Vienna, Austria: A new genetic "signature" to identify prostate cancer patients who are at high risk of their cancer recurring after surgery or radiotherapy has been developed by researchers in Canada, the 33rd conference of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO33) in Vienna will hear today (Saturday). Professor Robert Bristow will tell the conference that although surgery and precision radiotherapy are the mainstays of treatment for cancer that is confined to the prostate, the cancer will return in between 30-50% of patients due to spread of the disease ...

Undocked working dogs in Scotland are at greatest risk of tail injuries, indicates a survey of their owners, published in this week's Veterinary Record. Of 2860 working dogs, 13.5% sustained at least one tail injury during the 2010/11 shooting season. But undocked spaniels (56.6%) and hunt point retrievers (38.5%) were at greatest risk. To ward off one tail injury during one shooting season would require between two and 18 spaniels or hunt point retrievers to be docked as puppies, say the authors, who conclude that docking the tails of these breeds by one-third would ...

Vienna, Austria: The use of permanent brachytherapy, a procedure where radioactive sources are placed inside the prostate, into or near to the tumour, preserves erectile function in approximately 50% of patients with prostate cancer, a researcher will tell the ESTRO 33 congress today (Saturday). Brachytherapy works by giving a high dose of radiotherapy directly to the tumour, but only a very low dose to the surrounding normal tissues. Since erectile dysfunction (ED) can occur in up to 68% of patients who receive external beam radiotherapy for the condition, this is a ...

In captivity, grey parrots are often kept in social isolation, which can have detrimental effects on their health and wellbeing. So far there have not been any studies on the effects of long term social isolation from conspecifics on cellular aging. Telomeres shorten with each cell division, and once a critical length is reached, cells are unable to divide further (a stage known as 'replicative senescence'). Although cellular senescence is a useful mechanism to eliminate worn-out cells, it appears to contribute to aging and mortality. Several studies suggest that telomere ...

A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published today in Journal of the National Cancer Institute (with related research being presented this weekend at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Conference 2014) details the discovery of a new genetic driver of bladder cancer: silencing of the gene AGL. "We tend to think of cancer resulting from mutations that let genes make things they shouldn't or turn on when they should be quiet. But cancer can also result from loss of gene function. Some genes suppress cancer. When you turn off these suppressors, ...

RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A research team led by a cell biologist at the University of California, Riverside has generated a 3D model of the human malaria parasite genome at three different stages in the parasite's life cycle — the first time such 3D architecture has been generated during the progression of the life cycle of a parasite. The parasite that causes malaria in humans is Plasmodium falciparum. The female Anopheles mosquito transmits P. falciparum from an infected human to healthy individuals, spreading malaria in the process. According to the World Health Organization, ...

Death is not distributed equally around the world. In high-income countries, people typically die in old age of chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular problems. In low-income countries, death comes primarily from infectious and perinatal diseases, and strikes at a young age. But despite massive international efforts to improve global health, a new analysis of nearly 4 million scientific articles finds that research is disproportionately focused on diseases that primarily afflict wealthy countries. Correspondingly, less research attention is given to diseases ...

(Lebanon, NH, 04/04/14) — More than 15 years ago, many states and tobacco manufacturers established restrictions to prevent youth exposure to the marketing of nicotine products. This follows regulations imposed 50 years ago that banned cigarette ads from TV. Despite these continued efforts, a new study by Dartmouth researchers reveals that not only are young people exposed to tobacco marketing, they are influenced by it. According to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, exposure to "direct marketing" is associated with increased use of tobacco. "For ...

A new UCLA psychology study provides evidence that being overweight makes people tired and sedentary — not the other way around. Life scientists led by UCLA's Aaron Blaisdell placed 32 female rats on one of two diets for six months. The first, a standard rat's diet, consisted of relatively unprocessed foods like ground corn and fish meal. The ingredients in the second were highly processed, of lower quality and included substantially more sugar — a proxy for a junk food diet. After just three months, the researchers observed a significant difference in the amount ...

If you are a middle-aged African-American or Asian woman, your social class may play a significant role in how likely you are to suffer bone fractures, a UCLA-led study suggests. The study, published in the current issue of Osteoporosis International, is unique in that it followed Asian, African-American and white women for a period of nine years during mid-life; most previous studies on socioeconomic status and osteoporosis risk had focused solely on older white women and often had not collected information on fractures over time. The new findings help shed ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction (EAGeR) medical trial has found that, in general, low-dose aspirin is not beneficial for future pregnancy outcomes in women with prior pregnancy loss. However, in women with one pregnancy loss within the previous 12 months, there did appear to be a benefit. Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health in the School of Public Health and Health Professions at the University at Buffalo, is a principal investigator of the Buffalo EAGeR trial and co-author ...

SAN DIEGO — Obese male mice and normal weight female mice produce female pups that are overweight at birth and in childhood, and have increased number of "terminal end buds" in their breast tissue — the site where cancer often develops in rodents. The findings, presented by a Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher at the AACR Annual Meeting 2014, come from one of the first animal studies to examine the impact of paternal obesity on future generations' cancer risk. In addition, the researchers say they've found evidence that obesity could change the ...

PHILADELPHIA—(April 4, 2014)— Colorectal cancer develops in what is probably the most complex environment in the human body, a place where human cells cohabitate with a colony of approximately 10 trillion bacteria, most of which are unknown. At the 2014 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in San Diego, researchers from The Wistar Institute will present findings that suggest the colon "microbiome" of gut bacteria can change the tumor microenvironment in a way that promotes the growth and spread of tumors. Their results suggest that bacterial virulence ...

The horseshoe worm is a worm-like marine invertebrate inhabiting both hard and soft substrates such as rock, bivalve shells, and sandy bottom. The name "horseshoe" refers to the U-shaped crown of tentacles which is called "lophophore." Horseshoe worms comprise a small phylum Phoronida, which contains only ten species decorating the bottom of the oceans. The new species Phoronis emigi, the eleventh member of the group described in the open access journal ZooKeys, comes after a long 62 year gap of new discoveries in the phylum. It is unique in the number and arrangement ...

HOUSTON, April 4, 2014 – A long-standing challenge in synthetic biology has been to create gene circuits that behave in predictable and robust ways. Mathematical modeling experts from the University of Houston (UH) collaborated with experimental biologists at Rice University to create a synthetic genetic clock that keeps accurate time across a range of temperatures. The findings were published in a recent issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. "Synthetic gene circuits are often fragile, and environmental changes frequently alter their behavior," ...

Boulder, Colo., USA – Highlights from GSA Bulletin articles published online on 20 March through 1 April 2014 include a discussion of a catastrophic rock avalanche in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco 4,500 years ago and that village situated there now; evidence of rain and humidity in ancient soils in the western United States; a contribution to the on-going EarthTime initiative, which is working to refine and calibrate deep time geochronometers; and a call for intensive field studies in volcanic areas. GSA BULLETIN articles published ahead of print are online at http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/early/recent; ...

Irvine, Calif., April 4, 2014 – All that's gold does not glitter, thanks to new work by UC Irvine scientists that could reduce glare from solar panels and electronic displays and dull dangerous glints on military weapons. "We found that a very simple process and a tiny bit of gold can turn a transparent film black," said UC Irvine chemistry professor Robert Corn, whose group has created a patterned polymer material based on the findings, documented in recent papers. The postdoctoral associates and students were initially worried when they noticed what appeared to be soot ...

Philadelphia, Pa. (April 4, 2014) – High school students who use indoor tanning also have higher rates of unhealthy weight control behaviors—such as taking diet pills or vomiting to lose weight, reports a study in the April Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, the official journal of the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health. The association between indoor tanning and unhealthy weight control methods may be even stronger for male than female adolescents, ...

Chemists in Syracuse University's College of Arts and Sciences have, for the first time, created enzyme-like activity using peptides that are only seven amino acids long. Their breakthrough, which is the subject a recent article in Nature Chemistry magazine (Macmillan Publishers, 2014), may revolutionize the study of modern-day enzymes, whose chains of amino acids usually number in the hundreds, and of neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's, which are usually characterized by small clumps of misshaped proteins called amyloids. Their finding also supports the theory ...

Today, experts from the Too Fit to Fracture Initiative presented the results of an international consensus process to establish exercise recommendations for people with osteoporosis, with or without spine fractures. The results were presented at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases in Seville, Spain. Using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) method, the international multidisciplinary panel examined literature on exercise effects on: 1) falls, fractures, BMD, and adverse events for individuals ...

Results of a study presented today at the World Congress on Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases, showed that in boys, higher screen time was adversely associated to bone mineral density (BMD) at all sites even when adjusted for specific lifestyle factors. The skeleton grows continually from birth to the end of the teenage years, reaching peak bone mass – maximum strength and size– in early adulthood. Along with nutritional factors, physical activity can also greatly impact on this process. There is consequently growing concern regarding the possible ...

SAN DIEGO — Given omega 6 fatty acid's reputation for promoting cancer — at least in animal studies — researchers are examining the role that antioxidants play in blocking the harmful effects of this culprit, found in many cooking oils. After all, antioxidants are supposed to prevent DNA damage. But employing antioxidants could backfire, say researchers at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. In their study, being reported at the AACR Annual Meeting 2015, researchers found that vitamin E actually increased specific damage linked to omega 6 fatty acids. The ...

A new way to artificially control muscles using light, with the potential to restore function to muscles paralysed by conditions such as motor neuron disease and spinal cord injury, has been developed by scientists at UCL and King's College London. The technique involves transplanting specially-designed motor neurons created from stem cells into injured nerve branches. These motor neurons are designed to react to pulses of blue light, allowing scientists to fine-tune muscle control by adjusting the intensity, duration and frequency of the light pulses. In the study, ...

Despite climate change, most polluters still pay little or nothing when they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. 'A cost USD 0.15 per kilo CO2 would be enough to solve the whole climate change problem,' says Thomas Sterner, professor of environmental economics at the University of Gothenburg. Sterner is the only Swedish researcher to serve as a coordinating lead author of a new report that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will present next week. The third part of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's fifth assessment report, Working Group ...

Scleroderma is a rare and often fatal disease, causing the thickening of tissue, that currently lacks a cure and any effective treatments. A group of researchers, including a Michigan State University professor, is looking to change that. "Our findings provide a new approach to developing better treatment options where few have existed," said Richard Neubig, chairperson of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in MSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine. Neubig, along with several of his colleagues from the University of Michigan, have identified the core signaling ...