A new generation of gamma cameras is on the horizon, thanks to a collaboration between the BioImaging Unit of the Space Research Centre at the University of Leicester, the Institute for Cancer Research at the Royal Marsden Hospital (Surrey) and medical physicists at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

Dr John Lees, who leads the BioImaging Unit, is developing the new camera using funding from the University’s seedcorn fund, Lachesis. It will be a small, affordable hand-held device, producing hi

Three-dimensional ecography is a novel advance in the application of ultrasounds in the diagnosis of a number of pathologies. It involves a system of probes that register images in multiple layers. Then the information is transferred to a computer within the ecograph itself, where the three-dimensional reconstruction is carried out automatically. Advances in information technology have so perfected the data processing that this reconstruction can be obtained in real time.

This new diagnostic

Nature publishes the first comprehensive overview of the biodiversity patterns of phytoplankton, the tiny plants that float on the surface of the sea, on 24 June.

An international research team, partly funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, found striking similarities between biodiversity patterns on land and in the oceans prompting the conclusion that there is a universal mechanism controlling biodiversity. The oceans, by far the largest ecosystem on the planet, are the least

As the world’s population will grow from 6 to 9 billion over the next 50 years, and fossil resources will diminish, the need for food, “bio-fuels” and “bio-materials” from renewable, plant-based resources will increase. A report presented in Brussels today highlights how advances in plant genomics and biotechnology can help Europe to address these challenges, for instance with stress-resistant plants. Leading representatives from research, the food and biotech industry, the farming community and co

A miniscule marine creature caught during a recent Indian Ocean research voyage is believed to be the first of its kind identified in the Southern Hemisphere

A miniscule marine creature caught during a recent Indian Ocean research voyage is believed to be the first of its kind identified in the Southern Hemisphere.The single celled organism, supporting what looks like 6 legs is a phaeodaria from the family coelodendridae, also known as a radiolarian. Measuring only 1.4 mm, the organi

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a non-invasive diagnostic method has been evolving into an attractive alternative to methods which are associated with radiation exposure. This development now also starts to manifest itself in lung perfusion imaging. This was reported by Dr. Christian Fink and colleagues of the Radiology Division of the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum (German Cancer Research Center) in a recent issue of the journal Radiology*.

Diagnosis of numerous diseases of the lung

Even a minor accident or fall could result in a potentially disabling fracture for as many as 60 percent of Canadian women over age 50. That’s just one of the disturbing findings of the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CAMOS), a major, ongoing study of osteoporosis involving more than 9,000 people across Canada. This study is made possible by a recently renewed grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Although common in older people, osteoporosis is often not

Discovery aims to protect hospitalized patients

A team of international researchers has shown that coating implanted medical devices with a key peptide known as RIP can prevent the occurrence of bacterial colonization, biofilm formation and consequent drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection – a leading cause of illness and death among hospitalized patients. RIP acts by preventing bacterial cell-to-cell communication, a process known as ’quorum sensing’. This is the first direc

A team of researchers has discovered a genetic variation that doubles the risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The variation, referred to as a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP, pronounced “snip”), is present in about 28 percent of individuals with rheumatoid arthritis and 17 percent of the general population. This discovery resulted from a collaboration between scientists from the North American Rheumatoid Arthritis Consortium (NARAC), led by Peter K. Gregersen, MD, of the North Shore-Long Island J

Tasty new weapon in fight against disease

A few forkfuls of sprouted vegetables could help protect against cancer, new research by Professor Ian Rowland and Chris Gill has shown.

Eating just over 100 grams of tasty sprouted vegetables every day for a fortnight has been shown to have clear protective effects against DNA damage in human blood cells, according to the researchers.

“DNA damage is associated with cancer risk. Sources of DNA damage include diet-rela

Adverse drug reactions to alternative medicines have more than doubled in three years

Since traditional, complementary and alternative medicines remain largely unregulated, consumers worldwide need to be informed and given the tools to access appropriate, safe and effective treatment. To help address this issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) today releases a new set of guidelines for national health authorities to develop context specific and reliable information for consumer

Study suggests that the chronic bacterial infections found in periodontal diseases may affect reproduction success and the outcome of infertility treatment

Researchers found that women undergoing ovulation induction for infertility treatment for more than three menstrual cycles experience higher gingival inflammation, bleeding and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF). This study appeared in the recent issue of the Journal of Periodontology.

In this study, the gingival inflammatio

Discovery yields hope for universal treatment

Researchers at the University of Michigan, Johns Hopkins and the Institute of Bioinformatics in India have discovered a gene-expression “signature” common to distinct types of cancer, renewing hope that a universal treatment for the nation’s second leading killer might be found.

Scientists essentially abandoned the search for a common approach to cancer therapy after research launched by the 1970s “War on Cancer” revealed the

Older women using estrogen-alone hormone therapy could be at a slightly greater risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), than women who do not use any menopausal hormone therapy, according to a new report by scientists with the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS). The scientists also found that estrogen alone did not prevent cognitive decline in these older women. These findings from WHIMS appear in the June 23/30, 2004, Journal of the American Medical Association

An investigation of how blood flows through stents after opening clogged arteries has led a team of researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin Cardiovascular Center in Milwaukee to suggest that stents designed with thinner and fewer linkages may be the basis of a new generation of stents. Their findings are published in the July 2004 issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.

One of the most common methods for treating heart blockages is balloon angioplasty, inflating tiny catheters w

MicroRNAs (miRNAs), tiny pieces of genetic material that can serve as stop signs for gene expression and protein synthesis, are thought to be important in the development of cancer. Now, researchers at Jefferson Medical College and the Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia have developed a technique that allows them to find which miRNA genes are expressed – and how – in both cancerous and normal tissue.
Scientists, led by Carlo Croce, M.D., director of Jefferson’s K