BOSTON, Aug. 23, 2010 — An unlikely effort is underway to lift the veil of nearly-total secrecy that has surrounded the process of developing new prescription drugs for the last century, scientists said today at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). The upheaval in traditional practice would make key data available to college students, university professors, and others in an open, collective process.
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A new analysis has found that while colon cancer rates have remained steady over the past several decades among people under the age of 40, rectal cancer rates are increasing in this population across races and in both sexes. Published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that greater efforts are needed to diagnose rectal cancer in young individuals who show potential signs of the disease.
In a study of egg cells using time-lapse microscopy, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have discovered an unusual property of meiosis – cell division that produces reproductive cells in sexually reproducing organisms. The discovery of an "inside out" mechanism by which egg cell chromosomes separate from each other may shed light on mistakes made in chromosome distribution that can lead to Down syndrome, high miscarriage rates in humans, and the age-related decrease in fertility in human females.
A key step in understanding the origins of familial breast cancer hasbeen made by two teams of scientists at the University of California,Davis. The researchers have purified, for the first time, the proteinproduced by the breast cancer susceptibility gene BRCA2 and used itto study the oncogene's role in DNA repair.
The results will be published online Aug. 22 in the journals Nature,and Nature Structural and Molecular Biology. They open newpossibilities for understanding, diagnosing and perhaps treatingbreast cancer.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota Academic Health Center have identified two drugs that, when combined, may serve as an effective treatment for HIV.
The two drugs, decitabine and gemcitabine – both FDA approved and currently used in pre-cancer and cancer therapy – were found to eliminate HIV infection in the mouse model by causing the virus to mutate itself to death – an outcome researchers dubbed "lethal mutagenesis."
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Thanks to a single-molecule imaging technique developed by a University of Illinois professor, researchers have revealed the mechanisms of an important DNA-regulating enzyme.
A new low-dose coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) can reduce the radiation dose associated with coronary CTA by 27 percent, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). Coronary CTA is a common heart imaging test that helps determine if fatty or calcium deposits have narrowed a patient's coronary arteries.
A new low-dose abdominal computed tomography (CT) technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) can reduce the radiation dose associated with abdominal CT scans by 23-66 percent, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). Abdominal CT scans are typically used to help diagnose the cause of abdominal or pelvic pain and diseases of the internal organs, bowel, and colon.
A pay-for-performance (PFP) program implemented at one of the nation's largest general hospitals appeared to have a marked effect on expediting final radiology report turnaround times (RTAT), improving patient care, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org).
Although the medical community has already accepted that colorectal cancer (CRC) screening is cost effective and saves lives, researchers have found that computed tomography colonography (CTC or virtual colonoscopy) not only identifies CRC but also doubles the yield of identifying significant early extracolonic (outside the colon) lesions, resulting in lives saved, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org).
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which is highly accurate at detecting soft-tissue abnormalities, may serve a role in detecting suspected child abuse in infants, according to a study in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org). Whole-body MRI does not use ionizing radiation, but employs a magnetic field, radio frequency pulses, and a computer to produce detailed images of organs, soft tissues, bone, and virtually all other internal body structures.
CHICAGO – While most frequently associated with women's health, age-related hormone changes, often dubbed menopause, can occur in men as well, causing symptoms of fatigue, mood swings, decreased desire for sex, hair loss, lack of concentration and weight gain. Experts estimate that more than 5 million men are affected, yet worry the number may be considerably higher since symptoms are frequently ignored.
The DNA genomes of organisms whose cells possess nuclei are packaged in a highly characteristic fashion. Most of the DNA is tightly wrapped around protein particles called nucleosomes, which are connected to each other by flexible DNA segments, like pearls on a necklace. This arrangement plays a major role in deciding which genes are actively expressed, and thus which proteins can be synthesized in a given cell.
A comprehensive study of pollutants in a major Chesapeake Bay tributary revealed troublesome levels of nitrogen and copper that could flow into the Bay, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists and their cooperators.