Body

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have identified a common ancestral gene that enabled the evolution of advanced life over a billion years ago.

The gene, found in all complex organisms, including plants and animals, encodes for a large group of enzymes known as protein kinases that enabled cells to be larger and to rapidly transfer information from one part to another.

CHICAGO --- For women suffering from stage-4 breast cancer, there is a new treatment plan that, according to a recent Northwestern Medicine clinical trial, is highly effective and has minimal toxicity. The treatment includes a drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

A combination of two drugs delays progression of advanced, aggressive breast cancer by an average of nine months - working in all subsets of the most common type of breast cancer.

The combination - of a first-in-class targeted drug called palbociclib, and the hormone drug fulvestrant - slowed cancer growth in around two thirds of women with advanced forms of the most common type of breast cancer.

A clinical trial led by researchers from University of the Pacific and David Grant Medical Center adds to the evidence that energy drinks may be bad for your heart. Results of the study will be presented today at a meeting of the American Heart Association in Phoenix, Arizona.

DETROIT - A Henry Ford Hospital finds that hypothermia, a relatively common but unintentional occurrence during surgery, is associated with an increased risk for infection in patients who undergo surgery to repair a hip fracture.

Researchers theorize that advancing age and lower body mass index (BMI) may be linked to the hypothermia.

A large clinical trial to assess the benefits or otherwise of inducing labour in pregnant women of 35 years or older has found there was no significant effect on the rate of caesarean sections and no adverse effect on the mother and newborn baby.

The large, randomised, controlled study was carried out by researchers in Nottingham with the help of around 600 older first time mothers from all over the UK. It was designed to explore whether induction is an effective obstetric intervention that is currently being underused.

To reduce risk of heart attack, the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are clear. But genetics can still stack the deck. Some people's genes bestow a natural advantage -- or disadvantage -- in protecting against heart disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.

UCLA researchers have found that doctors can use a specific antibiotic in addition to surgically draining an abscess to give people a better chance of recovery. The discovery turns on its head the long-held notion that surgical drainage alone is sufficient for treating abscesses.

The findings are particularly important because of the emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which since 2000 has become the most common cause of skin infections -- initially in the U.S. and now in many other parts of the world.

Adult stem cells provide the body with a reservoir from which damaged or used up tissues can be replenished. In organs like the intestines and skin, which need constant rejuvenating, these stem cells are dividing frequently. But in other body structures, including the hair follicles, they are held in a quiescent state--one in which they don't reproduce until they receive signals from their surroundings that it's time to regenerate.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Chemicals used as flame retardants that are potentially harmful to humans are found in hair, toenails and fingernails, according to new research from Indiana University.

The discovery of an easily available biomarker should ease the way for further research to determine the human impact of chemicals commonly found in the environment, including in indoor dust, water and air.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 2, 2016) - A new study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing's Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR) shows that patients, who undergo elective hip and knee surgery in hospitals with inadequate nurse staffing and poor nurse work environments, are more likely to require re-hospitalization. The results are set for publication in a future issue of the International Journal for Quality in Health Care, but are available now online here.

HANOVER, N.H. - March 2, 2016 - When it comes to addressing disease, many industry observers and public health advocates believe that pharmaceutical companies prefer to invest in drugs rather than vaccines, as preventives are perceived to be inherently less profitable.

Breeding birds that nest above alligators for protection from mammalian predators may also provide a source of food for the alligators living in the Everglades, Florida, according to a study published March 2, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Lucas Nell from the University of Florida and colleagues.

A dragonfly barely an inch and a half long appears to be animal world's most prolific long distance traveler - flying thousands of miles over oceans as it migrates from continent to continent - according to newly published research.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Thirdhand smoke (THS) results when exhaled smoke gets on surfaces - clothing, hair, homes and cars. THS has been shown, in mice, to damage the liver and lungs, complicate wound-healing and cause hyperactivity. Add to this list now type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.