Breast Cancer Genes: Hopes that the cloning of two genes that can cause inheritance of breast cancer susceptibility (BRCA1 and BRCA2) would uncover common mechanisms underlying breast cancer have not been fulfilled. About 10% of breast cancer patients have a familial (inherited gene defect) form of breast cancer, but only in half have researchers detected mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. And in the 90% of breast cancer patients who have the sporadic (non-inherited) form, mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2 are frequently not found. However, research by Cortez et al. reveals the participation of BRCA1 in a cellular pathway that may be dysfunctional in a significant fraction of all breast cancers.

BRCA1 and BRCA2 both encode large nuclear proteins (function in the cell's nucleus), which are expressed in many tissues and are most abundant during the S phase (when DNA is duplicated) of the cell cycle. The proteins produced by BRCA1 and BRCA2 are very different but evidence suggests that they have common biological functions. Inheritance of one defective allele (copy of a gene on a chromosome; we have two copies of each gene, except on the sex chromosomes) predisposes women to the development of breast or ovarian cancer. In mice, having both alleles defective leads to defective cell division, chromosomal instability and hypersensitivity to genotoxins (toxins that attach to or chemically attack DNA), which suggests defects in DNA repair.

One important question is why the proteins from these two genes are expressed in many cell types and function in processes vital to cells, yet their defective function apparently predisposes to only breast or ovarian cancer in women.

Science, Vol. 286, 11/5/99, p. 1100 ff

Bigger Genome Is Not Necessarily Better: The size of an organism's genome (number of bases, which in groups of three code for amino acids in active genes, which are then translated into proteins) varies greatly among species, but doesn't correlate with the amount of genetic information or the complexity of the organism, such as the number of different cell types. Among eukaryotes (each cell has nucleus surrounded by membrane at some point in life cycle) frequently used in scientific research, the yeast S. cerevisiae has 14 megabases (Mb), the nematode C. elegans 100 Mb and the fruit fly 165-180 Mb. The single-celled amoeba, one of the simplest eukaryotes, contains 200,000 Mb. Plant genomes vary in size from 50 MB for angiosperms (flowering plants) to 307,000 Mb for pteridophytes (ferns). Homo sapiens (that's us), with a genome of about 3000 MB, is fairly typical for mammals. Larger genomes don't necessarily contain more genes than smaller genomes but they do contain more repetitive DNA. Repetitive DNA are sequences seen in multiple copies, such as the retrotransposons that move around the chromosomes. Petrov et al. provide evidence that the long-term accumulation of apparently excess noncoding DNA differs among species because of the different rates at which this nonessential DNA is eliminated.

Science, Vol. 287, 2/11/00, p. 985

Alcohol and Loss of Fetal Nerve Cells: Exposure of the human fetus to ethanol (drinking alcohol) by the pregnant woman drinking can cause a neurotoxic syndrome called "fetal alcohol syndrome." The most disabling features are neurobehavioral disturbances ranging from hyperactivity and learning disabilities to depression and psychosis. It is thought that the brain is especially sensitive to the neurotoxic effects of ethanol during the brain growth spurt which occurs during the last trimester

in humans and into the first few years after birth. Ethanol exposure for just a few hours of infant rats, which have their brain growth spurt after birth, demonstrates that ethanol blocks NMDA glutamate receptors and activates the GABA/A receptors excessively in brain cells. This leads to widespread apoptosis (programmed cell death) of neurons (nerve cells) in the rat forebrain. Apoptosis is used during embryonic and fetal development to eliminate redundant and no longer useful cells.

This means that one drinking episode by a woman in her third trimester of pregnancy could lead to the loss of a significant number of neurons and their connections to other neurons. Other chemicals that can affect those two receptors are sedatives, tranquilizers, anticonvulsanats and anesthesias. Therefore, physicians who prescribe these medications for babies or toddlers risk the loss of neurons in different parts of the brain, depending upon which neurons are undergoing a growth spurt.

Science, Vol. 287, 2/11/00, p. 1056 ff

The two questions I'm most frequently asked regarding this column are:

1. Why do you do it?
2. If Martha Stewart were a marmot, what kind of Christmas decorating tips would she suggest?

Due to the subtleties and complexities involved in answering question #1, we'll save that one for a later issue. So instead this month, we debut Ms. Marma Stewart, who will give you her unique Christmas decorating tips.

Don't throw away those greens and decaying tubers. With some prepared chlorophyll extracted from fresh blades of grass, the juice of a beet, and blueberries I picked fresh this morning, you can combine your compost with saliva, partially chewed paper and a bit of dirt to make a lovely centerpiece for your table. Or, you could steal some human's welcome mat, glue everything onto it with the sap of some okra, and you'll have a lovely tapestry.

Snakes, mongooses, birds of prey and killer bunnies can be kept away by making a simple repellant out of burrowhold and personal biological ingredients. In a saucepan over low heat, combine one rotten egg, the juice of a stinkbug killed fresh this morning, and a variety of personal biological ingredients. Mold this into several attractive lumps, let them dry, and place them nicely around the entrance to your burrow. I like to paint them red with the juice of beets I picked fresh this morning right after killing the stinkbug.

Do you have this problem? How many times have you settled down for a nice after-Christmas hibernation, only to be rudely awakened halfway through your sleep by some crude human with cold hands who wants a weather report? I've solved this problem by hot-wiring my burrow with industrial-strength ungrounded wires that I stripped just this morning from Farmer Brown's car. By connecting them carefully (use gloves for this to avoid breaking a claw) to the nearest high-tension wire, those pesky humans are bound to get the point. Be careful, however, to stay away from the wires when creating personal biological ingredients.

You can decorate your Christmas Root with a variety of yummy edibles strung together by a piece of fine string or some leftover copper wire. I've chosen elderberries, cranberries, dried kernels of corn and peas, all picked freshly this morning. Using a needle, claw or incisor, create very delicate holes at either end of each item and then string them together. Of course, the right tuber is also important. Instead of the more traditional carrot, I prefer the sweeter parsnip, not only for the taste but for the color contrast. And of course, you can get a nice pink effect if you dab some more of that beet juice on various areas of the parsnip.

And just remember... it's a root thing.

Charlie Rovner found these on the Internet:

The symphony orchestra was performing Beethoven's Ninth. In the piece, there's a long passage, about 20 minutes, during which the bass violinists have nothing to do. Rather than sit around that whole time looking stupid, some bassists decided to sneak offstage and go to the tavern next door for a quick one.

After slamming several beers in quick succession, one of them looked at his watch and said, "Hey! We need to get back!"

"No need to panic," said a fellow bassist. "I thought we might need some extra time, so I tied the last few pages of the conductor's score together with string. It'll take him a few minutes to get it untangled."

A few moments later they staggered back to the concert hall and took their places in the orchestra. About this time, a member of the audience noticed the conductor seemed a bit edgy and said as much to her companion.

"Well, of course," said her companion. "Don't you see? It's the bottom of the Ninth, the score is tied, and the bassists are loaded."

---

A man is walking home alone late one night when he hears a BUMP... BUMP... BUMP... behind him. Walking faster, he looks back, and makes out the image of an upright coffin banging its way down the middle of the street towards him... BUMP... BUMP... BUMP...

Terrified, the man begins to run towards his home, the coffin bouncing quickly behind him... faster... faster...

BUMP... BUMP... BUMP...

He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him. However, the coffin crashes through his door, with the lid of the coffin clapping... clappity-BUMP... clappity-BUMP... clappity-BUMP... on the heels of the terrified man.

Rushing upstairs to the bathroom, the man locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps. With a loud CRASH the coffin, bumping and clapping towards him, breaks down the door. The man screams and reaches for something, anything... but all he can find is a box of cough drops! Desperate, he throws the cough drops at the coffin...

and of course... the coffin stops!

Send your favorite groaner to PUNS c/o Jim Jelacic.

A company that has received a lot of attention -- and acclaim -- the last few years is Cheapass Games®. Their claim to fame is stripped-down packaging. If a game needs items like dice, markers or money, they assume you already have that and can borrow it from other games. Thus they eliminate those materials and the overhead, and you get a less-expensive game with just the items unique to the game. This month I will review the first of two Cheapass games I've recently played at Mensa Conventions: Parts Unknown™.

Parts Unknown is set in Transylvania, where you and your opponents sell items used by the local mad scientists, mostly to reanimate the dead. And of course, Dr. Victor Frankenstein is the hero of all the other mad scientists. Every so often, Victor strolls through town and window-shops. His mere glances through shop windows creates demand for the types of items in the shop windows. The object of the game is to earn the most money by getting the other mad scientists to buy your supplies instead of from the competition.

There are four categories of items for sale: extremities, brains, leftovers and gizmos. There are several types of items for each category. You are dealt a hand of cards which contains some set of items from the categories. Each card lists four prices for the items. You also begin the game with shelves on which to display your items. You select which items are on sale, and the price at which you will sell them. You may only set up shelves or adjust your prices during your turn.

As Victor creates demands, the other mad scientists scramble to buy the cheapest supplies. If, for example, there is a demand for hands, and your hands retail for $15 each, the mad scientists will buy yours and totally ignore hands at any higher price. If the demand is not met, they continue shopping, but for other items. So that means if there is a demand for four extremities, and you can sell two hands for $15 each, even though the next cheapest extremities for sale might be hands for $20, the mad scientists will not buy more hands. Instead they will buy the next-cheapest different-type of item (such as those $24 feet).

Another fun option with this game is a mandatory supply of villagers. If demand for parts exceeds supply by too much, a villager mysteriously disappears. Likewise if supply exceeds demand, another villager is born or moves in. The number of villagers helps determine the amount of demand at any time.

The game ends when Victor has strolled through town six times, or if the town has run out of villagers due to high demand. The shopkeeper with the most money wins.

The People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently showed their "skills" in their most recent campaign. To promote awareness "that milk cows and their calves suffer on factory farms and that the fat and cholesterol in milk make drinking beer look good by comparison", they decided to promote a new slogan: "Got beer?"

It didn't go over well with MADD. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving.)

Remember the stories Grandpa would tell about how he used to walk to school "through 3 feet of snow for 2 miles, up hill, both ways, barefoot!!"? He will have no trouble answering these questions if he sat around and "watched" the radio in the evenings like we watch TV today. See if you can name the TV show that started out as a radio program.

1. This Masked Man, with his faithful Indian companion, rode the West on a white steed doing good and fighting evil.
2. This Masked Man and his faithful Philippino companion rode the big city in a black "steed" doing good and fighting evil.
3. This show would see the humor in everyday people in unusual situations, on radio with a hidden microphone, and on TV with a hidden camera.
4. This show gave people "just the facts" from the files of the Los Angeles police department.
5. This lawyer would always uncover the criminal while cross examining him on the witness stand.
6. This detective show was noted for discovering Mary Tyler Moore's legs.
7. This hired gun of the West had a calling card of a white knight.
8. This anthology of Old West stories once had Ronald Reagan as its host.
9. This modern cowboy rounded up his cattle with an airplane.
10. This game show introduced the size of "larger than a bread box".

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Each of the questions below can be answered by a number between zero and nine, with each number used only once.

1. In 1967, The Four Tops had a hit single about this many rooms of gloom.
2. Cat Stevens sang a song about this many fine people.
3. A Song of Joy, by Miguel Rios, was based on the last movement of this Beethoven symphony.
4. In a song, the group The Fixx was saved by this number.
5. The only number which was the title of a #1 song.
6. The first #1 album for the group Foreigner was this number, but it was also the chronological number of the album (i.e. their nth album).
7. Pat Boone, Diana Ross, Hall & Oates and Paula Abdul have each had this many #1 songs.
8. Eric Clapton has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this many times
9. The Beatles asked you to hold and love them this many days a week.
10. The Vogues got excited when the little hand reached this number.

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Easy:

EV KV ERP WOKDQNBEVQ: XQOQ RYQN BXQ

UKBXQO EU 29: BXQOQ FECRP XKDQ LQQV

EOQ LCB XQ PYPV'B XKDQ BYAQ.

(Note: the number "29" is actually the number 29, not something to decipher)

Hard - no punctuation, grouped in 5:

CWQAQ MAQBE SQCWX TVBET YKXTC QYYQO

CDMYB MAQOA MLKQT EDVWC ENQYX QFQVQ

EAVQE AGQYY

Answers near the end of this newsletter.

Greetings, Fellow Trivians! It's too soon for March's answers. Here are this month's questions:

Q10: Which country has the most land frontiers (land borders that touch other countries)?

Q11: Who wrote Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness?

Q12: In what year did New York become the first state to recognize Memorial Day as a legal holiday?

Q13: If you have won a Caldecott Medal, what did you do?

Q14: Researchers have recently found a protein that inhibits nerve cell regrowth in the brain and spinal column. Defeating the protein is a step towards curing paraplegics. What is the four letter name they gave this protein?

Q15: True or false: The main use for pigskin is making footballs.

Q16: In 1992, the governor of Hawaii received a petition with 30,000 signatures to change the name of Maui to what? (Submitted by Bill Zigo, reprinted from Sally Hemmings Memorial Newsletter, the newsletter of Thomas Jefferson Mensa, Didi Pancake, editor)

Q17: Who discovered Gamma Rays in 1900? (Submitted by Tom Rankin)

Q18: What was the first animal on the US Endangered Species list? (Submitted by Ed Quinn)

Q19: What is opposite of the "9-edge"? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Q20: In NYC, how much does a subway car weigh (±3000 lbs)? (Submitted by Dave Cardall)

Send your answers (and questions with answers and references) to TRIVIA CONTEST c/o Jim Jelacic by April 30.

Last time, I mentioned that lots of planets would be visible. Did anyone see any? On 2/15, I saw 5, plus the moon, all lined up.

In April, the evening planets continue to get closer together, but also closer to the Sun. April 6^th will be a good night to see several planets together with the young moon.

Other April events:

4/02 -- Daylight savings time begins ("Spring forward, Fall back")
4/05 -- There will be a very slim moon after sunset
4/05 -- Mars is near Jupiter
4/15 -- Mars is near Saturn
4/20 -- The Lyrid meteor shower starts tonight and ends tomorrow morning
4/28 -- Mercury near Venus in the morning sky

Astro News:

The latest salvo in the 'life on other worlds' debate has been fired by 2 University of Washington astronomers who say that there are so many factors that have to be perfect for life to exist, that they doubt that there are more than 100 planets in the galaxy with intelligent life. Previous estimates have run as high as 1,000,000. Their book, "Rare Earth", has just been published.

The NEAR Satellite has been returning fabulous images of the asteroid Eros. See their web page http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/near.html for images and details.

Lockheed Martin is claiming that accurate weather forecasts, up to a week in advance, are just around the corner, thanks to their new Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) satellite. Don't hold your breath - it might alter the weather!

A quasar has been discovered that is 13 billion light-years away, easily the

most distant object in the Universe. Light from the quasar that we detect now left when the Universe was only 8% of its current age.

Since it's April, I thought I'd include some astronomy hoaxes, urban legends, and silly stories that have been perpetuated over the years:

In 1835, John Locke, a reporter for the New York Sun (how appropriate!), wrote a series of articles claiming that Sir John Herschel had observed a race of bat-like people on the Moon. The general public believed every word, which just egged him on to continue the hoax (Thanks to Linda Zimmermann for this contribution from her book, Bad Astronomy). [Bibi says Linda Zimmerman will be our MG speaker in November - Ed.]

Myth: You can balance an egg on its end on the equinoxes.
Fact: You can do this any day if you are patient enough. The equinox has nothing to do with it.

Myth: The planetary alignment coming up in May will cause serious problems on Earth, such as earthquakes, tidal waves and hurricane force winds.
Fact: The moon has 100 times more gravitational and 10,000 times more tidal influence on the Earth than all the planets combined. For more on this farce, see: http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/planets.html

During WW II, one of the Allies saw what they took to be an enemy plane coming at them from the West during early evening. They launched an attack against it, and in spite of how fast they flew, they never caught up to it. It turned out that they had tried to defend themselves against - Venus!

During The return of Halley's comet at the beginning of this century, many people were terrified by tales that the comet would either incinerate them with fire, suffocate them with poison gas, or crush them with comet debris. In fact, the amount of matter that fell to Earth from Halley's Comet during 1910 could have been contained in a juice glass. But make no mistake, Halley's Comet is an Earth-grazer, and an impact with it is not out of the question in the far-flung future.

Upcoming MHAA events (for southeastern New York state):

Apr 07, 08:00 PM -- Wilcox Park -- Planets, Messier Objects
Apr 18, 07:30 PM -- SUNY New Paltz -- Speaker TBD
Apr 28, 08:00 PM -- Sam's Point -- Galaxies

Call (914) 485-5669 for the MHAA Hotline: Information, Astronomy News, etc. Would you like to borrow a telescope from the Club for a month? Let me know. We've got several “loaner” scopes that are very easy to use. We have lots of other Astro stuff to lend as well.

Next Time: April brings the Lyrid meteor shower. Clear skies!

Tom Rankin

MHAA Home Page: http://jump.to/mhaa

Cryptogram Answers:

Easy:

On an old gravestone: Here lies the father of 29: There would have been more but he didn't have time.

Hard:

There are some things only intellectuals are crazy enough to believe.
George Orwell

“The Golden Age of Radio” TV Trivia Answers:

1. The Lone Ranger
2. The Green Hornet
3. Candid Microphone (radio) and Candid Camera (TV)
4. Dragnet
5. Perry Mason
6. Richard Diamond, Private Detective
7. Have Gun, Will Travel
8. Death Valley Days
9. Sky King
10. What's My Line?

“Zero to Nine” Music Trivia Answers:

1. 7
2. 2
3. 9
4. 0
5. 1
6. 4
7. 6
8. 3 (for the Yardbirds, Cream, and as a solo artist)
9. 8
10. 5 (as in 5:00 World)