Body

Clinicians should be careful about using x-rays on pregnant women and infants because of the potential for a slight increase in the risk of children developing cancer, concludes a new study published on bmj.com today.

The study is consistent with what doctors have long suspected, and why women of childbearing age are always asked about the possibility of pregnancy before being x- rayed.

Less than one-third of acute stroke patients treated with intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) receive the clot-busting drug within 60 minutes of their hospital arrival, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2011. The research is simultaneously published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Scientists have discovered a new way to attack dangerous pathogens, marking a hopeful next step in the ever-escalating battle between man and microbe.

In a paper published online Feb. 10 in the journal PLoS Pathogens, scientists demonstrate that by stopping bacteria's ability to degrade RNA – a "housekeeping" process crucial to their ability to thrive – scientists were able to stop methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA both in the laboratory and in infected mice.

MADISON -- Leafcutter ants, signature denizens of New World tropical forests, are unique in their ability to harvest fresh leaves to cultivate a nutrient-rich fungus as food.

Now, this mutualism -- a complicated interplay of ants, fungi and a suite of bacteria -- is coming into sharper focus as a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has published the complete genome of the leafcutter ant, Atta cephalotes.

Scientists have demonstrated that stopping the ability of methicillin-resistant Staphylcoccus aureus (MRSA) to degrade RNA can inhibit its spread, both in the laboratory and in infected mice. The team of researchers is led by Paul Dunman of the University of Rochester Medical Center and includes scientists from three other laboratories. These results are reported February 10 in the open access journal PLoS Pathogens.

NEW YORK (Feb. 10, 2011) -- A new clinical trial at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center is among the first to test surgery specifically for Type 2 diabetes. The aim of the study is to understand whether surgery can control diabetes, as well or even better than the best medical treatment available today. This is the first study of its kind open to patients who are overweight or mildly obese.

(Rosemont, IL) Feb. 10 – For generations, the consumption of dairy products has been positively associated with the health and wellness of families and communities. Nevertheless, the recent shift in dietary trends has focused on "what not to eat" instead of emphasizing "what to eat," resulting in demonizing the naturally occurring fats in dairy, while overlooking its many essential nutrients.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that excessive formation of calcium crystal deposits in the amniotic fluid may be a reason why some pregnant women suffer preterm premature rupture of the membranes (PPROM) leading to preterm delivery.

This is a key breakthrough in solving the mystery of preterm birth, a leading cause of death and permanent disability in newborns. The findings will be presented in an abstract at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Scientific Sessions on February 10 in San Francisco, California.

A rose by any other name would smell … like celery?

North Carolina State University research intended to extend the "vase life" of roses inserts a gene from celery inside rose plants to help fight off botrytis, or petal blight, one of the rose's major post-harvest diseases.

Some fungal pathogens, the bad guys that infect plants, produce a sugar alcohol called mannitol that interferes with the plant's ability to block disease like petal blight, which produces wilty, mushy petals – an effect similar to what happens to lettuce when it's been in the crisper too long.

Richmond, Va. (Feb. 10, 2011) – Scientists at Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center have developed a novel treatment strategy for multiple myeloma that pairs two targeted agents to kill cancer cells. The study's findings, published in today's edition of the journal "Blood," are the first to demonstrate the synergistic, anti-myeloma effects of this combination regimen both in vitro and in vivo.

A foot bone from the early human relative Australopithecus afarensis suggests that these hominids had stiff, arched feet, like we do. These findings support the hypothesis that A. afarensis was primarily an upright walker, as opposed to a more versatile creature that also moved through the trees.

This research appears in the 11 February issue of Science.

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Feet arches give humans a spring in their steps, shock absorbing abilities, and stiff platforms to propel themselves forward, allowing them to walk upright consistently. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri and Arizona State University have found proof that arches existed in a predecessor to the human species that lived more than 3 million years ago. This discovery could change scientists' views of human evolution. The study is being published this week in Science.

Yale University researchers have identified two novel genetic mutations that can trigger hypertension in up to a third of patients suffering from a common cause of severe high blood pressure, they report in the Feb. 11 issue of the journal Science.

Think you're overloaded with information? Not even close.

A study appearing on Feb. 10 in Science Express, an electronic journal that provides select Science articles ahead of print, calculates the world's total technological capacity — how much information humankind is able to store, communicate and compute.

A parasite and a virus may be teaming up in a way that increases the parasite's ability to harm humans, scientists at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis report this week in Science.