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The researchers studied the immune response of 107 pregnant women after they were injected with a single dose of non-adjuvant H1N1 vaccine. They concluded that the influenza shot boosted the immune response in pregnant women and at the same time protected neuronatal babies via the antibodies that transferred through the placenta.

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) spent 75 days on the job carrying out some very important homework—measurements in a "typical dwelling" of the release, distribution and fate of particles almost as tiny as the diameter of a single DNA molecule. Particles ranging in size from 100 nanometers down to 2.5 nanometers that were emitted by gas and electric stoves, hair dryers, power tools and candles were tracked and analyzed.*

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) published a revised biometric standard in November, 2011, that vastly expands the type and amount of information that forensic scientists can share across their international networks to identify victims or solve crimes. Biometric data is a digital or analog representation of physical attributes that can be used to uniquely identify us.

Athens, Ga. – After monitoring firefighters working at prescribed burns in the southeastern U.S., University of Georgia researchers found that lung function decreased with successive days of exposure to smoke and other particulate matter.

"What we found suggested a decline in lung function across work seasons," said Olorunfemi Adetona, a postdoctoral research associate and lead author of the study published recently in the journal Inhalation Toxicology.

Three different disease-causing viruses -- poliovirus, coxsackievirus, and hepatitis C -- rely on their unwilling host for the membrane platforms enriched in a specific lipid, phosphatidylinositol 4 phosphate (PI4P) on which they can replicate, Rutgers University researchers said on Dec. 7, at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting in Denver.

One study presented at the meeting, which is being held in Budapest, Hungary, 7 to 10 December, reports on an initiative using echocardiography to document early warning signs of adverse effects from trastuzumab (Herceptin ®)¹, while the other uses echocardiography to evaluate the protective role of ACE inhibitors and statins on the hearts of cancer patients².

Philadelphia, PA, -- MicroRNAs (miRNAs) that regulate processes including fertilization, development, and aging show promise as biomarkers of disease. They can be collected from routinely collected fluids such as blood, saliva, and urine. However, a number of factors can interfere with the accuracy of miRNA tests. In a study published online today in the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, a group of researchers provide clear procedures for the collection and analysis of miRNA, significantly improving their diagnostic accuracy.

Forty percent of women who report depressive symptoms following birth also reported intimate partner violence finds a new study published today (7 December) in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

The study also found that most of the women reporting postnatal depressive symptoms first reported this at six months after birth or later.

Targeting children aged six to 12 with school-based programmes that encourage healthy eating, physical activity and positive attitudes to body image are among a range of interventions that can help reduce levels of obesity, according to a new review of the evidence. While some people argue against taking action because they worry that the action could itself do harm, evidence of harm due to the interventions themselves was not found across the studies. "There is now compelling evidence that strategies can be implemented to halt the growing rates of obesity in children.

Scientists have observed a strategy for females to avoid unwanted male attention: choosing more attractive friends. Published today (7 December) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study is the first to show females spending time with those more sexually attractive than themselves to reduce harassment from males.

SAN ANTONIO — Having diabetes or being obese after age 60 significantly increases the risk for developing breast cancer, a Swedish study has revealed. Data also showed that high blood lipids were less common in patients when diagnosed with breast cancer, while low blood lipids were associated with an increased risk.

SAN ANTONIO — Researchers may have discovered a series of genes that will help predict whether or not a woman with hormone receptor-positive invasive breast cancer will experience early, late or no recurrence of her disease.

Minetta C. Liu, M.D., associate professor of medicine and oncology and director of translational breast cancer research at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, presented the findings at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

SAN ANTONIO — Compared with women treated with whole-breast irradiation, women treated with brachytherapy experienced a twofold increased risk for losing their breasts, according to findings presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 6-10, 2011.

SAN ANTONIO — In a significant advance for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ, researchers have developed and prospectively validated a multigene test to identify the risk for recurrence of breast cancer.

The method combines measuring tumor gene expression with a gene expression algorithm to decipher the genetic underpinnings of a patient's cancer and determine whether the individual patient should be treated with surgery (usually lumpectomy) or a combination of surgery and radiation.

SAN ANTONIO -- An international research team led by Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center has found biological differences in hormone-receptor positive breast cancer that are linked to the timing of recurrence despite endocrine therapy.

They say their findings, presented at the 2011 CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, may help oncologists find ways to individualize systemic therapy to delay or prevent recurrences, and to avoid excessive treatment of patients who will never recur.