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Prostate cancer breakthrough could lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments

Prostate cancer patients have been offered hope after scientists at Newcastle University, UK, have identified a new group of molecules that could be targeted to slow tumour growth.

Experts used an advanced screening technique which found hundreds of genes were affected by the male hormone testosterone. It is believed this could lead to new diagnostic tests and treatments.

Among the 700 genes identified was an important set that add sugar groups - known as glycans - to the surface of prostate cancer cells. This group has never been investigated before.

Sampling method used for new breast cancer tests may lead to underestimation of risk

PITTSBURGH, July 28, 2016 - Not only is breast cancer more than one disease, but a single breast cancer tumor can vary within itself, a finding that University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) researchers discovered has the potential to lead to very different patient treatment plans depending on the tumor sample and diagnostic testing used.

Russian scientists discover how certain proteins may help fight chlamydia

Scientists from Federal Research and Clinical Centre of Physical-Chemical Medicine, Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology and MIPT have shown that peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGLYRPs) of the human immune system can play a key role in the fight against chlamydia infections. Their study was published in Infection and Immunity.

Tooth wear sheds light on the feeding habits of ancient elephant relatives

How can we ever know what ancient animals ate? For the first time, the changing diets of elephants in the last two million years in China have been reconstructed, using a technique based on analysis of the surface textures of their teeth.

The work was carried out by a University of Bristol student, working with an international team of researchers. The research was published online in Quaternary International.

Today, elephants live only in remote, tropical parts of Africa and southern Asia, but before the Ice Ages they were widespread.

PR officials should utilize Twitter, social media during crises to gauge public response

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Previous research on crisis communications strategies has examined how and why organizations develop specific stances toward their audiences or "publics" during crisis situations. However, little is known about how various audiences themselves develop attitudes toward organizations during such crises. Now, researchers from the University of Missouri School of Journalism have found that unorganized and semi-organized groups use Twitter to communicate and develop stances toward organizations who are experiencing crises.

Severity of kyphosis and decline in lung function: The Framingham study

BOSTON--July 28, 2016-- Researchers from the Harvard affiliated Hebrew SeniorLife Institute for Aging Research (IFAR), have published a recent article in Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences, suggesting that preventing or slowing progression of hyperkyphosis may reduce pulmonary decline in older adults. Hyperkyphosis is a poorly understood condition that causes an extreme forward curvature of the spine and affects as many as 20 to 40 percent of older individuals.

INRS professor's team unveils new Leishmania virulence strategies

Professor Albert Descoteaux of INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier Research Centre and his team have discovered novel virulence strategies employed by the Leishmania parasite. These scientific breakthroughs recently published in the prestigious PLOS Pathogens journal represent two important clues to understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms governing the parasitic infections that cause leishmaniasis, a neglected tropical disease endemic in one hundred countries.

Confronted with sepsis, key immune mechanism breaks, Indiana University scientists find

INDIANAPOLIS - When the body encounters an infection, a molecular signaling system ramps up the body's infection-fighting system to produce more white blood cells to attack invading bacteria. Now researchers have discovered that when facing a massive bacterial infection resulting in sepsis, that same signaling system malfunctions, damaging the body's ability to fight the invaders.

Cuttlefish do not bluff in battle

Male cuttlefish do not bluff. When their body language shows they are agitated, they are. This was one of the findings from a study on the giant Australian cuttlefish in Springer's journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, led by Alexandra Schnell of Macquarie University in Australia.

Why do antidepressants take so long to work?

An episode of major depression can be crippling, impairing the ability to sleep, work, or eat. In severe cases, the mood disorder can lead to suicide. But the drugs available to treat depression, which can affect one in six Americans in their lifetime, can take weeks or even months to start working.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have discovered one reason the drugs take so long to work, and their finding could help scientists develop faster-acting drugs in the future. The research was published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

T-cells can be directed to treat a variety of ovarian cancers

PHILADELPHIA--(July 28, 2016)--With only incremental improvements in ovarian cancer survival over the last 40 years, there is a clear need for new treatment options with long-lasting results. Many researchers have turned toward the development of immunotherapies that direct T-cells to selectively eliminate ovarian tumor cells, but an appropriate therapeutic target for ovarian cancers has remained elusive.

Workforce processes prior to mechanical thrombectomy vary widely, new study finds

Boston--Mechanical thrombectomy, a leading type of neurointerventional stroke treatment where a device can remove a blood clot in minutes, is essential for people experiencing a stroke, who stand to lose 2 million neurons every minute the artery is blocked. Equally essential is access to a hospital or health care system with a successful workflow in place that can deliver such treatment.

A new study finds that there are wide variations among institutions in workflow processes related to triage, team activation, transport and case preparation.

Male frogs have sex on land to keep competitors away

ITHACA, N.Y. - When it comes to the birds and the bees, frogs are remarkably diverse: They do it in water, on land and on leaves.

Researchers have assumed that natural selection drove frogs to take the evolutionary step to reproduce on land as a way for parents to avoid aquatic predators who feed on the eggs and tadpoles.

A new study by a team including Cornell University frog biologists, published July 26 in American Naturalist, shows for the first time that some frogs hide eggs on land to reduce competition from other males who also want to fertilize those eggs.

Genetic profiling increases cancer treatment options, Sanford Health study finds

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Genetic profiling of cancer tumors provides new avenues for treatment of the disease, according to a study conducted by Sanford Health and recognized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Scientist develops gene therapy for muscle wasting

PULLMAN, Wash. - A discovery by Washington State University scientist Dan Rodgers and collaborator Paul Gregorevic could save millions of people suffering from muscle wasting disease.

The result of the team's four-year project is a novel gene therapeutic approach. The work was published July 20 in Science Translational Medicine, a journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.