20
10
Stroke timing Magnetic
resonance imaging done
promptly when a patient
arrives at a hospital could
pinpoint when a stroke
began, rendering more
patients eligible for clot-busting therapy that can
limit brain damage (SN:
12/4/10, p. 12).
science news of the year | Body & Brain
1 in 5 | u.s. adolescents with measurable hearing loss
Heartburned Proton pump
inhibitors are great at blocking stomach acid, but their
overuse could pose health
risks (SN: 12/4/10, p. 30).
Early detection High
levels of the protein EGFR
can show up 17 months
before breast cancer is diagnosed (SN: 5/22/10, p. 15).
Aha! Sudden insight occurs
when neurons in the brain
alter their activity all at once
(SN: 6/5/10, p. 9).
Whisker therapy A study in
rats suggests that rubbing
a stroke victim’s face or
fingers right after onset
might reduce brain damage
(SN: 12/4/10, p. 14).
Years in the making In
pancreatic cancer, a decade
can elapse from the first
cancer-related mutation to
tumor formation, and several more years pass before
the disease spreads to other
organs. The work raises the
possibility that an often
deadly malignancy can be
treated before it’s too late
(SN: 11/20/10, p. 9).
Beyond a buzz Components
in marijuana (left) show
potential against pain,
multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s
disease and even cancer
(SN: 6/19/10, p. 16).
Marburg vaccine An
experimental vaccine can
waylay the deadly tropical
virus even after exposure,
tests in monkeys show (SN:
7/31/10, p. 12).
MicroRNAs anonymous
Increasing levels of the
microRNA miR-212 in rats’
brains helps protect the
rodents from cocaine addiction (SN: 7/31/10, p. 11).
Barrier builders The blood-brain barrier, which keeps
both bacteria and some drugs
out of the brain, relies on
cells called pericytes, a discovery that scientists hope to
exploit to better understand
brain diseases and trauma
(SN Online: 10/13/10).
HDL booster A new drug
called anacetrapib more
than doubles “good” cholesterol and lowers bad forms in
study volunteers, paving the
way for a large clinical trial
(SN: 12/18/10, p. 14).
So sleepy A survey finds that
only 7. 6 percent of U.S. teens
get the ideal quota of sleep
most nights — and about
16 percent average no more
than five hours (SN Online:
1/8/10).
Tossing and turning Violent
dreams can precede brain
disorders by decades (SN:
8/28/10, p. 9).
Insulin insight Renal failure in people with diabetes
may be linked to poor insulin
uptake by kidney cells called
podocytes (SN: 11/6/10, p. 11).
Not-so-total recall Older
mice lose genetic packaging that helps activate genes
involved in making memories (SN: 6/5/10, p. 8).
Medical roach Ground-up brain tissue from
cockroaches and locusts
contains antibacterial compounds that might lead to
new drugs for fighting infectious diseases in humans
(SN: 10/9/10, p. 14).
