Stories tagged cancer
Don't worry, be science: Putting to bed 10 common scientific worries at summer's end
I get some interesting questions from visitors when I out working on the museum floor. A lot of times I don't have the answers, praticularly about new trends of science that are in the headlines. Here's a top 10 list of things you don't have to worry about, from a scientific viewpoint at least, as you enjoy the final days of summer. Topics addressed include shark attacks, cancer from cellphones and the risks of using your car's air conditioning.
Tags : This seems promising – a cancer therapy that has worked 100% of the time in mice is now being tested on humans for the first time. Doctors at Wake Forest University are taking a certain type of white blood cell from donors and injecting it into patients with advanced forms of cancer. In lab tests on human cancer cells, the white blood cells killed the tumors. The new tests will determine if the procedure also works in a living patient.
(This sounds similar to a study in Seattle reported earlier on Buzz.)
Do they or don’t they? For years, we’ve been hearing rumors that holding a cellphone right next you’re your brain wasn’t the wisest thing in the world, as some suspected it may cause cancer. And for years, we’ve been hearing experts, including the American Cancer Society, insist there was no firm evidence of a link. But now some surgeons are raising the question again.
A new study is underway in Britain to try and resolve the question.
Researchers at the University of Missouri have found that dried tomato powder helps protect against prostate cancer. If this pans out and leads to a viable treatment, that will be good news – recently the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reviewed a variety of treatments, and found that none of them stood out as superior.
The big D: Research continues to shed light on the role vitamin D plays in our bodies.
Courtesy Leo Reynolds
We've talked beforeon Science Buzz about the link between sunlight, vitamin D and cancer. Well, the story just won't go away...
Here's more evidence that sunlight = vitamin D = a healthier life.
And research that shows vitamin D can reduce the risk of diabetes.
And also reduce risk of a heart attack.
But, just to keep things balanced, here's a report that vitamin D doesn’t do everything – some of the health benefits claimed for the vitamin don’t stand up to research
And here’s a summary of the pros and cons of vitamin D and sun exposure.
Yet another promising line of attack against cancer: doctors in Seattle have treated a man with advanced skin cancer by cloning his white blood cells – the part of the human immune system that fights infection – and injecting them into his tumors. The cancer has gone away and not returned for two years.
New research is exploring the complex relationship between cancer and lifestyle. Doctors now say that if we lost weight, exercised and ate right, we could avoid some 70% of cancers. Food for thought.
Are nanomaterials safe?
Nanomaterials & health
Courtesy GiselaGiardino²³Nanomaterials show promise for curing diseases. But, how can we assess the risk of these nanomaterials causing problems within the human organism. Studies in animals are expensive and time consuming. Also, different cell types can respond differently to the same nanomaterial.
A fast screening method could help separate the good from the bad
Stanley Shaw and researchers from the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT recently tested 50 different nanoparticles--mainly particles used for medical imaging, including mostly iron-based particles, as well as several types of quantum dots. The particles also had various chemical coatings.
The researchers tested each of the nanoparticles in four different types of cells--immune cells from mice, two types of human blood-vessel cells, and human liver cells--and at four different dosages. To create the different combinations, a robotic system similar to that used for drug screening placed the nanoparticles inside tiny wells on a plate containing hundreds of separate wells. Each well contained one cell type. The screening system then detected changes in the cells' metabolism in response to the nanomaterial. Computer software analyzed the data, looking for relationships between the different particles. Technology Review
The new screening tool, described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help narrow the list of nanomaterials that need to undergo animal testing.
Dr. John Sampson of Duke University has developed a vaccine which, in early tests, has proven to be remarkably effective against certain types of brain tumors.
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