Spin and bias exist in a high proportion of published studies of the outcomes and adverse side-effects of phase III clinical trials of breast cancer treatments, according to new research published in the cancer journal Annals of Oncology [1] today (Thursday). In the first study to investigate how accurately outcomes and side-effects are reported in breast cancer trials, researchers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and University of Toronto (Toronto, Canada) found that in a third of all trials that failed to show a statistically significant benefit for the treatment ...

This press release is available in German. Dental microwear, the pattern of tiny marks on worn tooth surfaces, is an important basis for understanding the diets of fossil mammals, including those of our own lineage. Now nanoscale research by an international multidisciplinary group that included members of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig has unraveled some of its causes. It turns out that quartz dust is the major culprit in wearing away tooth enamel. Silica phytoliths, particles produced by plants, just rub enamel, and thus have ...

A landmark discovery about how insulin docks on cells could help in the development of improved types of insulin for treating both type 1 and type 2 diabetes. For the first time, researchers have captured the intricate way in which insulin uses the insulin receptor to bind to the surface of cells. This binding is necessary for the cells to take up sugar from the blood as energy. The research team was led by the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute and used the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne, Australia. The study was published today in the journal Nature. For more ...

HOUSTON – (Jan. 9, 2013) – Magma forms far deeper than geologists previously thought, according to new research at Rice University. A group led by geologist Rajdeep Dasgupta put very small samples of peridotite under very large pressures in a Rice laboratory to determine that rock can and does liquify, at least in small amounts, as deep as 250 kilometers in the mantle beneath the ocean floor. He said this explains several puzzles that have bothered scientists. Dasgupta is lead author of the paper to be published this week in Nature. The mantle is the planet's middle ...

The discovery of insulin nearly a century ago changed diabetes from a death sentence to a chronic disease. Today a team that includes researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine announced a discovery that could lead to dramatic improvements in the lives of people managing diabetes. After decades of speculation about exactly how insulin interacts with cells, the international group of scientists finally found a definitive answer: in an article published today in the journal Nature, the group describes how insulin binds to the cell to allow the ...

WASHINGTON –A recently published paper by two George Washington University researchers shows that the running foot strike patterns vary among habitually barefoot people in Kenya due to speed and other factors such as running habits and the hardness of the ground. These results are counter to the belief that barefoot people prefer one specific style of running. Kevin Hatala, a Ph.D. student in the Hominid Paleobiology doctoral program at George Washington, is the lead author of the paper that appears in the recent edition of the journal Public Library of Science, or PLOS ...

When Charles Darwin first sketched how species evolved by natural selection, he drew what looked like a tree. The diagram started at a central point with a common ancestor, then the lines spread apart as organisms evolved and separated into distinct species. In the 175 years since, scientists have come to agree that Darwin's original drawing is a bit simplistic, given that multiple species mix and interbreed in ways he didn't consider possible (though you can't fault the guy for not getting the most important scientific theory of all time exactly right the first time). ...

Nearly every major news organization has a Twitter account these days, but just how effective is the microblogging website at spreading news? That's the question University of Arizona professor Sudha Ram set out to answer in a recent study of a dozen major news organizations that use the social media website as one tool for sharing their content. The answer, according to Ram's research, varies widely by news agency, and there may not be one universally applicable strategy for maximizing Twitter effectiveness. However, news agencies can learn a lot by looking at how their ...

The impact of antibiotic misuse has far-reaching consequences in healthcare, including reduced efficacy of the drugs, increased prevalence of drug-resistant organisms, and increased risk of deadly infections. A new study featured in the February issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, found that many patients with Clostridium difficile infection (C. difficile) are prescribed unnecessary antibiotics, increasing their risk of recurrence of the deadly infection. The retrospective report shows ...

Flooding can cause clinical and economic damage to a healthcare facility, but reopening a facility after extensive flooding requires infection prevention and control preparedness plans to ensure a safe environment for patients and healthcare workers. In a study published in the February issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, clinical investigators report key findings and recommendations related to the closure and re-opening of hospitals impacted by black-water floods. The guidance builds on ...

PASADENA, Calif.—In an earthquake, ground motion is the result of waves emitted when the two sides of a fault move—or slip—rapidly past each other, with an average relative speed of about three feet per second. Not all fault segments move so quickly, however—some slip slowly, through a process called creep, and are considered to be "stable," or not capable of hosting rapid earthquake-producing slip. One common hypothesis suggests that such creeping fault behavior is persistent over time, with currently stable segments acting as barriers to fast-slipping, shake-producing ...

A new image released today reveals how Gemini Observatory's most advanced adaptive optics (AO) system will help astronomers study the universe with an unprecedented level of clarity and detail by removing distortions due to the Earth's atmosphere. The photo, featuring an area on the outskirts of the famous Orion Nebula, illustrates the instrument's significant advancements over previous-generation AO systems. "The combination of a constellation of five laser guide stars with multiple deformable mirrors allows us to expand significantly on what has previously been possible ...

Rochester, MN, January 9, 2013 – Microscopic amounts of blood in urine have been considered a risk factor for urinary tract malignant tumors. However, only a small proportion of patients referred for investigation are subsequently found to have cancer. A new Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published in the February Mayo Clinic Proceedings reports on the development and testing of a Hematuria Risk Index to predict cancer risk. This could potentially lead to significant reductions in the number of unnecessary evaluations. Individuals with microscopic hematuria ...

Some retailers, such as Apple's iTunes, are known for using uniform pricing in an effort to simplify consumers' choices and perhaps increase their tendency to make impulse purchases. But other stores, like supermarkets, often have small price differences across product flavors and brands. As counterintuitive as it might seem, these small price differences may actually make the options seem more similar, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The research shows that adding small differences ...

COLUMBIA, Mo. –Parenting infants and toddlers can be challenging, and for generations, mothers have turned to other moms for advice. Now, with the availability of the Internet, mothers are consulting each other using modern venues: online message boards. Research from the University of Missouri indicates online discussion boards provide safe environments for mothers to anonymously express child-rearing concerns and receive support from other moms. "Mothers have feelings that they might be embarrassed to talk about face-to-face with someone," said Jean Ispa, professor ...

TORONTO, ON – Ecologists at the University of Toronto and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich) have found that, given time, invading exotic plants will likely eliminate native plants growing in the wild despite recent reports to the contrary. A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) reports that recent statements that invasive plants are not problematic are often based on incomplete information, with insufficient time having passed to observe the full effect of invasions on native biodiversity. "The impacts ...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories Truman Fellow Anne Ruffing has engineered two strains of cyanobacteria to produce free fatty acids, a precursor to liquid fuels, but she has also found that the process cuts the bacteria's production potential. Micro-algal fuels might be one way to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign energy. Such fuels would be renewable since they are powered by sunlight. They also could reduce carbon dioxide emissions since they use photosynthesis, and they could create jobs in a new industry. President Barack Obama, speaking in ...

A high-fiber diet may have the clinical potential to control the progression of prostate cancer in patients diagnosed in early stages of the disease. The rate of prostate cancer occurrence in Asian cultures is similar to the rate in Western cultures, but in the West, prostate cancer tends to progress, whereas in Asian cultures it does not. Why? A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the January 2013 issue of the journal Cancer Prevention Research shows that the answer may be a high-fiber diet. The study compared mice fed with of inositol hexaphosphate ...

Research by University of Arizona astronomy professor Rodger Thompson finds that a popular alternative to Albert Einstein's theory for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe does not fit newly obtained data on a fundamental constant, the proton to electron mass ratio. Thompson's findings, reported Jan. 9 at the American Astronomical Society meeting in Long Beach, Calif., impact our understanding of the universe and point to a new direction for the further study of its accelerating expansion. To explain the acceleration of the expansion of the universe, astrophysicists ...

Infrared and near-infrared NASA satellite imagery provided signs to forecasters that Tropical Cyclone Narelle is intensifying as it moves southwest paralleling Western Australia coastline. Warnings have been posted as Narelle nears. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABM) issued the following watch and warnings for Narelle on Jan. 9: A cyclone watch is in effect for coastal areas from Whim Creek to Coral Bay. A Blue alert is in effect for coastal and island communities from Whim Creek to Mardie, including Wickham, Roebourne, Point Sampson, Karratha and Dampier. The ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Living in a caring community may help curb teenage alcohol use, while hanging out with antisocial peers can have the opposite effect, according to Penn State researchers studying substance abuse patterns. The researchers evaluated how seven different categories of risk and protective factors predicted teen alcohol use. Risk factors included antisocial attitudes, antisocial behaviors, association with antisocial peers and family risk. Protective factors were positive community experiences, positive school experiences and family strengths. Damon ...

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Mussels can be a mouthwatering meal, but the chemistry that lets mussels stick to underwater surfaces may also provide a highly adhesive wound closure and more effective healing from surgery. In recent decades bioahesives, tissue sealants and hemostatic agents became the favored products to control bleeding and promote tissue healing after surgery. However, many of them have side effects or other problems, including an inability to perform well on wet tissue. "To solve this medical problem, we looked at nature," said Jian Yang, associate professor ...

WASHINGTON - Adapting to future climate change impacts requires capabilities in hydroclimate monitoring, short-term prediction and application of such information to support contemporary water management decisions. These needs were identified in a report, "Short-Term Water Management Decisions: User Needs for Improved Climate, Weather, and Hydrologic Information," published by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It is available online at: http://bit.ly/TJpWxK. The report identifies how ...

New York, NY, January 10, 2013 – Mechanical circulatory support (MCS) is a rapidly growing technology used to treat advanced heart failure. Thousands of patients worldwide have now undergone implantation of long- term MCS devices (MCSDs) that can enable them to return home and resume a normal lifestyle. The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation (ISHLT) convened an international panel of experts in all aspects of MCS care, which has developed practice guidelines to provide a common framework for the care and treatment of MCS patients. The Executive Summary ...

How Do Alabama Courts Make Child Custody Decisions? When parents split up, one of the most contentious issues is often who will get custody of the children. Often, both parents believe they know what is best for their children, but they may not agree with one another on the matter. When parents cannot reach an arrangement for themselves, the court steps in and decides for them. Parents in Alabama should be aware of the types of custody arrangements available in the state and how courts reach custody decisions. Types of Child Custody in Alabama There are two types ...