All science, no fiction
OPB / OPB
In this new monthly digest from OPB, “All Science. No Fiction.” creator Jes Burns presents the funniest, weirdest, and most promising science from the Pacific Northwest.
Remember: Science builds on science that came before. No single study tells the whole story.
a breast cancer vaccine
Few people can say they’ve been cured of cancer, but researchers at Washington University School of Medicine may have gotten pretty close. They are conducting phase 2 clinical trials in humans of a vaccine against so-called “HER2” breast cancers — a particularly aggressive type that accounts for 20%-30% of breast cancers. The vaccine is designed to stimulate the body’s immune system to launch an attack on cancer cells.
A 13-year phase 1 trial involving 66 women showed promising results: The vaccine was comparable to the COVID vaccine in terms of side effects and, anecdotally, significantly improved survival rates. Given these results, the researchers say the vaccine has the potential to prevent or treat these cancers. The university is currently recruiting a larger cohort for the Phase 2 trial; if the results continue to show promise, it will move to Phase 3.
Read the paper in the journal JAMA Oncology here.
Bicycle box FTW
This VR-style setup allowed researchers to determine the safest intersections for bicycles
David Hurwitz, OSU College of Engineering
A lot of people in the Pacific Northwest commute by bike. Eugene, Portland and Corvallis are the most populous places in the country. This is good for the environment, but bicycle accidents are not uncommon.
Researchers at Oregon State University and Portland State University are trying to figure out how to make commutes safer. They looked at three different types of bike-friendly intersections: mixed areas where bikes and vehicles use the same lane, bike signals where only bikes are allowed to pass, and bike parking areas where the front of the lane is painted to encourage vehicles to hang over the back. Using a virtual reality-style setup with stationary bicycles, the researchers tracked the eye movements, stress levels and paths of cyclists as they navigated various intersections.
It turns out that bike boxes offer the best balance of safety without giving the rider a false sense of security.
Read the paper in the journal Accident Analysis and Prevention here.
how do we hear not quite. how do we hear
What exactly happens at the molecular level when the inner ear converts vibrations into sound? The truth is, no one knew…until now.
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University recently found an answer by studying roundworms, which are very similar to human hearing on a fundamental level. Five years and 60 million worms later, the team was able to reveal and describe the “molecular machines” responsible for our sense of balance and our perception of sound.
This discovery opens up a whole new world of possible treatments for hearing loss, which affects nearly 500 million people worldwide.
Read the paper in Nature here.
Little Bubbles…makes me feel good
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have developed a method to detect ambient COVID-19 virus in the air. Specially designed tiny bubbles that burst on contact with the virus, generating a tiny electrical pulse, are much easier to detect than the virus alone.
Sara Levine/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Detecting viruses has been a challenge — they’re small, scattered and require very sensitive sensors. But wouldn’t it be nice to know if you have the COVID-19 virus roaming around in the room you’re in?
Researchers at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have figured out a way to do this — using extremely small air bubbles (200 bubbles = the width of a hair). When COVID interacts with the specially designed surface of the bubble, it causes the bubble to burst, releasing the salt trapped inside. These salts and the electrical signature they generate are much easier to detect than the virus alone.
The scientists say their technique is faster, more sensitive and more accurate than other existing methods. Eventually, the bubbles could be modified to detect other substances in the air.
Read the paper in the journal MRS Communications here.
Cure for “Oh, Honey!”
More than 11,000 deer and elk are hit by drivers in Oregon and Washington each year. This does a lot of damage to ungulates, people and cars. A team of researchers at the University of Washington has identified a way to reduce those numbers: stick to daylight saving time throughout the year.
The team looked at trends in vehicle-deer collisions and how they corresponded to the bi-annual timing changes. The earlier it gets dark, the more deer will be hit. This is especially true in the fall of the week after we “fall back”. Collisions are up 16 percent, partly because deer season is in full swing. The analysis showed that collisions could be reduced by 2.3 percent—nearly 40,000 deer across the country—just by adhering to daylight saving time.
Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California have all said they want to cancel the time change, but they need congressional approval to do so.
Read the paper in the journal Current Biology here.
Watch more videos from All Science. No novels. On the science of sleep, drones that can smell and how solar panels can help sheep and the farmers who keep them.
