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Radiology and cardiovascular researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, S.C., today presented new data that shows the risk of cancer from exposure to radiation during computed tomography for cardiovascular disease has been overstated and that new estimates are several times lower than previously published conclusions. The MUSC researchers presented their findings at the American Heart Association's meeting in New Orleans.

This year, about 450,000 Americans will die of coronary heart disease – the leading cause of death for both men and women. Although we have made great strides in preventing and treating heart disease, we continue to explore the complex mechanisms involved in cardiovascular disease, and we are eager to refine risk assessment tools and preventive strategies to reduce the incidence of heart attack and stroke.

MADISON, WI, NOVEMBER 10, 2008 - The increasing popularity of reduced tillage on crops has not only been an important development in combating soil erosion, but it has also been associated with increasing organic material and producing high crop yields.

For peanut crops, however, reduced tillage has not gained a large acceptance as a viable practice, as findings of inconsistent yields have not encouraged farmers to make a switch from conventional tillage systems.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — About 10 million people in the United States alone—from troops returning from war to students with music blasting through headphones—are suffering from impairing noise-induced hearing loss.

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Townsville, Australia, 10 November 2008: Coral reef scientists and policy makers from the world's most prominent coral reef nations are meeting in Australia this week to develop urgent action plans to rescue the world's richest centre of marine biodiversity from gradual decline.

NEW ORLEANS - After studying the sleep characteristics of nearly 11,000 adults in an overnight sleep laboratory, Mayo Clinic researchers suggest that obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) - and, in particular, the low nighttime oxygen saturation of the blood it causes - may be a risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD).

OSA is a condition that disrupts breathing during sleep and is associated with obesity.

The study identified OSA as one of two traits that contribute to the highest risk of SCD. The other is age - patients who are 60 years old or older.

Dense networks of blood vessels thought to spur cancer's growth could actually hinder rather than promote tumor progression, according to a new study at the University of California, San Diego.

The findings partly explain why drugs designed to treat cancer by strangling its blood supply have been disappointing when used alone and why those treatments are more effective when combined with traditional chemotherapy.

Inside every axon is a dendrite waiting to get out. Hedstrom et al. converted mature axons into dendrites by banishing a protein crucial for neuron development. The results suggest that this transformation could occur after nerve cell damage.

The study, to be published in the Nov. 17 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology, will be available online Nov. 10.

Use of radiology imaging tests has soared in the past decade with a significant increase in newer technologies, according to a new study that is the first to track imaging patterns in a managed care setting over a substantial time period.

Study results are reported in the November/December 2008 issue of the journal Health Affairs, which focuses on the pros and cons of the medical technology boom, the biggest driver of increasing healthcare costs.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- An Indiana University study found that young, female breast cancer survivors often suffer from sexual and intimate relationship issues and are interested in using sexual enhancement products to treat these problems.

The study, "Young Female Breast Cancer Survivors: Their sexual function and interest in sexual enhancement products and services," was published Nov. 4 in the journal Cancer Nursing.

The study was funded by The Patty Brisben Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering research related to women's sexual health.

Flu shots may reduce the risk of blood clots forming in veins by 26 percent, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

"Our study suggests for the first time that vaccination against influenza may reduce the risk of venous thrombotic embolism (VTE)," said Joseph Emmerich, M.D., Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of vascular medicine at the University Paris Descartes and head of the INSERM Lab 765, which investigates thrombosis. "This protective effect was more pronounced before the age of 52 years."

Heart failure is reaching epidemic levels among seniors in the United States, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008.

In a report on progress towards the first Census of Marine Life, more than 2,000 scientists from 82 nations announce astonishing examples of recent new finds from the world's ocean depths.

As more than 500 delegates gather for the World Conference on Marine Biodiversity (Valencia, Spain Nov. 11-15), organized by the Census's European affiliate program on

HIV is a master of disguise, able to rapidly change its identity and hide undetected in infected cells. But now, in a long-standing collaborative research effort partially-funded by the Wellcome Trust, scientists from Oxford-based Adaptimmune Limited, in partnership with the Universities of Cardiff and Pennsylvania have engineered immune cells to act as "bionic assassins" that see through HIV's many disguises.