November 20, 2014, Chicago, IL - A team of researchers led by Ludwig Chicago's Yang-Xin Fu and Ralph Weichselbaum has uncovered the primary signaling mechanisms and cellular interactions that drive immune responses against tumors treated with radiotherapy. Published in the current issue of Immunity, their study suggests novel strategies for boosting the effectiveness of radiotherapy, and for combining it with therapies that harness the immune system to treat cancer. "Much of the conversation about the mechanisms by which radiation kills cancer cells has historically focused ...

BOSTON -- Epithelial ovarian cancer is the most lethal cancer of the female reproductive organs, with more than 200,000 new cases and more than 125,000 deaths each year worldwide. Because symptoms tend to be vague, 80 percent of these cancers are not recognized until the disease has advanced and spread to other parts of the body. The standard treatment for advanced ovarian cancer includes high-dose chemotherapy, which often results in debilitating side effects and for which the five-year survival rate is only 35 percent. Now new research in an animal model finds that ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. - Researchers from Oregon State University and other institutions have developed a new biomarker called "SDMA" that can provide earlier identification of chronic kidney disease in cats, which is one of the leading causes of their death. A new test based on this biomarker, when commercialized, should help pet owners and their veterinarians watch for this problem through periodic checkups, and treat it with diet or other therapies to help add months or years to their pet's life. Special diets have been shown to slow the progression of this disease once ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - How do galaxies like our Milky Way form, and just how do they evolve? Are galaxies affected by their surrounding environment? An international team of researchers, led by astronomers at the University of California, Riverside, proposes some answers. The researchers highlight the role of the "cosmic web" - a large-scale web-like structure comprised of galaxies - on the evolution of galaxies that took place in the distant universe, a few billion years after the Big Bang. In their paper, published Nov. 20 in the Astrophysical Journal, they present observations ...

BOSTON (Nov. 20, 2014) Investigators at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology and colleagues reported the development and characterization of a comprehensive genetic test for inherited eye disorders in the online version of the Nature journal Genetics In Medicine today. The Genetic Eye Disease (GEDi) test includes all of the genes known to harbor mutations that cause inherited retinal degenerations, optic atrophy and early onset glaucoma. These disorders are important causes of vision loss, and genetic treatments such as gene ...

DURHAM, N.C. -- Displaced political aides looking for a new, nonpartisan job in the wake of the midterm power shuffle may fare better if they tone down any political references on their resumes, finds a new study from Duke University. The study found that applicants who shared the minority partisan view of voters where a resume was sent were less likely to receive a callback from an employer than a candidate with a neutral resume. Sharing information in line with the majority partisan view didn't give candidates an advantage, however. "Our results showed that individuals ...

A new study from UNC's Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) reveals that disruptions in child care negatively affect children's social development as early as age 4. However, the study also shows that the effects of child care instability are not unduly large--and some types of instability appear to have no negative impact on children. "Our findings showed that when young children moved between child care settings, these transitions negatively affected their social adjustment," said FPG investigator Mary Bratsch-Hines. "But when children had a history ...

The research found that incisor teeth grow quickly in the early stages of the second trimester of a baby's development, while molars grow at a slower rate in the third trimester. This is so incisors are ready to erupt after birth, at approximately six months of age, when a baby makes the transition from breast-feeding to weaning. Weaning in humans takes place relatively early compared to some primates, such as chimpanzees. As a result, there is less time available for human incisors to form, so the enamel grows rapidly to compensate. This research can increase our understanding ...

New Rochelle, NY, November 20, 2014-Women are more sensitive to the effects of cocaine and more susceptible to cocaine abuse than men. Cocaine's ability to disrupt a woman's estrus cycle may explain the sex differences in cocaine addiction, and new evidence that caffeine may be neuroprotective and able to block cocaine's direct effects on the estrus cycle reveals novel treatment possibilities, according to an article published in Journal of Caffeine Research: The International Multidisciplinary Journal of Caffeine Science, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, ...

Birds that are related, such as Darwin's finches, but that vary in beak size and behavior specially evolved to their habitat are examples of a process called speciation. It has long been thought that dramatic changes in a landscape like the formation of the Andes Mountain range or the Amazon River is the main driver that initiates species to diverge. However, a recent study shows that speciation occurred much later than these dramatic geographical changes. Researchers from LSU's Museum of Natural Science have found that time and a species' ability to move play greater parts ...

The higher your level of education, the greater your earnings and your sense of "personal mastery" or being in control of your fate, University of Toronto researchers say. But wait: there's a downside. Professor Scott Schieman, Canada Research Chair in the Social Contexts of Health, and PhD student Atsushi Narisada investigated the adverse effects associated with attaining a high degree of mastery. Using the Canadian Work, Stress, and Health Study (CANWSH), a national sample of Canadian workers, the researchers measured proficiency, or mastery, by asking study participants ...

Thanks to the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, some of the most mysterious cosmic residents have just become even more puzzling. New observations of globular clusters in a small galaxy show they are very similar to those found in the Milky Way, and so must have formed in a similar way. One of the leading theories on how these clusters form predicts that globular clusters should only be found nestled in among large quantities of old stars. But these old stars, though rife in the Milky Way, are not present in this small galaxy, and so, the mystery deepens. Globular clusters ...

Modern hand dryers are much worse than paper towels when it comes to spreading germs, according to new University of Leeds research. Scientists from the University of Leeds have found that high-powered 'jet-air' and warm air hand dryers can spread bacteria in public toilets. Airborne germ counts were 27 times higher around jet air dryers in comparison with the air around paper towel dispensers. The study shows that both jet and warm air hand dryers spread bacteria into the air and onto users and those nearby. The research team, led by Professor Mark Wilcox of the ...

PharmaMar results for antitumoral compounds and their mechanism of action at EORTC-NCI-AACR emphasize an innovative pipeline of targeted therapies Targeting of eEF1A2 by antitumor drug Aplidin® reveals novel mechanism of action driving therapeutic efficacy A newly developed antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) combining a marine-derived agent with trastuzumab shows potent antitumoral activity in breast tumors overexpressing HER2 grown in mice Antitumoral activity of investigational drugs with different molecular targets in the pipeline highlights their potential ...

Almost one third of male adolescents inaccurately perceive their weight. This can influence their eating habits and, consequently, their health, according to a study led by the UAB and conducted with 600 teenage boys from Barcelona and surrounding areas. Up to 25% of the boys reported trying to lose or control their weight in the past year. The research, conducted in collaboration with the Mental Health Unit of the Parc Taulí Health Corporation (CSPT), analysed the effects weight perception had on the boys' behaviour when trying to lose or maintain their weight. ...

WASHINGTON - U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Manchester, U.K.; Imperial College, London; University of California San Diego; and the National Institute of Material Science (NIMS), Japan, have demonstrated that confined surface phonon polaritons within hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) exhibit unique metamaterial properties that enable novel nanoscale optical devices for use in optical communications, super-resolution imaging and improved infrared cameras and detectors. Metamaterials are artificial composites ...

Las Médulas in León is considered to be the largest opencast goldmine of the Roman Empire, but the search for this metal extended many kilometres further south-east to the Erica river valley. Thanks to a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) laser system attached to an aircraft, the ancient mining works of the area and the complex hydraulics system used by the Romans in the 1st century BC to extract gold (including channels, reservoirs and a double river diversion) have been discovered. "The volume of earth exploited is much greater than previously thought and ...

Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a technique that allows ultrasound to penetrate bone or metal, using customized structures that offset the distortion usually caused by these so-called "aberrating layers." "We've designed complementary metamaterials that will make it easier for medical professionals to use ultrasound for diagnostic or therapeutic applications, such as monitoring blood flow in the brain or to treat brain tumors," says Tarry Chen Shen, a Ph.D. student at NC State and lead author of a paper on the work. "This has been difficult ...

A new database developed by the University of Cantabria (Spain) provides data on sea level variation due to atmospheric changes in the south of Europe between 1948 and 2009. Over the last two decades sea levels have increased in the Mediterranean basin. "The meteorological sea level or meteorological tide component is the variation of the sea level as a result of atmospheric changes or more specifically, changes in the atmospheric pressure and the wind at the sea surface," Alba Cid explains to SINC, Alba being the lead author of the study published in the journal 'Climate ...

Patients affected by Parkinson's disease often show marked changes in body weight: they may gain or lose a lot of weight depending on the stage of the disease, or they may put on up to ten kilos after deep brain stimulation (a treatment to alleviate the symptoms). This situation considerably worsens the quality of life of a person who is already suffering from heavily disabling motor disorders, so it is important to understand what are the factors that cause it. "The body weight and eating habits of Parkinson's patients change as the disease progresses", explains Marilena ...

The limited coverage that American female athletes get in the media is one of many subtle forms of gender biases they have to cope with. The little exposure they do get often focuses more on their attire, or how attractive, sexy or ladylike they are than on their actual athletic prowess. In the long run, this influences their performance in sports. This is the view of Emily Kaskan and Ivy Ho of the University of Massachusetts Lowell in the US, published in a review in Springer's journal Sex Roles. Kaskan and Ho looked at how pervasive small subtle biases and stereotyping ...

November 20, 2014 - Changes in the lipid layer of the eyes' natural tear film may contribute to the common problem of contact lens discomfort, reports a study in the December issue of Optometry and Vision Science, official journal of the American Academy of Optometry. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. Applying a liposomal eyelid spray appears to reduce drying of the tear film and help make wearing contact lenses more comfortable, according to the pilot study by Fiona Stapleton, PhD, FAAO, of University of New ...

Ice-free pavement. "Smart snowplows." Vegetable juice ice-melt. Cold-climate researchers at Washington State University are clearing the road with green alternatives to the salt, sand and chemicals typically used for highway snow and ice control. As a nation, "we are kind of salt addicted, like with petroleum, as it's been so cheap and convenient for the last 50 years," said Xianming Shi, associate professor in civil and environmental engineering. This winter, road salt is in short supply across the northern states and in some regions prices have increased by 10 ...

Powerful clues have been discovered about why the human immune system, metabolism, stress response, and other life functions are so different from those of the mouse. A new, comprehensive study of the mouse genome by an international group of researchers including Penn State University scientists reveals striking similarities and differences with the human genome. The study may lead to better use of mouse models in medical research. The findings are reported by the Mouse ENCODE Consortium online on November 19, 2014 and in print on November 20 in the study's main paper ...

Case Western Reserve researchers have identified a protein mutation that alters specific gender-related tissue in males before birth and can contribute to the development of cancer as well as other less life-threatening challenges. The discovery marks the latest in a series of findings related to the protein SRY (sex-determining region on the Y chromosome), which serves as a master switch for ensuring typical human male maturation. In this case, however, the mutation prevents the protein from folding properly and in turn impairs the protein's ability to direct the appropriate ...