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KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The agricultural science class at Mountain Vista Middle School is gearing up for spring.
Seeds are being sown, and raised beds are being prepared for planting.
Flowers and vegetables, such as zinnias, sunflowers, tomatoes, chard, kale and lettuce are well on their way in the school’s small greenhouse.
Thanks to a donation from the Clearlake Trowel and Trellis Club, Mountain Vista will be installing a second greenhouse to give more cold-weather growing space.
For the past two years Mrs. Seely’s agricultural science have made landscape improvements to the MVMS campus, planting drought tolerant plants around buildings.
The students used academic skills such as mapping, calculating areas and estimating volumes of compost and top soil for the projects.
The students also test existing soils, research appropriate plants for the sites and formulate budgets.
However, the most popular activity in class is the tasting days where easy recipes are prepared using items harvested from the garden.
“Mrs. Seely's ag students are getting hands-on experience in germinating, planting, transplanting and caring for plants around campus,” said Mountain Vista Middle School Principal Tavis Perkins. “Mrs. Seely and her students have also been instrumental to the beautification of our campus. They have designed, planted, and now care for landscapes around the office building. Students feel pride in being a direct part of their school community.”
Kelseyville Unified School District has taken on a great role with its students in such a robust agricultural community.
Not only does agricultural science benefit the children growing up in an agricultural area, but it also is a trait being lost amongst the younger generations in today’s age.
Perhaps these students can pass these traits on to their own children to strengthen and build the Lake County community.
BERKELEY, Calif. – One day, patients may be able to monitor their body’s response to cancer therapy just by having their blood drawn.
A new study, led by bioengineers at UC Berkeley, has taken an important step in that direction by measuring a panel of cancer proteins in rare, individual tumor cells that float in the blood.
Berkeley researchers isolated circulating tumor cells from the blood of breast cancer patients, then used microscale physics to design a precision test for protein biomarkers, which are indicators of cancer.
After isolating each cell, the microfluidic device breaks the cells open and tests the cellular contents for eight cancer protein biomarkers.
The researchers are expanding the number of proteins identifiable with this technology to eventually allow pathologists to classify cancer cells more precisely than is possible using existing biomarkers.
“Tremendous advances have been made in DNA and RNA profiling in cells collected using a liquid biopsy. We extend those advances to highly selective measurement of proteins – the ‘molecular machines’ of the cell,” said Amy Herr, Berkeley a bioengineering professor and leader of the study team. “We are working to create medicine that would allow a doctor to monitor a patient’s treatment response through a blood draw, perhaps on a daily basis.”
The study was published March 23 in the journal Nature Communications.
The research was a collaboration with breast cancer surgeon Stefanie Jeffrey at Stanford University and with a University of California startup, Vortex Biosciences.
Funding was provided by the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health.
The study focuses on circulating tumor cells, a potentially rich source of information about a person’s cancer.
These cells are thought to break off from the original tumor and circulate in the blood, and may be a sign of an aggressive tumor.
But studying these cells is difficult because the cells are rare, so few are collected even when enriched from the blood.
The cells contain different proteins than the original tumor, so research is ongoing to unlock the secrets of these elusive cells.
To better study circulating tumor cells, the researchers collaborated with physician-scientists and industry engineers to develop a microfluidics system that separates these large cells into a concentrated sample.
A key advance the team made was in devising a system to precisely handle and manipulate the concentrated cells from blood. The Berkeley researchers then analyzed each circulating tumor cell for the specific panel of cancer proteins.
To do so, they placed each rare cell in a microwell (with a diameter roughly half the width of a human hair).
Once settled in the microwell, the circulating tumor cells were burst open and the proteins released from inside each cell were separated according to differences in size or mass.
The scientists were then able to identify cancer proteins by introducing fluorescent probes that bind to and light up a specific protein target. By sorting and probing the protein targets, the test is more selective than existing pathology tools.
Enhanced selectivity will be crucial in detecting subtle chemical modifications to biomarkers that can be important but difficult to measure, Herr said.
The researchers plan to expand their approach to identify more proteins, and proteins with unique modifications, in circulating tumor cells.
“Microfluidic design was key in this study. We were able to integrate features needed for each measurement stage into one process,” Herr said. “Systems integration allowed us to do every single measurement step very, very quickly while the biomarkers are still concentrated. If not performed exceptionally fast, the cell’s proteins diffuse away and become undetectable.”
Brett Israel writes for the UC Berkeley News Center.
CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Clearlake Oaks man was seriously injured on Saturday after he rode a dirt bike into traffic and was hit by a vehicle.
Howard Reed Jr., 25, was flown to an out-of-county hospital for treatment after the crash, which occurred at 10:05 a.m. Saturday, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Kory Reynolds.
Reynolds said Reed was riding a 1994 Kawasaki dirt bike without current tags on Highway 20 just east of Lake Street in Clearlake Oaks and then pulled off the highway and onto the shoulder. At the same time, Janet Donner, 77, of Santa Rosa was driving a GMC Terrain eastbound.
“She saw the motorcycle pull onto the shoulder and then it just went right in front of her,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said Reed suffered compound fractures to his left tibia and fibula, and pain to his chest, neck and back. He was not wearing a helmet.
Reed was flown by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment, Reynolds said.
Neither Donner nor her 74-year-old passenger were injured, according to Reynolds.
Email Elizabeth Larson at
KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – The California Highway Patrol will offer a free “Start Smart” traffic safety class for soon to-be-licensed, newly licensed, and teenage drivers and their parents or guardians on Wednesday, May 17.
The class will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Clear Lake Area CHP office, located at 5700 Live Oak Drive in Kelseyville.
The CHP said a teenager is killed in a traffic collision every four hours nationwide. That equates to more than 1,870 teenagers killed each year. Another 184,000 teenagers are injured in traffic collisions.
These deaths and injuries can be substantially reduced or prevented by eliminating high-risk driving behaviors through education, and the CHP said its “Start Smart” program can help prevent these tragedies.
The Start Smart program focuses on providing comprehensive traffic safety education classes for teenagers and their parents.
Start Smart employs innovative techniques to capture the attention of teenagers and parents, providing a lasting experience.
The curriculum includes information on collision statistics, teen driver and passenger behaviors, graduated driver’s license laws, cultural changes in today’s society and the need for stronger parental involvement in a teenager’s driving experience.
Space is limited for this class. For more information or reservations, call Officer Kory Reynolds at the CHP office, 707-279-0103.
SACRAMENTO – In this latest Caltrans News Flash, the department honors its 187 highway workers who have paid the ultimate price while on the job.
This year, Caltrans paid special tribute to Jorge Lopez, Randy Whisenhunt and Annette Brooks, who all lost their lives since last year’s memorial.
Lopez was an electrician who was struck and killed on Sept. 1, 2016, by an errant big rig that crossed onto the shoulder on SR-14 in Acton.
Whisenhunt was an electrician from the Escondido Yard, who passed away on Oct. 9, 2016, as a result of injuries suffered on the job.
Brooks was a structural steel painter supervisor and was shot and killed at a Caltrans facility in Rio Dell on April 24.
This observance also highlights safety awareness for employees in work zones, as well as the motoring public.
This News Flash is the 130th in a series of videos highlighting Caltrans' activities that present the wide-ranging and critical work that Caltrans does to enhance California's economy and livability.
To see more of these and other videos, search for #CaltransNewsFlash on Twitter or visit http://bit.ly/1ez3LYz .
CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Highlands Senior Service Center in Clearlake is holding a T-shirt sale and fundraiser to help support its Meals on Wheels program.
The campaign can be found online at https://www.bonfire.com/save-our-seniors/ .
The Meals on Wheels program is one of the vital services offered by the Highlands Senior Service Center.
Many seniors are lacking not only the proper nutrition, but the means to get it. The Meals on Wheels program gets good healthy meals to homebound seniors, food for all seven days of the week.
But it's not just about proper nutrition, it's also about human contact. For some of clients, the Meals on Wheels drivers are the only person they will see for weeks on end.
From daily conversation to saving the life of a senior who has fallen and is unable to call for help, Meals on Wheels drivers deliver so much more than just good food.
Funding is always short and the center needs the community’s help now more than ever.
The campaign will only last until May 23, with a goal of selling 75 shirts.
One hundred percent of the proceeds from the fundraiser to to the center.