Body

This release is also available in Chinese on EurekAlert! Chinese.

A lysophosphatidic acid receptor 1 (LPAR1) inhibitor, known as Debio-0719, suppresses the development of metastases in mice by inducing cancer cell dormancy, according to a study published August 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Aug. 21, 2012 – Heart calcium scans are far superior to other assessment tools in predicting the development of cardiovascular disease in individuals currently classified at intermediate risk by their doctors, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

The test, known as coronary artery calcium (CAC), uses a CT scan to detect calcium build-up in the arteries around the heart. The study findings are presented in the Aug. 22 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

CHICAGO – Although some studies have suggested that use of lipid-lowering therapies may increase the risk of pancreatitis, an analysis that involved pooling of data from previous studies and included more than 150,000 participants found that statin therapy was associated with a reduction in the risk of pancreatitis in patients with normal or mildly elevated triglyceride levels, according to an article in the August 22/29 issue of JAMA.

MADISON – Acinetobacter baumanni, a pathogenic bacterium that is a poster child of deadly hospital acquired infections, is one tough customer.

It resists most antibiotics, is seemingly immune to disinfectants, and can survive desiccation with ease. Indeed, the prevalence with which it infects soldiers wounded in Iraq earned it the nickname "Iraqibacter."

In the United States, it is the bane of hospitals, opportunistically infecting patients through open wounds, catheters and breathing tubes. Some estimates suggest it kills tens of thousands of people annually.

Investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital may have discovered a biological explanation for why low levels of oxygen advance spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) symptoms and why breathing treatments help SMA patients live longer. The findings appear in Human Molecular Genetics.*

Chimpanzees from African sanctuaries carry drug-resistant, human-associated strains of the bacteria Staphlyococcus aureus, a pathogen that the infected chimpanzees could spread to endangered wild ape populations if they were reintroduced to their natural habitat, a new study shows.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 21, 2012 — As a step toward designing the first effective vaccine against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, scientists are reporting new insights into how a family of rare, highly potent antibodies bind to HIV and neutralize it — stop it from infecting human cells. The antibodies were isolated from people infected with HIV and work against a wide range of HIV strains. The researchers described the study today at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

Though the seconds may tick by on the clock at a regular pace, our experience of the 'fourth dimension' is anything but uniform. When we're waiting in line or sitting in a boring meeting, time seems to slow down to a trickle. And when we get caught up in something completely engrossing – a gripping thriller, for example – we may lose sense of time altogether.

But what about the idea that time flies when we're having fun? New research from psychological science suggests that the familiar adage may really be true, with a caveat: time flies when we're have goal-motivated fun.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 21, 2012 — Strong scientific evidence suggests that high levels of a blood protein called galectin-3 may increase the risk of heart attacks, cancer and other diseases, and help forecast the outcome of those diseases, a scientist reported here today at the 244th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society.

PHILADELPHIA — A group of molecular markers have been identified that can help clinicians determine which patients with low-grade oral premalignant lesions are at high risk for progression to oral cancer, according to data from the Oral Cancer Prediction Longitudinal Study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

For many pediatric cancer patients, total body irradiation (TBI) is a necessary part of treatment during bone marrow transplant– it's a key component of long term survival. But lengthened survival creates the ability to notice long term effects of radiation as these youngest cancer patients age. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Pediatric Blood & Cancer details these late effects of radiation.

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Transcription is a cellular process by which genetic information from DNA is copied to messenger RNA for protein production. But anticancer drugs and environmental chemicals can sometimes interrupt this flow of genetic information by causing modifications in DNA.

Chemists at the University of California, Riverside have now developed a test in the lab to examine how such DNA modifications lead to aberrant transcription and ultimately a disruption in protein synthesis.

EUGENE, Ore. -- University of Oregon chemists have identified a catalyst that could dramatically reduce the amount of waste made in the production of methyl methacrylate, a monomer used in the large-scale manufacturing of lightweight, shatter-resistant alternatives to glass such as Plexiglas.

David Tyler, Charles J. and M. Monteith Jacobs Professor of Chemistry, presented his findings Tuesday, Aug. 21, at the national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia.

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 21, 2012 — The refreshing chill of today's fudge-brownie cookie-crumble ice cream cone ― will it really last? Or can ice cream actually stoke the body's metabolic furnace and make you feel even hotter? How about a few ice-cold brews? Or should you add a dash of the counter-intuitive to your summer menu with the sweat-inducing, mouth-on-fire, tear-provoking taste of chili peppers?

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A Rhode Island Hospital radiation oncologist says in a new editorial that research exploring the impact of radiotherapy in older women with low risk of breast cancer recurrence has little effect on actual clinical decisions. The editorial written by David E. Wazer, M.D., chief of the department of radiation oncology, is published in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.