Body | Page 731 | Science Codex

The therapeutic antibody eculizumab caught in action

In collaboration with Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., scientists from Aarhus University have used X-rays to understand how the therapeutic antibody eculizumab prevents our immune system from destroying red blood cells and damaging kidney tissue.

The scientists in Aarhus studied an important protein from the innate immune system called C5 which is cleaved by enzymes when pathogens invade our body as a defense mechanism. The two C5 fragments formed through this cleavage recruit immune cells to fight the pathogen and may directly kill it.

Males were saved by agriculture

Once upon a time, settlers in the Fertile Crescent of West Asia domesticated few wild plant and animal species. To be precise, it was about 11-12 thousand years ago (kya), and nowadays we name this behavior as, agriculture.

Constructing shale gas sites

KNOXVILLE--Extracting gas from shale rock not only causes environmental disturbances below ground, the surface infrastructure required to drill the wells can cause a variety of problems above ground, from fragmenting fragile habitats, eroding soil, degrading freshwater systems and displacing rare species.

Minimizing the environmental consequences above-ground is possible, but at a cost to the developers. However, a new study suggests that the additional cost to developers is far smaller than the savings made to the environment.

Social adversity early in life may affect the expression of stress-related genes

New research suggests that early severe social deprivation may impact DNA modifications that affect the expression of stress-related genes. These nongenetic (or epigenetic) modifications occur when molecules called methyl groups are added to components of DNA.

Counseling patients at risk for cancer over the phone reduces costs and access burdens

CHICAGO -- Delivering genetic test results to patients at risk for cancer-causing genetic mutations over the phone helps to ease cost and transportation burdens and, compared to receiving results in person, does not cause patients additional stress, according to a new study from the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania which will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting (abstract 1502).

Graphene-based transparent electrodes for highly efficient flexible OLEDS

Daejeon, Republic of Korea, June 3, 2016 -- The arrival of a thin and lightweight computer that even rolls up like a piece of paper will not be in the far distant future. Flexible organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), built upon a plastic substrate, have received greater attention lately for their use in next-generation displays that can be bent or rolled while still operating.

When it comes to making patients safer, is a hospital's 'safety culture' that important?

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- If you work in a hospital these days, you've probably gotten the invitation: Take a survey about how well you, your team and your hospital do at protecting patients from harm, and how empowered you feel to do the right thing.

In fact, you've probably gotten many invitations and reminders to take the survey, as your hospital tries to get employees to respond. It's all in the name of gauging something called "patient safety culture."

But a new study questions whether such surveys actually measure how well a hospital is doing at keeping patients safe.

What impact might Brexit have on UK agriculture?

With the United Kingdom's referendum on continued membership in the European Union (EU) approaching, experts are considering the impact of a vote to leave ('Brexit') on numerous aspects of UK society, including agriculture.

UMMS scientists offer first look at how our cells can 'swallow up and quarantine' Zika

WORCESTER, MA - Eight weeks after receiving their first samples of Zika virus, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) have shown that a very small protein we all have in our bodies, interferon-induced protein 3 (IFITM3), can dramatically reduce the ability of Zika virus to infect human and mouse cells. In some cases, IFITM3 can also prevent Zika virus from killing our cells.

Chemotherapy and exercise: The right dose of workout helps side effects

Researchers at the University of Rochester Wilmot Cancer Institute discovered something simple and inexpensive to reduce neuropathy in hands and feet due to chemotherapy--exercise.

The study, involving more than 300 cancer patients, is to be presented this weekend and honored as a "Best of ASCO" among 5,800 abstracts at the world's largest gathering of oncologists, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting 2016. More than a dozen other Wilmot scientists also were invited to present data at the meeting.

Diabetes drug metformin holds promise for cancer treatment and prevention

CHICAGO -- Use of Metformin - commonly used as the front-line treatment for type 2 diabetes - improves survival for some breast cancer patients, and shows promise as a treatment for patients diagnosed with endometrial hyperplasia, according to the results of two new studies presented by researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting.

Giving chemotherapy after radiotherapy improves survival for patients with rare brain tumour

GIVING chemotherapy after radiotherapy delays further growth of a rare type of brain tumour, increasing the number of patients alive at five years from 44 per cent to 56 per cent.

These results - from a clinical trial for patients with anaplastic glioma run by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and funded in UK by Cancer Research UK - were presented at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting in Chicago today (Friday)*.

Type 2 diabetes drug could be beneficial for head and neck cancer patients

CINCINNATI--Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) College of Medicine have found that adding increasing doses of an approved Type 2 diabetes drug, metformin, to a chemotherapy and radiation treatment regimen in head and neck cancer patients is not well tolerated if escalated too quickly, but allowing slower escalation could be beneficial.

These findings are being presented via poster June 4 at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting: Collective Wisdom, being held June 3-7 in Chicago.

Bacteria found in female upper reproductive tract, once thought sterile

CHAPEL HILL-They're inside our gut, on the skin, and in the mouth. Thousands of different types of micro-organisms live in and on the body, playing helpful roles in digestion or in aiding the body's natural defense system. Now, scientists at the University of North Carolina Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center have found tiny organisms living in the upper female reproductive tract, an environment they said was once thought to be sterile.

Wnt stem cell signaling pathway implicated in colorectal cancer in patients under 50

While increased screening continues to drive down overall colorectal cancer rates, the rate of colorectal cancer in patients under age 50 is increasing, and the disease is commonly more aggressive in these young patients.