Body

DETROIT – An early stage study shows melatonin – a hormone that regulates the body's sleep and awake cycles – may have the potential to help slow the growth of certain breast cancer tumors, according to researchers from Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit and Foundation for Research Support of the State of São Paulo.

The study, published online in the journal PLoS One, finds that melatonin may inhibit tumor growth and cell production, as well as block the formation of new blood vessels in ER-negative breast cancer models.

The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's (ACS') award-winning Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions podcast series features a small, paper-based device that can monitor or detect disease with no electricity or expensive lab analyses required.

An EORTC study published in Lancet Oncology found that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) assessment in small-cell lung cancer randomized clinical trials provides relevant added information in studies where the treatment arms do not differ in terms of efficacy. More importantly, it provides valuable information for those treatments where better HRQOL is associated with overall survival benefit.

Toronto – Just when that new gym membership is looking like a mistake, recent marketing research shows that reminding consumers of the price strengthens their purchase choices and leads to long-term satisfaction.

New research from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management says that even though most people value higher functionality over the long-term, they tend to prefer no-hassle convenience in the short-run. If it's a digital camera they need in a hurry, they may buy the easy-to-use version, only to later regret that it doesn't have the features they'd like.

Quebec City, January 28, 2014—Certain probiotics could help women lose weight and keep it off, according to a recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition by a team of researchers headed by Université Laval Professor Angelo Tremblay.

Saccharum spontaneum is an invasive grass that has spread extensively in disturbed areas throughout the Panama Canal watershed, where it has created a fire hazard and inhibited reforestation efforts. The weed originally believed to be originally from India, is perfectly adapted to the conditions in Panama and produces excessive amounts of biomass during the wet season, which impedes reforestation efforts.

Mountain View, Calif. –January 28, 2014 23andMe, the leading personal genetics company, has participated in the first ever genome-wide association study of the combined asthma-with-hay fever phenotype. Led by researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, the study identified 11 independent genetic markers associated with the development of asthma-with-hay fever, including two associations reaching a level of significance with allergic disease for the first time.

Messages that describe obesity as a disease may undermine healthy behaviors and beliefs among obese individuals, according to a new study published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

The findings show that obese individuals exposed to such messages placed less importance on health-focused dieting and reported less concern about weight. These beliefs, in turn, predicted unhealthier food choices.

Not enough current research on marine ecosystems focuses on species' long-term adaptation to ocean acidification creating a murky picture of our ocean's future, according to an international study led by a University of British Columbia zoologist.

One branch of a deadly pathogen's family tree may have ended centuries ago, but from its ancient traces researchers can read a lineage with links to the modern world.

An international team of scientists has discovered that two of the world's most devastating pandemics—the plague of Justinian and the Black Death, each responsible for killing as many as half the people in Europe—were caused by distinct strains of the same pathogen.

SAN FRANCISCO, January 27, 2014 -- The world's oceans are becoming more acidic, changing in a way that hasn't happened for millions of years. But will marine organisms from tiny coccolithophores to king crabs change along with the waters?

SF State Associate Professor of Biology Jonathon Stillman has joined with an international team of scientists in calling for more studies of how these plants and animals might adapt to ocean acidification. Beyond a short-term adjustment to acidic waters, adaptation involves heritable changes in a species brought about by natural selection.

Underuse of phosphorus-based fertilizers in Africa currently contributes to a growing yield gap—the difference between how much crops could produce in ideal circumstances compared to actual yields. This phosphorus-specific yield gap currently lies at around 10% for subsistence farmers, but will grow to 27% by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a study published today in the journal Global Change Biology.

PHILADELPHIA - If the content of many a situation comedy, not to mention late-night TV advertisements, is to be believed, there's an epidemic of balding men, and an intense desire to fix their follicular deficiencies.

One potential approach to reversing hair loss uses stem cells to regenerate the missing or dying hair follicles. But it hasn't been possible to generate sufficient number of hair-follicle-generating stem cells – until now.

An international team of scientists has discovered that two of the world's most devastating plagues – the plague of Justinian and the Black Death, each responsible for killing as many as half the people in Europe—were caused by distinct strains of the same pathogen, one that faded out on its own, the other leading to worldwide spread and re-emergence in the late 1800s. These findings suggest a new strain of plague could emerge again in humans in the future.

Health officials have expressed concern that the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) could become a major public health threat, according to an article being published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Since September 2012, 163 infections have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO), including 71 deaths.