ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Chemotherapy added to tamoxifen can improve outcomes for postmenopausal breast cancer patients, according to a landmark study by the Southwest Oncology Group.
But a related study presented today at the 2009 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium finds that a multigene test on tumors can identify a subset of patients who may not benefit from that chemotherapy.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Name all the venomous animals you can think of and you probably come up with snakes, spiders, bees, wasps and perhaps poisonous frogs. But catfish?
A new study by University of Michigan graduate student Jeremy Wright finds that at least 1,250 and possibly more than 1,600 species of catfish may be venomous---far more than previously believed. The research is described in a paper published online Dec. 4 in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology.
A team of Princeton University scientists has produced a systematic listing of the ways a particular cancerous cell has "gone wrong," giving researchers a powerful tool that eventually could make possible new, more targeted therapies for patients.
KNOXVILLE, TN—New varieties of plants marketed as "disease-resistant" or "insect-resistant" are becoming more accessible to consumers. Available through local garden centers and catalogues, these attractive ornamentals often come with guarantees that offer amateur gardeners the promise of lower maintenance or the need for fewer pesticides.
HAMMOND, LA – Rapid population growth and urbanization have raised concerns over stormwater runoff contamination. Studies on watersheds indicate that excess nutrients, specifically nitrate–nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus are found in stormwater runoff in many new urban areas. These pollutants degrade water quality and have an impact on the downstream ecosystem by contributing to the growth and decomposition of oxygen-depleting microorganisms.
RALEIGH, NC –Vermicomposting, the practice of using earthworms to turn waste into nutrient-rich fertilizer, can be an economical, organic waste management practice. During vermicomposting, earthworms and microorganisms stabilize organic waste in an aerobic, moist environment. The resulting product, called vermicompost (VC), or worm castings, provides commercial and amateur growers an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional substrate additives for producing many varieties of container-grown plants.
DALLAS – Dec. 10, 2009 – Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that a molecule produced naturally by muscles in response to nerve damage can reduce symptoms and prolong life in a mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
"We believe we can apply this research toward drug development," said Dr. Eric Olson, chairman of molecular biology at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study, which appears in the Dec. 11 issue of Science.
Paleontologists, aided by amateur volunteers, have unearthed a previously unknown meat-eating dinosaur from a fossil bone bed in northern New Mexico, settling a debate about early dinosaur evolution, revealing a period of explosive diversification and hinting at how dinosaurs spread across the supercontinent Pangaea.
A live embargoed webcast with the scientists will be held in advance of publication for credentialed reporters on Dec. 9. See details below.
Scientists have discovered a signaling pathway that tuberculosis bacteria use to coerce disease-fighting cells to switch allegiance and work on their behalf. Epithelial cells line the airways and other surfaces to protect and defend the body. Tuberculosis bacteria co-opt these epithelial cells into helping create tubercles: the small, rounded masses characteristic of TB. The tubercles enable the bacteria to expand their numbers and spread to other locations.
It's no secret that the emissions leaving a car tailpipe or factory smokestack affect climate and air quality. Even trees release chemicals that influence the atmosphere. But until now, scientists have struggled to know where these organic molecules go and what happens to them once they leave their source, leading to models for predicting climate and air quality that are incomplete or less than accurate.
Several genome-wide studies of human genetic diversity have been conducted on European populations. Now, for the first time, these studies have been extended to 73 Southeast Asian (SEA) and East Asian (EA) populations.
BOULDER, Colo., December 10, 2009 – miRagen Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on improving patients' lives by developing innovative microRNA-based therapeutics for cardiovascular and muscle disease, today announced the publication of data demonstrating that microRNA-206 (miR-206) plays a crucial role in the progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) and in neuromuscular synaptic regeneration in mice.
PHILADELPHIA – Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have developed a new model of skin cancer based on the knowledge that a common cancer-related molecule called Src kinase is activated in human skin-cancer samples.
A new biological pathway by which the H1N1 flu virus can make the jump from swine to humans has been discovered by researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the University of California, Berkeley. Early test results indicate that a heretofore unknown mutation in one of the H1N1 genes may have played an important role in transmitting the virus into humans.
When given the chance to consume alcohol at will, fruit flies behave in ways that look an awful lot like human alcoholism. That's according to a study published online on December 10th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, that is one of the first to consider alcohol self-administration in the insects.