Lung cancer screening could be the impetus to help some cigarette smokers quit, according to a Mayo Clinic study to be published in the Dec. 1, 2003, issue of the journal Cancer.
One year after undergoing lung cancer screening, 14 percent of smokers in the study had stopped smoking. “That quit rate is double what we would expect to see in a community sample of smokers,” says Matthew Clark, Ph.D., Mayo Clinic clinical psychologist and a lead investigator in the study.
Participants
Unprecedented genetic access to brain provided by Rockefeller University scientists
For scientists studying the brain, this week’s Nature announces a remarkable new map describing previously uncharted territory, plus the means of exploring the new horizons for themselves. Rockefeller University scientists led by Nat Heintz, Ph.D., and Mary Beth Hatten, Ph.D., are well under way on a genetic atlas of the mammalian brain that provides unprecedented access to central nervous system
VLT Observes Infrared Flares from Black Hole at Galactic Centre
An international team of astronomers led by researchers at the Max-Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (MPE) in Garching (Germany) has discovered powerful infrared flares from the supermassive black hole at the heart of the Milky Way.
The signals, rapidly flickering on a scale of minutes, must come from hot gas falling into the black hole, just before it disappears below the “event horizon” of the monst
Women who take more than a year to conceive have a higher than normal risk of having a premature birth, a full-term baby with low birthweight[1], or a Caesarean section, according to a large Danish study reported today (Thursday 30 October) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction[2].
More than one in ten babies are born to infertile[3] couples and the researchers are warning that doctors should be especially alert to potential problems within this group of women
Women who take part in egg sharing programmes run by fertility clinics are not compromising their chance of having a baby by donating some of their eggs, according to UK research published today (Thursday 30 October) in Europe’s leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction[1].
The Lister Fertility Clinic in London, a private clinic that has been running a formal egg sharing scheme since January 1998[2], has evaluated 276 egg sharing cycles involving 192 women who agreed to share
The only natural habitat of the polar bear is under increasing threat as a consequence of the dramatic thinning of the Arctic sea ice. The link between the thinning of the ice and rising temperatures has been discovered by scientists at UCL and the Met Office Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research, whose findings are due to be published in the 30th October edition of Nature.
The thinness of the ice covering the Arctic Ocean, approximately three metres deep, makes it far more vulne
Onset of coronary events occur within one week of aspirin withdrawal
Patients with coronary artery disease who stop taking aspirin may be at risk for developing withdrawal-related coronary events, says a new study presented at CHEST 2003, the 69th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). The study found that previously stable coronary patients experienced coronary events, including unstable angina and myocardial infarction (heart att
Australian farmers are trialling a satellite-based pasture monitoring system which dramatically improves their ability to make informed farm management decisions.
Utilising the MODIS sensor in the Terra satellite, Australia’s ’Pastures From Space’ consortium can now deliver much more detailed data relating to pasture growth rates (PGRs), says CSIRO Livestock Industries’ Mr Gonzalo Mata.
“We can now provide farmers with 16-times more detail about their pastures,” Mr Mata says. “Inst
A team of researchers at the Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology & Natural Resources, together with the Japanese pharmaceutical company, JCR Pharmaceuticals, have discovered an enzyme which could be fundamental in the metabolism of glycogen in mammals. This find may be the first step in the finding a cure for illnesses associated with metabolic disorders such as certain kinds of diabetes and cancer. The characterisation and identification of the gene that its codes has been recently published in
’Extended’ criteria increase organ donations without compromising patient health
Using more liberal criteria to evaluate potential lung donors combined with aggressive donor management significantly increases the availability of potential lung donors, and ultimately decreases mortality of recipients on the waiting list, says a new study presented at CHEST 2003, the 69th annual international scientific assembly of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP). The new study
Drinking green tea may do more than just thwart a head cold, according to research presented today at the American Association for Cancer Research Second Annual International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research. Green tea already is believed to help lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, fight bacteria and dental cavities, and possibly aid weight loss. New studies are now suggesting the various potential anti-cancer benefits of the age-old beverage.
“Laboratory studi
Technical Insights’ Genetic Technology Alert
Biotech companies and researchers across the world are focusing on the development of new therapies for the treatment of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) cancer, a lethal and malignant disease that is spreading at an alarming rate.
“About 300,000 people in the United States are affected by NHL and it causes about 23,000 deaths each year in the U.S. alone,” says Technical Insights Analyst Al Hester. “This has created a greate
The reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park may be the key to maintaining groves of cottonwood trees that were well on their way to localized extinction, and is working to rebalance a stream ecosystem in the park for the first time in seven decades, Oregon State University scientists say in two new studies.
The data show a clear and remarkable linkage between the presence of wolves and the health of an entire streamside ecosystem, including two species of cottonwoods and the
Identification of ’Jelly Belly’ gene may lead to new drugs to combat heart disease, cancer and neurological disorders
Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have identified a secreted signaling protein that regulates smooth muscle development in fruit flies. In the absence of a protein called “Jelly Belly (Jeb),” primitive smooth muscle cells fail to migrate or differentiate, according to study results published in the October 2 issue of Nature.
“Our r
STEELBIZ is an on-line information system designed to improve the performance of the European steel construction industry. It provides engineers with technical information, design guides, building regulations, case studies and, for broadband users, voiceover Continuing Professional Development (CPD) lectures.
The STEELBIZ project is led by the UK-based Steel Construction Institute (SCI) which represents some 600 SME members in 30 countries. In the last 15 years it has produced nearly 200 pub
New findings hold potential for new AIDS prevention
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic have discovered a way that the mouth may prevent the contraction of HIV. The findings are reported in the October 28 issue of the international journal AIDS. The researchers also added that the findings hold potential for finding new ways of preventing AIDS and other infections in the body.
With the lining of the mouth constantly under attack by a barra
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