Protecting Healthy Cells During Cancer Treatments
The Holy Grail of radiation therapy for cancer would be to be to find a way to stop the radiation from hurting healthy cells.
And now, working with lab mice, some researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Medicine may have found that.
Dr. Jeff Isenberg, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine says, "Not only a 'Holy Grail' leap forward in terms of radiation therapy for cancer, but it also might represent a novel way to protect people from industrial or military exposure to radiation."
There's always been one big problem with radiation therapy for cancer. Dr. Isenberg says, "Cancer cells might indeed be treated by the radiation --- but at the same time, you had disabling and sometimes overwhelming complications in normal tissues and organ systems."
Dr. Jeff Isenburg is one of the leaders of a University of Pittsburgh Med School group that found a way to block a pathway molecule called thrombospondin in mice, so that normal healthy cells would hardly be affected at all by radiation aimed at tumors.
Dr. Isenburg says, "The cells are essentially rendered almost immune to the negative effects."
The radiation does what you want it to...
"The radiation could kill the cancer cells --- and yet the normal cells displayed this interesting tendency of being highly resistant to the deadly effects of radiation," says Dr. Isenburg.
All the healthy cells are protected?
Dr. Isenburg says, "Even the most sensitive cell types --- like bone marrow cells, which were exquisitely sensitive to radiation and they're some of the first cells killed and damaged --- we found complete protection in these cell types."
The technique might have implications beyond cancer radiation therapy, says Dr. Isenberg, "One of the most interesting new experiments that myself and my collaborator are pursuing in the immediate future is to look at this as a protectant against accidental exposure to nuclear radiation."
Since the blocking technique has been used only on mice to this point, it's going to take a lot more experimentation and research before it can be tried on humans.
But as Dr. Isenberg says, we couldn't believe what we saw.
Tales From the Age of "Un-Retirement"
The U.S. division of Sun Life Financial is out with it's latest "Un-Retirement Index." This latest finding is that 65% of American workers now expect to hold off retiring, for now --- and 27% now expect to work five years more than they ever thought they would.
Also, a lot of people who thought that they had enough to retire and did so are feeling the squeeze --- and thinking about going back to work.
Helen Lilly is in that category. She says, "Do I absolutely, definitely need one? No. But to help with everything around here, yeah..."
Helen Lilly used to work for the Illinois Department of Revenue. She retired three years ago at the age of 57, because she could --- or thought she could --- between her pension, Social Security, and what she and her husband had invested or put aside.
He's retired, too --- but now drives a school bus. And Helen is thinking about the U-Word, too --- Un-Retirement --- because of the R-Word: recession.
Lilly says, "A lot of our investments are gone. Half of what our investments and 401(K)s had is gone..."
It all happened so fast, she says, "We just couldn't believe the amount of money that we had, and then was gone. We have a son that just moved to Florida, and we aren't going to be able to make it down there for Christmas."
Her old job at the Illinois Department of Revenue isn't available. But she'd like to find something --- what exactly, she's not sure.
She says, "Oh, golly, I don't know. I wondered that myself --- what would I really and truly want to do? It'd have to be with people, fun people. But other than that, I don't know."
Those jobs are hard to find --- and although she did go to a job fair and is also thinking about going back to school.
Says Lilly, "Since I really don't know what I want to do, I'm just going to pick up some computer classes and then I may go to the temporary services..."
Good luck, Mrs. Lilly --- welcome to the club...
A Long Road to Recovery for Small Businesses
President Obama unveiled plans yesterday to refocus spending of what's left of the 700 billion dollar bailout money away from the biggest banks and financial institutions --- to make it easier for the much smaller community banks that theoretically lend to small business to actually do so.
Obama says, "For those who do own a small business, it's been difficult to finance inventories and make payroll, or expand if things are going well."
President Obama says he's always believed small business is the backbone of the economy, but as Anthony Mason has reported...
Anthony Mason, CBS News Business Correspondent, says, "The number of loans backed by the Small Business Administration actually has dropped by 36% over the past year. The total dollar volume has also fallen sharply, from well over 12 billion dollars to a little over 9 billion dollars."
Economist William Dunkelberg of Temple University says small business has been frozen by the recession. He says, "Plans to hire, plans to invest in inventories are at 35-year lows. So, a lot of businesses that could borrow are just sitting on the sidelines waiting for customers to show up."
Peter Raymond runs a small business called Human Condition. He develops products like a system that reads the impact of texting while driving. He says, "To see at what point they look down, how long they look down, when they looked up --- and then, what reaction came from that."
But development costs money, and he's had to postpone hiring and slow his research.
Anthony Mason spoke with Raymond:
"(Mason:) You'd be a bigger company right now, if you could get the money.
(Raymond:) Absolutely, absolutely. We have to spend more time thinking of financing than we can about business. And we should be thinking more about the business."
He asked his banker for a 45-thousand dollar loan.
"(Raymond:) And she said, 'Don't even apply right now. It's not even worth applying for.' (Mason:) It's that bad. (Raymond:) It's that bad."
President Obama says his Administration is going to stand behind small business --- because he's confident that if they succeed, America succeeds.
"These companies are the engine of job growth in America --- they fuel our prosperity. And that's why they have to be in the forefront of our recovery," says Obama.
Huge Pay Cuts for Execs at Firms Taking Bailout Bucks
The 25 highest-paid executives at each of the seven big companies that got the most bailout money from the government are having their salaries reduced by an average 90%, and their overall compensation cut in half --- by order of the government.
The decision to do this was made by the Treasury Department's Special Master for Compensation Issues, Kenneth Feinberg. It applies to the top earning brass at AIG, Bank of America, Citigroup, General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler, and Chrysler Financial.
It hasn't been officially announced yet, but executives will be getting the bad news any day now.
The decision to slash the pay of the highest-paid execs at the seven companies that took the most taxpayer billions does not apply to companies that have paid the money back --- or to other smaller companies, whether they got bailout money or not.
But a lot of highly-paid bosses must be getting nervous.
"I think there's lots of shareholders that are going to be rethinking compensation schemes --- and there's going to be a lot of boards rethinking corporate governance and compensation schemes," says, Mark Williams, a former examiner for the Federal Reserve, teaches now at Boston University.
"I think it really sets a precedent for us to move forward and for other executives to look at their own pay packages --- and fall in line," says Williams.
Does anybody feel sorry for someone like Citigroup's Vikram Pandit, who made 38 million dollars last year and now will have to get along somehow on only 19 million?
Not school administrator Susie Viera. She says, "They could live better than I could on half of theirs. I would be homeless if I was living on half of mine..."
Or magazine marketing director Mike Kresch who says, "I feel more sorry for the person that doesn't have health insurance, that is forced to take a second shift overnight..."
Some might quit, says Wall Street trader Alan Valdes. He says, "I think you'll see a brain drain at these larger firms going to private firms. There's no reason for them to stay. It makes no sense."
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