Body | Page 809 | Science Codex

Fungal spores could 'hijack' human immune cells to spread infection

Scientists have announced a major breakthrough in their understanding of how the fungus Aspergillus terreus - the cause of serious illness in humans - can move around the body, rather than remaining in the lungs as with similar fungal infections.

The study, led by researchers at The University of Nottingham and published in the academic journal Cell Chemical Biology, has discovered that infections from A.terreus could hitch a ride on immune cells in order to transport themselves and cause systemic infection.

Researchers find the genes that influence dizygotic twinning and fertility

Twinning has fascinated human beings over the centuries. Twins are relatively common and occur more than 1 time per 100 maternities. Roughly two-thirds of all twin pairs are dizygotic or non-identical and are genetically as alike as other siblings. It has been firmly established that dizygotic twinning has a maternal genetic component, but no one so far has succeeded in identifying the genes for spontaneous DZ twinning after decades of investigations.

A new discovery in the fight against cancer: Tumor cells switch to a different mode

When medication is used to shut off the oxygen supply to tumor cells, the cells adapt their metabolism in the medium term -- by switching over to producing energy without oxygen. This observation by biomedical scientists at the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel could be used for treatments that can inhibit tumor growth in the long term, as the researchers report in the latest issue of the journal Cell Reports.

Scientists predict cell changes that affect breast cancer growth

JUPITER, FL - April 28, 2016 - Designing effective new drugs, especially drugs to fight cancer, demands that you know as much as you can about the molecular workings of cancer growth. Without that, it's like planning to fight a war against an enemy you've never seen.

Narrow band imaging can reduce recurrence of bladder tumors

Research into bladder tumour surgery has found that using narrow band imaging can significantly reduce the risk of disease recurrence.

The results of the clinical trial, published in European Urology, compared two groups of bladder cancer patients who were due to undergo bladder tumour resection surgery.

Stem cells know how to open up and unwind

Research led by the Babraham Institute with collaborators in the UK, Canada and Japan has revealed a new understanding of how an open genome structure supports the long-term and unrestricted developmental potential in embryonic stem cells. This insight provides new avenues for improving the quality and stability of embryonic stem cells - an essential requirement to fulfil their promise in regenerative medicine.

Shape of tumor may affect whether cells can metastasize

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Only a few cells in a cancerous tumor are able to break away and spread to other parts of the body, but the curve along the edge of the tumor may play a large role in activating these tumor-seeding cells, according to a new University of Illinois study.

Ice loss accelerating in Greenland's coastal glaciers, Dartmouth study finds

HANOVER, N.H. - Surface meltwater draining through and underneath Greenland's tidewater glaciers is accelerating their loss of ice mass, according to a Dartmouth study that sheds light on the relationship between meltwater and subglacial discharge.

The findings appear in the journal Annals of Glaciology. A PDF is available on request.

Influence of religion and predestination on evolution and scientific thinking

Generally seen as antithetical to one another, evolution and religion can hardly fit in a scientific discourse simultaneously. However, biologist Dr Aldemaro Romero Jr., Baruch College, USA, devotes his latest research article, now published in the open access Research Ideas and Outcomes (RIO), to observing the influences a few major religions have had on evolutionists and their scientific thinking over the centuries.

Study links residential radon exposure to hematologic cancers in women

ATLANTA - April 28,2016 -A new report finds a statistically-significant, positive association between high levels of residential radon and the risk of hematologic cancer (lymphoma, myeloma, and leukemia) in women. The study is the first prospective, population-based study of residential radon exposure and hematologic cancer risk, leading the authors to caution that it requires replication to better understand the association and whether it truly differs by sex. It appears early online in Environmental Research.

Flightless survivors: Incredible invertebrate diversity in Los Angeles metropolitan area

Urban wildlife is surprisingly understudied. We tend to know more about animals in exotic places than about those that live in our cities.

This is why researchers Emile Fiesler, president of Bioveyda Biological Inventories, Surveys, and Biodiversity Assessments, USA, and Tracy Drake, manager of the Madrona Marsh Preserve, looked into the fauna of the Madrona Marsh Preserve, California, a small nature preserve in one of the world's largest metropolitan areas.

Recent cancer diagnosis associated with increased risk of mental health disorders

A recent cancer diagnosis was associated with increased risk for some mental health disorders and increased use of psychiatric medications, according to a new study published online by JAMA Oncology that used data from Swedish population and health registers.

Living with cancer can induce severe psychological stress and being diagnosed with cancer is stressful. Co-existing psychiatric conditions are common among patients with cancer.

Costs for orally administered cancer drugs skyrocket

New cancer drugs, taken in pill form, have become dramatically more expensive in their first year on the market compared with drugs launched 15 years ago, calling into question the sustainability of a system that sets high prices at market entry in addition to rapidly increasing those prices over time.

Four new genetic diseases defined within schizophrenia

Changes in key genes clearly define four previously unknown conditions within the umbrella diagnosis of schizophrenia, according to a study led by researchers from NYU Langone Medical Center published online April 28 in EBioMedicine, a Lancet journal. Cases associated with changes in each of the four genes were different from each other in terms of symptoms, intelligence level and other disease features.

Snails select sources of food based on dislike for smells rather than acceptable taste

Harnessing naturally occurring chemicals could be used as a means to protect crop seedlings being eaten by common pests, a study suggests.

Research led by Plymouth University and the University of Southampton analysed the feeding preferences of hundreds of snails when presented with several different cultivars of oilseed rape seedlings.

It showed the invertebrates were more inclined to choose seedlings based on their dislike of naturally-omitted scents rather than employing taste as their primary method of choice.