| Cancer researcher wins science writing prize Rare childhood cancers are the subject of an award-winning essay by Nicola Harris in this year's Max Perutz prizeMy palms are sweaty and my mouth is dry, but it's more excitement than nerves, though of course the nerves are there, too. I've got my cells out of the incubator and now I just can't resist having a quick glance at them down the microscope – will I see more dead cells floating in one set than the other? I know I can't tell properly till I add some staining solution and analyse them accurately, but that will take hours and I just can't wait that long to find out: has it worked or not?If you've ever held that envelope of exam results and been desperate to tear them open and find out how you did, but also terrified to look in case you didn't get what you were hoping for, then you'll know exactly the sort of feelings I'm talking about.I'm working on tumour cells from two childhood cancers, called neuroblastoma and Ewing's sarcoma. These are both very hard to treat, with less than half the children surviving for five years after their diagnosis. That's the problem with treating cancer: some patients do brilliantly on a particular drug, but for others it'll have little effect. At the moment, it's often a case of trial and error working out which drug is going work – and some people simply run out of time before we can find the right one. So what I'm trying to find out is what causes the differences in responses and how can we use that to our advantage.The drug I'm using is called fenretinide, and it's similar to vitamin A (the vitamin found in carrots). It's able to kill cancer cells, while normal cells remain healthy. It works by causing a build-up of oxidants in the cells (you'll all probably have seen the adverts for beauty creams offering anti-oxidant properties to get glowing skin – that's because oxidants are bad news for cells!). Normal, healthy cells should be able to cope with the presence of a few oxidants, but cancer cells will already be exposed to high levels as they're produced when cells divide, and so they can't cope with the extra oxidants produced from fenretinide treatment.Due to its similarity to vitamin A, fenretinide can get into receptors meant for that vitamin and so the main side effect with fenretinide treatment is that the patients get what's called night-blindness; basically, you can't see very well in the dark. This makes it particularly suitable for treating childhood cancers as it's a much easier side effect to deal with than many other treatments – it's easier to give a five-year-old a night light than to comfort them as they're losing their hair. The problem is that fenretinide seems to work really well for some neuroblastoma and Ewing's sarcoma tumours, but not others. And I want to know why!I've found that some of the tumours have more of an enzyme called CYP26 than others, and this enzyme helps to metabolise fenretinide in the body. Usually, you'd expect the patients to do worse if their body is breaking down the drug, but fenretinide is a little different. As well as the drug itself being able to kill cancer cells (what we call an "active" compound), one of the metabolites of fenretinide is also active. This means there could be an extra hit from this second compound to those cancer cells where there is metabolism occurring. This is the reason I'm desperately hoping to see more dead cells in some of my flasks than others – these should hopefully be the cells with more CYP26.So what would it mean if I'm right about the link between CYP26 and how many cancer cells die? There are a few options, actually – we could be selective and only give the drug to those whose cancer has been tested and shown to have CYP26, or there are other drugs that have been shown to increase concentrations of CYP26 in the body, so alternatively these could be used in combination with fenretinide. The important point is that we could decide on which drug or combination of drugs to use based on what should work for each particular patient, and that's what this is all about – taking the guesswork out of cancer treatment.I've already analysed these cells to see how much CYP26 they have, and then I've added the drug and left them to grow for a few days (having a quick peek every day to see how they're getting on). Now it's the moment of truth, as I look down the microscope and bring the cells into focus...The prizeThe Max Perutz Science Writing Award, now in its 13th year, encourages young Medical Research Council scientists to communicate their research to a wider audience. The competition is open to all MRC-funded PhD students and asks them to describe the importance and excitement of their research.The 2010 award received a record number of submissions, with 114 entries. Twelve essays were shortlisted and judged by the MRC's outgoing chief executive, Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the Guardian's science and environment correspondent Alok Jha; the head of the MRC Centre, Cambridge, Dr Megan Davies; the former winner Dr Jacqueline Maybin; and the author and broadcaster Dr Alice Roberts.• Nicola Harris is at the Northern Institute of Cancer Research, Newcastle UniversityResearchCancerMedical researchHigher educationBiochemistry and molecular biologyPeople in scienceguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Brain region linked to introspection By LAURAN NEERGAARD 2010-09-16T18:03:58ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- Just how confident are you that you made the right decision? New research has uncovered a part of the brain that's larger in people who seem particularly introspective.... hosted.ap.org |
Birth Pangs Annie Murphy Paul’s balanced, common-sense study of the emerging field of fetal origins research is structured around her own pregnancy. feeds.nytimes.com |
Whale of a Trip: Humpback makes record migration By RAPHAEL G. SATTER 2010-10-13T22:03:15ZLONDON (AP) -- It wasn't love. It could have been adventure. Or maybe she just got lost.... hosted.ap.org |
The rise of rare earth elements Demand for REEs can only increase as cars, computers, mobile phones and other electronic equipment become more advancedThe "rare earth elements" are a group of 17 naturally occurring metallic elements used in small amounts in everything from high-powered magnets to batteries and electronic circuits. The materials (including scandium, yttrium and a group of elements called the lanthanides) have specific chemical and physical properties that make them useful in improving the performance of computer hard drives and catalytic converters, mobile phones, hi-tech televisions, sunglasses and lasers.As technology advances, so the demand for the metals rises; in the past decade, their use has doubled. There are several kilograms of such elements in typical hybrid petrol-electric cars made by Toyota and Honda, a market that will expand in coming years.Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually all that rare. In a report on the elements published this year, the British Geological Survey put their natural abundance on the same level as copper or lead.China has a near-monopoly on mining the elements. According to the geological survey China has 37% of the world's estimated reserves, about 36m tonnes, but controls more than 97% of production. The former Soviet bloc has around 19m tonnes and the US 13m, with other large deposits held by Australia, India, Brazil and Malaysia. The Royal Society of Chemistry is raising awareness of declining mineral resources, making conservation of rare earth and other elements a priority for 2011.The US House of Representatives is also worried about security of supply and is considering legislation to try to end America's dependence on Chinese imports. The Mountain Pass mine in California, shut down in 2002 because of environmental and cost issues, is now to be reopened, along with potential mines at Bear Lodge in Wyoming and Bokan Mountain in Alaska..Other sources, untapped as yet, include Greenland. Estimates suggest the land mass could meet 25% of global demand for REEs. South Africa also has potential for rich REE deposits, as do Malawi, Madagascar and Kenya.MiningAutomotive industryComputingChemistryGeologyAlok Jhaguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |