Scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center have combined the ability to detect cancer DNA in the blood with genome sequencing technology in a test that could be used to screen for cancers, monitor cancer patients for recurrence and find residual cancer left after surgery. "This approach uses the power of genome sequencing to detect circulating tumor DNA in the blood, providing a sensitive method that can be used to detect and monitor cancers," says Victor Velculescu, M.D., Ph.D., professor of oncology and co-director of the Cancer Biology Program at Johns Hopkins. A ...

A simple formula can predict at birth a baby's likelihood of becoming obese in childhood, according to a study published today in the open access journal PLOS ONE. The formula, which is available as an online calculator, estimates the child's obesity risk based on its birth weight, the body mass index of the parents, the number of people in the household, the mother's professional status and whether she smoked during pregnancy. The researchers behind the study hope their prediction method will be used to identify infants at high risk and help families take steps to ...

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have deciphered the genetic code of wheat to help crop breeders increase yield and produce varieties that are better suited to a changing environment. Wheat is one of the world's most important food crops, accounting for 20% of the world's calorific intake. Global wheat production, however, is under threat from climate change and an increase in demand from a growing human population. The Liverpool team, at the University's Centre for Genomic Research, used new methods of sequencing DNA to decode the large wheat genome, ...

Boys whose testes have not descended at birth—a condition known as cryptorchidism—are almost three times as likely to develop testicular cancer in later life, finds an analysis of the available evidence published online in Archives of Disease in Childhood. The findings prompt the authors to ask whether boys with the condition should be regularly monitored to lessen the potential risk Cryptorchidsim, where testes fail to descend into the scrotum and are retained within the abdomen, is the most common birth defect in boys, affecting around 6% of newborns. The authors ...

Fort Davis, Texas — Astronomers have used the Hobby-Eberly Telescope at The University of Texas at Austin's McDonald Observatory to measure the mass of what may be the most massive black hole yet — 17 billion Suns — in galaxy NGC 1277. The unusual black hole makes up 14 percent of its galaxy's mass, rather than the usual 0.1 percent. This galaxy and several more in the same study could change theories of how black holes and galaxies form and evolve. The work will appear in the journal Nature on Nov. 29. NGC 1277 lies 220 million light-years away in the constellation Perseus. ...

HOUSTON – A previously invincible mutation in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has been thwarted by an investigational drug in a phase I clinical trial reported in the current edition of The New England Journal of Medicine. All 12 patients in the trial with chronic phase CML and the T315I mutation had a complete hematologic response (absence of CML cells in the blood) after treatment with ponatinib. Eleven had a major reduction in CML cells in the bone marrow and nine achieved a complete cytogenetic response – no cells in the marrow. T315I is present in up to 20 percent ...

LOS ANGELES (Nov. 28, 2012) – Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute researchers have found in an initial clinical trial that a drug typically prescribed for erectile dysfunction or pulmonary hypertension restores blood flow to oxygen-starved muscles in patients with a type of muscular dystrophy that affects males, typically starting in childhood or adolescence. Tadalafil, commonly known by brand names Cialis and Adcirca, reversed the effects of a biochemical chain of events that in Becker muscular dystrophy deprives muscles of an important chemical, nitric oxide, which normally ...

LOS ANGELES — EMBARGOED UNTIL 1 P.M. EST ON WEDS. NOV. 28, 2012 – Surgical teams at Cedars-Sinai have reduced surgical site infections by more than 60 percent for patients who undergo colorectal procedures by introducing evidence-based protocols that are easy to follow and relatively low in cost. Surgeons, nurses, operating room staff and patients all collaborated in a quality improvement project that measured surgical site infection rates from March 2011 to March 2012. Several new steps were introduced to guard against infections, and these have now been expanded and ...

Microscopic animals held algae captive and stole their genes for energy production, thereby evolving into a new and more powerful species many millions of years ago reveals a new study published today in the journal Nature. The results reveal a 'missing link' in evolution because the tiny animal thieves (protozoa) couldn't completely hide all evidence of the captive algae, and have been effectively frozen in time and caught in the act by genetic sequencing. The protozoa captured genes for photosynthesis- the process of harnessing light to produce energy which is used ...

Thanks to NASA's Cassini spacecraft which has been orbiting Saturn since 2004, scientists have been able to observe for the first time ever the seasonal atmospheric circulation direction change on Titan – an event which only happens once every 15 years and is never observable from Earth. Their findings are published today in Nature. Titan, while technically only a moon, is bigger than the planet Mercury, and is often considered a planet in its own right. It is the only known moon to have a significant atmosphere and is one of only four terrestrial atmospheres in our ...

Scientists have developed a new approach for evaluating past climate sensitivity data to help improve comparison with estimates of long-term climate projections developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The sensitivity of global temperature to changes in the Earth's radiation balance (climate sensitivity) is a key factor for understanding past natural climate changes as well as potential future climate change. Many palaeoclimate studies have measured natural climate changes to calculate climate sensitivity, but a lack of consistent methodologies ...

(Boston) – In a perspective article to appear in the Nov. 29 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers from Boston University Schools of Medicine and Public Health (BUSM and BUSPH) report that health-care providers can play a critical role in helping to reduce and prevent intimate partner violence (IPV) by screening and referring patients to appropriate resources. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a comprehensive report on the prevalence of sexual violence, stalking and IPV in the U.S. The report relays the alarming ...

Boston, MA – An analysis of newly released polls shows that most of those who voted for President Obama in the 2012 election favor implementing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and want the federal government to continue efforts to make sure most Americans have health insurance coverage. However, at the same time the President was re-elected, Republicans maintained a majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 30 of the nation's 50 states will have Republican governors. The polls suggest that those who voted for these Republican officeholders, and therefore many of ...

University of Alberta researchers discovered that elk are more frequently and more easily disturbed by human behaviour such as ATV drivers than by their natural predators like bears and wolves. The U of A researchers, led by biologist Simone Ciuti, spent 12 months in southwestern Alberta. The study involved elk herds, made up of females and their off-spring. The researchers observed the animals' reactions to different rates of human disturbances in the form of vehicle traffic on nearby roads and off-road, all-terrain vehicles. The elk in the study were found on a variety ...

Cold Spring Harbor, NY – Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the "big three" globally important crops, accounting for 20% of the calories consumed by people. Fully 35% of the world's 7 billion people depend on this staple crop for survival. Now an international team of scientists, including a group from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL), has completed the first comprehensive analysis of its full genome. The study reveals the evolution of bread wheat from ancestral strains through to its current domesticated form. Due to the complexity of the plant's genome the ...

Scientists have unlocked key components of the genetic code of one of the world's most important crops. The first analysis of the complex and exceptionally large bread wheat genome, published today in Nature, is a major breakthrough in breeding wheat varieties that are more productive and better able to cope with disease, drought and other stresses that cause crop losses. The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into the links between them, lays strong foundations for accelerating wheat improvement through advanced molecular breeding and genetic engineering. ...

(Nov. 28, 2012 - Chicago, IL) - Mexican cities and villages where credit exceeds savings deposits offer a higher quality of life and a more educated citizenry, according to 12 years of financial data released by Mexico's National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV). The research was funded by the Consortium on Financial Systems and Poverty at the University of Chicago. The data provide a detailed look at the spending and saving habits of Mexicans for the past decade. For example, in 2010, 94 percent of every peso deposited in banks and other financial institutions ...

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 28, 2012 – A new study published online in PLOS ONE reveals that primitive human stem cells are resistant to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), one of the leading prenatal causes of congenital intellectual disability, deafness and deformities worldwide. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine found that as stem cells and other primitive cells mature into neurons, they become more susceptible to HCMV, which could allow them to find effective treatments for the virus and to prevent its potentially devastating consequences. "Previous ...

Philadelphia, PA—None of us want to experience events like the Camelford water pollution incident in Cornwall, England, in the late eighties, or more recently, the Crestwood, Illinois, water contamination episode in 2009 where accidental pollution of drinking water led to heart-wrenching consequences to consumers, including brain damage, high cancer risk, and even death. In the case of such catastrophes, it is important to have a method to identify and curtail contaminations immediately to minimize impact on the public. A paper published earlier this month in the SIAM ...

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — A new University of Florida study shows ecologists may have been missing crucial information from animal bones for more than 150 years. The study featured on the cover of the November issue of Ecology shows animal bone remains provide high-quality geographical data across an extensive time frame. The research may be used to identify regions of habitat for the conservation of threatened species. Charles Darwin first noted the importance of studying where animal bones lie on the landscape in 1860, but the topic has since become largely lost to scientists ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Literally hundreds of clinical trials, including some that have gained widespread attention, have been done on the possible benefits of omega-3 fatty acids for the prevention of heart disease – producing conflicting results, varied claims, and frustrated consumers unsure what to believe. A recent analysis done by scientists in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, published in the Journal of Lipid Research, has sorted through many of these competing findings, and it helps to explain why so many of the studies seem to arrive at differing ...

A small molecule known to regulate white blood cells has a surprising second role in protecting brain cells from the deleterious effects of stroke, Johns Hopkins researchers report. The molecule, microRNA-223, affects how cells respond to the temporary loss of blood supply brought on by stroke — and thus the cells' likelihood of suffering permanent damage. "We set out to find a small molecule with very specific effects in the brain, one that could be the target of a future stroke treatment," says Valina Dawson, Ph.D., a professor in the Johns Hopkins University School ...

WASHINGTON, November 28, 2012 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists working as part of an international team have completed a "shotgun sequencing" of the wheat genome, a paper published in the journal Nature reported today. The achievement is expected to increase wheat yields, help feed the world and speed up development of wheat varieties with enhanced nutritional value. "By unlocking the genetic secrets of wheat, this study and others like it give us the molecular tools necessary to improve wheat traits and allow our farmers to produce yields sufficient ...

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — Amid increasing fear of overexposure to radiation from CT scans, a panel of experts has recommended more research on the health effects of medical imaging and ways to reduce unnecessary CT tests, as well as industry standardization of CT machines. The recommendations, published in the November 2012 issue of Radiology, were developed at the Radiation Dose Summit, organized by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB). The summit included more than 100 medical physicists, radiologists, cardiologists, engineers, industry ...

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (November 28, 2012) –Tufts University School of Engineering researchers have demonstrated silk-based implantable optics that offer significant improvement in tissue imaging while simultaneously enabling photo thermal therapy, administering drugs and monitoring drug delivery. The devices also lend themselves to a variety of other biomedical functions. Biodegradable and biocompatible, these tiny mirror-like devices dissolve harmlessly at predetermined rates and require no surgery to remove them. The technology is the brainchild of a research ...