Ever get a flu shot and still get the flu? If so, there's new hope for flu-free winters in the years to come thanks to a new discovery by researchers who found that a drug called DMXAA, originally developed as anti-tumor agent, enhances the ability of flu vaccines to ward off this deadly virus. A new research report appearing in the March 2011 issue of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology (http://www.jleukbio.org) suggests that DMXAA could assist flu vaccines by causing the body to produce its own antiviral proteins, called interferons, which interfere with the virus's ability ...

Be it a heart transplant or a Cesarean section, every operation requires a wide variety of surgical instruments, from simple retractors, clamps, scalpels and scissors to more specialist devices such as cerclage wire passers, which surgeons employ to repair long, oblique fractures in bones. These are shaped in such a way as to half encircle the broken bone, and incorporate a hollow channel. In a process not unlike stringing a parcel for posting, thread or wire is fed through the channel around the damaged bone and then knotted in place, both to support the bone and to hold ...

More and more often, abdominal surgeries are being carried out in a minimally invasive manner. A small incision in the abdominal wall is sufficient for the surgeon to be able to insert the instrument and make the organs visible with an endoscope. This technique is gentler and does not stress the body as much as traditional surgeries do. However, these minimally invasive surgeries pose a special challenge to the surgeons. In particular, the suturing – meaning joining the tissue with needle and suture material - demands great skill and dexterity. Very often, piercing the ...

Part of the answer to how and why primates differ from other mammals, and humans differ from other primates, may lie in the repetitive stretches of the genome that were once considered "junk." A new study by researchers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine finds that when a particular type of repetitive DNA segment, known as an Alu element, is inserted into existing genes, they can alter the rate at which proteins are produced -- a mechanism that could contribute to the evolution of different biological characteristics in different species. The study was ...

In an interesting bit of scientific serendipity, researchers at North Carolina State University have found that a chemical compound useful for studying the origins of intestinal birth defects may also inhibit the growth and spread of cancerous tumors. During the screening of chemical compounds created by NC State chemist Dr. Alex Deiters, developmental biologist Dr. Nanette Nascone-Yoder found one of particular interest to her research: a compound that induced heterotaxia, a disordering or mirror-image "flipping" of internal organs, in the frog embryos she was studying. ...

A daytime sleep could have cardiovascular benefits according to new research by Ryan Brindle and Sarah Conklin, PhD, from Allegheny College in Pennsylvania in the US. Their study, looking at the effect of a daytime nap on cardiovascular recovery following a stress test, found that those participants who slept for at least 45 minutes during the day had lower average blood pressure after psychological stress than those who did not sleep. The work is published in Springer's journal International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. Long work schedules, shift work, increased anxiety ...

A research study coordinated by Manel Esteller, researcher at Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has identified a substance that inhibits cancer growth by activating the so‑called "dark genome" (or non‑coding DNA) and micro‑RNA molecules. The study appears this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Human body cells have a genome (the set of our DNA) encoding our proteins such as keratin in the skin or haemoglobin in blood. This genome with encoding DNA represents only the 5% of our genetic material. ...

About 1,200 criminal justice researchers as well as active and retired law-enforcement professionals from around the world are expected to attend the annual meeting of the international Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, to be held March 1-5 in Toronto. Presentations of the latest research in the field will be made, including research presented by the University of Cincinnati faculty and students. Recognized at the conference will be UC researchers Bonnie Fisher, professor, and Francis Cullen, distinguished professor. Fisher and Cullen will receive the 2010 Outstanding ...

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that patients with node negative T3 and T4 non-small lung cancer who underwent chemotherapy before surgery had more than three times the survival rate than patients who only underwent surgery. These findings currently appear on-line in the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. The study looked at a total of 110 patients who underwent surgical resection for invasive T3 and T4 non-small lung cancer between 1979 and 2008. Forty-seven patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy and concurrent ...

AMES, Iowa - A protein pathway that may hold the secret to understanding Parkinson's disease has been discovered and explained by Iowa State University researchers. Anumantha Kanthasamy, a distinguished professor of biomedical sciences and the W. Eugene and Linda R. Lloyd Endowed Chair in Neurotoxicology at the ISU College of Veterinary Medicine, has been working to understand the complex mechanisms of the disease for more than a decade. He believes this recent discovery offers hope for the cure. The research was funded by the National Institutes of Health and is published ...

WASHINGTON, February 28, 2011) – Results from a study published in Blood, the Journal of the American Society of Hematology reveal a close relationship between pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH)—exceedingly high blood pressure in the arteries carrying blood from the heart to the lungs—and abnormalities of the blood-forming cells in the bone marrow (known as myeloid abnormalities). The study, which was conducted by a team of researchers at the Cleveland Clinic, showed that blood progenitor cells (cells that are capable of forming white blood cells, red blood cells, ...

A new University of Colorado Boulder study indicates an ancient form of complementary medicine may be effective in helping to treat people with mild traumatic brain injury, a finding that may have implications for some U.S. war veterans returning home. The study involved a treatment known as acupressure in which one's fingertips are used to stimulate particular points on a person's body -- points similar to those stimulated with needles in standard acupuncture treatments, said CU-Boulder Professor Theresa Hernandez, lead study author. The results indicate a link between ...

ATLANTA –February 28, 2011– A sharp decline in breast cancer incidence rates among non-Hispanic white women in the U.S. after a dramatic drop in the use of postmenopausal hormone therapy did not continue through 2007, according to a new study from the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute. While there are several possible explanations for the recent stabilization, it may indicate that the decrease in breast cancers thought to be related to postmenopausal hormone use has bottomed out. The study appears online in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention ...

Troy, N.Y. – Benjamin Clough has developed a novel method for eavesdropping on terahertz information hidden in invisible plasma acoustic bursts. The doctoral student at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has demonstrated a promising technique that employs sound waves to boost the distance from which researchers can use powerful terahertz technology to remotely detect hidden explosives, chemicals, and other dangerous materials. Clough, a student in the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering at Rensselaer, is one of three finalists for the 2011 $30,000 ...

New York University physicists have developed a method for packing microscopic spheres that could lead to improvements in commercial products ranging from pharmaceutical lotions to ice cream. Their work, which relies on an innovative application of statistical mechanics, appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study aimed to manipulate the properties of emulsions, which are a mixture of two or more immiscible liquids. The NYU researchers examined droplets of oil in water, which form the basis of a range of consumer products, including butter, ...

New York University researchers have isolated neural activity that reflects basic mechanisms used by the brain to combine elementary pieces of language in order to construct complex ideas. The study, which appears in the Journal of Neuroscience, was conducted by Douglas Bemis, a graduate student in NYU's Department of Psychology, and Liina Pylkkänen, an associate professor in NYU's Department of Psychology and Department of Linguistics. Researchers have long studied the neural regions that underlie the processing of complete sentences and other complex linguistic ...

More than 45 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, National Science Foundation (NSF) statistics show minority academic institutions still enroll a substantial number of minority students, but the percentage of minorities earning bachelor's degrees in science and engineering (S&E) from minority-serving institutions has declined over time. Statistics published today in a report titled "Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2011" show that 26 percent of blacks earned S&E bachelor's degrees from historically black colleges and universities ...

PHILADELPHIA – Recently, a research team from the Department of Emergency Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University discovered an alarming amount of lead contamination in ceramic cooking and eating utensils sold in Philadelphia's Chinatown. The team, led be Gerald O'Malley, D.O., director of Clinical Research; and Thomas Gilmore, M.D., resident, purchased and tested a sampling of Chinese ceramics. Using a LeadCheck®, one area on each item was rubbed with a lead-detecting solution. In almost 30 percent of the items, the area turned pink or red, ...

CHAMPAIGN, lll. — A farmer in Niger learns how to protect his crops from insects. A resident of Port-au-Prince or a rural Haitian village learns how to avoid exposure to cholera. An entrepreneur in Mali gets step-by-step instructions on extracting the oil from shea seeds to make shea butter she can sell at a local market. These people are benefiting from a new approach to sustainable development education that reaches a much larger audience than traditional methods – and at a fraction of the cost. The initiative, led by a team of extension educators and faculty at the ...

FAIRFAX, Va., February 28, 2011—Death can be terrifying. Recognizing that death is inescapable and unpredictable makes us incredibly vulnerable, and can invoke feelings of anxiety, hatred and fear. But new research by George Mason University psychology professor Todd Kashdan shows that being a mindful person not only makes you generally more tolerant and less defensive, but it can also actually neutralize fears of dying and death. "Mindfulness is being open, receptive, and attentive to whatever is unfolding in the present moment," says Kashdan. In his latest research, ...

Sanfilippo disease is a rare disorder caused by the failure of enzymes to break down specific kinds of complex carbohydrates, resulting in their accumulation in cells and often severe physical and neurological problems – and sometimes early death. In a paper published in the March 4 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by Jeffrey D. Esko, PhD, professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, describe the build-up of a novel secondary metabolite in Sanfilippo disease, ...

A Wayne State University School of Medicine physician-researcher has developed a personalized therapy to treat a wide range of cancers. The treatment is based on a naturally occurring human enzyme that has been genetically modified to fool cancer cells into killing themselves. The unique concept, patented by Wayne State University, was successfully demonstrated on melanoma cells that are resistant to routine treatments such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Melanoma is a perfect model for testing this new therapy because it is considered the most aggressive form of human ...

If Dr. Doolittle is famous for talking to animals, then here's a story that might make him hold his tongue: According to new research published online in The FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), scientists have successfully fused human stem cells derived from subcutaneous adipose (fat) tissue with muscle cells from rat hearts. Not only did these cells "talk" to form new muscle cells altogether, but they actually beat. "Recovery of regenerative cells located in the stromal vascular fraction of a patient's own subcutaneous tissue is relatively simple and can be used for ...

University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers have identified two genes associated with binge drinking that may open doors to new, more effective treatments for excessive alcohol drinking. The scientists found that manipulating two receptors in the brain, GABA receptors and toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), "caused profound reduction" of binge drinking for two weeks in rodents that had been bred and trained to drink excessively. The study was published online the week of Feb. 28 in the journal the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. About 30 percent of ...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Excessive weight gain isn't healthy at any stage of life, but during pregnancy it can do lasting harm to the mother and baby alike. Now researchers at Brown University and The Miriam Hospital are encouraged by a new study describing an intervention that helped pregnant women control their weight. "This study suggests that a lifestyle intervention can help women manage their weight during pregnancy, prevent health problems during pregnancy, and reduce weight retention after having a baby," said study lead author Suzanne Phelan, adjunct ...