Research Notes

The Jury is Still Out on Soy In the search for a breast cancer preventive, soy has been considered a promising candidate. But a review of research on soy's phytoestrogen genistein (K.B. Bouker, L. Hilakivi-Clarke, "Genistein: Does it prevent or promote breast cancer," Environmental Health Perspectives, 108:70-8, August 2000) is lukewarm on the compound's preventative capabilities. "There is no strong evidence that genistein would actually prevent breast cancer, but there is no strong evidence that genistein would increase risk either," says Leena Hilakivi-Clarke, an associate professor of oncology at Georgetown University. Even though the evidence that genistein would increase breast cancer risk is not very persuasive, the authors do state that "studies indicating a potential breast cancer risk should not be taken lightly" and there is a "paramount" need to understand its potential to promote breast cancer. Genistein may play a role in promoting breast cancer, says Hilakivi-Clarke, when malignant cells are present in the breast. The area remains under active investigation, the authors note. As to soy's ability in the diet to reduce cancer risk, the authors suggest it might be minimal. Commenting on a meta analysis, in which Hilakivi-Clarke was a co-investigator, graduate student Kerrie B. Bouker and Hilakivi-Clarke write, "[H]igh soy intake might reduce the risk of premenopausal breast cancers, but has no effect on postmenopausal risk." Nevertheless, both Hilakivi-Clarke and Mark Messina, an independent consultant in Port Townsend, Wash., who has studied soy, say it is a highly nutritious food and may improve cardiovascular health. --Harvey Black Parasite Paradise A lettuce and tomato salad, a glass of wine, a baked potato, fried eggplant, bananas, or a cotton tablecloth are standard items in many dining establishments. Yet most people are probably not aware that there is a war being waged behind the restaurant scene on a tiny invader of major food and fiber crops that causes $2-$3 billion dollars in revenue losses annually. North Carolina State University, along with Santa Fe Institute, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Washington University in St. Louis, will study the genetic interaction between root-knot nematode worms--so named for the swellings they cause on the roots of more than 2,000 plant species--and the crops they devastate. With a decrease in the use of some chemical pesticides for health and environmental reasons, the negative economic impact of the root-knot nematode is increasing worldwide. The researchers' three-year study goal is to understand the genes involved in the interaction between the nematodes and plants during the infection process. The grant is part of the National Science Foundation's national Plant Genome Research Project, which aims to understand the structure and function of genes in plants important to agriculture, environmental management, energy, and health. According to David Bird, lead researcher and associate professor of plant pathology at N.C. State, root-knot nematodes "set up a permanent site within their host by inducing multinuclear cells many times larger than normal plant cells. We think the nematode interfaces with and manipulates the plant's hormones to create the giant cell, which becomes a permanent feeding source for the parasite, whose musculature consequently degenerates." This research will identify and quantify many nematode and plant genes that enable the microscopic organisms to establish this parasitic relationship. Bird says, "This genomics approach can result in potential management strategies. These strategies would be based on efforts such as finding specific chemicals that mimic the plant hormone's signaling such that parasitic development is not induced, or on designing a biologically active drug that induces muscle degeneration prior to the nematodes infestation activity." --Kate Devine Oil, Gas, and More Scientists at Louisiana State University are hoping that the thousands of offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico will some day provide more than just oil and gas. A $1.1 million study co-funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service (MMS) and LSU will investigate the value of numerous marine organisms--barnacles, algae, and mollusks--that cling to the legs of platforms effectively serving as artificial reefs. By collecting specimens from half a dozen near and offshore oil platforms, scientists will avoid tampering with fragile and rare naturally occurring reefs. Oceanographers and marine biologists plan to classify collected specimens taxonomically and genetically, some of which might have pharmaceutical or biotechnological value. One potentially useful platform-clinger: a type of marine invertebrate called a bryozoan, which contains a symbiotic bacteria known to produce a compound that inhibits the growth of cancerous cells. Lawrence Rouse, an associate professor of physical oceanography and director of the Marine Institute at LSU, likens the project to the search for natural products in the rain forests. "The idea is that the ocean, where we think life began, probably has natural products of its own," says Rouse. The LSU group will coordinate their efforts and share information with a group at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who is undertaking a similar project with oil and gas platforms in the Pacific. If investigators like what they find, says Rouse, one long-term goal might be to turn these "weed patches" of marine organisms into neatly cultivated farms that yield the desired beneficial organisms. --Eugene Russo

Research Notes

The Jury is Still Out on Soy

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