Body

Studying patients with kidney cancer, a team of researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has identified a pair of proteins excreted in the urine that could lead to earlier and more accurate diagnosis of the disease.

The research, published online in the May issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, is the first to identify proteins secreted in urine that appear to accurately reveal the presence of about 90 percent of all kidney cancers.

MADISON — The vivid colors and designs animals use to interact with their environments have awed and inspired since before people learned to draw on the cave wall.

ASHEVILLE, NC – A leading bat expert with the USDA Forest Service's Southern Research Station today identified nine bat species in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee that she believes are most threatened by white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fungus that kills bats and appears to be rapidly spreading south from the northeastern United States. Station Research Ecologist Susan Loeb, Ph.D. says WNS has been confirmed in Tennessee, and she says it is just a matter of time before the fungus is detected in Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina.

WINNIPEG, MB -- APRIL 2010 -- New research is shedding light on the preferred habitat of the northern squid, Gonatus fabricii - a key but often overlooked species in Arctic marine food webs.

When it comes to attracting a mate, flowers and sweets often do the trick—even for one of the world's smallest birds—the purple throated carib, a hummingbird species native to the mountainous islands of the Eastern Caribbean. Scientists recently discovered that it is in the best interest of male purple-throated caribs to defend and maintain a territory with a high density of nectar-producing flowers. Why? Because it is the quality of this territory—rather than flashy plumage or elaborate courtship displays—that attracts the most females.

WINNIPEG, MB -- APRIL 2010 -- Improvements in aerial survey methods have led to increased estimates of narwhal populations in the eastern Arctic, according to a paper published Arctic, the journal of the University of Calgary's Arctic Institute of North America.

Philadelphia, PA, April 7, 2010 – Intermittent exotropia, a condition in which the eyes turn outward while looking at an object, occurs in about 1% of American children and is less common than esotropia, where the eyes turn inward. In an article published in the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology, researchers from the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, followed 135 patients with intermittent exotropia over a 20-year period and found that slightly more than 90% of these children became nearsighted by the time they reached their 20s.

For osteoporosis patients unable to exercise, help may be on the way. That's because scientists have discovered precisely how mechanical stress, such as exercise, promotes new bone growth. This opens the door to entirely new therapies that can trick bones into thinking they are getting a workout. The research report describing this advance is published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org).

When forest biologist Claire Williams boards ferries bound for North Carolina's Outer Banks, the barrier islands that line the N.C. coast, the ferry captains call her the "Pollen Lady."

Each spring from 2006 to 2009, Williams traveled back and forth from the islands to the mainland, collecting pine pollen blown far offshore. She wanted to find out if pollen from the loblolly pine—the most commonly planted tree in the southern United States—can still germinate after drifting long distances.

ST. LOUIS -- In a broad-based review of studies focused on drugs that treat anxiety, a Saint Louis University doctor found no evidence supporting the use of so-called "natural" treatments in combating the effects of anxiety.

"Reducing global neonatal mortality is crucial. In low-income countries, most births and deaths occur at home," state authors of a Policy Forum published in PLoS Medicine this week. David Osrin from University College London and colleagues from Ekjut, India, discuss the critical importance of reducing global neonatal mortality in developing countries and how community-based approaches can help.

Erectile dysfunction is one of the most prevalent diabetes-induced complications in men; current estimates suggest that as many as 75% of men with diabetes will develop some degree of ED, and in many cases diabetics develop more severe forms of ED that are less responsive to standard drugs.

An analysis by Mount Sinai researchers of over eight years of dietary data from more than 400,000 people has found that the relationship between high consumption of fruits and vegetables and a reduced risk of cancer is not as strong as commonly thought. The study is published online April 6, 2010 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

This release is available in http://chinese..org/zh/emb_releases/2010-04/jaaj-ltf040210.php">Chinese.

For patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis in remission, withdrawal of treatment with the drug methotrexate over 12 months vs. 6 months did not reduce the rate of relapse, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.

This release is available in http://chinese..org/zh/emb_releases/2010-04/jaaj-gva040210.php">Chinese.

Among kidney transplant donors, variation of a gene that is an inhibitor of the development of fibrous connective tissue is significantly associated with an increased risk of graft failure, according to a study in the April 7 issue of JAMA.