Body

It has been well established that certain lifestyle habits relate to the risk of certain cancers (e.g., smoking and lung cancer). In a well-done analysis, the authors estimate the proportion of cancer in the population associated with a variety of lifestyle and environmental factors. They find that smoking has, by far, the largest effect on the risk of cancer, with 19.4% of cancer cases in the UK attributable to tobacco use.

A new study published in the journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica (AOGS) reveals that both pre-pregnant weight (body mass index, BMI) and weight gain in pregnancy are important predictors of babies' birthweight. This is important since high birthweight may also predict adult overweight.

Compared to what they would pay themselves, most consumers overestimate what others are willing to pay for products, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. And that holds true for a large range of items, both real and imaginary.

Although holiday sales and events try to drive as many customers to retail stores as possible, a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that the crowding may drive them away as well.

The issue arises when crowding results in people actually touching one another.

"For managers, a stranger's touch in the store means the money walks out of the store," writes Brett A. S. Martin (Queensland University of Technology). He conducted a series of field experiments in stores in southern England.

Consumers hold churches and pharmaceutical companies to different moral standards than other organizations, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

You are likely to identify with a brand that advertises alongside your personal information on a Facebook page (especially if you have high self-esteem), according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. The same ad will have less impact if you view it on a stranger's page.

If you say you're going to buy something, you're more likely to do it. But why is that? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, stating an intention leads consumers to action—and makes them more likely to purchase their preferred brands.

"Simply responding to an intention question has the potential to activate an intention," write authors Anneleen Van Kerckhove, Maggie Geuens, and Iris Vermeir (Ghent University). "The activation of an intention next changes how easily certain brands come to mind, which then influences brand choices."

Consumer reactions to online comments depend on the number of comments and the reader's orientation (whether it's positive or negative), according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

New Rochelle, NY, December 12, 2011—A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that Factor IX gene therapy in patients with hemophilia B was able to convert severe hemophilia to moderate or even mild disease.

DETROIT — Hitching a ride into the retina on nanoparticles called dendrimers offers a new way to treat age-related macular degeneration and retinitis pigmentosa. A collaborative research study among investigators at Wayne State University, the Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins Medicine shows that steroids attached to the dendrimers targeted the damage-causing cells associated with neuroinflammation, leaving the rest of the eye unaffected and preserving vision.

San Diego, CA -- After the US Prostate Cancer Prevention Trial found cancer in many men with low levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA), many debated which PSA level should lead to a biopsy recommendation. The US Preventive Screening Task Force (USPSTF) recently concluded, amid considerable controversy, that the evidence does not support recommending PSA screening for men under 75 years old at all, because the risks outweigh the benefits.

SAN DIEGO -- Scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have created a "cocktail" of immune-stimulating peptides they believe could provoke the body's defenses to attack multiple myeloma in its early "smoldering" phase and slow or prevent the blood cancer.

Based on laboratory results (abstract 3990) being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology Monday, Dec. 12 at 6 p.m. PST, the researchers say the immunotherapy approach merits testing in human clinical trials.

SAN DIEGO -- In an African county lacking any specialists in children's cancers, a team approach that "twins" Rwandan physicians with Boston-based pediatric oncologists has shown it can deliver expert, curative care to young patients stricken with lymphoma.

SAN DIEGO - Adding a drug that activates genes to frontline combination therapy for acute myeloid leukemia resulted in an 85 percent remission rate after initial treatment, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reported at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

The largest ever study to assess the effects of malaria and its treatment in the first trimester of pregnancy has shown that the disease significantly increases the risk of miscarriage, but that treating with antimalarial drugs is relatively safe and reduces this risk.

In the study, carried out at the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU), in Thailand and funded by the Wellcome Trust, researchers examined medical records of women attending the unit's antenatal clinic over the 25 years since it was founded.