A.
Biologists Make a Deep Sea Discovery Off the Alaskan Coast
Narrator: This is Science Today. While probing the cause of a catastrophic tsunami spawned by a 1946 earthquake off the coast of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska, biologists have identified previously undiscovered deep-sea habitats in the area. Over 3,000 meters below the water's surface, Lisa Levin of the University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography, discovered unusual communities called methane seeps.
Levin: Biologically, it refers to an assemblage of animals that rely on symbiotic bacteria to generate their food. And those bacteria oxidize sulfide, or in some cases, methane. This is an unusual lifestyle, in that the animals aren't relying on photosynthesis as most biological communities in the ocean do.
Narrator: These seeps were unlike others previously discovered in this area.
Levin: The kinds of information we generate on these cruises contribute to an understanding of biodiversity in the ocean. On some level, it's basic science, but an understanding of biodiversity maintenance contributes, I think, to the well-being of the planet.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
B.
Understanding Organic Produce Standards
Narrator: This is Science Today. Farmers, advisors and many consumers are often looking for accurate information about the production and marketing of organic produce, which has become the fastest growing segment of agriculture. Julie Guthman, an assistant professor in community services at the University of California, Santa Cruz, says the basic definition of organically grown is that a crop can't be grown with a material that's not allowed.
Guthman: What's not allowed is the result of a long history of debate within the organic farming movement of what the standards should be.
Narrator: The first organic standards in California were written on half a page in a newsletter insert and were very much focused on a set of processes. Now, Guthman says the standards are written in an inch-thin book.
Guthman: But the basic information is that a material is not allowed to be used in organic farming if it's synthetically produced, that organic farming should be more process oriented, pay more attention to the use of biological pest controls and composting and cover cropping.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
C. Individualized Care for Breast Cancer Treatment
Narrator: This is Science Today. Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women and remains the leading cause of death of women between ages 40 and 55. Despite such grim statistics, survival rates today are higher than ever, thanks to screening for early detection and advances in diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Laura Esserman, director of the Breast Care Center at the University of California, San Francisco, says their center strives to treat the whole person.
Esserman: We don't treat every breast cancer the same, because breast cancer isn't the same for every woman. The goal is to tailor treatment to patient's biology, personal preference and to constantly monitor the effectiveness of our treatment.
Narrator: As one of the nation's leading research institutions, the Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center has ongoing research projects to explore new treatments and emphasizes a supportive environment between doctor and patient.
Esserman: When patients and physicians share in the decision-making process, that's where you find opportunities to improve care.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
D.
Researchers Study the Health Effects of Ultra-Fine Particles
Narrator: This is Science Today. Inhalation of air pollutants like those in the exhaust fumes of automobiles can expose us to a variety of toxic gases and particles. According to Dr. Ralph Delfino, associate professor at the University of California, Irvine exposure to pollutants, known as ultra-fine particles, can have serious health consequences because the toxins can enter the deepest regions of the lungs.
Delfino: They're a tenth of a micron in diameter. So they are not only can reach deep into the lungs, but they're thought to be capable of penetrating right through the tissue of the lungs and into the bloodstream.
Narrator: Once in the bloodstream, the toxic particles can affect other organs in the body, such as the heart. Delfino is investigating the toxicity of these particles and the mechanism of their health effects.
Delfino: When you're breathing air pollutants, the assumption is it must be affecting your lungs. Low and behold over the last decade we've been finding more and more associations between cardiovascular, especially heart disease outcomes and air pollutant exposures
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
E.
Tailoring Medical Care to the Developing Minds & Bodies of Children
Narrator: This is Science Today. At the University of California, San Francisco's Children's Hospital, medical care is tailored to the developing minds and bodies of children. Dr. Diana Farmer, a pediatric surgeon, says children have unique emotional, developmental and physiological needs and should be treated with that in mind.
Farmer: Many of just the routine things that children have to go through during a hospitalization, such as having an IV started, or an X-ray taken, are made much less scary by having people who know how to get kids through that kind of an experience.
Narrator: The University of California, San Francisco Children's Hospital conducted the world's first fetal surgery, provided the world's first neonatal intensive care nursery and has pioneering expertise in congenital heart disease.
Farmer: UCSF Children's Hospital has the advantage of having specialists in every aspect of a child's care – heart, diabetes, orthopedics, general surgery, brain surgery, anesthesia.
Narrator: For Science Today, I'm Larissa Branin.
