UC Irvine Health urologists and health policy experts report in a new study that two written assessments that identify existing comorbidities – the patient-reported Total Illness Burden Index for Prostate Cancer (TIBI-Cap) and the physician-reported Charlson Comorbidity Index – can successfully target prostate patients who would not benefit from biopsy to discover possible cancer. The authors say that by taking comorbidities into factor, it may not be necessary for men to have prostate biopsy. This study does not preclude the use of PSA screening, but it does set the ...

Cancún, Mexico -- A high-tech archeological exploration team of scientists and a filmmaker, who announced a year ago that they had glimpsed remnants of what might be a fabled ancient city in the Honduran rain forests, plans to speak about the team's discoveries here tomorrow (15 May) at the 2013 Meeting of the Americas, and to show previously undisclosed images of apparent archeological sites. A 7-page article in last week's The New Yorker magazine by Douglas Preston set the stage for tomorrow's discussion of the Honduras venture and other similar explorations. The article ...

Temperatures in central China are 10 to 14 degrees Fahrenheit hotter today than they were 20,000 years ago, during the last ice age, UCLA researchers report — an increase two to four times greater than many scientists previously thought. The findings, published today in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help researchers develop more accurate models of past climate change and better predict such changes in the future. "Previously, we could only infer temperature on land through changes in climate archives ...

DNA databases might help identify victims of crime and human trafficking, but how do we safeguard the personal privacy of innocent victims and family members? A new report online May 15 in the Cell Press journal Trends in Genetics identifies a number of key challenges to consider as experts develop such programs. Identifying victims of human trafficking remains a challenge around the world; between 12 million and 27 million individuals are currently enslaved. "If ever there is a justifiable use of DNA, it is the protection of victims of human rights violations and human ...

For patients with leukemia and other hematological malignancies, transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCT) can be a powerfully effective therapy. In addition to the desirable anti-tumor effect, transplanted cells can also attack the host tissue, resulting in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Arnab Ghosh and colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center found that expression of a protein that causes cell death, TRAIL, in transplanted cells was critical for an effective anti-tumor response. Immune cells ...

Organ transplant rejection occurs when the transplant recipient's immune system identifies the transplanted organ as foreign tissue and attacks it. It was previously thought that T cells, the immune cells that mediate rejection, must first be activated by molecules known as chemokines in order to migrate to the transplanted organ. In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Fadi Lakkis and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh used mice to demonstrate that chemokine stimulation of T cells is not required for migration. Instead, these cells must come into ...

Hot on the TRAIL of graft vs. host disease For patients with leukemia and other hematological malignancies, transplantation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCT) can be a powerfully effective therapy. In addition to the desirable anti-tumor effect, transplanted cells can also attack the host tissue, resulting in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). In this issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Arnab Ghosh and colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center found that expression of a protein that causes cell death, TRAIL, in transplanted cells was critical for ...

VIDEO: Human ESCs generated from SCNT embryos were capable of differentiating into a variety of cell and tissue types including contracting heart cells. Click here for more information. Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a technique in which the nucleus of a donor cell is transferred to an egg cell whose nucleus has been removed, generating embryos that are almost an identical genetic match to the donor individual. For the first time, a team of scientists has used ...

PORTLAND, Ore., May 15, 2013 – Regularly taking prescription painkillers, also known as opioids, is associated with a higher risk of erectile dysfunction (ED) in men, according to a study published online today in the journal Spine. The researchers included more than 11,000 men with back pain in the study and examined their health records to find out if men taking prescription painkillers were more likely to also receive prescriptions for testosterone replacement or ED medications. More than 19 percent of men who took high-dose opioids for at least four months also ...

This dramatic new image of cosmic clouds in the constellation of Orion reveals what seems to be a fiery ribbon in the sky. This orange glow represents faint light coming from grains of cold interstellar dust, at wavelengths too long for human eyes to see. It was observed by the ESO-operated Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) in Chile. Clouds of gas and interstellar dust are the raw materials from which stars are made. But these tiny dust grains block our view of what lies within and behind the clouds -- at least at visible wavelengths -- making it difficult to observe ...

(McLean, VA) May 15, 2013 – Potatoes and other white vegetables are just as important to a healthy diet as their colorful cousins in the produce aisle, according to the authors of a scientific supplement published yesterday in the peer-reviewed journal, Advances in Nutrition. Although green, red and orange veggies are often promoted as top nutrient sources, white vegetables are nutrient powerhouses in their own right and deserve a place on your plate. "It's recommended that the variety of fruits and vegetables consumed daily should include dark green and orange vegetables, ...

PORTAND, Ore. – Scientists at Oregon Health & Science University and the Oregon National Primate Research Center (ONPRC) have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to become embryonic stem cells capable of transforming into any other cell type in the body. It is believed that stem cell therapies hold the promise of replacing cells damaged through injury or illness. Diseases or conditions that might be treated through stem cell therapy include Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, cardiac disease and spinal cord injuries. The research breakthrough, led by Shoukhrat ...

Denver, Colorado – May 15, 2013 – A co-author of a groundbreaking study documenting reductions in patient length of stay and overall costs from implementation of an antibiotic stewardship program using Bruker's MALDI Biotyper will share her observations at a Bruker symposium to be held during the upcoming American Society for Microbiology (ASM) General Meeting. The study, which is currently available in an online edition1, showed that the average length of stay was reduced by two days for participants in the antibiotic stewardship intervention group and overall costs were ...

This news release is available in German. Photographers know the problem all too well: with the naked eye, you can see which branch a bird is sitting on, but spotting the bird in the blur of branches through the telephoto lens for high-magnification images requires considerable skill. It is a similar story for researchers who are looking to study proteins, the active biomolecules of cells. Olga Schubert, a doctoral student at ETH Zurich's Institute for Molecular Systems Biology, and her colleagues have now come up with a search aid. In order to help scientists to ...

PITTSBURGH, May 15, 2013 – Transplant researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine challenge a long-held assumption about how biologic pathways trigger immune system rejection of donor organs in a report published online today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Their study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, suggests a different paradigm is needed to develop better anti-rejection therapies. Immune system troops called T-cells migrate to transplanted organs, fighting the foreign tissue, explained senior author Fadi Lakkis, M.D., Frank ...

ATLANTA - In the past, researchers have sought to determine the geographic distribution of many life-threatening conditions, including stroke and cardiac arrest. Now, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have created the first U.S. map that pinpoints hotspots for infection and severe sepsis related-deaths – with notable clusters located in the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, and the South. The research is a critical first step in helping to determine which areas of the country require vital public health resources to fight these deadly ...

Men's upper-body strength predicts their political opinions on economic redistribution, according to new research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. The principal investigators of the research — psychological scientists Michael Bang Petersen of Aarhus University and Daniel Sznycer of University of California, Santa Barbara — believe that the link may reflect psychological traits that evolved in response to our early ancestral environments and continue to influence behavior today. "While many think of politics ...

San Francisco, Calif. May 15, 2013 – Considered the "silent killer," high blood pressure affects approximately one billion people worldwide, including one in three adults in the United States. From May 15 – 18, 2013, members of the medical community from across the globe gather at the 28th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH) in San Francisco to discuss the epidemic. During the conference, more than 200 new studies about hypertension will be shared, with the goal of increasing the understanding of hypertension and one day curing it altogether. Among ...

There are many old and decrepit residential buildings in Moscow in need of refurbishment. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has developed three repair concepts for improving the energy efficiency of both buildings and entire residential districts while also reducing their environmental impact. Calculations show that it would be possible to reduce heating demand in buildings by up to 70%. Even minor repairs can achieve significant energy savings. Most of the residential buildings in Moscow were built after the Second World War. Many of them are in poor shape and ...

Virginia Tech released today the results of its 2013 adult football helmet ratings, designed to identify differences between the abilities of helmets to reduce the risk of concussion. A total of four helmets achieved a 5 star mark, which is the highest rating awarded by the Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings™. The newly redesigned Xenith X2 joined the Riddell 360, Rawlings Quantum Plus, and Riddell Revolution Speed as the only helmets with a 5 star rating. Two additional new helmet models introduced this year, the SG Adult Helmet and the Schutt Vengeance, were rated as ...

Weather forecasters have a tougher job predicting winter conditions over Europe in some years over others, concludes a new study carried out by the National Oceanography Centre. The study revealed that the relationship between our winter weather and the strength of the airflow coming in from the Atlantic – one of the factors used by forecasters to predict the weather – is stronger in some years than others. The results were recently published in the Royal Meteorological Society publication Weather. Co-authors Drs Joël Hirschi and Bablu Sinha from the National Oceanography ...

How cells regulate their own function by "accelerating and braking" is important basic knowledge when new intelligent medicines are being developed, or when plant cells are tweaked to produce more bioenergy. In a study published by Nature Communications 14 May, researchers at Uppsala and Umeå universities show a model of how cells' regulatory systems work. All living cells have a regulatory system similar to what can be found in today's smartphones. Just like our phones process a large amount of information that we feed them, cells continuously process information about ...

Having too much body fat makes arteries become stiff after middle age, a new study has revealed. In young people, blood vessels appear to be able to compensate for the effects of obesity. But after middle age, this adaptability is lost, and arteries become progressively stiffer as body fat rises – potentially increasing the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. The researchers suggest that the harmful effects of body fat may be related to the total number of years that a person is overweight in adulthood. Further research is needed to find out when the effects of ...

VIDEO: Professor Alan Cowman (left) and Dr. Neta Regev-Rudzki from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, have made the surprise discovery that malaria parasites can 'talk' to each... Click here for more information. Melbourne scientists have made the surprise discovery that malaria parasites can 'talk' to each other – a social behaviour to ensure the parasite's survival and improve its chances of being transmitted to other humans. The finding could ...

With concerns often expressed about youth crime and violence in the UK, researchers have been investigating what young people really think about living in an inner-city neighbourhood that has high levels of deprivation, crime and gang activity. The results revealed that to overcome concerns and cope with dangerous situations, girls tried to avoid or escape risky encounters - although for some this conflicted with a desire to be independent, glamorous and to seek out boyfriends. Boys, on the other hand, acted and talked tough to prove their street credentials but were ...