Scientists Test Australia's Moreton Bay as Coral 'Lifeboat':

Article from www.sciencedaily.com:In a new research paper they say that corals have been able to survive and flourish in the Bay, which lies well to the south of the main GBR coral zones, during about half of the past 7000 years.
Corals only cover about 1 per cent of the Moreton Bay area currently, and have clearly been adversely affected by clearing of the surrounding catchments and human activities on land and sea, says lead author Matt Lybolt of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and The University of Queensland.
"The demise of tropical coral reefs around the world is due mainly to overfishing, pollution and climate change. There is also plenty of historical evidence that coral reefs can move from one environment to another as the climate and other conditions change," Matt explains.
"In view of this, various places -- including Moreton Bay -- are being investigated as possible refuges in which coral systems can be preserved should they begin to die out in their natural settings. Indeed, some people have even talked of relocating and re-seeding corals in other locations that better suit their climatic needs."
The team's study of Moreton Bay reveals that it is not exactly ideal coral habitat, being cold in winter, lacking sufficient direct sunlight, subject to turbid freshwater inflows and -- more recently -- to a range of human impacts.
"Even before European settlers came on the scene the Bay underwent phases in which corals grew prolifically -- and phases in which they died away almost completely. We understand what causes corals to die back, but we are less clear about what causes them to recover," Matt says.
"Broadly, the corals seemed to do well at times when the climate, sea levels and other factors were most benign and stable -- and to decline when El Nino and other disturbances made themselves felt."
The Moreton Bay corals have been in an expansionary phase during the last 400 years, initially dominated by the branching Acropora corals but, since the Bay's catchment was cleared and settled, these have died back leaving mainly slow-growing types of coral.
"Under climate change we expect winters to be warmer and sea levels to rise -- and both of these factors will tend to favour the expansion of corals in Moreton Bay," Matt says.
"However this expansion of corals may not occur unless we make a major effort to improve water quality in the Bay, by not allowing effluent, polluted runoff or sediment to enter it, and also by regrowing mangrove forests and seagrass beds within the Bay. "
The team concludes that Moreton Bay's potential as a good 'lifeboat' for corals is limited by four major factors:
It is highly sensitive to what the 2 million residents of its catchment do that affects it
It presently has very few branching corals left
The area on which corals can grow is limited, both naturally and by human activity
Finally, the historical record suggests the Bay is only a good coral refuge about half of the time.
Matt says that there is nevertheless scope for changes in the management of the Bay and its surrounding catchments that can improve its suitability as a coral environment. "The reefs of today don't look anything like they did in the past, so it's really a question of 'What sort of coral reef do you want?'," he says.
However there needs to be a clearer scientific understanding of the drivers that have caused corals to boom and bust within the Bay over the past seven millennia before we can be sure it is worthwhile attempting to make Moreton Bay a 'lifeboat' for the GBR, he cautions.
Matt noted that there are very few suitable coral habitats south of the southern end of the GBR to which corals can migrate, should the northern parts of the reef become untenable for corals due to the impact of global warming.
Their paper "Instability in a marginal coral reef: the shift from natural variability to a human-dominated seascape" by Matt Lybolt, David Neil, Jian-xin Zhao, Yue-xing Feng, Ke-Fu Yu and John Pandolfi appears in the latest issue of the journalFrontiers in Ecology and Environment.

Reflections: Corals are dying at Great Barrier Reef! As everybody knows, Great Barrier Reef is very rich in corals, however, why are the corals dying now? This is mostly due to the overfishing, pollution from factories and climate change. Toxic wastes are being released into the ocean by inconsiderate factories. Furthermore, due to Global Warming, climate is changing too. Therefore, the corals would be transferred to Moreton Bay by humans. However, statistics proved that Moreton Bay is also not an ideal spot for corals. The article reveals that it is not exactly ideal coral habitat, being cold in winter, lacking sufficient direct sunlight, subject to turbid freshwater inflows and -- more recently -- to a range of human impacts. Therefore, in my opinion, I think that the only way is to let everybody play a part in conservation of electricity, not to waste paper so on and so forth in order to prevent corals from facing extinction.

New Drug Reduces Tumor Size in Women With Advanced Hereditary Ovarian or Breast Cancer:

Article from www.sciencedaily.com: The Phase II ovarian cancer study results -- as well as another Phase II trial in which Cedars-Sinai researchers also participated that evaluated the drug's effectiveness in the treatment of hereditary breast cancer -- were published in a recent issue of Lancet. The two trials showed similar levels of response to the genetically-targeted drug in both breast and ovarian cancers with BRCA mutations.
"These are significant new studies. Olaparib is the first single-agent, non-chemotherapy treatment to show benefit to patients with cancers that result from BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations," said William Audeh, M.D., an oncologist specializing in cancer genetics at Cedars-Sinai's Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute and first author on the ovarian cancer study "Until now, treatments for cancer have been selected based upon where in the body the cancer originated. These two studies suggest that it is the underlying genetic weakness of a cancer, not the organ of origin, that is the key to selecting effective therapy."
The first author of the breast cancer study and the principal investigator for both studies was Andrew Tutt, M.D., Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Unit, King's College London School of Medicine.
Olaparib, a Poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor made by AstraZeneca, represents a "targeted therapy" approach to cancer treatment -- anticancer drugs that interfere with specific pathways involved in cancer growth or survival. The PARP enzyme plays a role in DNA repair, including the repair of DNA damage from chemotherapy. Drugs that inhibit this enzyme appear to contribute to cancer cell death as well as increase their sensitivity to chemotherapy.
Of the 57 patients enrolled in the ovarian cancer study worldwide, 33 percent of participants showed a significant shrinkage in the size of their tumors, and in some cases, complete disappearance of their tumors. Toxicities from the drug were relatively mild, including nausea, fatigue and anemia.
"Women with advanced BRCA-mutated ovarian cancer have often been through several chemotherapy regimens, making it difficult to offer effective treatments," said Audeh. "PARP inhibitors may be a promising new option for this heavily 'pre-treated' population. "
Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths among American women, with an estimated 21,550 new cases and 14,600 deaths in 2009. Approximately 10 percent of these cases have an inherited mutation in the BRCA 1 or 2 genes, the type of cases treated in this trial. Since it is often difficult to diagnose, many women present with advanced disease, which is especially challenging to treat.
"These PARP inhibitor studies represent a major change in the approach to treating cancer that will be reflected in future clinical trials," said Audeh. "While we studied Olaparib's clinical benefit in patients known to have specific genetic weaknesses in their cancer cells, it is hoped that this drug -- and others like it -- will be an effective tool to treat the underlying genetic defects found in all types of cancers."
The study was supported by AstraZeneca. Dr. Audeh has received honoraria as a consultant to AstraZeneca and Myriad Genetics Laboratories as well as financial support for travel to investigator meetings. Many of the other investigators had similar relationships with AstraZeneca.

Reflections: After I have read this article, I have found out that Cancer cells have their weaknesses too and scientists and doctors are trying to investigate a new type of drug that is a possible cure for Cancer. However, up till now, scientists and doctors still could not come up with a solution for Cancer. In my opinion, I think that as technology continues to advance, scientists and doctors could soon find out a way of curing this fatal illness. However, we still need to take care of our own health or else Cancer cells would still be very likely to grow. I think that the best way of solving now is still to have good hygiene, eat healthy food so that Cancer would not be able to attack us easily. Furthermore, according to the article, the death casualties cause by Cancer of American women is 14,600 deaths in 2009. These tell us that we must take this matter seriously. However, the good news is that of the 57 patients enrolled in the ovarian cancer study worldwide, 33 percent of participants showed a significant shrinkage in the size of their tumors, and in some cases, complete disappearance of their tumors. This proves that maybe in a few decades or maybe few years, Cancer then could be cured.