According to Dr. David Soll, who is Carver Professor of Biological Science at the University of Iowa, there's renewed hope for scientists to find a so-called "magic bullet" when it comes to looking for a cure for cancer. In a study published last week, he's documented the process by which cancer cells join together to form a tumor in 3-D. He modeled the way melanoma cells come together.
"When we saw it, we found out things nobody had ever known before," he says. "These mini-tumors form, and then there are cells that come out of these mini-tumors. They worked to help these tumors come together. We found out that there was a commonality - that melanomas and the breast cells do the same thing."
During this Newsbuzz edition of River to River, he talks with host Ben Kieffer.
Other guests include Iowa Public Radio's Joyce Russell with a legislative update; Iowa Columnist for the Des Moines Register Kyle Munson; Kevin Drees of Blank Park Zoo, and Dr. Terry Wahls, who is out with a new cookbook.
Drees joins the program to talk about the birth of a new baby camel at the Blank Park Zoo this week, who is named Sunny. He says the humps on a camel are actually fat deposits.
"The humps can actually show the nutritional history of a camel, so we like to see good solid humps that shows that the animal is getting all the nutrition it needs," he explains. "Sometimes you think of other animals where the fat is deposited in the abdomen, but there is some advantage of having the fat on the back for a camel. It shelters your internal organs from the sun."
