Daily Lobo new mexico
thursday October 2, 2014 | Volume 119 | Issue 34
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
Prof. may render needles needless
OFFCenter on-track — See page 10
By Lauren Topper
Diana Cervantes / Daily Lobo / @DailyLobo
Jose Castañeda works on a portrait Tuesday afternoon at the OFFCenter Community Arts Studio. OFFCenter is an all-inclusive art studio that provides a supportive community, free art supplies and a low commission for people who wish to sell their artwork.
Remains suggest united ancestry 13,000-year-old skeleton offers insight on Native American history, genetics By Tomas Lujan
Researchers theorize that the ancient remains of a teenage girl may represent the missing link between modern Native Americans and their Paleoamerican ancestors. Scientists at UNM’s Radiogenic Isotope Laboratory, located in Northrop Hall, said the discovery is among the most significant advances in the scientific understanding of the origin and development of the earliest Americans — especially in relation to the link to modern Native Americans. Earth and planetary sciences professor Yemane Asmerom, who led the research at UNM, said “Naia,” the name given to the remains, is the most intact skeleton ever recovered from the era. Naia’s remains were discovered by a technical dive team exploring the Hoyo Negro, a submerged chamber in the Sac Actun cave system located in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. Samples of the remains were then sent to researchers at UNM because of their reputation for the accuracy and diversity of dating techniques available at the College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, he said. Genetic evidence found in the remains may settle past arguments as to the ancient lineage of modern Native Americans, he said. One theory is that the subtle differences in facial and dental characteristics existing between the
Courtesy Photo
The 13,000-year-old remains of the teenage female dubbed “Naia” were found submerged in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.
earliest American skeletons and modern Native Americans suggest there were separate migratory events, and modern Native Americans descended from one of those lineages, or a combination, he said. However, extensive analysis of genetic material, as well as morphological traits found on Naia’s bones, suggest that she and her
people, along with modern Native Americans, all descended from common ancestors who crossed the Bering land bridge in a single migratory event. That, Asmerom said, is exactly the type of evidence they’ve been searching for. “This skeleton dates to between 13,000 and 12,000 calendar years ago and has Paleoamerican
craniofacial characteristics and a Beringian-derived mitochondrial DNA,” Asmerom said in a paper published in “Science” magazine. “Thus, the morphological differences between Paleoamericans and Native Americans probably resulted from in situ (on-site) evolution rather than separate ancestry.”
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Skeleton page 2
Eggs, toast and an insulin shot. It may not seem like the typical breakfast, but it’s the daily reality for millions of Americans who depend on insulin injections to keep diabetes symptoms under control. In an effort to free diabetes patients from the too-frequent prick of the needle, a team of scientists headed by associate professor Jason McConville has developed a way to administer insulin without needles. Instead, McConville’s method allows insulin to simply be absorbed through the inside of the cheek. “Insulin injections are very inconvenient, of course; a lot of people don’t want to use a needle,” McConville said. “It’s particularly difficult for the growing population of children with diabetes, making it very difficult to maintain the necessary dosing regimen. Also, the insulin needs to be kept refrigerated because it’s in a liquid form and can degrade very easily. It’s very difficult for people to be able to schedule their lives around a refrigerator, as well as a needle.” To solve this problem, McConville said he and his lab developed a “film,” most easily comparable to a Listerine PocketPak, that can be applied to the inside of the cheek, allowing insulin to be absorbed into the high number of blood vessels within. “My idea was that we’d be able to take insulin via a different route, and maintain the same control over glucose levels in the body,” McConville said. “So using a simple film formulation that can stick on the cheek, we’ve been able to demonstrate rapid absorption of insulin in an animal model following the application of the film.” According to the American Diabetes Association, nearly 10 percent of Americans — about 29 million people — have diabetes. It is caused by the body either not making or not responding to insulin, a hormone produced naturally in the body that helps regulate glucose after eating food. Currently, the standard therapy for insulin-dependent diabetics is an injection of insulin, generally before meals, McConville said. McConville said he hopes that his new method will someday replace insulin injections, eliminating both the need for needles and for refrigeration. “You could almost envisage having a discreet pack of these to carry around with you,” McConville said. McConville first began exploring the idea of films for drug delivery in 2008 with his former student Javier Morales. However, they were unsure of what type of drug they actually wanted to use, he said.
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Diabetes page 3