Bioscience Bulletin: Cancer’s Origins, Sleep Schedules, and Coffee’s Protective Effect

Bevin Fletcher, Associate Editor

(Image: Shutterstock) Welcome to today’s installment of Bioscience Bulletin, where we bring you the most popular headlines from the week.

A Cancer’s Surprise Origins, Caught in Action [1]
A new study imaged live zebrafish to track the development of cancer. It’s the first time researchers watched cancer form and spread in a live animal. According to the findings moles turn into melanoma when a single cell regresses back to a stem cell state and starts to divide and invade the surrounding tissue.

Common Growth Factor in Brain Might Slow Cognitive Decline [2]
Researchers investigated the potential neuroprotective effects of a common growth factor down as brain derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. Results of the Neurology study found that people with more of the protein in their brain had slower rates of cognitive decline.

Walgreens Won’t Send Tests to Theranos Lab in California [3]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) sent a letter reporting violations of a number of clinical policies at startup Theranos’s Newark, Calif., Laboratory. Walgreens issued a statement saying it will no longer have its tests for customers performed at that laboratory, and is also suspending laboratory services at its Palo Alto, Calif., store. The letter from the agency noted five deficiencies including a serious one in the area of hematology.

More Coffee, Less Cirrhosis, Study Says [4]
A U.K. team performed a meta-analysis that found drinking extra coffee helps prevent liver cirrhosis. The studies followed 432,133 patients and results from the analysis suggests that drinking two extra cups of coffee per day could reduce the risk of cirrhosis overall by 44 percent and cut the risk of mortality from the disease by half.

Consistent Sleep Schedules May be Important for Metabolic Health [5]
A recent study that looked at data from the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nations (SWAN) Sleep Study, found irregular bedtime schedules in midlife could be related to negative metabolic health among non-shift working women. The study found weekday-weekend differences in bedtime were particularly important and were associated with an increase in insulin resistance five years later.