular type of cancer is actually a defined group of related cancers.  For instance, prostate cancer is actually comprised of a family of 24 cancers.  And there are eight primary variants of breast cancer.  Knowing the specific cancer variant, in any particular patient, gives doctors an inside track to targeting the cancer with the optimum treatment.

But that’s just the first step.  The most-recent breakthroughs are in the knowledge of each individual’s genetic code.

Just a few years ago, it would have cost millions of dollars to map the entire genome (genetic blueprint) of a single person.  But that price tag has plummeted to $5,000 — thanks to innovative technology companies like Complete Genomics.

Combining precise knowledge of a person’s genome with specific knowledge of a cancer variant is a powerful one-two punch.  It has the real potential to enable ultra-tailored, ultra-effective cancer treatments.  We’re not there yet.  But the convergence of technologies is happening right before our eyes.  Stay tuned.

For additional reference, visit these links:

Wiki genome information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genome

Genomics and the treatment of prostate cancer:  http://bit.ly/lRLPtI

Interesting article on Complete Genomics:  http://bit.ly/k8ZW4K

Graphic courtesy of MIT / Technology Review

We’ve all heard the pre-flight airplane safety briefing that says, “In case of cabin decompression, oxygen masks will drop from the ceiling. Pull a mask towards you and place it firmly over your mouth and nose, and breathe normally.  Please note that the bag may not inflate.”

I was flying to Chicago the other on business.  Curiosity finally got the best of me and I asked a flight attendant “Why don’t those little bags inflate?”  He didn’t know.  He asked the other flight attendants.  They didn’t know either.

Since my last flight, I did a bit of searching online.  It turns out that even some pilots in discussion forums were unsure.  But I finally pieced together the answer:  With every inhale, we breathe in quite a volume of air — about half a liter per inhale.   However, the oxygen-delivery system in an airplane can’t deliver that large volume as quickly as we consume it.  So the little bags mix our exhaled air (which still contains a substantial amount of oxygen) with the relative trickle of pure oxygen that’s coming into the bag from the airplane’s supply tube.  When we breathe in, the bag quickly compresses as we inhale all of the air in the little bag plus whatever oxygen has trickled in from the oxygen tube.

So the bag is really just a mixing device, combining the exhaled air from our lungs with that of the supplemental oxygen.  But because our inhales are so large (compared to the size of the bag), the bag will not inflate.

Mystery solved.

And regarding the “breathe normally” part of the safety briefing?  Yeah, right.  Under those circumstances, I think most of us would be sucking in air as fast as our lungs would work.

Image courtesy of London Heathrow Airport.

As reported in PhysOrg.com, researchers at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine in Massachusetts have succeeded in creating a “living laser” out of human cells.

According to the report, “It sounds like something out of a comic book or a science fiction movie — a living laser — but that is exactly what two investigators [at the Center] have developed.”

The researchers used a human cell and genetically re-engineered it to emit light using the same principle in which some types of jellyfish emit light.

Scientists hope that these biological lasers could someday be used in “photodynamic therapies.”  That is, treating diseases such as cancer by applying light — from inside the body — to activate photosensitive drugs to destroy cancer cells.

To read the complete PhysOrg.com article, visit http://bit.ly/mRzGqR

CNN recently published a list of the cell phone models that emit the highest and lowest levels of radiation.  In the same article, they provided a handy link to a searchable database of all models.  With current concerns over cell phone radiation and health, it can’t hurt to know about relative radiation exposure levels prior to making a purchase or considering an upgrade.

The following is a link to the full CNN article with the list of highest and lowest radiation emitters:  http://bit.ly/iTpgj6

And here’s a link to the searchable database of all cell phones:  http://bit.ly/kz9GJ9

Photo courtesy of CNN

(Reuters) Since there is often a lag of many years between when people start smoking and when it affects health, the epidemic of tobacco-related disease and death has just begun, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.  By 2030, the annual death toll could reach 8 million

Tobacco kills up to half its users and is described by the WHO as “one of the biggest public health threats the world has ever faced.”  It causes lung cancer, which is often fatal, and other chronic respiratory diseases. It is also a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the world’s number one killer. For the complete Reuters article, visit http://reut.rs/lpExqr

(WebMD) Men who drink coffee regularly appear to lower their risk of prostate cancer, especially the lethal form, new research suggests.

When the researchers looked at all forms of prostate cancer “the highest coffee drinkers had about a 20% lower risk of developing prostate cancer during the follow-up” says researcher Lorelei Mucci, ScD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

The 20% lower risk was found in those drinking six or more cups daily compared to none, she tells WebMD.

The surprise: the risk reduction held for both regular coffee and decaf, leading the researchers to speculate it’s not the caffeine providing the protection.

The study is published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

For the complete WebMD article, visit http://bit.ly/mrQeNe.

(PeopleForum) Watch out, smokers. Sweatshirts may soon fashionably display more than you want to know about that smoke you’re exhaling.

Two NYU graduate students have created an interactive project called “Warning Signs.” According to WNYC Culture, the duo has made sweatshirts that change color when exposed to high carbon monoxide levels. The shirts feature a heart or set of lungs — when the fabric is exposed to pollution (ranging from cigarette smoke to car exhaust), blue veins appear on the organ image.

Co-creator Nien Lam enjoyed watching his shirt in action: “When people would step out to have a cigarette, they would see our project, and then feel guilty going out to have that cigarette realizing, ‘Oh, this is actually what I’m doing to myself.’”

The American Lung Association reports that six in 10 Americans live in places with dangerous levels of air pollution. Cigarette smoking leads to over 440,000 deaths per year in the U.S. alone. 600 million trees are destroyed per year to make dry tobacco.

The students are now considering clothing with alcohol sensors. They may have the liver change color when the wearer has consumed too much.  For the full article, visit http://bit.ly/feq3Nc

(London /  Daily Mail) It’s said an apple a day keeps the doctor away. Now, scientists say there is some truth in the old adage as they found the fruit helps cut cholesterol levels and lose weight significantly.

Researchers at the Florida State University in the US found that women who ate 75 grams of dried apple a day [the equivalent of about four apples per day] for six months saw levels of LDL cholesterol — the harmful form blamed for clogging arteries — fall by almost a quarter.

Levels of other compounds linked to heart disease and strokes also dropped, and amounts of HDL or “good” cholesterol that wards off the hardening of blood vessels rose by about four per cent, the Daily Mail reported.

The women also lost an average weight of just over three pounds, despite taking on an additional 240 calories a day from snacking on the fruit.

The cholesterol benefits are said to have been triggered by apples’ anti-oxidants, while the slimming effect has been attributed to a compound which can suppress appetites.

For the complete article, visit http://bit.ly/fBOGlh

(WebMD) “DNA may play a large role in determining how much caffeine people consume in beverages such as coffee, tea, and soda and food such as chocolate, new research indicates. Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health, the National Cancer Institute, and other institutions say they have discovered two genetic variations that influence the metabolism of caffeine and are associated with how much caffeine people consume. People with particular variations of two specific genes are more likely to consume caffeine, and to drink more of it when they do.”  For the full report, visit http://bit.ly/hZZeNv

(Wall Street Journal) “Strawberries have the potential to prevent esophageal cancer, according to a preliminary study released Wednesday.  Researchers, led by Ohio State University, were able to show that freeze-dried strawberries slowed the growth of dysplastic, or precancerous, lesions in about 30 people who consumed the fruit for six months.  Esophageal cancer is the third most common gastrointestinal cancer and the sixth most frequent cause of cancer death in the world, Dr. Chen said. About 16,000 new cases of esophageal cancer a year are diagnosed in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.”  For the full report, visit http://on.wsj.com/fUuSqU

The FDA has approved Bristol-Myers Squibb’s Yervoy for the treatment of late-stage, metastatic melanoma — a deadly form of skin cancer.   I’m proud to say that my wonderfully talented wife, Elsie, was one of the data managers of the clinical trials of this breakthrough treatment.   Kudos to Elsie and all of her amazing colleagues at Bristol-Myers Squibb in their efforts against such a terrible disease.   Read more at WebMD at this link:  http://bit.ly/i05sZm.   And learn more about skin cancer at the following WebMD slideshow:  http://bit.ly/17aurU.

To fight temperatures that can reach 122°F (50°C), robotic clouds will float above Qatar to shade the stadiums during World Cup play.   According to TIME, “The clouds are essentially massive blimps, filled with helium, and will be floated above stadiums.  Four onboard solar-powered engines will allow the clouds to be controlled from the ground, shifting along with the sun’s zenith, serving as a huge umbrella in the sky to shade spectators and athletes.”   Cost: $500,000 each.   Read more at http://ti.me/htSFPc

(The Wall Street Journal) A Food and Drug Administration panel backed a novel, noninvasive device that uses an electrical field designed to blast apart cancer cells as a potential treatment for brain cancer amid concerns about how well the device works.  The device, called the NovoTTF (for tumor treating fields), was designed by a private firm, NovoCure Ltd., which has operations in Israel and the U.S. It is being developed for use in patients with glioblastoma, a common form of brain cancer, initially for use after standard treatments fail.  For the complete report, visit http://on.wsj.com/er5FDS

This is the finding of a recent National Sleep Foundation study.  “This study, which polled 1,508 Americans between 13 and 64, reveals that light-emitting screens are in heavy use within the pivotal hour before sleep,” said Dr. Charles Czeisler, a professor at Harvard Medical School and chief of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  “Invasion of such alerting technologies into the bedroom may contribute to the high proportion of respondents who reported that they routinely get less sleep than they need.”   For additional information, visit http://bit.ly/erbhHG.