Chemo Round 4

Sitting in the chair now. White counts were at 5,500 today. Weee. I should be here until around 2:30 today. Just read a really interesting breakthrough regarding Hodgkins and Reed Sternberg cells. I think I get it but may need Cheryl to read the original journal and translate!

Hodgkins Breakthrough

And we can thank Cheryl for the layman's explanation. Thanks!

Hey,

Just saw the comment on your blog, so I had to find the article b/c I'd rather be doing this than my real job right now:

http://www.nature.com/leu/journal/v23/n3/abs/leu2008314a.html

I have to go to the library to get the full text...I can do that if you are interested.

I think I can translate without the full article.

This article describes processes that are failing when a cell divides. Telomeres are the ends of DNA that are like the plastic tips at the end of the rope or shoelaces - basically, they protect the ends. Picture DNA as a strand of rope. When a cell divides, the rope has to be duplicated and the resulting duplicate will become part of the new cell. There are 'building structures' that pull the duplicate away from the original strand (this is the spindle). Just imagine, that if you threw a bunch of tangled ropes on the ground, there is a way to systematically pull the ropes apart in an organized fashion when everything works properly. This article is basically saying two things: 1) the mechanism to pull the ropes (DNA) apart systematically fails, so there is a jumbled mess and 2) the protective ends of the ropes are no longer there to protect. (This is really very oversimplified). Bottom line, the ability of the cell to divide and pass the genetic code properly is damaged. Knowing this gives researchers a clue as to what they might be able to target to develop a therapy.

BTW, the pics of you and your bald friends are nice - you've got a great group of friends!

Back to my real job,
Cheryl

Karen is looking at brownie recipes....mmmm brownies.