Facebook figures out that you know Holly, although you haven't seen her in 10 years, because you have four mutual friends -- a good predictor of direct friendship. But sometimes Facebook gets it wrong. "Hey, I don't know Harry!"
Body
In fatal cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza, the virus can damage cells throughout the respiratory airway, much like the viruses that caused the 1918 and 1957 influenza pandemics, report researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner. The scientists reviewed autopsy reports, hospital records and other clinical data from 34 people who died of 2009 H1N1 influenza infection between May 15 and July 9, 2009. All but two of the deaths occurred in New York City.
A new genetic approach to treating sickle cell disease is showing promising results in mice, report researchers from Children's Hospital Boston. By inactivating a gene they previously discovered to be important in the laboratory, they were able to boost production of a healthy fetal form of hemoglobin in the mice, potentially compensating for the defective adult hemoglobin that causes red blood cells to "sickle" and obstruct blood flow.
Genetic variations indicate risk of recurrence, secondary cancer among head and neck cancer patients
HOUSTON - Eighteen single-point genetic variations indicate risk of recurrence for early-stage head and neck cancer patients and their likelihood of developing a second type of cancer, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported at the American Association for Cancer Research Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference.
A new study shows that people who have been infected with West Nile virus may have persistent virus in their kidneys for years after initial infection, potentially leading to kidney problems. The research, which appears in the January 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, is now available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/648731).
TORONTO, December 7, 2009 - Deaths from opioid use in Ontario have doubled—from 13.7 deaths per million residents in 1991 to 27.2 deaths per million residents in 2004—according to a new study led by physicians at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto.
Researchers also found that the addition of a long-acting form of oxycodone (OxyContin) to the province's drug formulary in January 2000 corresponded with a five-fold increase in oxycodone-related deaths.
INDIANAPOLIS – Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern and Case Western University have determined how the protein Mdm2, which is elevated in late-stage cancers, disables genes that suppress the growth of tumors. The finding may lead to the development of new drugs for late stage breast cancer and other difficult to treat malignancies.
NEW YORK (December 7, 2009)—The Wildlife Conservation Society today released a list of animals facing new impacts by climate change, some in strange and unexpected ways.
In a new report titled "Species Feeling the Heat: Connecting Deforestation and Climate Change," the Wildlife Conservation Society profiles more than a dozen animal species and groups that are facing threats due to climate change impacts including: changing land and sea temperatures; shifting rain patterns; exposure to new pathogens and disease; and increased threats of predation.
Nanoscale machines expected to have wide application in industry, energy, medicine and other fields may someday operate far more efficiently thanks to important theoretical discoveries concerning the manipulation of famous Casimir forces that took place at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory.
Deaths from opioid use in Ontario, Canada, have doubled since 1991 and the addition of long-acting oxycodone to the drug formulary was associated with a 5-fold increase in oxycodone-related deaths, found a new study http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj090784.pdf in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca. Most of these additional deaths were accidental.
TORONTO, December 7, 2009 - Deaths from opioid use in Ontario have doubled—from 13.7 deaths per million residents in 1991 to 27.2 deaths per million residents in 2004—according to a new study led by physicians at St. Michael's Hospital and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) in Toronto.
Researchers also found that the addition of a long-acting form of oxycodone (OxyContin) to the province's drug formulary in January 2000 corresponded with a five-fold increase in oxycodone-related deaths.
ROCHESTER, Minn. -- Mayo Clinic researchers have proven the longstanding theory that changes in the number of whole chromosomes -- called aneuploidy -- can cause cancer by eliminating tumor suppressor genes. Their findings, which appear in the current issue of the journal Cancer Cell along with an independent commentary on the discovery, end a major controversy in the field of cancer research as to whether aneuploidy is a cause or a consequence of cancer.
NEW ORLEANS ― Two medications approved as treatment for drug-resistant chronic myeloid leukemia continue to provide patients with quicker, better responses as a first treatment than the existing front-line drug, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
Pediatric researchers have found that a gene already implicated in the development of type 2 diabetes in adults also raises the risk of being overweight during childhood. The finding sheds light on the genetic origins of diabetes and may present an avenue for developing drugs to counteract the disease, which has been on the upswing in childhood and adolescence.
Researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine published the study Nov. 23 in the online version of the journal Diabetes.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The high-intensity exercise performed by college football linemen does not protect them from obesity, related health problems and the potential for cardiovascular disease later in life, new research suggests.
In an assessment of 90 collegiate football players from a single Division I team, only offensive and defensive linemen were deemed obese because they had 25 percent or more body fat.