Researchers at A*STAR in Singapore and the United States used a method called "gene transfection" to develop brain-tumor cells that expressed a firefly gene, so they would emit light. They looked for the cells that were the most mobile within a three-dimensional matrix, and it turned out "the most invasive cells express a gene that makes them mobile." That same gene has been associated with reduced survival in cancer patients.

Then the researchers injected these tumor cells into zebrafish embryos, which have a fast development cycle. A few days later, they were able to watch the bioluminescent tumor cells moving around the zebrafish bodies, invading other organs.

Adds A*STAR:

This new bioluminescence screening platform represents a unique real-time method for observing small numbers of cancer cells in a live animal. It is cheaper, easier and far more sensitive than existing imaging methods such as positron emission or computed tomography scanning, or magnetic resonance or fluorescent imaging. Furthermore, the discovery of a genetic subset of highly invasive GBM cells could help greatly in the development of drugs that target tumor-initiating cells.

Bioluminescence image from Scientific American. A*STAR via NanoWerk.

According to an urgent press release sent out by the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District, human placentas are not something you should just flush down the toilet:

For the third time in just over a month, a healthy human placenta has been found by workers at the Urbana-Champaign Sanitary District. Urbana Police contacted the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District (CUPHD), and the Champaign County Coroner's Office for assistance with this unusual situation. According to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Rules and Regulations, human placentas are considered potentially infectious medical waste, and should not be disposed of in the municipal sewage system.

"I can say with absolute certainty that the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District has never received a call of this nature," said Julie A. Pryde, Public Health Administrator at CUPHD. "CUPHD has been asked by local authorities to assist with disseminating information to the community to ensure that this situation does not occur again."

Persons assisting with home births, human or animal, should not dispose of placentas through the municipal sewage system-through flushing down the toilet or depositing them in a storm sewer. Placentas should be treated as any other solid, potentially infectious medical waste, and disposed of properly. Hospitals, clinics, and the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District have contracts with licensed medical waste disposal companies.

OK, which mad doctor has been doing experiments with transgenic babies in the sewers again? Seriously, if you're going to be hatching superhuman babies in your underground lair, don't flush the evidence down the toilet, genius.

Press Release at the Urbana-Champaign Public Health District [PDF], via Xenophilia

The WHO report updates information on the global burden of disease based on measurements from 2004 and projects how disease will affect the human population through 2030. Perhaps the most significant change it predicts is a global decline in deaths from communicable diseases. HIV/AIDS, the sixth leading cause of death in 2004 worldwide, is expected to peak around 2012 and drop to the number ten position by 2030. Other communicable diseases are expected to decline more quickly; tuberculosis, the seventh leading cause of death in 2004, is expected to plummet to number 23.

The sharp decline in communicable disease death will mean an increased aging population, especially in lower income countries, which means a greater proportion of the global population will die from diseases developed later in life, such as ischemic heart disease and cancers. But changes in global development and behaviors will also contribute to increases in certain causes of death. The WHO indicates that a global increase in tobacco smoking in middle- and low-income countries will bolster deaths from cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and some cancers. And increased transportation development and more crowded roads will help increase deaths from traffic accidents.

[WHO Burdens of Disease via Foreign Policy via Metafilter]

The report rates hospitals on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, correcting for differences in services offered. According to the study authors:

If all hospitals performed at the level of a 5-star rated hospital across the 17 procedures and diagnoses studied, 237,420 Medicare lives could have potentially been saved from 2005 to 2007. The region with the lowest overall risk-adjusted mortality rates was the East North Central region (IL, IN, MI, OH, and WI), while the East South Central region (AL, KY, MS, and TN) had the highest mortality rates.

What's surprising is that the best survival rates were not in the wealthiest regions of the nation, though the lowest survial rates were in some of the most impoverished areas. Generally, the high survival rates had to do with the density of 5-star rated hospital facilities.

The health gap between different regions in the U.S. is an issue that's likely to affect future generations in the country far more than the collapse of the world finance markets. Though of course money problems will only exacerbate our already-existing health problems.

But there is just something so stark about a statistic showing that where you live means you're 70 percent more likely to continue living if you go to the hospital. It brings home the reality of a crisis that's only going to get worse.

AP Photo/John Bazemore.

Death rate 70 percent lower at top-rated hospitals [via HealthGrades]

More than a product, the electric corset was science in action. Let's hear from a satisfied user, in this case, a fashion writer from the New York Times who tried the corset out (or at least took Dr. Scott's advertising to heart) in 1887:

The improved corset which is attracting so much attention from the lady portion of the community which values a corset for its ability to perform the duties demanded of it, is the electric corset which Dr. Scott has introduced, to the everlasting benefit of its fair wearers. These corsets are constructed on purely scientific principles, and while they are thoroughly charged with electro-magnetism, they impart no shock to the body, but rather a delightful sensation, rendering instant relief in many instances from the severe aches and pains to which all flesh is heir.

According to a report by Laurie Garrett and David Fidler in PLoS Medicine, Indonesia is demanding greater access to vaccines derived from samples it has shared with researchers from the World Health Organization. Garrett and Fidler say many developing countries are now asking:

What's in it for us? We share virus samples, and pharmaceutical companies make vaccines from them that primarily benefit rich countries. Without better access to vaccine, why should we share virus samples?

Sharing H5N viruses to stop a global influenza pandemic [PLoS Medicine]