WORCESTER, Mass.— The ability to combat some age-related diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, may rest with scientists unlocking clues about the molecular and cellular processes governing aging. The underlying theory is that if the healthy portion of an individual's life span can be extended, it may delay the onset of certain age-related diseases.
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Anyone who has seen teosinte, the wild grass from which maize (corn) evolved, might be forgiven for assuming many genetic changes underlie the transformation of one plant to the other.
However, a method for exploring the genetics of domestication called Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) mapping has revealed that only modest modifications are needed to convert a wild plant to a crop plant. Some major transitions in phenotype can even be achieved by a single genetic change.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Overweight and moderately obese postmenopausal women using diets based on higher protein intake also need to be aware of potential bone loss, according to new research from Purdue University.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A Purdue University researcher can better retrieve specific proteins needed to study how cancer cells form by using a newly developed technique and synthetic nanopolymer.
W. Andy Tao, an assistant professor of biochemistry, said proteins can be mapped and analyzed to find ways to inhibit the processes that lead to cancer. But first those few proteins must be fished out of a sea of thousands of others.
FAIRFAX, Va.—The Society of Interventional Radiology, with the support of 41 international societies representing 10,000 interventional radiology doctors, has issued the first global statement defining interventional radiology—one designed to benefit medical treatment for individuals. The statement addresses the evolution, impact and future direction of this minimally invasive specialty, emphasizing the worldwide availability of this specialized medical care.
Middle-aged men and women with osteoarthritis of the knee now have more options than ever before for treatments that may allow them to remain active in the sports they love, according to a review published in the July 2010 issue of of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS).
A common test to diagnose gestational diabetes -- a temporary condition which can harm both mother and child if left untreated -- also has predictive power for Type II adult-onset diabetes, a new Tel Aviv University study finds.
As part of the only U.S. prospective multicenter clinical trial to compare natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (NOTES) to laparoscopy, surgeons at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have performed the trial's first oral gallbladder removal. This landmark study will evaluate whether or not NOTES is safe and as effective as traditional laparoscopic surgery.
OAK BROOK, Ill., July 7, 2010 – The Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research® (NOSCAR®), a joint effort of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) and the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES), announces the completion of the first transoral and transvaginal cholecystectomies (gallbladder removal) using Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery® (NOTES®) in a multicenter human trial in the United States.
Increasing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) treatment for people with HIV/AIDS will provide significant cost savings over a relatively short period of time, according to a formal economic analysis led by researchers at the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) at Providence Health Care and the University of British Columbia (UBC).
WASHINGTON, July 7—Advanced imaging technologies that promise to improve the development of effective drugs to treat lung cancer are the focus of the current special issue of Optics Express (http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe), an open-access journal published by the Optical Society (OSA).
All proteins self-assemble in a fraction of the blink of an eye, but it can take a long time to mimic the process. And there has been no guarantee of success, even with the most powerful computers – until now.
Rice University researchers have come up with a computer program to accurately simulate protein folding dramatically faster than previous methods. It will allow scientists to peer deeper into the roots of diseases caused by proteins that fold incorrectly.
BETHESDA, Md., July 6, 2010 – It's safe to say that cilia, the hairlike appendages jutting out from the smooth surfaces of most mammalian cells, have long been misunderstood – underestimated, even.
New findings reported in the July issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, are offering new leads as to why some people might suffer from high levels of triglycerides. High triglycerides are a risk factor for atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. They can also lead to inflammation of the pancreas, the researchers said.
ATLANTA – July 7, 2010 – The continued drop in overall cancer mortality rates over the last 20 years has averted more than three-quarters of a million (767,000) cancer deaths according to a new report from the American Cancer Society. The American Cancer Society's annual Cancer Statistics article reports that the overall death rate from cancer in the United States in 2007 was 178.4 per 100,000, a relative decrease of 1.3 percent from 2006, when the rate was 180.7 per 100,000, continuing a trend that began in 1991 for men and 1992 for women.