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This week’s news includes an unexpected benefit of childhood vaccines, a potentially colossal number of retractions from a German anesthesiologist, the full genome of the water flea, newly announced pharmaceutical cuts, thoughts on the situation in Egypt, a debate on genetic manipulation in France, and the stem cell gun that may heal burns.

Vaccines prevent cancer?

Some vaccinations routinely given to children, such as those for hepatitis B and polio, may lower the risk of certain cancers, like leukemia. Comparing 2,800 cases of childhood cancer in Texas to more than 10,000 healthy individuals, researchers found that children born in counties where the hep B vaccine was common were 20 percent less likely to develop cancer. Similarly, kids born in areas where children are typically vaccinated for both the polio and hep B were 30 to 40 percent less likely to contract the disease, according to a new study published last week in the Journal of Pediatrics. Though some parents choose against vaccinating their children because they believe the shots can cause autism, “people can take a step back and really look at the benefit that vaccines provide — not just for the infectious diseases they were intended to prevent,” study author Michael Scheurer of Baylor College of Medicine in Texas, told Reuters. (Hat tip to FierceVaccines)

90 retractions coming?

Nearly 100 papers might be pulled from the literature because they didn’t receive proper institutional approval, according to Retraction Watch. Joachim Boldt, former head of anesthesia at the Klinikum Ludwigshafen in Germany, was fired last year after suspicions were raised about one 2009 Anesthesia & Analgesia paper that appeared to be based on research that hadn’t taken place. But last week an ongoing investigation by Klinikum Ludwigshafen and the German state medical association of Rheinland Pfalz announced that as many as 90 studies failed to get proper institutional approval — grounds for the immediate retraction of an article, according to a letter from the editors of 11 journals. (Hat tip to ScienceInsider)

Largest animal genome discovered

Scientists have sequenced the entire genome of Daphnia pulex, a small crustacean commonly used as a model organism for basic biological function studies, and revealed the largest number of genes of any animal genome. The paper, published last week in Science, reports that Daphnia has a total of 30,907 genes, significantly more than the 23,000 estimated human genes.

Pfizer cuts R&D

Pfizer announce last week that it will cut some 20 percent of its R&D expenditure, from $8.5 million to $7 million, sometime next year. The pharmaceutical company also plans to shut down a UK research facility that currently employs 2,400 people and to drastically reduce staff in its Connecticut research center, according to ScienceInsider, although it may increase its Massachusetts workforce by several hundred.

While the news has come as a surprise to many, GlaxoSmithKlein’s chief executive Andrew Witty indicated that Pfizer’s loss may be GSK’s gain. “We absolutely will look at… high calibre people, talented people there,” Witty told The Telegraph. “There may be some people who want to come here…and of course we’ll look at that.”

Thoughts and prayers for Egypt

Here is what a few F1000 Members with a connection to Egypt had to say about the unstable political situation there. (Comments emailed to The Scientist on February 3, 2011)

“The situation remains very tense especially in the big cities. All research institutions are on shut down mode since January 26^th. Hospitals are overwhelmed with injured people and the health care givers are exhausted. This country needs a miracle.”

~ F1000 Member Emad Mossad of Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine (trained in Egypt in the 1980s)

“I believe Egypt will have ugly short term loss in everything including research but for sure long term win because when you feel you are free you can innovate.”

~F1000 Member Mohamed Mahmoud of the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (trained in Egypt in the 1990s)

“The atmosphere right now is tense, and all I do is to look for news and pray so that The Lord God would keep the peace in my country.”

~ F1000 Member Bassem Wadie of the Urology & Nephrology Center at Masnoura, Egypt

Genetic manipulation for students?

How old should students be before they’re allowed to perform experiments that involve altering the DNA of bacteria? While the experiments have been commonplace for 17- and 18-year-olds in France for the last 10 years, whether or not to allow younger students to partake in these types of classroom activities has become a heated debate in the country, according to Nature. Teachers have begun offering the opportunities to younger students for the first time this year, but the Committee for Research & Independent Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN), which pushes for tighter regulations of genetic engineering, thinks that such experiments should be restricted to university students.

Stem cell gun

Scientists have invented a ballistic new way to treat burns and skin abrasions – shoot them with a stem cell gun. The gun – a sterile syringe that loads into a spraying nozzle – releases a patient’s own stem cells, generated from a piece of healthy skin, which can immediately begin repairing the skin.

Update: Retraction Watch has been added as the correct source to the story on the potential retractions from German anesthesiologist Joachim Boldt.

Correction: This story has been updated from its original version to indicate that the newly sequenced Daphnia genome is the largest of any known animal genome. The Scientist regrets the error.

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