A new production of the timeless opera Dido and Aeneas will be performed in Bangkok this May by a cast of talented local musicians. To be staged at the Thailand Cultural Centre, the show runs from May 18th to 20th and comes courtesy of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra in association with B Grimm and NUNi Productions. Penned by one of England's most famous classical composers Henry Purcell, the three-act Baroque opera was first performed in the late 1600s and tells the tragic story of a doomed romance between Dido, the queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas. This ...

Popular US rockers Lifehouse will be playing a gig in Manila this May, treating audiences in the Philippines to some of their greatest hits. Organised by Dayly Entertainment, the show will take place at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on May 26th 2012 and will see Jason Wade, Ben Carey, Rick Woolstenhulme Jr and Bryce Soderberg performing together on stage. The alternative rockers shot to prominence back in 2001 with their smash Hanging by a Moment, with the subsequent decade producing hits such as Sick Cycle Carousel, Spin, You and Me, First Time and Broken. Lifehouse ...

Contrary to a trend in treatment, breast cancer patients with suspicious lymph nodes should have an ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy, and if that biopsy is positive these patients should undergo an axillary dissection, a new study shows. The study, conducted at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, compared 199 patients with a positive ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy to 434 patients with a positive sentinel lymph node biopsy. "About 50% of patients with a positive ultrasound-guided axillary node biopsy had substantial lymph node involvement; they were ...

Adding digital breast tomosynthesis to 2D mammography screening results in a 40% reduction in patient recall rates compared to routine screening mammography alone, a new study shows. The study, conducted at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, CT, of 7,578 screening mammograms, found that the recall rate was 6.6% for digital breast tomosynthesis plus 2D screening mammography. It was 11.1% for 2D screening mammography alone, said Melissa Durand, MD, one of the authors of the study. Similar recall rates were seen in both groups for masses, but the recall rate ...

Members of the Washington University in St. Louis cross country team are ready to run a race in the global marketplace with a goal to fight world hunger and water needs. Janji - the name means promise in Malay - is a socially conscious business that is launching a line of running apparel this month and will be available in more than 60 specialty running stores this summer. "This public release is something we've been building towards for two years," says Mike Burnstein an avid runner and one of the founders of Janji. Burnstein will graduate this month with ...

More than half the women aged 40-49 diagnosed with breast cancer on screening mammography report no family history, a new study shows. The study, conducted at Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, LLC in Rochester, NY of all breast cancers diagnosed between 2000 and 2010, found that 228 out of 373 cancers (61%) were found in women, aged 40-49 with no family history of breast cancer. Seventeen of the 228 patients did have a prior personal history of breast cancer or abnormal cells at a prior biopsy, and were not included in this analysis. Out of 211 women that remained for ...

A partial, duplicate copy of a gene appears to be responsible for the critical features of the human brain that distinguish us from our closest primate kin. The momentous gene duplication event occurred about two or three million years ago, at a critical transition in the evolution of the human lineage, according to a pair of studies published early online in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, on May 3rd. The studies are the first to explore the evolutionary history and function of any uniquely human gene duplicate. These "extra" genes are of special interest ...

Oscar-nominated film Moneyball has inspired a data revolution of sorts within the field of human resources. Like Brad Pitt's character in the movie, numerous HR professionals are embracing the value of data and dedicating a great deal of time to analysis in an effort to determine the best HR moves for their organizations. Trummell Valdera, an HR expert who has led many a company to success in its HR operations, has adopted a similar approach. In fact, Trummell Valdera is urging other HR professionals to consider the immense value that such data can provide. In Moneyball, ...

Under some conditions, the brains of embryonic chicks appear to be awake well before those chicks are ready to hatch out of their eggs. That's according to an imaging study published online on May 3 in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, in which researchers woke chick embryos inside their eggs by playing loud, meaningful sounds to them. Playing meaningless sounds to the embryos wasn't enough to rouse their brains. The findings may have implications not only for developing chicks and other animals, but also for prematurely born infants, the researchers say. Pediatricians ...

Picking has been great this month for the Clarke appraisal team. They have managed once again to put together what -- in the humble opinion of Irish owner and founder, Ronan Clarke - is one of the most diverse and exciting auction offerings in the New York area this month. While Sotheby's, Doyle's, Christy's, etc. all have great art sales this month, Clarke not only has great art but also a diverse and eclectic mix of midcentury modern, silver, porcelain, rugs, continental furniture and collectibles. As always, Clarke has its usual gathering of furniture and even ...

Cervical spine CT examinations are unnecessary for emergency department (ED) patients who are a victim of "simple assault" or who have a "ground-level fall", unless the patient has a condition that predisposes the patient to spine fracture, a new study finds. The study, conducted at Grady Memorial Hospital by researchers from the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences of the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, found that out of 218 exams for simple assault, there were none that were positive, said Andrew Nicholson, MD, lead author of the study. In the ...

Imaging surveillance is an acceptable alternative to surgical excision in patients with benign papilloma, diagnosed at breast core biopsy without cell abnormalities, a new study shows. The study, conducted at the Breast Health Center of California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, included 119 papillomas diagnosed at core biopsy without abnormal cells. Imaging follow-up of a minimum of two years without surgical excision was performed on 66 lesions; no cancer was found in this group, said Jessica Leung, MD, FACR, lead author of the study. Surgical excision was ...

Contrary to current guidelines, women with benign breast biopsies do not need follow-up at six months; they may not need close surveillance at all, a new study shows. The study, conducted at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, FL, followed 388 patients for six, 12 and 24 months. No cancer was found in these patients at six and 12 months, said Shannon Reed, MD, one of the authors of the study. "Of the 197 follow-up examinations performed at 24 months, two women were positive for cancer in a different area than had been previously biopsied," said Dr. Reed. An annual ...

Changes in the speed that ice travels in more than 200 outlet glaciers indicates that Greenland's contribution to rising sea level in the 21st century might be significantly less than the upper limits some scientists thought possible, a new study shows. "So far, on average we're seeing about a 30 percent speedup in 10 years," said Twila Moon, a University of Washington doctoral student in Earth and space sciences and lead author of a paper documenting the observations published May 4 in Science. The faster the glaciers move, the more ice and meltwater they release ...

Sex differences account for some of the most of the spectacular traits in nature: the wild colours of male guppies, the plumage of peacocks, tusks on walruses and antlers on moose. Sexual conflict – the battle between males and females over mating – is thought to be a particularly potent force in driving the evolution traits that differ in males and females. However, the genetic processes responsible for producing such traits are not well understood, nor how they evolved from their simpler less elaborate ancestral forms. We tend to assume that each tiny step in evolution ...

CINCINNATI – Researchers have rejuvenated aged hematopoietic stem cells to be functionally younger, offering intriguing clues into how medicine might one day fend off some of the ailments of old age. Scientists at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and the Ulm University Medicine in Germany report their findings online May 3 in the journal Cell Stem Cell. The paper brings new perspective to what has been a life science controversy – countering what used to be broad consensus that the aging of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) was locked in by nature and not reversible ...

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) has issued newly created guidelines for the screening, treatment, and management of lupus nephritis—a severe manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) where the disease attacks the kidneys. Previously, only general guidelines for SLE existed for clinicians. The guidelines, available today in Arthritis Care & Research, are specific to lupus nephritis and include methods for identifying renal disease, newer therapies, and treatment of pregnant SLE patients with kidney involvement. The ACR estimates that up to 322,000 ...

STANFORD, Calif. — The common occurrence of blond hair among the dark-skinned indigenous people of the Solomon Islands is due to a homegrown genetic variant distinct from the gene that leads to blond hair in Europeans, according to a new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine. "This is one of the most beautiful examples to date of the mapping of a simple genetic trait in humans," said David Reich, PhD, a professor of genetics at Harvard University, who was not involved in the study. The study identifying the gene responsible for blond hair in the Solomon ...

A new study helps to resolve an ongoing controversy about whether Langerhans cells (LCs) in human skin function to suppress the immune response and promote tolerance to normal human skin and its "friendly" microbial flora or mobilize a lethal attack against harmful foreign invaders. The research, published online May 3rd in the journal Immunity by Cell Press, reveals that, depending on the situation, these versatile immune cells can perform either function. Adult human skin contains billions of resident immune cells called T cells that provide protection from invading ...

Treatment guidelines updated for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage Patients who are diagnosed in the emergency room with a specific type of brain bleed should be considered for immediate transfer to a hospital that treats at least 35 cases a year, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association. The Guidelines for the Management of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage (aSAH) is published online in Stroke, an American Heart Association Journal. It updates guidelines issued in 2009. "Admission to high-volume centers ...

When eating is motivated by pleasure, rather than hunger, endogenous rewarding chemical signals are activated which can lead to overeating, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The phenomenon ultimately affects body mass and may be a factor in the continuing rise of obesity. "'Hedonic hunger' refers to the desire to eat for pleasure, and to enjoy the taste, rather than to restore the body's energy needs,"says Palmiero Monteleone, MD, of the University of Naples SUN in Italy ...

Women who smoke and carry specific variations in the genes that impact their metabolism are at higher risk of developing hot flashes in comparison with smokers who do not carry these gene variants, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM). Previous studies have shown that smoking is associated with earlier onset of menopause, increased odds of hot flashes and risk of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The current study aimed to explore which smokers have the highest risk of hot flashes ...

American and Spanish researchers have found potential ways for doctors to improve the treatment of hormone receptor-positive breast cancer even if they lack access to costly multi-gene tests, as they report at the 4th IMPAKT Breast Cancer Conference. Because breast cancer is a biologically and clinically varied disease, doctors aim to choose appropriate treatments based on the characteristics of each patient's individual tumor. In the past, this has been done using pathology-based biomarkers; however these do not capture the full diversity of cancers. "In this context, ...

Tubal ectopic pregnancy (TEP) is currently the leading cause of pregnancy-related deaths during the first trimester and a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) shows that the hormone adrenomedullin (ADM) may help predict this condition. TEP is a condition where the fertilized egg implants in the fallopian tubes instead of in the uterus. In pregnant women, cilia (small protuberances) pulsate, or beat, to propel an embryo through the fallopian tubes towards the uterus. Defects in ciliary beats ...

New findings presented at Europe's leading breast cancer translational research conference this year shed new light on the many biological differences between individual breast cancers. Focused on the biological features that make tumors more or less sensitive to important therapies, the new studies will help doctors make crucial choices about the most appropriate treatment for millions of patients. "Despite major advances in the treatment of breast cancer many patients continue to relapse and die from the disease," noted Prof Mitch Dowsett from the Royal Marsden Hospital, ...