Body

A new species of horseshoe worm discovered in Japan after a 62-year gap

The horseshoe worm is a worm-like marine invertebrate inhabiting both hard and soft substrates such as rock, bivalve shells, and sandy bottom. The name "horseshoe" refers to the U-shaped crown of tentacles which is called "lophophore." Horseshoe worms comprise a small phylum Phoronida, which contains only ten species decorating the bottom of the oceans.

Math modeling integral to synthetic biology research

HOUSTON, April 4, 2014 – A long-standing challenge in synthetic biology has been to create gene circuits that behave in predictable and robust ways. Mathematical modeling experts from the University of Houston (UH) collaborated with experimental biologists at Rice University to create a synthetic genetic clock that keeps accurate time across a range of temperatures. The findings were published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Indoor tanning by teens linked to unhealthy weight control methods

Philadelphia, Pa. (April 4, 2014) – High school students who use indoor tanning also have higher rates of unhealthy weight control behaviors—such as taking diet pills or vomiting to lose weight, reports a study in the April Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics.

Flipping the switch on scleroderma

Scleroderma is a rare and often fatal disease, causing the thickening of tissue, that currently lacks a cure and any effective treatments. A group of researchers, including a Michigan State University professor, is looking to change that.

"Our findings provide a new approach to developing better treatment options where few have existed," said Richard Neubig, chairperson of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Panel issues exercise recommendations for people with osteoporosis and spine fractures

Today, experts from the Too Fit to Fracture Initiative presented the results of an international consensus process to establish exercise recommendations for people with osteoporosis, with or without spine fractures. The results were presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Seville, Spain.

Antioxidants can protect against omega 6 damage -- or promote it

SAN DIEGO — Given omega 6 fatty acid's reputation for promoting cancer — at least in animal studies — researchers are examining the role that antioxidants play in blocking the harmful effects of this culprit, found in many cooking oils. After all, antioxidants are supposed to prevent DNA damage. But employing antioxidants could backfire, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Depression increases heart failure risk by 40 percent

Stavanger, Norway – 4 April 2014: Moderate to severe depression increases the risk of heart failure by 40%, a study of nearly 63 000 Norwegians has shown. The findings were presented for the first time today at EuroHeartCare 2014.

EuroHeartCare is the official annual meeting of the Council on Cardiovascular Nursing and Allied Professions (CCNAP) of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). This year's meeting is organised jointly with the Norwegian Society of Cardiovascular Nurses and is held 4-5 April in Stavanger, Norway.

Common breast cancer subtype may benefit from personalized treatment approach

SAN DIEGO, April 4, 2014 – The second-most common type of breast cancer is a very different disease than the most common and appears to be a good candidate for a personalized approach to treatment, according to a multidisciplinary team led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), a partner with UPMC CancerCenter.

Plant-derived anti-cancer compounds explained at national conference

SAN DIEGO, April 4, 2014 – Compounds derived from plant-based sources — including garlic, broccoli and medicine plants — confer protective effects against breast cancer, explain researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), partner with the UPMC CancerCenter.

Genetic testing beneficial in melanoma treatment

SAN DIEGO, April 4, 2014 – Genetic screening of cancer can help doctors customize treatments so that patients with melanoma have the best chance of beating it, according to the results of a clinical trial by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), a partner with UPMC CancerCenter.

Combining cell replication blocker with common cancer drug kills resistant tumor cells

SAN DIEGO, April 4, 2014 – Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), a partner with UPMC CancerCenter, have found that an agent that inhibits mitochondrial division can overcome tumor cell resistance to a commonly used cancer drug, and that the combination of the two induces rapid and synergistic cell death. Separately, neither had an effect. These findings will be presented Monday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2014.

International consortium discovers 2 genes that modulate risk of breast and ovarian cancer

Today we know that women carrying BCRA1 and BCRA2 gene mutations have a 43% to 88% risk of developing from breast cancer before the age of 70. Taking critical decisions such as opting for preventive surgery when the risk bracket is so wide is not easy. Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) researchers are conducting a study that will contribute towards giving every woman far more precise data about her personal risk of suffering from cancer.

Screening reveals additional link between endometriosis and ovarian cancer

SAN DIEGO, April 4, 2014 – Some women with endometriosis, a chronic inflammatory disease, are predisposed to ovarian cancer, and a genetic screening might someday help reveal which women are most at risk, according to a University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI) study, in partnership with Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI).

Monday at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2014, UPCI and MWRI researchers will present the preliminary results of the first comprehensive immune gene profile exploring endometriosis and cancer.

Key genetic mutations could be new hope for adrenocortical tumor patients

April 3, 2014, Shenzhen, China - Chinese researchers from Rui-Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao-Tong University School of Medicine, BGI, and other institutions have discovered that the activating hotspot L205R mutation in PRKACA gene was closely associated with adrenocortical tumors (ACTs), and the relationship of recurrently mutated DOT1L and CLASP2 with ACTs' other subtypes. The latest study published online in Science opens a new insight into diagnosis and treatment of Adrenal Cushing's syndrome.

Discovery of a mechanism that makes tumor cells sugar addicted

For almost a hundred years ago is known that cancer cells feel a special appetite for a type of sugar called glucose. The tumor uses this molecule is like the gasoline which depends a sports car to burn faster and grows and multiplies rapidly. It is a little cash process from the energy point of view but allows a superaccelerated cancer cell division. It is what is known as the Warburg effect, which was described in 1927.