Body

A recently introduced polio vaccine is four times more effective at protecting children than previous vaccines and has the potential to eradicate type 1 polio in Nigeria if it reaches enough children, according to a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

NEW YORK CITY, NY - October 15, 2008 – A new study reveals that specific types of bacteria in the intestine trigger the generation of pro-inflammatory immune cells, a finding that could eventually lead to novel treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and other diseases. The study by NYU Langone Medical Center researchers is published in the October 16 issue of the journal Cell Host and Microbe. The new finding adds to the growing body of research showing that the kinds of bacteria in our intestine, and in our stomach, have an impact on our health.

Scientists have reached a critical milestone in the study of liver cancer that lays the groundwork for predicting the illness's path, whether toward cure or recurrence. By analyzing the tissue in and around liver tumors, an international research team has identified a kind of genetic "fingerprint" that can help predict if patients' cancers will return.

People traveling to other countries to receive kidney transplants experience more severe post-transplant complications with a higher incidence of acute rejection and severe infections, according to a study appearing in the November 2008 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The findings suggest that such "transplant tourism" by Americans may not be as safe as receiving transplants in the United States.

Researchers are poised to unlock the genetic secrets stored in hundreds of thousands of cancer biopsy samples locked in long-term storage and previously thought to be useless for modern genetic research. With the aid of a new technique developed by Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers, scientists can now reconstruct thousands of genes that are "shredded" into tiny pieces when tissue samples are treated with a chemical fixative and stored in wax – a protocol that is commonly used to preserve the samples.

BOSTON--Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have identified a set of previously unknown mutations in a single gene in 8 percent of neuroblastomas, tumors of the nervous system that occur in young children and account for approximately 15 percent of all childhood cancer deaths.

Boston, Mass. – October 15, 2008 – Living donor kidney transplantation is the preferred treatment option for patients with end stage renal disease. The outcomes of this type of transplant are superior to waiting for several years on the deceased donor transplant list while on dialysis. 38 percent of all kidney transplants in the U.S. are now performed using living donors. However, some patients do not have access living donors who are both willing and medically eligible to give them a kidney.

University of Arizona scientists experimenting with some of the coldest gases in the universe have discovered that when atoms in the gas get cold enough, they can spontaneously spin up into what might be described as quantum mechanical twisters or hurricanes.

The surprising experimental results agree with independent numerical simulations produced by collaborating scientists at the University of Queensland in Australia. The Arizona and Queensland researchers are reporting the results of the research in today's issue (Oct. 16) of the journal Nature.

Using highly uniform samples of carbon nanotubes—sorted by centrifuge for length—materials scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have made some of the most precise measurements yet of the concentrations at which delicate mats of nanotubes become transparent, conducting sheets. Their recent experiments* point up the importance of using relatively homogeneous—not overly short, but uniform in length— nanotubes for making high performance conducting films.

Novel nanoparticles being tested at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have researchers seeing stars. In a recent paper,* NIST scientists used surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) to demonstrate that gold nanostars exhibit optical qualities that make them superior for chemical and biological sensing and imaging. These uniquely shaped nanoparticles may one day be used in a range of applications from disease diagnostics to contraband identification.

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A multicenter team of researchers, including scientists from the University of Florida, has discovered a way to potentially block the growth of neuroblastoma, a type of cancer responsible for 15 percent of all cancer deaths in children.

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– While an international seed bank in a Norwegian island has been gathering news about its agricultural collection, a group of U.S. scientists has just published an article outlining a different kind of seed bank, one that proposes the gathering of wild species –– at intervals in the future –– effectively capturing evolution in action.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---Like a sentry guarding the castle walls, a molecular messenger inside adult stem cells sounds the alarm when it senses hazards that could allow the invasion of an insidious enemy: Cancer.

The alarm bell halts the process of cell division in its tracks, preventing an error that could lead to runaway cell division and eventually, tumor formation.

WHAT:

If research finds that a simpler, cheaper treatment is just as effective as a more costly procedure, which one should doctors and hospitals choose? And which one should insurers and Medicare pay for?

Patients suffering from chest pain related to coronary artery disease often undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), or balloon angioplasty. A major, multicenter study (the COURAGE trial) reported last year that in most cases, intensive medical management can be just as effective, but physicians still have a tendency to reach for the higher-cost option first.

The gecko's amazing ability to stick to surfaces and walk up walls has inspired many researchers to manufacture materials that mimic the special surface of a gecko's foot. The secret behind the gecko's ability to stick so well is a forest of pillars at the micro-/nano-scale on the underside of the gecko's foot. Because there are so many pillars so close together, they are held tightly to the surface the gecko is walking on by a molecular force called the Van der Waals force. This relatively weak force causes uncharged molecules to attract each other.