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Blood test could detect pancreatic cancer in time
IN BRIEF
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DNA gives away Blood test could detect pancreatic cancer in time baby dragon caves A BLOOD test to detect pancreatic pancreatic cancer are still alive The test could also tell the
WILD WONDERS OF EUROPE / HODALIC / NATUREPL.COM
20 | NewScientist | 11 February 2017
cancer in its early stages may let us spot the condition sooner. The only way to treat pancreatic cancer is to remove it before it spreads. But because the pancreas is deep inside the body and is difficult to image or biopsy, spotting the cancer is hard. As a result, pancreatic cancer is known as the “silent killer”, because it is usually already too advanced to treat by the time symptoms arise and a diagnosis is made. Only 5 per cent of people diagnosed with
five years later, compared with 90 per cent of those diagnosed with breast cancer. Now Tony Hu at Arizona State University in Tempe and his colleagues have developed a blood test that could spot pancreatic cancer before it spreads. The test uses gold nanoparticles to detect signs of cancer in the blood. In a pilot study in 59 patients, it picked up early-stage pancreatic cancer in more than 90 per cent of cases (Nature Biomedical Engineering, doi.org/bzch).
difference between pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis, which have similar symptoms and are difficult to distinguish using existing screening methods like ultrasound. “There’s no doubt that early screening tests, particularly a non-invasive blood test like this one, would be very valuable,” says Anthony Gill at the University of Sydney, Australia. But the test still needs to be validated through wider testing, he says. “It’s early days yet.” RAMEZANI, CHUNG, HUTCHINSON, SCI. ROBOT. 2, EAAL2505 (2017)
RARE blind salamanders have been discovered in five new caves thanks to DNA they have shed into water. This extends the known range of the vulnerable salamanders and raises hopes for their long-term monitoring and conservation. The olms, or baby dragons as locals call them, spend their entire lives in the underground waters of the Dinaric Alps running through the Balkans. Many of their caves are inaccessible to humans, but telltale DNA from bits of shed skin or their faeces – known as environmental DNA or eDNA – gets dissolved in their watery habitat. If washed out, it can give away their presence. “Before you would only see these elusive animals if they were washed out of their home after heavy rain, or if you went cave-diving,” says Judit Vörös of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, who led the work. “But now we can tell just from some cave water if they are there or not.” Her team tested cave water in Croatia for eDNA to confirm the presence of the salamander in 10 caves. They also found the species in five others for the first time (PLoS One, doi.org/bx8v). Croatian conservationists have now adopted this technique to map the olms’ habitat more precisely and learn more about their population genetics, both of which may help conserve the creature.
Vaccine protects monkeys from Zika A VACCINE against Zika virus has given mice and monkeys immunity in tests. It is made from an inactivated version of the virus, and just one dose is needed. “The critical difference between ours and everybody else’s is that it’s not a live virus. That makes it much safer and much easier to produce,” says Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania, a member of the team that developed it. Zika has been reported in 70 countries and territories, and can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads and brain damage. Weissman’s team found that mice given the vaccine were still immune five months later. The group also gave five rhesus macaques a single injection, and found that it conferred protection on four of them for at least five weeks afterwards (Nature, doi. org/bx8n). The fifth monkey had a small amount of the virus present after being exposed to it, possibly because it received too high a vaccine dose. Dozens of vaccines are in the pipeline, but the other candidates all require two immunisation shots, says Weissman.
Bat robot flies like the real thing WATCH it swoop and soar. Engineers have built a bat-like autonomous flying robot that could one day be used to monitor building sites. Robot designers have often taken inspiration from insects and birds, but aping bats is tougher because they have complicated skeletons and irregular flight patterns. Bat wings have more than 40 joints for adjusting their shape during flight. Recreating this would make a robot too bulky, so instead, this “Bat Bot” has a nine-joint wing structure made of lightweight carbon fibre covered with a stretchy silicone
membrane that mimics bat skin. The robot, made by Alireza Ramezani at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his colleagues, weighs 93 grams and has tiny motors in its backbone. In tests, the Bat Bot performed a banking turn and a steep diving manoeuvre similar to the way bats move when pursuing prey (Science Robotics, doi.org/bx8s). Bat wings could inspire a new generation of nimble drones that are less likely to be thrown off course by strong wind, says Bharathram Ganapathisubramani at the University of Southampton, UK.
For new stories every day, visit newscientist.com/news
DNA gives away Blood test could detect pancreatic cancer in time baby dragon caves A BLOOD test to detect pancreatic pancreatic cancer are still alive The test could also tell the
WILD WONDERS OF EUROPE / HODALIC / NATUREPL.COM
20 | NewScientist | 11 February 2017
cancer in its early stages may let us spot the condition sooner. The only way to treat pancreatic cancer is to remove it before it spreads. But because the pancreas is deep inside the body and is difficult to image or biopsy, spotting the cancer is hard. As a result, pancreatic cancer is known as the “silent killer”, because it is usually already too advanced to treat by the time symptoms arise and a diagnosis is made. Only 5 per cent of people diagnosed with
five years later, compared with 90 per cent of those diagnosed with breast cancer. Now Tony Hu at Arizona State University in Tempe and his colleagues have developed a blood test that could spot pancreatic cancer before it spreads. The test uses gold nanoparticles to detect signs of cancer in the blood. In a pilot study in 59 patients, it picked up early-stage pancreatic cancer in more than 90 per cent of cases (Nature Biomedical Engineering, doi.org/bzch).
difference between pancreatic cancer and pancreatitis, which have similar symptoms and are difficult to distinguish using existing screening methods like ultrasound. “There’s no doubt that early screening tests, particularly a non-invasive blood test like this one, would be very valuable,” says Anthony Gill at the University of Sydney, Australia. But the test still needs to be validated through wider testing, he says. “It’s early days yet.” RAMEZANI, CHUNG, HUTCHINSON, SCI. ROBOT. 2, EAAL2505 (2017)
RARE blind salamanders have been discovered in five new caves thanks to DNA they have shed into water. This extends the known range of the vulnerable salamanders and raises hopes for their long-term monitoring and conservation. The olms, or baby dragons as locals call them, spend their entire lives in the underground waters of the Dinaric Alps running through the Balkans. Many of their caves are inaccessible to humans, but telltale DNA from bits of shed skin or their faeces – known as environmental DNA or eDNA – gets dissolved in their watery habitat. If washed out, it can give away their presence. “Before you would only see these elusive animals if they were washed out of their home after heavy rain, or if you went cave-diving,” says Judit Vörös of the Hungarian Natural History Museum, who led the work. “But now we can tell just from some cave water if they are there or not.” Her team tested cave water in Croatia for eDNA to confirm the presence of the salamander in 10 caves. They also found the species in five others for the first time (PLoS One, doi.org/bx8v). Croatian conservationists have now adopted this technique to map the olms’ habitat more precisely and learn more about their population genetics, both of which may help conserve the creature.
Vaccine protects monkeys from Zika A VACCINE against Zika virus has given mice and monkeys immunity in tests. It is made from an inactivated version of the virus, and just one dose is needed. “The critical difference between ours and everybody else’s is that it’s not a live virus. That makes it much safer and much easier to produce,” says Drew Weissman at the University of Pennsylvania, a member of the team that developed it. Zika has been reported in 70 countries and territories, and can cause babies to be born with abnormally small heads and brain damage. Weissman’s team found that mice given the vaccine were still immune five months later. The group also gave five rhesus macaques a single injection, and found that it conferred protection on four of them for at least five weeks afterwards (Nature, doi. org/bx8n). The fifth monkey had a small amount of the virus present after being exposed to it, possibly because it received too high a vaccine dose. Dozens of vaccines are in the pipeline, but the other candidates all require two immunisation shots, says Weissman.
Bat robot flies like the real thing WATCH it swoop and soar. Engineers have built a bat-like autonomous flying robot that could one day be used to monitor building sites. Robot designers have often taken inspiration from insects and birds, but aping bats is tougher because they have complicated skeletons and irregular flight patterns. Bat wings have more than 40 joints for adjusting their shape during flight. Recreating this would make a robot too bulky, so instead, this “Bat Bot” has a nine-joint wing structure made of lightweight carbon fibre covered with a stretchy silicone
membrane that mimics bat skin. The robot, made by Alireza Ramezani at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his colleagues, weighs 93 grams and has tiny motors in its backbone. In tests, the Bat Bot performed a banking turn and a steep diving manoeuvre similar to the way bats move when pursuing prey (Science Robotics, doi.org/bx8s). Bat wings could inspire a new generation of nimble drones that are less likely to be thrown off course by strong wind, says Bharathram Ganapathisubramani at the University of Southampton, UK.