Body

SEATTLE AND NEW ORLEANS - Precision medicine's public face is that of disease -- and better treatments for that disease through targeted therapies.

But precision medicine has an unsung partner that could affect the lives of many more people: Precision prevention -- a reflection of the growing realization that preventing cancer and other diseases may not be one-size-fits-all.

DALLAS - April 18, 2016 - A five-year study shows that Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy (SBRT) to treat prostate cancer offers a higher cure rate than more traditional approaches, according to researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Cancer is rarely the result of a single mutation in a single gene. Rather, tumors arise from the complex interplay between any number of mutually exclusive abnormal changes in the genome, the combinations of which can be unique to each individual patient. To better characterize the functional context of genomic variations in cancer, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and the Broad Institute developed a new computer algorithm they call REVEALER.

Chicago -Northwestern Medicine researchers are co-investigators in a breakthrough clinical trial that found transplanted human islets prevent hypoglycemic events and provide excellent glycemic control for patients with Type 1 diabetes with severe hypoglycemia. The results of the multi-center, single arm, phase III study are published in Diabetes Care on Monday, April 18.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (http://www.ucr.edu) -- A team of scientists has found that a species of ant that clusters together to form rafts to survive floods exhibits memory and repeatedly occupies the same position during raft formation, according to a just published paper.

The research shows that, like humans, ants work together to enhance their response to emergency situations with different members of the group carrying out different tasks.

(TORONTO, Canada - April 18, 2016) - An ingrained stigma attached to the label "palliative care" among cancer patients, families and healthcare providers impedes earlier access to supportive care that improves quality of life, shows new research from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ).

The term palliative care carries a stigma for patients and their caregivers, who regard it as synonymous with impending death. Education, and possibly a name change, will be necessary to be able to integrate palliative care into routine advanced cancer care, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

• Discovery could help researchers harness C4 photosynthesis process to boost rice yields and improve food security
• C4 plants grow between 20-100 per cent faster than C3 plants
• C4 plants grow 'cheaper' leaves which allows them to produce 50 per cent more roots than C3 species

Plants using C4 photosynthesis grow 20-100 per cent quicker than more common C3 plants by altering the shape, size and structure of their leaves and roots, according to a new study.

Scientists may have discovered a significant new diagnostic marker for liver cancer, according to a paper published in the April 18 online issue of Nature Cell Biology.

A study led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center found that a gene known as KHK (ketohexokinase or fructokinase) is expressed differently in normal liver tissues versus liver tumors. The findings reveal that liver cancer cells had a much reduced level of fructose metabolism versus healthy cells.

Gun hunting may be driving some of the most threatened primates toward extinction on Bioko Island off the coast of Africa, according to a new study by a team led by Drexel University researchers.

The research team found that as evidence of gun hunting increased, the abundance of the seven monkey species found on Bioko Island fell. Four of those species were determined to be especially vulnerable and unable to adapt to hunting.

For nearly a billion people around the world, cassava is a staple crop and a primary source of calories. The plant is easy to cultivate -- cuttings grow well on marginal land--and it is very tolerant of drought. For the U.S. Department of Energy, these traits and its starchy qualities make cassava of interest as a potential feedstock for biofuel production.

DURHAM, N.C. -- Antibiotic-resistant infections are a growing threat to public health, striking about 2 million Americans each year and killing at least 23,000 of them. Microbes are rapidly evolving resistance to existing drugs, making the need for newer, more potent antibiotics greater than ever.

SALT LAKE CITY, April 18, 2016 - By showing that a phenomenon dubbed the "inverse spin Hall effect" works in several organic semiconductors - including carbon-60 buckyballs - University of Utah physicists changed magnetic "spin current" into electric current. The efficiency of this new power conversion method isn't yet known, but it might find use in future electronic devices including batteries, solar cells and computers.

A new study found substantial variability in the use and appropriateness of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis for commonly performed operations at children's hospitals in the United States, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.

Some patients triaged as nonurgent in emergency departments (EDs) still received diagnostic services, had procedures performed and were admitted, including to critical care units, all of which could signal overuse, a lack of primary care physicians or a degree of uncertainty by patients and physicians, according to a new study published online by JAMA Internal Medicine.

Triaging patients prioritizes who most urgently needs to be seen in an ED and it is essential to providing care for the sickest patients.