Scientists at the MUHC have made an important discovery that will advance our understanding of how the female hormone estrogen causes growth of breast cancer cells. The research, in collaboration with scientists at the Institut de Recherches Cliniques de Montreal (IRCM) identifies 153 genes that respond to estrogen and one in particular that can be used to halt the growth of breast cancer cells. The study, published in today’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), will focus futu
Johns Hopkins researchers have, for what is believed to be the first time, used a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique called diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI), a technique that images the movement, or diffusion, of water molecules in tissues, to successfully determine the effectiveness of high-intensity focused ultrasound for treating uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids are noncancerous tumors that line the uterine wall and can cause intense pain and bleeding. The study appears in the July edi
A number of hypotheses have been used to explain how free oxygen first accumulated in Earth’s atmosphere some 2.4 billion years ago, but a full understanding has proven elusive. Now a new model offers plausible scenarios for how oxygen came to dominate the atmosphere, and why it took at least 300 million years after bacterial photosynthesis started producing oxygen in large quantities.
The big reason for the long delay was that processes such as volcanic gas production acted a
A survey of U.S. adults has found that a majority believe that HIV vaccines are the best hope for controlling the global AIDS epidemic and are confident such vaccines can be made. But while most of those surveyed felt it personally important to help support HIV vaccine research, a majority expressed reluctance to support a friend or family member’s participation in an HIV vaccine clinical trial.
These were among the conflicting findings of a telephone survey of more than 3,500 adu
Meteor impacts are generally regarded as monstrous killers and one of the causes of mass extinctions throughout the history of life. But there is a chance the heavy bombardment of Earth by meteors during the planet’s youth actually spurred early life on our planet, say Canadian geologists.
A study of the Haughton Impact Crater on Devon Island, in the Canadian Arctic, has revealed some very life-friendly features at ground zero. These include hydrothermal systems, blasted rock
Researchers at Northwestern University and Carnegie Mellon University have found that a recently described class of molecules called microRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in regulating oogenesis, the process by which females make eggs. MiRNAs silence genes by binding to genetic elements called messenger RNA and preventing them from making new proteins — the molecules primarily responsible for cell activities.
While previous research has identified some miRNA targets, investiga
By the time the human genome was mapped, cancer researchers had already begun investigating the proteins that were encoded by these newly identified genes. As the molecular engines that control all functions of the body, scientists wanted to find out how proteins work to promote health, or malfunction to cause disease. Subsequently, their discoveries have led to the development of a whole new arsenal of therapies designed to target proteins in cancer cells. But not all patients respond to treat
Airline pilots have an increased risk of nuclear cataracts [common type of cataract, associated with aging] compared with non-pilots, and that risk is associated with cumulative exposure to cosmic radiation, according to a study in the August issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Commercial airline pilots are reported to be at an increased risk for some cancers, but studies on the biological effects of their exposure to cosmic radiation have been l
Moderately elevated levels of insulin increase the levels of inflammatory markers and beta-amyloid in plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid, and these markers may contribute to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study posted online today from Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. The study will be published in the October print edition of the journal.
According to background information in the article, “conditions of insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are
Contrary to what many scientists thought, genetically modified (GM) corn has not yet spread to native maize crops in southern Mexico.
After analyzing tens of thousands of seeds from maize crops grown in 2003 and 2004, researchers from Mexico and the United States found no evidence of transgenes in these indigenous varieties.
The finding surprised the researchers, said Allison Snow, a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology at Ohio State University . She hel
Employing a simple new technique to manipulate the sugars that power many front-line drugs, a team of Wisconsin scientists has enhanced the antic-cancer properties of a digitalis, a drug commonly used to treat heart disease.
Reporting the work in the Aug. 8 edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team led by University of Wisconsin-Madison professor of pharmaceutical sciences Jon S. Thorson, describes a series of experiments that boosted the cell-killing
Insects that can withstand the powerful pesticide DDT that was banned in the 1970s have a genetic advantage over their rivals that has helped them spread across the globe ever since, according to research published in Current Biology tomorrow (9 August 2005).
This discovery overturns current theories that resistance to pesticides burdens insects with a genetic disadvantage that would stop them from competing with non-resistant insects once farmers stop using that pesticide.
Smoking not more common in movies than US population
New research shows that lower-class, nonsuccessful “bad guys” smoke more often in movies than wealthy movie heroes, a finding that contradicts previous research examining smoking in the movies. A study published in the August issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians, is the first objective, prospective analysis to quantify the prevalence of smoking in contemporary American movies a
Anyone who’s had to find his or her way through a darkened room can appreciate that nonvisual cues play a large role in our sense of movement. What might be less apparent is that not all such cues come from our remaining four senses.
In a finding that broadens our understanding of human movement control, researchers at the Institute of Neurology in London have shown that the inner-ear vestibular organs provide what is essentially an on-line movement guidance system for maint
Because grasslands and forests operate in complex feedback loops with both the atmosphere and soil, understanding how ecosystems respond to global changes in climate and element cycling is critical to predicting the range of global environmental changes–and attendant ecosystem responses–likely to occur. In a new study in the premier open access journal PLoS Biology Jeffrey Dukes, Christopher Field, and colleagues treated grassland plots to every possible combination of current or increased levels
Malaria remains a devastating problem in Africa and understanding the factors affecting its transmission remains a crucial part of the effort to combat the disease. A new study published in the premier open access journal PLoS Biology conducted in Western Kenya by Jacob Koella and colleagues now reveals that mosquitoes are more attracted to children with the infectious stages of malaria than to those infected with non-transmissible forms of the disease or to uninfected people.
The questi
Feedback
