Science news roundup: COVID-detecting bubbles, bike safety, a vaccine for breast cancer

In this new, monthly review from OPB, “All science. No fiction.” Creator Jes Burns features the most interesting, wonderful and hopeful science to come out of the Pacific Northwest.

And remember: Science builds on the science that came before. No study tells the whole story.

A vaccine for breast cancer

It’s not often that someone can say they’ve cured cancer, but researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine can come very close. They are starting a phase 2 clinical trial in humans for a vaccine targeting so-called “HER2” breast cancers – a particularly aggressive type responsible for 20%-30% of breast cancers. The vaccine is designed to stimulate the body’s immune system to attack the cancer cells.

The 13-year phase 1 trial involving 66 women showed promising results: The vaccine was on par with COVID vaccines in terms of side effects, and anecdotally, it significantly improved survival rates. Given these results, the researchers say the vaccine has the potential to prevent or treat these cancers. The university is currently recruiting a larger cohort for the phase 2 trial; A phase 3 will then follow if the results still show promise.

Read the paper from the journal JAMA Oncology here.

Bike boxes FTW

Loads of people in the Pacific Northwest commute by bike. Eugene, Portland and Corvallis have some of the highest numbers in the country. This is great for the environment, but bike accidents are not uncommon.

Researchers at Oregon State University and Portland State University are trying to figure out how to make that commute safer. They looked at three different types of bike-friendly intersections: mixing zones where bikes and vehicles use the same lane, bike signals that only allow bikes to cross, and bike boxes that cut off the front of a lane with paint to encourage vehicles to cross. hang. back. Using a virtual reality-like setup with a stationary bicycle, the researchers tracked cyclists’ eye movements, stress levels and paths as they passed through each type of intersection.

It seems that bike boxes provided the best balance of safety without lulling the cyclist into a false sense of security.

Read the paper from the journal Accident Analysis & Prevention here.

How do we hear? No really. How do we hear?

What actually happens at the molecular level when the inner ear converts vibrations into sounds? The truth is, no one knew… until now.

Researchers at Oregon Health and Science University recently found the answer by studying roundworms, which at a fundamental level have very similar hearing organs to humans. Five years and 60 million worms later, the team was able to reveal and describe the “molecular machinery” responsible for our sense of balance and what we consider healthy.

The discovery opens up a whole new world of possible treatments for hearing loss, which affects nearly half a billion people worldwide.

Read the paper from the journal Nature here.

Little bubbles… make me feel good

Detecting viruses has been a challenge – they are small, spread out and require very sensitive sensors. But wouldn’t it be nice to know if, for example, there are COVID-19 viruses floating around in the room you’re in?

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Lab have figured out a way to do this – with tiny bubbles (200 bubbles = width of a human hair). When COVID interacts with the specially designed surface of a bubble, it causes the bubble to pop and release salts that were trapped inside. These salts, and the electronic signal they generate, are much easier to detect than the virus alone.

The scientists say their technology is faster, more sensitive and more accurate than other methods out there. And finally, the bubbles could be modified to also detect other substances in the air.

Read the paper from the journal MRS Communications here.

A cure for the “Oh dear!”

More than 11,000 deer and elk are hit by Oregon and Washington drivers each year. This is a lot of damage to ungulates, people and cars. A research team at the University of Washington has identified a way to reduce those numbers: stick to daylight saving time year-round.

The team looked at trends in vehicle-deer collisions and how they corresponded with the twice-yearly time change. The earlier it gets dark, the more deer are hit. This is especially true in the fall in the week after we “fall back”. Collisions are up 16%, partly because deer rutting season is in full swing. The analysis showed that collisions could be reduced by 2.3% — that’s nearly 40,000 deer statewide — just by keeping to DST.

Oregon, Washington, Idaho and California have all indicated they want to eliminate the time changes, but they need congressional approval to make that happen.

Read the paper from the journal Current Biology here.

Watch more videos from “All Science. No Fiction.” about the science of sleep, a drone that can smell things and how solar panels can help sheep and the farmers who raise them.