Body

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Reported mid-life increase in body mass index (BMI) may lead to substantially higher risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, according to results of a prospective cohort study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research 101st Annual Meeting 2010, held here April 17-21.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 20, 2010)––Researchers at Fox Chase Cancer Center have identified a potentially significant molecular player in the development of aggressive breast cancer. The team's findings show that a protein called NEDD9 is critical in the formation of breast tumors induced by high levels of the cell-surface receptor HER2/neu in mice. HER2-driven breast cancer is known to be one the most aggressive forms of the disease.

Washington, DC – By examining tissue removed during breast reduction surgery in healthy women, researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Center have found a molecule they say identified women who had atypical hyperplasia, a potentially precancerous condition in which cells are abnormally increased.

Washington, DC – Most cancers arise from the epithelium, the tissue that lines the body and the organs, but sarcomas come from connective tissue cells, like the bones. At Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, research have engaged in a full-court press to develop new therapies to treat osteosarcoma and Ewing's sarcoma, the two most common bone tumors in children, adolescents and young adults.

An Agricultural Research Service (ARS ) scientist may have found a way to cut the amount of ammonia produced by cattle. To do it, he's using a key ingredient of the brewer's art: hops.

Cattle, deer, sheep, goats and other ruminant animals depend on a slew of naturally occurring bacteria to aid digestion of grass and other fibrous plants in the first of their four stomach chambers, known as the rumen.

In all cancers, whether in kidney, breast, lung, colon, skin or any other tissue, cells show high Myc protein levels. Excess Myc causes cells to multiply in an exaggerated manner, giving rise to the development of tumours. One of the most pressing questions about Myc is how healthy cells keep the expression of this protein in check.

New research identifies a molecular mechanism that the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) appears to utilize for generating random fluctuations called "noise" in its gene expression. The study, published by Cell Press in the April 20th issue of the Biophysical Journal, pinpoints the likely source of HIV gene-expression noise and provides intriguing insight into the role of this noise in driving HIV's fate decision between active replication and latency.

A new study shows that when it comes to networks of protein fibers, individual fibers play a substantial role in effectively strengthening an entire network of fibers. The research, published by Cell Press in the April 20th issue of the Biophysical Journal, describes a mechanism that explains how individual fibrin fibers subjected to significant strain can respond by stiffening to resist stretch and helping to equitably distribute the strain load across the network.

Understanding how mixtures of proteins assemble and how to manipulate them in the laboratory has many exciting biomedical applications, such as providing scaffolds for the engineering of tissues that can replace diseased or damaged human tissues. Now, research published by Cell Press in the April 20th issue of Biophysical Journal, reveals new information about the kinetics of protein assembly and demonstrates how to manipulate conditions in order to provide different distributions of protein fiber lengths.

Scientists studying a cunning parasite that has commandeered the cells of almost half the world's human population have begun to zero in on the molecular signals that must be severed to free the organism's cellular hostages.

While Toxoplasma gondii is not as widely known by the public as some of its more notorious parasitic brethren, it has been hijacking the cells of human and animal hosts for eons and is particularly dangerous to those with compromised and/or underdeveloped immune systems.

April 20, 2010 -- A study by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) carried out in Krakow, Poland has found that prenatal exposure to pollutants can adversely affect children's cognitive development at age 5, confirming previous findings in a New York City (NYC) study.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Vitamin supplements, diet, geographic location, demographic information or lifestyle, independently or in combination, cannot accurately predict vitamin D concentrations in blood, researchers at the University at Buffalo have found.

This finding indicates that data such as vitamin D from foods and supplements or latitude of residence (northern vs. southern) cannot be used dependably as surrogate markers to assess the risk of breast and colon cancer.

ST. PAUL, MN—Burgeoning restrictions on water use, fertilization, and pesticide application are becoming important considerations in golf course design and management. In response, scientists are searching for sustainable methods to lessen the environmental impact of golf courses. Other factors, including increasing energy costs, human health concerns, and environmental awareness are also prompting turfgrass managers to consider the use of alternative turfgrasses as a lower input, sustainable maintenance practice.

The relative importance of genetic factors in tinnitus is low, according to new research from the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. This is the first large population-based study to measure the heritability of tinnitus.

The study looked at prevalence of tinnitus and to what degree it is hereditary. Prevalence of tinnitus was 15.1 percent, which correlates well with findings from other countries.

Tinnitus is a symptom with a variety of underlying causes, such as impaired hearing or exposure to noise and medicines.

Fredericksburg, TX—April 20, 2010—A new study from the Journal of Marital & Family Therapy warns of the dramatic rise in the use of psychotropic medications for children. One in every fifty Americans is now considered permanently disabled by mental illness, and up to eight million children take one or more psychotropic drugs.