A.
A Proposed National Mandatory Animal I.D. Program
for Livestock
Narrator:
This is Science Today. In light of recent outbreaks
of exotic Newcastle disease in California poultry,
mad cow disease in Canada and tuberculosis in Mexico
and Texas, U.S. government livestock scientists
and officials are looking into proposals to set
up a mandatory national animal identification program.
Beef cattle management specialist, John Maas of
the University of California, Davis, says proponents
such as the USDA, want a reliable ability to trace
animals, reduce the spread of disease and minimize
losses.
Maas:
For beef cattle and dairy cattle, for that matter,
it could be fantastic if it's done right or it just
could be an added expense that creates confusion.
Narrator:
Maas says the program should be put on the table
for industry and consumer review to better ensure
its chance of success.
Mass:
We're rushing pretty fast with a program that may
cause us more trouble than it solves problems. I
think a lot of people are very comfortable with
the concept of ID, but it's like anything else -
when the details get to be known, we may have a
different story.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
How Glaciers Leave Behind Traces of the Past
Narrator:
This is Science Today. To understand the rates of
climate change, researchers often look to the geologic
record to find answers. Lewis Owen, an associate
professor of geology at the University of California,
Riverside, says by understanding the past, researchers
can try to predict what will happen in the future.
Owen maps out and dates deposits where glaciers
had existed over the last 20 thousand years.
Owen:
Glaciers pick up rock, they erode mountainsides
and they carry this rock - they're transporting
agents essentially and when they melt away, they
leave these rock deposits behind and these are called
moraines.
Narrator:
Owen has been mapping out moraines in southern
California's San Bernardino mountains by walking
in the field and using aerial photographs to reconstruct
how extensive the ice had been.
Owen:
The only way of predicting the future, really,
is to develop computer models to mimic what may
happen if you increase the amount of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere - but the only way we can
test those is by looking at past evidence and run
those models backwards, essentially, to see if those
models work for times in the past that we know what
the conditions were.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C.
Use Caution Before Reaching for Leftover Food at
Work
Narrator:
This is Science Today. You may want to think twice
before reaching for enticing leftover food items
at the office. Linda Harris, a microbiologist and
food safety expert at the University of California,
Davis says that's because leftover catered luncheons
or potluck affairs can often become breeding grounds
for food borne illness problems.
Harris:
Typically, people have a business luncheon and then
the leftovers get put in the main corridor somewhere
where people can access them, sometimes for hours
and hours on end and you have to keep in mind that
the food probably sat out for a couple hours during
the actual luncheon and then how long has it been
sitting out afterwards?
Narrator:
If you're unsure, Harris says the best bet is to
leave those questionable leftovers alone.
Harris:
We typically don't recommend that food is left
at room temperature for longer than two hours. So,
while it's nice to have those free sandwiches every
once in a while, you may want to ask yourself where
has this food been?
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
New ALS Research May Have a Profound Effect on Future
Therapy
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Neurons damaged by the
debilitating, neurodegenerative disease, ALS, or
Lou Gehrig's disease, are greatly affected by their
surrounding, non-neuronal cells. Those were the
findings of a multi-center study led by researchers
at the University of California, San Diego. Don
Cleveland, who co-led the study, says in ALS, motor
neurons - the long and complex nerve cells that
control voluntary movement - become damaged.
Cleveland:
In terms of the course of the mechanism of the disease,
it's really a conspiracy of damage to the neuron
and to the partner cells that are essential for
their survival. What this study demonstrates is
that you don't have to do the Herculean task of
replacing these yard long cells. In fact, if you
simply improve the neighborhood, you can probably
have a very profound effect on the course of the
disease by replacing the non-neuronal cells, rather
than aiming at the motor neurons themselves.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
A Promising Targeted Breast Cancer Therapy in Clinical
Trial
Narrator:
This is Science Today. Herceptin, a breast cancer
treatment that triggered an era of targeted therapies,
is in its fifth year of use and continues to be
tested in dozens of clinical trials nationwide.
Dr. Hope Rugo, co-director of the Breast Oncology
Clinical Trials Program at the University of California,
San Francisco, has enrolled patients in a current
national trial.
Rugo:
It's an interesting trial because one group of women
will get chemotherapy and the other two groups of
women will get chemotherapy with Herceptin. One
group gets Herceptin starting halfway through and
continuing with chemotherapy for a year and the
other group of women get the Herceptin after the
end of chemotherapy for a year.
Narrator:
The goal is to unlock future potential treatment
benefits for women in various stages of breast cancer.
Rugo:
We're very excited about the use of Herceptin in
this setting and if the trial is in fact positive,
that's going to lead to really a revolutionized
approach to breast cancer treatment.
Narrator:
For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
