Nerd Nite SF #54: Cancer's Metabolism, Whale Disentaglement, and more!

The UNKNOWN. We haz it. No, not the fear of the UNKNOWN – we are not afraid of it. We embrace it. We make the UNKNOWN, or at least the unfamiliar, known. (Wait, doesn't that word look really weird now?) For now, our third talk is, yes, UNKNOWN. But we know that that UNKNOWN will soon be known. As to what we do know: We know that we're going to drink some known intoxicants; nod our heads to some known, but mostly UNKNOWN, vinyl recordings; eat some comfortingly well known grilled cheese; and get to know about the metabolism of cancer and how to get all WET with a marine mammal disentanglement expert. Be there and be square!

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"Metabolism and Cancer: You Aren't What You Eat" by Roman Camarda

We've all heard it before: "You are what you eat!" But it turns out that, in cancer, this isn't really true. Research over the past century has shown that cancer has a different metabolism than the rest of our body. This altered metabolic state is a hallmark of the disease, and allows it to take advantage of nutrients meant for good (like those in pizza and ice cream). Luckily for us, this altered state may be the Achilles heel of cancer! The question is: How do we selectively disrupt the metabolism of this devious disease while leaving the rest of our bodies free to enjoy the pizza and ice cream?

Roman is a PhD student at UCSF. His dissertation research is on altered metabolism in breast cancer.

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"Whale Disentanglement: You Don't Need a Bigger Boat" by Kathi Koontz

Rescuing a 40-ton sea monster entangled in fishing gear is dangerous, difficult work. An errant fin can stun or even kill a person and a collision can capsize a boat. The rough waters and sheer vastness of the ocean are daunting. But there is a rescue team up to the challenge: WET, the Whale Entanglement Team. Why do whales get caught? What can be done to prevent it? And how exactly does WET save whales, one at a time?

Kathi Koontz is a primary responder with WET (under the auspices of NOAA Fisheries), a supervisor for the Marine Mammal Center's special rescue operation team, a co-investigator with Marine Life Studies, and a project manager at the California Academy of Sciences. She has participated in numerous marine mammal rescue operations.