The following news tip is based on abstracts to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO), October 19 – 23, 2003 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Like bacteria that resist common antibiotics, cancer cells can survive chemotherapy and radiation. Radiation oncologists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center report they have found a gene “silencer” that blocks a cancer cell’s ability to repair itself after drugs and radiation
People screened for lung cancer by a spiral CT scanner (commonly known as a CAT scanner) have accelerated and prolonged quit rates of smoking regardless of whether the screening showed any type of malignancy. This suggests that the screening is an ideal place to provide cessation messages even to those people with or at risk for developing lung cancer.
The new study, conducted by researchers at Georgetown University’s Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, will appear in the December 1
Married heterosexual couples can learn a great deal from gay and lesbian couples, far more than the stereotypical images presented by the television show “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” according to the first published observational studies of homosexual relationships.
“Gay and lesbian couples are a lot more mature, more considerate in trying to improve a relationship and have a greater awareness of equality in a relationship than straight couples,” said John Gottman, a University of Wash
Learning the molecular processes that cause termite larvae to grow into workers, soldiers or reproductive adults may lead to new methods to decimate colonies of the wood-eaters, according to Purdue University researchers.
The scientists identified 25 genes that provide some of the first information concerning the differentiation of the insects based on the role they play within a colony. The study, published in this month’s issue of the journal Genome Biology (http://genomebiology.com/2003
New research shows that men with clinically localized prostate cancer, treated to high dose levels with three-dimensional conformal radiation therapy (3D-CRT), achieved long-term PSA relapse-free survival (PRFS) with minimal side effects. Researchers from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) presented findings from the 10-year retrospective study today at the 45th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“This i
ATLANTA – Song™, Delta Air Lines’ new low-fare air service, has reduced the time that arriving aircraft return to service to 45-50 minutes, significantly shorter than the industry standard, according to a paper being presented at the annual meeting of the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®)
“To passengers, this means that they’ll be able to access more flights per day, so there will be greater frequency and more convenience,” comments
In Friday’s edition of Applied Physics, TU Delft researchers will publish an article on how coatings are made and why they so often let go. “Finally, after 30 years, we know exactly what happens,” says Dr. Guido Janssen, materials expert at TU Delft and first author of the article to be printed in the prestigious American journal. Together with his colleagues at the Netherlands Institute for Metals Research (NIMR), he has brought the coating of very small components one step closer.
Ta
Imperial College London researchers report today in the Journal of Experimental Medicine that they have developed a novel strategy for effectively treating the symptoms of the most deadly type of flu.
Working with influenza A virus, they show in mice that their novel treatment eliminates symptoms by reducing the response of active T white blood cells by a third.
Flu A is the type of influenza responsible for pandemics such as the 1919 outbreak of ’Spanish flu’, which glo
Research at the University of Kent has revealed a remarkable phenomenon among tadpoles of the Mallorcan midwife toad, one of Europe’s most threatened species. The researchers, from the University’s Durrell Institute for Conservation and Ecology, (DICE) have discovered that the toad tadpoles can change shape when they smell snakes swimming nearby. Tadpoles found in pools where there are no snakes tend to be short and fat, whereas tadpoles in pools which attract snakes are long and thin.
Dr Ri
Integral, ESA’s powerful gamma-ray space telescope, has discovered what seems to be a new class of astronomical objects.
These are binary systems, probably including a black hole or a neutron star, embedded in a thick cocoon of cold gas. They have remained invisible so far to all other telescopes. Integral was launched one year ago to study the most energetic phenomena in the universe.
Integral detected the first of these objects, called IGRJ16318-4848, on 29 January 2003. Al
Research news from The Cochrane Library
Surgeons and other experts have long regarded mechanical bowel preparation to be an essential preventative measure before colorectal surgery. Recent evidence in The Cochrane Library, however, reveals that mechanical bowel cleansing does not significantly decrease the risk of anastomotic leakage or other complications.
Researchers reviewed six studies performed over the last thirty years into the relationship between mechanical bowel cl
VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Lifa Air Oy Ltd have jointly developed a room filter that traps particles, toxic gases, bacteria and viruses in the incoming air. Low-priced and energy-efficient, the filter can be fitted in the existing air-conditioning systems. Room-specific filtering of inlet air has been attracting increasing international attention in the face of the possibility of a terrorist strike with chemical warfare agents introduced into the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating, and Air-
The aim of this PhD is to study the retention of transition metals by humic substances. Transition metals are essential for life but, depending on their concentration in the environment, they can prove to be toxic and provoke serious environmental impact.
Humic substances are, on the other hand, macromolecules arising from the physical, chemical and microbiological transformation (humification) of biomolecules, explains Álvarez Puebla. Their importance is fundamental as they make up the mos
Researchers from the Physics Department and the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have detected concentrations of radioactive plutonium and americium in plankton from the coast of Palomares (south-east coast of Spain), with an activity level five times higher than the average of other samples taken from the Mediterranean. This is residual contamination from the air accident that occurred on 17 January 1966, when two US military aircraft
Penn State engineers have developed innovative design methods for a new class of antennas composed of an array of fractal-shaped tiles that offer anywhere from a 4:1 to 8:1 improvement in bandwidth compared to their conventional counterparts.
Many natural objects, such as tree branches and their root systems, peaks and valleys in a landscape and rivers and their tributaries are versions of mathematical fractals which appear pleasingly irregular to the eye but are actually made of self-simila
Students Who Built Instrument Are Finalists in National Collegiate Inventors Competition
When the birth of a baby does not proceed smoothly, how much force should a doctor or midwife apply? If a complicated delivery takes too long, the child could suffocate, yet pulling too hard could injure the child.
To address this dilemma, Johns Hopkins University biomedical engineering students have invented an unobtrusive device that measures the amount of force a doctor or midwife use
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