The Zika virus is well known for causing devastating brain defects in fetuses. Scientists have come out with a novel idea of using this virus as an ammunition to

attack a deadly brain tumour Glioblastoma.

Most people with a glioblastoma die within two years of being diagnosed even with aggressive treatment available at present.

In lab and animal experiments, scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California, San Diego, showed — that the virus was able to target and destroy stem cells that drive the growth of a deadly and common type of brain tumour, known as a glioblastoma.

Researchers also found that a modified strain of Zika virus slowed tumor growth among mice with aggressive brain tumours, and extending their lives.

The effectiveness of the virus was enhanced when combined with a chemotherapy drug, known as temozolomide, which is being presently used in the treatment of Glioblastoma with poor results.

Such studies are first few steps towards the development of safe and effective strains of Zika virus that could become important tools in neuro-oncology and the treatment of glioblastoma,

There is possibility of a new genetic test for early detection of cancer.

Lead researcher Dr. Victor Velculescu at Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, Baltimore has show promising results in this.

A new genetic blood test might pave the way for detecting early stage cancer. The test scans blood for DNA fragments released by cancerous tumors, explained lead researcher Dr. Victor Velculescu.

By reviewing these DNA fragments for mutations found in 58 “cancer-driver” genes, the blood test detects many early stage cancers without rendering false positives for healthy people, said Velculescu, co-director of cancer biology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, in Baltimore.

The test also proved capable of screening out cancer-free people.

This may be one step further down the path to developing a blood test that might find cancer earlier.

The test specifically spotted early stage colon cancer 71 percent of the time, breast and lung cancer 59 percent of the time, and ovarian cancer 68 percent of the time.

The ability to catch early stage ovarian cancer is particularly important as fewer than one in five ovarian cancers are caught early, when the five-year survival rate is greater than 90 percent. Most are detected after they’ve spread, and by then the odds of five-year survival are 40 percent or less, he said.

To check the blood test’s ability to weed out healthy people, the researchers also analyzed blood from 44 volunteers without cancer. No false positives occurred.

Despite these promising results, researchers need to validate the blood test in larger studies. More work also needs to be done to improve the detection rate.

In 1676, Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), lay the foundation of knowledge of Protozoa and Bacteria by using home made microscope. He was basically a trader of fabric, a dutch businessman, scientist, and one of the notable representatives of the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. 

In a letter sent to the Royal Society of London for Improving Knowledge in 1676 by Antony van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), he wrote:

“These little animals to my eye were more than ten thousand times smaller than…the water flea or water-louse, which you can see and moving in water with the bare eye.”

He described round and spiral shaped bacteria.

How to be careful with your knees and  keep the vulnerable joints healthy.

• Injury to Knee: One of the most commonly injured ligaments in the knee, the Anterior Cruciate Ligament is responsible for about 150,000 injuries in the U.S. every year.
• Body weight is always a problem for those with obesity. Every pound of body weight yields five pounds of force on the knee, so even 10 extra pounds can put a considerable load on those joints.
• If your knees hurt, it’s harder to lose weight through exercise
  

  Knee Joint

• It is important to remember that you make gains in fitness when you work hard and then allow your body to recover. But it is not possible usually to do hard work out every day.
• A sudden increase in intensity or duration of exercise can cause overuse injuries from repetitive strain.  It is always advisable to go slow and steady with your exercise. Gradually increase the stress you put on your muscles and joints. Its important to give the muscles and joints rest after putting them on stress of exercise.
• When the muscles around the kneecap, hip, and pelvis are strong, it keeps the knee stable and balanced, providing support by absorbing some of the stress exerted on the joint.
• With regular graded exercise the joints gain flexibility and capability to with stand stress of increased load. Weak muscles and lack of flexibility are primary causes of knee injuries.
• Tendonitis and kneecap pain are common symptoms in the stress and injury to knee.