SEA URCHIN SEX: Stanford researchers studying the sex lives of male and female sea urchins have discovered that fertilization may begin with the build-up of nitric oxide gas inside the sperm. The studies, which will be expanded to cow and mouse eggs, could lead to advances in genetic research and in treating human infertility.
TARTAR TRAP: A substance commonly added to toothpaste to prevent tartar build-up may be the same material our bodies use to prevent calcium and other minerals from accumulating in joints. Stanford researchers have identified a mouse gene that transports the compound, pyrophosphate, into and out of cells, and have confirmed that the human version of the gene lies in a region of DNA implicated in joint disease.
COST-EFFECTIVE: Methadone maintenance treatment is a highly cost-effective way to combat the spread of HIV, according to a new article co-authored by Margaret Brandeau, professor of management science and engineering, and researchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs. More than one million people inject drugs in the United States today, but currently methadone programs, which administer the drug orally, have room for only 115,000 clients. The article argues that expanding those programs, which typically cost between $8,200 and $10,900 per person per year, would also reduce the spread of HIV both to addicts and to the general public.
BIO-X COLLABORATION: A new interdisciplinary study has revealed never-before-seen patterns in RNA enzymes. The work grew out of collaboration between Stanford physicists and biochemists the kind of cross-fertilization that scientists expect will characterize the new research initiative dubbed BIO-X.
