Body

Newborns can be protected from seasonal flu when their mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers observed a 63 percent reduction in proven influenza illness among infants born to vaccinated mothers while the number of serious respiratory illnesses to both mothers and infants dropped by 36 percent. The study is the first to demonstrate that the inactivated influenza vaccine provides protection to both mother and newborn.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (17 September, 2008) – Monitoring the health of children born to women who attempted suicide while pregnant can shed light on which medicines and what doses are particularly dangerous to developing fetuses, according to researchers from Hungary who publish their findings in a series of reports in a special issue of Toxicology and Industrial Health, published this week by SAGE.

Nowadays we don't only take measurements with simple measuring devices, but also with whole measuring systems. These are very complex and are completely set up from their component parts at the point of use. Vehicle scales are an example of such a system. They weigh vehicles like trains, lorries or cars.

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have shown in that it might be possible to make tumor cells more sensitive to irradiation and some types of chemotherapy by treating them with a drug that cripples their ability to repair DNA damage caused by these therapies.

BETHESDA, Md. (Sept. 17, 2008) - A group of sedentary and overweight older people placed on a four-month exercise program not only became more fit, but burned off more fat, compared to older sedentary people who were placed on a diet but did not exercise.

A new advance in cellular imaging is allowing scientists to better understand the movement of cells in the area around tumors, also known as the tumor microenvironment. In a recent article published in Disease Models & Mechanisms (DMM), dmm.biologists.org, Zena Werb and colleagues used optimized methods of laser microscopy to track the movement of live cells in a mouse model of breast cancer.

September 17, 2008, Cambridge, UK – Any way you slice it, the planarian's contributions to biological research just keep on growing.

The planarian, a flatworm normally living in freshwater, is well known for its amazing ability to regenerate – a single planarian cut into 200 pieces can generate 200 new individuals. New research now demonstrates that the planarian is not merely a fascinating master of regeneration, but can help scientists understand the basis of human development and disease.

September 17, 2008, Cambridge, UK – Knee scrapes and tumor growth might have more in common than you think. The idea that tumor growth triggers the same immune response as a cut or wound was once a highly controversial notion. However, increasing evidence supports the idea that the same cellular mechanisms which heal a skinned knee might also have a role in preventing the growth of tumors.

One of Britain's best-known species of seabird is increasingly attacking and killing unattended chicks from neighbouring nests due to food shortages.

Researchers at the University of Leeds and the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology observed a dramatic increase in the number of adult guillemots deliberately attacking chicks of the same species in the last year. Hundreds of such attacks occurred, and many were fatal, with chicks being pecked to death or flung from cliff ledges.

The long term survival of critically ill patients may now be predicted, using a new model which has been developed by Clinical Associate Professor Ho and his co-investigators at Royal Perth Hospital and the University of Western Australia, according to a recent publication "Estimating long term survival of critically ill patients: the PREDICT model".

Over half of deaths in women from chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease could be avoided if they never smoke, keep their weight in check, take exercise and eat a healthy diet low in red meat and trans-fats, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

It is well known that diet, lack of physical activity, being overweight, alcohol consumption and smoking increase the risk of disease including cancer and diabetes, but little research has examined combinations of lifestyle factors in younger populations and women.

Researchers at National Jewish Health have shown that glucocorticoids, the primary controller medication for asthma, are 40 percent less effective in overweight and obese asthma patients than in those of normal weight. The findings identify a potential mechanism involved in the resistance, which suggests therapeutic targets for future medications. The study, by Associate Professor of Medicine E. Rand Sutherland, MD, MPH and his colleagues at National Jewish Health, appears in the October 1, 2008, issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Gene activity in prostate cancer is reminiscent of that in the developing fetal prostate, providing further evidence that all cancers are not equal, Johns Hopkins researchers report. The finding could help scientists investigate how to manipulate the genetic program to fight a disease whose biology remains poorly understood despite more than half a century of investigation.

Nearly one-quarter of women surveyed, and more than one-third of older women, report at least one pelvic floor disorder, which includes urinary and fecal incontinence and the shifting of a pelvic organ, according to a study in the September 17 issue of JAMA. These disorders become more prevalent with increasing age and weight.

Young adults with a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart abnormality, experience subsequent cardiac events but do not appear to have lower survival rates compared to the general population, according to a study in the September 17 issue of JAMA.