Monday, April 20, 2009

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

At Risk For Kidney Disease? Check Your Genes

Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT

Genetic differences can influence one's risk of developing proteinuria, a condition that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease, according to a new study. The results may be important for determining patients' health risks and for devising new medical treatments.

Hedgerow Trees 'Key To UK Biodiversity'

Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT

Paying farmers to protect and establish more hedgerow trees could be crucial to halting the decline in biodiversity in the British landscape, scientists have found.

New Ultrasound-guided Biopsy Method Allows Improved Diagnosis Of Endometrial Disease

Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT

A procedure used in conjunction with a vaginal ultrasound might make it easier to visualize and diagnose diseases in the lining of the uterus, researchers have found.

Using PET/CT Imaging, Researchers Can Now Tell After Single Treatment If Chemotherapy Is Working

Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT

Oncologists often have to wait months before they can determine whether a treatment is working. Now, using a non-invasive method, researchers have shown that they can determine after a single cycle of chemotherapy whether the toxic drugs are killing the cancer or not.

Trouble Sleeping Leads To Increased Ratings Of Pain In Cancer Patients, Study Suggests

Posted: 19 Apr 2009 08:00 PM PDT

A new study suggests that sleep problems lead to increased pain and fatigue in cancer patients. The results indicate that interventions aimed at trouble sleeping would be expected to improve both pain and fatigue in this patient population.

Solar Systems Around Dead Suns?

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Astronomers have found that at least 1 in 100 white dwarf stars show evidence of orbiting asteroids and rocky planets, suggesting these objects once hosted Solar Systems similar to our own.

Glorious Orion: Chaotic And Overcrowded Stellar Nursery

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Astronomers have completed the most wide-ranging census ever produced of dynamical star formation in and around the well-known Great Nebula of Orion. They have found this stellar nursery to be a lively and somewhat overcrowded place, with young stars emitting gas jets in all directions, creating quite a chaotic picture and demonstrating there is much more going on in Orion than previously thought.

Urine Test May Determine If A Smoker Is At Risk For Lung Cancer

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Researchers may have uncovered why lung cancer afflicts some smokers and not others.

New Drug Achieves Pancreatic Cancer Tumor Remission And Prevents Recurrence, Study Suggests

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest cancers, but researchers may have found a combination therapy to reduce cancer stem cells and stop pancreatic cancer growth. Treatment with gemcitabine and tigatuzumab resulted in the reduction of pancreatic cancer stem cells, caused tumor remission, and significantly increased time-to-tumor progression in 50 percent of treated cases from a median of 54 days to 103 days.

Astronomers Discover Local Star's Cool Companion

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Astronomers have discovered one of the coolest sub-stellar bodies ever found outside our own solar system, orbiting the red dwarf star Wolf 940, some 40 light years from Earth.

Solar Flares: Solar Sigmoids Explained

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

'Sigmoids' are S-shaped structures found in the outer atmosphere of the Sun (the corona), seen with X-ray telescopes and thought to be a crucial part of explosive events like solar flares. Now a group of astronomers have developed the first model to reproduce and explain the nature of the different stages of a sigmoid's life.

New Effort To Discover Habitable Earth-like Planets Around Other Stars

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Astronomers have announced plans to build an ultra-stable, high-precision spectrograph for the Science and Technology Facilities Council's 4.2-m William Herschel Telescope in an effort to discover habitable Earth-like planets around other stars.

Byproducts Of Biofuels Could Be Economically Viable For Growers

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Scientists have found environmentally and economically sound uses for the byproducts of biofuel production.

Salmonella Strain's Path To Virulence Uncovered

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Scientists have uncovered genetic evidence about the evolutionary path that transformed Salmonella enteritidis from an innocuous bacterium into a virulent pathogen.

How Plants Protect Us From Disease

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Everyday foods, beverages, and spices contain healthful compounds that help us fight harmful inflammation. And, in doing that, these phytochemicals—the resveratrol in red wine or the catechins in green, white and black teas, for instance—may also reduce our risk of diseases associated with chronic inflammation, including cancer and diabetes.

Closing In On Goat Scrapie

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Goats are tough, spirited animals, but they're no match for scrapie, a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy. Now, with a "helping hand" from science, the animals' plight could take a turn for the better.

Estimating Crop Residue From Space Via Satellite

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

How much of America's croplands are being farmed using conservation tillage? Scientists are developing techniques to use satellites to answer that question.

Adding Walnuts To Good Diet May Help Older People Improve Motor And Behavioral Skills

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Adding a moderate, but not high, amount of walnuts to an otherwise healthy diet may help older individuals improve performance on tasks that require motor and behavioral skills, according to an animal model study. Walnuts contain polyphenols and other antioxidants and essential fatty acids.

Analyzing Caffeine In Selected Dietary Supplements

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

About half of adults in the United States report consuming dietary supplements regularly. What they may not know is that some of these supplements contain caffeine, even if it's not listed on the label. Now, scientists have analyzed a number of caffeine-containing products to explore caffeine levels in segments of the U.S. dietary supplement market.

Bacteria Tapped To Battle Crop-Damaging Roundworms

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Beneficial bacteria, aided by a "cocktail" of potent natural compounds, may offer a way to biologically control soybean cyst nematodes and other crop-damaging roundworms.

Bridging The Gap In Nanoantennas

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Scientists have developed an innovative method for controlling light on the nanoscale by adopting tuning concepts from radio-frequency technology. The method opens the door for targeted design of antenna-based applications including highly sensitive biosensors and extremely fast photodetectors, which could play an important role in future biomedical diagnostics and information processing.

Personalized Medicine Helps Cancer Patients Survive

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Cancer patients can survive longer under treatments based on their individual genetic profiles, according to a nationwide study. The study shows that molecular profiling of patients can identify specific treatments for individuals, helping keep their cancer in check for significantly longer periods and in some cases even shrinking tumors.

Blueberries May Help Reduce Belly Fat, Diabetes Risk

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Could eating blueberries help get rid of belly fat? And could a blueberry-enriched diet stem the conditions that lead to diabetes? A new University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center study suggests so.

Brain Metastases Hijack Neuron-supporting Cells To Resist Chemotherapy

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Cancer that spreads to other organs finds a sanctuary against treatment in the brain. New research shows that astrocytes are subverted to support metastases and that en bloc removal of tumors reduces the likelihood the cancer will spread irretrievably to spinal fluid.

New Biomarker May Predict Leukemia Aggressiveness

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Scientists have evidence of a potential new biomarker to predict the aggressiveness of an often difficult-to-treat form of leukemia. They found that high levels of a particular enzyme in the blood are an indicator that chronic lymphocytic leukemia -- the most common form of adult leukemia -- will be aggressive and in need of immediate treatment.

Cancer Survivors, Caregivers Benefit From Online Survivorship Care Plan, Survey Shows

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

An online tool that provides cancer survivors and their family members with an easy-to-follow roadmap for managing their health as they finish treatment and transition to life as a survivor got high marks from users, according to new research.

Genetic Variations In MiRNA Processing Pathway And Binding Sites Help Predict Ovarian Cancer Risk

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Genetic variations in the micro-RNA processing pathway genes and miRNA binding sites predict a woman's risk for developing ovarian cancer and her prospects for survival, researchers report.

Experimental Agents May Prevent Radiation-induced Leukemia

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

Treatment with biphosphonates could prevent radiation-induced leukemia, according to new research.

How P53 Mutations Link To High-grade Breast Cancer, Poor Outcomes

Posted: 18 Apr 2009 09:00 PM PDT

In what is believed to be the largest study of its kind in the US, researchers have found that almost 26 percent of women studied who have breast cancer have mutations in a gene important in controlling cell growth and death, and that patients with mutations in this gene -- known as p53 -- had poorer outcomes including a significantly increased risk of death from the cancer.

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