The immune system is capable of recognizing tumor growth, and naturally mounts an anti-cancer defense. Dendritic cells (DCs) can take up tumor-derived molecules (antigens) and present them to T cells, and those "primed" T cells are then able to recognize and kill tumor cells. In recent years, researchers have attempted to capitalize upon these natural immune responses to develop new therapies- namely, by generating a pool of tumor antigen-pulsed DCs that might be used as vaccines to augment the T-cell responses of cancer patients. In clinical trials, these DC vaccines have ...

EDITOR'S PICK Using a molecular switch to turn on cancer vaccines The immune system is capable of recognizing tumor growth, and naturally mounts an anti-cancer defense. Dendritic cells (DCs) can take up tumor-derived molecules (antigens) and present them to T cells, and those "primed" T cells are then able to recognize and kill tumor cells. In recent years, researchers have attempted to capitalize upon these natural immune responses to develop new therapies- namely, by generating a pool of tumor antigen-pulsed DCs that might be used as vaccines to augment the T-cell responses ...

WINSTON-SALEM, NC – March 7, 2011 – Researchers at the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and colleagues reported today on a new advance in tissue engineering. The team is the first in the world to use patients' own cells to build tailor-made urinary tubes and successfully replace damaged tissue. In an article published Online First by The Lancet, the research team reports replacing damaged segments of urinary tubes (urethras) in five boys. Tests to measure urine flow and tube diameter showed that the engineered tissue ...

The use of media characters on cereal packaging may influence children's opinions about taste, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "The use of trade (e.g. Ronald McDonald) and licensed (e.g. Shrek) spokescharacters is a popular marketing practice in child-directed products because the presence of these figures helps children identify and remember the associated product," the authors write as background information in the article. Because children remember nonverbal representations ...

On International Women's Day (8th March), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is calling for action to reduce the gender disparities that are currently resulting in women receiving second rate cardiovascular (CV) care. Studies published online today in the European Heart Journal (EHJ), ¹ ² the official journal of the ESC, show a persistent under-utilisation of guideline recommended treatments for heart disease in women compared to men. "The ESC wants to raise awareness, among both cardiologists and the public, that women still are not receiving equal access to ...

Most young adults who grow up with chronic illness graduate high school and have employment, but those with cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy are significantly less likely than their healthy peers to achieve important educational and vocational milestones, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "In the United States, despite the variation in estimates, it is generally accepted that as many as 12 percent of children have special health care needs, including physical and emotional problems," ...

Middle school-aged children who participated in interactive digital gaming activities that feature player movement (exergaming), such as dancing or boxing, increased their energy expenditure to a level of moderate or vigorous intensity, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the July print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "The prevalence of overweight children and adolescents has increased drastically over the past several decades. This increase is troubling given the potentially numerous ...

Eating disorders are prevalent in the general U.S. adolescent population and are associated with other psychiatric disorders, role impairment, and suicidality, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the July print issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Although the lifetime prevalence estimates of eating disorders from population-based studies of adults are relatively low, their severity and dramatic effects have been repeatedly demonstrated through elevated rates of impairment, medical complications, other illnesses, ...

Despite international variation in prevalence rates of bipolar spectrum disorder, the severity and associated disorders are similar and treatment needs are often unmet, especially in low-income countries, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "Bipolar disorder (BP) is responsible for the loss of more disability-adjusted life-years than all forms of cancer or major neurologic conditions such as epilepsy and Alzheimer disease, primarily because of its early onset and chronicity across the life span," ...

Residing in a psychosocially hazardous neighborhood is associated with worse cognitive function in older age for persons with the apolipoprotein E ε4 allele (an alternative form of the gene), according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. "A prominent genetic factor of relevance to cognitive decline is the ε4 variant of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, a strong predictor of increased risk and earlier onset of Alzheimer disease," the authors write as background information in the article. Apolipoprotein ...

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An analysis conducted by Ohio State University cancer researchers has found that adding the targeted therapy bevacizumab to the treatment of patients with advanced ovarian cancer is not cost effective. The findings comparing the relative value of various clinical strategies will be published online March 7 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The researchers performed a cost-effectiveness analysis looking at a clinical trial conducted by the Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) studying the use of bevacizumab along with standard chemotherapy for patients ...

UPTON, NY — A study conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory demonstrated that drug addicted individuals who have a certain genetic makeup have lower gray matter density – and therefore fewer neurons – in areas of the brain that are essential for decision-making, self-control, and learning and memory. Nelly Alia-Klein, a study coauthor who is a Brookhaven Lab medical scientist, said, "This research shows that genes can influence the severity of addiction. The results suggest that addicted individuals with low MAOA [monoamine oxidase ...

Glaucoma is the second-most common cause of blindness in the US, and occurs due to loss of retinal ganglion cells and degeneration of the optic nerve. Although it is known that high levels of pressure within the eye predispose individuals to the development of glaucoma, the molecular mechanisms involved are poorly defined. In new research from The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine, Simon John and colleagues analyzed gene expression patterns in the retina and optic nerves of mice that develop age-related glaucoma. Using a method that involved the clustering of ...

HOUSTON, March 7, 2011 – Cleaning up pollution, protecting soil from erosion and maintaining species-rich ecosystems are some of the goals of a computational ecology project by a University of Houston (UH) scientist and his team. Published recently in a top journal, the work sheds light on a new method to speed up research in the ecology of plants. Marc Garbey, a professor of computer science and mathematics at UH, and his fellow researchers describe these findings in a paper titled "Large scale parameter study of an individual-based model of clonal plant with volunteer ...

Burkitt's lymphoma is one of the most aggressive tumors affecting humans. Multiple alterations in genes that regulate cell proliferation rate explain its aggressive behavior. A new study reveals new molecular insight into the understanding and treatment of Burkitt`s lymphoma. The new finding concentrates on a genetic locus -- a piece of DNA with one or more genes which is the specific location of a gene or DNA sequence on a chromosome -- called INK4a/ARF locus. This locus encodes two important tumor suppressor genes, p16 and p14, and is usually inactivated in human tumors ...

Increased export of Brazilian beef indirectly leads to deforestation in the Amazon. New research from Chalmers and SIK that was recently published in Environmental Science & Technology shows that impact on the climate is much greater than current estimates indicate. The researchers are now demanding that indirect effect on land be included when determining a product's carbon footprint. "If this aspect is not taken into consideration, there is a risk of the wrong signals being sent to policy makers and consumers, and we become guilty of underestimating the impact Brazilian ...

LA JOLLA, Calif., March 7, 2011 – In the past few months, a slew of papers have indicated that the therapeutic potential of a promising type of stem cell, called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, might be limited by reprogramming errors and genomic instability. iPS cells are engineered by reprogramming fully differentiated adult cells, often skin cells, back to a primitive, embryonic-like state. Given these problems, a team of researchers at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham), Chung-Ang University in Korea, the University of British Columbia, ...

During embryonic development, sensory and motor fibers interact to form nerves in the limbs. The research team led by Dr. Andrea Huber Brösamle of the Institute of Developmental Genetics of Helmholtz Zentrum München has now elucidated how this interaction functions at the molecular level: The cell surface receptor neuropilin-1 is present in both sensory and motor nerve fibers and controls their interaction in order to correctly regulate growth. "We observed that motor and sensory axons were both able to guide and lead the formation of the spinal nerves of the arms and ...

"Many people are now saying: 'Is it really that easy? Then why didn't anyone think of it a long time ago?' But you have to have the right idea at the right time," says Annette Röttger, physicist at the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), in a pleased way. Annette Röttger and her scientific team managed to do something that was previously thought to be impossible: they developed a primary standard for the measurement of short-lived radioactive thoron. Thoron measuring instruments from all over the world will now be calibrated at this unique device which is currently ...

Poor diet during pregnancy increases offspring's vulnerability to the effects of aging, new research has shown for the first time. The research, by scientists from the University of Cambridge, provides important insight into why children born to mothers who consumed an unhealthy diet during pregnancy have an increased risk of type 2 diabetes (a significant contributing factor to heart disease and cancer) later in life. "What is most exciting about these findings is that we are now starting to really understand how nutrition during the first nine months of life ...

Almost one in five UK doctors has had direct experience of an incompetent or poorly performing colleague in the past three years, finds a survey of professional values, published online in BMJ Quality & Safety. Nearly three out of four of these doctors said they had sounded the alarm, but one in three of those who had not done so gave fear of retribution as the reason. The study authors canvassed the views of almost 2,000 US doctors working in primary care and hospital medicine and over 1,000 of their UK peers in 2009 about various aspects of professional behaviour. Topics ...

High levels of "good" (high density lipoprotein) HDL cholesterol seem to cut the risk of bowel cancer, suggests research published online in Gut. The association is independent of other potentially cancer-inducing markers of inflammation in the blood. The researchers base their findings on participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. This is tracking the long term impact of diet on the development of cancer in more than half a million people in 10 European countries, including the UK. Some 1,200 people who developed ...

Traditional Chinese acupuncture curbs the severity of hot flushes and other menopausal symptoms, suggests a small study published today in Acupuncture in Medicine. The effects did not seem to be related to changes in levels of the hormones responsible for sparking the menopause and its associated symptoms, the study shows. The authors base their findings on 53 middle aged women, all of whom were classified as being postmenopausal - they had spontaneously stopped having periods for a year. Their somatic (hot flushes) urogenital (vaginal dryness and urinary tract infection) ...

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ), both in Heidelberg, Germany, have developed a new method that uncovers the combined effects of genes. Published online today in Nature Methods, it helps understand how different genes can amplify, cancel out or mask each others' effects, and enables scientists to suggest genes that interfere with each other in much the same manner that facebook suggests friends. To understand the connections between genetic make-up and traits like disease susceptibility, scientists ...

This release is available in German. "Children may be a long-term investment in happiness," says MPIDR demographer Mikko Myrskylä. Together with Rachel Margolis from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, USA, he published the new study in the latest issue of the journal "Population and Development Review". It shows a global trend: while for parents under 30 the level of happiness decreases with the first and each additional child, mothers and fathers aged 30 to 39 feel as happy as childless peers until they have four children or more. From age 40 onwards parents ...