Welcome Back Everyone!

This year, I'll attempt to share some of the CURRENT EVENTS going on in the world that catch MY eye. I'll post them here.

Cancer Breakthrough at MIT

It took them 16,000 tries, but MIT scientists have finally identified a chemical that selectively targets cancer cells, a possible breakthrough in creating new treatments. “We now have a method that researchers anywhere in the world can use to find agents that can kill cancer stem cells and potentially treat cancer,” Piyush Gupta, a researcher at the Broad Institute and co-author of the study told Bloomberg. The chemical compound, salinomycin, works like a smart bomb, picking out stem cells that turn into cancer and destroying them. Next up is further testing on animals.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQCyVkyA3AIA

Europe Bounces Back

First! France and Germany have beat the U.S. in the recovery race, officially pulling out of the global recession with modest 0.3 percent growth in each country for the last quarter. The good news isn't limited to Western Europe, though, as analysts cite positive economic signs in the U.S., China, and Japan as evidence that aggressive stimulus spending is successfully boosting the global economy. "They are good signs, but not yet conclusive," the chief European economist for HSBC told The Washington Post. "We still have to wait and see." Still, some countries do lag behind: Britain, Italy, and Spain have yet to turn around their economies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/13/AR2009081300504.html?hpid=topnews