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New research suggests that some patients develop a potentially deadly blood infection from their implanted cardiac devices because bacterial cells in their bodies have gene mutations that allow them to stick to the devices.

Geoscientists were the major contributors to the finding.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published the study results online this week.

Chapel Hill, NC -- In an editorial published October 23rd in the Lancet, UNC Lineberger member David Ollila, MD, and co-author John Thompson, MD, of the Melanoma Institute Australia, praise a new study on optimal margins for melanoma surgery but urge researchers to bring new molecular and genetic techniques to bear on the question of how to minimize the need for more complex surgical techniques while maximizing long-term patient survival.

The manuscript seems straight out of fiction: a strange handwritten message in abstract symbols and Roman letters meticulously covering 105 yellowing pages, hidden in the depths of an academic archive.

Now, more than three centuries after it was devised, the 75,000-character "Copiale Cipher" has finally been broken.

ORLANDO, Fla. –October 25, 2011 — Researchers at Tenon Hospital, Paris, France, found that patients with mild Alzheimer's disease whose vision improved after cataract surgery also showed improvement in cognitive ability, mood, sleep patterns and other behaviors. Lead researcher Brigitte Girard, MD, will discuss her team's results today at the American Academy of Ophthalmology's 2011 Annual Meeting.

People carrying extra pounds may need extra protection from influenza.

New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that obesity may make annual flu shots less effective.

The findings, published online Oct. 25, 2011, in he International Journal of Obesity, provide evidence explaining a phenomenon that was noticed for the first time during the 2009 H1N1 flu outbreak: that obesity is associated with an impaired immune response to the influenza vaccination in humans.

Vancouver – A type of medication known as angiotensin-receptor blockers could reduce risk of mortality in people with a heart disease called calcific aortic stenosis (AS) by 30 per cent over an eight-year period, Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher Dr. Philippe Pibarot told delegates at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress. The condition is currently managed with open heart surgery.

Vancouver – Atherosclerosis – or buildup of fat in the walls of arteries − is thought of as a disorder of older people but it affects a large number of young men and women, according to a new Heart and Stroke Foundation study.

"The proportion of young, apparently healthy adults who are presumably 'the picture of health' who already have atherosclerosis is staggering," says Dr. Eric Larose, an interventional cardiologist at the Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec and an assistant professor at Université Laval.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---They've been stereotyped as a bunch of insecure, angst-ridden, underachievers. But most members of Generation X are leading active, balanced and happy lives, according to a long-term University of Michigan survey.

"They are not bowling alone," said political scientist Jon Miller, author of The Generation X Report. "They are active in their communities, mainly satisfied with their jobs, and able to balance work, family, and leisure."

DALLAS – Oct. 25, 2011 – A simple blood test could someday quantify a smoker's lung toxicity and danger of heart disease, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

BOSTON — Researchers confirmed an association between tanning bed use and an increased risk for three common skin cancers — basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma, according to results presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

BOSTON — Caffeine could be related to an inverse association between basal cell carcinoma risk and consumption of coffee, a study found.

The prospective study, presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011, examined the risks of basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and melanoma in connection with coffee consumption and found a decreased risk for BCC only.

BOSTON — Use of acetaminophen and nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was associated with a significantly increased risk for developing renal cell carcinoma, according to data presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

BOSTON — Researchers may have found a specific dietary pattern linked to levels of C-peptide concentrations that increase a woman's risk for colorectal cancer.

BOSTON — Drinking plenty of fluids may provide men with some protection against bladder cancer, according to a study presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

Although the study did not determine why increased fluid intake might be protective, Jiachen Zhou, M.B.B.S., M.P.H., a doctoral candidate in epidemiology at Brown University, hypothesized that the fluids may flush out potential carcinogens before they have the opportunity to cause tissue damage that could lead to bladder cancer.

BOSTON — The addition of ascorbate (vitamin C) or its close relative, erythorbate, and the reduced amount of nitrite added in hot dogs, mandated in 1978, have been accompanied by a steep drop in the death rate from colon cancer, according to data presented at the 10th AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, held Oct. 22-25, 2011.

However, the incidence rate for colon cancer has apparently not changed much since 1978, according to 2011 data from the SEER Cancer Statistics Review from the National Cancer Institute.