Body

CHAMPAIGN, lll. — Researchers report that Helicobacter pylori, the only bacterium known to survive in the harsh environment of the human stomach, directly activates an enzyme in host cells that has been associated with several types of cancer, including gastric cancer.

Scientists in Massachusetts are reporting new evidence that certain high blood pressure drugs may be useful in preventing and treating diabetic retinopathy, the leading cause of vision loss in people with diabetes. The study, the largest to date on proteins in the retina, could lead to new ways to prevent or treat the sight-threatening disease, they say. The findings are in ACS' Journal of Proteome Research, a monthly publication.

EAST LANSING, Mich. — A research team led by a Michigan State University professor has discovered a link between diabetes and bone marrow nerve damage that may help treat one of the disease's most common and potentially blindness-causing complications.

The key to better treating retinopathy – damage to blood vessels in the retina that affects up to 80 percent of diabetic patients – lies not in the retina but in damage to the nerves found in bone marrow that leads to the abnormal release of stem cells, said Julia Busik, an associate professor in MSU's Department of Physiology.

Humiliation in physical education class as a child can turn people off fitness for good, according to a University of Alberta researcher.

Billy Strean, a professor in the U of A's Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation, says a negative lifelong attitude towards physical activity can be determined by either a good or a bad experience, based on the personal characteristics of the coach or instructor. For example, negative experiences may come from a teacher who has low energy, is unfair and/or someone who embarrasses students.

The volcanic eruptions thought responsible for Earth's largest mass extinction — which killed more than 70 percent of plants and animals 250 million years ago — is still taking lives today. That's the conclusion of a new study showing, for the first time, that the high silica content of coal in one region of China may be interacting with volatile substances in the coal to cause unusually high rates of lung cancer. The study, which helps solve this cancer mystery, appears in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly publication.

Scientists in Texas are reporting development of a first-of-its-kind cloth that releases nitric oxide gas — an advance toward making therapeutic socks for people with diabetes and a wrap to help preserve organs harvested for transplantation. The study is in ACS' Chemistry of Materials, a bi-weekly journal.

NEW ORLEANS – A study released by the Minerals Management Service today examines the circulation in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico (GOM) and sheds new light on the behavior of the Loop Current (LC) and Loop Current Eddies (LCEs), the relation between the upper- and lower-layer currents, and the variability of water mass characteristics in deepwater.

When the LC and the LCE are present in the Gulf near oil and gas activities, operators may have to curtail or amend their operations due to the strength of the current or eddy.

(Boston) - Clinicians rely on laboratory tests to monitor the progression or remission of disease, or to identify pathologic alterations in physiology that may precede clinical events. Monitoring quantitative laboratory results represents a crucial component in the assessment of response to therapy. Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have developed a mathematical methodology to reduce the effect of biologic variation on the difference necessary to detect changes in clinical status.

Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore and Washington DC (Jan 6, 2010) – If you're one of the millions of headache sufferers around the world, more effective relief might be on the way in years to come. That's because the International Headache Society has just published new research guidelines intended to stimulate more research into headache treatment, and to provide researchers with guidelines to cut health risks associated with treatment.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are partially protected by the influenza vaccine 6-10 months after treatment with rituximab. Researchers determined that while the flu vaccine is safe, it is ineffective for RA patients in the first 6 months following rituximab treatment. Previous influenza vaccination in rituximab-treated patients does increase pre- and post-vaccination titers, providing some defense to influenza strains. RA activity was not influenced by administration of the flu vaccine.

A new approach to solving the problem of school timetabling, known as a GRASP, has been developing by researchers in Brazil. They report details in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Operational Research.

It's time to set the record straight. The only reliable way to lose weight is to eat less or exercise more. Preferably both.

So why bother to state the obvious? Because a body of scientific literature has arisen over recent years, suggesting that fat oxidation – burning the fats we eat as opposed to the carbohydrates – is enough to promote fat loss. It isn't.

Washington, DC – Researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center have found a way to cleverly override signals that tell breast cancer cells to keep surviving in the face of anticancer treatment. The investigational agent they used renews the sensitivity of these breast cancer cells to treatment by fulvestrant (Faslodex®) which had stopped working.

SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 5, 2010 – Unlike Hawaii and other island groups, no native bird has gone extinct in the Galapagos Islands, although some are in danger. But University of Utah biologists found that finches – the birds Darwin studied – develop antibodies against two parasites that moved to the Galapagos, suggesting the birds can fight the alien invaders.

New UK research, published today in PLoS ONE, has not reproduced previous findings that suggested Chronic Fatigue Syndrome may be linked to a recently discovered virus. The authors of the study, from Imperial College London and King's College London, say this means that anti-retroviral drugs may not be an effective treatment for people with the illness.