MI weekly selection #280

Researchers devise method to join two single, specific atoms into new molecule

Chemists used laser tweezers to grab a sodium atom and a cesium atom to create a new molecule in a highly controlled chemical reaction.

Science News

How cancer might progress by studying cells’ evolution

Researchers charting the genetic evolution of seemingly similar cancer cells found that tumors mutate into three categories ranging from particularly aggressive to benign, which could help determine treatment needs. The studies focused on kidney cancers in 100 patients.

BBC

Large groups of basking sharks spotted in North Atlantic

Sightings of huge basking sharks congregating in large groups in the North Atlantic have puzzled scientists. Researchers examined data collected on the sightings documented between 1980 and 2013.

National Geographic

Peri-operative anti-inflammatory drugs might prevent metastasis

The body’s immune system might stop fighting cancer cells as it works to heal incisions following breast cancer surgery, thus enabling distal tumours to grow, but peri-operative anti-inflammatory drugs might prevent metastatic recurrence. The effect has been observed in mice and in people, and researchers are planning to conduct a clinical trial.

USA Today

Brain stimulation allows paraplegic patient to feel sensation

California Institute of Technology researchers stimulated the brain of a man paralyzed from the shoulders down, enabling him to feel sensations in his arm. Implanted electrodes in the patient’s somatosensory cortex responded to electrical pulses, changing sensations with variations in frequency, amplitude and location of stimulation.

Newsweek

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