Culture
Researchers at Harvard Medical School and EMBL-EBI have carried out the largest analysis across cancer types of the newly discovered mutational phenomenon chromothripsis. This study is the largest of its kind to date, containing whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data from over 2600 tumours spanning 38 different types of cancer.
Chromothripsis
The discovery of genetic drivers of cancer can have critical implications for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer patients, yet genome analysis has focused primarily on only 1-2% of the whole genome - the part that contains the code for making proteins. What about the rest? Does it also play a role in driving the disease?
As part of the Pan-Cancer project, scientists have analysed whole-genome sequencing data. To do this, the scientists had to develop new statistical methods suitable for analysing the non-coding genome.
How can human cells pack 3-meter-long DNA into their tiny nuclei and unpack it only where and when it is needed? This fascinating process is far from being completely understood.
With water scarcity intensifying, wastewater treatment and reuse are gaining popularity. But some methods for killing microbes in wastewater create disinfection byproducts (DBPs) that could be harmful to human health. Now researchers have found that ozone treatment and subsequent chlorination can convert trace amounts of some pharmaceuticals in wastewater into DBPs called halonitromethanes. They report their results in Environmental Science & Technology.
Research Highlights:
Heart-healthy lifestyle habits are always recommended whether blood pressure or cholesterol medications are prescribed or not, yet many patients let healthy habits slip after starting the prescription drugs.
In a Finnish study, people who started blood pressure or cholesterol medications were more likely to gain weight and exercise less compared to those who didn't take these medications.
Researchers at ETH Zurich and ETH spin-off Inositec have developed a new substance to prevent vascular calcification, which affects many patients suffering from chronic kidney disease. As their metabolism is impaired, calcium salts may deposit in soft tissues, such as blood vessels or even the heart valves, causing them to stiffen. This often leads to severe, potentially fatal cardiovascular diseases. However, before patients can benefit from the substance further research and tests must be carried out.
Higher levels of mercury in the blood were linked with a higher prevalence of non-melanoma skin cancer, the most common human malignancy, in a study published in the British Journal of Dermatology.
Self-perception of aging--or attitudes toward one's aging experience--may affect older individuals' risk of dying early after being diagnosed with cancer, according to results from a study published in Cancer Medicine.
New research published in Health Economics indicates that after US states passed medical marijuana laws, workers' compensation claims declined.
The results indicate that medical marijuana may allow workers to better manage symptoms associated with workplace injuries and illnesses and, in turn, reduce the need for workers' compensation. The reductions in workers' compensation claims after states passed medical marijuana laws were very modest, however.
Mindfulness meditation with a focus on nonjudgment of emotions may help perfectionists recover from stress, according to a study published in Psychophysiology.
The study used high frequency heart rate variability to measure recovery from stress during mindfulness meditation sessions in 120 university students who scored high on a screening tool for perfectionism--the need to be or appear perfect.
Bees are an important factor for our environment and our sustenance. Without insect pollination, many plant species - including various crops - cannot reproduce. "Bee mortality therefore affects food supply for human beings," stated Professor Sara Leonhardt, who specializes in plant-insect interactions. All of the worldwide more than 20,000 bee species need to be considered. Among these, bumble bees are of particular importance besides the famous honey bee.
Since the 1980s, the all-cause mortality rate in the U.S for rural residents has exceeded that of urban dwellers. In a recently completed study, researchers from the F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) sought to determine why this disparity exists in general, and why specifically this imbalance varies so much between states.
Microbiological communities, which include bacteria, single-celled organisms and nematodes, reveal a great deal of information about the state of soils. All around the world, a lot of research is being performed on this biodiversity at a genetic level but third parties are not always able to put these research results to the best possible use. The reason for this: The information recorded in databases varies in terms of quality.
Some of the first biological evidence of the incongruence transgender individuals experience, because their brain indicates they are one sex and their body another, may have been found in estrogen receptor pathways in the brain of 30 transgender individuals.
Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner, have spotted a peculiar gas cloud that resulted from a confrontation between two stars. One star grew so large it engulfed the other which, in turn, spiralled towards its partner provoking it into shedding its outer layers.