Body

For years, scientists have struggled to find a way to block a protein known to play an important role in many cancers. The protein, STAT3, acts as a transcription factor -- it performs the crucial task of helping convert DNA into the RNA instructions used to make new proteins.

But when overly active, STAT3 performs this task too well, fueling the growth and division of abnormal cells, and contributing to cancer. Scientists have taken various approaches to selectively blocking STAT3 in cancer, but none have produced successful treatments.

The Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw has just unveiled two new catalysts developed in close cooperation with the Jagiellonian University in Cracow and the Jan Kochanowski University in Kielce. The catalysts have been designed with the effective treatment of tap water in mind, eliminating harmful chlorine compounds.

DENVER, CO -- While the overall number of people who smoke in the United States is at an all-time low, not everyone is quite ready to celebrate. "We're making great strides, but it's evident that there are large groups of people who continue to struggle with tobacco and the chronic diseases associated with it," said Amy Lukowski, Psy.D., clinical director of Health Initiatives at National Jewish Health in Denver and for its QuitLogix® program, the largest non-profit smoking quitline in the country.

Anna's hummingbird from the US west coast has the spangly plumage of a ballroom dancer, could out-maneuver a fighter pilot and can out-hover a helicopter. New research to be published in the journal eLife shows that brute strength is surprisingly important to their abilities.

An intensive study of 20 Anna's hummingbirds, Calypte anna, led by the University of British Columbia, revealed that birds with the highest muscle capacity are able to accelerate faster and make more demanding, complex turns.

SALT LAKE CITY-- Aspirin has been shown to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer and possibly other cancers. However, the risk of side effects, including in some cases severe gastrointestinal bleeding, makes it necessary to better understand the mechanisms by which aspirin acts at low doses before recommending it more generally as a preventative, says Cornelia Ulrich, PhD, Senior Director of Population Sciences at Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City.

Philadelphia, PA, November 19, 2015 - Chinese physicians report on the case of a woman who presented with aconitine-induced cardiovascular symptoms. Their report, published in the Canadian Journal of Cardiology, warns that the use of this natural ingredient may lead to severe poisoning.

Al Ain, November 18, 2015 - Combinations of a significant number of non-toxic chemicals, many of which can be found in plants and foods, may give us a chance to stop untreatable cancers and prevent disease .

Previous reports of person to person transmissions have all occurred in family clusters, suggesting that either common exposures or genetic susceptibility might contribute to the infection.

The study describes two patients who shared the same ward in a district hospital in Zhejiang Province, China in February 2015.

The first (index) case was a 49 year old man who became ill after buying two chickens from a live poultry market for the wedding ceremony of his elder daughter. He developed a fever, cough, and sore throat and was admitted to a district hospital on 18 February.

A new gene (mcr-1) that enables bacteria to be highly resistant to polymyxins, the last line of antibiotic defence we have left, is widespread in Enterobacteriaceae [1] taken from pigs and patients in south China, including strains with epidemic potential, according to new research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The mcr-1 gene was found on plasmids, mobile DNA that can be easily copied and transferred between different bacteria, suggesting an alarming potential to spread and diversify between different bacterial populations.

A study from four countries in Africa, published in The Lancet, shows that providing babies with up to 12 months of liquid formula HIV drugs, while breastfeeding with their HIV-positive mothers, is highly effective at protecting them from infection, including in the 6-12 month period after birth which has not been analysed in previous research. The study is by Professor Philippe Van de Perre, INSERM, Montpellier, France, and colleagues.

As new scientific discoveries deepen our understanding of how cancer develops in children, doctors and other healthcare providers face challenges in better using that knowledge to guide treatment and counsel families and patients. In addition, as more children continue to survive pediatric cancer, that counseling may extend into a patient's adulthood and old age.

The most detailed analysis yet of the role germline mutations in genes associated with cancer predisposition play in the development of childhood cancer suggests that comprehensive genomic screening may be warranted on all pediatric cancer patients, not just those with a family history of cancer. The study from the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project appears in the November 19 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Even in war, hospitals have a kind of invisible bubble around them, making them neutral territory and off limits for aggression for the sake of medical teams and their patients.

But in Syria, that bubble has burst dozens of times, according to a new report from the group Physicians for Human Rights. The hospitals in just the eastern half of Aleppo city have suffered 45 attacks in three years, and two-thirds have closed.

MINNEAPOLIS - Neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, a disease often confused for multiple sclerosis, may increase a woman's risk for miscarriage and preeclampsia during pregnancy, according to a study published in the November 18, 2015, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

The disorder causes inflammation in the central nervous system, affecting mainly the spinal cord and the nerves to the eyes, although the brain may be affected also.

An insulin pill being developed by researchers at UC Santa Barbara may in the near future give another blood sugar management option to those who suffer from diabetes. The novel drug delivery technology may also apply to a wide spectrum of other therapies.

"With diabetes, there's a tremendous need for oral delivery," said Samir Mitragotri, a professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering who specializes in targeted drug delivery. "People take insulin several times a day and delivery by needles is a big challenge."