Body

A study based on computer modeling of radiation risk, suggests that widespread screening for the buildup of calcium in the arteries using computed tomography scans would lead to an estimated 42 additional radiation-induced cancer cases per 100,000 men and 62 cases per 100,000 women, according to a report in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Condom use is associated with a reduced risk of contracting herpes simplex virus 2, according to a report based on pooled analysis of data from previous studies in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

CHICAGO – Men and women who walk or ride a bike to work appear more fit, and men are less likely to be overweight or obese. They also have healthier triglyceride levels, blood pressure and insulin levels, according to a report in the July 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Patients with multiple sclerosis who smoke appear to experience a more rapid progression of their disease, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Neurology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Cigarette smokers are at higher risk of developing multiple sclerosis (MS), according to background information in the article. However, the effect of smoking on the progression of MS remains uncertain.

Implantable lenses made of a collagen-like substance appear to provide stable correction of moderate to high nearsightedness (myopia) over four years of follow-up, according to a report in the July issue of Archives of Ophthalmology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Research led by The University of Arizona College of Pharmacy has found that medication prescribers correctly identified fewer than half of drug pairs with potentially dangerous drug-drug interactions.

These findings raise concern because of the high number of drugs Americans take: an average of 2.3 medications is prescribed during each physician office visit.

New research led by Cindy Schwartz, MD, of Hasbro Children's Hospital has identified a new chemotherapy regimen for pediatric Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients. The new treatment enhances efficacy through dose-dense drug delivery while simultaneously reducing the long-term risks presented by high cumulative dose chemotherapy. Schwartz and the researchers of the Children's Oncology Group have published their findings in the journal Blood (posted in an online first edition).

An iconic photograph (http://img.timeinc.net/time/80days/images/530228.jpg) of Nobel laureates Drs. Francis Crick and James Watson show the pair discussing with a rigid model of the famous double helix.

When cells experiencing DNA damage fail to repair themselves, they send a signal to their neighbors letting them know they're in trouble. The discovery, which shows that a process dubbed the DDR (DNA Damage Response) also controls communication from cell to cell, has implications for both cancer and aging. The findings appear in the July 13 online edition of the Nature Cell Biology.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (July 13, 2009) – Whitehead Institute scientists have developed a rapid, inexpensive drug-screening method that could be used to target diseases that until now have stymied drug developers, such as Parkinson's disease. This technique uses baker's yeast to synthesize and screen the molecules, cutting target discovery and preliminary testing time to a matter of weeks.

In a study published in Nature Chemical Biology, the researchers showed that they can rescue yeast cells from toxic levels of a protein implicated in Parkinson's disease, by stimulating the cells to make very small proteins called cyclic peptides. Two of the cyclic peptides had a protective effect on the yeast cells and on neurons in an animal model of Parkinson's disease.

Researchers have invented computational tools to decode and rapidly determine whether natural compounds collected in oceans and forests are new—or if these pharmaceutically promising compounds have already been described and are therefore not patentable.

The mode of reproduction seen in modern sharks is nearly 400 million years old, according to research conducted by Uppsala University researcher Per Erik Ahlberg, published today in Nature

Researchers at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center and Graduate Center for Toxicology (GCT) have gained new insight into the genetic mechanisms underlying Huntington's disease and other neurodegenerative or neuromuscular disorders caused by trinucleotide repeats (or TNRs) in DNA.

COLUMBIA, Mo. – Previous studies have found that postmenopausal women who have taken a combined estrogen and progestin hormone replacement therapy have increased their risk of developing progestin-accelerated breast tumors. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found that curcumin, a popular Indian spice derived from the turmeric root, could reduce the cancer risk for women after exposure to hormone replacement therapy.