Body

Complete surgical excision is the most effective treatment for breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma

The optimal treatment approach for most women with breast implant-associated anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (BI-ALCL) is complete surgical excision of the implant and surrounding capsule, according to an international study led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Tools developed by Mount Sinai scientists yield superior genome analysis results

Scientists from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai have developed and publicly released new data analysis software that could help genomics researchers identify genetic drivers of disease with greater efficiency and accuracy. These tools were published yesterday in PLoS Computational Biology and on November 25th in Scientific Reports, a Nature publication.

Herniated disks in children and teens linked to lower spine malformations

December 1, 2015 - Most children and adolescents with herniated disks in the lower (lumbar) spine have some sort of malformation of the spinal vertebrae, reports a study in the December issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, published by Wolters Kluwer.

Animal evolution: Revolution averted

Who came first - sponges or comb jellies? A new study by an team of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in Munich reaffirms that sponges are the oldest animal phylum - and restores the classical view of early animal evolution, which recent molecular analyses had challenged.

Nano-walkers take speedy leap forward with first rolling DNA-based motor

Physical chemists have devised a rolling DNA-based motor that's 1,000 times faster than any other synthetic DNA motor, giving it potential for real-world applications, such as disease diagnostics. Nature Nanotechnology is publishing the finding.

"Unlike other synthetic DNA-based motors, which use legs to 'walk' like tiny robots, ours is the first rolling DNA motor, making it far faster and more robust," says Khalid Salaita, the Emory University chemist who led the research. "It's like the biological equivalent of the invention of the wheel for the field of DNA machines."

Clinical workstations: An overlooked reservoir for deadly bacteria?

Washington, DC, December 1, 2015 - Clinical workstations within hospital intensive care units (ICUs) may get overlooked during routine cleanings and could therefore harbor more dangerous bacteria than regularly cleaned objects in patient areas, according to a pilot study published in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

Impact investing is making headway in Latin America

HOUSTON - (Dec. 1, 2015) - Impact investing, an investment strategy that generates financial returns while directing funds to entities providing goods and services to the poor, is making headway in Latin America, according to an issue brief from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

A compensation system for vaccine injuries is needed for diseases such as Ebola

As one part of a comprehensive plan to promote vaccine development for diseases of poverty, such as Ebola, there needs to be a plan to lessen the risks of litigation and liability and ensure recipients of vaccines are fairly compensated in the rare instances that they are harmed.

Type 2 diabetes reversed by losing fat from pancreas

A team from Newcastle University, UK, has shown that Type 2 diabetes is caused by fat accumulating in the pancreas -- and that losing less than one gram of that fat through weight loss reverses the diabetes.

Affecting two and a half million people in the UK -- and on the increase -- Type 2 diabetes is a long-term condition caused by too much glucose, a type of sugar, in the blood.

The research led by Professor Roy Taylor is being published online today in Diabetes Care and simultaneously he is presenting the findings at the World Diabetes Conference in Vancouver.

Eat a Paleo peach: First fossil peaches discovered in southwest China

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The sweet, juicy peaches we love today might have been a popular snack long before modern humans arrived on the scene.

Scientists have found eight well-preserved fossilized peach endocarps, or pits, in southwest China dating back more than two and a half million years. Despite their age, the fossils appear nearly identical to modern peach pits.

Combination therapy successfully treats hep C in patients with advanced liver disease

BOSTON - A large multi-center clinical trial has found that a combination of antiviral medications can eradicate hepatitis C infection in more than 90 percent of patients with advanced liver disease. Known as the ASTRAL-4 trial, the study was co-led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Intermountain Medical Center and published online Nov. 17 in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

New technique reveals causes of aging in yeast

University of Groningen scientists have designed a unique experiment to study ageing in yeast cells. By following molecular processes inside ageing yeast, they discovered that an overproduction of the proteins needed to make new proteins could be the root cause of the cellular processes that eventually kill the cells. Their results have been published online in the journal eLife.

Underage drinkers' brand preferences vary by race, age, BU study finds

Two beer brands -- Bud Light and Budweiser -- are uniformly popular among underage drinkers, regardless of age, gender or ethnicity, while certain other brands appear to have a unique appeal to African-American youth drinkers, according to a new study headed by Boston University School of Public Health researchers.

Study: Antibody for severe hemophilia a may reduce injections needed to prevent bleeding

(WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2015) - An antibody engineered to prevent excessive bleeding in patients with severe hemophilia A may be safe and effective, and require fewer injections than existing options, according to a first-in-human study of the treatment published online today in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

Fossil dinosaur tracks give insight into lives of prehistoric giants

A newly discovered collection of rare dinosaur tracks is helping scientists shed light on some of the biggest animals ever to live on land.

Hundreds of footprints and handprints made by plant-eating sauropods around 170 million years ago have been found on the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

The discovery - which is the biggest dinosaur site yet found in Scotland - helps fill an important gap in the evolution the huge, long-necked animals, which were the biggest of the dinosaurs.