Body

DALLAS – Sept. 13, 2010 – A tiny molecule that spurs the progression of non-small-cell lung cancer could become a player in fighting the disease, say researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center, who published a study on how the molecule behaves in mice in the Sept. 14 issue of Cancer Cell.

RUSTON, La – Dr. Bogdan Strimbu, assistant professor of biometrics and quantitative silviculture at Louisiana Tech University's School of Forestry, recently organized and conducted a technical session at the International Union of Forest Research Organization's (IUFRO) XXIII World Congress in Seoul, South Korea.

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. (September 13, 2010) – USGI Medical, Inc., the Incisionless Surgery company, today announced that updated multi-center results confirm durability of the company's Expandable Tissue Anchors™ up to a year or more in a variety of incisionless gastrointestinal (GI) procedures, including use of a ROSE procedure (Repair of Surgery, Endolumenal) to repair dilated tissue after gastric bypass.

Gardeners are used to cross-breeding flowers to produce pretty petals or sweet scents – now scientists have shown the importance of nature's talent for producing new types of flowers.

DNA analysis of wild evergreen rhododendrons in the Himalayas has suggested that hundreds of species of the plant could be derived from hybrids – cross-breeds between different species.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators have identified a novel structure in cells that serves as a control switch in the body's system for eliminating damaged cells and also offers new therapeutic potential.

The findings provide fresh insight into the machinery at work as cells ramp up production of p53 protein following DNA damage. The p53 protein plays a critical role in how cells respond to the stress that damages DNA. The gene that carries instructions for making p53 protein is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancers.

A team of Welsh scientists have successfully cloned a human virus offering new hope for the treatment of potentially life-threatening diseases.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a major infectious cause of congenital malformations worldwide. The virus is also known to cause life-threatening disease in transplant patients and people with HIV/AIDS.

The development of new treatments has been hampered as scientists have been unable to stably replicate HCMV outside the human body.

Female marine snails trick amorous males

Sexual conflict is not only a human phenomenon. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg have shown that females of the rough periwinkle conceal their gender identity in order to avoid excessive copulation.

Our bodies recycle proteins, the fundamental building blocks that enable cell growth and development. Proteins are made up of a chain of amino acids, and scientists have known since the 1980s that first one in the chain determines the lifetime of a protein. McGill researchers have finally discovered how the cell identifies this first amino acid – and caught it on camera.

New findings from a major drug trial have brought experts a step closer to developing a drug which could prevent thousands of British deaths from heart attacks.

Dr Robert Storey, Reader at the University of Sheffield and Consultant Cardiologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, was the UK lead for international trials of a new drug, ticagrelor, which have been taking place over the last six years.

Athens, Ga. - A new University of Georgia study has found that select varieties of sorghum bran have greater antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties than well-known foods such as blueberries and pomegranates.

Researchers measured polyphenolic compounds, which naturally occur in plants to help fight against pests and disease, and found that the black and sumac varieties of sorghum have significant levels of antioxidants. Many fruits also contain these compounds, they said, though sorghum bran may prove to be the richest and cheapest source.

David H. Adams, MD, Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center, has performed the first implantation of the Medtronic Tri-Ad Semi-Flexible Tricuspid Annuloplasty Ring in the United States. Dr. Adams invented the ring, which was recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

A group of children who underwent fusion surgery for spondylolisthesis in the lumbar spine 30 years ago showed a clear reduction in back pain when followed up seven years later. A new study of these patients as adults has found that the benefits have lasted, reveals research from the Sahlgrenska Academy and Sahlgrenska University Hospital presented this week at the International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology (SICOT) annual international conference in Gothenburg.

Although overall mortality from cancer is decreasing in the European Union, its incidence increased by almost 20%, from 2.1 million new cases in 2002 to 2.5 million in 2008, says a special issue [1] of the European Journal of Cancer (the official journal of ECCO – the European CanCer Organisation) on cancer prevention, published today (Monday 13 September).

LA JOLLA, CA – September 9, 2010 – Scientists from The Scripps Research Institute have solved a long-standing mystery of how cells conduct "quality control" to eliminate the toxic effects of a certain kind of error in protein production. The findings may lead to a better understanding of a host of neurodegenerative diseases.

The research was published in an advance, online issue of the journal Nature on September 12, 2010.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Myopia (nearsightedness) is the most common eye disorder in the world and becoming more common, yet little is known about its genetic underpinnings.

Scientists at Duke University Medical Center, in conjunction with several other groups, have uncovered a gene associated with myopia in Caucasian people from several different regions, including Dutch, British and Australian subjects.

Their work was published in Nature Genetics online on Sunday, Sept. 12.