A study of patients with kidney cancer has shown that radiofrequency ablation, a minimally invasive, kidney-sparing procedure, can be a successful treatment option for patients whose cancer has not spread beyond the kidney, report researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.
Results from the three year study, which evaluated 22 patients who received the treatment, are published in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology. The treatment uses computed tomography to guide
For the second year in a row, researchers found no deaths due to heatstroke among young U.S. football players during the 2003 season, a new University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study shows.
Between 1995 and 2001, 21 players died from heatstroke, an average of three a year, said Dr. Frederick Mueller, professor and chair of exercise and sport science in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences.
“Again this year we have good news to report because we have been concerned ab
Individuals who suffer from severe depression have more nerve cells in the part of the brain that controls emotion, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas have found
Studies of postmortem brains of patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD) showed a 31 percent greater than average number of nerve cells in the portion of the thalamus involved with emotional regulation. Researchers also discovered that this portion of the thalamus is physically larger than
Scientists in the Conway Institute of Biomolecular & Biomedical Research have restored the sight of blind zebrafish whose eyes failed to develop due to a genetic mutation. The findings, published this week in Developmental Biology, are exciting first steps on a long road to understanding eye diseases in humans.
Dr. Breandan Kennedy and his colleagues at the University of Washington, Seattle and the Hubrecht Laboratory in Utrecht, Netherlands first identified a family of eyeless fish. They th
UK scientists involved in the Cassini space mission were ‘over the Moon’ after the spacecraft’s 100,000 km per hour white knuckle ride courtesy of Saturn’s gravity which successfully completed the critical manoeuvre to place Cassini in orbit around the ringed planet. ‘I’ve waited 15 years for this moment,’ said Dr Andrew Coates of the UK’s Mullard Space Science Laboratory and Co-Investigator on the Cassini spacecraft’s Plasma Electron Spectrometer,’ and now our 4-year tour of discovery can really be
A traffic simulation system is helping drivers by predicting jams on Germany’s autobahn network up to an hour before they happen. The secret of its success is to take into account the way real drivers – and their cars – behave. When engineers model the way road traffic flows they break the traffic down into three categories: freely flowing, jammed, and an intermediate state called synchronised flow in which dense traffic moves in unison, like marchers moving in step.
But this synchronised
Software that can identify the significant events in live TV sports broadcasts will soon be able to compile programmes of highlights without any help from people.
The technology will save broadcasters millions in editing costs- and should eventually lead to new generations of video recorders that will let people customise their own sports highlights packages. But developing software that understands sport is no easy task.
Picking out the key events from a game- whether it be pool
After a seven-year cruise through the Solar System, the joint NASA/ESA/ASI Cassini-Huygens spacecraft last night successfully entered orbit around Saturn. The Cassini orbiter is now ready to begin its four-year survey of the planet and its moons, while the Huygens probe will be prepared for the next major mission milestone: its release toward the largest moon, Titan, in December.
“This shows international space co-operation at its best,” said ESA’s Director of Science, Prof. David Southwood
European Research Commissioner Philippe Busquin today rejected stories in several media claiming he had called for genetic testing of all newborn babies in Europe. Mr Busquin said: “I have never advocated any such point of view. It is not the role nor the intention of the Commission to ask EU Member States to impose universal genetic screening of babies. Genetic testing is a matter of free choice and of ethical rules being decided by EU Member States. The Commission does not regulate ethics. I cert
In a knowledge-based economy, where new ideas and scientific knowledge are central to innovation and growth, investment in human resources in science & technology (S&T) is an essential factor to remain competitive. Europe is top of the class as the world’s biggest ‘S&T brain factory’ with graduate numbers (2.14 million in 2000) above that of the US (2.07 million) and Japan (1.1 million). In fact, 26% of all graduates in Europe come from an S&T field in comparison with 21% in Japan and 17% in the US.
Children in developing countries are being put at unnecessary risk of disease and death as they are fed alternatives to breast milk. According to a study published in BMC Medicine today, the amount of breastfeeding taking place falls a long way short of recommended levels. In 2001 the World Health Organization (WHO) passed a resolution recommending that infants under six months of age were fed exclusively on breast milk, in part to protect them from malnutrition, pneumonia and waterborne dis
phoenix|x-ray Systems + Services published their latest business activity report today. Established in early 1999, the manufacturer of high-resolution X-ray…
It sneaks up on you, arriving 25 to 60 seconds after you swallow that first bite of ice cream. You can feel it coming, but you’re powerless to stop it. When it hits, the skin temperature on your forehead falls by almost two degrees. Then, just as the pain slams into your forehead and reaches its eye-watering peak, it subsides and is quickly gone.
You’ve just been the victim of an ice-cream headache.
Usually lasting between a few seconds and a minute, ice-cream headaches – yes, that
According to a new study by Sean Harbison, M.D., F.A.C.S., associate professor of surgery at Temple University School of Medicine and Temple University Hospital, laparoscopy does not appear to spread gallbladder cancer, nor does it hinder future surgeries. “Laparoscopic techniques might actually help us diagnose gallbladder cancer earlier and should remain as a treatment option,” said Harbison.
Although rare, gallbladder cancer is particularly deadly because it is usually discovered at a ve
Cancer treatments, including the most commonly used chemotherapy agents as well as the newest biologic and targeted therapy drugs, can harm a patient’s heart, sometimes fatally – but many physicians do not adequately monitor their patients for such damage or manage their care to minimize it.
So say cardiologists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, who published, in the June 29 issue of the journal Circulation, the first large scale review detailing cardiovascular compli
Teenage girls who have never smoked, never even puffed on a cigarette, are far more likely to start smoking if their favorite movie star smokes in movies, according to a 3-year study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the most-cited public health journal.
The study’s authors conclude that on-screen smoking by popular actors is undermining public health efforts to keep children from smoking.
“We’ve heard for years that big-screen movies influence k
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