A tiny clam-like robot made out of DNA releases its drug payload only when it meets and identifies a cancer cell
From Lifehacker: Caffeine Zone 2 Tracks Your Caffeine Usage and Tells You if Another Cup Will Do Any Good
iOS: If you spend the bulk of your day downing cup after cup of coffee, you likely know the feeling of taking it one cup too far. You might be nervous or have trouble sleeping later on. Caffeine Zone 2 is an app that allows you to track your caffeine usage so you’ll know if that late afternoon cup is doing you more harm than good. More »
from Lifehacker
From Gizmodo: Sleeping Better Now Helps Prevent Memory Loss When You’re Old [Science]
From Tech Review: Cancer Breath Test Enters Clinical Trials
Even if it’s only for lung cancer, this is huge if proven successful!!!
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A startup says its test can distinguish between subtypes of lung cancer.
Someday soon a breath test could do more than just tell if you’ve been drinking. Metabolomx, a startup in Mountain View, California, recently completed a clinical trial that shows that its breath test can spot lung cancer with 83 percent accuracy and can also distinguish between several different types of the disease, something that usually requires a biopsy. The accuracy of the test matches what’s possible with low-dose computerized tomography imaging of the lungs.
from Tech Review
From New Scientist – Online News: Child abuse shrinks key brain memory centre
Anyone that abuses kids should …. I will keep the rest to myself.
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Brain scans reveal that young adults who were abused as children have a smaller hippocampus, a seat of memory
From NPR News: How Much Should Kids Sleep? Nobody Knows For Sure
Everybody says children don’t get enough sleep, and they’ve been saying that since at least 1905. Scientists still aren’t sure how much time children need, according to a new study. But the experts always say they need more.
from News
From Discover Magazine: Cancer Drug Today, Alzheimer’s Drug Tomorrow? Hopeful Results in Mouse Study | 80beats
Amyloid beta deposits in brain of Alzheimer’s patient.
What’s the News: A drug used to cure skin cancer is also a possible treatment for Alzheimer’s, according to a new study in Science. The drug not only reduced levels of amyloid beta—a protein whose elevated levels are a hallmark of the disease—but also reversed cognitive decline. In mice, dramatic effects were evident after just 72 hours.
How the Heck:
Based on known molecular pathways, the researchers thought that the skin cancer drug bexarotene could enhance expression of  a gene called apoE. apoE activates the immune system to break down amyloid beta, and mutations in the apoE gene are a major risk factor for Alzheimer’s.
Turns out the researchers were right. Mice with genetic mutations that make them prone to the disease are the standard model for Alzheimer’s research. When these mice were treated with bexarotene, macrophages in their brain gobbled up amyloid beta, and the levels of amyloid beta fell by 40% in just 72 hours.
Molecular changes are good and all, but an effective drug for Alzheimer’s also has to treat the behavioral symptoms. Bexarotene actually reversed cognitive deficits. The team put treated mice through standard memory tests, including …
from Discover Magazine