Body

Researchers long have known that some portion of the risk of developing cancer is hereditary and that inherited genetic errors are very important in some tumors but much less so in others.

In a new analysis, researchers have shed light on these hereditary elements across 12 cancer types -- showing a surprising inherited component to stomach cancer and providing some needed clarity on the consequences of certain types of mutations in well-known breast cancer susceptibility genes, BRCA1 and BRCA2.

In our competitive global society, successful and economical design of automotive and industrial structures is crucial. Optimizing the geometry of individual pieces of complex machines improves performance and efficiency of the entire device.

A new study shows that a surgical treatment can be effective for treating Peyronie’s disease, a disorder that leads to scarring and shortening of the penis.

After undergoing surgery involving a “sliding technique” and penile prosthesis implantation, 28 patients experienced an average penile lengthening of 3.2 cm. In questionnaires relating to erectile dysfunction, scores improved significantly at various times points after surgery, indicating improvements in function. The study is the first multi-center prospective study on the surgical technique.

Philadelphia, PA, December 22, 2015 - An article published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology reports that a commonly-used drug for the treatment of diabetes, metformin, may have the potential to prevent and treat preeclampsia. Metformin has long been used to treat diabetes in both non-pregnant and pregnant patients, and is considered safe during pregnancy.

Scientists have for the first time viewed how bacterial proteins self-assemble into thin sheets and begin to form the walls of the outer shell for nano-sized polyhedral compartments that function as specialized factories.

The research, led by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and Michigan State University in collaboration with the University of Liverpool, provides new clues for scientists seeking to use these 3-D structures as "nanoreactors" to selectively suck in toxins or churn out desired products.

The diversity of mammals on Earth exploded straight after the dinosaur extinction event, according to UCL researchers. New analysis of the fossil record shows that placental mammals, the group that today includes nearly 5000 species including humans, became more varied in anatomy during the Paleocene epoch - the 10 million years immediately following the event.

Almost three quarters of the weekend emergency care caseload is linked to excess alcohol intake, finds an activity analysis of one large inner city hospital in England, and published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.

Each case costs between £250 and £850 to treat, or £1 million every year, the analysis shows, indicating substantial costs for urban emergency care departments across the UK faced with similar demand, say the researchers.

A crackdown on Florida's "pill mills" - clinics dispensing large quantities of prescription painkillers often for cash-only and without proper medical examinations - appears to have dramatically reduced the number of overdose deaths in the state from these drugs and may have also led to a drop in heroin overdose deaths, new research suggests.

After observing that some gastrointestinal disease in premature human and mouse infants progresses only when certain immune system white blood cells go into inflammatory overdrive, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that giving large doses of vitamin A to mice converts those blood cells into inflammation suppressors and reduces the severity of the disease, compared to untreated mice.

The findings, which add to evidence of vitamin A's anti-inflammatory properties, are published online Dec. 21 in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Boston, MA -- Prohibiting runway models from participating in fashion shows or photo shoots if they are dangerously thin would go a long way toward preventing serious health problems among young women--including anorexia nervosa and death from starvation--according to experts from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Building upon previous research, scientists at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Moores Cancer report that a protein called Wnt5a acts on a pair of tumor-surface proteins, called ROR1 and ROR2, to accelerate the proliferation and spread of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cells, the most common form of blood cancer in adults.

BOSTON, MA - Most drivers admit to driving while drowsy. Twenty-eight percent of drivers have reported falling asleep while driving within the past year. More than 9.5 million Americans, or 15 percent of the workforce, work overnight or rotating shifts. Those who commute home after working the night shift may be at high risk for drowsy driving crashes because of disruption to their sleep-wake cycles and insufficient sleep during the night.

Dublin, December 21st, 2015 - Scientists are using a 'botanical big data' approach to predict how different plant species will respond to human-induced disturbances and environmental change in different ecosystems spanning the world's continents.

We are used to shops, websites and companies keeping track of our purchases, what we eat, whom we date, and even when and how we exercise. Keeping track of the most intimate details of life, death and reproduction should not be unique to human populations, though.

Controlling invasive plant species and planting to withstand extreme events could be the big winners from a new international study led by University of Queensland (UQ) researchers.

The study has developed an accurate framework to explain Earth's great diversity of plant growth forms, functions, and their ecological roles.

Lead author Dr Roberto Salguero-Gomez of UQ's School of Biological Sciences said the framework showed great promise to predict plant population responses to environmental change.

University of Exeter ecologist Dave Hodgson works with other academics to manage a plant database called COMPADRE that brings together demographic information about plant species. This database has been used to show plant life can be summarised into two variables: how fast the plant grows and its reproductive strategy.

Until now the reason for the enormous variation in the life history of plants was poorly understood, even though it is fundamental to the understanding of the evolution, abundance and distribution of species.