ScienceDaily: Health & Medicine News

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• Zombie cancer cells eat themselves to live
• Helium ions may provide superior, better-targeted treatment in pediatric radiotherapy, study suggests
• Prognosis of tumors positive for human papilloma virus in head and neck cancers varies according to site
• Calcium supplementation does not increase coronary heart disease, new study suggests
• Does a junk food diet make you lazy? Psychology study offers answer
• The long and the short of telomeres: Loneliness impacts DNA repair, parrot study shows
• New test developed to detect men at high risk of prostate cancer recurrence
• Brachytherapy helps maintain erectile function in prostate cancer patients without compromising treatment outcomes
• Nowhere to hide: Kids, once protected, now influenced by tobacco marketing
• Higher social class linked to fewer bone fractures among non-white women
• Uncommon genetic variations may contribute to ovarian cancer risk
• In mice, obese dads produce heavier daughters with epigenetically altered breast tissue
• Key component of cellular protein transport system decoded

Zombie cancer cells eat themselves to live Posted: 05 Apr 2014 08:38 PM PDT A new study shows that the cellular process of autophagy in which cells 'eat' parts of themselves in times of stress may allow cancer cells to recover and divide rather than die when faced with chemotherapies.

Helium ions may provide superior, better-targeted treatment in pediatric radiotherapy, study suggests Posted: 05 Apr 2014 08:38 PM PDT For the first time, researchers have been able to demonstrate that the use of helium ions in radiation therapy could provide accurate treatment to tumors while helping to spare healthy organs. A treatment planning study has been able to show that helium may have effects that are superior to radiotherapy using protons, themselves a considerable advance on conventional photon beam radiotherapy.

Prognosis of tumors positive for human papilloma virus in head and neck cancers varies according to site Posted: 05 Apr 2014 08:38 PM PDT Patients with cancer of the throat and who are positive for the Human Papilloma virus (HPV+) have a good prognosis, but until now the effect of being HPV+ on the prognosis of tumors located elsewhere in the head and neck was unknown. Researchers have now shown that HPV status appears to have no prognostic effect on the outcome of primary radiotherapy in head and neck cancer outside the oropharynx (the part of the throat located behind the mouth, and which contains the soft palate and the base of the tongue).

Calcium supplementation does not increase coronary heart disease, new study suggests Posted: 05 Apr 2014 07:50 AM PDT Researchers have shown the results of a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of calcium supplements. The results do not support the hypothesis that calcium supplementation, with or without vitamin D, increases coronary heart disease or all-cause mortality risk in elderly women.

Does a junk food diet make you lazy? Psychology study offers answer Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:19 PM PDT A new psychology study provides evidence that being overweight makes people tired and sedentary, rather than vice versa. Life scientists placed 32 female rats on one of two diets for six months. The first, a standard rat's diet, consisted of relatively unprocessed foods like ground corn and fish meal. The ingredients in the second were highly processed, of lower quality and included substantially more sugar -- a proxy for a junk food diet.

The long and the short of telomeres: Loneliness impacts DNA repair, parrot study shows Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:17 PM PDT Scientists examined the telomere length of captive African grey parrots. They found that the telomere lengths of single parrots were shorter than those housed with a companion parrot, which supports the hypothesis that social stress can interfere with cellular aging and a particular type of DNA repair. It suggests that telomeres may provide a biomarker for assessing exposure to social stress.

New test developed to detect men at high risk of prostate cancer recurrence Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:17 PM PDT A new genetic "signature" to identify prostate cancer patients who are at high risk of their cancer recurring after surgery or radiotherapy has been developed.

Brachytherapy helps maintain erectile function in prostate cancer patients without compromising treatment outcomes Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:17 PM PDT The use of permanent brachytherapy, a procedure where radioactive sources are placed inside the prostate, into or near to the tumor, preserves erectile function in approximately 50% of patients with prostate cancer.

Nowhere to hide: Kids, once protected, now influenced by tobacco marketing Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:17 PM PDT New study finds teenagers and young adults are exposed to direct mail and web coupons from tobacco manufacturers. This exposure translates into increased nicotine use among youth.

Higher social class linked to fewer bone fractures among non-white women Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:17 PM PDT Social class may play a significant role in how likely middle-aged African-American or Asian woman are to suffer bone fractures. New research suggests that a higher education level was associated with decreased fracture incidence among non-white women.

Uncommon genetic variations may contribute to ovarian cancer risk Posted: 04 Apr 2014 07:17 PM PDT Variations in a woman's genome may contribute to her risk of developing ovarian cancer. Researchers have discovered uncommon variants in new regions of the genome that influence ovarian cancer risk.

In mice, obese dads produce heavier daughters with epigenetically altered breast tissue Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:02 AM PDT Obese male mice and normal weight female mice produce female pups that are overweight at birth and in childhood, and have increased number of 'terminal end buds' in their breast tissue -- the site where breast cancer often develops in rodents. 'Researchers traditionally study the maternal link to weight and cancer risk. This unusual study demonstrates a potential paternal link as well,' says the study author.

Key component of cellular protein transport system decoded Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:00 AM PDT In their research on cellular protein transport, scientists have succeeded in characterizing the structure and function of an important element of this complex transport system. At center stage is the signal recognition particle, or SRP, the molecular "postman" for the sorting and membrane insertion of proteins.

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