Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Want to gain weight? Increase your iron level.
At least it works for yeast. As much as we like to believe that humans are unique, even the humble yeast shares many of our genetic pathways.
Drs. Thiele and Geller at Duke University have discovered that if cells are deficient in iron, they respond by shunting the iron from the mitochondria of the cells to other places more critical for life. The cells then make more of their ATP (energy units) from glucose by a much less efficient method -18 times less energy from the same amount of glucose. This can result in lethargy and also poor cognitive development.
A longer summary of this article may be found at http://www.eurekalert.org/ Duke scientists show why cells starved of iron burn more glucose
Earlier research by another group showed that at the age of puberty when women begin losing iron due to menstruation, they need to make sure their iron levels are sufficient. This iron anemia seems to be one of the reasons that men overtake women in math ability at that time.
Good news for Parkinson’s Disease!
Autologous adult stem cells were taken from the olfactory nerve in the nose were harvested, multiplied and transplanted into rats which had undergone a surgical procedure which damaged their dopamine-producing neurons on one side of their brains.
Within three weeks, all of the rats showed dramatic improvement in their Parkinson like behaviors. Subsequent tests showed the presence of dopamine in this area of the brain. None of the rats had tumors such as had developed after transplantation with embryonic stem cells.
A longer summary of this article may be found at http://www.eurekalert.org Adult stem cell findings offer new hope for Parkinson's cure
The original article is from the current issue of the journal Stem Cells.
Within three weeks, all of the rats showed dramatic improvement in their Parkinson like behaviors. Subsequent tests showed the presence of dopamine in this area of the brain. None of the rats had tumors such as had developed after transplantation with embryonic stem cells.
A longer summary of this article may be found at http://www.eurekalert.org Adult stem cell findings offer new hope for Parkinson's cure
The original article is from the current issue of the journal Stem Cells.
Monday, June 2, 2008
I'm Proud to Tell You aboutTwo New Novels
Today, a different side of my life. I will continue to post short summaries of some of those science articles which are of particular interest to me, but today, I want to introduce you to my son, John B. Olson, who is not only a scientist (Ph.D. in biochemistry) but is also a gifted writer of fiction. His fourth novel, Fossil Hunter, is now in the book stores.
You have probably heard of the movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. John wrote Fossil Hunter as a part of that project: to help people understand that Science and religion are not incompatible.
While this mother is bragging, let me tell you about his next book, Shade.
John’s sister and brother and I have been waiting for Melchi and Hailey to come to life for about ten years. Finally it’s happening. Shade will be published this September.
I know of evil in the world, but usually I don’t look in that direction for entertainment. I would not have started reading this book if my son had not written it. But it is so compelling and so well plotted that I dearly love it. There is a clip of it at his http://www.litany.com/ web site if you’d like a little preview.
You have probably heard of the movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. John wrote Fossil Hunter as a part of that project: to help people understand that Science and religion are not incompatible.
While this mother is bragging, let me tell you about his next book, Shade.
John’s sister and brother and I have been waiting for Melchi and Hailey to come to life for about ten years. Finally it’s happening. Shade will be published this September.
I know of evil in the world, but usually I don’t look in that direction for entertainment. I would not have started reading this book if my son had not written it. But it is so compelling and so well plotted that I dearly love it. There is a clip of it at his http://www.litany.com/ web site if you’d like a little preview.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Alzheimer’s: New Protease Inhibitor Effective in Reducing Plaque Formation and Improving Memory in APP Mice
Maybe this is the treatment we’ve all been hoping for! Ninety-nine per cent of humans with Alzheimer’s have this same genetic mutation. This has not been tried in humans yet. It seems like mice have all the luck!
New research indicates that the cause of Alzheimer’s in most (99%) humans is an incorrect splicing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by a protease named Cathepsin B (CatB). The small peptides that are formed are toxic to brain cells. These peptide particles combine to form Amyloid Beta plaques which are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
There is not complete agreement as to whether the resulting Amyloid Beta plaque is toxic or not.
The CatB enzyme which incorrectly splits the APP has been blocked in mice bred to have the mutation causing their Alzheimer-like disorder by the enzymes, E64d and CA074Me. This resulted in improved memory and reduced Amyloid Beta plaque.
There was no mention of deleterious side effects.
No human trials have been announced.
You can see a more complete summary of this article by going to http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/uoc--pad031108.php
To see the article itself, go to the March 21 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, online March 14 at
http://www.jbc.org/cgi/gca?allch=&SEARCHID=1&FULLTEXT=beta+secretase+protease&VOLUME=283&ISSUE=12&FIRSTINDEX=0&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&gca=jbc%3B283%2F12%2F7745&allchb=
Thank you Professor Vivian Y. H. Hook and colleagues, Mark Kindy and Gregory Hook for this research.
New research indicates that the cause of Alzheimer’s in most (99%) humans is an incorrect splicing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) by a protease named Cathepsin B (CatB). The small peptides that are formed are toxic to brain cells. These peptide particles combine to form Amyloid Beta plaques which are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
There is not complete agreement as to whether the resulting Amyloid Beta plaque is toxic or not.
The CatB enzyme which incorrectly splits the APP has been blocked in mice bred to have the mutation causing their Alzheimer-like disorder by the enzymes, E64d and CA074Me. This resulted in improved memory and reduced Amyloid Beta plaque.
There was no mention of deleterious side effects.
No human trials have been announced.
You can see a more complete summary of this article by going to http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-03/uoc--pad031108.php
To see the article itself, go to the March 21 edition of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, online March 14 at
http://www.jbc.org/cgi/gca?allch=&SEARCHID=1&FULLTEXT=beta+secretase+protease&VOLUME=283&ISSUE=12&FIRSTINDEX=0&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&gca=jbc%3B283%2F12%2F7745&allchb=
Thank you Professor Vivian Y. H. Hook and colleagues, Mark Kindy and Gregory Hook for this research.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Alcohol Increases Your Risk of Getting Breast Cancer
Red wine is good for you, right? – Buzzz. - Not when it comes to breast cancer. According to a study involving 70,033 multi-ethnic women, anything that contains alcohol increases your risk for breast cancer.
How much of a risk are we talking about? Compared to women who drank less than one alcoholic beverage a day, those drinking one or two had a 10% increased risk. Those drinking three of more per day had an increased risk of 30%.
This 30% risk is similar to the increase in risk which results from smoking a pack or more of cigarettes per day.
The statistical risk of using Hormone Replacement (HR) is not universally agreed upon. One study reported an increased risk of 1 chance in 60 and another an increase of 1 chance in 1000 of developing breast cancer from use of conjugated progesterone/estrogenic hormones or plain estrogen.
Unfortunately, the jury is still out on the effects of the hormone therapies. In the meanwhile, drug companies are rushing to supply us with drugs to reduce development of osteoporosis, weight gain, circulatory disorders and hot flashes.
The information on the alcohol effects was presented by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, USA at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) in Barcelona.
For further information on how alcohol affects the development of breast cancer, go to http://www.eurekalert.org - Wine, women and... spirits, beer and breast cancer risk
How much of a risk are we talking about? Compared to women who drank less than one alcoholic beverage a day, those drinking one or two had a 10% increased risk. Those drinking three of more per day had an increased risk of 30%.
This 30% risk is similar to the increase in risk which results from smoking a pack or more of cigarettes per day.
The statistical risk of using Hormone Replacement (HR) is not universally agreed upon. One study reported an increased risk of 1 chance in 60 and another an increase of 1 chance in 1000 of developing breast cancer from use of conjugated progesterone/estrogenic hormones or plain estrogen.
Unfortunately, the jury is still out on the effects of the hormone therapies. In the meanwhile, drug companies are rushing to supply us with drugs to reduce development of osteoporosis, weight gain, circulatory disorders and hot flashes.
The information on the alcohol effects was presented by Dr. Arthur Klatsky of the Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program, Oakland, USA at the European Cancer Conference (ECCO 14) in Barcelona.
For further information on how alcohol affects the development of breast cancer, go to http://www.eurekalert.org - Wine, women and... spirits, beer and breast cancer risk
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Roasted Corn in Coffee
Dr. Gulab Jham and his associates at the USDA have developed a method of detecting adulteration of ground coffee with roasted corn by measuring its Vitamin E content. Based on his detection method, one popular brand of Brazilian coffee was found to contain about nine percent corn.
Consumers are being cheated by this substitution as coffee beans are much more expensive than corn.
This article, “Gamma-Tocopherol as a Marker of Brazilian Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Adulteration by Corn” can be found in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry located on line at < http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/jafcau/2007/55/i15/pdf/jf070967n.pdf >.
Now wouldn’t it be a kick in the head if it were the Vitamin E in coffee that was responsible for the recently touted health effects of coffee?
Consumers are being cheated by this substitution as coffee beans are much more expensive than corn.
This article, “Gamma-Tocopherol as a Marker of Brazilian Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) Adulteration by Corn” can be found in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry located on line at < http://pubs.acs.org/cgi-bin/sample.cgi/jafcau/2007/55/i15/pdf/jf070967n.pdf >.
Now wouldn’t it be a kick in the head if it were the Vitamin E in coffee that was responsible for the recently touted health effects of coffee?
Lowering Blood Sugar Level While Reducing Hunger
According to new research, if you moderate sugars and consume low Glycemic Index (GI) foods, your blood sugar level will be improved. If you eat such foods for both breakfast and supper, the effect continues for the entire 24 hour period. More information can be found at <http://www.eurekalert.org/ - Right breakfast bread keeps blood sugar in check all day>.
Glucose has a Glycemic Index of 100. Low glycemic foods have GIs around half of that of glucose. Some examples are whole/cracked grains and most fruits and vegetables. Notable exceptions are potatoes and some types of rice. A good source of information for Glycemic Indexes is.
Because these foods are not quickly and easily digestible, they pass from the upper part of the digestive tract where food breakdown and absorption generally occur, to the colon where friendly bacteria continue this processing. Some of the short-chained fatty acid byproducts can be absorbed into the blood stream. These can reduce inflammation and risk of diabetic conditions. As a bonus dividend, they also moderate hunger.
According to Wikipedia (Vinegar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) consuming vinegar as part of a meal will lower the GI of foods.
May all your sandwiches be on dark bread served with an extra slice of dill pickle.
Glucose has a Glycemic Index of 100. Low glycemic foods have GIs around half of that of glucose. Some examples are whole/cracked grains and most fruits and vegetables. Notable exceptions are potatoes and some types of rice. A good source of information for Glycemic Indexes is
Because these foods are not quickly and easily digestible, they pass from the upper part of the digestive tract where food breakdown and absorption generally occur, to the colon where friendly bacteria continue this processing. Some of the short-chained fatty acid byproducts can be absorbed into the blood stream. These can reduce inflammation and risk of diabetic conditions. As a bonus dividend, they also moderate hunger.
According to Wikipedia (Vinegar - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) consuming vinegar as part of a meal will lower the GI of foods.
May all your sandwiches be on dark bread served with an extra slice of dill pickle.
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