A marked rise in use of imaging tests after thyroid cancer has been associated with increased treatment for recurrence, but no clear improvement in survival from the disease, finds a study in The BMJ today.
These findings highlight the importance of curbing unnecessary imaging and tailoring imaging after treatment to patient risk, say the researchers.
The study has developed a pioneering methodology to analyse the genetic bases of pathogenic bacteria and can be used to identify therapeutic targets in order to develop new antimicrobial agents.
Respiratory diseases in pigs typically involve multiple infections from different pathogens. Some pathogens play a greater role than others in the progression of the disease. The fungus Pneumocystis carinii is a relatively common cause of pneumonia in Austrian pigs, but its role has so far remained largely unexplored. Pneumocystis is considered to be less dangerous than other pathogens, as it probably requires other underlying conditions to sufficiently weaken the immune defence of the animals first.
Family history of disease may be as much the result of shared lifestyle and surroundings as inherited genes, research has shown.
Factors that are common to the family environment - such as shared living space and common eating habits - can make a major contribution to a person's risk of disease, the study found.
A study of common diseases in families across the UK has highlighted the importance of such factors in estimating a person's risk for diseases such as high blood pressure, heart disease and depression.
Disease can be spread through contact with materials contaminated with infectious microorganism, making control of transmission an interesting objective of surface research. In order to develop "active surfaces" that can reduce or eliminate this contamination, a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms of interactions between the surfaces and the microorganisms is crucial. ICFO researchers in the groups led by ICREA Professor at ICFO Valerio Pruneri and Prof. Melike Lakadamyali, in collaboration with Dr.
For the first time, scientists believe they've discovered a cause of multiple types of birth defects triggered by environmental stresses.
The breakthrough made by scientists at the Victor Chang Institute, shows that cellular stress could be the key to understanding why many babies are born with defects of the heart, vertebrae and kidney, among others.
Affecting 1 in 100 babies, childhood heart disease is the most common form of birth defect in the world. But despite its prevalence, surprisingly the genetic and environmental causes are very poorly understood.
Human cells can be easily deformed - they stretch or become squashed under external pressure. The relationship between force and cell deformation changes in diseases such as cancer, lung disease and heart disease, as well as muscle disorders. To gain a better understanding of these diseases it is important to study the mechanical properties of cells.
Despite a recent ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes in the Canadian provinces of Alberta and Nova Scotia, cigarettes made with similar coloring and marketed as having the same taste are still being sold, new research from the Institute for Global Tobacco Control at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests.
COLLEGE STATION, TX - Across many regions of the United States, water restrictions have created challenges for professionals who work to maintain playing surfaces on recreational turf facilities such as golf courses and athletic fields. As municipalities impose stricter irrigation restrictions -- particularly during winter months -- turfgrass professionals are looking to alternatives to overseeding practices, such as the use of colorants, to produce healthy, safe athletic turf.
Striving to address societal challenges in sectors including Health, Energy and the Environment, the European Union is developing the European Open Science Cloud, a complete socio-technical environment, including robust e-infrastructures capable of providing data and computational solutions where publicly funded research data are Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable (FAIR).
AMHERST, Mass. - A new study of population trends among 46 ecologically diverse bird species in North America conducted by avian ecologist Joel Ralston and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst overturns a long-held assumption that the climate conditions occupied by a species do not change over time.
MISSION VIEJO, Calif. - July 20, 2016 - While there were close to 8 million babies born over the past two years in America, many parents are uncertain and seeking guidance on the optimal first foods to serve this population. In fact, according to a recently published review paper, which includes more than 100 studies comprised of emerging and conclusive research, common foods that caregivers often reach for first tend to be too sweet to choose as a complementary or transitional food for infants and toddlers.
More than half of US physicians included in a national survey have withheld certain medical interventions with small benefits from their patients because of the cost-implications these hold. These include deciding whether to prescribe certain drugs, ordering a scan to be performed or repeating a laboratory test. According to study leader Robert Sheeler of the Mayo Clinic in the US, such rationing behavior is more prevalent among physicians in solo practice, and less so among doctors with liberal leanings.
Chestnut Hill, Mass. (7/20/2016) - Ask any mom or dad and they will tell you: parenting is hard work. For those parents and caregivers who struggle with the nature or the demands of child rearing, sometimes help is hard to find.
A broad range of interventions and support programs have been assembled by researchers, social workers, government agencies and community-based organizations. Whether a parent in need receives the appropriate and effective program sometimes comes down to the luck of the draw, according to experts.
Jonas Salk created a vaccine against polio that has been used since 1955; Albert Sabin created another version that has been on the market since 1961. Together, these two vaccines have nearly eliminated polio from the face of the earth.
Emphasis on nearly. Outbreaks have persisted in developing nations in Asia, Africa and the Americas, in part due to limitations of these vaccines. Most recently, in 2013, Israel reported a "silent" outbreak of polio, in which no one got sick but the virus was found in the environment and in vaccinated individuals.