Body

PHILADELPHIA--(March 22, 2016)--In many cases, targeted therapies for cancer are preferred as treatments over chemotherapy and surgery because they attack and kill cancer cells with specific tumor-promoting mutations while sparing healthy, normal cells that do not express these mutations. In clinical trials, a heavy emphasis on the effects of targeted therapies on tumor cells has been explored, but the effects they have on the immune system have not been thoroughly investigated.

WASHINGTON, DC - March 22, 2016 - Contact lenses may alter the natural microbial community of the eyes, according to a study published this week in mBio®, an online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

Scientists from the University of Leeds have solved a 25-year-old question about how a family of proteins allow bacteria to resist the effects of certain antibiotics.

Proteins of the ABC-F protein family are a major source of antibiotic resistance in 'superbugs' such as Staphylococcus aureus, a group of bacteria that includes MRSA.

Some species of plants are capable of colonising new habitats thanks to birds that transport their seeds in their plumage or digestive tract. Until recently it was known that birds could do this over short distances, but a new study shows that they are also capable of dispersing them over more than 300 kilometres. For researchers, this function could be key in the face of climate change, allowing the survival of many species.

Research A new scientific study shows that long-term recreational football training produces a number of marked improvements in health profile for 63-75 year old untrained men -- including a reduced risk of developing cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.The research project was carried out at the Copenhagen Centre for Team Sport and Health at Copenhagen University, and the findings have just been published in the international journal PLOS ONE.

DURHAM, N.C. - Most high-risk lung cancer patients might not need annual low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screenings if they are cleared of disease in their initial test, according to a study led by a Duke Cancer Institute researcher.

The researchers found that even former heavy smokers appear to have a reduced incidence of lung cancer if their initial LDCT screening is negative, suggesting that less frequent screening might be warranted.

A spot of sunshine is all it could take to get your washing done, thanks to pioneering nano research into self-cleaning textiles.

Researchers at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a cheap and efficient new way to grow special nanostructures -- which can degrade organic matter when exposed to light -- directly onto textiles.

The work paves the way towards nano-enhanced textiles that can spontaneously clean themselves of stains and grime simply by being put under a light bulb or worn out in the sun.

Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München, a partner in the German Center for Lung Research, have observed that the immunoproteasome inhibits the repair function of alveolar macrophages. This opens up new therapeutic options. A specific inhibition of the immunoproteasome may promote healing processes of the lung. The results have now been published in the journal Cell Death & Differentiation.

Vegans adhere to nutrition recommendations in varying degrees, according to a new Finnish study. Some vegans who participated in the study followed a balanced diet, while others had dietary deficiencies. Typical deficiencies were an unbalanced use of protein sources, a low intake of berries, fruits and nuts, as well as failure to use nutrient fortified food products. The majority, however, used vitamin B12 and D supplements and calcium-fortified drinks as recommended. The findings were published in PLOS ONE.

Creating and maintaining a biodiversity data collection has been a much-needed worldwide exercise for years, yet there is no single standard on how to do this. This has led to a myriad of datasets often incompatible with each other.

For some fish, it makes more sense to swim around with those that share their taste in food - and smell similar in the process - than to shoal with members of their own species. That is among the findings of a study led by Tanja Kleinhappel of the University of Lincoln in the UK, in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. It highlights the role that chemical cues might play in creating familiarity and group bonds between members of different species.

In previous research, it was suggested that adaptation of an animal to different factors looks like spending of one resource and that the animal dies when this resource is exhausted. In 1938, Hans Selye introduced "adaptation energy" and found strong experimental arguments in favour of this hypothesis. However, this term has caused much debate because, as it cannot be measured as a physical quantity, adaptation energy is not strictly energy.

A transition is a physical move from one location to another with a stay of at least one night. For older adults, especially those with dementia, some transitions may be unavoidable and necessary. However, unnecessary transitions are linked to problems such as medication errors, hospital readmissions, and increased risk of death.

Person-centered care puts individual values and preferences at the heart of healthcare decisions, measuring success by focusing attention on people's health and life goals.

A parasitic flatworm that infects hundreds of millions of people in the developing world is able to survive in the bloodstream for decades by constantly renewing its skin - a mechanism that could inform potential new treatments against infection.

Much like its free-living relatives, the flatworm Schistosoma mansoni has a population of stem cells known as neoblasts that are capable of self-renewal, but the function of these cells was previously unknown.