Body

ITHACA, NY-- When gardeners look at a petunia, they see the vibrant and versatile blooms of the most popular bedding plant in the U.S. But when plant scientists look at a petunia, they see an important model plant species--one that just became more useful with the release of its parents' genomes.

Psychological characteristics link genes with upward social mobility, according to data collected from almost 1000 individuals over four decades. The data suggest that various psychological factors play a role in linking a person's genetic profile and several important life outcomes, including professional achievement, financial security, geographic mobility, and upward social mobility.

The findings are published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

Leesburg, VA, June 6, 2016-- A Japanese retrospective study that reviewed the CT data of 50 emphysema patients found that ultralow-dose CT (ULDCT) can substitute for standard-dose CT (SDCT) in disease quantification if both iterative reconstruction (IR) and filtered back projection are used.

The study, titled "Emphysema Quantification Using Ultralow-Dose CT with Iterative Reconstruction and Filtered Back Projection," was published in the June 2016 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteria are the leading cause of skin, soft tissue and several other types of infections. Staph is also a global public threat due to the rapid rise of antibiotic-resistant strains, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA. Yet Staph also commonly colonize our nasal passages and other body sites without harm.

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) scientists have taken the first steps toward developing a treatment that would make bone marrow - blood stem cell - transplantation safer and, as a result, more widely available to the millions of people living with blood disorders like sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, and AIDS.

Human well being often flourishes under conditions of cooperation with others and flounders during periods of external conflict and strife.

According to Athena Aktipis, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute, microbes within the body--collectively known as the microbiota--also engage in cooperative and combative behavior with human cells in their environment. This is particularly true in the human gut, where many trillions of them exist in the digestive tract in communities of bewildering diversity.

Spiders have helped researchers from Australia and the US discover a new target for irritable bowel syndrome pain.

The international research team -- involving researchers from The University of Queensland (UQ) and the University of Adelaide -- used spider venom to identify a specific protein involved in transmitting mechanical pain, which is the type of pain experienced by patients with irritable bowel syndrome.

OAK BROOK, Ill. - Fatty acids in the breast may be useful indicators of cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a new study published online in the journal Radiology. The results may help researchers determine the underlying mechanisms behind breast cancer development in some patients.

The role of fat in breast cancer development and growth has been studied extensively using body mass index (BMI) and dietary fat intake.

Ann Arbor, MI, June 7, 2016 - An extensive, long-term study of Danish children followed into adulthood shows that moving to a new home during childhood increases the likelihood of multiple adverse outcomes later in life. This unique residential mobility study of 1.4 million people tracked from their 15th birthdays until their early forties appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

The presence of high saturated fatty acids in breast tissue may be a useful indicator of cancer in postmenopausal women, according to a new study by researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center, published online June 7 in Radiology, a journal of the Radiological Society of North America.

Women are almost twice as likely to experience anxiety as men, according to a review of existing scientific literature, led by the University of Cambridge. The study also found that people from Western Europe and North America are more likely to suffer from anxiety than people from other cultures.

The review, published today in the journal Brain and Behavior, also highlighted how anxiety disorders often provide a double burden on people experiencing other health-related problems, such as heart disease, cancer and even pregnancy.

A new drug that harnesses the immune system to attack tumors is highly effective against advanced bladder cancer, according to the results of an international clinical trial to be presented June 5 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

ABSTRACT: 4501

The immune checkpoint blockade drug nivolumab reduced tumor burden in 24.4 percent of patients with metastatic bladder cancer, regardless of whether their tumors had a biomarker related to the drug's target, according to clinical trial results from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. The study will be presented Sunday, June 5, 2016 at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

ABSTRACT: 3503

In the first-ever clinical trial for metastatic patients previously treated for the disease, research led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that the immune checkpoint blockade nivolumab shows promise for the majority of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the anal canal (SCCA).

ABSTRACTS: 5506, 5502, 1506

Advances that could change gynecologic cancer standard-of-care treatments are the centerpiece of key studies being presented by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Department of Gynecologic Oncology and Reproductive Medicine at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Combining Targeted Cancer Therapies Everolimus and Letrozole with Diabetes Drug Metformin Shows Clinical Benefits for Advanced/Recurrent Endometrial Cancer