2007: The year in biology and medicine
New Scientist links: From sharing bird flu vaccines to completely drug resistant TB; from the phenomenon of dichloroacetate or DCA , which appeared to kill off several forms of human cancer in rats to ongoing stem cell controversies – a host of details form the big picture in medicine and biology and are summarised by the New Scientist taking us beyond the confines of surgical specialties. Worth a look.
Time.com like to highlight various “top tens.” There are some surprising entries in the Medicine section and not a few interesting items in the Science section. Here are some sample links.
Amongst the top ten medical breakthroughs in 2007 were circumcision indicating its relationship to HIV transmission, the first molecular test to detect metastatic breast cancer , the discovery of new genetic variants which link to an increased risk of diabetes and the use of amniotic fluid as a source of stem cells.
Amongst the science entries are new species, the discovery of the brightest supernova yet discovered, real life kryptonite and the physiologist who allowed the publication of his entire diploid genetic sequence.
Magdi Yacoub also figures again this year because with his research group at Imperial College they successfully grew bone marrow stem cells into functioning human heart-valve tissue. This could indeed be revolutionary as the World Health Organization estimates that some 600,000 people around the world will need replacement heart valves within the next three years.
Actually, if you are having a slow day (unlikely) you may want to have a look at some of the top ten News events or the host of lists under the pop culture tab; top ten fashion trends, awkward moments, quotes, buzzwords scandals etc.
Mechanical mysteries of the yodel
Lay-ee-odl-lay-ee-odl-lay-hee-hoo. OK, so yodelling may not be the most sophisticated of singing styles, but neither is it the easiest to achieve. What's more, despite a few brave researchers' efforts to discover how its distinctive sounds are produced, the detailed mechanics remain something of a mystery. Though yodelling is most often associated with the Alps, and we get the word itself from German, its roots appear to lie well away from Europe. In the 13th century, Marco Polo discovered that Tibetan monks routinely used a form of yodelling to communicate over long distances. Soon after his return to Europe, German and Swiss mountain dwellers began yodelling to each other across alpine valleys.
See New Scientist archive for the 22 Dec 2007 for more. You will also find some material on the benefits of fiery food in this issue.
Till next month,
David Galloway
|
