ScienceDaily Health Headlines
for Tuesday, February 9, 2010
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Soft drink consumption may markedly increase risk of pancreatic cancer (February 9, 2010) -- Consuming two or more soft drinks per week increased the risk of developing pancreatic cancer by nearly twofold compared to individuals who did not consume soft drinks, according to a new study. ... > full story
Enhancing arrest of cell growth to treat cancer in mice (February 9, 2010) -- New research has identified a new type of cellular senescence (i.e., irreversible arrest of cell growth) and determined a way to enhance it to suppress prostate tumor development and growth in mice. These data suggest that enhancing this process might provide a new approach for cancer prevention and therapy. ... > full story
Rab25: a suppressor of tumor formation in intestines? (February 9, 2010) -- Colorectal adenocarcinoma accounts for the majority of cases of colorectal cancer. A series of genetic mutations in the cells lining the colon (intestinal epithelial cells) is thought to be the cause of colorectal adenocarcinoma. By studying mouse models of colon cancer and tissue from individuals with colorectal adenocarcinoma, researchers have now identified RAB25 as one gene that might be involved in the formation of colorectal adenocarcinomas. ... > full story
Nicotine replacement therapy is over-promoted since most ex-smokers quit unassisted, experts argue (February 9, 2010) -- Health authorities should emphasize the positive message that the most successful method used by most ex-smokers is unassisted cessation, despite the promotion of cessation drugs by pharmaceutical companies and many tobacco control advocates, according to a new article. ... > full story
Mice shed new light on causes of childhood deafness (February 9, 2010) -- Mice with a genetic change that causes progressive hearing loss in children, also have hearing loss because sound waves are not processed properly. The ear's attempts to compensate for hearing loss may, ironically, cause further damage leading to complete hearing loss. These mice will allow detailed research into many forms of deafness, and bring closer the prospects of therapies to slow or halt hearing loss in both children and adults. ... > full story
Complete chemokine profile of a cell (February 9, 2010) -- Chemokines are a large group of proteins whose predominant function is to direct cell migration. They regulate many physiological and pathophysiological processes, in particular in the immune system. Researchers have now developed a simple method to efficiently identify all the chemokines produced by a single cell type, something that has not been possible before. ... > full story
Method of the future uses single-cell imaging to identify gene interactions (February 9, 2010) -- Cellular imaging offers a wealth of data about how cells respond to stimuli, but harnessing this technique to study biological systems is a daunting challenge. Researchers have now developed a novel method of interpreting data from single-cell images to identify genetic interactions within biological networks, offering a glimpse into the future of high-throughput cell imaging analysis. ... > full story
More smokers than non-smokers accept HPV vaccination for their daughters (February 9, 2010) -- A parent's existing health habits or behaviors, like cigarette smoking, may influence the likelihood that they will have their daughters vaccinated against HPV. ... > full story
Double agent: Glial cells can protect or kill neurons, vision (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists have identified a double agent in the eye that, once triggered, can morph from neuron protector to neuron killer. The discovery has significant health implications since the neurons killed through this process results in vision loss and blindness. ... > full story
Better sign of blood vessel narrowing and early coronary artery disease (February 8, 2010) -- Cardiologists and heart imaging specialists at 15 medical centers in eight countries have enrolled the first dozen patients in a year-long investigation to learn whether the subtle squeezing of blood flow through the inner layers of the heart is better than traditional SPECT nuclear imaging tests and other diagnostic radiology procedures for accurately tracking the earliest signs of coronary artery clogs. ... > full story
Genes that regulate maternal inflammatory response, bacterial vaginosis and preterm birth related (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers have used haplotype tagging (hap-tag) single-nucleotide polymorphisms to study the relationship between genetic predispositions, an environmental factor -- bacterial vaginosis -- and preterm birth. ... > full story
People out and about make cities secure (February 8, 2010) -- Young people who have experienced threats and violence feel more insecure than others in urban public spaces, especially when alone. ... > full story
Like escape artists, rotifers elude enemies by drying up and -- poof! -- they are gone with the wind (February 8, 2010) -- They haven't had sex in some 30 million years, but some very small invertebrates named bdelloid rotifers are still shocking biologists -- they should have gone extinct long ago. Researchers have discovered the secret to their evolutionary longevity: these rotifers are microscopic escape artists. When facing pathogens, they dry up and are promptly gone with the wind. ... > full story
Link between advanced maternal age and autism confirmed (February 8, 2010) -- Advanced maternal age is linked to a significantly elevated risk of having a child with autism, regardless of the father's age, according to an exhaustive study of all births in California during the 1990s. ... > full story
Test could predict which idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis patients will become severely ill (February 8, 2010) -- A simple blood test could predict which patients with the lung-scarring disease known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) are soon to get far worse, an indicator that could one day influence their treatment, according to researchers. Their findings indicate that the body's immune cells attack healthy lung tissue, suggesting that IPF is in fact an immunologic disease. ... > full story
Month of birth determines who becomes a sports star (February 8, 2010) -- The month of your birth influences your chances of becoming a professional sportsperson, an Australian researcher has found. Scientists studied the seasonal patterns of population health and found the month you were born in could influence your future health and fitness. ... > full story
Industrial cleaner linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease (February 8, 2010) -- Workers exposed to tricholorethylene, a chemical once widely used to clean metal such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a new study. ... > full story
'Starving' fat suppresses appetite (February 8, 2010) -- Peptides that target blood vessels in fat and cause them to go into programmed cell death (termed apoptosis) could become a model for future weight-loss therapies, say researchers. ... > full story
Older female cancer survivors have added health issues compared to their counterparts (February 8, 2010) -- As cancer survivors live longer, questions arise about what kind of care long-term survivors require. A recently study found 245 older married women who survived cancer had more health problems as compared to a sample of 245 married women without cancer. ... > full story
Argonautes: A big turn-off for proteins (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists believe they may have figured out how genetic snippets called microRNAs are able to shut down the production of some proteins. ... > full story
Scientists identify first genetic variant linked to biological aging in humans (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists announced they have identified for the first time definitive variants associated with biological ageing in humans. The new discovery has important implications for the understanding of cancer and age-associated diseases. ... > full story
Transforming human fat into stem cells using virus-free technique (February 8, 2010) -- Tiny circles of DNA are the key to a new and easier way to transform stem cells from human fat into induced pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine, say scientists. Unlike other commonly used techniques, the method, which is based on standard molecular biology practices, does not use viruses to introduce genes into the cells or permanently alter a cell's genome. ... > full story
Promising results shown for kidney cancer drug (February 8, 2010) -- The drug pazopanib (Votrient) slowed the progression of advanced renal cell carcinoma, a form of kidney cancer, in patients by 54 percent, according to a new study. ... > full story
Soft intelligence for hard decisions: Soft metrics improve homeland security and other critical decisions (February 8, 2010) -- An approach to decision making based on soft metrics could allow problems to be solved where no definitive "yes-no" answer is possible in fields as diverse as health care, defense, economics, engineering, public utilities and science. ... > full story
Inhibiting serotonin in gut could cure osteoporosis (February 8, 2010) -- An investigational drug that inhibits serotonin in the gut, administered orally once daily, effectively cured osteoporosis in mice and rats, reports a new article. Serotonin in the gut has been shown in recent research to stall bone formation. The finding could lead to new therapies that build new bone; most osteoporosis drugs only prevent the breakdown of old bone. ... > full story
Cells send dirty laundry home to mom (February 8, 2010) -- Understanding how aged and damaged mother cells manage to form new and undamaged daughter cells is one of the toughest riddles of aging, but scientists now know how yeast cells do it. In a groundbreaking study, researchers in Sweden show how the daughter cell uses a mechanical "conveyor belt" to dump damaged proteins in the mother cell. ... > full story
Discovery may expand availability of bone marrow transplants by stopping fatal complications (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists explain how an anti-inflammatory agent called "ATL146e" may significantly improve the likelihood of success for bone marrow transplants by preventing or halting the progression of graft-versus-host disease, a complication of bone marrow transplants in which the donor marrow attacks the host. ... > full story
Biofilms: Discovery of a new mechanism of virus propagation (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers have shown for the first time that certain viruses are capable of forming complex biofilm-like assemblies, similar to bacterial biofilms. These extracellular infectious structures may protect viruses from the immune system and enable them to spread efficiently from cell to cell. "Viral biofilms" would appear to be a major mechanism of propagation for certain viruses. They are therefore emerging as new and particularly attractive therapeutic targets. ... > full story
Winning the war on weight (February 8, 2010) -- An Australian study into the health beliefs and behaviors of obese people has found that the more severely obese a person is, the less likely they feel they can reduce their weight. ... > full story
Growing cartilage: bioactive nanomaterial promotes growth of new cartilage (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers have designed a bioactive nanomaterial that promotes the growth of new cartilage in vivo and without the use of expensive growth factors. The therapy is minimally invasive, utilizes bone marrow stem cells and produces natural cartilage. Unlike bone, cartilage does not grow back, and it cannot effectively be replaced. Countless people learn this all too well when they bring their bad knees, shoulders and elbows to an orthopedic surgeon. ... > full story
Road mapping could be key to curing TB (February 8, 2010) -- The complex chain of metabolic events in bacteria that lead to fatal diseases such as tuberculosis may be better understood using mathematical models, according to a new article. ... > full story
Targeting cancer stem cells in the lab (February 8, 2010) -- Understanding of the particular cancer cells within a tumour that drive its growth could now advance more rapidly, thanks to new research. Scientisist now show how a crucial class of cancer cell, called cancer stem cells, can be investigated in the lab in ways that should greatly speed their study, and allow the development of drugs targeted against them. ... > full story
Important advance in imaging of cell death (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists have made progress in using a synthetic probe to target dead and dying cells in mammary and prostate tumors in living animals. ... > full story
Novel theory for mammalian stem cell regulation (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers propose a model of mammalian adult stem cell regulation that may explain how the coexistence of two disparate stem cell states regulates both stem cell maintenance and simultaneously supports rapid tissue regeneration. ... > full story
Moms influence how children develop advanced cognitive functions (February 8, 2010) -- Executive functioning is a set of advanced cognitive functions -- such as the ability to control impulses, remember things, and show mental flexibility -- that help us plan and monitor what we do to reach goals. A new study of 80 infant-mother pairs finds that the ways moms act when they're playing and solving puzzles with their babies can explain some of the differences in children's development of executive functioning. ... > full story
Gene that improves quality of reprogrammed stem cells identified (February 8, 2010) -- Scientists report that Tbx3 significantly improves quality of induced pluripotent stem cells. Stem cells reprogrammed from differentiated cells are known as induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS cells. ... > full story
New way to study how enzymes repair DNA damage (February 8, 2010) -- Researchers have found a new way to study how enzymes move as they repair DNA sun damage -- and that discovery could one day lead to new therapies for healing sunburned skin. Ultraviolet (UV) light damages skin by causing chemical bonds to form in the wrong places along the DNA molecules in our cells. ... > full story
Screening for spinal muscular atrophy not cost effective, study finds (February 8, 2010) -- New findings suggest that it is not cost effective to screen for spinal muscular atrophy. Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the most common genetic cause of infant mortality and the second most common inherited autosomal recessive disorder. There is controversy about whether prenatal carrier detection should be routinely offered to couples. ... > full story
Fingers account for majority of pediatric amputations, new study finds (February 8, 2010) -- According to a new study, there were more than 950 cases of traumatic amputations among children aged 17 years and younger in the United States in 2003. Of these cases, finger and thumb amputations accounted for the majority of the injuries. ... > full story
Estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy may increase risk of asthma after menopause (February 8, 2010) -- Estrogen-only hormone replacement therapy may increase the risk of developing asthma after the menopause, suggests a large scale study. ... > full story
Uncorrelated activity in the brain (February 8, 2010) -- Interconnected networks of neurons process information and give rise to perception by communicating with one another via small electrical impulses known as action potentials. In the past, scientists believed that adjacent neurons synchronized their action potentials. However, researchers now show that this synchronization does not happen. ... > full story
Preventing pancreatic islet loss after transplantation (February 8, 2010) -- Although transplantation of pancreatic islets is an attractive way to treat type 1 diabetes, early islet loss soon after transplantation has limited its clinical use. By studying islet transplantation in a mouse model of diabetes, researchers have now identified a potential new set of targets to improve the efficiency of pancreatic islet transplantation. ... > full story
Many surgeons suffer injuries from minimally invasive techniques (February 8, 2010) -- Surgeons who engage in minimally invasive, laparoscopic surgery are providing great benefits to their patients, but possibly to their own detriment. That's the finding of the largest survey ever conducted of surgeons in North America who perform laparoscopic procedures. The survey found that 87 percent of laparoscopic surgeons have experienced physical symptoms or discomfort. This was especially true among those with high case volumes. ... > full story
Usual care often not consistent with clinical guidelines for low back pain (February 8, 2010) -- Australian general practitioners often treat patients with low back pain in a manner that does not appear to match the care endorsed by international clinical guidelines, according to a new study. ... > full story
Lower detection of prostate cancer with PSA screening in US than in a European randomized trial (February 8, 2010) -- Fewer prostate cancers were detected by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening in the US than in a European randomized trial because of lower screening sensitivity, according to a new study. ... > full story
Scientists discover new treatment for chronic pain condition (February 7, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered that treating the immune system of patients with complex regional pain syndrome leads to a significant reduction in pain. ... > full story
First measurement of energy released from a virus during infection (February 7, 2010) -- For the first time, scientists have directly measured the energy associated with the expulsion of viral DNA, a pivotal discovery toward fully understanding the physical mechanisms that control viral infection and designing drugs to interfere with the process. ... > full story
Cholesterol's link to heart disease gets clearer and more complicated (February 7, 2010) -- By considering molecular-level events on a broader scale, researchers now have a clearer, if more complicated, picture of how one class of immune cells goes wrong when loaded with cholesterol. The findings show that, when it comes to the development of atherosclerosis and heart disease, it's not about any one bad actor -- it's about a network gone awry. ... > full story
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