Body

Delivering anticancer drugs into breast ducts via the nipple is highly effective in animal models of early breast cancer, and has no major side effects in human patients, according to a report by Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center researchers in Science Translational Medicine on October 26. The results of the study are expected to lead to more advanced clinical trials of so-called intraductal treatment for early breast cancer.

Salt Lake City – Physicians preparing to deliver a baby look at fetal heart rate patterns to guide them in deciding whether or not to perform a C-section but a new study from Intermountain Medical Center shows says heart rate patterns may not be a good indicator of a baby's health, and may lead to unnecessary interventions and higher costs.

Now if they could only do a study that would eliminate all those court cases that led to runaway C-sections too.

One of the causes of resistance to cancer treatment in children is now beginning to be elucidated. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients with a particular form of the ATF5 gene are at higher risk of having a relapse when treated with E. coli asparaginase, a key chemotherapy drug for this type of leukemia. This is what a study by Dr. Maja Krajinovic published in the Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology, reveals Dr. Krajinovic is an investigator at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center, which is affiliated with the University of Montreal.

The open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases today published a comprehensive report showcasing the disproportionately high burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in India and South Asia. These diseases of poverty continue to plague the 1.5 billion people living in the region, despite the World Bank's recent report that South Asia experienced 7 percent overall economic growth in 2010.

Montreal -- Going online was once a considerable achievement for a business. Now it's a given and what makes for success is how well a business exploits its online capabilities, according to a recent study.

The research examined the role played by information technology (IT) in business plans of small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises (SMEs). It examined the direct effect on the management and usage of IT, and most importantly, on its performance.

TRUCKEE, Calif. – Scientists tracking the reclusive American marten in the Sierra Nevada mountains have estimated that detection rates of marten have declined by 60 percent compared to historical surveys in the 1980s – and one possible cause, they say, is habitat loss from logging.

The findings, announced this week in the Journal of Wildlife Management, are important because previous research had demonstrated that marten populations had become increasingly fragmented in northeastern California and this new study offers an explanation for the pattern.

Three widely differing forms of European Scambus parasitoid wasps that had previously been regarded as distinct species are shown to be seasonal morphs of a single species. The collaboration involved National Museums Scotland (Mark Shaw), a private individual (Malcolm Jennings) and Imperial College London + Natural History Museum (Donald Quicke).

A technique developed by Johns Hopkins surgeons is providing a new route to get to and remove tumors buried at the base of the skull: through the natural hole behind the molars, above the jawbone and beneath the cheekbone.

In a report detailing the novel surgery, published in the October the Laryngoscope, the surgeons say the procedure, already performed in seven patients, yields faster recovery and fewer complications than traditional approaches. And, because the incisions are made inside the cheek, there are no visible scars.

New Rochelle, NY -- Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, are essential to support the normal growth of a developing embryo and the placenta. An insufficient supply of amino acids in the mother's uterus caused by abnormal maternal-embryo interactions may explain the developmental abnormalities and complications of pregnancy that result in the death of cloned bovine embryos, according to a cutting-edge article in the peer-reviewed journal Cellular Reprogramming published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

New research shows how metal surfaces that lack mirror symmetry could provide a novel approach towards manufacturing pharmaceuticals.

These 'intrinsically chiral' metal surfaces offer potential new ways to control chiral chemistry, pointing to the intriguing possibility of using heterogeneous catalysis in drug synthesis. Such surfaces could also become the basis of new biosensor technologies.

Bees, bats, and moths all follow their noses in search of food from flowers. Plants that rely on such animals for pollination often produce particular chemical scents that attract specific pollinators. However, the ability to produce certain chemicals is also determined by a plant's genetics, or phylogenetic history, which can potentially limit its ability to respond to pollinator pressures. So which is more important in the evolution of floral scents: pollinator-induced natural selection or phylogenetic constraints?

Arlington, Va. -- A new potential leukemia therapy targets only cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells alone. Many current chemotherapy treatments affect cancer cells and healthy cells, causing significant side effects, such as fatigue, hair loss, nausea, anxiety and depression. This research is being presented at the 2011 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C., Oct. 23 – 27.

Children who have a good relationship with their teacher may be protected from expressing aggression and being the target of aggression at school. That's the key finding in a new study of Canadian first graders that appears in the journal Child Development.

The study was conducted by researchers from the University of Quebec at Montreal, Laval University, the University of Alabama, the University of Montreal, and University College Dublin.

Reading achievement at age 10 influences how much independent reading children do at age 11. However, independent reading doesn't directly improve children's achievement in reading, at least among children at the end of elementary school. In addition, individual differences in independent reading among 11-year-olds partly reflect genetic influences on reading achievement at age 10.

Children who are persistently aggressive, defiant, and explosive by the time they're in kindergarten very often have tumultuous relationships with their parents from early on. A new longitudinal study suggests that a cycle involving parenting styles and hostility between mothers and toddlers is at play.

The study was done by researchers at the University of Minnesota and appears in the journal Child Development.