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Study links a couple's numeracy skills with greater family wealth

Couples who score well on a simple test of numeracy ability accumulate more wealth by middle age than couples who score poorly on such a test, according to a new study of married couples in the United States.

Researchers found that when both spouses answered three numeracy-related questions correctly, family wealth averaged $1.7 million, while among couples where neither spouse answered any questions correctly the average household wealth was $200,000. Numeracy is the ability to reason with numbers and other mathematical concepts, and are skills typically learned during school.

Which species has the biggest testicles? The answer is...

Researchers at the University of Derby and colleagues at the University of Cambridge believe they have found which species has the largest testicles in relation to body weight on the planet – and why!

Yet the research team also discovered that large testes did not necessarily relate to a larger amount of sperm produced – which goes against traditional thinking in the science world.

Use of androgen deprivation therapy increases fracture risk among prostate cancer patients

PHILADELPHIA — Men with history of fracture and comorbidities are at an increased risk of fracture after long-term use of androgen deprivation therapy, and initiating this therapy should be carefully considered in older men with localized prostate cancer.

In addition, the longer duration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (Gn-RH) use and history of orchiectomy (removal of the testicles to stop testosterone production, which prostate cancer needs to continue to grow) are also associated with an increased risk of fracture among men with prostate cancer.

Home exposure to tobacco carcinogens high in children of smokers

PHILADELPHIA — Ninety percent of children who lived in a house where an adult smoked had evidence of tobacco-related carcinogens in their urine, according to research presented at the Ninth AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held here from Nov 7-10, 2010.

The average amount of tobacco metabolites in children aged one month to 10 years old was 8 percent of what is found in a smoker, said the lead researcher Janet L. Thomas, Ph.D., assistant professor of behavioral medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Long-term statin use is unlikely to increase cancer risk

PHILADELPHIA — Researchers have further established that long-term use of statins is unlikely to substantially increase or decrease overall cancer risk, according to study results presented at the Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Nov. 7-10, 2010, in Philadelphia.

BGI researchers sequenced the human methylome at single base-pair resolution

DNA methylation plays an important role in many processes such as animal development, X-chromosome inactivation, and carcinogenesis. Understanding the mechanisms and functions of DNA methylation and how it varies from tissue to tissue and between individuals will have profound implications for human health and disease. A team of Chinese researchers decoded the essentially complete methylome (an inventory of all the bases that are methylated) of the human genome using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).

Few eligible young women choose to take HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, study shows

In a study of more than 9,600 adolescent and young adult women in the Baltimore area, researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine have found that fewer than 30 percent of those eligible to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to prevent cervical cancer actually chose to get it. And only about a third of those who began receiving the vaccine completed the three doses recommended for maximum protection.

How the dragon got its 'snap'

How the dragon got its 'snap'

"We are now trying to get a better understanding of exactly how the chemical compasses work and determining the molecular nature of the poles that coordinate their orientations," said Professor Enrico Coen of the John Innes Centre.

Research shows gene-based test can prioritize smokers for lung cancer CT screening

Philadelphia – Nov. 9, 2010 – New research shows a gene-based test for lung cancer risk can help identify which smokers are most likely to benefit from CT screening for lung cancer, according to results of a study presented today at the American Association of Cancer Research's Ninth Annual Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.

Kent State geology professors study oldest fossil shrimp preserved with muscles

Kent State geology professors study oldest fossil shrimp preserved with muscles

Obesity in adolescence leads to increased risk of severe obesity in adulthood

An analysis of nationally representative data suggests that being obese in adolescence increases the risk of being severely obese in adulthood, with the risk higher in women, and highest for black women, according to a study in the November 10 issue of JAMA.

Variation in heart disease death risk in England largely attributed to population characteristics

In England, a country with a universal access health care system, there is wide variation between local populations in the rate of death from coronary heart disease, which is largely explained by population characteristics such as low socioeconomic factors, white ethnicity, levels of smoking, and diabetes, according to a study in the November 10 issue of JAMA.

Undetected high blood pressure associated with more deaths from heart attacks

Your postcode could affect your risk of dying from a heart attack, a new study from the University of Leicester has discovered.

Medical researchers from the University set out to determine why death rates from coronary heart disease (heart attacks) varied around the country and found that living in a deprived area contributed to your risk.

The study has for the first time established an association at national level between detection of hypertension and death rates from coronary heart disease.

Overcoming the IVF baby blues

Between 20 and 30 percent of women who undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures suffer from significant symptoms of depression. Many practitioners believe that the hormone therapy involved in IVF procedures is primarily responsible for this. But new research from Tel Aviv University shows that, while this is true, other factors are even more influential.

Rogue gene hijacks stem cells to jumpstart human cancer

A gene thought to be responsible for initiating human cancer has been identified by researchers at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. The study - published online today (9 November) in the journal Cancer Research - paves the way for developing early cancer diagnostic tests, and finding new treatments that prevent or stop the spread of cancer cells at an early stage.