Here First - Science and Technology Blog

Let's face it, biological storage isn't something most of us think about every day, or even every year. But behind the scenes, in laboratories all across the country, the storage of biological samples is becoming increasingly critical to research into the underpinnings of medical and biological sciences. It's Not Just a Brain in a Jar Anymore Tissue storage has come a long way since the days of creepy things floating in jars of formaldehyde. Methods are as varied as the reasons for collecting and keeping life form samples. Biologists preserve tissues from: Field samples for DNA identification ; Donors for storage and transplantation; Plants and animals for species or cell line preservation; Research subjects for experimentation and data gathering; The life sciences are vibrant with activity, much of it involving the need for long-term preservation of tissue samples. Scientists have perfected several preservation methods specific to particular needs and length...

A laboratory in Russia says it has built a proton accelerator for treating cancer victims that is 10 times cheaper then any similar device. It may provide salvation for millions of oncology patients around the world. This is great news for all of us! Proton therapy has the best success rate: 90 percent compared to about 40 to 60 percent for other forms of radiotherapy. It provides more effective treatment than x-rays or electron beams because they have greater energy and can be focused on the affected area (tumor). This occurs due to a process known as the Bragg Peak, which causes the protons to land directly on their target, avoiding damage to healthy tissue. The beam slices the DNA in cancerous cells and kills them. So,treating cancer with proton beams is one of the most promising methods to date. The particles are accelerated in a device similar to the famous Large Hadron Collider scaled down to ‘just’ a dozen meters and then fired at a tumour. The beam slices cancerous cells’ DNA a...