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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 16, 2014 at 10:04am

Update on knee replacements
Two major studies published this year, researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond conducted a surgical-validity assessment. Using criteria developed in Europe, they concluded that knee replacements could be judged appropriate for only those whose arthritis in the knee was medically proven to be advanced. This means not just severe pain but also impaired physical function, like an inability to climb stairs, get out of a chair or walk without aid. Based on others' work done in Spain, the researchers also determined that surgical replacements were better suited for patients older than 65. Their reasoning? The implanted materials wear out after a couple of decades, meaning a 45-yearold patient might need an additional knee replacement during his lifetime.
In a separate study , the same researchers also found that people who were good candidates for surgery benefited substantially from the sur gery , reporting much less knee pain and much better physical functioning in the months immediately following the procedure and again two years later. On one commonly used measure of knee function, their scores improved by about 20 points on average. By contrast, subjects whose surgeries the scientists deemed inappropriate did not improve much. After a year, their scores on knee function had risen by only about two points.
The message is not that people should wait until their knees break down completely before replacing them. But they should question the need for surgery . If you do not have bone-on-bone arthritis, in which all of the cushioning cartilage in the knee is gone, think about consulting a physical therapist about exercise programs that could strengthen the joint, reducing pain and disability. Losing weight helps, too.
-Virginia Commonwealth University

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 15, 2014 at 6:13am

Whole-Genome Sequencing of the World’s Oldest People
Analysis of world's oldest people reveals there's no gene for long life

Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of 17 of the world’s oldest living people to find that their secret is… they have no secret. Or if they do, it's just really good at hiding.

http://www.plosone.org/article/authors/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjourn...
http://www.sciencealert.com/analysis-of-world-s-oldest-living-peopl...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 14, 2014 at 8:59am

Bengaluru to house Asia’s first Science Gallery
Where Art and Science collide goes the motto of Science Gallery. In four years, Bengaluru will witness a similar collision when it houses Asia's first and the world's third such prestigious gallery.

It will offer science enthusiasts in the country a chance to meet the world's biggest brains and learn about their research and innovations. The Science Gallery is likely to be set up at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in 2018.

The Karnataka government on Thursday signed a memorandum of agreement with Science Gallery International (SGI), Dublin, Ireland. The first SG was set up in Dublin in 2008 and the second one is coming up in London by 2016.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 14, 2014 at 8:09am

New study on Jupiter's red spot:
The ruddy colour of Jupiter's mysterious Great Red Spot is due to the effects of sunlight rather than chemicals from beneath the planet's clouds, a new NASA study has found.

According to a new analysis from NASA's Cassini mission, the reddish-rosy crimson colour is likely a product of simple chemicals being broken apart by sunlight in the planet's upper atmosphere.

The results contradict the other leading theory for the origin of the spot's striking colour - that the reddish  colour - chemicals come from beneath Jupiter's clouds.

In the lab, the researchers blasted ammonia and acetylene gases - chemicals known to exist on Jupiter - with ultraviolet light, to simulate the Sun's effects on these materials at the extreme heights of clouds in the Great Red Spot.

This produced a reddish material, which the team compared to the Great Red Spot as observed by Cassini's Visible and Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (VIMS).

They found that the light-scattering properties of their red concoction nicely matched a model of the Great Red Spot in which the red-coloured material is confined to the uppermost reaches of the giant cyclone-like feature.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2014 at 8:53am

A six year study examining the nutritional content of crops exposed to atmospheric CO2 levels projected by mid-century found worrisome drops in zinc and iron in wheat grains as well as reduced protein levels in wheat as well as rice grains -- a particularly troubling find considering that millions around the world who depend on wheat and rice for most of their iron and zinc already might not be getting enough.
-Harvard School of Public Health; BigThink.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2014 at 8:27am

How human existence doesn't have to cost the Earth
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22429941.000-how-human-existe...

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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2014 at 8:02am

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 11, 2014 at 7:58am

Mindfulness-based cancer recovery and supportive-expressive therapy maintain telomere length relative to controls in distressed breast cancer survivors
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.29063/full
Researchers in Canada have found the first evidence to suggest that support groups that encourage meditation and yoga can actually alter the cellular activity of cancer survivors.
Good news but let us wait and watch for more evidence in this regard.

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 10, 2014 at 5:39am

Scientists beat cancer protein by 'turning it against itself'

In a new study, scientists have a new way to beat one of the most hard to pin down target proteins in cancer cells, by turning the protein's own molecular machinations against it.

Researchers at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center used a specially crafted compound to disrupt the protein's ability to rev up its own production and that of other proteins involved in tumor cell growth. The result, in laboratory samples of neuroblastoma cancer cells and in mice with an aggressive form of neuroblastoma, was death of the cancer cells and retreat of the animals' tumors, with little or no harm to normal cells. Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer that begins in embryonic nerve cells and generally occurs in infants and young children.

The study focused on a cell protein called MYCN, one of a family of proteins that are notorious not only for stimulating the growth and proliferation of cancer cells, but also for their ability to evade targeted drug therapies. Researchers now hope that the approach may prove effective against some of the many other cancers also characterized by a surplus of MYC-family proteins in tumor cells.

MYCN and its kin are "transcription factors," proteins that bind to DNA and influence the rate at which genetic information is used by the cell - essentially serving as brightener/dimmer switches for gene activity. Lead author Edmond Chipumuro said that as per recent studies, when transcription factors like MYC were mutated or overabundant, they could have a cancerous effect. They cause a global rise in gene expression, making genes throughout the cell more active.

Although very rare in children older than 10, neuroblastoma has been by far the most common cancer in infants. It accounts for about 7 percent of all cancers in children, and 15 percent of all pediatric cancer deaths.

Chemical biologists led by Dana-Farber's Nathanael Gray, PhD, designed and custom-made a compound called THZ1 that forms a particularly strong bond with CDK7, which is one of the many proteins used in the assembly of a super-enhancer, rendering the protein essentially nonfunctional. When researchers treated laboratory samples of MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cells with THZ1, the tumor cells died, but normal cells were unaffected. When they used the agent to treat mice with this type of neuroblastoma, the tumors shrank markedly, with no negative side effects for the animals.

Study's senior author, Rani George explained because normal cells didn't acquire super-enhancers on these master regulators, the agent had a profound impact on neuroblastoma tissue but not on normal tissue.

-Journal CELL

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on November 8, 2014 at 9:01am

Possible alternative to antibiotics: scientists from the University of Bern have developed a novel substance for the treatment of severe bacterial infections without antibiotics, which would prevent the development of antibiotic resistance

Scientists have developed the first effective alternative to antibiotics in what is being described as a major development in the battle against superbugs.

A patient trial showed the drug was effective at eradicating the MRSA superbug. Scientists say it is unlikely the infection could develop resistance against the new treatment which is already available as a cream for skin infections.

Researchers hope to develop a pill or injectable version of the drug within five years.

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