Body

PRINCETON, NJ—The recent nuclear agreement with Iran could serve as a first step toward a Middle East free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. There is more that needs to be done, however, according to a recent report issued by the International Panel on Fissile Materials (IPFM), a group based at Princeton University and made up of nuclear experts from 18 countries.

HOUSTON – (Dec. 11, 2013) – Rice University bioengineers have developed a hydrogel scaffold for craniofacial bone tissue regeneration that starts as a liquid, solidifies into a gel in the body and liquefies again for removal.

The material developed in the Rice lab of bioengineer Antonios Mikos is a soluble liquid at room temperature that can be injected to the point of need. At body temperature, the material turns instantly into a gel to help direct the formation of new bone to replace that damaged by injury or disease.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Whether from the trickle-down effects of having fewer female elders in science or the increased opportunities for male researchers to participate in international collaborations, barriers to women in science remain widespread worldwide, according to new work led by Indiana University School of Informatics and Computing professors.

PHILADELPHIA – Sleep, or the lack of it, seems to affect just about every aspect of human physiology. Yet, the molecular pathways through which sleep deprivation wreaks its detrimental effects on the body remain poorly understood. Although numerous studies have looked at the consequences of sleep deprivation on the brain, comparatively few have directly tested its effects on peripheral organs.

During sleep deprivation cells upregulate the UPR – the unfolded protein response – a process where misfolded proteins get refolded or degraded.

SAN ANTONIO — Omission of radiotherapy is a reasonable option for women age 65 or older who receive hormone therapy after breast-conserving surgery for hormone receptor-positive, axillary node-negative breast cancer, according to results of the PRIME 2 trial presented here at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 10-14.

SAN ANTONIO — Re-examination of data from four large studies of the benefits and harms of mammography screening shows that the benefits are more consistent across these studies than previously understood and that all the studies indicate a substantial reduction in breast cancer mortality with screening, according to results presented here at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 10-14.

SAN ANTONIO — After a response to initial chemotherapy, treatment with radiotherapy and surgical removal of the breast tumor and nearby lymph nodes do not provide any additional benefit to patients with metastatic breast cancer, according to results of a clinical trial presented here at the 2013 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, held Dec. 10-14.

TEMPE, Ariz. – To protect themselves, some animals rapidly change color when their environments change, but chameleons change colors in unusual ways when they interact with other chameleons. Arizona State University researchers have discovered that these color changes don't happen "out-of-the-blue" — instead, they convey different types of information during important social interactions.

Researchers studying Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria, which cause the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia as well as infectious blindness, have confirmed that the bacteria contain—and, in fact, cannot function without—the common molecule peptidoglycan, a structural component found in the cell wall of many bacteria. This finding puts an end to years of uncertainty about whether Chlamydia bacteria, like almost all bacterial species, rely on peptidoglycan to reproduce and to maintain their shape and structure.

New Rochelle, NY, December 10, 2013—Young women, ages 55 years or below, are more likely to be hospitalized for an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and to die within the first 30 days than men in the same age group, according to a new study published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women's Health website at http://www.liebertpub.com/jwh.

New Rochelle, NY, December 10, 2013—Antisense therapeutics, a class of drugs comprised of short nucleic acid sequences, can target a dysfunctional gene and silence its activity. A new study has shown that antisense drugs delivered systemically show activity in a wide range of tissues and organs, supporting their broad therapeutic potential in many disease indications, as described in an article in Nucleic Acid Therapeutics, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

Children who are malnourished during their first 1000 days (conception to age 2) often experience developmental setbacks that affect them for life.

To that end, philanthropic groups have funded massive global health initiatives for impoverished infants and pregnant women around the world. While money flows justifiably to this cause, programs for children past the 1000-day mark are seen as having little hope, and garner less support.

Cambridge, MA, December 10, 2013 – The following statement will be published in the journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology, alongside a selection of letters to the editors regarding the decision to retract the paper by Séralini et al.(Séralini et al., 2012).

STANFORD, Calif. — Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have revealed that formerly overlooked sites deep inside the nose may be reservoirs for Staphylococcus aureus, a major bacterial cause of disease.

The results of the study will be published Dec. 11 in Cell Host & Microbe.

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 11, 2013 – Air flows mostly in a one-way loop through the lungs of monitor lizards – a breathing method shared by birds, alligators and presumably dinosaurs, according to a new University of Utah study.

The findings – published online Wednesday, Dec. 11 in the journal Nature – raise the possibility this breathing pattern originated 270 million years ago, about 20 million years earlier than previously believed and 100 million years before the first birds. Why remains a mystery.