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Biology in the News is presented by Dr. Lamar's Biology A/B classes. Each student is responsible for posting ONE blog entry and commenting on ONE post submitted by a fellow student.

About your initial posting . . . . . (approximately 150- 300 words)

Your initial posting is worth 30 points. It must be submitted by October 15th. - Locate an electronic article about a new finding in biology. Article must be been written in the last 12 months. Your posting should include 1) the name of the article (3 point), 2) article source - be specific (3 point), 3) date of article (2 point), 4) link to article (2 points), 5) summary of article in your own words (0-10 points), and 6) significance of article (0-10 points). Comments on significance of article can include (but not be limited to) importance of article to self, to society, or to the further advancement of a particular area of biology.

NOTE: To add link, select text in post that you want to link, click on link icon above posting field, and then paste URL information into appropriate field.

About your comments to a fellow classmate's posting . . . . (approximately 100 - 200 words)

Your comments to another student's posting is worth 20 points. Comments must be submitted between October 16 and November 19 - "The more you know, the more you realize there's a lot more to know" is certainly true to science. Read our Biology in the News blob posts. Pick one post (not your own) and submit comments about this post. Comments should included 1) A question that is raised in your mind by the post. The question should have scientific relevance (0 - 5 points) 2) a response to your question. (0-15 points) Research your question and answer it. If the answer is currently unknown, provide additional background information, describe research that is being done in this field, and/or research that is required for the question to be answered.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Revolutionary New Way of Reversing Certain Cancers

ScienceDaily (September 29, 2010) — Australian and American scientists have found a way of shrinking tumours in certain cancers -- a finding that provides hope for new treatments.

Science Daily (Your source for the latest research news)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100928092843.htm


Summary of the Article:
Reversing cancer of certain types CAN be a possibility! Researchers have found a way to alter the effects of the cancer caused by the p53 gene being altered. The reason the cancer takes place when this gene is mutated is because of it's importance as the "guardian of the genome."

The cancers caused by the p53 gene being disabled or mutated could be altered by the inhibitor for microRNA 380. Researchers blocked the microRNA 380 and the p53 production resumed as normal, which caused the cancer cells to die and the tumor to reduce in size (reported in the journal Nature Medicine). This was the closest thing to a clinical result that has be reported and they simple injected the inhibitor twice a week for the revolutionary results.

Luckily for the majority of adults in the world, this microRNA molecule is "switched-off" because the cells quit dividing quickly and developing embryo. However the minority does get "switched-on" again, but no one has found the reason for the occurrence.

How does the p53 work to prevent tumors and cancer to start and spread?
1) The p53 is read
2) A copy of the gene is made
3) The p53 gene goes to the p53 protein, which carries out the tumor suppressor function in cells

The microRNA disturbs this process because it finds the p53 protein and binds in the genes place, which reduces the p53 proteins and making it impossibe for the enzyme activity to take place.

Significance of the Article to the World:
There is a beginning for the cure of a type of cancer! This could lead to new research and findings for the future of the society and the world. Even though it is at a early stage in the research process, it could lead to future treatment of childhood neuroblastomas and other microRNA-induced cancers. It is the hope for the future!
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