Body

The drug sildenafil, sold as Viagra and other brand names, improves insulin sensitivity in people at risk for diabetes, researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported today.

Sildenafil inhibits an enzyme called phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5), resulting in relaxation of smooth muscle, vasodilation and increased blood flow. Sildenafil is used to treat erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Pigeons may be able to distinguish between benign and malignant breast histology and radiology, according to an animal behavioral study published November 18, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Richard Levenson from the University of California Davis Medical Center, Edward Wasserman from the University of Iowa, and colleagues.

Polar bears' use of land during substantial summer sea ice loss in the Chukchi Sea increased by 30 days, according to a study published November 18, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Karyn Rode from the U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska, and colleagues.

Tracking whale sharks in the Gulf of Mexico revealed their use of near-surface waters, as expected, but also their use of deeper water off the continental shelf, including remaining at depth greater than 50 meters continuously for more than three days, according to a study published November 18, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by John Tyminski from Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida, and colleagues from the US and Mexico.

Many nanotherapeutics are currently being tested in clinical trials and several have already been clinically approved to treat cancers. But the ability to predict which patients will be most responsive to these treatments has remained elusive. Now, a collaboration between investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) has led to a new approach that uses an FDA-approved, magnetic nanoparticle and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify tumors most likely to respond to drugs delivered via nanoparticles.

MADISON, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists have succeeded in growing functional vocal cord tissue in the laboratory, a major step toward restoring a voice to people who have lost their vocal cords to cancer surgery or other injuries.

Dr. Nathan Welham, a UW speech-language pathologist, and colleagues from several disciplines were able to bioengineer vocal cord tissue able to transmit sound, they reported in a study published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Using technology invented at MIT, doctors may one day be able to monitor patients' vital signs by having them swallow an ingestible electronic device that measures heart rate and breathing rate from within the gastrointestinal tract.

This type of sensor could make it easier to assess trauma patients, monitor soldiers in battle, perform long-term evaluation of patients with chronic illnesses, or improve training for professional and amateur athletes, the researchers say.

Boston, MA, Nov. 18, 2015. Massachusetts Eye and Ear investigators have shown that sound deprivation in adult mice causes irreversible damage to the inner ear. The findings, published in PLOS ONE, suggest that chronic conductive hearing loss, such as that caused by recurrent ear infections, leads to permanent hearing impairment if it remains untreated.

Biomarkers in Medicine, a leading MEDLINE-indexed journal, has published a special focus issue exploring the increasingly important role of biomarkers in both drug development and regulatory decision making. Biomarkers in Medicine is published by Future Science Group.

Washington, DC--Monday mornings could be harmful to your health. Even routine sleep changes such as waking up early for work during the week may raise the risk of developing metabolic problems such as diabetes and heart disease, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

Washington, DC--The medication sildenafil - sold under Viagra and other trade names - improves insulin sensitivity in individuals with prediabetes and also reduces a biological marker that signals heightened risk of kidney and heart disease, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

A team from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and its collaborators has sequenced the genomes of two species of small water creatures called acorn worms and showed that we share more genes with them than we do with many other animals, establishing them as our distant cousins.

Examining women's perceptions of the relationship between Christian and Anastasia in the popular movie Fifty Shades of Grey is a safe and valuable way to discuss healthy and unhealthy relationship dynamics, including the warning signs of intimate partner violence. Young women expressed mixed views, describing parts of the movie relationship as exciting and romantic and other aspects as controlling, manipulative, and emotionally abusive in a new study published in Journal of Women's Health.

URBANA, Ill. - University of Illinois researcher Cory Suski has already shown that bubbling high concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) into water is a deterrent to invasive Asian carp adults. The gas makes them feel 'woozy' and they choose to swim away. His recent research shows that fish the size of an eyelash also experience negative consequences following CO2 exposure.

WORCESTER, MA -- A new CRISPR/Cas9 technology developed by scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is precise enough to surgically edit DNA at nearly any genomic location, while avoiding potentially harmful off-target changes typically seen in standard CRISPR gene editing techniques. By pairing the CRISPR/Cas9 system with a programmable DNA-binding domain (CRISPR/Cas9-pDBD), researchers have created an additional proofreading step that improves the accuracy of the gene editing system and opens the door to potential clinical and gene therapy applications.