Body | Page 5035 | Science Codex

Secondhand smoke linked to peripheral artery disease in women

Secondhand smoke significantly increased the risk of women developing peripheral artery disease (PAD) in a Chinese study, researchers reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

In a population-based study of 1,209 women in Beijing, China, researchers found a 67 percent increased risk of PAD in those exposed to secondhand smoke compared to those who were not exposed. The women were 60 years and older and had never smoked. Of these women, 39.5 percent were exposed to secondhand smoke at home or in the workplace.

IU sends innovative technology to Antarctica to speed polar research

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Environmental scientists studying the world's shrinking polar ice sheets will soon get a substantial boost in computing power thanks to IU's Polar Grid Project.

Hidden infections crucial to understanding, controlling disease outbreaks

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Scientists and news organizations typically focus on the number of dead and gravely ill during epidemics, but research at the University of Michigan suggests that less dramatic, mild infections lurking in large numbers of people are the key to understanding cycles of at least one potentially fatal infectious disease: cholera.

Using a model developed with new statistical methods, U-M researchers and their collaborators came up with results that challenge longstanding assumptions about the disease and strategies for preventing it.

Aspirin and atherosclerosis

Aspirin has become one of the most widely used medications in the world, owing to its ability to reduce pain, fevers, inflammation, and blood clotting. In animal studies, aspirin has also been shown to prevent atherosclerosis, though none of its known mechanisms of action would seem to account for this. In a new study, though, researchers have uncovered the mechanism that may explain aspirin's ability to prevent arterial plaque buildup.

Nanotech and synbio: Americans don't know what's coming

Source:

Pitt research indicates new virus is culprit, not bystander, in deadly skin cancer

PITTSBURGH, Sept. 22 – University of Pittsburgh scientists are uncovering more evidence that a virus they recently discovered is the cause of Merkel cell carcinoma, an aggressive and deadly form of skin cancer.

The findings, published in this week's early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, put to rest the possibility that MCV infects tumors that already have formed. If that were the case, the virus would be a passenger rather than the driver of the disease.

Iron-moving malfunction may underlie neurodegenerative diseases, aging

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---A glitch in the ability to move iron around in cells may underlie a disease known as Type IV mucolipidosis (ML4) and the suite of symptoms---mental retardation, poor vision and diminished motor abilities---that accompany it, new research at the University of Michigan shows.

The same deficit also may be involved in aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, says lead author Haoxing Xu, an assistant professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology.

Radiation before surgery reduces quality of life and risk of recurrence for rectal cancer patients

Boston – The use of a short one week course of radiation before surgery for rectal cancer leads to a reduced risk of recurrence but with some impairment in quality of life for sexual and bowel function, according to an international study presented September 22, 2008, at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology's 50th Annual Meeting in Boston.

Risk of colorectal cancer extremely low 5 years after a normal colonoscopy screening

OAK BROOK, Ill. – September 22, 2008 – A study appearing in the Sept. 18 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine shows that among individuals with no colorectal neoplasia (abnormal growths) on initial screening colonoscopy, the five-year risk of colorectal cancer is extremely low. The data provides support for rescreening at an interval of five years or longer after a normal colonoscopic examination.

Purifying nanorods: Big success with tiny cleanup

HOUSTON, Sept. 22, 2008 -- Chemists at Rice University have discovered a novel method to produce ultra-pure gold nanorods -- tiny, wand-like nanoparticles that are being studied in dozens of labs worldwide for applications as broad as diagnosing disease and improving electronic viewscreens.

UC Davis researchers discover new drug target for inflammatory disease

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — UC Davis researchers have defined a cellular process that promotes inflammation and, at the same time, found an important starting point for identifying and testing new drugs for diseases such as sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and some cancers.

The scientists discovered that a protein called sPLA2-IIA binds to two integrins labeled alpha-V-beta-3 and alpha-4-beta-1, causing them to rapidly multiply and boosting an immune system response already gone awry due to disease.

Management of sudden sensorineural hearing loss inconsistent among clinicians

Chicago, IL – Patients seeking care for sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL) are receiving inconsistent care due to lack of established clinical practice guidelines, says new research presented at the 2008 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Chicago, IL.

Captive breeding introduced infectious disease to Mallorcan amphibians

A potentially deadly fungus that can kill frogs and toads was inadvertently introduced into Mallorca by a captive breeding program that was reintroducing a rare species of toad into the wild, according to a new study published in the September 23rd issue of the journal Current Biology.

Captive breeding introduced infectious disease to Mallorcan amphibians

A potentially deadly fungus that can kill frogs and toads wasinadvertently introduced into Mallorca by a captive breeding programmethat was reintroducing a rare species of toad into the wild, accordingto a new study published today in the journal Current Biology.

Inhibiting cholesterol-associated protein reduces high-risk blockages in arteries

PHILADELPHIA – Using the drug darapladib, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues have inhibited a cholesterol-and immune system-associated protein, thereby reducing the development of heart-disease plaques that may cause death, heart attacks, and strokes in a pig model of atherosclerosis and diabetes. The study appeared online this week in Nature Medicine.