Men who undergo radiation for prostate cancer have nearly double the risk of developing rectal cancer when compared to men who opt to have surgery to treat prostate cancer, according to a study published today in the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) journal Gastroenterology. Men who receive radiation for prostate cancer have a 70 percent higher risk of developing rectal cancer than those who underwent surgery, a risk similar to that posed by having a family history of the disease.

A new study suggests there may be a better way to sharpen the eyes of radiologists, military pilots and other professionals for whom identifying objects or patterns in a monitor or visual display – often quickly and with pinpoint accuracy – is a critical part of the job.

According to the study, the new approach involves rethinking how the eyes are trained to filter out clutter and focus in on a target. Previously, scientists believed these two perceptual skills intermixed and

People suffering from chronic, debilitating pain caused by nerve damage or disease report better pain relief at lower doses of a combined drug treatment than from either drug administered individually, a new Queen’s study funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) shows.

When given a combination of the anti-seizure drug gabapentin and the opioid morphine, patients with two different types of neuropathic pain experienced lower pain intensity than when they rec

Weather forecasts could become barometers for predicting the potential threat of West Nile virus to humans and wildlife, according to scientists at two state agencies based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Researchers at the Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) and the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS) report a reliable link between weather conditions and an abundance of two mosquito species linked to outbreaks in humans and wildlife, especially birds.

Components in grapes, including some newly identified ones, work together to dramatically inhibit an enzyme crucial to the proliferation of cancer cells, say scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The work — done using advanced molecular tools with grape-cell cultures and the target enzyme for new anti-cancer strategies — helps to identify which flavonoids in grapes and red wine are most responsible for anti-cancer qualities, said Mary Ann Lila, a professo

Scientists have identified an important link between kidney damage and cardiac problems, creating new possibilities for treating the primary cause of death in kidney disease patients.

Researchers tracked a chain reaction that leads from kidney damage to weakening of the skeleton to increased phosphorous in the blood. They showed that higher phosphorous levels were directly linked to vascular calcification, a stiffening of the smooth muscle cells that line blood vessels. Vascula

A few rare people who consistently nod off early, then wake up wide-eyed much before dawn, can blame a newly-found mutant gene for their sleep troubles, Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers announced today.

This odd “time-shift” trait — called familial advanced sleep phase syndrome (FASPS) — was studied in one affected family by neurologist Louis J. Ptacek, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute researcher, and Ying-Hui Fu, at the University of California, San Francisco. Th

Scientists have identified a gene and mutation within it that causes a rare sleep behavior, in which individuals have a “fast” biological clock. The gene’s enzyme could lead to a therapeutic target for the disrupted sleep patterns seen in such groups as those facing jet lag or nighttime work shifts.

More broadly, the gene provides a probe for exploring the regulatory mechanisms of the body’s internal biological clock, or circadian rhythms — a waxing and waning of g

Scientists have discovered that a protein that was originally believed to be involved in tuberculosis antibiotic resistance is actually a “missing enzyme” from the biosynthetic pathway for an agent used by the bacteria to scavenge iron.

The research appears as the “Paper of the Week” in the April 8 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, an American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology journal.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculos

New evidence uncovered by researchers in Tayside and Bristol has shown wider benefits of cholesterol lowering drugs for large sections of the public, including women and the elderly.

Researchers have told us for years that cholesterol lowering drugs that lower blood fat levels provide large benefits to those who participated in clinical trails. However, the effects of these drugs were only really applicable to the sorts of carefully selected patients who actually participated

Findings hoped to spur the development of an improved vaccine

Since 2000, U.S. infants have been routinely immunized against pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) infection. Now, Boston researchers have made a surprising discovery about natural immunity to pneumococcus. Two related studies, led by Dr. Richard Malley of the Children’s Hospital Boston Division of Infectious Diseases and Dr. Marc Lipsitch of the Harvard School of Public Health, suggest that natural protection

Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University, in collaboration with Neurocrine Biosciences Inc., have successfully tested a research medication that both stimulates appetite and reduces metabolic rate in preclinical trials. Neurocrine, which developed the test medication for this research, is now developing a related medication that will likely be tested in patients suffering from a common, disease-related form of malnutrition and involuntary weight loss called cachexia. The results of the

Researchers at the University of Minnesota have identified a newly emerging illness, named staphylococcal purpura fulminans. The disease begins as a respiratory tract infection, which then is infected by Staphylococcus aureus. The infection then moves to the lungs, making superantigens (bacterial toxins that activate large numbers of T cells), often leading to death due to hypertension and shock. Purpura fulminans has been identified in five cases in the Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., metropolitan

Researchers from Johns Hopkins and the University of Maryland have discovered that urine actually helps a particular yeast stick to cells along the urinary tract. The finding might offer a new way to prevent or treat certain yeast and fungal infections, and the researchers’ work also provides an unexpected new role for some proteins already known to help hungry yeast live longer.

Writing in the March 18 issue of Science, the researchers report that the yeast Candida glabr

Sleeping woes may explain why children with epilepsy are often so hyperactive, say researchers with the University of Florida’s Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute.

Characterized at its extreme by physical convulsions, epilepsy has long been thought to cause excitability and contrariness in children. But UF researchers writing in the journal Epilepsy & Behavior believe the real reason some of these children cannot sit still or pay attention is because they don

Researchers find that human eyes learn best in an uncluttered setting

If athletes, soldiers and drivers must perform every day in visually messy environments, common sense suggests that any visual training they receive should include distractions and disorder. New research from the University of Southern California and UC Irvine suggests common sense is wrong in this case.

The human vision system learns best in “clear display” conditions without visual noise, said co-aut