GeekNUZ

How Do Viruses Cause Cancer?

It's well known that certain viruses can induce cancer.  Human papillomavirus, for example, can cause cervical cancer and Epstein-Barr virus can cause Burkitt's lymphoma.  Just how they do this is not entirely clear.  However, scientists Dominik Duelli and Yuri Lazebnik at New York's Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory may have a theory on their hands.  They observed that human fibroblast cells, when infected with a virus, sometimes fused with one another.  During fusion their chromosomes became wildly unstable and subsequently developed chromosomal abnormalities that predisposes to cancer.  Compared with non-fused cells, only fused cells produce cancer when they were transplanted into mice. (Full article here via Current Biology)

Saturday Night Live: Best Lunar Eclipse "In Years"

On Saturday March 3, what should be a terrific lunar eclipse will occur with maximum eclipse at 6:21 PM EST.  The moon will be completely covered in Earth's shadow for more than an hour.  The only light to hit the moon will be light that has filtered through the Earth's atmosphere, giving the moon a reddish glow.  Only those in the Eastern half of the US will be able to witness totality. (Spaceweather.com)