Body

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — In the first study of its kind, lay health workers increased screening rates for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and knowledge about the disease among a group of Asian Americans, known as the Hmong, UC Davis researchers have found. The study appears online today in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

Park Ridge, Ill. (April 23, 2013) – This week at Experimental Biology (EB) 2013, scientists from around the world are gathering to share research on a variety of topics, including nutrition and health. Given the growing global burden of chronic disease, there is particular interest in the important role of diet and nutrition in overall health.

BOSTON, MA – April 23, 2013 – Two of the most serious health conditions facing Americans today—obesity and cancer—are the subject of new mango nutrition research presented this week at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) in Boston. This preliminary research identifies important findings that merit further investigation to determine whether mangos can potentially have a positive effect on blood sugar in obese individuals and help to limit inflammation.

Preliminary research examines effects on blood sugar

By using swarms of untethered grippers, each as small as a speck of dust, Johns Hopkins engineers and physicians say they have devised a new way to perform biopsies that could provide a more effective way to access narrow conduits in the body as well as find early signs of cancer or other diseases.

BOSTON — Since 1997, a shrubby perennial found only in East Texas has been on a waiting list to be officially declared by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. A ruling on the fate of the Neches River rose-mallow is expected by 2016 under a settlement agreement between the feds and a conservation group. If the plant is listed as threatened, it will become eligible for government-funded restoration.

Tamoxifen is a time-honored breast cancer drug used to treat millions of women with early-stage and less-aggressive disease, and now a University of Rochester Medical Center team has shown how to exploit tamoxifen's secondary activities so that it might work on more aggressive breast cancer.

Infants who sweat less in response to scary situations at age 1 show more physical and verbal aggression at age 3, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

BOSTON — A potential new way to fight obesity-related illness has been uncovered, thanks to serendipitous research led by investigators at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

Researchers from Yale University School of Medicine have demonstrated that vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) is highly competent at finding, infecting, and killing human melanoma cells, both in vitro and in animal models, while having little propensity to infect non-cancerous cells.

"If it works as well in humans, this could confer a substantial benefit on patients afflicted with this deadly disease," says Anthony van den Pol, a researcher on the study. The research was published online ahead of print in the Journal of Virology.

For a long time, scientists have dreamt of converting undesirable white fat cells into brown fat cells and thus simply have excess pounds melt away. Researchers at the University of Bonn have now gotten a step closer to this goal: They decoded a "toggle switch" in mice which can significantly stimulate fat burning. The results are now being presented in the scientifc journal "Nature Communications".

Each time it rains, runoff carries an earthy tea steeped from leaf litter, crop residue, soil, and other organic materials into the storm drains and streams that feed Chesapeake Bay.

Ancient DNA recovered from a series of skeletons in central Germany up to 7500 years old has been used to reconstruct the first detailed genetic history of modern Europe.

The study, published today in Nature Communications, reveals a dramatic series of events including major migrations from both Western Europe and Eurasia, and signs of an unexplained genetic turnover about 4000-5000 years ago.

Researchers have discovered that participation in physical activity of at least moderate intensity is more critical to childhood cardiometabolic health than overall sedentary time. However, when evaluating the risk of cardiovascular disease, screen time appears to be worse than overall sedentary time.

Lichens are symbiotic organisms consisting of a fungal partner and one or several algal partners. The association is so close that scientists until 1867 were not aware that lichens actually consist of two different partners.

In a related article, also published in Parasites & Vectors, Michael Leschnik and colleagues test the effectiveness of common anti-tick measures at preventing tick-borne infections in dogs. Their results suggest that owners should be much more careful to follow the manufacturers' instructions.