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A.
A Protein that Helps Repair Broken Bones
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Although broken bones usually
repair themselves completely in a matter of weeks,
there are about five to ten percent of cases in
which the bones can take months or even years to
heal. In early laboratory studies, Jill Helms, a
professor of orthopedic surgery at the University
of California, San Francisco found that a protein
known to stimulate blood vessel growth, or angiogenesis,
can also help in bone repair.
Helms: We know that one of the most essential
features of bone development is the angiogenesis,
or the formation of vasculature. Bone is one of
the most vascular tissues in the body.
Narrator: Helms' group discovered a single
protein called vascular endothelial growth factor,
or VEGF, could successfully stimulate hard-to-heal
bones.
Helms: I think it suggests an avenue of very
productive research, where we may be able to study
non-unions or delayed unions in people one day,
by using a mechanism like this to induce angiogenesis
and therefore, bone repair.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
B.
A Biosensing Device for the Future
Narrator:
This is Science Today. A team of researchers from
the Los Alamos National Laboratory and UCLA has developed
a fast-acting, luminescent biosensor that can detect
chemical and biological agents, including viruses.
Lab researcher, Duncan McBranch says such a device
could potentially make the diagnosis and treatment
of disease much more efficient.
McBranch: If you've had the experience of waiting
for a test to come back from the lab or the doctor's
office for several days, wondering if you've got a
certain disease, then you know that time could be
important. Our process is very fast. It responds in
less than a second and it's very simple, so it doesn't
take advanced training to operate.
Narrator: The challenge now is building such
a portable device that can do this in the field for
multiple agents..
McBranch:
Our goal right now is to prove the concept as broadly
as possible. At this point we're trying to demonstrate
its use for many different kinds of things. And for
every species that we learn how to detect, we develop
a new recognition molecule that we can add to a library.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
A Genetic Test for Melanoma
Narrator: This is Science Today. A genetic
test has been developed that can help pathologists
better distinguish the difference between melanoma
and a mole that looks similar but is actually benign.
Boris Bastian, a professor of dermatology at the University
of California, San Francisco, says they discovered
specific chromosomal differences between these two
moles and used fluorescent dyes to identify them.
Bastian: The technique that is used is called
comparative genomic hybridization, and it had been
developed eight, nine years ago here at UCSF. It was
actually developed to identify cancer genes or disease
genes because it's a technique which allows the mapping
or the detection of chromosomal aberrations over the
entire genome.
Narrator: Before these lab tests become available
nationwide, Bastian says they need to make it more
efficient.
Bastian: But the big advantage of this technique
is one doesn't need to make any assumptions where
a certain abnormality is, because one can just look
at all of them.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
.
D.
Keeping the Brain Healthy
Narrator:
This is Science Today. If you need incentive to
exercise, researchers at the University of California
at Irvine have discovered another benefit of physical
activity. Dr. Carl Cotman of the Institute of Brain
Aging and Dementia has found that exercising stimulates
a growth factor in the brain which keeps neurons healthy.
Cotman: The brain in rats that have run for
just a few nights actually increases the production
or gene expression of a neural trophic factor and
that particular factor is known to be involved in
keeping neurons healthier and protecting them from
cell death mechanisms.
Narrator: Cotman's lab also found that vitamin
E supplements slowed down the onset of Alzheimer's
Disease in patients with mild to moderate symptoms
by up to 25% in a two year period.
Cotman: I mean, that's pretty impressive. And
the exciting thing would be if it actually restores
rather than just slows down and I have a funny intuition
that if we can get these things early enough, given
what we know about the basic cell biology and molecular
biology of a cell, that some of these cells may come
back again
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
How the Elderly can Overpower Functional Decline
Narrator:
This is Science Today. A large amount of the frail
elderly population is living on their own in the community.
Mary Haan, director of the Center for Aging and Health
at the University of California, Davis says because
of this, the prevention of functional decline is very
important.
Haan:
They may develop all kinds of chronic diseases,
but what really matters is how that affects their
daily life. Can they still get out and walk around?
Can they meet with their friends, can they go shopping,
can they drive, can they get out of bed, can they
get dressed? All of those kinds of issues, because
even a person who's sick can still have a life.
Narrator: Haan says there are many ways to
prevent functional decline, including weight lifting.
Haan: It's hard to think of a person in their
seventies being a weight lifter, but in fact weight
lifting and other kinds of resistance exercise training
are very good ways of maintaining function in older
people and it's fun.
Narrator: And preventing functional decline
in the elderly will lessen the necessity for full-time
nursing home care. For Science Today, I'm Larissa
Branin.
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