NEW YORK (Feb. 10, 2011) -- A new clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is among the first to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study is to understand whether surgery can control diabetes, as well or even better than the best medical treatment available today. This is the first study of its kind open to patients who are overweight or mildly obese.
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(Rosemont, IL) Feb. 10 – For generations, the consumption of dairy products has been positively associated with the health and wellness of families and communities. Nevertheless, the recent shift in dietary trends has focused on "what not to eat" instead of emphasizing "what to eat," resulting in demonizing the naturally occurring fats in dairy, while overlooking its many essential nutrients.
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that excessive formation of calcium crystal deposits in the amniotic fluid may be a reason why some pregnant women suffer preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM) leading to preterm delivery.
This is a key breakthrough in solving the mystery of preterm birth, a leading cause of death and permanent disability in newborns. The findings will be presented in an abstract at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Scientific Sessions on February 10 in San Francisco, California.
A rose by any other name would smell … like celery?
North Carolina State University research intended to extend the "vase life" of roses inserts a gene from celery inside rose plants to help fight off botrytis, or petal blight, one of the rose's major post-harvest diseases.
Some fungal pathogens, the bad guys that infect plants, produce a sugar alcohol called mannitol that interferes with the plant's ability to block disease like petal blight, which produces wilty, mushy petals – an effect similar to what happens to lettuce when it's been in the crisper too long.
Richmond, Va. (Feb. 10, 2011) – Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have developed a novel treatment strategy for multiple myeloma that pairs two targeted agents to kill cancer cells. The study's findings, published in today's edition of the journal "Blood," are the first to demonstrate the synergistic, anti-myeloma effects of this combination regimen both in vitro and in vivo.
A foot bone from the early human relative Australopithecus afarensis suggests that these hominids had stiff, arched feet, like we do. These findings support the hypothesis that A. afarensis was primarily an upright walker, as opposed to a more versatile creature that also moved through the trees.
This research appears in the 11 February issue of Science.
COLUMBIA, Mo. –Feet arches give humans a spring in their steps, shock absorbing abilities, and stiff platforms to propel themselves forward, allowing them to walk upright consistently. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri and Arizona State University have found proof that arches existed in a predecessor to the human species that lived more than 3 million years ago. This discovery could change scientists' views of human evolution. The study is being published this week in Science.
Yale University researchers have identified two novel genetic mutations that can trigger hypertension in up to a third of patients suffering from a common cause of severe high blood pressure, they report in the Feb. 11 issue of the journal Science.
Think you're overloaded with information? Not even close.
A study appearing on Feb. 10 in Science Express, an electronic journal that provides select Science articles ahead of print, calculates the world's total technological capacity — how much information humankind is able to store, communicate and compute.
A parasite and a virus may be teaming up in a way that increases the parasite's ability to harm humans, scientists at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report this week in Science.
High blood pressure may in some cases be caused by benign hormone-producing tumours of the adrenal cortex. A joint Swedish-American research effort has now uncovered a genetic cause behind the occurrence of such tumours. The findings were published today in the journal Science.
The Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team that first discovered tumor-associated RNA in tiny membrane-enclosed sacs released into the bloodstream by cancer cells has now found that these microvesicles also contain segments of tumor DNA, including retrotransposons – also called "jumping genes" – that copy and insert themselves into other areas of the genome. The investigators' report, which has been published in Nature Communications, is the first to show that microvesicles are involved in transferring retrotransposons between cells.
The Calorie Control Council stated today that research findings presented during a poster session at the International Stroke Conference claiming an association between diet soft drink consumption and increased risk of stroke and heart attack are critically flawed.
"The findings are so speculative and preliminary at this point that they should be considered with extreme caution. In fact, the study has not been peer reviewed by any independent scientists and has not been published in a scientific journal," stated Beth Hubrich, a registered dietitian with the Council.
NEW DELHI (11 February 2011) – Increasing numbers of domestic livestock and more resource-intensive production methods are encouraging animal epidemics around the world, a problem that is particularly acute in developing countries, where livestock diseases present a growing threat to the food security of already vulnerable populations, according to new assessments reported today at the International Conference on Leveraging Agriculture for Improving Nutrition & Health.
MALVERN, PA – February 10, 2011 – Promedior, Inc., a clinical stage biotechnology company developing novel therapies to treat fibrotic and inflammatory diseases, announced today the publication of collaborative research in the International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology entitled, "TGF-beta driven lung fibrosis is macrophage dependent and blocked by Serum amyloid P." The research showed that human Pentraxin-2 (PTX-2), also called human Serum amyloid P (SAP), potently inhibits all undesirable pro-fibrotic pathologies driven by TGFβ1 and represents a novel therapeutic approa