Body

Three studies presented by University of Colorado Cancer Center researchers at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium 2014 demonstrate the effects of blocking androgen receptors in breast cancer. One shows that, counterintuitively, blocking the action of androgen receptors reduces the growth of estrogen-positive (ER+) breast cancers. The second study found that even triple-negative breast cancers (TNBCs), which are without known hormone drivers and carry the poorest prognosis, are dependent on androgen receptor activation.

Dr. Damon Little, Associate Curator of Bioinformatics in the Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics at The New York Botanical Garden, has just published a new study in the journal Genome investigating the use of DNA barcoding to test the authenticity of Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba), an herbal dietary supplement sold to consumers that is supposed to boost cognitive capacity. Unfortunately, herbal supplements on the market are subject to mislabelling, and therefore consumers may not be getting the products and benefits they believe they are getting.

Tampa, FL (Dec. 11, 2014) -- Despite emerging evidence otherwise, many college students consider hookah smoking safer than smoking cigarettes, reports a University of South Florida (USF) College of Public Health study published this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The preventive effect of breast cancer drug 'tamoxifen' remains virtually constant for at least 20 years - with rates reduced by around 30 per cent - new analysis published in The Lancet Oncology reveals.

The IBIS-I trial (International Breast Cancer Intervention Study), led by Queen Mary University of London and funded by Cancer Research UK, examined the long-term risks and benefits of taking tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer in women at high risk of the disease (aged 35-70 years old, primarily with a family history of breast cancer).

Smart agricultural practices and an extensive grain-trade network enabled the Romans to thrive in the water-limited environment of the Mediterranean, a new study shows. But the stable food supply brought about by these measures promoted population growth and urbanisation, pushing the Empire closer to the limits of its food resources. The research, by an international team of hydrologists and Roman historians, is published today in Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, an open access journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

WASHINGTON, DC (December 11, 2014)--A new study led by a researcher at Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University looks at the metal cadmium and finds that higher human exposure can lead to significantly shorter telomeres, bits of DNA at the ends of chromosomes that are associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other diseases of old age. The study, which was published online today in the American Journal of Epidemiology, is the largest-ever to look at cadmium exposure and telomeres.

Novel research reveals that the risk of acute gout attacks is more than two times higher during the night or early morning hours than it is in the daytime. The study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), confirms that nocturnal attacks persist even among those who did not consume alcohol and had a low amount of purine intake during the 24 hours prior to the gout attack.

New research suggests that toddlers who share a bed with their parents might have an increased risk of asthma in later childhood.

The study, which is published online today (11 December, 2014) in the European Respiratory Journal, sheds light on the potential health effects of bed-sharing for infants and toddlers.

This approach may offer a new weight management option, suggest the researchers.

Animal studies have shown that the natural fermentation of dietary fibre by gut bacteria produces short chain fatty acids, one of which is propionate.

These fatty acids stimulate the release of the gut hormones PYY and GLP-1, which in turn suppress appetite. And propionate seems to be the most effective at stimulating PYY and GLP-1 release.

Dietary guidelines should emphasise the role played by added sugars, particularly fructose, in the fight to curb the prevalence of cardiovascular, they insist.

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of premature death in the developed world. And high blood pressure is its most important risk factor,accounting for almost 350,000 deaths in the US in 2009 and costing more than $50 billion US dollars every year.

Scientists have developed an ingredient that can be added to foods to make them more filling.

In its first tests in humans, researchers at Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow found that the ingredient is effective at preventing weight gain in overweight volunteers.

SAN ANTONIO, TX, USA and Neu-Isenburg/Frankfurt, Germany -- December 10, 2014 -- The German Breast Group (GBG) said nab-paclitaxel (ABRAXANE®) demonstrated significant benefit for patients with early high risk breast cancer when compared to conventional solvent-based paclitaxel. The findings are from the GeparSepto clinical trial sponsored by GBG and conducted together with the German AGO-B study group involving over 1200 patients, which is the largest randomized Phase III study ever completed with nab-paclitaxel and the first one completed in high risk early breast cancer.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Despite years of effort to help American seniors with high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes get their blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar under control, new research shows wide gaps between older people of different ethnic backgrounds in all three of these key health measures.

Black seniors in Medicare Advantage health plans are still much less likely than their white peers to have each of the three measures in check, according to a new study published in the December 11 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

A team of researchers from the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and environmental testing firm URS reports that a small subset of natural gas wells are responsible for the majority of methane emissions from two major sources -- liquid unloadings and pneumatic controller equipment -- at natural gas production sites.

NEW YORK, NY (December 10, 2014)--Columbia University Medical Center researchers have devised a way to replace the knee's protective lining, called the meniscus, using a personalized 3D-printed implant, or scaffold, infused with human growth factors that prompt the body to regenerate the lining on its own. The therapy, successfully tested in sheep, could provide the first effective and long-lasting repair of damaged menisci, which occur in millions of Americans each year and can lead to debilitating arthritis.