FRANKFURT. Despite improved therapy, only one out of every two adult patients survive acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). The mean survival time for this disease, which predominantly occurs in the elderly, is less than a year for patients over 65 years. It is assumed that leukaemic stem cells, which cannot be completely eliminated during treatment, are the origin of relapse.
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A mother who sings to her preterm infant while providing 'kangaroo care,' or holding with direct skin-to-skin contact, may see improvements in both her child's and her own health. The finding comes from an Acta Paediatrica study of 86 mother-infant pairs in a neonatal intensive care unit in Meir Hospital in Israel.
More than 90% of gay and bisexual men in the United States have used lubricants to enhance a wide range of sexual activities, including but not limited to anal intercourse, researchers report in a Journal of Sexual Medicine study.
By minimizing potential skin tears, lubricants may help reduce the likelihood of HIV transmission between partners.
(Boston)-- Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) report that two rare variants in the AKAP9 gene significantly increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in African-Americans.
This previously unknown association furthers the understanding of the role of genetic factors in the development of AD, according to the researchers, whose findings appear in Alzheimer's & Dementia.
Researchers at Rice University and the University of Kansas Medical Center are making genetic circuits that can perform more complex tasks by swapping protein building blocks.
The modular genetic circuits engineered from parts of otherwise unrelated bacterial genomes can be set up to handle multiple chemical inputs simultaneously with a minimum of interference from their neighbors.
There are more than 7,000 known species of amphibians that can be found in nearly every type of ecosystem on six continents. But there have been few attempts to understand exactly when and how frogs, toads, salamanders and caecilians have moved across the planet throughout time.
Armed with DNA sequence data, Alex Pyron, an assistant professor of biology at the George Washington University, sought to accurately piece together the 300-million-year storyline of their journey.
In the largest study on the genetics of whale sharks conducted to date, researchers found that the world's biggest fish likely exist in 2 distinct populations with minimal connectivity between the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean. The findings suggest that mixing of whale sharks between the Indian and Atlantic was and is rare.
A simple and humane technique may be an effective strategy to reduce human encounters with sharks without harming populations of threatened shark species.
Eating less meat would protect water resources in dry areas around the world, researchers at Aalto University in Finland have found.
Reducing the use of animal products can have a considerable impact on areas suffering scarce water resources, as meat production requires more water than other agricultural products.
Diet change together with other actions, such as reduction of food losses and waste, may tackle the future challenges of food security, states researcher Mika Jalava from Aalto University in Finland.
INDIANAPOLIS -- Healthy breast cells may be able to reinvent themselves -- some have the flexibility to change after they are mature -- which leads researchers to postulate that similarities exist between this occurrence and the origins of a particularly aggressive type of breast cancer.
Students do not mind buying healthier snacks from vending machines, according to research published in the International Journal of Food Safety, Nutrition and Public Health. The findings could have implications for campus health initiatives as well as vendor profits.
MADISON, Wis. – As production of shale gas soars, the industry's effects on nature and wildlife remain largely unexplored, according to a study by a group of conservation biologists published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment on August 1.
The report emphasizes the need to determine the environmental impact of chemical contamination from spills, well-casing failure, and other accidents.
University of York scientists have shed new light on why teenagers and young adults are particularly susceptible to meningitis and septicaemia.
The team from the University's Department of Biology has discovered a novel metabolic pathway in the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis that may explain why this age group is particularly at risk of infection.
The results of the research, which was supported by the Centre for Chronic Diseases and Disorders (C2D2), are reported in the journal Molecular Microbiology.
(Boston) -- Patient navigation, or the linking of a newly diagnosed cancer patient with a professional trained in assisting patients though the complex journey of cancer diagnosis and treatment, may lead to better breast cancer care in high risk and minority women. The findings, recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, is the first national study to show a relationship between navigators and the initiation of certain recommended treatments in breast cancer.
MADISON, Wis. — Copious corn growing in tiny backyard plots? Roses blooming in December? Thanks to technology that the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Richard Vierstra has been developing for years, these things may soon be possible. And now, new findings out of the genetics professor's lab promise to advance that technology even further.