Body

Tamoxifen, taken by certain women as a preventive measure against breast cancer, saves lives and reduces medical costs. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest that the benefits of tamoxifen to prevent cancer can sufficiently compensate for its side effects in post-menopausal women under age 55 years who have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

A hidden trove of historical crop yield data from Africa shows that corn – long believed to tolerate hot temperatures – is a likely victim of global warming.

Stanford agricultural scientist David Lobell and researchers at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) report in the inaugural issue of Nature Climate Change next week that a clear negative effect of warming on maize – or corn – production was evident in experimental crop trial data conducted in Africa by the organization and its partners from 1999 to 2007.

CINCINNATI—University of Cincinnati (UC) researchers have determined the structure of human HDL cholesterol and say the finding could help explain how this "fat packet" protects against cardiovascular diseases, including heart attack and stroke.

The study, led by W. Sean Davidson, PhD, professor in UC's pathology and laboratory medicine department, appears online ahead of print March 13, 2011, in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- A new method of analyzing cancerous tumors developed by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) suggests that tumors may not evolve gradually, but rather in punctuated or staccato-like bursts. It is a finding that has already shed new light on the process of tumor growth and metastasis, and may help in the development of new methods to clinically evaluate tumors.

In biology, the key to a healthy life is organization. Cells that properly organize themselves into communities live long and prosper, whereas disorganized cells can become cancerous. A study by researchers with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) of the different types of cells that make up the human breast shows that not only do cells possess an innate ability to self-organize into communities, but these communities of different types of cells can also organize themselves with respect to one another to form and maintain healthy tissue.

Four novel biomarkers have been identified which may aid in the diagnosis and management of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a study conducted by researchers in Australia, who determined the biomarkers may be used in different combinations to successfully identify patients with either of the airway diseases. In conducting the study, the researchers relied on proteomics, an emerging field of science that focuses on the structure and functions of an organism's proteins.

An Australian study to determine the likelihood of school-aged children waking up to their home smoke alarm found that 78% of children slept through a smoke alarm sounding for 30 seconds. The outcomes of the study are published today in the journal Fire and Materials.