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A group of researchers from the Biomaterials and Regenerative Therapeutics Laboratory in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at University at Buffalo has shown that nanostructured phases of segmental polyurethanes can guide endothelial cells into networks which are critical for initiating vascular structures in regenerative tissue engineering applications. This study has provided an interesting avenue to guide cells with the nanoscale domains of synthetic matrix which has not been perceived as a matrix cue for endothelial cell organization.

BELLINGHAM, Washington, USA, and CARDIFF, UK -- The ability to better detect and assess bacteria linked to a form of pneumonia prevalent in hospital intensive care units (ICUs) could soon become possible, according to research reported in the latest issue of the Journal of Biomedical Optics. The journal is published by SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Research conducted by The Miriam Hospital and The Rhode Island Community Food Bank demonstrated that - contrary to popular belief - healthy diets rich in fruits and vegetables are affordable. In fact, the study found that a plant-based, extra-virgin olive oil diet is cheaper than the most economical recommendations for healthy eating coming from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The comparison to the USDA diet showed an annual savings of nearly $750 per person, while also providing significantly more servings of vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

January 5, 2016--The odds of major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder were markedly greater among women who earned less than their male counterparts, with whom they were matched on education and years of experience, according to new research conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Results of the study are online in the journal Social Science & Medicine.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (January 5, 2016)--A new phase III trial with positive results is taking intravaginal DHEA a step closer to governmental approval. The formulation could provide women who cannot or do not wish to use intravaginal estrogen with an effective vaginal alternative for easing vaginal symptoms and pain with sex after menopause. The trial results were published online today in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society.

Consumer food waste carries the highest environmental impact compared to losses earlier in the food chain, and it is no longer a problem concentrated only in higher income countries. How can household food waste be reduced? The proper answer might come from more research to identify which communication and marketing initiatives work better to decrease waste.

SAN ANTONIO (January 5, 2016) - In late December, nearly two years after the epidemic began, the World Health Organization has declared the African country of Guinea to be free of Ebola virus infections. But, the race to find a cure and therapies to combat the disease are forging ahead as officials warn that inattention could lead to another epidemic.

ITHACA, N.Y. - Cornell biomedical engineers have discovered natural triggers that could reduce the chance of life-threatening, congenital heart defects among newborn infants. Those triggers can override developmental, biological miscues, leading to proper embryonic heart and valve formation.

More than 40,000 babies in the United States - or about 1 in 100 births - are born annually with a congenital heart defect, making it the most common defect, according to the Children's Heart Foundation.

West Africa, sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia are most at risk from bat viruses 'spilling over' into humans resulting in new emerging diseases, according to a new global map compiled by scientists at UCL, the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the University of Edinburgh. The map shows risk levels due to a variety of factors including large numbers of different bat viruses found locally, increasing population pressure, and hunting bats for bushmeat.

1. Asymptomatic cardiovascular disease is prevalent and occurs earlier in adult survivors of childhood cancer

Abstract: http://www.annals.org/article.aspx?doi=10.7326/M15-0424

URL live when embargo lifts

If they successfully invade Lake Erie, Asian carp could eventually account for about a third of the total weight of fish in the lake and could cause declines in most fish species -- including prized sport and commercial fish such as walleye, according to a new computer modeling study.

DENVER - The requirement for tumor tissue specimens and associated analyses in order to participate in clinical trials appears to be a significant barrier to clinical trial enrollment and may delay treatment. Potential solutions to reducing or eliminating these barriers include routine tissue banking at diagnosis, easing use of available diagnostic samples, development of less invasive tests, faster turnaround time at central laboratories or allowing for local testing and more resources for timely tissue collection.

(Chapel Hill, N.C. - Jan. 4, 2016) - The more social ties people have at an early age, the better their health is at the beginnings and ends of their lives, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The study is the first to definitively link social relationships with concrete measures of physical well-being such as abdominal obesity, inflammation, and high blood pressure, all of which can lead to long-term health problems, including heart disease, stroke and cancer.

(BOSTON) -- Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and the University of Pennsylvania have found that prior studies of the link between obesity and mortality are flawed because they rely on one-time measures of body mass index (BMI) that obscure the health impacts of weight change over time.

It's the dream of many infertile couples: to have a baby. Tens of thousands of children are born by in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a technique commonly used when nature doesn't take its course. However, embryos obtained when a sperm fertilizes an egg in a test tube often have defects. In a study published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) discovered an important element in understanding how these anomalies occur in the developing embryo.