This week's top research stories include a study on how marathoners could break the world record among males, new research suggesting that lactate plays a role in cancer formation and a look at a professor's research preserving Cherokee traditions.
Break the two-hour marathon record? It could be done
Using mathematical calculations, a new study bears the recipe for how marathoners could break the world record among males, shaving about four and a half minutes off the fastest time.Ìý
Lactate—long the athlete's bane—could be a key driver of cancer
Research suggests lactate, a metabolic byproduct that can interfere with sports performance, plays a role in cancer formation. And while people who regularly exercise tend to be able to clear lactate, others with a sedentary lifestyle, combined with excess sugar intake, may have a harder time.
Clint Carroll will help to preserve tribal tradition and knowledge for future generations through the Faculty Early Career Development Award, a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation. Carroll, assistant professor of ethnic studies at the Â鶹¹ÙÍø and a citizen of the Cherokee nation, has been working with tribal elders to promote traditional knowledge and the conservation of tribal land since 2004.