Mobile phone data may reveal an underlying mathematical connection between how we move and how we communicate that could make it easier to predict how diseases -- and even ideas -- spread through a population, according to an international team of researchers.
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(PHILADELPHIA) - Hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of liver cancer, is increasing in incidence in the United States, and infection with the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) causes about 50 percent of cases. However, it can be difficult to identify who is most likely to develop this cancer.
Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a new technique for extremely high speed photonic sensing of the mechanical properties of freely flowing particles using an opto-mechano-fluidic resonator (OMFR). This research potentially opens up completely new mechanical "axes of measurement" on micro/nanoparticles and bioparticles.
Recognizing the high research and development costs for drugs to combat cancer, a team of researchers has devised a method to maximize investment into these undertakings by spotting which efforts are the most scientifically viable.
Amsterdam, NL, June 6, 2016 - Raman spectroscopy provides detailed chemical information, and when combined with a microscope, it can non-destructively analyze biological samples. While commercial research-grade Raman microscopes have been available for some time, they have tended to be both inflexible and very expensive. In a paper in the current issue of Biomedical Spectroscopy and Imaging, researchers from Germany and Serbia describe an inexpensive, versatile micro-Raman system that can be assembled from readily available components at a fraction of the cost of a commercial tool.
Cleveland . . . If "Lucy" wasn't alone, who else was in her neighborhood? Key fossil discoveries over the last few decades in Africa indicate that multiple early human ancestor species lived at the same time more than 3 million years ago. A new review of fossil evidence from the last few decades examines four identified hominin species that co-existed between 3.8 and 3.3 million years ago during the middle Pliocene. A team of scientists compiled an overview that outlines a diverse evolutionary past and raises new questions about how ancient species shared the landscape.
In a meta-analysis of hundreds of clinical trials involving thousands of patients, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine report that therapeutic approaches using precision medicine, which emphasizes the use of individual genetics to refine cancer treatment, showed improved response and longer periods of disease remission, even in phase I trials.
The findings are published in the June 6, 2016 issue of JAMA Oncology.
ITHACA, NY-- When gardeners look at a petunia, they see the vibrant and versatile blooms of the most popular bedding plant in the U.S. But when plant scientists look at a petunia, they see an important model plant species--one that just became more useful with the release of its parents' genomes.
Psychological characteristics link genes with upward social mobility, according to data collected from almost 1000 individuals over four decades. The data suggest that various psychological factors play a role in linking a person's genetic profile and several important life outcomes, including professional achievement, financial security, geographic mobility, and upward social mobility.
The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
Leesburg, VA, June 6, 2016-- A Japanese retrospective study that reviewed the CT data of 50 emphysema patients found that ultralow-dose CT (ULDCT) can substitute for standard-dose CT (SDCT) in disease quantification if both iterative reconstruction (IR) and filtered back projection are used.
The study, titled "Emphysema Quantification Using Ultralow-Dose CT with Iterative Reconstruction and Filtered Back Projection," was published in the June 2016 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are the leading cause of skin, soft tissue and several other types of infections. Staph is also a global public threat due to the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant strains, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Yet Staph also commonly colonize our nasal passages and other body sites without harm.
Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) scientists have taken the first steps toward developing a treatment that would make bone marrow - blood stem cell - transplantation safer and, as a result, more widely available to the millions of people living with blood disorders like sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, and AIDS.
Human well being often flourishes under conditions of cooperation with others and flounders during periods of external conflict and strife.
According to Athena Aktipis, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute, microbes within the body--collectively known as the microbiota--also engage in cooperative and combative behavior with human cells in their environment. This is particularly true in the human gut, where many trillions of them exist in the digestive tract in communities of bewildering diversity.
Spiders have helped researchers from Australia and the US discover a new target for irritable bowel syndrome pain.
The international research team -- involving researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Adelaide -- used spider venom to identify a specific protein involved in transmitting mechanical pain, which is the type of pain experienced by patients with irritable bowel syndrome.
OAK BROOK, Ill. - Fatty acids in the breast may be useful indicators of cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The results may help researchers determine the underlying mechanisms behind breast cancer development in some patients.
The role of fat in breast cancer development and growth has been studied extensively using body mass index (BMI) and dietary fat intake.