Conception/Leipzig. Even the snow on Aconcagua Mountain in the Andes is polluted with PCBs. An international team of researchers detected low concentrations of these toxic, carcinogenic chlorine compounds in samples taken from America's highest mountain. The snow samples taken at an altitude of 6200 metres are among the highest traces found anywhere in the world of these substances, which have been banned since 2001. In particular, the samples contained more persistent compounds like hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 138) and heptachlorobiphenyl (PCB 180).
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When a baby is born, new parents often wonder, "Will he be the next President of the United States?" or "Could she be the one to find a cure for cancer?" But the underlying question for many specialists is, "Is this child 'at risk' for developmental issues?"
After suffering heart attacks, patients often receive stents designed to hold their arteries open. Some of these stents release drugs that are meant to halt tissue growth in arteries, but can have life-threatening side effects such as increasing the likelihood of blood clots and heart attacks.
Now a team of researchers in the MIT-Harvard Division of Health Sciences and Technology has developed a computer model that explains why those drugs (which include rapamycin and its analogs as well as paclitaxel) can accumulate in the arteries and cause blood clots.
Gingivitis, which may affect more than one-half of the U.S. adult population, is a condition commonly attributed to lapses in simple oral hygiene habits. However, a new study shows that development and reversal of gingivitis at the molecular level is apparently much more complicated than its causes might indicate.
Ostrich eggshell (OES) beads from SDG site reflect primordial art and a kind of symbolic behavior of modern humans. Two different manufacturing pathways are usually used in the manufacture of OES beads in Upper Paleolithic. Pathway 1 is identified from these collections; blanks are drilled prior to being trimmed to rough discs. Based on stratigraphic data and OSL dating, these ostrich eggshell beads are probably in Early Holocene ( 10 ka BP).
Although bone marrow transplants have long been standard for acute leukemia, current treatments still rely on exact matches between donor and patient. Now, scientists at the University of Perugia, Italy, and the Weizmann Institute of Science have improved on a method of transplanting bone marrow-based stem cells from a mismatched donor, making it safer for use when no exact match exists. They were invited to present their findings at the recent annual American Society of Hematology conference in New Orleans.
Men who have a history of delinquency in childhood are more likely to die or become disabled by the time they are 48, and not just from the obvious consequences of antisocial behaviour, new research indicates.
The UK study, published in the December issue of the Journal of Public Health, is the first to examine how a wide range of early antisocial behaviours, as well as parental factors, affect various health outcomes 40 years later.
Surgeons who successfully performed kidney transplants after removing small cancerous and benign masses from the donated organs, have published their results in the December issue of the urology journal BJUI.
The technique, carried out by US surgeons at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, could offer a vital lifeline to patients with end-stage renal disease as well as increasing the supply of viable organs.
(NEW ORLEANS, December 6, 2009) – Sickle cell disease, a condition characterized by deformed and dysfunctional red blood cells, is one of the most common genetic blood disorders affecting millions of people around the world, including more than 70,000 Americans (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Facts About Sickle Cell Anemia. Available at: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/blood/sickle/sca_fact.pdf).
A pregnant woman's exposure to microbes may protect her child from developing allergies later in life. Researchers in Marburg, Germany find that exposure to environmental bacteria triggers a mild inflammatory response in pregnant mice that renders their offspring resistant to allergies. The study will be published online on December 7, 2009 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine (www.jem.org).
Certain genes switch their nuclear position in tumor cells, offering a potential new method of diagnosing cancer, say researchers from the National Cancer Institute. The study by Meaburn et al. will be published online December 7, 2009 (www.jcb.org) and in the December 14, 2009 print issue of the Journal of Cell Biology (JCB).
Infection with the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, causes more life-threatening complications than seasonal flu in children with sickle cell disease, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center. The findings, to be presented on Dec. 7 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, warn parents and caregivers that such children are more likely to need emergency treatment and stays in an intensive-care unit.
NEW ORLEANS ― A first-in-its class oral medication provides significant and durable relief for patients with a rare, debilitating and lethal bone marrow disorder called myelofibrosis, researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reported today at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
Researchers from Yale University and Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., reversed the growth of lung tumors in mice using a naturally occurring tumor suppressor microRNA. The study reveals that a tiny bit of RNA may one day play a big role in cancer treatment, and provides hope for future patients battling one of the most prevalent and difficult to treat cancers.
Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered a technique that is able to determine whether a child has obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) or habitual snoring by screening their urine.