Body

La Jolla, Calif., February 18, 2016 -- Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP) have found a key to enhancing repair of damaged muscle. In work published today in Cell Reports, scientists describe why fetal muscle stem cells (MuSCs) are better at regenerating muscle compared to adult MuSCs. The research opens the door for new approaches to treat muscle diseases including muscular dystrophies, which affect approximately 50,000 people in the U.S., and muscle wasting associated with cancer and aging.

The addition of chemotherapy (CT) to radiation therapy (RT) improves survival rates among a subset of elderly head and neck cancer patients, specifically those ages 71 to 79 with low comorbidity scores and advanced disease stage, according to University of Colorado Cancer Center research presented at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. While previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of combining CT with RT to improve survival for HNSCC patients, this improvement had not been shown in patients older than 70 years.

Eight-year study shows tiger population recovering in Thai sanctuary, the only location in Southeast Asia where tigers are confirmed to be increasing in number. 90 tigers identified Rigorous study is first ever of long-term tiger population dynamics in SE Asia

The immune system protects the body against cancer cells. The Elimination of cancer cells is an important task of NK cells. For NK cells to function properly, they require the activator STAT5.

As men age, their sexual function, vitality and strength can decline, but researchers had not yet established whether testosterone treatment is actually beneficial. Now, a team that included UF Health researchers has established testosterone's benefits in a study published yesterday (Feb. 17, 2016) in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers have discovered the two-step process that activates an essential human enzyme, called Suv39h1, which is responsible for organizing large portions of the DNA found in every living cell.

What helps her live longer might be harmful to him, according to a new study that may shed light on how and why organisms age.

Analyzing years of previous research on dietary and pharmaceutical tests on flies and mice, researchers showed that aging interventions can have opposite effects on mortality rates in males versus females. The findings appear consistent with data gathered on humans as well, says lead researcher John Tower of the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Davis School of Gerontology.

DURHAM, N.C. - Duke engineers have developed a technique to make artificial arteries that naturally produce biochemical signals vital to their functions. The technique is also ten times faster than current methods for tissue engineering of blood vessels.

Viruses are molecular thieves that take from their hosts under the cloak of darkness. But now a Virginia Tech scientist has found a way to not only track viral hijackers, but also potentially stop them from replicating.

The discovery has broad ranging applications in stopping viral outbreaks such as Hepatitis C in humans and a number of viruses in plants and animals because it applies to many viruses in the largest category of viral classes -- positive-strand RNA viruses.

The findings were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

PHILADELPHIA -- The increased cancer detection and reduced call backs associated with 3D mammography, also known as Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), can be maintained years after a patient's first DBT screening with regularly scheduled DBT imaging, according to a JAMA Oncology study published online today from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

Head and neck cancer patients who receive chemotherapy prior to radiation therapy (induction chemotherapy or IC) rather than the standard treatment that combines chemotherapy with radiation (chemoradiation or CRT) show no survival benefit and are less likely to receive a full course of radiation, according to research from the University of Colorado Cancer Center presented at the 2016 Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium. The study, which examined more than 8,000 patient records in the National Cancer Data Base, represents the largest comparative analysis of IC and CRT to date.

With the public under a seemingly constant barrage of nutritional information and advice, researchers are making headway at understanding how people make choices when shopping for food. New research aims to untangle the apparent disconnect between stated health concerns and actual food purchases.

Humans use the time delay between the arrival of a sound wave at each ear to discern the direction of the source. In frogs, lizards and birds the distance between the ears is too small. However, they have a cavity connecting the eardrums, in which internal and external sound waves are superimposed. Using a universal mathematical model, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now for the first time shown how new signals are created in this "inner ear" used by animals for localizing sounds.

A new study of breast cancer screening published online by JAMA Oncology suggests 3D digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) outcomes were sustainable with significant reduction in patient recall, increasing cancer cases per recalled patients and a decline in interval cancers. Emily F. Conant, M.D., of the University of Pennsylvania, and coauthors analyzed screening mammography metrics for all patients presenting for screening at an urban breast center over four years.

PHILADELPHIA -- The increased cancer detection and reduced call backs associated with 3D mammography, also known as Digital Breast Tomosynthesis (DBT), can be maintained years after a patient's first DBT screening with regularly scheduled DBT imaging, according to a JAMA Oncology study published online today from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.