Using computer-aided detection (CAD) software to help analyze and interpret mammograms does not improve accuracy, according to a study published online July 27 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
CAD software, used currently for analyzing three out of four mammograms in the United States, identifies patterns associated with breast cancers and marks potential abnormalities for the radiologist to consider before making a final recommendation.
Women with breasts that appear dense on mammograms are at a higher risk of breast cancer and their tumors are more likely to have certain aggressive characteristics than women with less dense breasts, according to a study published online July 27 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
A bizarre form of inbreeding could spell the end of males in one insect species, according to researchers from Oxford University. The research focused on cottony cushion scales, a hermaphroditic bug species in which females appear to fertilize their own eggs.
"It turns out that females are not really fertilizing their eggs themselves, but instead are having this done by a parasitic tissue that infects them at birth," said Laura Ross, one of the study's authors. "It seems that this infectious tissue derives from leftover sperm from their fathers."
EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Besides helping each other plant and harvest, rural Chinese neighbors also influence each other's environmental behavior – farmers are more likely to reenroll their land in a conservation program if they talk to their neighbors about it.
Cod and other groundfish populations off the east coast of Canada are showing signs of recovery more than 20 years after the fisheries collapsed in the early 1990s, according to research published today in Nature.
"This early-stage recovery represents a long ecological transition for an ecosystem that was pushed out of balance and that is gradually moving back into balance," says William Leggett, a professor in the Department of Biology, former principal at Queen's, and an expert in the dynamics of large marine ecosystems.
Molecular data have shown that three Australian Cucurbitaceae species initially collected in 1856 but never accepted as separate species are distinct from each other and that one of them is the closest relative of the honeymelon, Cucumis melo. The names for these species are sorted out in a study published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.
OAK BROOK, Ill. (July, 27, 2011) – Using computed tomography (CT), researchers have identified two types of structural changes in the lungs of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that are associated with frequent exacerbations, or episodes when symptoms suddenly worsen. Their findings are published online in the journal Radiology.
A pearl-flowered legume collected in 2005 by Ralph Clark & Nigel Barker (Rhodes University) in the Sneeuberg, South Africa, was determined by taxonomists Charles Stirton & Muthama Muasya (University of Cape Town) to be a distinct new species.
How can an organization detect the onset of an attack on its computer network giving it time to respond quickly and block any intrusion or compromise of its data? Modern firewalls and other technology are already in place, but these have not prevented major attacks on prominent networks in recent months. Now, information technologist Heechang Shin of Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, has used game theory to develop a defense mechanism for networks that is more effective than previous approaches.
Bethesda, Md. (July 27, 2011)—Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the most common type of bariatric surgery in the United States, is currently considered the most effective therapy for morbid obesity. Patients who undergo this procedure, in which the stomach is reduced to a small pouch and connected to the middle of the small intestine, often lose massive amounts of weight. However, the reasons behind this surgery's success have been unclear.
Cilia, tiny hair-like structures that perform feats such as clearing microscopic debris from the lungs and determining the correct location of organs during development, move in mysterious ways. Their beating motions are synchronized to produce metachronal waves, similar in appearance to "the wave" created in large arenas when audience members use their hands to produce a pattern of movement around the entire stadium.
It's a common belief that women take fewer risks than men, and that adolescents always plunge in headlong without considering the consequences. But the reality of who takes risks when is actually a bit more complicated, according to the authors of a new paper which will be published in the August issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Adolescents can be as cool-headed as anyone, and in some realms, women take more risks than men.
Gastric bypass surgery alters people's food preferences so that they eat less high fat food, according to a new study led by scientists at Imperial College London. The findings, published in the American Journal of Physiology—Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, suggest a new mechanism by which some types of bariatric surgery lead to long-term weight loss.
NEW YORK (July 27, 2011) – A paper by noted WCS conservationist Elizabeth Bennett says that an immense, increasingly sophisticated illegal trade in wildlife parts conducted by organized crime, coupled with antiquated enforcement methods, are decimating the world's most beloved species including rhinos, tigers, and elephants on a scale never before seen.
The paper, published June 7 on the online issue of the journal Oryx, says that much of the trade is driven by wealthy East Asian markets that have a seemingly insatiable appetite for wildlife parts.
Using human breast cancer cells and the protein that causes fireflies to glow, a Johns Hopkins team has shed light on why some breast cancer cells become resistant to the anticancer effects of the drug tamoxifen. The key is a discovery of two genetic "dimmer switches" that apparently control how a breast cancer gene responds to the female hormone estrogen.