Music slows down the ageing process

It is said that if you play a music instrument, it affects the way your brain develops. A recent study has shown musical experiences have a bigger impact than previously thought. It appears that being a musician affects degeneration of the nerve functions. Musical experiences seem to affect the nervous system, the wiring of your body that is ultimately controlled by the brain, in such a way that it ages slower. Because it basically controls all parts of the body, keeping it intact is of the utmost importance. Especially because damage to the nerves can seldom be repaired.

Evolution of mouse-sized to elephant-sized animals

Life on Earth started off small. Nobody knows exactly how it came into being, but we do know bacteria were one of the first on the scene. Over millions and billions of years, life increased in size. Until about 65 million years ago, animals were much larger than we are used to nowadays. Around that time, something wiped out the dinosaurs, and much of Earth's life was lost. Evolution does not sit still, and our planet continued to 'produce' large animals. At the Monash University, studies were performed to uncover how long the evolutionary process needs to get a mouse-sized animal to evolve in an elephant-sized animal.

Yeast has 'shuffle' option to survive stress conditions

Because ever so often there is a mutation in the DNA, species are able to acquire new capabilities. By changing  its blueprint, life exists in all the variety we find today. Most mutations are simply based on chance: when the genetic code is replicated, the cellular machinery makes a mistake once in a while. Cancer cells are more genetically unstable, which means they have a much higher mutation rate, and therefore are able to adapt quicker. The same is true for antibiotic resistance in bacteria. Those who fail to adapt die, but those that gained the right set of mutations survive, giving rise to a resistant species. Researchers from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research found a similar mechanism in yeast. These micro-organisms appear to have a 'shuffle' button to rearrange the chromosomes, which are the packages in which DNA is tidily kept. It seems to be a marvellous and interesting evolutionary mechanism to keep the species alive during stress conditions by trying to find a new genetic arrangement which is resistant against whatever it is that threatens them.

Common genetic variance linked to many diseases

When it comes to genetics, it is often said that we are all the same, but every individual is genetically unique. Our DNA is about 99,9 percent identical, and even between humans and monkeys there is barely any difference. Yet, for every one of the 3 billion pieces of our genome, there are variants. It means that every human being has a unique genome: no other individual is genetically identical. When it comes to genes, there are a lot of variants in the human population. While the differences are usually not that big, there can be some functional differences. It also means some varieties are linked to an increased risk of disease: one of the variants may not function as well as others. Scientists from the Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland performed a genetic analysis on many commonly found genetic variants, and found that many of them are associated with an increased risk on disease.

Drug kills most difficult-to-treat cancer cells

Not all tumours are the same. Every cell has the potential to become cancerous and turn to rapid growth in order to create a full sized tumour. Some cells are more adept than others: if a tumour arises from a stem cell, it is often harder to treat than a cancer derived from adult cells from a specific tissue. So-called cancer stem cells are the most difficult to treat because they are hard to eradicate with drugs, and can easily reform into a tumour even if only a few cells remain. In some cases, only a few cancer stem cells are the driving force between tumour growth. The problem is that stem cells naturally function by replenishing tissues and self-renewal. It means we need a more aggressive treatment to get rid of them when they turn malicious. Chinese researchers may have found the answer.

NASA finds Earth's missing energy

A while back, we discovered that a fair amount of the Earth's energy content was missing, by using satellite observations. Researchers found that there ought to be more energy than we can observe by looking at the Earth's heat. NASA performed a study to find missing energy, and found that the oceans have been accumulating more energy than we previously thought. This is important because it may contribute to climate change.

Using grape seeds to battle cancer, and more

Biological products sometimes contain compounds with unexpected qualities. Many of the drugs we have developed are based on chemicals found in plants, and we continue to find new ones that have medicinal value. In a recent study, scientists from the University of Colorado have discovered something that is able to kill cancer cells residing in head and neck. Surprisingly, the tumour killer is found in extract from grape seeds.