Body

[Relationships between black tea consumption and key health indicators in the world: an ecological study doi 10.1136/bmjopen-2011-000648]

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes is low in countries where consumption of black tea is high, suggests a mathematical analysis of data from 50 countries, published in the online journal BMJ Open.

[Influence of social networking websites on medical school and residency selection process Online First doi 10.1136/postgradmedj-2012-131283]

The use of social networking sites is set to increasingly influence the selection of medical students and trainee doctors in the US, suggests the largest study of its kind published online in Postgraduate Medical Journal.

Few available treatment options exist once prostate cancer has spread to other parts of the body and has failed to respond to therapies that involve blocking the male hormone androgen. Patients with advanced, hormone-refractory prostate cancer usually die from the disease after 12 to 18 months, so new therapies are desperately needed.

Researchers have developed a non-invasive way of predicting how much of a cancer-killing drug is absorbed by a tumour. The preliminary study, which will be reported at the 24th EORTC-NCI-AACR [1] Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics in Dublin, Ireland, today (Thursday), was conducted in lung cancer patients and it also revealed that less than one per cent of the drug, docetaxel, is absorbed by the tumours [2].

When humans have parasites, the organisms live in our bodies, co-opt our resources and cause disease. However, it turns out that parasites themselves can have their own co-habitants.

A new power-free microfluidic chip developed by researchers at the RIKEN Advanced Science Institute (ASI) enables detection of microRNA from extremely small sample volume in only 20 minutes. By drastically reducing the time and quantity of sample required for detection, the chip lays the groundwork for early-stage point-of-care diagnosis of diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's.

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 7, 2012 – The use of certain water-based, over-the-counter personal lubricants can dry out and irritate vaginal and rectal tissue, but does not appear to increase susceptibility to HIV, according to a laboratory study published today in PLoS ONE.

Subordinates exhibit submissive postures (lateral quivering) while producing submissive sounds.

(Photo Credit: Citation: Colleye O, Parmentier E (2012) Overview on the Diversity of Sounds Produced by Clownfishes (Pomacentridae): Importance of Acoustic Signals in Their Peculiar Way of Life. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49179. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049179)

Polynesia was one of the last places on Earth to be settled by humans, and new techniques reveal that this settlement first occurred within a 16 year window nearly 3000 years ago. The research, published November 7 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by David Burley and colleagues from Simon Fraser University, Canada, reveals that the first human settlers lived in a founder colony on the islands of Tonga between 2830 to 2846 years ago.

MINNEAPOLIS – For people experiencing first-time symptoms of Bell's palsy, steroid pills very likely are the most effective known treatment for recovering full strength in the facial muscles, according to a guideline published in the November 7, 2012, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Bell's palsy is a nerve disorder that affects muscle movement in the face and usually leaves half of the face temporarily paralyzed.

Researchers have identified a link between higher dietary glycemic load and total carbohydrate intake and increased risk of cancer recurrences or death among stage 3 colon cancer patients, a finding that suggests that diet and lifestyle modification can have a role in improving patient survival, according to a study published November 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

BOSTON--Colon cancer survivors whose diet is heavy in complex sugars and carbohydrate-rich foods are far more likely to have a recurrence of the disease than are patients who eat a better balance of foods, a new study by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute researchers indicates.

X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is initially seen only on the parental X chromosome during embryogenesis. This imprinted XCI later becomes random, occurring on either the maternal or paternal X.

This article describes a cell culture model for imprinting, discovery of a protein required for imprinted XCI, and the roles of two transcription factors in the switch between imprinted and random XCI in the early mouse embryo.

By Jennifer A. Erwin, Brian del Rosario, Bernhard Payer, and Jeannie T. Lee, GENETICS

An elegant new study confirms that the most commonly used method of screening for embryo abnormalities following in vitro fertilization (IVF) does accurately predict the success of embryo transplantation for younger women, but not necessarily for those of advanced maternal age.

BOSTON – Researchers at the Institute for Aging Research (IFAR) at Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School (HMS), have published a study that shows no evidence of a link between calcium intake and coronary artery calcification, reassuring adults who take calcium supplements for bone health that the supplements do not appear to result in the development of calcification of blood vessels.