Carbonated soft drink consumption was previously suggested to be linked to the 350 percent increase of adenocarcinoma of the esophagus since the mid-1970s, but researchers at Yale School of Medicine report that the link is unfounded and that there may, in fact, be a decreased risk of this cancer for diet soda drinkers.
The researchers warn that diet soft drink consumers might differ from other groups because they may engage in other unmeasured healthy behaviors. The study is publish
University of Pittsburgh researchers demonstrate that loss of this enzyme’s activity in mouse cells leads to dramatic chromosomal instability
The DNA in our cells is constantly being bombarded by environmental, chemical and cellular insults. Fortunately, our cells contain many enzymes devoted strictly to detecting and repairing any damage caused by these insults. In fact, failure of these enzymes to make needed repairs to genes can lead to the accumulation of mutations and,
Skeletal evidence shows abrupt worldwide increase in birth rate during Neolithic period
In an important new study assessing the demographic impact of the shift from foraging to farming, anthropologists use evidence from 60 prehistoric American cemeteries to prove that the invention of agriculture led to a significant worldwide increase in birth rate.
Discussing the shifts in the demographic patterns before and after the introduction of agriculture in Europe at the end of the
Belgian chemists have developed “self-exploding” microcapsules that could one day precisely release drugs and vaccines inside the human body weeks or even months after injection. The study, by researchers at Ghent University and the Universit? Catholique de Louvain, is scheduled to appear in the Jan. 9, 2006, print issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Biomacromolecules.
Unlike some other microcapsules, which release their drug cargo only when exposed to ultrasonic w
Most sexually active teenage girls know relatively little about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) until it is too late, according to a paper by Carnegie Mellon University researchers that will be published in the January edition of the Journal of Adolescent Health.
“For the most part kids learn about sexually transmitted diseases when they are getting diagnosed with them,” said Julie Downs, lead author of the study and a member of the Department of Social and Decision Science
Researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center have created a new platinum-based, anti-cancer agent able to overcome acquired drug resistance by first modifying the way it is absorbed into cancer cells and then attacking the DNA of those cancer cells.
The findings may help researchers design a new generation of anti-cancer drugs that selectively target cancer cells, reduce resistance and side effects and expand the range of tumors that can be treated by p
Professor Alan Cowman, Dr Brendan Crabb and their research teams at WEHI have identified how the most lethal malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, is able to disguise itself from the human immune system.
This discovery builds on the work published in the 9 April 2005 issue of the journal Cell, in which Professor Cowman and Dr Crabb reported that to avoid detection and destruction, the parasite controls expression of 60 key virulence genes, effectively disguising itself from th
Wendy and Jared Kennedy find it hard to take their eyes off their new daughter, Avery Lee, born in the early morning hours of Dec. 31 at the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center. Avery is special to them for many reasons, but she’s also special to the world. The 8 pound, 2 ounce baby girl is apparently the first baby born after being conceived with a frozen donor egg from a commercial egg bank.
Wendy, a 41-year-old nurse at the UK Markey Cancer Center, and Jared found they we
Not all cardiac arrests are the same, says study leader
Children survive in-hospital cardiac arrests more frequently than adults, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may improve outcomes for both groups, and better knowledge of the underlying cause of a cardiac arrest may increase the chances of helping a patient survive it. These are some of the findings of the largest-ever study of cardiac arrests occurring in hospitals.
Researchers from the National Registry of CPR
Results of the first study on the long-term effects of a dietary pattern low in fat and high in carbohydrates suggest that a low-fat eating pattern does not lead to weight gain.
The new Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study examined the relationships between weight changes in postmenopausal women and specific changes in types of food eaten. Women in the intervention group were counseled to decrease fat intake to 20 percent of calories and to replace calories from fat with calories fr
A nine-year study looks at the impact of “alcohol deterrents” (ADs) disulfiram and calcium carbimide. Researchers found an abstinence rate of more than 50 percent among the patients studied. ADs appear to play a major psychological role in relapse prevention.
Studies investigating the long-term outcomes of alcoholism treatment are rare and inconsistent. A nine-year study in the January issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research investigates the
A new analysis of adjuvant radiation therapy in women with breast cancer following mastectomy is associated with better survival as measured at 10 years when appropriate doses and fields of radiation are used. The study was published in the January 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute . The finding helps resolve controversy over whether radiation therapy improves both survival and risk of recurrence in women with operable breast cancer.
Past studies of radiat
Older Americans with alcohol problems do not get worse treatment than their sober peers when they are hospitalized for a heart attack, according to new research on Medicare patients across the country.
Alcoholic patients were less likely than sober patients to receive beta-blocker drugs when they were discharged from the hospital, but there were no other significant treatment differences between the two groups. The study is published in the latest issue of the journal Alcoholi
For people with the chronic disease ulcerative colitis, life can be limited to few social functions and trips away from home.
A promising new therapy pioneered by University of Kentucky gastroenterology specialists may offer improved lives to patients suffering from moderate to severe forms of the disease.
Ulcerative colitis causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon, leading to abdominal pain and such frequent trips to the bathroom that normal routines can be disrupted
The use of composite materials in the aeronautic industry has been increasing since (in the 70s in the North American market and the 80s in Europe) they started to be used in commercial aviation as a substitute for classic materials such as metals. The reason for their use was largely because of their capacity to reinforce in preferential directions, their high rigidity, specific resistance and their enhanced fatigue and corrosion behaviour. Currently, the main reasons to justify their use in this
Tekes has allocated three million euros to financing a project by the Tampere-based Regea Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the goal of which is to use stem cells in tissue-related technological applications.
“Stem cell research offers promising opportunities to develop new forms of cellular therapy for diseases formerly difficult to treat. Because of their important potential applications, stem cells have become a key focus of interest in biotechnology,” says Senior Technolog
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