A retrospective study and two case studies provide new information regarding the safety of a popular dental product.
Only one in ten diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity (oral cancer) is younger than 45 years. Many young adults lack the traditional risk factors for oral cancer, namely, long term tobacco and/or alcohol use. As a result, investigation of other factors which may contribute to the development of cancer in these patients is difficult because of the re
Radiation therapy (RT) has been the most important treatment modality with curative potential in treating patients with cancer of the nasopharynx, the part of the pharynx that lies above the soft palate. This is due to several factors: (1) undifferentiated carcinoma, or tumour cells with no resemblance at all to normal glandular or surface lining cells, is quite radiosensitive and is more common than squamous cell carcinoma; (2) more than two-thirds of the patients present with cervical lymph node
A genetic mutation related to a more aggressive form of breast cancer occurs four times more often in African American patients than their white counterparts, Yale researchers report in the August 9, 2004 online edition of the journal Cancer.
In the United States, African-American women have a lower incidence of breast cancer than white women, but they have a higher mortality rate. The disease also develops at an earlier age and is more aggressive in African-American women. To
USC study shows high rates of certain vision disorders among Mexican-Americans
Many Latinos have eye diseases that may potentially blind them or impair vision, according to the Los Angeles Latino Eye Study. Diabetic retinopathy, an eye complication of diabetes, and open-angle glaucoma, which damages the optic nerve, pose a particular problem among Latinos, according to researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. Results appear in the June, J
In a study to be published in Science online Aug. 6, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that genes involved in suppressing the body’s defensive “killer” immune cells are a potential key factor in spontaneous recovery from hepatitis C. The viral infection of the liver can lead to cirrhosis, cancer and even death. This genetic factor was found in people assumed to be exposed to a low dose of virus at the time of infection.
“Our findings may help explain why some of the 20 per
A new gene-silencing technique that takes place in the nucleus of human cells, has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the VA San Diego Healthcare System. The technique, called transcriptional gene silencing (TGS), provides a new research tool to study gene function and, if continuing studies prove the concept, it could potentially become a method for therapeutic modification or the expression of disease-producing genes.
First evidence of the molecular link between inflammation and cancer has been shown by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine. Featured as the cover article in the August 6, 2004 issue of the journal Cell, the study also demonstrated that inactivation of a gene involved in the inflammatory process can dramatically reduce tumor development in mice with a gastrointestinal form of cancer.
The investigators found that a gene called I-kappa-B kinas
Just days after Alex, the season’s first Atlantic-basin hurricane, brushed the U.S. coastline, William Gray and Philip Klotzbach of the Colorado State University hurricane forecast team issued a report this morning slightly reducing the team’s seasonal forecast. However, the researchers still call for above-average hurricane activity this year and expect slightly above-average tropical cyclone activity in August and September.
As detailed in today’s updated Atlantic seasonal hurrican
A technique developed by University of California, San Diego biologists, which uses bright fluorescent dyes to reveal the activity of genes in individual cells of an organism, promises to be a boon to developmental biologists, and may provide new insight into how cancerous tumors begin and grow.
The advance, described in the August 6 issue of Science, allows researchers, for the first time, to simultaneously visualize the activity of multiple genes in the same cell. The combination o
The eyes aboard the Mars rover Spirit are delivering ground truth.
After more than six months of examining the photographic and spectral data from the rover, Mars mission scientists confirm that the albedo — which is the percentage of sunlight reflected on the red planet’s dusty surface — indicates important variations in mineral and dust composition.
“Spirit landed in a medium brightness region of Gusev crater, and on this mission has crossed into brighter and dark
If brain size is proportional to body size in virtually all vertebrate animals, Cornell University biologists reasoned, shouldn’t eye size and body size scale the same way? While they failed to find a one-size-fits-all rule for eyes, what they learned about the 300 vertebrates they studied helps to explain how animals evolved precisely the orbs they need for everyday life.
The biologists reported their findings in the journal Vision Research (August 2004, “The allometry and scalin
A defect in blood vessel formation in human placenta due to loss of LBP-1a gene is linked to spontaneous abortion, infant death and long-term neurological or cardiovascular problems
The lack of a gene called LBP-1a in the mouse embryo prevents normal growth of blood vessels in the placenta. This finding suggests that a similar defect in humans could play a role in fetal growth retardation, infant mortality and spontaneous abortion. These results, by investigators at St. Jude Children&
Malaria drug blocks brain conduits, a boon for neuroscience research
Brown University researchers have discovered that mefloquine, an anti-malarial drug, blocks two gap junction proteins, or connexins, in low doses and with very few side effects in the brains of laboratory mice. The work opens an important door: Connexins found in high concentrations in the brain are believed to play a critical role in movement, vision and memory.
To understand how these communication “tun
A new study by a nurse researcher shows that imagery – a simple method of distraction – can be used with pain medications to significantly reduce post-operative pain in children.
In the study, which was led by a nurse researcher at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, children who had their tonsils or adenoids removed were given an audio tape that enabled them to imagine they were going to “a favorite place.” The children who used the tape reported significantly low
A method that creates smooth and strong interfaces between metals and metal oxides without high-temperature brazing has been patented by researchers at the National Nuclear Security Administration’s Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the University of North Texas.
The method can improve magnetic random-access memories, which allow next-generation computers to boot up instantly yet retain their entire memories after power interruptions. Depositin
NASA will extend operation of the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) through the end of 2004, in light of a recent request from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The extension, to be undertaken jointly with NASA’s TRMM partner, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will provide data during another storm season in the U.S. and Asia.
TRMM has yielded significant scientific research data over the last seven years to users around the globe. In
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