The drug known as rapamycin is widely used by cancer and transplant patients, and there are hints that it might even help us put off old age and live longer. But, it also comes with a downside: rapamycin leads to diabetes in as many as 15 percent of the people who take it. Now, researchers reporting in the April Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication, have figured out why that is. The drug turns the insulin signal off in muscle, to prevent muscle cells from taking blood sugar in. "This is a drug that is pretty well known for its benefits," said Pere Puigserver ...

CHICAGO, IL – Researchers and doctors at the North Shore-LIJ Health System and the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research have discovered that blood can help determine the best treatment plan for patients with ovarian cancer. More specifically, a genetic marker embedded in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), called microRNA, indicates if a patient with ovarian cancer has a benign or cancerous tumor, and that she will benefit from chemotherapy after surgery on the tumor. This data will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting to be held ...

MONTREAL, April 3, 2012 – Researchers at the University of Montreal's Sainte-Justine Hospital have identified how neural cells like those in our bodies are able to build up resistance to opioid pain drugs within hours. Humans have known about the usefulness of opioids, which are often harvested from poppy plants, for centuries, but we have very little insight into how they lose their effectiveness in the hours, days and weeks following the first dose. "Our study revealed cellular and molecular mechanisms within our bodies that enables us to develop resistance to this medication, ...

Scientists at the University of Southampton have discovered a new process that controls the ability of arteries to regulate blood pressure. Arteries are able to control blood pressure by relaxing and constricting. In healthy people, the ability of arteries to relax or constrict is kept in balance. However, this balance shifts in people who are at risk of developing high blood pressure or atherosclerosis. There is more constriction within the arteries so blood cannot flow freely increasing the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Researchers in Southampton, led by Dr ...

April in Israel is a month with many special events including: festivals, concerts, performances, street fairs and walking tours which are tremendously varied so that there is something for every one of all ages and tastes. April's warm temperatures mean that more outdoor events can take place, and combined with the Passover holiday for which kids are away from school, it means that April is a great time to be in Israel. Additionally, as the local holiday coincides with the Easter holiday, many Christian tourists choose to visit Israel in April, as the majority of them ...

Research: The risk of cancer in the first seven years after metal-on-metal hip replacement compared with other bearings and the general population: a linkage study between the National Joint Registry of England and Wales and Hospital Episode Statistics Patients who have had metal-on-metal hip replacements are no more likely to develop cancer in the first seven years after surgery than the general population, although a longer-term study is required, a study published on bmj.com today claims. A recent BMJ and BBC Newsnight investigation looked into the potentially high ...

Neonatal services in England have seen a considerable improvement since the introduction of new guidelines in 2003, a study published on bmj.com claims. The new guidelines were set out to help increase the proportion of premature babies born in a specialist care unit and reduce the amount of acute (within 24 hours of birth) postnatal transfers from one hospital to another. The specialised delivery and management of premature babies is associated with improved outcomes while acute postnatal transfer is associated with adverse outcomes. Researchers from the Imperial ...

CHICAGO— Hepatitis B-infected patients with significantly longer telomeres—the caps on the end of chromosomes that protect our genetic data— were found to have an increased risk of getting liver cancer compared to those with shorter ones, according to findings presented by researchers at Jefferson's Kimmel Cancer Center at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012. The relative telomere length in hepatitis B-infected cases with liver cancer was about 50 percent longer than the telomere length of the cancer-free hepatitis B-infected controls. A ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- The dietary supplement gamma-linoleic acid can inhibit the growth of a subset of pancreatic cancer cells and selectively promote cancer cell death in mice, a Mayo Clinic study has found. The supplement, a fatty acid also known as GLA, worked particularly well when combined with the chemotherapy drug gemcitabine, the researchers say. The findings were presented today by Mayo Clinic pathologist Ruth Lupu, Ph.D., at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012. "One of the most devastating facts about pancreatic cancer is the ...

Sonic Games 365, a big player in the free gaming universe is now offering even more Adobe Flash games that incorporate beloved Sega characters such as Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and more. Sonic Games 365 has these added four brand new titles to its line-up: Sonic Spin Break, Sonic's Crazy Coin Collect, Sonic Rolling Ball, and Super Mario Save Sonic. These four games are all about promoting the true meaning of Sonic Games 365, which has been from day one to always have the largest selection of games featuring, feature everybody's favorite blue hedgehog, and never charge ...

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- A study presented today by Mayo Clinic researchers at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting 2012 in Chicago identified two genes that are optimal targets to be analyzed in a new noninvasive test for colorectal cancer developed by Mayo Clinic, in collaboration with Exact Sciences Corporation. The test uses a small sample of a patient's stool to check for specific DNA changes, known as gene methylation, that occur as cancer develops. The test can quickly detect both early stage cancer and precancerous polyps. "This study ...

OTTAWA, Canada -- Dr. Roger Zemek, Director of Emergency Research at the CHEO Research Institute and ED physician, and assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Ottawa, has overseen the creation and implementation of a Medical Directive that now empowers nurses to administer an oral steroid treatment, which has reduced wait time and improved patient care. This research is published today in Pediatrics. Asthma is the most common chronic illness in children requiring a visit to Emergency. Every year, the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) ...

CHICAGO --- A new drug developed by Northwestern Medicine scientists prevented human prostate cancer cells from spreading to other tissues without any toxic effects to normal cells or tissues. The drug turns off the "go" switch in the cancer cells and immobilizes them. Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in North American males. Death is mainly caused by metastasis, prostate cancer cells moving out of prostate tissue and spreading to other organs. "This is an extremely promising new therapeutic that locks down aggressive prostate cancer cells ...

SAN FRANCISCO, CA—April 3, 2012—Scientists at the Gladstone Institutes have enhanced our understanding of how a protein linked to Alzheimer's disease keeps young brains healthy, but can damage them later in life—suggesting new research avenues for treating this devastating disease. In the Journal of Neuroscience, available online today, researchers in the laboratory of Yadong Huang, MD, PhD, have uncovered the distinct roles that the apoE protein plays in young vs. aging brains. These findings, which could inform the future of Alzheimer's drug development, come at a time ...

New research from the University of Adelaide could help protect one of the world's most globally threatened tree species - the big leaf mahogany - from extinction. Big leaf mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) is the most prized mahogany timber around the world. It is at risk of extinction in its native habitats because of the timber trade, particularly in Central and South America. To better understand how such a threatened species can be brought back from the brink of extinction, scientists from the University of Adelaide's Environment Institute have studied the important ...

Plants breathe through stomata Plant leaves are protected from drying out by an airtight wax layer. They breathe and release water through microscopic pores called stomata. Every year 40% of atmospheric CO2 and twice the volume of water found in our atmosphere pass through these pores. This means that stomata are not only important for plant development but also for our climate! It's no surprise then that these pores appear to be strictly regulated by plants. Stomata react extremely fast to internal plant signals and changes in the environment. When rain is scarce, ...

What effect does a TV advert have on a viewer? How does it bring about a change in their knowledge, emotions or intentions? These questions have existed alongside advertising ever since it began. Through a psycho-physiological study developed jointly by El Bureau de la Comunicación, the Tecnalia Centre for Applied Research, and the UPV/EHU, it has been possible to measure the emotional response of a person to a series of television adverts. The aim of the study, carried out for the first time entirely in the Basque Autonomous Community (region), was to shed some light ...

Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV) is a human tumor virus and an etiological agent for Kaposi's sarcoma and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL). PELs are aggressive lymphomas with reported median survival time shorter than six months after diagnosis. Researchers at the University of Helsinki discovered that spontaneous induction of KSHV lytic replication in tumors drastically attenuated the p53-dependent apoptotic response not only to a targeted therapy (Nutlin-3) but also to genotoxic anti-cancer agents. The findings by the research groups of Päivi Ojala (Institute of ...

Oesophageal cancer is a very serious form of cancer that, if not fatal, requires extensive surgery. A new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows that when serious complications arise after surgery for oesophageal cancer, many patients suffer other health problems, such as breathlessness, fatigue, insomnia and eating problems, for five years afterwards. "Patients who suffer serious post-operative complications after surgery for oesophageal cancer need very close, long-term monitoring so that any problems that arise can be identified and targeted quickly," says ...

Despite the predicted environmental benefits of biofuels, converting land to grow bioenergy crops may harm native wildlife. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig have developed a way to study the effects of increased energy crop cultivation on farmland bird populations. "The Skylark is an indicator species for agricultural areas because it occupies many habitats of the wider countryside around the globe, breeds on the ground within fields and feeds mostly on insects" notes lead researcher, Jan Engel. "Improving the habitat suitability ...

Neutrophil granulocytes comprise important defences for the immune system. When pathogenic bacteria penetrate the body, they are the first on the scene to mobilise other immune cells via signal molecules, thereby containing the risk. To this end, they release serine proteases – enzymes that cut up other proteins to activate signal molecules. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now discovered a new serine protease: neutrophil serine protease 4, or NSP4. This enzyme could provide a new target for the treatment of diseases that involve ...

A new study has estimated that over 260,000 cats and dogs entered the care of UK rescue organisations during 2009, the first full year since the onset of the UK recession. The aim of the research was to estimate the number of cats and dogs, currently being cared for by UK welfare organisations, the proportion of time that these organisations were full to capacity and the number entering these organisations during a 12-month period. The University of Bristol study by Dr Corinna Clark and colleagues in the School of Veterinary Sciences is published in the Veterinary ...

The journal Computers in Biology and Medicine has published an article on the new IT application BootstRatio, created by IDIBELL researchers. The application allows online statistical analysis of data from gene expression. It is accessible through http://regstattools.net/br and any scientist is already to use it. Researchers at the Human Molecular Genetics group at IDIBELL, led by Dr. Virginia Nunes, had a problem to provide signification to the results of statistical analyses of gene expression data. Most of the statistical calculations which are done to compare gene ...

You are what you eat is truism that has been given new impetus by 'cutting edge' research led by the University of Leicester that reveals your teeth are literally shaped by your food. Indeed, evidence from teeth can be used to determine what has been eaten by an animal providing a new way of working out the diets of wild animals that doesn't involve the unpleasant task of looking at the contents of their guts. Scientists say it is also possible to use these methods to investigate diets of extinct animals such as giant marine reptiles and dinosaurs. Research led by ...

Negative thinking is a red flag for clinical depression. Stopping such thoughts early on can save millions of people from mental illness, according research study from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Jaclene Zauszniewski, the Kate Hanna Harvey Professor in Community Health Nursing and associate dean for doctoral education at the school, has developed a brief 8-item survey to help healthcare providers identify depressive thinking patterns that may lead to serious depression if not identified and addressed early. Zauszniewski's ...