NEWS 6

Egyptian president says ‘Western’ human rights don’t apply to his country

Activists say the government should stop making excuses for 'disturbing' civil liberties crackdown

This piece of news tells us that Egypt’s president has said that human rights and freedoms should not be viewed from a “Western perspective”, because of the differences between the conditions of their country and the European ones. This makes it difficult to apply the same rules that regard civil liberties.

However, Britain and France have recently criticised Egypt’s government for human rights abuses and attacking the freedom of the press. An Egypt specialist at Amnesty International, Nicholas Piachaud, told that president Sisi should stop making excuses for disturbing human rights crackdown.

This article is an example of what human rights violations are. Sisi’s excuses are unjustifiable. Saying that “Western” perspective shouldn’t be applied to his country because of the differences between the countries is a big lie. Human rights should be always respected, in all over the world.

source

Vocabulary:
campaigner
sparked
uprising

NEWS 5

Could this 'miracle drug' extend your life? First results of anti-ageing medical trial on dogs are ‘astonishing', says scientist

This article tells us about rapamycin, which it is a bacterial by-product discovered in soil at Easter Island. This by-product is already used in transplant patients to prevent the common organ rejection. Rapamycin was first tested on mice and scientists found it increases their life and this anti-aging drug is now tested on dogs. The study found that dogs that received the drug showed improved heart functionality, and what is more, it increased dogs lifespan.
It is a very intersting news because it tells you that it is possible to find a way to extend our life. Maybe it remains a lot of time to achieve this goal, but who knows if this drug can improve human lifespan as it did with mice and dogs. Science is the largest field of investigation and, with patience and improvement, can let humans life longer.

source

Vocabulary:
lifespan
weed out
rejection

NEWS 4

A lack of sleep can leave you 'functionally DRUNK', in a matter of days, experts warn 

This news article says that experts warn sleep is much more important than people realize. People who sleep 6 hours a night are already building up a sleep debt. This article says that an study reveals that middle-aged men are most likely to be sleep deprived. In addition, women tend to go to bed earlier and wake up later (especially aged between 30 to 60).
In this news appears the amazing comment that experts at University of Michigan said: 'It doesn't take that many days of not getting enough sleep before you're functionally drunk'. That means that the effects of lack of sleep could be similar to the ones you have when you are drunk. This piece of news is interesting because, as it is said, people don't realize how important sleep is. Some bad habits could lead people to think this way.

This news made me reflect about this issue and awared me of the importance of sleeping the necessary time to let the body and the mind rest.

source

Vocabulary:
counterpart
tug-of-war
board

NEWS 1

Are aliens living just 40 light-years away? Astronomers 'hit the jackpot' by finding THREE Earth-sized habitable worlds bathed in 'eerie red light' around a nearby star

This news article explains about astronomers have noticed three Earth-sized planets orbiting a dwarf star. Although it seems to be far away, the miniature planetary system is just 40 light-years away from Earth. Astronomers wish that at least one of these worlds may be not too hot, not too cold, but 'just right', like Earth. This article also tells us that scientists are optimistic; they said they may have 'hit the jackpot' in the search for life in another planet different from ours.

In my opinion, this piece of news is encouraging, so scientists hope they've discovered a planet, relatively close to Earth, that may be perfect to inhabit. It is quite interesting to know that because, as we all know, there will be a time when Earth will disappear (hopefully, not in the near future) and this kind of discovery could let life prevail in the future. Lots of scientists are worried about this issue, but if we are lucky it would be solved by the time Earth "stops working."

 source

Vocabulary:
dwarf
dim
innermost
sweet spot

NEWS 3

Are we on the brink of a UNIVERSAL cancer cure? Cutting off key supply routes to starve diseased cells of nutrients 'eradicates tumors'

This news explains that scientists have identified a key supply route that incited cancer cells. This article says that they blocked gateways, allowing cells to obtain glutamine, an amino acid that by blocking it, experts stopped cancer cells growing.

This key supply could bring a universal cancer cure, it raises hopes of a universal cancer treatment, because it is a very common mechanism present in all cancer cells. According to thist piece of news, it could lead to reduce chemotherapy severe side-effects.

Every new article about health that I read, encourages me a lot more. Cancer is one of the most difficult diseases to treat. However, scientists are working hard to approach us to the best cure of that disease. Every new knowledge can lead to save many lifes and this is the best way of guaranting a better health. 

source
Vocabulary:
to be prone to
gateways
spared

NEWS 2

Jellyfish Lake is losing its namesake: Droughts and El Nino cause numbers to plummet from 8 million to just 600,000

In this article we learn that Saltwater Lake has been, for a long time, a source of wonder for tourists, because of the huge number of jellyfish living in the lake. However, in recent weeks, tourists have tried so hard to find even a single jellyfish, but they couldn't.

Scientists hold responsibility to a severe drought and to hotter temperatures, that is caused by the global warming process that our planet is experiencing. Recent estimates said the numbers of jellyfish at the lake had declined from 8 million to 600,000, a very alarming information.

I have never heard about this lake, I thought that jellies only lived in the sea. However, this surprising and noticeable fall of the number of jellyfish it is very disturbing. Because of the lack of responsibility that humans have about the protection of our planet, facts like that are happening. Although now it is almost impossible to stop it global warming, let's try to stabilize it.

source

Vocabulary:

snorkelling
rebound
struggle

News: How much caffeine is safe?

How much caffeine is safe? As experts say schoolchildren should be warned of the dangers, we reveal how much is in YOUR favourite drink...

This new article explains about that eight in 10 school children consume drinks with a high level of caffeine. In addition, it tells us that more than 11% of students have energy drinks, fizzy drinks or coffe every day. It also explains that, although caffeine is acceptable for adults, it is not safe for children. The article also mentions that children should be taught about the health dangers that stimulants like caffeine have.

In my opinion this article should be shown in every school, so teachers can control, at least during class hours, the dosis that schoolchildren take of stimulant drinks. It also can be shown to parents to warn of the dangers that some of the most common drinks that children takes are not safe at all.
This piece of news is interesting because it tells people that we should regulate the amount of timilant drinks that children have. Stimulants are also found in foods and drinks with strong colours -the colours are chemical and so they are harmful.
In cloncusion, this article is very good to make aware of the dangers of a high leve consumtion of stimulant drinks.

source

Vocabulary:
curb
roughly
mug
sharpen
jittery
scatty
enhance

News: The twins with DIFFERENT fathers

The twins with DIFFERENT fathers: DNA test reveals 'extremely rare' case where both boys were born on the same day

This article explains that "a Vietnamese woman has given birth to twins with different fathers." The twins are the same sex and were born the same day. The piece of news also tells that this case occurred when their father had a DNA test because the children did not look alike him. This revealed the children had different fathers. This extrange case can occur if eggs are fertilized by sperm from two different men within a 7-day ovulation period. There is a miniscule chance that different sperm cells can fertilise two separate eggs -only another seven cases like that are registered in medical literature until now-.

It really shocked me because I've heard about the twins fertilization, that it could occur when two spermatozoon fertilize one egg, or when two spermatozoon fertilize two different eggs. But in this case explained by the news article, we can refer to that phenomena as an heteropaternal superfecundation, which means the fertilisation of multiple eggs, by more than one father, from separate acts of intercourse. As the article says, this is an "extremely rare" case because there are a few possibilities of fertilizing a woman by two different men in that short period of time.

source

Vocabuary:

underwent (undergo)

reported

ruled (rule)

News: Has a mythological monster been found?

Has a mythological monster been found? 250 million year old reptile named after fierce lizard with a dog's head... and it can teach us about how crocodiles evolved

This piece of news tells us that researchers have found the fossil of a legendary reptile, named Teyujagua, that lived 250 million years ago in Brazil. The extrange fossil is helping scientists understand the origins of archosauriforms as well as the evolution of both modern day birds and crocodiles. It also says that its anatomy is in between primitive reptiles and archosauriforms, an important group of vertebrates that includes all the extinct dinosaurs and pterosaurs.
The article also explains that Teyujagua lived just after the 90% of living species on Earth had been wiped out, so "it had a combination of features never seen before, indicating the unique position of Teyujagua in the evolutionary tree of an important group of vertebrates.'

When we all believe that there are no more species to discover, researchers find a "new" fossil of a unique reptil called Teyujagua. It is a very interesting article because now scientists can determine better the origins and evolution of modern species like crocodiles and birds. It is amazing how can a fossil improve our knowledge and let researchers understand better the evolution of some species.

source

Vocabulary:
namesake
snout
ongoing
insight

News: Is technology causing us to 'evolve' into a new SPECIES?

Is technology causing us to 'evolve' into a new SPECIES? Expert believes super humans called Homo optimus will talk to machines and be 'digitally immortal' by 2050

This article talks about the prediction that Dr Ian Pearson made. The futurologist said that humans  will be able to combine himself with computers and evolve to Homo optimus species by 2050. This would be possible thanks to technology progress. The news also explains that the new species, a mix of human and computer, will have superior senses, memory and also intelligence.
"We will be able to connect directly with technology through 'electronic skin' or tiny implants between our skin cells."-said Dr Pearson.
To sum up, Dr Pearson believe that humans will be technologically better (he claims transhumanism) and that we could also have talking pets (like 'real-life Furbies').

In my opinion, this article is so much optimistic. It's hard to belive tech can evolve that much in a short period of time. But if it could be possible, I won't support it. Basicaly because I think human is the only SPECIES that can lead world. If we mix with computers, we will lose our empathy, so we will be cold androids. So I don't belive this prediction is possible (at least in the next century), but if it could hapen, I will not agree with that.

VOCABULARY
merge
breakthrogh
split into

NEWS

Injecting white blood cells with a cancer-killing protein transforms them into 'super natural killer cells that ANNIHILATE the disease'

This news article explains about scientists at Cornell University who have done a breakthrough wich consists of in a possible cure to cancer disease.
They have already tested on mice, injecting them a kind of white-blood-cell (WBC) with a protein, called TRAIL that was created by these scientists. This protein turns WBC into what they have called "super natural killer cells". The role that TRAIL has is to seek out cancer cells and to wipe out them by inducing to the cell apoptosis state (the disease self-destructs and desintegrates).
This fact implies that the disease will not spread through other parts of the body.

So it seems that these scientists have found new technical advances to prevent and eliminate cancer metastasis.
This article amazed me, because it showed me how far Science is progessing. Many scientists have tried to find a cure to cancer. Some of them almost achieved it and others weren't so lucky. It is very positive to our society to know perfectly this diseasse and obtain a cure of it, so it will improve our living standard.

NEWS

Superbugs 'are now resistant to ALL drugs': Scientists announce germs have breached last line of antibiotic defences that could lead to untreatable infections

Chinese doctors working with UK experts from Bristol and Cardiff universities discovered that "Superbugs are threatening to unleash a global epidemic of untreatable infections after breaching the last line of antibiotic defences, scientists announced last night."
Polymyxins were until now the only group of antibiotics that worked but now experts have identified the first germs to become resistant to the drugs. They warned of the inevitable spread of uncontrollable superbugs that attack the blood and lungs.

They had found a gene which enables infectious bacteria such as E.coli to become untreatable.
The alarming findings show that the mobile gene can easily be transferred to other types of bacteria.
Polymyxins are widely used in farming, if bugs in animals become resistant to the drugs, they could be transferred to humans who eat the meat.

The more that antibiotics are used the easier it is for bacteria to evolve to become resistant to them.

NEWS

Lost your sense of humour? You may be sleep deprived 

A survey by the University of Leeds found that a 25 per cent of people get less than five hours' sleep a night.
The researchers also noted a distinct mismatch between how much sleep people intended to get - or thought they needed - and what they actually got.

YOU GET EVERY COLD AND VIRUS GOING
People who sleep for less than six hours a night are four times more likely to come down with a cold than those sleeping for seven or more hours.
'Sleep deprivation has a negative impact on the immune system.'
White blood cells called lymphocytes don't reproduce effectively when we're sleep deprived.
JOKES ARE LOST ON YOU
Scientists in the U.S. found that we lose our sense of humour when we're tired, because finding something funny is one of the most complex brain processes.
YOU SOUND LIKE A ROBOT
Sleep experts say a 'tired' voice tends to sound flat and monotone. This is because the muscles in the throat that govern the sound of our voice are not as well controlled when we're tired.
ACHES AND PAINS SEEM WORSE
A common test for pain tolerance is to see how long someone can keep their hand in cold water. Those with insomnia removed their hand earlier than those sleeping well.
ALCOHOL GOES TO YOUR HEAD
'It's been estimated that a unit of alcohol drunk when someone is sleep deprived will have the same effect on performance as three units consumed when someone is fully rested'.
PEOPLE TELL YOU TO CHEER UP
As we're less able to control our muscles when we're sleep deprived, our face droops meaning others may think we look sad.
YOU EAT MORE THAN USUAL
When researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder in the U.S. asked people to reduce their sleep to just five hours a night and left them with easy access to snacks during the day, they gained an average of 2lb in just one week.
'Sleep loss is almost the perfect storm for over-eating and weight gain'.
YOU FORGET KEY INFORMATION
Poor sleep is known to affect memory function. Experts suspect that sleep is a time when we consolidate memory, with the brain working out which of the events of the day we need to recall and which can be forgotten.
YOU FEEL SLEEPY AT ELEVNSES
Feeling sleepy after lunch is not a sign of sleep deprivation, says Dr Stanley. 'That's normal and related to the body clock and a natural fall in body temperature that occurs at this time.' However, feeling like you could nod off at 11am is a sign you need more sleep.

News: Biologists Identify Vulnerability in Brain Cancer Cells

Researchers have discovered a vulnerability of brain cancer cells that could offer a new opportunity for treatment of glioblastoma. Researchers find a subset of glioblastoma tumor cell that is dependent on a particular enzyme that breaks down the amino acid glycine. Without this enzyme, toxic metabolic byproducts build up inside the tumor cells, and they die. Blocking this enzyme in glioblastoma cells could offer a new way to combat this tumors. Loss of GLDC produces a disorder (nonketotic hyperglycinemia, which can cause severe mental retardation). The researchers found that GLDC is overexpressed only in glioblastoma cells with SHMT2 gene. Those cells are dependent on GLDC and when they lose it, they die. SHMT2 is expressed most highly in cancer cells and gives these cells a survival edge because it can indirectly influence the activity of PKM2 enzyme, that can impact whether cells can generate the material to build new cancer cells, but the same regulation also affects the consumption of oxygen. Without GLDC, glycine enters a different metabolic pathway that generates toxic products that accumulate and kill the cell. The finding also raises the possibility that these GLDC-dependent cells could be killed with drugs that block GLDC activity.

Source: Anne Trafton, MIT News
source

News: Energy Drinks Significantly Increase Hyperactivity and Inattention in Children

Middle-school children who consume amounts of sweetened energy drinks are 66% more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and inattention symptoms. The finding has implications for school success and experts recommend children avoid energy drinks, which also often contain caffeine. Boys (specielly black and Hispanic boys) were more likely to consume energy drinks than girls. "The results support the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that parents should limit consumption of sweetened beverages and that children should not consume any energy drinks.” 

Previous research has shown a strong correlation between children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and poor academic outcomes, greater difficulties with peer relationships, and increased susceptibility to injuries. 

In addition to hyperactivity and inattention, sugared beverages also impact childhood obesity and sugar-sweetened beverages are a leading cause of added calories in the diets of obese children. 

Source: Michael Greenwood, Yale University

source

News: Engineers Develop Probiotics That Can Detect Tumors

A team of engineers, by using probiotics, has devised a new way to detect cancer that metastasize to the liver. Those patients with liver's cancer have a higher survival rate, so there’s a particular need for detecting its early metastasis. The researchers programmed a strain of bacteria E. coli to produce a luminescent signal that can be detected with a urine test.

Previous studies had shown that bacteria E. coli can penetrate and grow in the tumor microenvironment, where there are lots of nutrients and the body’s immune system is compromised. Because of this, scientists have been trying to develop bacteria as a possible vehicle for cancer treatment. The researchers decided to investigate the possibility of delivering the bacteria orally. This allowed the team to develop a diagnostic specialized for liver tumors. In tests in mice with colon cancer that has spread to the liver, the probiotic bacteria colonized nearly 90% of the metastatic tumors.  The researchers focused on the liver because it is difficult to diagnose metastatic tumors there. With the new system, they can detect bigger liver tumors offering more sensitivity than imaging methods. The MIT team is now pursuing the idea of using probiotic bacteria to treat cancer, as well as for diagnosing it.

Source: Anne Trafton, MIT News

source

Cancer treatment: New nanodevice defeats drug resistance

Massachusetts Institute of Technology has discovered a new nanodevice that blocks the gene that gives drug resistance to tumors. Then tumors will be debilitated and would be easier to cemotherapy to combat cancer. 

The device, which consists of gold nanoparticles embedded in a hydrogel that can be injected or implanted at a tumor site, could also be used in any gene involved in cancer.

Nataly Artzi used the new device and implanted it in mice with a type of human breast tumor. It blocks the gene MRP1, that gives drug resistance, and then apply the chemotherapy drug and the researchers removed tumors by 90 percent in two weeks, proving its effectiveness.

"Drug resistance is a huge hurdle in cancer therapy and the reason why chemotherapy, in many cases, is not very effective," says João Conde. To overcome this, the researchers created gold nanoparticles coated with strands of DNA complementary to the sequence of MRP1 messenger RNA.

When the DNA encounters the correct mRNA sequence inside a cancer cell, it unfolds and binds to the mRNA, preventing the generation of more molecules of the MRP1 protein. So the device silences the gene that synthesise the MRP1 and now the cell is no longer resistant to that drug, proving its efficacy. The device emits fluorescence allowing the researchers to visualize what is happening inside the cells. Because of this, the particles could also be used for diagnosis -- specifically, determining if a certain cancer-related gene is activated in tumor cells.

The DNA-coated gold nanoparticles are embedded in an adhesive gel that stays in place and coats the tumor after being implanted, so this protects them from degradation and also enables sustained drug release, Artzi says.

This approach could be adapted to deliver any kind of drug or gene therapy targeted to a specific gene involved in cancer, the researchers say. 

Jeffrey Karp, an associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, who was not involved in the research says that "Hopefully this approach will perform in studies beyond 14 days and be translatable to patients, who are desperate for new and more effective treatment regimens."

link

It is a very interesting article that informs us of an important scientific research advance. Cancer is a disease very difficult to combat with any drug, so this are good news for patients who have it. Now there is a little more hope for them and luckily in a few month will be used with them.

Biodegradable Plastic Option From Shrimp Shells

The scientific Javier Fernández, doctor in Nanobiotechnologyat the University of Barcelona, a Harvard researcher and a professor at the Singapore University of Technology and Design is the discoverer of new utilities that can be attributed to this amazing material: chitosan.

It is a biodegradable material that brings hope to the fields of industry and medicine. Aims to reduce plastic consumption. The scientist discovered this substance studying shells of insects and crustaceans and because of that, failed to understand why it was necessary to create the shrilk, a mixture of chitosan (material from the shells of crustaceans and insects) and fibroin (a silk protein), which has a greater force than plastic and it also has the advantage of being biodegradable.

Thanks to publications that talk about this material, medical and industry companies were interested with this material. But there was a problem: silk is too much expensive  and raise the industrial process, and because of that, Javier Fernández and his team managed to remove the silk off the composition.

The researcher emphasizes that different techniques have been used to design the structure and the properties of chitosan, and have been reoriented to other applications. Therefore it is a material that has already existed. It is very easy to obtain because it is the second most abundant organic material on Earth, and is a material that normally ends up in the trash.

Unfortunately, it has not been well studied until now because, after it was discovered, the plastic was created and the research stopped. But when the concern for sustainable materials emerged, their study was resumed.

The scientist says that will soon the production of chitosan can be very high. But while the plastic is present, it will be difficult to introduce it. Meanwhile Javier Fernández will continue to develop applications of the material to give reasons for the generational change.

Link1                                                     Link2
This is a great advance and discover to ecologist worried about environment. Personaly I think it is good to depend less of plastic and keep some petrol to the future. Because unfortunately, plastic is not recyclable and it is very prejudicial to the ecosystem. but now with this biodegradable material, we can start saving our environment.

Teixobactin

A team of scientists (from the US biotechnology company NovoBiotic Pharmaceuticals) reveals the results of his research on antibiotic called teixobactina. It is created from the soil where there are bacteria. The drug kills gram-positive bacteria and they do not cause an immediate resistance.

There has always been the problem that bacteria are "immunized" of antibiotics as microorganisms have evolved to resist them. So the teixobactina is a breakthrough for medicine because to bacteria it will be difficult to combat it.

It used to be impossible to grow bacteria out of their environment, but these researchers developed a membrane that 'cheated' bacteria and made them believe that they were in their natural environment when they were in a laboratory. This can lead to complicated natural ways to cure diseases like cancer.

It has not yet been tested in humans yet (it has been tested on mice and is effective), and it is too early to make it available.

It is expected that bacteria take more than 30 years to create genetic resistance to teixobactina . It is due because it inhibits the synthesis of peptidoglycan of the cell wall . That is why, researchers thought that the target could be a lipid, because when Teixobactine links up to lipids, bacteria can not continue to form the wall, and finally debilitate the organism and dies.

The drawback is that Teixobactine only works on gram-negative bacteria, which have an additional cell wall on the membrane and make them resistant to this antibiotic. But after overcome the obstacle of growing microorganisms in laboratories, it is possible that appear an effective compound against these bacteria and help to find future cures.

News link

I've been looking for articles about biology and medicine and I found this very interesting story. I was surprised because it is a recent discovery and that means that the field of medicine continues advancing and providing much help to present and future illnesses (although it is true that it passed a lot of time since the last injection of medicine to society) .

News3

World's Oldest People Are Genetically Superior

http://news.discovery.com/human/genetics/worlds-oldest-people-are-genetically-superior-141112.htm

Researchers have studied the genomes (a full set of chromosomes; all the inheritable traits of an organism) of 17 “supercentarians” (people over 110 years of age) and conclude that they have special genes that promote longevity. Lifestyle choices (smoking, alcohol consumption,...) don’t seem to matter much for those who want to reach that ages, according to a study, because they don't differ between centenarians and “Controls” (younger people who served as comparisons). Some people aged 100+ still enjoy a glass of wine, a cigar or other indulgence, although most indicate that they do it in moderation.

The researchers suspect that super old people may have "a rare protein-altering variants that attribute them longevity. These rarities should produce different proteins from ordinary people with protective effects against diseases.A possibility for the fountain-of-youth source is a gene called TSHZ3, found in genomes from subjects aged 98–105 years old. An interesting finding is that one of the supercentarians had a terrible heart disease. Some people with this disease keel over from sudden cardiac death. That didn’t happen to this woman, who reached an old age. The researchers report that there is a 19% lifetime incidence of cancer in the world’s oldest people compared to 49% in normal population. The scientists concluded that supercentarians are very rare and their genomes could hold secrets for the genetic basis of extreme longevity.”

VOCABULARY:

Elusive

Keel over

Ripe