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New evidence that aging tumor cells may be an effective cancer treatment
Date: Oct-16-2013Scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School have shown that diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) may be susceptible to treatment by re-activating the normal aging program in tumor cells so they can no longer divide. The study, published in Nature Communications, details a novel, tumor-suppressive role for the Smurf2 protein - which typically plays an "enforcer" role in cellular aging, also called senescence - in a subset of DLBCL. Identification of this novel function for Smurf2 provides a new therapeutic target for treating this cancer...
Iron supplementation benefits anemic children
Date: Oct-16-2013Anemia is an important public health and clinical problem throughout the world. Researchers from the University of Melbourne, Australia, claim that giving anemic primary school-aged children daily iron supplements provides both cognitive and physical benefits. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that approximately 25% of the world's school-aged children are anemic, with insufficient dietary iron accounting for half of all cases. Iron deficiency is associated with impaired cognitive and physical development...
New device 'speeds up foodborne pathogen detection'
Date: Oct-16-2013Scientists have created a new device that is able to concentrate foodborne salmonella and other pathogens faster than conventional methods, according to a study published in the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology. Researchers from the colleges of Engineering and Agriculture at Purdue University, Indiana, say the new system, called a continuous cell concentration device, could represent a potential tool for faster pathogen detection within the food industry...
Progressive speech and language disorders an increased risk for teachers
Date: Oct-16-2013Mayo Clinic researchers have found a surprising occupational hazard for teachers: progressive speech and language disorders. The research, recently published in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias, found that people with speech and language disorders are about 3.5 times more likely to be teachers than patients with Alzheimer's dementia. Speech and language disorders are typically characterized by people losing their ability to communicate - they can't find words to use in sentences, or they'll speak around a word...
The importance of sleep in maintaining a healthy lifestyle
Date: Oct-16-2013Three new studies show just how critical it is for adults to seek treatment for a sleep illness and aim for seven to nine hours of sleep each night in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. One study of 2,240 adults is the first to examine the link between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and mortality in Asians. Results show that all-cause mortality risk was 2.5 times higher and cardiovascular mortality risk was more than 4 times higher among people with severe OSA. The results are consistent with previous studies in the U.S. and other countries...
New method to produce artificial membranes
Date: Oct-16-2013Researchers around Dr. Michael Hirtz from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Dr. Aravind Vijayaraghavan from the University of Manchester have developed a new method to produce artificial membranes: Using a nanoscaled tip, they write tailored patches of phospholipid membrane onto a graphene substrate. The resulting biomimetic membranes, i.e. membranes simulating biological structures, allow for the specific investigation of functions of cell membranes and the development of novel applications in medicine and biotechnology, such as biosensors...
The symbolic meaning of a posture influences the psychological experiences of individuals from different cultures
Date: Oct-16-2013A new set of studies by researchers at three universities led by University at Buffalo psychologist Lora E. Park, PhD, has found that the previously assumed link between expansive body postures and power is not fixed, but depends on the type of posture enacted and people's cultural background. "Stand Tall, but Don't Put Your Feet Up: Universal and Culturally-Specific Effects of Expansive Postures on Power" is reported in the November 2013 issue of the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (Vol. 49, Issue 5)...
How the gut gets its villi
Date: Oct-16-2013Villi are small epithelial protrusions that serve to increase the surface area of the gut for efficient nutrient absorption. The mechanism of their formation during development was recently revealed by a study published in Science. The investigations, carried out by two research groups at Harvard University, were complemented by computational modelling carried out at the University of Jyvaskyla and funded by the Academy of Finland. Villification (villus formation) has previously been hypothesised to be based on an active mechanism coordinated by growth factors...
1 in 2,000 British people may carry 'mad cow' disease
Date: Oct-16-2013Around 1 in every 2,000 people in the UK may carry variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) proteins, more commonly known as "mad cow" disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). This is according to a study published in the BMJ. Variant CJD is a fatal degenerative brain disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the median duration of illness from vCJD is 14 months, while the median age at death from the disease is 28-years-old...
Lowering blood pressure through mindfulness-based stress reduction
Date: Oct-16-2013Blood pressure is effectively lowered by mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) for patients with borderline high blood pressure or "prehypertension." This finding is reported in the October issue of Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health...
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