April 2, 2004, Hour One: Leptin and the Brain / Cancer Stem Cells

Science Friday > Archives > 2004 > April > April 2, 2004:
Hour One: Leptin and the Brain / Cancer Stem Cells

This week, there's new evidence that leptin, the hormone that helps regulate body weight, does so in part by changing the brain's wiring. In this hour, we'll talk about the latest on leptin.

Plus, why are some cancers so hard to wipe out? Cancer stem cells could hold the answer. Some researchers believe that cancer stem cells may have the ability to re-grow tumorous tissue, even after surgery or radiation therapy is used to combat it. Call in with your questions and comments at 1-800-989-8255 (2-3 Eastern), and share your opinions online in our Listeners' Lounge (registration required).

Guests:
Jeffrey Friedman
Marilyn M. Simpson Professor
Head, Laboratory of Molecular Genetics
Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
The Rockefeller University
New York, New York

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Peter Dirks, M.D.
Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery
The University of Toronto
Neurosurgeon and Scientist in Developmental Biology
The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Michael Clarke, M.D.
Professor, Department of Internal Medicine and Department of Cell & Developmental Biology
University of Michigan Medical School
Ann Arbor, Michigan

This segment produced by Karin Vergoth

Archived Audio:
leptin
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listen in Windows Media format

cancer stem cells
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listen in Windows Media format
streaming audio help from NPR

Books/Articles Discussed:
"Rapid Rewiring of Arcuate Nucleus Feeding Circuits by Leptin" Shirly Pinto, Aaron G. Roseberry, Hongyan Liu, Sabrina Diano, Marya Shanabrough, Xiaoli Cai, Jeffrey M. Friedman, Tamas L. Horvath. Science, April 2 2004.

(find books discussed on previous broadcasts)