MEDICAL SCIENCE
Cancer treatment found in the genes
There are more than 21,000 genes in the human genome, according to Dr. Michael White, professor of cell biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. His research team found that certain genes in lung cancer patients are unnecessary for the operations of the lungs but are “activated” anyway by the cancerous cells.
By turning those genes “off,” White said, fights against the cancer cells swing more in the patient’s favor.
“By testing every gene in the genome, we identified genes that if we can block their expression in cancer cells, we can make them more susceptible to cancer treatment,” he said. “Possibly thousands or tens of thousands of times more susceptible.”
That means a lower dose of medicine for the patient and possibly fewer side effects as well.
More than 90,000 Texans are diagnosed with some form of cancer each year, and U.S. cancer costs top $209 billion annually.
For more information, contact Dr. Michael White, michael.white@utsouthwestern.edu, (214) 648-2861
TRANSPORTATION
Flying car
A flying car is in development in a shop in Murphy, Texas.
Homebuilder Clarence Kissell designed the foam and fiberglass model with friend and retired Texas Instruments researcher Vernon Porter.
The 1,800-pound vehicle has the footprint of a Cadillac Escalade but is low to the ground like a sports car, said Porter.
Plans call for the vehicle to use a 180-horsepower Mazda rotary engine. When in flight mode, a driveshaft from the rotary motor will spin a propeller, mounted on the rear.
“If you’re in Waxahachie and want to fly to Oklahoma City and don’t want to go through Dallas, you can go to a local airport,” said Porter. “Push a button, the wings pop open and fold out, you get to going 70 mph and you’re in the air and on your way.”
The inventors have spent $70,000 of their own money on the car and estimate they may need an additional $1.2 million to make a proof of principle prototype, which they hope to have ready in fall 2007.
For more information, contact Vernon Porter, Vrporter.doc@gte.net
AEROSPACE
Texas' own private space program
A small, private company in Mesquite is working toward inexpensive, reliable access to space.
Armadillo Aerospace is the brainchild of John Carmack, a Texas software entrepreneur. Armadillo is employing a “modular” approach that combines multiple, relatively inexpensive rocket motors into computer-controlled assemblages.
“The modular vehicles will be capable of sub-orbital space flights in a single stage and orbital space flight in multi-stage format,” said Neil Milburn, Armadillo vice president.
In January 2007, the company received a one-year, $100,000 contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to evaluate Armadillo’s rocket technology.
For more information, contact Armadillo Aerospace, pr@armadilloaerospace.com
HEALTH CARE
A better way to compare
Texans can now shop for hospital care online. Texas Price Point allows consumers to view and compare prices of the most common inpatient hospital services. The new Web site, www.txpricepoint.org, launched by the Texas Hospital Association (THA), also has links to other health care data and information on all Texas hospitals.
The information can help consumers sort through options offered by hospitals, physicians and insurance companies, according to THA’s Amanda Engler. Texans spend an average of $9,100 annually on health insurance.
The data comes from information hospitals were already reporting to the Texas Department of State Health Services, Engler said, and the site consolidates the information on one site. So far, response has been good.
“Our site is generating an average of about 500 hits per week now,” she said. “During the first couple of weeks after the launch, the average was more than 350 per day.”
For more information contact Amanda Engler, aengler@tha.org, (512) 465-1026
MATERIALS SCIENCE
Sun power
A former Texas company that moved to California in a buy-out is hot for solar cooling. SolCool One markets an air conditioner that uses less than 400 watts of solar panel power to cool about 750 square feet. Installed cost is about $3,000. Solar panels are an additional cost of $4 to $5 per watt.
For more information, visit www.solcool.net
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
It's cool to V-Kool®
Houston-based V-Kool® manufactures a clear window film that keeps out 99 percent of ultraviolet light and 90 percent of the accompanying infrared heat.
Absolute Solar Experts (ASE) of San Antonio is a small business — with fewer than 10 employees — that installs the film for customers.
“It’s a virtually clear film that does not block the view like conventional films,” said J.T. Morelan, ASE’s owner. “It also rejects 99 percent of the UV rays to protect interior furnishing from fading.”
For more information, contact V-Kool®, (713) 856-8333
MEDICAL SCIENCE
A breath away
Early detection of lung cancer could be just a breath away. Researchers at the New York Health Department’s Wadsworth Laboratory say they can detect precancerous genetic changes in cells that line the lung in DNA recovered from chilled, exhaled breath. Simon Spivack, a research physician at the lab, says this might allow doctors to detect lung cancer early, when it is most treatable.
In a statement released last year by the American Association for Cancer Research, Spivack said he and his research associate, Weiguo Han, “have shown that this approach is technically feasible, and if further research demonstrates the assay can measure DNA in such a way that it diagnoses or predicts lung cancer, this could be important for non-invasive lung cancer testing.”
For more information, contact Dr. Simon Spivack, spivack@wadsworth.org, (518) 262-5196