Body

Washington, DC (December 19, 2013) — Researchers have successfully coaxed stem cells to become kidney tubular cells, a significant advance toward one day using regenerative medicine, rather than dialysis and transplantation, to treat kidney failure. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

Obesity, alcoholism, and chronic hepatitis all increase the risk of getting liver cancer, which is the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Obesity in particular is driving a significant increase in liver cancer in the United States. These three health problems also increase cellular stress in the liver, but until now it has not been clear if there is a direct biological link between cellular stress and the development of liver cancer.

CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite related to the one that causes malaria, infects about 30 percent of the world's population. Most of those people don't even know they are infected, but a small percentage develop encephalitis or ocular toxoplasmosis, which can lead to blindness.

SAN ANTONIO (Dec. 19, 2013) — Elevated levels of an amino acid, tyrosine, alter development and longevity in animals and may contribute to the development of diabetes in people, new research from the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio indicates. This line of study could potentially lead to a novel way to prevent or treat the disease. The research is reported this week [Dec. 19] in PLOS Genetics, a journal of the Public Library of Science.

Evidence of a direct effect in diabetes

A new study identifies an unexpected molecular link between liver cancer, cellular stress, and risk factors for developing this cancer – obesity, alcoholism, and viral hepatitis. In the study by University of Iowa researchers and published in the journal PLOS Genetics, researchers show that a protein called CHOP, which had previously been thought to generally protect against cancer, actually promotes liver cancer in mice.

CHICAGO --- Infertility is consistently listed as one of the most distressing long-term side effects of cancer treatment for adolescents and young adults. Yet the leading National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers -- which should be leaders in fertility preservation -- aren't doing an adequate job of helping patients protect their fertility, reports a new Northwestern Medicine® study.

CHESTNUT HILL, MA (Dec. 19, 2013) – Boston College chemists have developed a new chemical synthesis methodology that converts chemicals known as alpha-olefins into new organic compounds. By combining a pair of catalytic reactions in sequence, the researchers converted inexpensive and plentiful chemicals into new boron-containing organic compounds prized by researchers.

DURHAM, N.C. – As healthcare costs continue to balloon, a new Duke study points to a surprising avenue for potential savings: nurse home visits. For every $1 spent on nurse home visiting for newborns, $3 were saved in healthcare costs. The home visiting program more than paid for itself within the infants' first six months of life.

The greater your anxiety level, the higher your risk of having a stroke, according to new research published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke.

The study is the first in which researchers linked anxiety and stroke independent of other factors such as depression. Anxiety disorders are one of the most prevalent mental health problems. Symptoms include feeling unusually worried, stressed, nervous or tense.

Women who do not gain enough weight during pregnancy are at increased risk of losing their baby in its first year of life, according to a new study by researchers in the University of Maryland School of Public Health (UMD SPH). This study examined the relationship between gestational weight gain, mothers' body mass index (BMI) before and during pregnancy, and infant mortality rates.

December 19, 2013—(BRONX, NY)—In two separate clinical trials, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that periodic meetings with a lactation consultant encourages women traditionally resistant to breastfeeding to do so, at least for a few months—long enough for mother and child to gain health benefits. The results of the trials were published online today in American Journal of Public Health.

Walk the beach or peer into a tidepool anywhere along the northeastern U.S. coast, and you'll find shells stacked on top of one another. They're most likely common Atlantic slipper shells, a species of marine snail.

Scientists took a closer look at these ubiquitous snails, and discovered that how their larvae swim is key to the species' seeming residence in every nook and cranny along the coast. And to how the snails may be able to invade new territory.

Most people know that one of the keys to reducing or preventing health problems is to get more exercise, but determining how to best integrate physical activity into their daily lives — and having access to exercise programs — remains a significant hurdle to clear on the path to a healthier lifestyle.

CAMDEN — Bullying isn't only a problem that occurs in schools or online among young people. It can happen anywhere to anyone, and a Rutgers–Camden nursing scholar is shedding some light on how it is becoming increasingly common in academia.

"What worries me is the impact that bullying is having on the ability to recruit and retain quality educators," says Janice Beitz, a professor at the Rutgers School of Nursing–Camden. "It has become a disturbing trend."

The presence of male sperm and seminal fluid causes female worms to shrivel and die after giving birth, Princeton University researchers reported this week in the journal Science. The demise of the female appears to benefit the male worm by removing her from the mating pool for other males.

The researchers found that male sperm and seminal fluid trigger pathways that cause females to dehydrate, prematurely age and die.