MAYWOOD, Ill. -- A study featured on the cover of the March 15 Journal of Immunology is providing insight into why the elderly are so vulnerable to pneumonia and other bacterial infections.
The study has been published online in advance of print.
Compared with younger adults, the elderly are at higher risk of becoming seriously ill or dying from pneumonia. Moreover, vaccines against the disease are less effective in the elderly.
Scientists from Monash University have uncovered a new understanding of how male puberty begins.
The key to their findings lies with a protein known as SMAD3 and the rate at which it is produced.Researchers, Associate Professor Kate Loveland and Dr Catherine Itman from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences have discovered through laboratory testing that half as much SMAD3 protein results in faster maturation than the norm, and an inability to create SMAD3 results in abnormal responses to testosterone.
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.
Pregnancy is meant to be a joyous time however some women experience overwhelming 'baby blues' before the birth of their child. Anxiety and depression during pregnancy can result in premature birth, or low birth weight, and impact the child's health even into early school years. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that a bad relationship with their husband or partner is the strongest predictor of maternal emotional distress.
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.
Researchers have provided new clues into the genetics underlying a chronic form of liver disease, called primary biliary cirrhosis, which can lead to transplant surgery for patients. The new study identifies 15 genetic regions that affect a person's risk of developing the disease, more than trebling the number of known genetic regions, which now stands at 22.
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.
HOUSTON - Breast cancer tumors take numerous paths to resist the targeted drug Herceptin, but a single roadblock at a crucial crossroads may restore a tumor's vulnerability to treatment, scientists at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report on line at Nature Medicine.
Adding the drug saracatinib to Herceptin treatment shrinks previously resistant tumors by cutting off at least five different molecular pathways, each of which can resist, said senior author Dihua Yu, M.D., Ph.D., professor in MD Anderson's Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology.
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.
Women with ductal carcinoma in situ—DCIS—who later develop invasive breast cancer in the same breast are at higher risk of dying from breast cancer than those who do not develop invasive disease, according to a study published online March 11 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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.
Scientists are collaborating on a new international research project to identify antibiotics that can kill tuberculosis and fight resistant strains.
"We want to accelerate the discovery of new compounds that can be turned into effective drugs," said Professor Tony Maxwell from the John Innes Centre, a key player in "More Medicines for Tuberculosis", a new European research project.
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.
Monitoring blood for tiny particles released by cells lining the lungs may help clinicians diagnose emphysema in its earliest stages, according to researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College. The particles, called endothelial microparticles (EMPs), are shed during the disease process as tiny blood vessels in the lungs, called pulmonary capillaries, are injured and die.
The findings were published online ahead of the print edition of the American Thoracic Society's American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
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.