A team of international researchers in South Africa have identified the earliest known incidences of cancer in the hominin fossil record. Two research articles in the South African Journal of Science describe a malignant osteosarcoma in a foot bone, dated at around 1.7 million years old, and benign neoplasms at nearly 2 million years old in hominin vertebrae. The malignant neoplasia predates the last evidence of the disease by nearly 200,000 years. While modern habits and lifestyles are responsible for many instances of cancer, it is apparent that the disease has been around for longer than we thought.

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A new study published in Cell Metabolism has found that running releases a protein that is associated with improved memory in mice in laboratory conditions. This protein, called cathepsin B (CTSB), was known to help sore muscles recover and is secreted by muscle during exercise. The researchers found that adding CTSB to neurons in petri dishes led to brain cell production in mice. Furthermore, they showed a positive correlation between running and increased levels of the CTSB protein in mouse, monkey, and human subjects. Continue reading →

An article in Futurity details the findings of a paper in the Journal of Immunological Methods on a unique, new test that could one day detect diseases like cancer. The technique generated a massive library of random molecular shapes to can detect antibodies in blood, and may one day lead to new screening tests for a variety of non-microbial causing diseases.

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