Body

Every cancer starts with a single cell, and Jackson Laboratory (JAX) researchers have found a precise and reliable way -- whole-genome profiling of open chromatin -- to identify the kind of cell that leads to a given case of leukemia, a valuable key to cancer prognosis and outcome.

INDIANAPOLIS - Cancer centers promoting their services dramatically increased their advertising spending from 2005 to 2014, with the bulk of the spending by for-profit organizations, according to the results of a study published Monday.

Researchers at Indiana University School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health reported that 890 cancer centers spent $173 million for advertising in 2014, and just 20 centers accounted for 86 percent of the spending.

Washington, DC - July 11, 2016 - For the second time, a clinical isolate of a bacterial pathogen has been detected in humans in the United States which carries the colistin resistance gene, mcr-1. This may also be the first case to show up in the US. That would be concerning because plasmids, genetic elements that are independent of the host genome, often jump between different bacterial species, spreading any resistance genes they carry.

A comprehensive investigation of the underlying genetic architecture of type 2 diabetes has unveiled the most detailed look at the genetic differences that heighten a person's risk for disease development.

The findings, published today in the journal Nature by an international team of more than 300 scientists led by the University of Oxford, the Broad Institute, and the University of Michigan, reveal the complexity of the disease in more detail than previously appreciated, but also identify several promising targets for new treatments.

Children who suck their thumbs or bite their nails may be less likely to develop allergies, according to a new study from New Zealand's University of Otago.

The finding emerges from the long-running Dunedin Multidisciplinary Study, which has followed the progress of 1,037 participants born in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1972-1973 into adulthood.

The study, which appears in the August issue of the US journal Pediatrics, suggests that childhood exposure to microbial organisms through thumb-sucking and nail-biting reduces the risk of developing allergies.

Researchers from the University of Birmingham and hospitals across the West Midlands have revealed how a common symptomless condition can develop into the blood cancer myeloma.

They discovered that changes in the bone marrow needed for the cancer to grow have already taken hold in the preceding condition, raising the possibility that early medical intervention could prevent this incurable type of cancer from taking root.

The research, which was funded by the blood cancer charity Bloodwise, is published today in the journal Leukemia.

With drug-resistant strains of sexually-transmitted infection gonorrhoeae increasing, scientists from Brighton, Oxford University and Public Health England have found that genetic sequencing can track the spread of infection. They show coordinated national and international strategies are required to stop drug-resistance spreading further.

ANN ARBOR--New research from a large international team of scientists offers a more complete picture of the genes responsible for type 2 diabetes, demonstrating that previously identified common alleles shared by many in the world are the biggest culprits--not the less common variants some scientists had hypothesized might play a large role in who gets the disease.

Some individuals remain at high risk for developing cardiovascular disease even after preventative treatment with cholesterol-lowering medications. This persistent risk has been linked to triglyceride levels, which can remain elevated in spite of substantially lowered LDL, the form of cholesterol associated with heart disease. Triglyceride concentrations are highly correlated to levels of apolipoprotein C-III (ApoC-III), suggesting that ApoC-III may be a potential target for controlling triglyceride levels.

University of California, Berkeley paleontologists have identified distinctive features of primate teeth that allow them to track the evolution of our ape and monkey ancestors, shedding light on a mysterious increase in monkey species that occurred during a period of climate change 8 million years ago.

The inherited dental features will also help the researchers track down the genes that control tooth development, assisting scientists intent on regrowing rather than replacing teeth.

Hamilton, ON July 11, 2016 -- Children who are thumb-suckers or nail-biters are less likely to develop allergic sensitivities, new research has found.

And, if they have both 'bad habits', they are even less likely to be allergic to such things as house dust mites, grass, cats, dogs, horses or airborne fungi.

The research, published in the journal Pediatrics today, was completed by researchers of New Zealand's Dunedin School of Medicine, assisted by professor Malcolm Sears of McMaster University's Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, and formerly from Dunedin.

DURHAM, N.C. -- In a first-ever study to identify how trauma affects gene expression among child soldiers, a Duke researcher and colleagues found resilience to be a key factor in determining individual response at the molecular level.

Researchers from the IAEA Insect Pest Control Laboratory in Vienna, Austria have employed near infrared still photographs and time-lapse video to observe the pupa of the living tsetse fly, and for the first time have watched its development into an adult.

Athens, Ga. - Folates can stimulate stem cell proliferation independently of their role as vitamins, according to a collaborative study from the University of Georgia and Tufts University, which used an in vitro culture and animal model system in their findings.

Folates, whether supplemental B vitamins or natural folates found in food, are essential for the proper functioning of all cells in the body and are critical to prevent birth defects.

As many as 24 assassin bugs new to science were discovered and described by Dr. Guanyang Zhang and his colleagues. In their article, published in the open access Biodiversity Data Journal, they describe the new insects along with treating another 47 assassin bugs in the same genus. To do this, the scientists examined more than 10,000 specimens, coming from both museum collections and newly undertaken field trips.