Science News Round-up: Crunchy and tasty Carrots, Roche scores, Skull of ancient human

An immunotherapy cocktail from Roche helped slow an aggressive type of breast cancer where new treatments have proven elusive, offering positive news for the Swiss drugmaker as it chases medicines produced by its rivals.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 21-10-2018 10:43 IST | Created: 21-10-2018 10:26 IST
Science News Round-up: Crunchy and tasty Carrots, Roche scores, Skull of ancient human
Trial data released on Saturday shed light on the treatment of triple-negative tumours, which affect 15 per cent of breast cancer patients. (Image Credit: Twitter)

 

Carrots could be key to making greener buildings, say researchers

Crunchy and tasty, yes, but could carrots also strengthen cement and cut carbon dioxide emissions for the building industry? A group of researchers at Britain's Lancaster University has been using a household food blender to mix particles from the root vegetable with concrete to see if they can produce a stronger and more environmentally sound product.

Roche scores win in slowing aggressive type of breast cancer

An immunotherapy cocktail from Roche helped slow an aggressive type of breast cancer where new treatments have proven elusive, offering positive news for the Swiss drugmaker as it chases medicines produced by its rivals. Trial data released on Saturday shed light on the treatment of triple-negative tumours, which affect 15 per cent of breast cancer patients, typically affecting younger-than-average women.

BepiColombo spacecraft starts the seven-year journey to Mercury

A European-Japanese spacecraft set off on a treacherous seven-year journey to Mercury to probe the solar system's smallest and least-explored planet. The BepiColombo mission, only the third ever to visit Mercury, blasted off from Europe's spaceport in French Guiana aboard an Ariane 5 rocket at 10:45 p.m. local time on Friday (0145 GMT on Saturday), according to the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA).

Skull of ancient human found in a burned Brazilian museum

The skull of Luzia, the oldest known human fossil in the Americas, was found by researchers combing through debris at Brazil's National Museum, which burned down in September, the Museum said on Friday. The skull, though damaged, was protected by a cabinet that fell over the glass box it was encased in, the museum's deputy director Cristiana Serejo said. "Good news, a miracle, after this tragedy," she said.

Scientists prepare for the expedition to the world's deepest depths

For the first time, humans will visit the deepest part of each of the five oceans, plunging to the sea floor using a two-person craft designed to withstand the intense pressures more than 5.5 miles (9 km) below the surface. The project, known as Five Deeps Expedition, will use a special submersible vehicle that took more than three years to build. It is made of titanium and other special materials that can dive to the bottom of the ocean, said Victor Vescovo, an explorer who will pilot the vehicle after it leaves its supporting boat and descends toward the deepest parts of the ocean.

Novartis drug cut death risk by 35 per cent in gene mutation breast cancer

An experimental cancer drug that Novartis hopes will raise the profile of its oncology portfolio to cut the risk of death or disease progression by more than a third in breast cancer patients with a hard-to-target gene mutation. The Swiss drugmaker's BYL719, a so-called PI3K inhibitor also known as alpelisib, combined with hormone therapy fulvestrant boosted median progression-free survival (PFS) to 11 months, up from 5.7 months for patients who got only hormone therapy, the company said on Saturday.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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