Nanocomposite materials seem to flout conventions of physics. In the latest example of surprising behavior, reported* by scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Brookhaven National Laboratory, a class of nanostructured materials that are key components of computer memories and other important technologies undergo a previously unrecognized shift in the rate at which magnetization changes at low temperatures.
The team suggests that the apparent
Researchers have closed a randomized clinical trial comparing gefitinib (IressaTM) vs. placebo following chemotherapy and radiation for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that had spread only to nearby tissues or lymph nodes. Review of interim data indicated that gefitinib would not improve survival.
The clinical trial was sponsored by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., and was conducted by a network
Genetic information that determines hair color or whether an individual might develop a particular cancer is passed from one generation to the next through DNA. Genes encoded in the DNA contain information, but a process called methylation is one factor that often controls how that information is expressed.
A group of University of Washington researchers has devised a method that combines DNA sampling and mathematical modeling to find out how accurately methylation patterns are
A national survey has found that after a long, slow downward trend alcohol-impaired driving has recently increased significantly. From 1993 to 1997 the estimated annual number of episodes of alcohol-impaired driving (AID) declined at a rate of a little more than one percent per year, from 123 million to 116 million. From 1997 to 1999, however, it increased 37 percent, from 116 million to 159 million. It stayed at that increased rate in 2002.
The survey, published in the May iss
Unveiling a delivery method that may one day help surgeons treat the deadly neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have inserted engineered human stem cells into the spinal cords of ALS-afflicted rats.
Reporting their work today (April 19) in the journal Human Gene Therapy, the scientists directed certain types of neural stem cells to secrete a neuron-protecting protein before injecting them into the r
Dietary agents in red chili pepper and vegetables linked to cancer prevention
Two new studies suggest that vegetables such as broccoli and spices like red chili pepper, may provide a cancer-fighting benefit by slowing or preventing the growth of cancerous tumor cells. The findings, being presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research held April 16 to 20 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif., looked at the effect of these dietary agen
A collaboration between Johns Hopkins and Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists has mathematically demonstrated that a national matching program for kidney paired donation, also called paired kidney exchange, would ensure the best possible kidney for the greatest number of recipients who have incompatible donors. Kidney paired donation (KPD) provides organs to patients who have a willing, designated donor who is not compatible. A kidney from such a donor is matched to — and transplant
Patients with advanced stomach cancer have the best chance of prolonging their survival with a combination of chemotherapies instead of just one, according to a new review of previous studies.
The review also concludes that the best combination is 5-FU, one of the oldest and most commonly used chemotherapy drugs, along with powerful antibiotics called anthracyclines and a platinum-based drug called cisplatin. The benefit, however, is small and may cause a patient to experienc
When children have their tonsils removed, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can be used for pain relief with no significant increase in bleeding and with less nausea and vomiting, according to a systematic review of current evidence.
NSAIDs include analgesics such as ibuprofen (Motrin) and naproxen (Aleve). Although these drugs are proven painkillers they also interfere with blood clotting, so there has been concern about excessive bleeding during or after surgery. Such problem
Infants who are hospitalized with severe breathing problems may benefit from being placed on their stomachs rather than their backs, according to a new review of recent studies.
Children in the studies who were placed on their stomachs had higher blood oxygen levels and slower breathing rates than those placed on their backs, the review found.
Blood oxygen levels in the stomach-placed infants were about 2 percent higher than in the back-sleeping infants, a small but s
Although the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are well known for their health benefits, many fish are also the primary source of mercury in the general population. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently completed the first study of mercury and cognitive function in urban, U.S. adults between the ages of 50 and 70 years. They found that blood mercury levels were not consistently associated with adverse performance on a broad range of tests of cognitive fun
A compound derived from cottonseed oil could help improve the effectiveness of chemotherapy at treating head and neck cancer, researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found.
The findings, which will be presented Tuesday, April 19, at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting, could lead to a treatment that provides an effective option to surgically removing the cancer, helping patients preserve vital organs involved in speech a
A full-term pregnancy at an early age is one of the most effective ways to reduce the lifetime risk of breast cancer, according to research pathologist Irma H. Russo, M.D., of Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. A number of studies around the world have established that a full-term pregnancy by age 20 reduces breast cancer risk by half.
Previous studies by Russo and colleagues suggest that breast cells reach full maturity–a process called differentiation–only after a full-
More than 20 million men in the United States with a particular signature set of inherited characteristics and mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) are at significantly increased risk for developing renal and prostate cancers, according to research at Emory University. The findings will be presented at the 96th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research by John A. Petros, MD, associate professor of urology at Emory University School of Medicine, its Winship Cancer Instit
Removing the aortic and pelvic lymph nodes during surgery for advanced ovarian cancer improves progression-free survival but not overall survival, according to a new study in the April 20 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
Ovarian cancer is the fifth most common cancer in women worldwide. In the United States, about 25,000 women were diagnosed with the disease in 2004 and 16,000 women died from it. Long-term survival is possible after surgery and chemotherapy
New research has revealed the power behind an anti-tumor agent being studied in the laboratory. The findings, by scientists at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and the National Cancer Institute, could lead to more effective treatment strategies for cancer.
“Our new understanding of how this agent works could help us combine treatments to reach multiple targets,” said William Gmeiner, Ph.D., professor of cancer biology at Wake Forest’s School of Medicine, which is pa
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