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In perhaps the largest cancer chemoprevention trial ever conducted, researchers have found that supplementation with vitamin E or selenium, alone or in combination, was not associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer or other cancers. This study, along with another cancer prevention study, will be published in the January 7 issue of JAMA, and both reports are being released early online because of public health implications.

In a major cancer prevention study, long-term supplementation with vitamin E or C did not reduce the risk of prostate or other cancers for nearly 15,000 male physicians. This study, along with another cancer prevention study, will be published in the January 7 issue of JAMA, and both reports are being released early online because of public health implications.

A preliminary study suggests that economic incentives appear to be effective for achieving short-term weight loss, according to a report in the December 10 issue of JAMA.

Use of the steroid medication dexamethasone is effective in reducing nausea and vomiting after tonsillectomies for children, but also is associated with an increased risk of postoperative bleeding, according to a study in the December 10 issue of JAMA.

HOUSTON - Findings from one of the largest cancer chemoprevention trials ever conducted have concluded that selenium and vitamin E taken alone or in combination for an average of five and a half years did not prevent prostate cancer, according to a team of researchers coordinated by the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) and led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center and Cleveland Clinic.

A new University of Illinois study suggests that we may pay a price for ingesting too much fructose. According to lead author Manabu Nakamura, dietary fructose affects a wide range of genes in the liver that had not previously been identified.

Chances are you consume quite a bit of fructose. Most Americans do—in refined sugars such as sucrose or table sugar (which is half fructose) and in high-fructose corn syrup, used in products as diverse as soft drinks, protein bars, and fruit juice.

Carrier screening for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA)—a serious genetic disease affecting approximately 1 in 10,000 infants that causes progressive muscle weakness and death—should be made available to all families, according to a new practice guideline issued by the American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG). The statement appears in the November 2008 issue of Genetics in Medicine, the official peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Medical Genetics.

Researchers at the UCSF Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center have identified a region on the human genome that appears to determine how strongly drinkers feel the effects of alcohol and thus how prone they are to alcohol abuse.

NEW YORK (Dec. 8, 2008) -- Preliminary results of a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial of pralatrexate (PDX), a drug that partially works by mimicking folic acid, showed a complete or partial response in 27 percent of patients with recurrent or resistant peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). PROPEL (Pralatrexate in patients with Relapsed Or refractory PEripheral T-cell Lymphoma) findings were presented by the study's principal investigator, Dr. Owen A.

CINCINNATI—A University of Cincinnati (UC) neurosurgeon who has spent his career helping people with severe spine problems stand up straight has spearheaded the creation of a new spinal deformity classification system. The system, published this fall in the journal Neurosurgery, defines deformity in relation to the healthy, normal curve of the spine.

COLLEGE PARK, MD, Dec. 9, 2008 -- A group of scientists at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has fabricated a working computer chip that is almost completely clear -- the first of its kind. The new technology, called transparent resistive random access memory (TRRAM), is described in this week's issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters, which is published by the American Institute of Physics.

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For the first time, structural biologists have managed to obtain the detailed three-dimensional structure of one of the proteins that form the core of the complex molecular machine, called the replisome, that plant and animal cells assemble to copy their DNA as the first step in cell reproduction.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Imagine tiny cracks in your patio table healing by themselves, or the first small scratch on your new car disappearing by itself. This and more may be possible with self-healing coatings being developed at the University of Illinois.

The new coatings are designed to better protect materials from the effects of environmental exposure. Applications range from automotive paints and marine varnishes to the thick, rubbery coatings on patio furniture and park benches.

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