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ROCHESTER, Minn. -- In a review article published in the October issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings,(http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com) Mayo Clinic physicians differentiate the ethical and legal permissibility of withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments and accepted comfort measures, specifically palliative sedation, from that of physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Biomedical researchers at the University at Buffalo have engineered adult stem cells that scientists can grow continuously in culture, a discovery that could speed development of cost-effective treatments for diseases including heart disease, diabetes, immune disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.

A calcium-sensing protein, STIM1, known to activate store-operated calcium channels has been found to also inhibit voltage-operated calcium channels, according to researchers at Temple University.

The researchers published their findings, The Calcium Store Sensor, STIM1, Reciprocally Controls Orai and Cav1.2 Channels, in the Oct. 1 issue of Science magazine (www.sciencemag.org).

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have found that variations in a gene for an enzyme involved in cell energy metabolism appear to increase the risk for prostate cancer.

The genetic variations all impair the enzyme phosphodiesterase 11A (PDE11A), which helps regulate a cell's responses to hormones and other signals. Previous studies by NIH researchers have linked genetic variations that inactivate PDE11A with increased susceptibility to testicular cancer and adrenal tumors

(Boston) – Boston Medical Center (BMC) doctors have proven the reliability of the Boston Bowel Preparation Scale (BBPS), a tool that assesses the cleanliness of the colon during colonoscopies. This study, published in the October 2010 issue of the journal Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, demonstrates the scale's accuracy and could become an international standardized tool to rate colon cleanliness during colonoscopy.

DARIEN, IL – A study in the Oct. 1 issue of the journal Sleep found that getting too little or too much sleep in early pregnancy is associated with elevated blood pressure in the third trimester. The study suggests that improving prenatal sleep hygiene may provide important health benefits.

For the first time to date, research published in the October edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) sought to determine the use of chemotherapy in a contemporary, diverse non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population encompassing all patient ages. Prior population-based studies have shown that only 20 to 30 percent of advanced lung cancer patients receive chemotherapy treatment.

Featured in the October edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO), data from The Tarceva Lung Cancer Survival Treatment (TRUST) confirms the safety and efficacy profile of erlotinib, a highly potent oral active, reversible inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine-kinase (TK) activity in a large heterogeneous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) population.

Researchers from the Arkansas Epilepsy Program found treatment with rufinamide results in a significant reduction in seizure frequency compared with placebo, for patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures (POS). Details of this study are now available online in Epilepsia, a journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the International League Against Epilepsy.

(Boston) – Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and the VA Boston Healthcare System have conducted a study that failed to show a difference in efficacy between Bevacizumab (Avastin) and Ranibizumab (Lucentis) for the treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The study, which appears currently on-line in Eye, is believed to be the first study to describe one-year outcomes of a prospective, double-masked, randomized clinical trial directly comparing bevacizumab to ranibizuamab.

People with impaired kidney function are at a higher risk of future stroke than people with normal kidney function, concludes a study published on bmj.com today.

A second study, also published today, finds that even the earliest stages of chronic kidney disease are linked to a higher risk of coronary heart disease.

Should athletes have to undergo mandatory electrocardiographic screening (also known as ECG or heart trace) before competing? Doctors debate the issue in this week's BMJ.

Antonio Pelliccia and Domenico Corrado argue that screening athletes for "silent" heart problems would save lives. They say the best evidence of the efficacy of ECG screening on mortality in athletes comes from Italy, the only country where it is required by law, and where a mass screening programme has been in place for almost 30 years.

Ames, Iowa - An Iowa State University researcher searched for new genes that are turned on during infection in a type of mosquito that is not only a pest, but transmits disease-causing pathogens.

Paleontologists have unearthed the first extinct penguin with preserved evidence of scales and feathers. The 36-million-year-old fossil from Peru shows the new giant penguin's feathers were reddish brown and grey, distinct from the black tuxedoed look of living penguins.