Researchers eager to test laboratory findings in patient trials
A novel strategy devised by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists has proved highly effective in killing drug-resistant multiple myeloma cells in the laboratory and could open a new form of attack on the deadly blood cancer, they report.
Highly encouraged by the findings, the researchers hope to move rapidly to clinical trials of the therapy, a combination of the drug Velcade and an experimental compound
The Virgo consortium, an international group of astrophysicists from the UK, Germany, Japan, Canada and the USA has today (June 2nd) released first results from the largest and most realistic simulation ever of the growth of cosmic structure and the formation of galaxies and quasars. In a paper published in Nature, the Virgo Consortium shows how comparing such simulated data to large observational surveys can reveal the physical processes underlying the build-up of real galaxies and black hol
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that airbags installed in automobiles have saved some 10,000 lives as of January 2004. A just-released study by a statistician at the University of Georgia, however, casts doubt on that assertion.
In fact, said UGA statistics professor Mary C. Meyer, a new analysis of existing data indicates that, controlling for other factors, airbags are actually associated with slightly increased probability of death in a
Rare salamanders at a Georgia military base are the guinea pigs for Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers whose goal is to develop methods to better determine whether a species has vanished.
After not finding any flatwoods salamanders since 2001, Fort Stewart biologists were a bit concerned and were looking for a better survey method, said Mark Bevelhimer, an aquatic ecologist and member of ORNL’s Environmental Sciences Division. A Strategic Environmental Research and De
A multibeam Doppler radar that can scan tornadic storms every 5 to 10 seconds is prowling the Great Plains through June 30 in search of its first close-up tornado. Engineers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder helped build the Rapid-Scan Doppler on Wheels (DOW).
Together with a powerful analysis technique pioneered by NCAR scientist Wen-Chau Lee, the radar–newly enhanced for its first full spring of thunderstorm tracking–promises the most complete picture
For Tadeusz Molinski, the sea is full of riches — and he does not mean oil fields or fisheries. Molinski, a professor of chemistry at the University of California, Davis, is searching for new treatments for cancer, infectious diseases and other conditions that could be made from natural products in the soft bodies of some of the ocean’s simplest inhabitants.
“Three quarters of the world is covered by oceans, and we’ve only dipped below the surface,” Molinski said.
Deep within Earth, researchers are finding hints of exotic materials and behaviors unrivaled anywhere else on the planet. Now a team of researchers is making connections between the dynamic activities deep inside Earth and geologic features at its surface.
The researchers, which include two seismologists from Arizona State University, have detected a relatively small and isolated patch of exotic material, called an ultra low velocity zone (ULVZ), that may in fact be a “root” for m
Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues from Boston area medical institutions have linked short term high pollution concentrations with an increased incidence of irregular and very dangerous heart arrhythmias among a group of cardiac patients from the greater Boston area who had implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICD). The findings appear in the June 1, 2005 issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.
“Particulate pollution and gaseous pollution from autom
A report by Yale scientists in the journal Cell sheds new light on how the protein Ro, a major autoantigen in patients with autoimmune disease, recognizes misfolded RNAs, creating a RNA quality control system for cells.
The quality control process in the cell has been well-studied for the DNA and messenger RNA (mRNA) components for making proteins. However, little was known about what cells do with abnormal or misfolded RNAs that are not translated into protein — such as ribos
Early surgical removal of the spleen combined with antiangiogenic cancer therapy may halt the progression of leukemia, according to scientists at Sunnybrook and Women’s College Health Sciences Centre.
The research, published today in Blood, is the first to show the combination of two factors secreted from the environment of the spleen is important in the promotion of leukemia.
Dr. Yaacov Ben-David, a Senior Scientist in Molecular and Cellular Biology at the Sunnybro
Pain-blocking effect lasted six weeks in animals; first clinical trial in humans planned
Remember how it felt the last time you burned your finger on a hot stove? Imagine what it’s like to have that burning pain in your hands or feet all the time and know there’s virtually nothing you can do about it. It’s called neuropathic pain, and it’s a common complication of many diseases and medical conditions, especially diabetes. Drugs have little effect on this type
New images, taken by the High Resolution Stereo Camera (HRSC) aboard ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft, show a large depression called Iani Chaos and the upper reaches of a large outflow channel called Ares Vallis.
To see images go to: www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMIKO0DU8E_0.html
Image strips were taken in October 2004, during three orbits from a 350-kilometre altitude, with a
A new, detailed study published by the University of Surrey (UK) confirms that a combination of fire safety regulations for furniture and smoke alarm promotion could save 850 lives throughout Europe (EU 25 States), and avoid some €3.6 billion costs of residential fires every year.
The UK is the only country in Europe to require domestic and office furniture to be fire safe and the study looks at the impacts of the 1988 legislation to introduce such mandatory minimum fire safety
Just six minutes of intense exercise a week could be as effective as an hour of daily moderate activity suggests new findings from researchers at McMaster University.
“Short bouts of very intense exercise improved muscle health and performance comparable to several weeks of traditional endurance training,” says Martin Gibala, an associate professor in the department of kinesiology of McMaster.
The research, which is published in the June edition of the Journal of Applie
A child’s social environment may have only a modest effect on whether very young children become depressed, according to new Australian research.
“Our study found that even dysfunctional family relationships and poor communication styles have a limited impact on the observed mental health of a child,” Professor Jake Najman said. “This was contrary to our expectations.”
Professor Najman, from UQ’s Schools of Social Science and Population Health, is lead autho
Nearly one out of two visits to a doctor’s office for help with a sleep disorder result in the prescription of potentially addictive medications, a new study reports.
Office visits by older patients and those with publicly funded health insurance plans were nearly twice as likely to result in the prescription of these kinds of medications.
The drugs, called benzodiazepines, are often a cheaper alternative to some newer types of medicines that don’t have the same potenti
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