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A.
Understanding the Biological Function of Proteolytic
Enzymes
Narrator:
This is Science Today. About three percent of our
genome encodes a proteolytic enzyme of some sort.
These enzymes, or proteases, break down proteins.
At the University of California, San Francisco,
Dr. Charles Craik, studies the biological function
and the natural inhibitors of proteases involved
with infectious disease, cancer and development.
In fact, Craik's lab helped identify and characterize
the HIV protease, which led to the current, therapeutic
AIDS drugs.
Craik:
There's about twenty different projects going
on in the lab. So they range from some of our previous
work on HIV protease and some of the protein engineering
experiments to some of the cancer projects.
Narrator:
Craik's lab has identified a class of proteases
on the surface of epithelial cells such as in prostate,
colon and breast cancer.
Craik:
We're trying to determine what their role
is and to find out whether they're an appropriate
target for chemotherapeutic intervention to come
up with either diagnostics and prognostics for monitoring
breast and prostate cancer or perhaps even identifying
a target that new drugs could be developed to inhibit
those.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Mountain Lion and Human Behavior: How to Avoid a Deadly
Mix
Narrator:
This is Science Today. A recent mountain lion attack
and fatal mauling of bicyclists at a popular Southern
California park, has put the public on the alert about
one of nature's top predators. Although such attacks
are rare, Lee Fitzhugh, a University of California,
Davis wildlife specialist, says in the event of a
chance encounter, the best bet is defensive aggression
- such as shouting and waving arms - while maintaining
consistent eye contact.
Fitzhugh: You don't want to take
your eyes away from the mountain lion. You look away,
it gives the mountain lion a chance to attack. And
if you have to bend down to pick up a rock or a stick
or something like that, I would recommend that you
do that, but at the same time you keep your eyes on
the mountain lion and bend down in such a way that
it looks like you're getting ready to jump on it.
Narrator: The threat of encountering
an American mountain lion has become an increasing
problem in Southern California, as more housing developments
border rural areas that are home to wildlife.
Fitzhugh:
Attacks
are rare and shouldn't be overblown, but people at
the same time should know how to respond and should
prepare themselves.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
The Facts about Huntington's Disease
Narrator:This
is Science Today. Huntington's disease is a devastating
neurodegenerative disorder in which a number of neurons
in the brain die. This causes symptoms ranging from
significant psychiatric changes and trouble reasoning
to uncontrolled movements. Lawrence Goldstein, a professor
of cellular and molecular medicine at the University
of California, San Diego says it's also a hereditary
disease.
Goldstein:
It's what we call autosomal dominant - so if
only one parent has the disease, there's a fifty percent
chance that any one of the children will get it a
piece. It tends to come on relatively late in life
after you've had children - so you didn't know whether
you had a risk of passing it on or not.
Narrator:
Goldstein and his colleagues have linked a defective
protein in Huntington's disease to gridlock in the
vital neuronal transportation system, which eventually
leads to neuron cell death.
Goldstein:
A key first step in the treatment of any disease
is learning what is it that's failed and why? And
then you can start to develop interventions that hopefully
will have therapeutic benefit.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
The Changing Patterns of Fatherhood
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Recent sociology studies have
found that men who get involved early on in their
baby's lives are more likely to stay involved as the
kids reach school age. Sociology professor Scott Coltrane
of the University of California, Riverside says it
used to be that men did very little with infants and
toddlers and began to do more as the kids could talk
and play sports. Now, it seems men are involved more
in different ways.
Coltrane:
We have patterns of fatherhood that reflect more
than being a coach and a disciplinarian. We have men
around on a daily basis who are doing the monitoring,
doing the caregiving in ways that we didn't used to.
Narrator:
Some studies found a rising trend of fathers pitching
in with the housework.
Coltrane:
Those studies find that if women get help from
their husbands, they're less depressed, they have
better mental health, they're happier. The stress
is reduced by having a helper. We tend to think of
housework as trivial, child care less so, but the
amount of work that people do in terms of maintaining
homes and kids exceeds the number of hours we put
in at work. So this is not trivial labor - this is
what it takes to reproduce society.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
The Health Benefits of One of the Oldest Trees on
Earth
Narrator:
This
is Science Today. The Ginkgo tree is one of the oldest
trees on Earth. Native to southeast China, these trees
were around during the Mesozoic era - the time of
dinosaurs - and they have a lifespan as long as one
thousand years. The extract of the leaf of the tree
is used to make ginkgo biloba - an herbal supplement
that has also stood the test of time.
Ercoli:
It stems back to as far as five thousand years
ago in China and Asia and it's been prescribed in
that region for asthma and respiratory problems. And
then it's used widely here over the counter and it
is mainly marketed to enhance attention and memory.
Narrator:
Linda Ercoli, a researcher at UCLA's Neuropsychiatric
Institute, has conducted a six-month study of ginkgo
biloba and reported significant memory improvement
in people with age-related memory impairment.
Ercoli:
We found that it worked, but individuals may vary
in their response or benefit to ginkgo. So we recommend
that people should consult their doctor before taking
ginkgo as with any herbal supplement of medication.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
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