Scientific research shows that certain genes can influence a person's likelihood to contract particular diseases, cancer for example. New research at the Masonic Cancer Center, University of Minnesota demonstrates that genetic markers may also show a person's likelihood to survive the disease.
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Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., will speak during the opening session of ICAAC/IDSA 2008, a joint meeting of the American Society for Microbiology and the Infectious Diseases Society of America, in Washington, DC. His keynote lecture at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25, is titled Global Health and Infectious Diseases: A Look to the Future. Dr. Fauci is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.
The work follows a study carried out by Oregon Health and Science University, which suggested a link between a gene mutation in mice and tolerance to alcohol. Researchers at Liverpool have investigated this in worms, looking specifically at the role the gene plays in communication between cells in the nervous system.
TORRANCE (Oct. 22, 2008) – While the 2005 closure of King-Drew Medical Center's Level 1 trauma unit in Los Angeles County caused a 54 percent increase in trauma patients at nearby Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, the deaths among those patients actually declined, according to a new study published in this month's The American Surgeon.
According to statistics, Internet has become the most important information infrastructure of human society these days, accounting for 80% of human information exchange, and providing great strategic significance for social progress, economic development and national security. However, Internet technology invented more than 30 years ago cannot always satisfy its developmental requirement and support of new applications. The existing main technical challenges are: scalability, security, high performance, timeliness, mobility and ease of management.
Geneva, Switzerland: Research by scientists in France has shown for the first time that identifying patterns of gene expression can be used to predict response to treatment in patients with advanced metastatic colorectal cancer.
Geneva, Switzerland: A new anti-cancer compound that works by blocking a part of the cell's machinery that is crucial for cell division has shown promising results in a phase I clinical trial in patients who have failed to respond to other treatments. Now it is going forward into a phase II clinical trial programme. In addition, the compound will also be tested in combination with other anti-cancer drugs to see whether combined therapies could be even more effective.
Maputo, Mozambique—in response to the urgent need to reduce the impacts of natural disasters, the International Council for Science (ICSU) has launched a new, 10-year, international research programme designed to address the gaps in the knowledge and methods that are preventing the effective application of science to averting disasters and reducing risk. The programme was announced today at the 29th ICSU General Assembly in Maputo, Mozambique.
Modification of the current screening criteria are needed for diagnosing patients with autosomal dominant polycystic disease (ADPKD), according to a study appearing in the January 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The results suggest that some patients with a milder form of the disease may otherwise be misdiagnosed.
If the biofuel known as bioethanol is to make a major contribution to our fuel supplies, then we may well require the assistance of some tiny insect helpers, says Michael Scharf, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida, Gainesville.
In a review to be published in Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, Scharf and his colleague Aurélien Tartar describe how the enzymes produced by both termites and the micro-organisms that inhabit their gut – known as symbionts – could help to produce ethanol from non-edible plant material such as straw and wood.
The combination of eating quickly and eating until full trebles the risk of being overweight, according to a study published today on bmj.com.
Until the last decade or so most adults did not have the opportunity to consume enough energy to enable fat to be stored. However, with the increased availability of inexpensive food in larger portions, fast food, and fewer families eating together and eating while distracted (e.g. while watching TV), eating behaviours are changing, and this may be contributing to the obesity epidemic.
Erectile dysfunction gives a two to three year early warning of a heart attack, warns an expert on bmj.com today.
But the link between erectile dysfunction and the risk of heart disease is being ignored by doctors, writes Dr Geoffrey Hackett from the Good Hope Hospital in Birmingham.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield and Royal Holloway, University of London will argue today (21 October 2008) that the nation's diet is unlikely to improve significantly if healthy eating policies fail to take into account the diverse nature of contemporary family life.
Recent government initiatives have attempted to change people's dietary behaviour and the amount of exercise they take. But, despite compelling evidence of the need for healthier eating, families remain ambivalent about altering their eating habits.
Uninsured children in families earning between approximately $38,000 and $76,000 a year are about as likely to go without any health care as uninsured children in poorer families.
A bit of good news out of the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta for patients undergoing surgery or an invasive procedure, their surgeons and cost-conscious hospital administrators. It's standard practice for the surgeon or their designate, (in consultation with the patient when possible), to mark the operative/invasive site using a marking pen before an operation, a precaution to ensure surgeons cut the correct spot.