| Travel distance is still a barrier to breast reconstruction after mastectomy Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:38 AM PST Long travel distances continue to be a significant obstacle to breast reconstruction after mastectomy for breast cancer, reports a new study. The researchers analyzed the relationship between travel distance and breast reconstruction in more than 1 million US women undergoing mastectomy from 1998 to 2011. |
| 3-D footage of nematode brains links neurons with motion and behavior Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:38 AM PST A new instrument has allowed researchers to capture among the first 3-D recordings of neural activity in nearly the entire brain of a free-moving animal, the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The findings could provide scientists with a better understanding of how neurons coordinate action and perception in animals. |
| Parents can play a role in preventing teen fighting, research finds Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:38 AM PST With nearly one-fourth of teens reporting fighting in the past year, a new study finds parents, who are often left out of violence prevention programs, can play an important role in reducing adolescent altercations. |
| T cells that recognize HER2 teceptor may prevent HER2+ breast cancer recurrence Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:38 AM PST Recurrence of HER2-positive breast cancer after treatment may be due to a specific and possibly cancer-induced weakness in the patient's immune system -- a weakness that in principle could be corrected with a HER2-targeted vaccine -- according to a new study. |
| Germany: Significantly fewer severely injured patients than in 2000 Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:38 AM PST About 18,000 people are severely injured every year in Germany. Earlier investigations, in 2000 and 2006, estimated that more than 32,000 people sustain multiple trauma each year. The newly calculated lower number likely reflects a reduction of severe injuries caused by road traffic and occupational accidents. |
| New method for better treatment of breast cancer Posted: 30 Dec 2015 11:38 AM PST A novel imaging-based method for defining appropriateness of breast cancer treatment is as accurate as the current standard-of-care and could reduce the need for invasive tissue sampling, new research shows. The results suggest that the method might lead to more optimal treatment of individual patients. |
| Let hunger be your guide Posted: 30 Dec 2015 01:36 AM PST The tendency of today's consumers to eat when they are not hungry might be less advantageous for health than eating when they are hungry, suggests a new article. |
| Liquid salts deliver drugs through the skin with enhanced efficacy, reduced toxicity Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:46 PM PST Formulating drugs as liquid salts may provide a safe and efficient strategy for topical delivery of drugs that cause skin toxicity, say experts. |
| In race stereotypes, issues are not so black and white Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:46 PM PST Recent race-related events in Ferguson, Mo., St. Louis, Baltimore, Chicago, Charleston, S.C., and New York City -- all point to the continuing need to study and understand race relations in modern America. These events show how race and stereotypes are intertwined and can lead to explosive situations and protests. Now, three researchers have approached this problem by asking, why do white Americans' stereotypes of black Americans take the particular forms they do? |
| Most patients still prescribed opioids after nonfatal overdose, study finds Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:46 PM PST Most patients with chronic pain who are hospitalized after a nonfatal opioid overdose continue to receive prescription opioids after the overdose and are at high risk for experiencing a repeated overdose, new research has found. |
| 'Spectre' villain fails neuroanatomy in latest Bond film Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:46 PM PST James Bond's nemesis in the most recent film likely failed neuroanatomy, says a real-life neurosurgeon and scientist. Blofeld didn't quite know his brain anatomy and would've probably hit Daniel Craig's vertebral artery and likely killed his character instead, says the expert. |
| Study ties insurgency phase of Iraq War to higher PTSD rates Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:46 PM PST Guerilla tactics such as suicide attacks and roadside bombs may trigger more post-traumatic stress than conventional warfare, suggests a new study of 738 Iraq veterans. |
| Researchers develop powerful interactive tool to mine data from cancer genome Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:43 PM PST A web-based application has been developed to advance pediatric cancer research, collaboration and clinical care through enhanced exploration of the pediatric cancer genome, report researchers. |
| High-throughput evaluation of synthetic metabolic pathways Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:42 PM PST A central challenge in the field of metabolic engineering is the efficient identification of a metabolic pathway genotype that maximizes specific productivity over a robust range of process conditions. A new review covers the challenges of optimizing specific productivity of metabolic pathways in cells and new advances in pathway creation and screening. |
| Microorganisms in the womb set stage for diseases Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:42 PM PST Researchers review importance of microorganisms that exist in the gut, suggesting perturbation of the environment during pregnancy, delivery and early infancy could impact the developing baby's early microbiome and set the stage for health problems later in life. The term 'microbiome' refers to the trillions of organisms we harbor, on our skin and within our respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. |
| No easy answers in study of legal marijuana's impact on alcohol use Posted: 29 Dec 2015 05:41 PM PST Does legalization of marijuana lead pot users to drink more, or are they likely to substitute alcohol for weed? A new paper seeks to discover how changing marijuana laws affect the use of alcohol, the nation's most popular drug. |
| Physicists devise gene therapy platform for macular degeneration patients Posted: 23 Dec 2015 07:16 PM PST A new platform has been developed by physicists that uses ultrafast near-infrared lasers to deliver gene therapy to damaged areas of the retina to enable vision restoration in patients with photo-degenerative diseases. |
| Guarding against immune responses limiting efficacy of antibody-based approaches to HIV Posted: 23 Dec 2015 07:16 PM PST Immunogeneticists specializing in immunoglobulin GM genes monitored for immune responses that could limit the effectiveness of the broadly neutralizing antibody VRC01 in HIV-infected individuals in a phase 1 trial. |
| Music therapy increases effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation for COPD patients Posted: 23 Dec 2015 07:16 PM PST Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other chronic respiratory disorders who received music therapy in conjunction with standard rehabilitation saw an improvement in symptoms, psychological well-being and quality of life compared to patients receiving rehabilitation alone, according to a new study. |
| New SIR-Network Model helps predict dengue fever epidemic in urban areas Posted: 23 Dec 2015 07:15 PM PST A new mathematical model has been introduced by experts, which offers a simplified approach to studying the spread of the infectious virus, Dengue fever, in urban areas, specifically breaking down the epidemic dynamics across a city and its varying neighborhoods and populations. |
| Marijuana derivative reduces seizures in people with treatment-resistant epilepsy Posted: 23 Dec 2015 07:15 PM PST Cannabidiol (CBD), a medical marijuana derivative, was effective in reducing seizure frequency and well-tolerated and safe for most children and young adults enrolled in a year-long study, researchers report. These latest findings provide the first estimates of safety, tolerability and efficacy of prescription CBD in children and adults with severe, highly treatment-resistant epilepsy. |
| Unusual drug generates exciting results in mouse models of metastatic breast cancer Posted: 23 Dec 2015 11:12 AM PST Preclinical data based on experiments in mice suggest the promise of a novel drug directed against a novel target in malignant mammary tumors. The work excites researchers because in mouse models of human metastatic breast cancer, it has produced 'differentiation of an aggressive primary tumor, redirecting it from a highly proliferative state, and reducing its metastatic activity by 70 percent.' Both the drug and its target are nucleic acids. |
| Model predicts 'shelf life' for library, archival collections Posted: 23 Dec 2015 11:11 AM PST Heritage scientists have developed demographic models of decay and loss to predict when a large library or archival collection might age beyond repair. |
| World's first clinical guidelines for chronic fungal lung infections Posted: 23 Dec 2015 11:11 AM PST The world's first guidelines for chronic fungal lung infections for doctors and laboratories have been published for use by clinicians. |
| Largest study of Ebola survivors finds vision, hearing, joint pain problems Posted: 23 Dec 2015 11:11 AM PST The largest study of survivors of the largest recorded outbreak of Ebola virus disease found they commonly reported complications such as vision, hearing and joint pain problems up to months after they were discharged from an Ebola treatment facility. |
| Screening male kidney transplant candidates for prostate cancer may do more harm than good Posted: 23 Dec 2015 11:11 AM PST Among male kidney transplant candidates, prostate cancer screening was not associated with improved patient survival after transplantation, a new report concludes. Screening increased the time to listing and transplantation for candidates under 70 years old with elevated prostate specific antigen levels. Compared with candidates who were not screened, screened candidates had a reduced likelihood of receiving a transplant regardless of their screening results. |
| Chronic kidney disease prevalence varies greatly across Europe Posted: 23 Dec 2015 10:41 AM PST The prevalence of chronic kidney disease varies across European countries, ranging from 3 percent to 17 percent. Differences in rates of diabetes, hypertension, and obesity -- which are risk factors for chronic kidney disease -- do not account for this variation. |
| In China, training doctors reduced STI risk Posted: 23 Dec 2015 10:41 AM PST Results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial in two Chinese provinces show that providing sexually transmitted infection training and education for physicians resulted in significantly reduced infection risk among their patients. |
| Brain's mysteries unraveled through computational neuropsychiatry Posted: 23 Dec 2015 10:41 AM PST New research using computational neuroscience has unraveled a longstanding mystery of a fundamental property of the brain, topographic organization. The research shows that in the case of pathology, brain maps may undergo re-organization and their discontinuity can be quantified, allowing them to serve as a biomarker for detecting neuropsychiatric disease. |
| A quantum of light for material science Posted: 23 Dec 2015 10:41 AM PST Scientists have shown how the effects of the photons can be properly included in computer simulations that predict the light-induced change in the physical and chemical properties of complex systems, molecules, nanostructures and solids. |
