Two new studies now show that aprepitant – the first in a new class of drugs that interfere with the vomiting reflex – can substantially reduce chemotherapy-associated nausea and vomiting in cancer patients treated with cisplatin, a common type of chemotherapy. Results of both Journal of Clinical Oncology studies, early release articles published online October 14, formed the basis of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval of aprepitant in March 2003.
Aprepitant Combined with
Some men may be more prone to prostate cancer because a variation in a specific gene makes them more susceptible to the harmful effects of cancer-causing agents, a new study shows. The results of the study led by Wake Forest University School of Medicine researcher Jianfeng Xu, Ph.D. will be published today in the British Journal of Cancer.
Xu and his team, in collaboration with researchers at Johns Hopkins University, looked at variations in a gene that controls the body’s response to
An industrial engineer at Purdue University has created a method to increase the efficiency, profitability and capacity of recycling operations for electronic products such as computers and television sets.
The work also promises to open up a new area of research in a field known as scheduling.
More than 1.5 billion pounds of electronic equipment is processed every year in the United States, and the quantity of discarded personal computers is expected to rise substantially over the
Once freed from its home inside the nucleus of an atom, a neutron lives on average 886.8 seconds (about 14.8 minutes), plus or minus 3.4 seconds, according to recent measurements performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
This result, published in the Oct. 10 issue of Physical Review Letters, is the most precise ever achieved using beams of neutrons and is the culmination of almost 10 years of work. The new neutron lifetime value is consistent with physicists’ cur
A molecule expressed in the earliest stages of pregnancy that vanishes when the baby is born seems to keep some cells responsible for directing the immune system in an immature and accepting stage, Medical College of Georgia researchers says.
Their finding that the molecule HLA-G helps make dendritic cells – which work like air-traffic controllers for the immune system – tolerant helps explain how a fetus, with genes from both parents, can avoid rejection by the mother’s immune system.
According to estimates, 10 % of women suffer from urinary incontinence, which can occur at all ages. Stress urinary incontinence is the most prevalent form of the condition and can result from intensive physical exercise, childbirth, weakened pelvic floor muscles, a decrease in blood oestrogen levels, a gynaecological operation or tissue ageing. Most stress urinary incontinence cases can be treated or cured. Several treatments, including surgery, have long helped patients with this psychologically u
An invention being developed jointly by the Low Temperature Engineering Group at the University of Southampton and BOC Edwards could help turn the dream of hydrogen technology into reality. In future, electricity, and in some applications useful heat, could be generated in a fuel cell through the combination of hydrogen and oxygen, with water being produced at the end of the process.
Howard Stone, an Engineering Doctorate student, and his supervisor Dr Neil Richardson of the School of Engine
“Intelligent Agent” computer programs are roaming the Internet and watching the skies. It may sound like science fiction, but these programs, using Grid computing technology, will help astronomers detect some of the most dramatic events in the universe, such as massive supernova explosions. The Agents, created by the “eScience Telescopes for Astronomical Research” (eSTAR) project, have been deployed on the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii. The work is being announced at a conferenc
Contrary to what your music teacher told you, it does not take decades of piano practice to learn to play phrases on the piano without looking at your fingers. A brain map linking finger movements with particular notes begins to form within minutes of starting training, according to research published this week in BMC Neuroscience. Recent brain imaging studies of professional musicians have demonstrated that silent tapping of musical phrases can stimulate auditory areas of the cortex and hea
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) announces the release of the XForms 1.0 Recommendation. XForms 1.0 is the foundation for next-generation Web- based forms, combining the ability to separate purpose, presentation, and results with the Extensible Markup Language (XML).
A W3C Recommendation is the equivalent of a Web standard, indicating that this W3C-developed specification is stable, contributes to Web interoperability, and has been reviewed by the W3C Membership, who favor its adoption b
Increased use of renewable sources is central to the European Commission’s energy policy. The EU has set itself the goal of doubling renewable sources’ share of overall energy production to 12% by 2010. It was a step in the right direction when the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) voted to adopt procedures proposed by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC). These actions would establish the traceability of photovoltaic (PV) solar cell references to SI standards. Thi
Marine researchers and scientists have long sought a practical way to track the position and migration of fish in the world’s oceans in order to provide research data for stock management and fish conservation.
Sigmur Gudbjornsson, Managing Director of Stjornu-Oddi, the Icelandic lead partner in EUREKA project E! 2326 GPSFISH, describes how they solved the problem by having ships “transmit by sonar GPS (global positioning satellite) data which is then stored on any fish that has been previo
The new TWT-1650 wind-powered generator presented in Pamplona has 36-metre vanes which, in a circular movement, sweep an area greater than that of a football pitch and which can withstand extremes of weather, including winds of up to 110 kilometres an hour.
This device, made by Grupo Mtorres in collaboration with the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), is beginning its commercial life, after three years of tests.
The new model, with a power of 1,650 kilow
A team of University of California scientists has identified a gene that controls the production by terrestrial plants of methyl halides, gaseous compounds that contribute to the destruction of ozone in the stratosphere.
The discovery of the gene, detailed in the October 14 issue of the journal Current Biology, is important because it now provides scientists with a genetic tool with which to probe how and why plants produce methyl halides. The identification of the gene should also help res
MIT engineers report a new approach to creating three-dimensional samples of human tissue that could push researchers closer to their ultimate goal: tissues for therapeutic applications and replacement organs. The technique could also help answer questions in cell and developmental biology.
The team “seeded” human embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to differentiate into a variety of specialized cells, onto a biodegradable polymer scaffold. By treating the scaffold/stem cell stru
Men who smoke marijuana frequently have significantly less seminal fluid, a lower total sperm count and their sperm behave abnormally, all of which may affect fertility adversely, a new study in reproductive physiology at the University at Buffalo has shown.
This study is the first to assess marijuana’s effects on specific swimming behavior of sperm from marijuana smokers and to compare the results with sperm from men with confirmed fertility. Marijuana contains the cannabinoid drug TH
Feedback
