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Research published in the March issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology sought to determine whether differences existed in tolerance and efficacy between patients age 70 and over and younger patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving salvage targeted therapy with epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) or chemotherapy.

Research published in the March edition of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (JTO) explored the importance of a patient's outlook as it relates to health behavior and health status. Researchers focused on lung cancer patients and discovered that those who exhibited an optimistic disposition experienced more favorable outcomes than those with a pessimistic disposition.

University of Calgary chemistry professor David Cramb is a step closer to helping solve a complex problem in nanotechnology: the impact nanoparticles have on human health and the environment.

WASHINGTON -- Understanding how past climate may have influenced human evolution could be dramatically enhanced by an international cross-disciplinary research program to improve the sparse human fossil and incomplete climate records and examine the link between the two, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Scientists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory have found evidence of hydrothermal vents on the seafloor near Antarctica, formerly a blank spot on the map for researchers wanting to learn more about seafloor formation and the bizarre life forms drawn to these extreme environments.

Scientists in China are reporting discovery of two proteins present in the blood of people with colon cancer that may serve as the potential biomarkers for accurately predicting whether the disease will spread. Their study is in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication.

(March 3, 2010) – HOBOKEN, NJ – An estimated one in ten adults suffers from kidney disease, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. A leading cause of kidney disease is hypertension, which effects one out of every four U.S. adults. Chronically high blood pressure damages capillaries of the kidneys which in turn affects the organ's ability to filter waste and remove excess fluids from the body.

Americans love potatoes, consuming about 130 pounds per person annually. But it's a wonder the spuds even make it to the dinner table, given the many fungal diseases that attack the tuber crop—powdery scab and black dot among them.

Now, five new potato breeding lines being tested by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and collaborators could open the door to new varieties of the crop that resist powdery scab and black dot diseases, caused by the fungi Spongospora subterranea and Colletotrichum coccodes, respectively.

The observed improvements in bone mineral density, strength and postural balance due to recreational soccer are of particularly interest for a large group of women but also for elderly men, says project leader Associate Professor Peter Krustrup, University of Copenhagen, and continues "It is well known that the risk of falls and fractures increases with age as a result of weaker bones, poorer balance and attenuated ability to trigger rapid muscle force, but the present results suggest that soccer - and possibly other ball games - is an effective training method to reduce bone weakening that

The signaling molecule CD95L, known as "death messenger," causes an inflammatory process in injured tissue after spinal cord injuries and prevents its healing. This discovery was published by scientists of the German Cancer Research Center. In mice, the researchers found out that if they switch off CD95L, the injured spinal cord heals and the animals regain better ability to move. Therefore, substances which block the death messenger might offer a new approach in the treatment of severe inflammatory diseases.

An international team of scientists studying acute forms of Leukaemia have identified a new drug target to inhibit the genes which are vital for the growth of diseased cells. The research, reported in EMBO Molecular Medicine, reveals how leukaemia cells become 'addicted' to genes, which if targeted could prevent diseased cells from developing.

Dozens of National Jewish Health faculty presented their latest research findings at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy Asthma & Immunology in New Orleans Feb 27-March 2, 2010. Below are several noteworthy presentations.

Vitamin D May Boost Effectiveness of Corticosteroids in Asthma

Vitamin D enhances the activity of the corticosteroid dexamethasone more than ten-fold in cells taken from asthma patients.

A combination of two targeted therapies already shown to be effective in breast cancer packs an effective one-two punch against a subset of gastric cancers that have a specific genetic mutation, a study at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

CSIRO scientist Dr Tara Sutherland and her team have achieved another important milestone in the international quest to artificially produce insect silk.

They have hand-drawn fine threads of honeybee silk from a 'soup' of silk proteins that they had produced transgenically.

These threads were as strong as threads drawn from the honeybee silk gland, a significant step towards development of coiled coil silk biomaterials.

"It means that we can now seriously consider the uses to which these biomimetic materials can be put," Dr Sutherland said.

A study of electronic patient records, funded by the Wellcome Trust, suggests that older women with suspected ovarian cancer may be referred by their GPs for investigation later than younger women.

Researchers at the Brighton and Sussex Medical School studied records from the General Practice Research Database (GPRD) and compared recorded diagnoses of ovarian cancer against rates in the UK cancer registries to see whether there was a difference in how older patients are managed by their GP. The results are published today in the British Journal of Cancer.