On May 15, 2012, JoVE (Journal of Visualized Experiments) will publish two articles in partnership with the United States government's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA). JoVE is proud to present the work from Temple University's Dr. Chris Schafmeister and State University of New York Buffalo's Dr. David Pawlowski and Dr. Richard Karalus.
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AURORA (May 15, 2012) - Beta-carotene, selenium and folic acid – taken up to three times their recommended daily allowance, these supplements are probably harmless. But taken at much higher levels as some supplement manufacturers suggest, these three supplements have now been proven to increase the risk of developing a host of cancers.
Some populations of tiger snakes stranded for thousands of years on tiny islands surrounding Australia have evolved to be giants, growing to nearly twice the size of their mainland cousins. Now, new research in The American Naturalist suggests that the enormity of these elapids was driven by the need to have big-mouthed babies.
Anxiety disorders, ranging from social phobia to post-traumatic stress disorder, are the most common psychiatric diseases in the United States. Research in mice suggests a link between the gene that encodes Glyoxylase 1 (GLO1) and increased anxiety; however, the mechanism underlying this association has remained unclear.
The normal role of GLO1 is to degrade cytotoxic byproducts of glycolysis, a function which has no obvious connection to anxiety.
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York have found new clues in the pathogenesis of skull and skin birth defects associated with a rare genetic disorder, Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome (BSS).
A study from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers suggests that specific populations of tumor cells have different roles in the process by which tumors make new copies of themselves and grow. In their report in the May 15 issue of Cancer Cell, researchers identify a tumor-propagating cell required for the growth of a pediatric muscle tumor in a zebrafish model and also show that another, more-differentiated tumor cell must first travel to sites of new tumor growth to prepare an environment that supports metastatic growth.
DENVER – The most recent research released in June's Journal of Thoracic Oncology indicates there might be a positive correlation between tumor size and adjuvant platinum based chemotherapy in surgically resected patients with node negative non-small cell lung cancer.
DENVER – The most recent research released in June's Journal of Thoracic Oncology says molecular biomarkers in the tissue and fluid lining the lungs might be an additional predictive technique for lung cancer screening.
Since the National Lung Screening Trial found that 96.4 percent of the positive CT screening results were false positive, scientists have been looking for ways to more accurately diagnose patients. This research focused on a way to determine if the nodules detected by the CT screening, are in fact malignant or benign.
DENVER – The most recent research released in June's Journal of Thoracic Oncology says video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) is a valuable tool in managing lesions detected in a lung cancer screening program. The primary objective of lung cancer screening with low dose computer tomography (CT) is to detect lung cancer at an early stage and thus amenable to a complete surgical resection, the only established cure for lung cancer. Lung cancer currently has no standard screening program and less than one third of lung cancer patients present with early stage disease amenable to cure.
(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A vaccine that targets cancer cells in combination with the drug letrozole, a standard hormonal therapy against breast cancer, significantly increased survival when tested in mice, a team of UC Davis investigators has found.
The findings will be published today in the journal Clinical Cancer Research.
Charlottesville, VA (May 15, 2012). A plastic surgeon and neurosurgeon at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis were successful in using peripheral nerve transfer to bypass a cervical spinal cord injury and restore partial function in both hands in a 71-year-old man. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of reactivation of muscles in thumb and fingers after spinal cord injury. The surgical procedures are described in the article "Nerve transfers for the restoration of hand function after spinal cord injury.
New Rochelle, NY, May 15, 2012—The Diabetes 2025 Model for the U.S. projects a continuous and dramatic increase in the diabetes epidemic and makes it possible to estimate the potential effects of society-wide changes in lifestyle and healthcare delivery systems. Predictions for individual states and population subgroups are highlighted in an article published in Population Health Management, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.
The recent dramatic increase in the fall death rate in older Americans is likely the effect of improved reporting quality, according to a new report from the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. The report finds the largest increase in the mortality rate occurred immediately following the 1999 introduction of an update to the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), suggesting a major change in the way deaths were classified.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Miscanthus grasses are used in gardens, burned for heat and energy, and converted into liquid fuels. They also belong to a prominent grass family that includes corn, sorghum and sugarcane. Two new, independently produced chromosome maps of Miscanthus sinensis (an ornamental that likely is a parent of Miscanthus giganteus, a biofuels crop) are a first step toward sequencing the M. sinensis genome. The studies reveal how a new plant species with distinctive traits can arise as a result of chromosome duplications and fusions.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers have created an ultrasensitive biosensor that could open up new opportunities for early detection of cancer and "personalized medicine" tailored to the specific biochemistry of individual patients.
The device, which could be several hundred times more sensitive than other biosensors, combines the attributes of two distinctly different types of sensors, said Muhammad A. Alam, a Purdue University professor of electrical and computer engineering.