ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Scientists make breast cancer advance that turns previous thinking on its head
• Research identifies a way to make cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy
• Technique to detect breast cancer in urine developed
• Noninvasive detection, diagnosis of oral cancer
• Genomic analysis lends insight to prostate cancer
• When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs
• Scientists discover how rapamycin slows cell growth
• Vaccine blackjack: IL-21 critical to fight against viral infections
• Cradle turns smartphone into handheld biosensor
• Ferrets, pigs susceptible to H7N9 avian influenza virus
• Cinnamon compound has potential ability to prevent Alzheimer's
• Biophysicists measure mechanism that determines fate of living cells
• Drug reverses Alzheimer's disease deficits in mice
• Discarded immune cells induce the relocation of stem cells
• Molecule that triggers sensation of itch discovered
• New screening approach uncovers potential alternative drug therapies for neuroblastoma
• Powerful new method IDs therapeutic antibodies
• Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer's study
• Schools should provide students with daily physical activity, experts say
• common childhood asthma not rooted in allergens, inflammation
• New discovery in fight against deadly meningococcal disease: Understanding the pathway of how the bacterium colonizes people
• Frequent heartburn may predict cancers of the throat and vocal cord
• Networks of neurons in brain are disrupted in psychiatric disease
• First successful treatment of pediatric cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood: Awoken from a persistent vegetative state
• Regenerating spinal cord fibers may be treatment for stroke-related disabilities
• The secret lives (and deaths) of neurons
• Chemists find new compounds to curb staph infection
• Biochemistry: Unspooling DNA from nucleosomal disks
• Boosting body's natural flu killers as way to offset virus mutation problem
• Breakthrough on Huntington's disease
• Key find for early bladder cancer treatment
• What the smallest infectious agents reveal about evolution
• Depression linked to telomere enzyme, aging, chronic disease

Scientists make breast cancer advance that turns previous thinking on its head Posted: 23 May 2013 07:38 PM PDT Scientists have made an advance in breast cancer research which shows how some enzymes released by cancerous cells could have a protective function.

Research identifies a way to make cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy Posted: 23 May 2013 03:13 PM PDT Breast cancer characterized as "triple negative" carries a poor prognosis, with limited treatment options. In some cases, chemotherapy doesn't kill the cancer cells the way it's supposed to. New research explains why some cancer cells don't respond to chemotherapy, and identifies a mechanism to rectify that.

Technique to detect breast cancer in urine developed Posted: 23 May 2013 03:03 PM PDT Medical researchers have developed a new screening method that uses urinalysis to diagnose breast cancer – and determine its severity – before it could be detected with a mammogram.

Noninvasive detection, diagnosis of oral cancer Posted: 23 May 2013 03:03 PM PDT More effective detection and diagnosis of oral cancer could result from an advance in noninvasive imaging of epithelial tissue. The research is thought to have the potential to change the way doctors look for precancerous and cancerous areas in a patient's mouth.

Genomic analysis lends insight to prostate cancer Posted: 23 May 2013 01:23 PM PDT Researchers have used next generation genomic analysis to determine that some of the more aggressive prostate cancer tumors have similar genetic origins, which may help in predicting cancer progression.

When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs Posted: 23 May 2013 01:22 PM PDT Even while being dragged to its destruction inside a cell, a cancer-promoting growth factor receptor fires away, sending signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs before it's dissolved, researchers have reported.

Scientists discover how rapamycin slows cell growth Posted: 23 May 2013 01:22 PM PDT University of Montreal researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that can potentially slow the progression of some cancers and other diseases of abnormal growth. In the May 23 edition of the prestigious journal Cell, scientists have explained how they found that the anti-cancer and anti-proliferative drug rapamycin slows down or prevents cells from dividing.

Vaccine blackjack: IL-21 critical to fight against viral infections Posted: 23 May 2013 01:22 PM PDT Scientists have shown that an immune regulatory molecule called IL-21 is needed for long-lasting antibody responses in mice against viral infections.

Cradle turns smartphone into handheld biosensor Posted: 23 May 2013 01:22 PM PDT Researchers and physicians in the field could soon run on-the-spot tests for environmental toxins, medical diagnostics, food safety and more with their smartphones. Researchers have developed a cradle and app for the iPhone that uses the phone's built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules. Although the cradle holds only about $200 of optical components, it performs as accurately as a large $50,000 spectrophotometer in the laboratory.

Ferrets, pigs susceptible to H7N9 avian influenza virus Posted: 23 May 2013 11:37 AM PDT Chinese and US scientists have used a virus isolated from a person who died from H7N9 avian influenza infection to determine whether the virus could infect and be transmitted between ferrets. Ferrets are often used as a mammalian model in influenza research, and efficient transmission of influenza virus between ferrets can provide clues as to how well the same process might occur in people.

Cinnamon compound has potential ability to prevent Alzheimer's Posted: 23 May 2013 11:37 AM PDT Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of -- or warding off -- the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

Biophysicists measure mechanism that determines fate of living cells Posted: 23 May 2013 11:37 AM PDT For the first time, biophysicists have measured the molecular force required to mechanically transmit function-regulating signals within a cell. A new laboratory method, named the tension gauge tether approach, has made it possible to detect and measure the mechanics of the single-molecule interaction by which human cell receptors are activated.

Drug reverses Alzheimer's disease deficits in mice Posted: 23 May 2013 11:35 AM PDT An anti-cancer drug reverses memory deficits in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model, new research shows. The article reviewed previously published findings on the drug bexarotene, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in cutaneous T cell lymphoma.

Discarded immune cells induce the relocation of stem cells Posted: 23 May 2013 11:35 AM PDT The study reveals a surprising coordination between two fundamental body systems, the immune and the hematopoietic. The study has implications for the understanding of metastasis, because malignant stem cells involved in tumor formation could take advantage of this mechanism.

Molecule that triggers sensation of itch discovered Posted: 23 May 2013 11:33 AM PDT Scientists report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as the sensation of itch.

New screening approach uncovers potential alternative drug therapies for neuroblastoma Posted: 23 May 2013 11:33 AM PDT Nearly two-thirds of patients with high-risk neuroblastoma -- a common tumor that forms in the nerve cells of children -- cannot be cured using tumor-killing cancer drugs. A new study reveals a new genomic approach to screen for compounds that inhibit tumor growth by causing cancer cells to differentiate. Using this screening method, the researchers identified a compound that causes neuroblastoma cells to differentiate, uncovering promising new treatment strategies.

Powerful new method IDs therapeutic antibodies Posted: 23 May 2013 11:31 AM PDT Scientists have devised a powerful new technique for finding antibodies that have a desired biological effect. The newly reported technique should greatly speed the process of discovering medicines, diagnostics and laboratory reagents.

Multiple research teams unable to confirm high-profile Alzheimer's study Posted: 23 May 2013 11:30 AM PDT Teams of highly respected Alzheimer's researchers failed to replicate what appeared to be breakthrough results for the treatment of this brain disease when they were published last year in the journal Science.

Schools should provide students with daily physical activity, experts say Posted: 23 May 2013 08:38 AM PDT A new report from the Institute of Medicine says schools should be responsible for helping pupils engage in at least 60 minutes of vigorous or moderate intensity activity during each school day.

common childhood asthma not rooted in allergens, inflammation Posted: 23 May 2013 08:37 AM PDT Allergens? No. Inflammation? No. An over-active gene that interrupts lipid synthesis appears to be the cause of 20-30% childhood asthma cases.

New discovery in fight against deadly meningococcal disease: Understanding the pathway of how the bacterium colonizes people Posted: 23 May 2013 07:18 AM PDT Neisseria meningitidis is an important human pathogen that can cause rapidly progressing, life threatening meningitis and meningococcal sepsis in humans, according to authors of a new study. People can be carriers of the bug and not get any symptoms, while some people progress to invasive disease. To understand why, we need to know the detail of how the bacterium colonises the airway.

Frequent heartburn may predict cancers of the throat and vocal cord Posted: 23 May 2013 07:18 AM PDT A frequent history of heartburn elevated risk for throat and vocal cord cancers. Use of antacids lowered risk. Further studies are needed to confirm the protective effect of antacids.

Networks of neurons in brain are disrupted in psychiatric disease Posted: 23 May 2013 07:18 AM PDT Studying the networks of connections in the brains of people affected by schizophrenia, bipolar disease or depression has allowed researchers to gain a better understanding of the biological basis of these important diseases. They have shown that different networks, found specifically in humans, are disrupted in different psychiatric diseases.

First successful treatment of pediatric cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood: Awoken from a persistent vegetative state Posted: 23 May 2013 07:18 AM PDT Medics have succeeded in treating cerebral palsy with autologous cord blood. Following a cardiac arrest with severe brain damage, a two-and-a-half year old boy had been in a persistent vegetative state -- with minimal chances of survival. Just two months after treatment with the cord blood containing stem cells, the symptoms improved significantly; over the following months, the child learned to speak simple sentences and to move.

Regenerating spinal cord fibers may be treatment for stroke-related disabilities Posted: 23 May 2013 07:18 AM PDT A new study finds "substantial evidence" that a regenerative process involving damaged nerve fibers in the spinal cord could hold the key to better functional recovery by most stroke victims. The findings may offer new hope to those who suffer stroke, the leading cause of long-term disability in adults.

The secret lives (and deaths) of neurons Posted: 23 May 2013 07:18 AM PDT Researchers have uncovered surprising insights about how nerve cells rewire themselves, shedding light on a process linked with neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders like schizophrenia and autism.

Chemists find new compounds to curb staph infection Posted: 23 May 2013 06:33 AM PDT In an age when microbial pathogens are growing increasingly resistant to the conventional antibiotics used to tamp down infection, scientists have synthesized a potent new class of compounds capable of curbing the bacteria that cause staph infections.

Biochemistry: Unspooling DNA from nucleosomal disks Posted: 23 May 2013 05:30 AM PDT The tight wrapping of genomic DNA around nucleosomes in the cell nucleus makes it unavailable for gene expression. This study describes a mechanism that allows chromosomal DNA to be locally displaced from nucleosomes for transcription.

Boosting body's natural flu killers as way to offset virus mutation problem Posted: 23 May 2013 05:30 AM PDT The known difficulty in fighting influenza (flu) is the ability of the flu viruses to mutate and thus evade various medications that were previously found to be effective. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown recently that another, more promising, approach is to focus on improving drugs that boost the body's natural flu killer system.

Breakthrough on Huntington's disease Posted: 23 May 2013 05:29 AM PDT Researchers have succeeded in preventing very early symptoms of Huntington's disease, depression and anxiety, by deactivating the mutated huntingtin protein in the brains of mice.

Key find for early bladder cancer treatment Posted: 23 May 2013 05:29 AM PDT Aggressive forms of bladder cancer involve the protein PODXL – a discovery that could hold the key to improved treatment, according to new research.

What the smallest infectious agents reveal about evolution Posted: 22 May 2013 09:46 PM PDT Radically different viruses share genes and are likely to share ancestry, according to new research. The comprehensive phylogenomic analysis compares giant viruses that infect amoeba with tiny viruses known as virophages and to several groups of transposable elements. The complex network of evolutionary relationships the authors describe suggests that viruses evolved from non-viral mobile genetic elements and vice versa, on more than one occasion.

Depression linked to telomere enzyme, aging, chronic disease Posted: 22 May 2013 09:45 PM PDT The first symptoms of major depression may be behavioral, but the common mental illness is based in biology — and not limited to the brain, new research suggests.

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