the-BA : Science News Digest

Stem cells could help restore the sight of victims of age-related blindness (Image copyright: istockphoto.com)

In the news this week: genetic secrets of diseases afflicting millions are revealed, wireless electricity shows promise and modern technology uncovers a 5,000 year old murder...

Hitting the headlines this week was a groundbreaking study into the genetics of seven common diseases which together affect more than 20 million people. The largest such study ever undertaken, it found 10 new genes linked to heart disease, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, bipolar disorder and Crohn’s disease, leading to greater understanding of these common conditions and paving the way for new treatments.

The two-year Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium screened DNA from 17,000 individuals, and involved a collaboration between 200 British scientists from 50 research groups. Dr Mark Walport, Director of the Wellcome Trust highlighted how just a few years ago such a large-scale project would have been considered wildly optimistic.

‘The new approach works well and reliably,’ said Professor Peter Donnelly of Oxford University, who led the scientific consortium behind the study. ‘Many of the most common diseases are very complex, part of “nature” and “nurture”, with genes interacting with our environment and lifestyles. Our understanding of the genetics of common diseases will change enormously over the coming years. I think we are just scratching the surface.’

One unexpected result of the 9 million pound study, was the finding that type 1 diabetes and the bowel condition Crohn’s disease are both associated with a gene called PTPN2. It suggests both auto-immune diseases share similar biological pathways. Read more about the study’s key findings in the Daily Telegraph’s article.

In another major breakthrough, announced this week in the journal Nature, stem cells capable of becoming any of the body’s tissues have been created from skin cells.

Only embryonic stem cells are thought to be truly capable of forming all tissues, but their use carries ethical concerns. Researchers claim that a new technique that “reprogrammes” skin cells can produce equally useful stem cells.

Four carefully selected genes were introduced into skin cells taken from adult mice. Scientists demonstrated that they were then able to develop into any type of tissue by labelling them and injecting them into early-stage mouse embryos. The cells were seen throughout the mice when they were born, reported the Guardian.

Scientists believe that a routine operation to restore the sight of people with the leading cause of blindness could be available within ten years, the Times announced.

14 million people in Europe are blind as a result of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in which light-processing retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) fail. Now, however, doctors are recruiting patients for clinical trials in which RPE cells grown from stem cells are transplanted into the affected area of the eye. They say that they are confident of success.

Transplants have already been successfully performed on a handful of patients using healthy cells from the periphery of their own eye, but two operations are involved and the surgery is associated with complications. Using RPE cells grown from embryonic stem cells should reduce the procedure to a 45-minute operation and make it more widely available. The scientists have already shown that lab-created RPE cells can restore vision in rats and will now work to ensure they are safe for use in people.

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have demonstrated the potential of wireless electricity by lighting a 60-watt bulb from a power source more than two metres away. “WiTricity”, as the MIT scientists have dubbed it, could pave the way for a truly wireless society where even power cables are unnecessary; removing the need to plug in wireless gadgets such as mobile phones and laptops to charge them.

The concept of using electromagnetic fields to transmit small amounts of power is more than a century old. But early attempts to demonstrate such energy transfer were highly inefficient and until now attempts have relied on an uninterupted line of sight. The new process was effective even when wood, metal and electronic objects were placed as obstructions between the transmitter and receiver.

The method relies on resonance – a phenomenon that causes an object to vibrate when energy of a certain frequency is applied. Rather than the well-known acoustic resonance responsible for glasses vibrating and smashing when singers hit certain notes, WiTricity exploits the resonance of low frequency electromagnetic waves.

The current system does still need work – it consisted of two 60 centimetre diameter copper coils and was only 40 per cent efficient. Assistant Professor Marin Soljacic told BBC News: ‘This was a rudimentary system that proves energy transfer is possible. You wouldn’t use it to power your laptop. The goal now is to shrink the size of these things, go over larger distances and improve efficiencies.’

BBC News also reported that a robot is being developed by the US military to help carry casualties from the battlefield. Capable of easily traversing long distances of rough terrain, and even stairs, after gently scooping up wounded soldiers, the remote-controlled Battlefield Extraction Assist Robot (BEAR) is able to stay balanced through a combination of gyroscopes and computer controlled motors. In order to ‘maintain that human touch’ the robot has been given a teddy bear appearance. Future applications of the robot could also include moving heavy hospital patients.

Researchers who have been carrying out a detailed analysis of the environmental impact of food think that the focus on “food miles” is too narrow and may even be counter-productive. According to their work, transporting the food to the shop accounts for only around two per cent of the ecological costs involved – the majority are contributed by food processing, storage, packaging and growing conditions.

Ruth Fairchild of the University of Wales Institute in Cardiff told the Guardian: ‘I’m a bit worried about the food miles [debate] because it is educating the consumer in the wrong way. It is such an insignificant point. Those [foods] could have been produced using pesticides that have travelled all the way around the world. If you just take food miles, it is the tiny bit on the end.’

With colleagues, she has designed a set of eco-diets to help consumers minimise the impact of food consumption on the planet. These take into account all the land needed to produce the food; from growth and harvesting, to processing, packaging and transportation. The key culprits to avoid if you wish to really reduce the ecological footprint of your diet are: cheese, ice-cream, wine, spirits, chocolate and most meat.

Other news in brief:

A new study carried out in France has revealed that people who spray pesticides on their houseplants have an increased risk of developing brain tumours. Researchers also observed a greater risk among agricultural workers who use pesticides. The specific chemicals responsible are yet to be determined.
(The Guardian)

Analysis of soil and grass samples across 200 UK sites has revealed that levels of dioxins – harmful carcinogens produced as a by-product of chemical and pesticide production as well as combustion of organic matter – have fallen by about 70 per cent since the mid-1980s. It is likely that this is a result of stringent regulations that were implemented then by the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory.
(BBC News)

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that a ‘significant and important step forward’ had been made at the G8 summit. The leaders agreed to seek 'substantial' cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions, with a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol negotiated by the end of 2009.
(BBC News)

1,149 species of animals and plants are now on the endangered list in Britain – almost double the number there were 13 years ago. 67 different types of habitat are also at risk. The list – which includes the skylark, red squirrel, grass snake and more than 400 insects – was compiled by the UK Biodiversity Action Plan following two years of research involving more than 500 wildlife experts and many volunteers.
(BBC News)

An analysis of nearly 200 publications involving comparison of two similar drugs has revealed that when one drug is found to be superior, it is about 20 times more likely that the manufacturer funded the study.

‘Many people are concerned about the growing proportion of drug trials funded by the drug’s manufacturers,’ said Lisa Bero, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of California. ‘If drug-trial outcomes are largely determined by who pays for the trial, we don’t really know what the best drug is.’
(The Times)

As part of the Disconnected Mind project, 1,100 Scottish pensioners gathered to re-sit the IQ test they took in 1947. The pensioners will continue to be tested as they pass through their 70s and will also undergo brain scans. By analysing what impact lifestyle, diet, exercise and genetics have had on their mental acuity over a lifetime, the project hopes to shed light on factors that influence mental decline and aid the creation of preventative strategies for future generations.

The project was conceived after the fortuitous discovery of the results of the 1932 and 1947 Mental Survey Tests, which had been locked away in the basement of the Scottish Council for Research in Education.
(The Times)

Researchers have created a talking interactive billboard prototype. In response to a user’s touch, the display emits recorded sound – thanks to conductive inks that are sensitive to pressure, digital paper embedded with electronics, and printed speakers. The team from Mid Sweden University envisage a whole range of future applications – from advertising displays to product packaging, although the displays are currently expensive to produce.
(BBC News)

And finally...

Archeologists believe they have finally solved the mystery of how the world’s most famous iceman died in about 3300BC, the Independent reported; he bled to death from an arrow wound to his shoulder.

The prehistoric man, nicknamed Ötzi, was found frozen on a glacier in the Italian alps by hikers in 1991. His body, which had been preserved in ice for more than 5,000 years, was accompanied by a bow, arrows, a flint dagger and a copper axe. He was also carrying plants with powerful pharmacological properties, and there have been numerous theories about who he was and how he died.

Now, using modern computer tomographic (CT) scan technology, researchers have been able to build up a three-dimensional image of Ötzi. This revealed that the artery underneath his collarbone had been pierced, resulting in a large amount of internal bleeding in the surrounding tissue. Coupled with the recent discovery of an arrowhead embedded in his shoulder, the researchers propose that Ötzi bled to death after the arrowhead sliced through the vital artery.