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Adding Radiation Therapy To Chemotherapy Improves Survival In Patients With High-risk Breast Cancer

For patients with high-risk breast cancer treated with radical mastectomy and adjuvant chemotherapy, the addition of radiation therapy leads to better survival outcomes with few long-term toxic effects, according to a 20-year follow-up of a randomized trial, which appears in the January 19 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. The British Columbia randomized radiation the...

University of Manchester makes made-to-measure skin and bones a reality using inkjet printers

Made-to-measure skin and bones, which couldbe used to treat burn victims or patients who have suffered severedisfigurements, may soon be a reality using inkjets which can printhuman cells.Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed thebreakthrough technology which will allow tailor-made tissues and bonesto be grown, simply by inputting their dimensions into a computer....

Genome of deadly amoeba shows surprising complexity, evidence of lateral gene transfer

The genome sequence of the parasitic amoeba Entamoeba histolytica, a leading cause of severe diarrheal disease in developing countries, includes an unexpectedly complex repertoire of sensory genes as well as a variety of bacterial-like genes that contribute to the organism's unique biology. The report, which appears in the February 24 issue of Nature, presents the first genome-wide study...

“Nano-scissors?laser shows precise surgical capability

)is quite a challenge; its about 1 mm in length. A research team fromthe University of Texas at Austin developed a method of laser-assistedsurgery to work on these little beasts, being able to section a singleaxon (the "arms" of a neuron) with g...

An HIV Protein Plays a Surprising Role in Gene Activation

Retroviruses are expert manipulators when it comes to co-opting their host's cellular resources. A great deal of human complexity stems from the vast repertoire of proteins and mechanisms dedicated to the business of regulating gene expression, and retroviruses like HIV have evolved myriad ways of redirecting that machinery to their own benefit. Humans and other eukaryotes have three type...

Harmful Bacterium Commonly Found in Poultry May Survive Refrigeration and Frozen Storage Combined

Glia appear essential for 'hair cells'responsible for hearing and balance. Traditionally viewed as supportingactors, cells known as glia may be essential for the normal developmentof nerve cells responsible for hearing and balance, according to newUniversity of Utah research. The study is reported in the January 6,2005 issue of Neuron and is co-authored by scientists at the Universityof Was...

First real-time view of developing neurons reveals surprises, say Stanford researchers

Scientists have believed that neurons need a long period of fine-tuning and training with other neurons before they take on their adult role. But after using new technology for the first time to watch these cells develop, a team of researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine found that neurons come into this world with a good idea about what they'll become as adults. The work...

The Bacteria's guide to survival

If there was a market for it, a survival guide for bacteria might include topics like "How to use your pili to keep your host from going apoptotic." A host's cells can respond to a bacterial infection with apoptosis, or programmed cell death. For bacteria that pass directly from host to host, this can pose a problem. If the bacteria are highly virulent and induce too much cell death, they could t...

Boosting HIV screening can increase survival and is cost effective

Expanded HIV screening can increase patient life span, prevent the spread of the disease, and is cost effective, researchers at Yale, Harvard and the Massachusetts General Hospital report in the February 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). The study's findings are part of a two-paper series in NEJM on the value of expanded HIV screening in the United States. The Yale/H...

Measuring the impact of post-genomics on Mediterranean populations

A recent Genomed-Health 2005 workshop in Tunisia, supported by the European Commission, highlighted the role of the life sciences in improving health in countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Delegates at the event also discussed the importance of Euro-Mediterranean partnerships in order to capitalise on post-genomic research. The life sciences ?in particular following the mapping of t...

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 expo...

Surprising findings reported about iron overload

UAB and international scientists studying iron-overload disorders have made the unexpected discovery that Asians and Pacific Islanders have the highest levels of iron in their blood of all racial/ethnic groups who were screened. Individuals who develop hemochromatosis/iron overload absorb an excessive amount of iron from food and supplements ingested. The abnormality affects many people wo...

Researchers identify protein crucial for survival of Lyme-disease bacterium

When the tick-borne bacterium that causes Lyme disease lacks a specific protein that responds to an incoming meal of blood, it is unable to be transmitted from the tick to a new animal host, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found. The findings suggest that the protein, called BptA, is essential for the bacterium Borrelia burgdorfei (Bb) to survive in the gut of its tick h...

Survey finds silver contamination in North Pacific waters

The highest levels of silver contamination ever observed in the open ocean turned up in samples collected during a survey of the North Pacific in 2002. Researchers from the University of California, Santa Cruz, measured silver concentrations 50 times greater than the natural background level. Though still well below levels that would be toxic to marine life, this contamination of what had been co...

Rare surgery performed to remove pancreas, prevent diabetes

In a 12-hour, dual-stage surgery known to be performed at only two other centers in the U.S., doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham on Tuesday returned a patient's own insulin-producing cells to him after surgically removing his pancreas to eliminate constant, severe pain from chronic pancreatitis. The patient, Leonard Stewart, 47, of Panama City, Fla., remained anesthetized i...

Protein That Promotes Survival Of Stem Cells Might Be Key To Poor Leukemia Prognosis

The complex and life-sustaining series of steps by which hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) give rise to all of the body's red and white blood cells and platelets has now been discovered to depend in large part on a single protein called Mcl-1. This finding, from an investigator at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, is published in the February 18 issue of Science. Mcl-1 blocks the biochem...

Measuring hormone cuts antibiotic use in half in pneumonia patients

Measuring a hormone in the blood can help doctors greatly reduce the number of days pneumonia patients have to take antibiotics to cure their infection, according to a study to be presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference on May 24. In the study, pneumonia patients whose level of the hormone procalcitonin was measured during the course of their illness took antibi...

Measuring Enzymes At End Of Cancer Pathway Predicts Outcome Of Tarceva, Taxol

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have developed a way to test whether the new targeted therapy Tarceva and the widely used chemotherapy drug Taxol are effectively killing tumor cells. They say that with further refinement, the test may make it possible to accurately assess whether patients are responding to these agents, as well as potentially others, within day...

Bevacizumab Combined With Chemotherapy Improves Progression-Free Survival for Patients With Advanced Breast Cancer

Preliminary results from a large, randomized clinical trial for patients with previously untreated recurrent or metastatic breast cancer ?cancer that has spread from the breast to other parts of the body ?show that those patients who received bevacizumab (Avastin? in combination with standard chemotherapy had a longer time period before their cancer progressed than patients who received the same...

Researchers make surprise discovery that some neurons can transmit three signals at once

Generations of neuroscientists have been indoctrinated into believing that our senses, thoughts, feelings and movements are orchestrated by a communication network of brain cells, or neurons, each responsible for relaying one specific chemical message called a neurotransmitter. Either neurons release a neurotransmitter that excites a neighboring cell, thereby triggering an electrical discharge an...

Making Sure Sacred Sheep Don't Become Extinct

Animal geneticist Harvey D. Blackburn is responsible for collecting and storing thousands of samples of animal germplasm -- mainly semen and embryos -- to make sure there's enough genetic material to reintroduce a species if necessary. Much of his collection deals with important livestock such as Holstein cattle and Yorkshire pigs. But one of the collections Blackburn, who is the coordinat...

Human Eggs Can Develop From Ovarian Surface Cells In Vitro

Research has shown for the first time that human eggs may develop directly from cultured ovarian surface epithelium (OSE) cells derived from adult human ovaries. Oocytes derived from the culture of OSE cells developed in vitro into mature eggs suitable for fertilization and development into an embryo. These findings, published today in the Open Access journal Reproductive Biology and Endocrinolog...

Penn Researchers Use Robotic Surgery

For patients with cancer of the mouth and throat, surgery is a frequent course of treatment, often leading to speech and swallowing dysfunction and external scarring. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's Department of Otorhinolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, have completed two studies ?the most comprehensive and largest to date ?that demonstrate the effective use...

Census of Marine Life explorers surprised by diversity, density of Arctic creatures

A historic expedition of Census of Marine Life explorers to the planet's most northern reaches has revealed a surprising density and diversity of Arctic Ocean creatures, some believed new to science. Sheltered for millennia under a lid of ice currently one to 20 meters thick, unexpectedly high numbers and varieties of large Arctic jellies, squid, cod, and other animals have been found thri...

Survey reveals women and doctors aren't talking about HPV

Eighty-eight percent of women rely on their healthcare providers to learn about gynecological issues, yet only 19 percent said their doctor has talked to them about cervical cancer and its cause - the human papillomavirus (HPV) - according to a new survey released by the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP). HPV is extremely common, affecting an estimated 80 percent of sexually...

Measurement Challenges In Detecting Cancer Biomarkers

Effective control of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) requires treatment of the sexual partners of infected patients. A new study shows that providing infected men with antibiotics to give their partners is more effective than traditional means of contacting and treating the partners, according to an article in the Sept. 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online. Men with...

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...

Scientists reveal how disease bacterium survives inside immune system cell

New research on a bacterium that can survive encounters with specific immune system cells has strengthened scientists' belief that these plentiful white blood cells, known as neutrophils, dictate whether our immune system will permit or prevent bacterial infections. A paper describing the research was released today online in The Journal of Immunology. Frank R. DeLeo, Ph.D., of Rocky Mountain Lab...

Brown-Harvard team solves mobile DNA's surgical sleight-of-hand

In a clever bit of biology called site-specific recombination, DNA can travel inside an organism, or into another organism, and perform a sort of grafting surgery that allows it to insert its chromosome into a chromosome of the target cell. The process is important because mobile DNA can carry genes that cause drug resistance or transmit viruses that cause disease or tumors that result in certain...

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 p...

Drug Offers Alternative to Surgical Treatment After Miscarriage

A drug first used to reduce the risk of stomach ulcers in people taking certain types of painkillers offers an alternative to surgery after miscarriage, according to a study by researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health and other research institutions. The study appears in the August 18, 2005, New England Journal of Med...

Discoveries by UAB and Florida scientists may help transplanted organs survive longer

Scientists may have found a way to dramatically slow organ transplant rejection by as much as several years. The research team reporte...

New protein vital for immune response is found in surprise location

A newly discovered protein not only is vital to the immune system's ability to fight off viral infections but also has been found in an unexpected location within the cell, causing researchers to rethink previous notions about the workings of the human immune system. Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center said their findings may lead to new therapies aimed at preventing and treating...

Survival of heart patients on beta-blockers varies greatly with genetic variation

Survival of heart attack and unstable angina patients placed on beta-blocker therapy corresponds to specific variations in their genes, according to a study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Mid America Heart Institute in Kansas City. The study appears in the September 28, 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. "In our i...

Newly recognized gene mutation may reduce seeds, resurrect plants

A mutated plant that seems to return from the dead may hold the secret to how some flora protect their progeny during yield-limiting drought and other stresses, according to Purdue University scientists whose study of the plant led to discovery of a gene. The gene, called RESURRECTION1 (RST1), has revealed a previously unknown genetic connection between lipid development and embryo develop...

Deep treasure to be found in Oculina Bank

Expedition to help protect Florida's unique oculina deepwater reefs On Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005, scientists will begin a six-day expedition to explore one of Florida's most vital but least familiar marine resources--the spectacular deepwater coral reefs of the Oculina Bank--some 30 years after their discovery. Among the team's goals is the start of a sustained and critically needed moni...

Successful lung cancer surgery not enough to break nicotine dependence in many smokers

A new study has found that close to half of 154 smokers who had surgery to remove early stage lung cancer picked up a cigarette again within 12 months of their potentially curative operation, and more than one-third were smoking at the one year mark. Sixty percent of patients who started smoking again did so within two months of surgery. The study, led by researchers at Washington Univers...

Measuring hidden parasites in falciparum malaria

A new technique for measuring hidden malaria parasites and assessing severity of disease is described in a paper published on Aug 23rd in . Researchers led by Professor Nick White from Mahidol University, Thailand, looked at patients with the most dangerous type of malaria, falciparum malaria. Usually the severity of disease is measured by counting the number of parasites in t...

Scientists devise way to measure RNA synthesis on the fly in a live cell

A team of scientists at the University of Chicago has developed a non-invasive laboratory technique that allows them to instantly map when genes are switching off and on in a living bacterium as it becomes exposed to antibiotics and other changes in its environment. The technique, which is announced in the Monday, June 13 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could...

Secrets to antibody's success against West Nile Virus surprise scientists

Insights may advance vaccines for related viruses including dengue fever. A monoclonal antibody that can effectively treat mice infected with West Nile virus has an intriguing secret: Contrary to scientists' expectations, it does not block the virus's ability to attach to host cells. Instead, the antibody somehow stops the infectious process at a later point. "This was a complete surprise...