In recent biology news: an update on an alternative radiation therapy for cancer; a human stem cell breakthrough; and potentially useful turtle DNA.
Alternative radiation for cancer
In an April 4 article, Asian News International (ANI) reports on promising research about an alternative cancer treatment: boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT). A study was published online March 27, ahead of the print version, in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” (PNAS). The lead researcher is M. Frederick Hawthorne, Director of the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine of the University of Missouri. The team infused cancerous cells with boron, and then exposed the cells to neutrons, which caused the boron to shatter and lyse the cells. Benign cells were left unharmed.
Intestinal human stem cells isolated
In an April 5 news article, News-Medical.Net pronounces that for the first time adult stem cells have been isolated from the human intestine. A study published online April 4 in the periodical “Stem Cells” describes using the technique of fluorescence–activated cell sorting for isolating populations of human intestinal epithelial stem cell (IESC). Previously, researchers resorted to studying IESCs from mice. This allowed some scientific progress, but was limited by the differences between mouse and human stem cells, the article relates. The discovery could be advantageous to research on inflammatory bowel disease or other ailments of the gut. Co–lead authors were Adam D. Gracz and Megan K. Fuller. The study was performed in the laboratory of Scott T. Magness, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. As stated, “The Magness lab was the first in the United States to isolate and grow single intestinal stem cells from mice.”
Turtle DNA could give insight for human medical treatment
In an April 5 article, Dene Moore of “The Canadian Press” reports that scientists have decoded the DNA of the Western painted turtle and that it could advance research on treating hypothermia or frostbite. Chrysemys picta bellii is a brightly colored, North American, freshwater turtle. Moore writes about how the Western painted turtle can freeze and return to healthy activity after thawing, as well as being able to hold its breath for four days at room temperature. The National Human Genome Research Institute in the United States funded the study, which was published in the periodical “Genome Biology.”
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