Spare parts from stem cells
It seems that every week, a new development regarding stem cells pops up in the news—and this week is no exception. Finnish scientists recently announced that they restored a missing upper jawbone in a 65-year-old man, but with an interesting twist: the jawbone was grown inside his abdomen using stem cells taken from his fatty tissue. The advantage to this transplant is that rejection of the organ or structure is avoided, as the tissue comes from the patient’s own body. If refined, these procedures could ease the demand for organ transplants, making the body its own source of spare parts.
Link: tinyurl.com/3y6nhp
Thanks to NASA, the Beatles are now literally out of this world
As if being one of the most popular bands on Earth wasn’t enough, the Beatles have just gone live on intergalactic radio. Today, NASA will broadcast the song “Across the Universe” (an appropriate choice) towards the North Star, Polaris, celebrating both the 40th anniversary of the song and the 45th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network. In 431 years, inhabitants of the star should be able to pick up the song on their radios after the signal has made the 2.5-quadrillion-mile journey. Expect the Beatles to revolutionize music in that solar system, too.
Link: tinyurl.com/3xqn5z
Those beautiful baby blue eyes (are mutations)
As it turns out, blue eyes originated only six to 10 thousand years ago. A change in the OCA2 gene, involved in the production of the pigment melanin, reduced the creation of brown colouration in the iris, making the eyes appear blue. The team, led by professor Hans Eiberg of the University of Copenhagen, examined the genes of blue-eyed individuals from a wide range of countries. Since the mutation is in the exact same spot of DNA for all blue-eyed people, researchers believe that blue eyes all came from one common ancestor.
Link: tinyurl.com/2ccocd
New mammal discovered (and it’s an odd one)
Looking like an unholy combination of an anteater and mouse, meet the newly uncovered Rhynochocyon udzungwensis. Approximately the size of a normal house cat, the creature was found in Tanzania. Commonly referred to as a type of giant elephant shrew, the creature is actually more closely related to elephants, sea cows, and aardvarks—although they diverged from a common ancestor approximately 100 million years ago. They are a good case for evolution not always favouring the prettiest.
Link: tinyurl.com/2vgu7l
Finally, science brings us a better onion
Using an inspired method of genetic manipulation known as RNA interference, the team was able to silence the gene responsible for making the sulphur- based tearing agent. These onions are said to be more flavourful and healthier compared to normal, unmodified onions. Expect these consumer-oriented genetic modifications—and public concern regarding them—to become more common in the near future. With these results, who could possibly be against genetically modified foods?
Link: tinyurl.com/ysl3ac
We have the technology. We can rebuild him
Named after Luke Skywalker’s artificial arm from Star Wars, the “Luke arm” may soon see clinical trials if approved by the FDA. Led by Dean Kamen of Deka Research and Development Corp. (best known for developing the Segway scooter), the research team intends the prosthetic to be immediately usable by amputees. This effort wasn’t without cost, using up $18.1 million of funding provided by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Link: tinyurl.com/2yn9jl
