Clinical promise and clues to patient selection seen in initial clinical trial results
A technique already in use to freeze and kill benign breast masses also appears to kill small malignant breast tumors, new research from a clinical trial at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Centers shows.
And while the number of patients studied to date is small, the vast majority — seven of nine — had no residual cancer after their invasive tumors were frozen in a minimal
Many stress-related mental illnesses, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), occur at least twice as often in women as in men. While social and cultural factors certainly may contribute to this statistic, potential neurobiological reasons for this discrepancy have been inadequately investigated. Depression and PTSD are characterized by dysfunction of an area of the brain called the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which is known to govern higher cognitive abilities like concentratio
An international team of researchers has announced the discovery of new fossils from the highlands of Ethiopia. The fossils fill a long-standing gap in scientists’ understanding of the evolution of African mammals. The results are reported in this week’s issue of the journal Nature.
The team is composed of researchers from several U.S. universities, including the University of Texas, Washington University, and the University of Michigan, as well as Addis Ababa University and the N
An unusual experiment with monkeys who were switched between mothers shortly after birth has demonstrated the importance of nature over nurture in behavior.
Young monkeys reared by a mother other than their own are more likely to exhibit the aggressive or friendly behavior of their birth mothers rather than the behavior of their foster mothers, a University of Chicago researcher has shown for the first time.
The discovery of inheritability of social behavior traits among non-human
A new catalyst could help auto makers meet the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s deadline to eliminate 95 percent of nitrogen-oxide from diesel engine exhausts by 2007, while saving energy.
Developed by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory, the new catalyst is one of a family of related catalysts that also shows promise for reducing NOx emissions from industrial sources, such as coal-fired power plants and furnaces at chemical plants and refineries.
A research team from the IRD “Tropical Palaeo-environments and climatic variability” research unit and their American co-workers (1) have succeeded in retracing over a 23 000 year period the history of a coral reef of the Island of Urelapa, in Vanuatu. This fossil reef bears the record of the longest continuous growth – 17 000 years – ever studied by scientists (2). For the first time, researchers have at their disposal uninterrupted records of environmental data on the whole of the deglaciation peri
Half of the southern Pacific Ocean is an immense reservoir of warm subtropical water, yet poor in nutrients and little conducive for the development of living organisms.
However, recent satellite observations have indicated the unexpected occurrence of points of unusually high concentrations of chlorophyll, the green pigment contained in phytoplankton. This would indicate the development of phytoplankton in these zones of otherwise low fertility. How can this occurrence be explained? IRD r
With the holidays come the traditions of sharing meals, desserts and treats with family, friends and co-workers. But the need to reduce the amount of food we consume daily – during the holiday season and throughout the year — has acquired a greater sense of urgency in the wake of America’s obesity epidemic. As scientists look for ways to help us battle the bulge, a new study suggests that our own hormonal makeup may offer promising clues. A team of researchers has tested the hypothesis that gastri
Evolution of genetically distinct species that live exclusively on land can be slowed by over-water dispersal following tropical storms, according to a UCLA study that suggests classic theories of island evolution need an overhaul.
In an article published Thursday, Dec. 4, in the journal Nature, postdoctoral fellow Ryan Calsbeek and Professor Thomas B. Smith of the UCLA Center for Tropical Research report that lizards long thought to be evolving independently on Caribbean Islands in fact e
Growth hormone is known to increase lean body mass and bone density in the elderly, but it does something else, too.
It activates a gene critical for the body’s tissues to heal and regenerate, says Robert Costa, professor of biochemistry and molecular genetics at the University of Illinois at Chicago and a member of the UIC Cancer Center.
That discovery could help explain why we age.
“Growth hormone levels decline as we grow older; as a result, the Foxm1b gene st
Study provides insight into role of TGF-beta in cancer development, progression
Scientists are puzzled by the fact that the molecule known as transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-b) generally stops cells from multiplying but at other times promotes cell growth.
Dr. Hal Moses, director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, and his lab identified TGF-b in 1985 as both a growth stimulator and growth suppressor. Since that time, its role in colon, breast and other cancers has b
Laser tool makes it possible to study the interior of an endothelial cell in a non-invasive way
Endothelial cells, which line the body’s blood vessels and regulate the exchange of material between the blood stream and surrounding tissue, are one of the most closely studied types of cell in the body.
The cells play an important role in cardiovascular disease. And a greater knowledge of their interior functions may help scientists develop new cancer treatments that curb o
Nature publishes new findings that could lead to improved earthquake assessments
Seismologists have long known that the buildup of forces along fault zones cause the physical properties of rock and sediments to change deep inside the Earth, at the level where earthquakes occur. Based upon new findings, researchers believe they may be able to design active seismic monitoring systems that continually monitor these subtle changes, looking for telltale signs of an impending earthquake.
Researchers at the University of Michigan College of Engineering have developed an elegantly simple technique that dramatically reduces the interference microwave ovens create in telephones and wireless computer networks.
Worldwide, there are hundreds of millions of microwave ovens in kitchens, offices and laboratories, each with a magnetron that creates communications problems ranging from an aggravating crackle during a friendly telephone call, to the disruption of 911 calls and the flow
Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center scientists have identified the cell likely to be responsible for the development of multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow that destroys bone tissue. The research, published in Blood online, suggests that therapies designed for long-term cure of the disease should target this stem cell, which, unlike other cells, can copy itself and differentiate into one or more specialized cell types.
In their studies to learn why multiple myeloma so often recurs
The Navajo Sandstone — one of the brightly colored rock formations that comprise southern Utah’s famous redrock — is exposed in the cliffs at Zion National Park, the Petrified Dunes at Arches National Park and in many parts of Capitol Reef National Park.
Now, a new study from the University of Utah concludes that bleaching patterns in the Navajo Sandstone suggest the rock formation once may have harbored vast amounts of hydrocarbons, likely natural gas (methane). And when the once-buried
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