Body

Measuring a woman's bone mineral density can provide additional information that may help more accurately determine a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the September 1, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest that incorporating bone mineral density tests with current risk assessments might significantly improve physicians' ability to predict breast cancer risk in older, postmenopausal women.

Measuring a woman's bone mineral density can provide additional information that may help more accurately determine a woman's risk of developing breast cancer. That is the conclusion of a new study published in the September 1, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The study's results suggest that incorporating bone mineral density tests with current risk assessments might significantly improve physicians' ability to predict breast cancer risk in older, postmenopausal women.

Bacteria living on opposite sides of a canyon have evolved to cope with different temperatures by altering the make-up of their 'skin', or cell membranes. Scientists have found that bacteria change these complex and important structures to adapt to different temperatures by looking at the appearance of the bacteria as well as their genes. The researchers hope their study, published in the August issue of Microbiology, will start a new trend in research.

Scientists hope a vaccine is on the horizon for tularemia, a fatal disease caused by the pathogen Francisella tularensis, an organism of concern as a potential biological warfare agent. Until recently we knew very little about this bacterium. However, according to the August issue of the Journal of Medical Microbiology, research on the bacterium has been reinvigorated and rapid progress has been made in understanding how it causes disease.

For the first time, next-generation DNA sequencing technologies have been turned on typhoid fever - a disease that kills 600,000 people each year. The results will help to improve diagnosis, tracking of disease spread and could help to design new strategies for vaccination.

Worries over the future of Thailand' s famous elephants have emerged following an investigation by a University of Manchester team.

Professor Rosaleen Duffy and Dr Lorraine Moore from the University' s School of Social Sciences say many problems have endured since the ending of the logging trade which employed virtually all Thai elephants in 1989.

The ban made 2,000 animals and their Mahouts - or trainers - unemployed overnight, forcing many onto the streets to beg for cash.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The life expectancy for patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has increased by more than 13 years since the late 1990s thanks to advancements in antiretroviral therapy, according to researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Improved survival has led to a nearly 40 percent drop in AIDS deaths among 43,355 HIV-positive study participants in Europe and North America, bolstering the call for improved anti-HIV efforts worldwide, the study authors said.

For the first time, a strategic plan for research into benign prostate disease, based on the latest scientific knowledge, has been published by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIDDK Prostate Research Strategic Plan is the culmination of discussions and meetings among experts over the past two years in an effort to outline a strategic vision for research into these elusive and multi-faceted diseases.

Although the need to translate basic science discoveries into the clinical arena is widely acknowledged, a new study by researchers at the Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, and National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified reasons why clinical science grant applications receive less positive peer reviews than basic science grant applications to the NIH. The findings were published in the July issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Atlanta, GA – July 24, 2008 – Being overweight or obese is not only a personal issue that affects one's health but is also a public health issue that impacts other people in society. A new study in the journal Health Services Research reveals that the extra Medicare cost associated with overweight elderly people could place a significant financial burden on tax payers, costing up to hundreds of billions of dollars across the entire current Medicare population.

OAK BROOK, Ill. – July 25, 2008 – The American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ASGE) has issued guidelines on the role of endoscopy in the bariatric surgery patient. The rising prevalence of obesity in the United States and the success in surgical interventions led to a marked increase in the number of weight-loss surgeries performed in the U.S., from 13,365 in 1998 to 102,794 in 2003.

CHICAGO (July 25, 2008) – New research published in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows elevated plasma DNA is a reliable marker of recurrent esophageal cancer. The study also suggests that plasma DNA levels rise before clinical evidence of cancer recurrence in the majority of patients.

Potatoes that have turned 'green' can potentially contain a naturally occurring toxin called Glycoalkaloids (GA) and pose a risk to public health according to a review paper published in the latest online issue of SCI's Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (JSFA).

However, the good news is that cutting away the 'green' affected area is enough to eliminate most of the GAs to reduce the risk.

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (JULY 25, 2008) – An aerosol mass spectrometer developed by chemists from Aerodyne Research Inc. and Boston College is giving scientists who study airborne particles the technology they need to examine the life cycles of atmospheric aerosols – such as soot – and their impact on issues ranging from climate change to public health.

Researchers, growers and Industry specialists from 22 countries are sharing the latest research into the use of Brassica species, such as mustard, radish, or rapeseed, to manage soil-borne pests and weeds – a technique known as biofumigation.

"Brassica plants naturally release compounds that suppress pests and pathogens, principally isothiocyanates (ITCs), which most people would recognise as the 'hot' flavour in mustard or horseradish," says CSIRO's Dr John Kirkegaard.