| When offering someone a job hurts more than it helps Posted: 05 Sep 2014 11:15 AM PDT A sociologist has made the surprising discovery that unsolicited job leads can increase symptoms of depression in people who are employed full-time or happy with their financial status.  |
| Disease in a dish approach could aid Huntington's disease discovery Posted: 05 Sep 2014 09:31 AM PDT Scientists have applied iPS technology to a model of Huntington's disease in transgenic nonhuman primates, allowing them to conveniently assess the efficacy of potential therapies on neuronal cells in the laboratory.  |
| Novel immunotherapy vaccine decreases recurrence in HER2 positive breast cancer patients Posted: 05 Sep 2014 09:27 AM PDT A new breast cancer vaccine candidate, (GP2), provides further evidence of the potential of immunotherapy in preventing disease recurrence. One of only a few vaccines of its kind in development, GP2 has been shown to be safe and effective for breast cancer patients, reducing recurrence rates by 57%. Further, women with the highest overexpression of HER2 (known as HER2 +3) had no cancer recurrences when they were administered the vaccine after completing trastuzumab (Herceptin), a type of immunotherapy drug known as a monoclonal antibody.  |
| Dietary recommendations may be tied to increased greenhouse gas emissions Posted: 05 Sep 2014 09:27 AM PDT If Americans altered their menus to conform to federal dietary recommendations, emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases tied to agricultural production could increase significantly, according to a new study.  |
| Stigma as a barrier to mental health care Posted: 05 Sep 2014 08:39 AM PDT Despite the availability of effective evidence-based treatment, about 40 percent of individuals with serious mental illness do not receive care and many who begin an intervention fail to complete it. A new report investigates stigma as a significant barrier to care for many individuals with mental illness.  |
| Synthetic messenger boosts immune system Posted: 05 Sep 2014 08:39 AM PDT Specific immune cells, known as T lymphocytes, have to be activated so that the body can develop long-term protection against infections. Previously, it was believed that this process only took place in the lymph nodes and the spleen. Now scientists have discovered that T cells can also be activated in the liver -- via a much faster, more direct signaling pathway. The findings could lead to improvements in the formulation of vaccines.  |
| Banked blood grows stiffer with age, study finds Posted: 05 Sep 2014 08:39 AM PDT It may look like fresh blood and flow like fresh blood, but the longer blood is stored, the less it can carry oxygen into the tiny microcapillaries of the body, says a new study. Using advanced optical techniques, the researchers measured the stiffness of the membrane surrounding red blood cells over time. They found that, even though the cells retain their shape and hemoglobin content, the membranes get stiffer, which steadily decreases the cells' functionality.  |
| Copper Age settlement discovered in Central Spain Posted: 05 Sep 2014 08:39 AM PDT Archaeologists show the Meseta's resources used intensively as early as 4000 years ago.  |
| New gene mutations for Wilms tumor found Posted: 05 Sep 2014 08:36 AM PDT Significant progress in defining new genetic causes of Wilms tumor, a type of kidney cancer found only in children, has been made by researchers. Wilms tumor is the most common childhood genitourinary tract cancer and the third most common solid tumor of childhood.  |
| Use of dengue vaccine may cause short-term spikes in its prevalence Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:08 AM PDT As researchers continue to work toward vaccines for serious tropical diseases such as dengue fever, experts caution in a new report that such vaccines will probably cause temporary but significant spikes in the disease in the years after they are first used.  |
| Ultra sensitive biosensor from molybdenite semiconductor developed Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:08 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated an atomically thin, ultrasensitive and scalable molybdenum disulfide field-effect transistor based biosensors and establish their potential for single-molecule detection.  |
| WHO-commissioned report on e-cigarettes misleading, say experts Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:08 AM PDT World leading tobacco experts argue that a recently published World Health Organization-commissioned review of evidence on e-cigarettes contains important errors, misinterpretations and misrepresentations, putting policy-makers and the public in danger of foregoing the potential public health benefits of e-cigarettes. The authors, writing today in the journal Addiction, analyze the WHO-commissioned Background Paper on E-cigarettes, which looks to have been influential in the recently published WHO report calling for greater regulation of e-cigarettes.  |
| First international standards for growth of developing babies, size of newborns Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:06 AM PDT The first international standards for fetal growth and newborn size have been developed by a global team led by scientists. Now, for the first time, all 120 million babies born each year across the world can be assessed using a common set of standards, reflecting how babies should grow when mothers have adequate health, nutrition, medical care and socioeconomic status.  |
| IBD patients: Consider giving infliximab a second try Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:06 AM PDT Restarting infliximab therapy after a drug holiday is safe and effective for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a new study. Infliximab was the first anti-tumor necrosis factor biologic for Crohn's disease and still is used frequently for its efficacy in both Crohn's and ulcerative colitis. Studies have shown that loss of response to infliximab is about 13 percent per patient-year of treatment.  |
| No association found between wearing bra, breast cancer Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:06 AM PDT A population-based case-control study found no association between bra wearing and increased breast cancer risk among postmenopausal women. "There have been some concerns that one of the reasons why breast cancer may be more common in developed countries compared with developing countries is differences in bra-wearing patterns," said one investigator. "Given how common bra wearing is, we thought this was an important question to address."  |
| One in five child deaths in England preventable, as are many other types, study shows Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:04 AM PDT A new series of articles highlights the substantial number of preventable deaths in England. For example, 20% of child deaths reviewed between 2010 and 2011 (800 of 4601) were from preventable causes including accidents, suicide, abuse, and neglect. Moreover, the series reveals that death rates vary widely between and within high income countries and between different age groups. At an international level, a higher proportion of deaths in older children in the USA, Australia, and New Zealand are due to external causes.  |
| Fast-paced TV shows don't harm preschoolers' concentration Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:04 AM PDT Watching fast-paced television programs does not adversely affect young children's ability to concentrate.  |
| New blood test could offer more tailored treatment of ovarian cancer Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:04 AM PDT A new blood test allowing doctors to predict which ovarian cancer patients will respond to particular types of treatment is a step closer following a new study. Researchers say the test could be developed and used in hospitals within the next few years.  |
| Near-extinct African amphibians 'invisible' under climate change Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:04 AM PDT An international team of researchers has found that the majority of threatened species are 'invisible' when using modern methods to predict species distributions under climate change. Using African amphibians as a case study, the researchers found that more than 90 per cent of the species listed as threatened on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species are omitted by the most popular tools for species distribution modelling.  |
| Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity does not have long-term harmful effects on sleep Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:02 AM PDT Caffeine therapy for apnea of prematurity has no long-term harmful effects on sleep or control of breathing, according to a new study of 201 preterm children assessed at ages 5-12, the first study in humans to examine the long-term effects of neonatal caffeine treatment on sleep regulation and ventilatory control.  |
| California blue whales rebound from whaling; first of their kin to do so Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:02 AM PDT The number of California blue whales has rebounded to near historical levels and, while the number of blue whales struck by ships is likely above allowable U.S. limits, such strikes do not immediately threaten that recovery.  |
| Novel microneedle patch for faster, effective delivery of painkiller, collagen Posted: 05 Sep 2014 06:02 AM PDT A simple technique has been developed to encapsulate lidocaine, a common painkiller, or collagen in the tiny needles attached to an adhesive patch. When applied to the skin, the microneedles deliver the drug or collagen rapidly into the skin without any discomfort to the user.  |
| Outdoor activities may be linked to exfoliation syndrome in eyes Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:37 PM PDT Outdoor activities may increase the odds of developing exfoliation syndrome (XFS) in the eyes, a condition which has been linked to cataracts and glaucoma. XFS is a harmful aging of the eye associated cataracts, elevated intraocular pressure and retinal vein blockage. There is evidence that climate factors contribute to XFS. For example, aboriginal Australians who spend lots of time outdoors have a higher prevalence of the disorder.  |
| Potassium-rich foods cut stroke, death risks among older women Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:37 PM PDT Older women who eat foods with higher amounts of potassium may be at lower risk of stroke and death than women who consume less potassium-rich foods. The health benefits from potassium-rich foods are greater among older women who do not have high blood pressure. Most older American women do not eat the recommended amounts of potassium from foods.  |
| Soy supplementation adversely effects expression of breast cancer-related genes Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:37 PM PDT Soy supplementation alters expression of genes associated with breast cancer, raising concerns that soy could have adverse effects in breast cancer, according to a new study.  |
| FDA approves new game changing drug to fight melanoma Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:36 PM PDT The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new immunotherapy drug to treat advanced melanoma, signaling a paradigm shift in the way the deadly skin cancer is treated. Melanoma incidence rates have been increasing for at least 30 years. An estimated 76,100 new cases of melanoma will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2014, and nearly 10,000 Americans will die from the disease this year.  |
| Magnetic nanocubes self-assemble into helical superstructures Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:36 PM PDT Nanochemists have found that magnetite nanocubes can self-assemble into helical superstructures under certain conditions; theoretical chemists simulated the phenomenon and explained the conditions under which it can occur.  |
| What is keeping your kids up at night? Turning off electronics helps everyone sleep better Posted: 04 Sep 2014 03:35 PM PDT Sleep, or lack thereof, and technology often go hand in hand when it comes to school-aged kids. Nearly three out of four children (72%) between the ages of 6 and 17 have at least one electronic device in their bedrooms while sleeping, according to a National Sleep Foundation survey. Children who leave those electronic devices on at night sleep less -— up to one hour less on average per night.  |
| Rosetta-Alice spectrograph obtains first far ultraviolet spectra of a cometary surface Posted: 04 Sep 2014 12:38 PM PDT NASA's Alice ultraviolet spectrograph aboard the European Space Agency's Rosetta comet orbiter has delivered its first scientific discoveries. Rosetta, in orbit around comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, is the first spacecraft to study a comet up close.  |
| The yin and yang of overcoming cocaine addiction Posted: 04 Sep 2014 11:46 AM PDT Biology, by nature, has a yin and a yang -- a push and a pull. Addiction, particularly relapse, researchers find, is no exception. A new paper is the first to establish the existence of a brain circuitry that resists a relapse of cocaine use through a naturally occurring neural remodeling with "silent synapses."  |
| Scientists prove ground, tree salamanders have same diets Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:16 AM PDT Salamanders spend the majority of their lives below ground and surface only for short periods of time. When they do emerge, salamanders can be spotted not only on forest floors but also in trees, often climbing as high as 8 feet. However, it has never been clear to biologists why salamanders take time to climb vegetation. Now, researchers tested a long-standing hypothesis that salamanders might climb vegetation for food.  |
| Study identifies gene network behind untreatable leukemia, possible treatment target Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:16 AM PDT Researchers have identified a genetic/molecular network that fuels a high-risk and aggressive form of acute myeloid leukemia and its precursor disease myelodysplastic syndrome -- providing a possible therapeutic strategy for an essentially untreatable form of the blood cancer.  |
| Newest precision medicine tool: Prostate cancer organoids Posted: 04 Sep 2014 10:11 AM PDT Organoids derived from human prostate cancer tumors can be grown in the laboratory, giving researchers an exciting new tool to test cancer drugs and personalize cancer treatment, research demonstrates for the first time.  |
