Body

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A statistical model commonly used to predict the risk of breast cancer in women was not accurate when used to evaluate women with atypical hyperplasia, according to a new Mayo Clinic study published in the Oct. 14, 2008, issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Atypical hyperplasia (atypia) describes breast tissue with an increased growth of abnormal cells that might become cancerous.

Hospitals are supposed to be havens for healing, but the numbers tell a different story. Too many people are infected by illnesses they acquire after they've been admitted, and hospital-related infections continue to be the number-two killer of hospitalized Americans after heart disease.

Now, a radical new high-tech software program developed by Tel Aviv University researchers to fight these infections is now catching on faster than the flu.

For the first time, scientists have decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient and traced her disease - acute myelogenous leukemia - to its genetic roots. A large research team at the Genome Sequencing Center and the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis sequenced the genome of the patient - a woman in her 50s who ultimately died of her disease - and the genome of her leukemia cells, to identify genetic changes unique to her cancer.

The study is reported in the Nov. 6 issue of the journal Nature.

A protein found in the virulent avian influenza virus strain called H5N1 forms tiny tubules in which it "hides" the pieces of double-stranded RNA formed during viral infection, which otherwise would prompt an antiviral immune response from infected cells, said Baylor College of Medicine researchers in an online report in the journal Nature.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Education has found its way onto the soccer fields of North Carolina – in the form of a social experiment that may have all the right ingredients to change the direction of Latino health in the United States.

NEW YORK – A multi-center research team, led by Columbia University Medical Center, has uncovered a major contributor to the cause of stomach cancer – the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality in the world. The team described for the first time, that elevated levels of a single proinflammatory cytokine, an immune system protein called interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), can start the progression towards stomach cancer. These results are published in the Nov. 4, 2008 issue of Cancer Cell.

HOUSTON - Variations in a common gene pathway may affect esophageal cancer risk, a dangerous and rapidly increasing type of cancer, according to research by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Results of the study, which is the first to look at the association between variations in genes related to microRNAs (miRNAs) and esophageal cancer, are published in the November issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association of Cancer Research.

A new study by Northern Illinois University scientists underscores the danger of nighttime tornadoes and suggests that warning systems that have led to overall declines in tornado death rates might not be adequate for overnight events, which occur most frequently in the nation's mid-South region.

A PhD student at Sydney's Garvan Institute of Medical Research has uncovered an important piece in the puzzle of how insulin works, a problem that has plagued researchers for more than 50 years. This finding brings us one step closer to explaining exactly how insulin prompts fat and muscle cells to absorb glucose.

The novel finding by Freddy Yip was published online today in the prestigious international journal, Cell Metabolism.

The universe is full of water, mostly in the form of very cold ice films deposited on interstellar dust particles, but until recently little was known about the detailed small scale structure. Now the latest quick freezing techniques coupled with sophisticated scanning electron microscopy techniques, are allowing physicists to create ice films in cold conditions similar to outer space and observe the detailed molecular organisation, yielding clues to fundamental questions including possibly the origin of life.

Researchers at Hospital for Special Surgery have identified a potential new therapeutic target that could be used to treat inflammatory disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis.

The study, published online ahead of print, will appear Nov. 15 in the journal Immunity. Specifically, the study reveals that two molecular pathways, the Notch and Toll-like receptor pathways, are linked and that manipulating a protein called RBP-J involved in both pathways, could serve as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.

PHILADELPHIA – Researchers have identified 11 genotypes that may increase esophageal cancer risk, according to research published in the November issue of Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

"We observed a significantly increased risk of esophageal cancer with increasing numbers of risk genotypes," said Yuanqing Ye, Ph.D., an instructor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Cincinnati, OH, November 5, 2008--The damaging effects of smoking and smoke exposure can be seen at any age. Pediatricians have even noted these negative effects in various stages of infant development. The consequences of maternal smoke exposure during pregnancy can range from higher rates of prematurity to increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Two new studies and an accompanying editorial soon to be published in The Journal of Pediatrics examine several physical and behavioral effects of cigarette smoke exposure on infants.

ATLANTA - November 5, 2008-A new review outlines potential pharmaceutical, dietary, surgical, and other approaches to reducing the risk of breast cancer among women in the United States, and examines the evidence for specific recommendations.

OAKLAND, CA, NOV. 5, 2008 – Babies whose mothers smoked during pregnancy were more than twice as likely to have a cleft palate or lip as those whose mothers didn't, according to research results released today.

Although the study confirms earlier findings, it is unique because it did not rely on women's self-reported smoking habits during pregnancy. Instead, researchers used the more reliable method of measuring the levels of cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, in the blood from about 500 pregnant women.