Scientists at Stanford University have developed a new laser therapy that destroys cancer cells but leaves healthy ones unharmed. The new, non-invasive treatment is described in a study published in the Aug. 1 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
“One of the longstanding problems in medicine is how to cure cancer without harming normal body tissue,” says Hongjie Dai, an associate professor of chemistry at Stanford and co-author of the stu
Clearing — or perhaps roiling — the murky and often contentious waters of Mesoamerican archeology, a study of 3,000-year-old pottery provides new evidence that the Olmec may not have been the mother culture after all.
Writing this week (Aug. 1, 2005) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), a team of scientists led by University of Wisconsin-Madison archeologist James B. Stoltman presents new evidence that shows the Olmec, widely regarded as the creators of
Potential new drug target identified, as well
A study conducted at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) has demonstrated that omega-6 fatty acids such as the fat found in corn oil promote the growth of prostate tumor cells in the laboratory. The study also identifies a potential new molecular target for anti-tumor drugs: an enzyme known as cPLA2, which plays a key role in the chain leading from omega-6 fatty acids to prostate tumor cell growth.
The study was led
A new study of 60 beaches in Southern California suggests that water pollution varies with the lunar cycle, reaching the highest levels when tides are ebbing during the new and full moon. The findings could help beachgoers and managers better assess the potential risk of swimming.
The report appears in the Aug. 1 issue of the American Chemical Society’s journal Environmental Science & Technology. ACS is the world’s largest scientific society.
Coastal water q
A University of Cincinnati (UC) study provides new evidence that drinking large amounts of beverages containing fructose adds body fat, and might explain why sweetening with fructose could be even worse than using other sweeteners.
Researchers allowed mice to freely consume either water, fructose sweetened water or soft drinks. They found increased body fat in the mice that drank the fructose-sweetened water and soft drinks–despite that fact that these animals decreased the a
Fears that chemical byproducts resulting from purifying drinking water with chlorine boost the chances that pregnant women will miscarry were not supported by the results of a major new study. If such threats exist at all, which is uncertain, they likely are modest, it concludes.
The national study, directed by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists, contrasts with earlier, less detailed work done in Northern California and published in 1998. That research suggested an ass
A new study from the University of Alberta reveals that people with HIV in developing countries do just as well on antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs as do people with HIV on ART programs in developed countries. It also shows that people with HIV who are given free ART drugs will do “significantly” better at fighting the disease compared to those who must pay for the drugs.
“ART programs are complex therapeutic regimens that require patients to take a minimum of three pills a
A controversial surgical procedure that has lost favor among medical professionals may benefit women who have had caesarean sections. So say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine, who have found that closing the parietal peritoneum, a multi-layered membrane that lines the abdomino-pelvic walls, substantially decreases the likelihood of scarring that can make future C-sections more difficult.
The finding on this link between peritoneum closure and fewer adhesi
Babies born at night had a 12 to 16 percent increase in neonatal mortality
There is strong evidence that babies born at night have a greater risk of dying in their first month of life than babies born earlier in the day, according to a new study published this month in Obstetrics & Gynecology.
“We’re not surprised at this finding because it is supported by previous studies in the medical literature that were carried out in Europe,” said Diane M. Ashton, M.D., M.P.
Two studies by researchers at the University of Chicago show how the bacteria that cause the plague manage to outsmart the immune system and how, by slightly altering one of the microbe’s tools, the researchers produced what may be the first safe and effective vaccine.
Both papers — one published online July 28 in Science Express and one in the August issue of Infection and Immunity — focus on aspects of the type-III pathway, a molecular syringe that Yersinia pestis, the ba
Long-necked, herbivorous dinosaur’s embryo offers insights
The embryos of a long-necked, herbivorous dinosaur are the earliest ever recorded for any terrestrial vertebrate and point to how primitive dinosaurs evolved into the largest animals ever to walk on earth, say scientists from the University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM), the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa.
The discovery, published in the July 29 issue of Science, p
Researchers have isolated compounds from the vegetable broccoli that they believe may help prevent or slow the progress of bladder cancer.
The current work builds on a major study conducted six years ago by Harvard and Ohio State universities that found that men who ate two or more half-cup servings of broccoli per week had a 44 percent lower incidence of bladder cancer compared to men who ate less than one serving each week.
“We’re starting to look at which compou
Simple blood test may give diagnostic and prognostic information
Scientists from the Uppsala Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR) have made a promising discovery that could improve the early diagnosis of breast and ovarian cancers through a simple blood test.
The LICR team, working in collaboration with a group at the Lviv Regional Oncology Center in Ukraine, discovered three proteins present in the blood of women with breast and ovarian cancer, but n
The steroid hormone testosterone regulates the expression of reproductive behaviors and sexual traits of many animal species. While high levels of testosterone are required for reproductive activities or for the expression of sexual traits, these are often costly, and can lead, for instance, to increased parasite infection. Such costs would also ensure honesty in sexual signals or behavior used by animals for assessing the healthiness of a potential mate.
The mechanisms linking elevated
Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that a single protein regulates secretion levels in the fruit fly’s salivary gland and its skin-like outer layer.
Described in the May 15 issue of Development, the finding improves understanding of how cells become specialized for secretion, which is a critical ability of certain glands and cell types in organisms from insects to humans.
The researchers discovered that a protein called CrebA single-handedly controls the entire
Study focuses on hepatoma
Primary liver cancer is much more likely to take root when a naturally occurring enzyme is in short supply, a team of researchers has found at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute.
Using a knockout mouse model, the team has found that the likelihood of hepatoma, or primary liver cancer, increases substantially when half the normal amount of an enzyme called Plk4 is present. Furthermore, 60 per cent of patients with h
Feedback
