Although research on human embryos outside of the body has been going on for some time, until now scientists have been unable to keep the developing for more than a week.  But new research has found a way to keep them alive for up to fourteen days, possibly much longer, according to a story on NPR.

The research team ended the experiment due to a long-standing rule that put a limit on human embryo research of only being allowed in the first fourteen days, and some are beginning to question whether the rule should be changed in light of the new discovery.

The research was built on work done by scientists that found a way to keep mouse embryos alive for longer periods in a lab environment and prompted the team to wonder if the same could be done with human embryos.

Magdelena Zernicka-Goetz, a professor of developmental biology at the University of Cambridge in England and her colleagues came up with a mix of amino acids, hormones and growth factors, that according to Zernicka-Goetz “would allow embryos to feel as good as they would feel in the body of the mother.”

Zernicka-Goetz’s group, along with a team from Rockefeller University in New York, decided to conduct the experiment, and successfully kept the embryos developing for an additional week.  Previously, scientists had thought human embryos would only continue to develop in the womb after reaching the critical seven-day mark, when the embryo becomes embedded within the womb.

The researchers were astonished to see the embryos in the dish begin to organize themselves into early stages of organs and tissues, without receiving instructions from the body of the mother.

This new discovery has scientists thinking about how much can be learned from studying the development of the embryos outside the body, but also fuels the debate about at which point life begins.  Some suggest abandoning the 14-day rule would lead to researchers taking liberties with embryos, and asking if there is a limit to what we will do in search of scientific knowledge.

Likely there will be a great deal of debate, from both the scientific and the moral positions on human embryos before any rule changes can be considered, as was the case when the rule was first implemented.  Scientists say there could be many valuable lessons learned that may even help prevent miscarriages and birth defects with increased research in the area.

A team of researchers followed the contestants on the weight-loss TV show, The Biggest Loser, and found that most of the participants gained back at least some of the weight they lost while competing, but that wasn’t the surprising find in the research, according to people.com.

The TV show is a competition among overweight people to see who can lose the most weight in a few short weeks, through diet and exercise.  The research team monitored the contestants from season 8, for six years after the competition ended.  Their findings show that 13 of the 14 contestants gained at least some of the lost weight back, and four gained enough to now weigh more than the did before participating on the show.

But the finding from the study about the metabolism of the contestants is what has the researchers concerned.  The team says all the participants began the show with an average resting metabolism, but the process of diet and exercise undertaken to lose weight at a rapid rate, caused their bodies’ to lower their rate of metabolism.  The findings show their bodies have not been able to return to their previous rate.

“It is frightening and amazing,” said Dr. Kevin Hall, of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, and a member of the research team.  “I am just blown away,” he continued.

The study, published in the journal Obesity, and conducted through the National Institutes of Health, says the ones that lost the most weight in the competition also recorded the greater slowing of their metabolisms during that time.

Danny Cahil, the winner of the show’s season 8, began at 430 pounds to start the show, and lost 239 pounds to win, tipping the scales at 191 at season’s end.  In the six years following, however, he has gained back to his current weight of 295, and the study says his metabolism has slowed to the point where he now burns 800 calories a day less than average person his size.

Another contestant, Erinn Egbert, lost 87 pounds, and has since dropped about another 20 pounds, but she also struggles with slower metabolism, burning 552 calories a day less than normal.

A representative from the show told People they were aware of the new study and were in the process of evaluating the results.  The representative stresses the show has systems in place to “routinely re-evaluate to ensure all contestants receive the best care possible.”

All of us at some point have an episode of not being able to remember why we came into a room, or going to the store for one item and failing to pick that item up before leaving the store, but those are common to everyone, and seem to increase with age.

For about five million Americans, these type issues are far from common.  People who suffer from dementia or Alzheimer’s disease struggle with these types of occurrences many times per day, and much worse.  Those people sometimes forget to dress themselves, forget important appointments and can’t remember to take their medications.  As the disease progresses, cognitive abilities continue to decline and simple tasks such as going to the mailbox could lead to disorientation and being unable to remember how to get back home.

Unfortunately, there is little that can be done for them.  There are five drugs currently on the market for Alzheimer’s patients that are used to slow the progression of the disease, but none of them seem to work for very long.  Experts suspect the reason is that the brain has already been damaged before the symptoms begin to appear and the diagnosis is made, possibly even as much as 20 years before.

That is why Alzheimer’s research is so important.  The cause of the disease is still mostly unknown.  Less than five percent of the diagnosed cases have been linked to specific gene mutations, and other diseases seem to increase the risk of getting the disease, such as heart disease and depression.

Even the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s is somewhat subjective.  It usually involves a series of tests, assessing memory and cognitive abilities, but these can only be done as the disease has already taken hold.  Brain scans and spinal taps to check for accumulation of amyloid, a protein associated with the disease, in the brain or spinal fluid.

But the cure seems to be in finding a way to prevent the disease in the first place.  At this point, there is no clear answer for stopping the on-set of the disease, although new research is suggesting exercise, healthy diets and social and educational activities can possibly at least delay the disease.  But no magic bullet has yet been found that will stop the disease in its tracks.

Research and raising awareness programs continue to offer hope, if not for those with the disease now, at least for the next generation.  There are a number of clinical trials underway, and possibly one of these will lead to the discovery that can eradicate this terrifying condition.

That is why Alzheimer’s research is important.