Body

Frank Lyko, scientist at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg has a keen interest in epigenetics. Unlike genetics where a fault in the genetic makeup will cause a gene to deliver the wrong product, occur multiple times or be missing completely, epigenetics is concerned with tiny changes in the genetic material which cause a gene to be more or less active. This is crucial for organisms to adapt to new environmental conditions such as diet, population density or temperature.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have discovered that there is a sharp reduction in visibility caused by fireworks and bonfires on Guy Fawkes' night. They found that visibility was further decreased when the relative humidity was high.

Have you ever used Airbnb or other peer-to-peer accommodation services when travelling? If yes, you are likely to travel more than you used to, you choose your destination from among a wider set of alternatives, and you are more active in your destination.

Fragments of cancer DNA circulating in a patient's bloodstream could help doctors deliver more personalized treatment for liver cancer, Japanese researchers report.

The new research may help address a particular challenge posed by liver cancers, which can be difficult to analyze safely. One serious risk of existing biopsy methods is that doctors who want to obtain a tumor sample for analysis might cause the cancer to spread into the space around organs.

A research team led by Associate Professor Ishii Roaki and Doctoral Student Azuma Wakana from the Kobe University Graduate School of Agricultural Science has discovered that the water storage tissue that they recently found in the world's tallest tree, Sequoia sempervirens (coast redwood), is also found in Japan's tallest trees, Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cedar). The results of this research were published on 4 September 2015 in the online version of the journal Trees.

A former principal deputy commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is proposing a solution to the current gridlock over the regulation of dietary supplements: Focus less on whether these vitamins, minerals and herbal extracts actually do what they claim and instead take important steps to improve their safety.

Public health policies targeted at smokers may actually have the opposite effect for some people trying to quit, according to new evidence released today (Nov. 2).

Research indicates that stigmatizing smoking can, in some cases, make it harder for people to quit because they become angry and defensive and the negative messages lead to a drop in self-esteem.

The findings, published in Social Science & Medicine, highlight the potential for negative stereotypes to backfire, especially when it comes to public health campaigns.

A volunteer registration of insects for 18 consecutive years on the Copenhagen roof of the Natural History Museum of Denmark has revealed local insect community turnover due to climate change. The research suggests a pattern of specialised species being more sensitive to climate change.

Monday, Nov. 2, 2015, Cleveland: Broader geographic sharing of pediatric donor lungs could result in twice as many lung transplants for young patients in the U.S., according to a study published today in the American Journal of Transplantation.

Maryam Valapour, M.D., senior lung investigator for the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) and director of Lung Transplant Outcomes at Cleveland Clinic, is the senior author. The SRTR is the organization responsible for analyzing U.S. transplant data.

Eating a diet rich in both soy protein and isoflavones can protect menopausal women from bone weakening and osteoporosis, according to the results of a preliminary study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh.

Osteoporosis is a common condition where bones become brittle and fragile from tissue loss, causing 9 million fractures worldwide every year. In women, bone loss occurs most quickly in the years immediately after menopause because they produce less of the sex hormone oestrogen, which protects against bone loss.

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Around 20 per cent of girls from ethnic minority backgrounds are not being vaccinated against the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) because they feel they don't need to have it, according to a Cancer Research UK survey presented today at the National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) Cancer Conference in Liverpool*.

Reasons included: 'Because I am not sexually active and will not be until I get married' and: 'My Mum didn't think it was necessary for me to have the vaccine since I won't be sleeping around'.

Oxford University researchers have found the Achilles heel of certain cancer cells - mutations in a gene called SETD2. Their findings will be presented to the National Cancer Research Institute conference in Liverpool this Monday (2 Nov 15).

It is well known that mutations drive cancer cell growth and resistance to treatment. However, these mutations can also become a weak point for a tumour. The Oxford team found that that was the case for cancer cells with mutations in a key cancer gene called SETD2.

The 2014/2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa shone the spotlight not only on the unpreparedness of local health services and science to deal with the pandemic, but also on the phenomenon of emerging infectious diseases (EIDs).

Angiosarcoma is a malignant cancer of the endothelial cells of blood or lymphatic vessels. Cutaneous angiosarcoma, a form of skin cancer, commonly occurs on the scalp of elderly people and can rapidly metastasize to the liver, lungs or lymph nodes. Its five-year survival rate is famously poor at 20-30%, meaning that new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches are highly sought after.

Taking vitamin D supplements can improve exercise performance and lower the risk of heart disease, according to the findings of a preliminary study presented today at the Society for Endocrinology annual conference in Edinburgh.