Weekly Science Digest: Does E still equal mc²?

The news that neutrinos might travel faster than light, and thus violate the speed limit of the universe, this week caused an audible stir in the scientific community. The CERN experiment, which employed highly precise GPS positioning and timing measurements, was designed to measure how neutrinos change their properties as they travel. Instead, the data appeared to show neutrinos travelling from Geneva and arriving in Gran Sasso, Italy, faster than light itself. The data, which has been released in the hope that researchers might be able to shed some light on the findings, has the potential to rewrite the physics rulebook. Follow the discussion in the ResearchGate Physics Topic.

Researchers from Stanford University combined ‘deep sequencing’ with a host of other techniques from genetics, computer science and statistics to identify a gene fusion present in cases of ovarian cancer. The team found that ESRRA breaks and fuses with a neighbouring gene, known as C11orf20, in around 15 percent of serious ovarian cancer cases. The findings could help medics identify these cancers early in their development.

A group of scientists from some of England’s leading universities have discovered five new genes that affect the risk of developing coronary artery disease (CAD). One of the variants was close to the area of the genome coding for interleukin-5 (IL-5), which is linked to inflammation. If confirmed, this could be the first case of a gene linked to heart disease working through inflammation. This very large study - which involved around 80,000 patients - could signal a new era in the understanding of heart disease.

The recent conversion of adult stem cells from mice into antigen-specific T cells may pave the way for a more efficient way of using the body’s immune system to fight cancer. Researchers from Penn State believe that they have come closer to generating T cells in the lab that could be used to target cancer cells in the body. The technique, known as adoptive T cell immunotherapy, saw altered induced pluripotent stem cells being turned into stem cells that were then able to provide an unlimited source of the cells required for the therapy.

A computational approach has allowed scientists at Virginia Tech to predict numerous human proteins that the HIV virus requires to replicate itself. As human proteins develop at a much slower rate than the virus, the research aims to find ways in which the proteins can be targeted in the fight against the virus.

20 years after its launch, NASA’s decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23 and 1:09 a.m. Sept. 24. The satellite was able to provide some of the first long-term records of the chemicals that make up our atmosphere. Data showed that, during re-entry, the satellite passed over the east coast of Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, northern Canada and finally over western Africa. It is believed that most of the debris landed in the Pacific Ocean, far off the U.S. coast.

The 'Weekly Science Digest' is a compilation of science news from around the world. News suggestions are always welcome: mark.howardbanks (at) researchgate.net