Body

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC -- James) have developed nanoparticles that swell and burst when exposed to near-infrared laser light.

Such 'nanobombs' might overcome a biological barrier that has blocked development of agents that work by altering the activity -- the expression -- of genes in cancer cells. The agents might kill cancer cells outright or stall their growth.

NEW YORK (December 3, 2015) - A new study says that more than 17,000 marine species worldwide remain largely unprotected, with the U.S. among the bottom in supporting formal marine protected areas (MPAs) that could safeguard marine biodiversity.

Putting people at the center of their own health care may seem intuitive, but it is an approach that is not widely practiced in the medical community. An interprofessional panel of eldercare experts convened by the American Geriatrics Society (AGS), in collaboration with the University of Southern California (USC) and with support from The SCAN Foundation, today released findings from a research project to better define 'person-centered care' and its key elements.

Burlingame, Calif. - The success of proteasome inhibitors such as VELCADE® (bortezomib) and Kyprolis® (carfilzomib) for the treatment of multiple myeloma has shown that protein homeostasis, which is how cells maintain a balance of protein synthesis and degradation, is a valid pathway for developing drugs to treat cancer. However, attacking the proteasome in solid tumors has not worked to date.

Gunshot violence is the leading cause of death among 10- to 24-year-old African American males and the second leading cause of death among 10- to 24-year-olds males overall in the United States. A new Penn Medicine study is the first to outline the details of how an individual's location and activities influence that risk.

Researchers at Linköping University's Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Sweden, have developed power paper -- a new material with an outstanding ability to store energy. The material consists of nanocellulose and a conductive polymer. The results have been published in Advanced Science.

One sheet, 15 centimetres in diameter and a few tenths of a millimetre thick can store as much as 1 F, which is similar to the supercapacitors currently on the market. The material can be recharged hundreds of times and each charge only takes a few seconds.

Researchers of Leuven University and VIB in Belgium have shown that the yeasts used to ferment cocoa during chocolate production can modify the aroma of the resulting chocolate. "The set of new yeast variants that we generated makes it possible to create a whole range of boutique chocolates to match everyone's favorite flavor, similar to wines, tea, and coffee" says Dr. Jan Steensels, one of the lead researchers involved in the project. The results were published November 20 in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, a publication of the American Society for Microbiology.

Hibernation is a state of energy conservation during which body temperature and metabolism are drastically reduced. If this state lasts longer than 24 hours, it is called hibernation. Shorter periods are called daily torpor. There are many mammals that hibernate. However, among primates hibernation is a rare capability, as it had been previously found in three species of lemurs only. Lemurs exclusively live on the island of Madagascar, where they hibernate during the dry season, mainly to conserve water.

Southeast Asian pygmy slow lorises regularly hibernate

Oxford, December 3, 2015 - A new method for making the material used for cleaning wastewater makes the production process greener - and 20 times faster. In a study published in Applied Materials Today, researchers show how using microwaves can reduce the temperature and pressure needed to make photocatalysts.

No organism is an island - a fact that also applies to plants. Healthy plants host complex microbial communities comprising over 100 bacterial species which presumably play important roles in plant growth and health. Plants allow access only to a select community of bacteria, designated the plant microbiota, that originate mainly from a vast diversity of microorganisms present in natural soil.

Berkeley -- Taking a deep breath might be a bit harder for children exposed early in life to a widely used class of pesticides in agriculture, according to a new paper by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

New research has revealed how a potentially useful predatory bacterium called Bdellovibrio protects itself against its own weapons when it invades other bacteria.

The study by the labs of Professor Liz Sockett and Dr Andrew Lovering at the Universities of Nottingham and Birmingham offers insights into early steps in the evolution of bacterial predators and will help to inform new ways to fight antimicrobial resistance. The research is published in Nature Communications.

Cancer cells that lie 'snoozing' in the skeleton can be awakened - or left to slumber on - by changes in the bone that surrounds them, Australian scientists have shown. In a world first, researchers from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research have used state-of-the-art microscopy techniques to watch cancer cells sleep within living bone over a period of months. They show that cancer cells can be 'woken up' when bone tissue is broken down around them, suggesting new possibilities for treating metastatic cancer in bone.

Researchers from the Houston Methodist Research Institute have isolated genetic signatures of some circulating tumor cells (CTCs) found in breast cancer, which one day may lead to a preventive treatment for metastatic cancer cells.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Researchers at the University of Michigan have identified a potential new approach to fertility preservation for young cancer patients that addresses concerns about beginning cancer treatment immediately and the possibility of reintroducing cancer cells during the fertility preservation process.

The work, done in mice, has potential to expand options for girls and women undergoing cancer treatments that may impact their future fertility.