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Tag: "expo" at biology news

Breast-Cancer Risk Linked to Exposure to Traffic Emissions at Menarche, First Birth

Exposure to carcinogens in traffic emissions at particular lifetime points may increase the risk of developing breast cancer in women who are lifetime nonsmokers, a study by epidemiologists and geographers at the University at Buffalo has found. .. Their study was conducted among women who lived in Erie and Niagara counties of New York State between 1996 and 2001. They found that higher exposure...

Expression Project for Oncology (expO) completes first phase of standardized gene expression analyses

The International Genomics Consortium’s (IGC) Expression Project for Oncology (expO) has released clinically annotated gene expression profiles for 60 tumor specimens, completing the initial phase of the nation’s first and eventually largest public database dedicated to standardized gene expression data. The clinically annotated dataset is available in the public domain through the National Cente...

Iron exporter revealed that may explain common human disorder

The first direct evidence that a single protein is critical in the cellular export of iron may help to explain human hemochromatosis, researchers report in the March issue of Cell Metabolism. . .. The new work, led by researchers at the Children's Hospital Boston and Harvard Medical School, finds that the protein ferroportin is the major, if not the only, iron exporter that...

Any exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is risky

A re-examination of data from earlier studies suggests that exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy can be just as detrimental to a developing fetus as primary exposure through maternal smoking, according to a recent paper from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. . In a study published in the online journal BMC Pediatrics, Stephen G. Grant, Ph.D., associate profe...

Scalpel-free surgery could reduce risk of HIV and hepatitis exposure for health care workers

While the incidence of disease from HIV and hepatitis is increasing in the United States, little is known about their prevalence in patients undergoing surgery. Now, researchers have shown that nearly 40 percent of surgeries at The Johns Hopkins Hospital occur in patients who tested positive for a bloodborne germ. . "While these rates are alarming, they are not entirely unexpected. General precau...

Penguin chicks exposed to human visitors experience spike in stress hormone

Newly hatched magellanic penguin chicks in breeding grounds with a large number of human visitors show a significant spike in levels of a stress-related hormone compared to chicks hatched in areas not visited by humans, a University of Washington research team has found. . It wasn't until chicks with limited human exposure reached 40 to 50 days old that they showed a stress response like the newl...

Prenatal exposure to famine increases risk of schizophrenia

People born during a famine in China have an increased risk of schizophrenia, consistent with previous research suggesting a link between fetal nutritional deficiency and schizophrenia, according to a study in the August 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights. . Schizophrenia is a common form of severe mental illness characterized by thought disorder, hallucinations, and delu...

Prenatal exposure to marine toxin causes lasting damage

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the naturally occurring marine toxin domoic acid can cause subtle but lasting cognitive damage in rats exposed to the chemical before birth. Humans can become poisoned by the potentially lethal, algal toxin after eating contaminated shellfish. . The researchers saw behavioral effects of the toxin in animals after prenatal exposure to dom...

Bugs expose underground carbon traffic system 10 times more important than fossil fuel burning

The flow of carbon through soil is ten times greater than the amount of carbon moved around by the burning of fossil fuel but until now how this happens was at best poorly understood. Soil was almost literally a black box to scientists interested in carbon. Now researchers at the University of Warwick have been able to shed light in that black box by getting a particular class of insects to expos...

Experimental vaccine protects nonhuman primates when given after exposure to Marburg virus

Using multi-disciplinary analysis that included cognitive, neurophysiologic, virologic, and molecular techniques, the team found both a low-level viral infection in the brain and immune cells that had infiltrated the brain in order to protect against the virus. . "As in the rest of the body, in the brain immune cells achieve a level of control of the virus, but are unable to clear the infection,...

Exposure to volcanic mineral associated with increased mesothelioma incidence in Turkey

High exposure to a fibrous volcanic mineral called erionite was associated with a high incidence of a type of cancer called mesothelioma, according to a study in the March 15 issue of the . Many cases of environment-related mesothelioma have been reported in the Cappadocia region or Anatolian plateau of Turkey. Blocks of erionite from volcanic tuff have been used in construction, and storage roo...

Prenatal nicotine exposure reduces breathing response of newborns...

A 37-year-old-mother, who gave birth to a low-weight preemie at 24 weeks, exhibited the first-found link in a human between bacteria found in the mouth and the amniotic fluid of a woman in preterm labor. . .. They report their finding in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology online article, "Tran...

Nicotine exposure during development leads to hearing problems

Scientists know that children of women who smoke during pregnancy can develop hearing-related cognitive deficits. For the first time, researchers believe they have evidence that not only implicates nicotine as the culprit, but also shows what the substance does to the brain to cause these deficits. . In a study using rats, Raju Metherate, associate professor of neurobiology and behavior, and co...

Bird brains shrink from exposure to contaminants

The regions in robins' brains responsible for singing and mating are shrinking when exposed to high levels of DDT, says new University of Alberta research--the first proof that natural exposure to a contaminant damages the brain of a wild animal. . .. The new research, published in Behavioural Brain Research, strongly sug...

Embryos exposed in 3-D

A new, transformative filtration-based technology for the isolation and enrichment of cells, a critical first step in the development of therapies to repair or replace diseased or damaged tissues and organs, was found to be more efficient and faster than traditional technology used for cell separation. . These findings were presented today at the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT)...

Hair samples show babies can be exposed to 'crystal meth' while in the womb

Babies can be exposed to methamphetamine or "crystal meth" while in the womb, reveals an analysis of hair samples, published ahead of print in the Fetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood. . .. Crystal meth boosts alertness and promotes a sense of wellbeing, euphoria, and exhilaration. It also curbs appe...

Vaccine combined with short-term postexposure antibiotics protects monkeys from inhalational anthrax

Anthrax vaccine administered in combination with a short course of antibiotics completely protected nonhuman primates from inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of the disease, according to scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). . In a collaborative study involving USAMRIID and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAI...

Solvent exposure linked to birth defects in babies of male painters

Men who paint for a living may be placing their unborn children at increased risk of birth defects and low birth weight. . .. The study, although preliminary in its parent-reported assessment of birth outcomes and small numbers of reported cases, is the first of its kind to link concentrations of solvents in the air to these health ou...

Exposure to dioxins influences male reproductive system, study of Vietnam veterans concludes

A dioxin toxin contained in the herbicide Agent Orange affects male reproductive health by limiting the growth of the prostate gland and lowering testosterone levels, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found in a cohort study of more than 2,000 Air Force veterans who served during the Vietnam War. . .. "Until now,...

Lead-'scrubbing' drug may also improve muscle function in lead-exposed children

University of Cincinnati (UC) environmental health researchers say a therapy commonly used to remove dangerously high levels of lead from the body may also improve muscle functions associated with postural balance and movement in lead-exposed children. . .. Chelation (ke-LAY-shun) is a technique, nicknamed “scrub...

Early exposure to indoor fungus molecules may protect infants against future allergies

Maybe being a fussy housekeeper isn’t such a good thing after all. . .. .. Fungal gluca...

Sun exposure early in life linked to specific skin cancer gene mutation

. A new clue comes from scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Their research indicates that early life sun exposure, from birth to 20 years old, may specifically increase the risk of melanomas with BRAF gene mutations. A different mutation, on the NRAS gene, was found in patients who had sun exposure later in life (between ages 50 to...

Pregnant mom's exposure to flu vaccine kick-starts fetal immune system

. In the June 1 issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation...