Body

Rosemont, Ill. – The meniscus is a rubber-like, crescent moon-shaped cartilage cushion that sits between the leg and thigh bone. Each knee has two menisci: one on the inside of the knee joint and one on the outside. In recent years, more children have been diagnosed with tears to this area (meniscal tears); however, according to a literature review published in the November 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS), prospects for a full recovery are high.

RIVERSIDE, CA – Alternate bearing (also called biennial or uneven bearing) is the tendency of fruit trees to produce a heavy crop one year (called "on-crop") followed by a light crop or no crop the following "off-crop" year. On-crop trees produce a large number of small fruit of little commercial value, while off-crop trees produce a small number of large fruit—a high proportion of which are culled in packinghouses due to their unattractive, thick rinds. The phenomenon is widespread and can occur in an entire region, in individual trees, part of a tree, or even on one branch.

Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during intermediate dose radiation treatment for men with early stage prostate cancer increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive the same radiation alone, according to a Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) study, the largest randomized trial of its kind, presented November 2, 2009, at the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting. The RTOG trial noted that this benefit appeared to be greatest for men currently defined as at medium-risk for disease failure.

For thousands of years an undesirable and persistent companion has been travelling with man wherever he goes. Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy, has only one known natural host – mankind. And because of man's many travels, this bacillus has colonized the entire earth. Its history is therefore intimately tied to our own, and it is this migratory relationship that Stewart Cole, EPFL professor of Microbial Pathogenesis, and his team have analyzed in a study to be published in Nature Genetics.

A common type of chronic diarrhoea may be caused by a hormone deficiency, according to new research published in the November issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. The authors of the paper, from Imperial College London, with collaborators from King's College London and the University of Edinburgh, say their results could help more doctors recognise this type of diarrhoeal illness, and may lead to the development of more effective tests and treatments to help improve the lives of many people suffering with chronic diarrhoea.

NAIROBI, Kenya, November 2, 2009 – Marking its tenth anniversary year, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) today unveiled a new strategy that sets the stage for an aggressive push targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating malaria. Malaria is one of the world's deadliest infectious diseases, killing nearly 900,000 people a year, most of them children in sub-Saharan Africa.

Why do so many animal species — including fish, birds and insects — display such rich diversity in coloration and other traits? In new research, Gregory Grether, UCLA professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Christopher Anderson, who recently earned his doctorate in Grether's laboratory, offer an answer.

DALLAS – Oct. 30, 2009 – Like savvy Wall Street money managers, bacteria hedge their bets to increase their chances of survival in uncertain times, strategically investing their biological resources to weather unpredictable environments.

If you keep twisting a straight elastic string, at some moment it starts kinking in a wild way. Something similar occurs when one increases the electrical current flowing in a magnetized plasma doughnut: it takes on a wild helical shape, which spoils its performance. This phenomenon concerns scientists exploring fusion power, who use powerful magnetic fields to confine plasma during their experiments.

ROSEMONT, Ill – When fractured bones fail to heal, a serious complication referred to as "nonunion" can develop. This occurs when the process of bone healing is interrupted or stalled. According to a new study published in the November 2009 issue of The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS), certain cases involving nonunions respond very well to shock-wave therapy. Researchers say this non-invasive treatment is equally effective as surgery when it comes to healing the bone.

CHICAGO (November 2, 2009)––Fox Chase Cancer Center researchers report that radiation therapy alone can reduce prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels below detectable amounts in prostate cancer patients. Patients who have an undetectable level of PSA after therapy have less chance of biochemical failure than other patients and a good chance of being cured. The data was presented today at the annual meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

New insights into the biology of the platypus and echidna have been published, providing a collection of unique research data about the world's only monotremes.

University of Adelaide geneticist Dr Frank Grützner and his team have authored five of 28 papers which appear in two special issues of the Australian Journal of Zoology and Reproduction Fertility and Development.

The articles shed new light on the extraordinary complex platypus sex chromosome system.

One might say plants don't have a leg to stand on, but that may actually give them a leg up on the animal kingdom when it comes to environmental adaptability.

"Plants are rooted in the ground. They can't move away when it gets too hot, too dry or too wet," said Dr. Lee Tarpley, Texas AgriLife Research plant physiologist in Beaumont. "If we can understand how plants respond to the environment, that would give us some clues on how to breed plants more capable of adapting to extremes."

Short-term hormone therapy given prior to and during radiation treatment to medium-risk prostate cancer patients increases their chance of living longer, compared to those who receive radiation alone, however there is no significant benefit for low-risk patients, according to the largest randomized study of its kind presented at the plenary session November 2, 2009, at the 51st Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).