Contest to create world’s oldest mouse

To encourage research into anti-aging methods, scientists at the University of Cambridge have established the Methuselah Mouse Prize, which will be awarded to whomever creates the world’s oldest mouse. The current record holder was a genetically modified mouse that lived for five years less one week, the equivalent of about 150 human years. The Methuselah Mouse Prize will award cash for every day that a mouse lives over the record. The current prize fund stands at £20,000. Various techniques are being explored to increase longevity, including stem-cell therapy, reducing calorie intake, and genetic manipulation. The contest organizers hope to ultimately help humans live longer.
Source: Nature
­-QING HUA WANG

Cadmium mimics estrogen

It has long been known that environmental pollutants can disrupt the reproductive systems of animals in the wild. Researchers have now pinpointed cadmium as a shrewd estrogen mimic, which can easily sneak into the body and dupe estrogen receptors. Experiments on a group of female rats show that cadmium has a whole range of intense estrogen-like effects on the entire animal. Exposure to cadmium increased the weight of the rats’ uteri, promoted the growth of their mammary glands, and induced rich milk production. An earlier onset of puberty and abnormal mammary gland abnormalities were observed in the baby rats whose mothers received doses of cadmium in their uteri. Cigarette smoke is a major source of cadmium, and although smoking has been found to neutralize some of the effects of estrogen, there is clear evidence that it can contribute to breast cancer.
Source: Nature Medicine
-HAOWEI SUN

One atom laser

Physicists at Caltech have created a laser that emits light using only one atom. In a conventional laser, the atoms in a crystal are excited to emit light, producing a single, coherent beam. In a one-atom laser, a single photon is enough to excite a single atom to produce a beam of light through a series of repeated emissions. This beam of light is more ordered and more predictable, giving this laser many practical advantages over normal lasers.
Source: Nature
-HAOWEI SUN