Reptilian trick used to heal scars
A new drug that stops scarring after surgery will soon begin clinical trials in Manchester, England. The inspiration for the drug came from a chance discovery twenty years ago in alligators. When researchers cut the skin of alligator embryos to insert marked cells to follow their development, the scars always healed perfectly. This led to the discovery that human embryos have the same ability. As adults, our bodies use energy more for mounting an immune defense by forming a scar to protect the soft tissues from the environment. As embryos, we devote more energy to forming properly, and hence mend scars seamlessly. The new drug is a synthetic version of a chemical produced by embryonic skin cells, and will hopefully trick the immune system into healing wounds without forming a scar.
Zoe Cormier
Source: The Guardian
Rat genome sequenced
The rat genome has been sequenced, making it the third mammal genome to be sequenced, after mouse and man. The genome contains 25,000 genes, of which 90 per cent are shared with humans, making the rat an excellent model in which to study human disease. The same group is now trying to sequence the cow, sea urchin, and macaque genomes for evolutionary comparisons.
-ZC
Source: Nature
Abortion does not increase risk of breast cancer
A massive study has concluded that there is no link between abortion and breast cancer. The issue has been a controversial one for the past 25 years, as some studies showed that women who suffered miscarriages or induced abortions had slightly higher rates of breast cancer. It is known that pregnancy and nursing produce a hormone in the breast that helps protect against cancer, and some pro-life advocacy groups proposed that prematurely ending a pregnancy suspends the breast at an incomplete stage of development rending it more likely to develop a tumour. But a new analysis, examining 80,000 women from 53 studies worldwide, has found no link.
-ZC
Source: Nature
