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A.
A New Theory on Human Longevity
Narrator:
This is Science Today. People can expect to live
longer today than ever before. This is usually chalked
up to better medicine and healthier living conditions.
But according to James Carey, a professor of entomology
at the University of California, Davis, we may have
evolution to thank for our longer lifespans.
Carey:
We developed this theory on the longevity…orientation
toward this with humans. And so when we explore this
we find that lifespan extension is what we call self-reinforcing.
That is the greater the lifespan, the greater your
health is and the better your health is more your
life span and so forth.
Narrator:
Carey says
that longer lifespans allow people to create stronger
social bonds and to make the medical discoveries that
prolong our lives. He says it's these factors-more
than diet and exercise-that will continue to extend
the human lifespan.
Carey:
There will be things like organ replacement and there
will be disease cures. But I feel that down the road
we'll have a basic understanding of how to arrest
aging at some level.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
What You Should Know about Spinal Fractures
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Believe it or not, about two-thirds
of spinal fractures are painless. When the vertebrae
that make up the spine start to break, they break
by becoming compressed. And while this may not hurt,
studies indicate people who start to have compression
in the spine are much more likely to experience additional
fractures. Dr. Steve Harris, chief of the University
of California, San Francisco's Osteoporosis Clinic
Programs, says the best way to find those subtle,
painless fractures is to measure height.
Harris:
This is a challenge to you. Think about the last time
you were measured - what, age sixteen? It's not really
standard practice to measure height in grown-ups,
but I would really encourage you the next time you
go in for a routine check-up, to have somebody measure
your height.
Narrator:
If you're a lot shorter than the height
you've always gone by, Harris says chances are you're
starting to shrink.
Harris:
And
this is really a call to action. It's worthwhile exploring
to see whether your vertebrae really are starting
to compress and that's easy to do on an X-ray examination
these days.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Measuring the Effects of Atmospheric Nanoparticles
Narrator:
This is Science Today. The term nanotechnology tends
to conjure up images of tiny computers. But the air
we breathe is full of nanoparticles, which can be
measured only on the smallest scale. They are created
through all kinds of combustion, including automobiles
and factories. According to Dr. Anthony Wexler of
the University of California, Davis, these nanoparticles
are tiny but can have a huge effect.
Wexler:
They affect human health. The EPA estimates that particles
of this size kill something like 50,000 people per
year in this country from inhaling them. So of course
there are big health effects.
Narrator:
Because nanoparticles are so small, measuring them
has presented scientists with a big problem. But Wexler's
team at Davis has the only instrument in the world
that can test the size and make-up of nanoparticles
one-by-one.
Wexler:
And currently we're doing it in Pittsburgh and Baltimore,
working with the EPA. There's big measurement programs
going on there called the EPA super-sites that measure
all kinds of things about particles in the atmosphere.
.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
A New Method Helps Scientists Decipher the Book of
Life
Narrator:
This is Science Today. As one can very well imagine,
trying to find all of the genes encoded within the
DNA that make up our chromosomes has been a very difficult
task. But new technology is helping. At the Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory, scientists developed
a process called Gene Recovery Microdissection, which
can identify all of the genes that belong to a specific
part of each individual chromosome.
Coleman:
Even though you hear about we've completed the
human genome, if we considered the human genome to
be a book, we've kind of found all the words in the
book, but we don't exactly understand the chapters
and paragraphs and the sentences that link it all
together that help us to understand and read the book.
And that's what gene recovery microdissection does
for you.
Narrator:
This
technique can even be used to understand bacteria
species that can't ever be grown in the lab.
Coleman:
We can, without culturing a bacteria in a lab, isolate
its DNA, amplify it and clone it so that we can sequence
it and understand their entire genome.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
A Call For Better Pain Control
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Inadequate treatment of surgical
pain is fairly common because hospitals are often
wary of overdoing pain medication - especially opiodes.
Dr. Daniel Sessler, a professor of anesthesia at the
University of California, San Francisco, says this
is due to the fear of complications, such as respiratory
depression, but there's also a concern about addiction.
Sessler:
Addiction is very rarely a problem. Especially with
acute pain. It becomes more of an issue with chronic
pain, but for acute, surgical pain, there's overwhelming
evidence that you can use as much opiode, as much
narcotic as necessary, to treat the pain and that
people will not become addicted.
Narrator:
Sessler discovered sufficient pain control after surgery
led to a reduction in the risk of infection. This
gives physicians all the more reason to not hold back.
Sessler:
People who have pain should be treated and they should
be treated even if it's so-called minor pain off in
a physician's office or a hospital laboratory. Even
that pain deserves to be treated.
Narrator:
For
Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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