Body

An international team of marine biologists has found that existing diversity in some coral populations may significantly influence their response to extreme temperature disturbances — such as those predicted from climate warming. The team demonstrated that natural selection acting on the species of algae living within corals may determine which partnerships will survive when confronted with extreme temperatures changes. The results will be published online in the May 5 issue of the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

• Genetic differences in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes can affect a person's risk for alcohol dependence (AD).
• A variant of the alcohol dehydrogenase enzyme, ADH1B*3, is found predominantly in populations with African ancestry and is associated with reduced rates of AD.
• New findings indicate lower rates of AD may be associated with greater sedation in those with ADH1B*3.

The incidence of a certain type of gastric cancer has declined in the last 30 years for all age groups and races, except for whites 25 to 39 years of age, according to a study in the May 5 issue of JAMA.

Scientists at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center have identified a key molecular mechanism in breast cancer that enables tumor cells to spread to adjacent or distant parts of the body in a process called metastasis. This finding opens the way to new lines of research aimed at developing treatments for metastatic breast cancer.

In a Policy Forum article that continues the PLoS Medicine series on Global Health Diplomacy, David Fidler (Indiana University School of Law) provides a case study of the negotiations to increase access to vaccines for influenza strains that suggest the goal of equitable access is far from certain.

Research published in PLoS Medicine this week by Weijia Xing and colleagues examines the publication of epidemiological literature concerning the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreaks in Hong Kong and Toronto. The research shows that the majority of the epidemiological articles on SARS were submitted after the epidemic had ended (22% submitted during the epidemic) with only 7% being published during the epidemic.

An experienced fruit fly researcher can tell at a glance whether the fly she is observing is male or female; a distinct pigmentation pattern on a fly's body (a type of bristle found only on the legs of males) and differences in the genitalia are dead giveaways. But most of the fly's body parts look identical in males and females, and until now, scientists had no idea whether "maleness" or "femaleness" extended to all of the insect's cells and tissues.

LOS ANGELES (May 5, 2010) – High doses of antioxidant nutritional supplements, such as vitamins C and E, can increase genetic abnormalities in cells, which may predispose supplement-takers to developing cancer, according to a new study from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute.

The study, led by Eduardo Marbán, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, was published online today in the medical journal Stem Cells. The study also will appear in the journal's July printed edition.

May 4, 2010 (Pasadena, Calif.) – The pneumococcal pneumonia vaccination is not associated with a reduced risk of heart attacks or strokes, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association that followed 84,170 men aged 45 to 69.

DURHAM, N.C. – Early follow-up care following hospital discharge reduces readmission rates for heart failure patients, but most hospitals have no formal follow-up procedures in place, according to a new study by researchers at the Duke Clinical Research Institute.

Men 45 years or older who received pneumococcal vaccine were not less likely to have a heart attack or stroke compared to men who did not receive the vaccine, according to a study in the May 5 issue of JAMA.

Children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis who received the antibiotic azithromycin did not experience improved lung function, compared to patients who received placebo, according to a study in the May 5 issue of JAMA.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death rates will surge in China by up to 73 percent by 2030, due to aging, smoking, high blood pressure and other risk factors, according to research reported in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

Patients who can postpone non-cardiac surgery for at least six weeks after receiving a coronary stent are less likely to suffer reduced blood flow to the heart, heart attack and death than those who have surgery sooner, Scottish researchers report in Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, an American Heart Association journal.

NEW ORLEANS -- Research teams led by Mayo Clinic have demonstrated for the first time that two types of colorectal pre-cancers can be detected through noninvasive stool DNA testing. The two studies being presented demonstrate that stool DNA testing may be useful for detection of premalignant dysplasia in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and of an important type of colorectal pre-cancer called serrated polyps.