A new study, published in Science, describes a multi-gene synthetic circuit that can distinguish between cancer and non-cancer cells, after which it can target the cancer cells for destruction. Through recognizing five intracellular cancer-specific molecules, the circuit is able to accurately identify cancer cells, which, after detection, are destroyed.

Finding the right combination of molecules was challenging. Looking among microRNA molecules, which are post-transcriptional regulators, the researchers were eventually able to find one miRNA combination that was typical for HeLa, or cervical cancer, cells. The combination is made up out of five specific miRNAs, and is sufficient to identify HeLA cells among healthy cells (see figure 1).

Bias in science academia is a big topic, but it's selective.  If there are fewer women, it is regarded as a hostile environment but if there are no Republicans that is their choice.  

Penn State researchers have added something new into the mix - hormones.  If you are a woman who wanted to be a physicist, you may have been fighting your own sex hormones to do it, they say.  They did it by looking at people's interest in occupations that exhibit sex differences in the general population and are relevant to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers.

Much depends on the Arctic weather, but it looks likely that the September ice minimum will be amongst the three lowest.  If the melt in July and August proceeds as it has done on average over the last decade, then the 2007 record minimum may well be beaten.