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Scientist calls for urgent action to deal with toxic residues from electronic waste
Date: Sep-18-2013An international scientific expert has called for an urgent global effort to save the coming generation of children from being poisoned by toxic residues from the world's ever-growing garbage pile of old mobile phones, computers and electronic devices. "Electronic waste (or e-waste) is the world's fastest growing waste stream, rising by 3-5 per cent every year, due to the decreased lifespan of the average computer from six years to two," says Professor Ming Hung Wong of Hong Kong Baptist University...
Non-HDL study exposes basic lipid panel error rates of up to 50 percent
Date: Sep-18-2013Researchers examining non-HDL cholesterol (NHDLc) as an alternative to LDL cholesterol (LDLc) recently reported significant errors in risk classification when evaluating patients with the basic lipid panel. The study titled "Non-HDL Cholesterol, Guideline Targets, and Population Percentiles for Secondary Prevention in a Clinical Sample of 1.3 Million Adults" is the product of an academic-industry collaboration between Atherotech Diagnostics Lab and investigators at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Heart Disease...
Researchers identify mechanisms that oversee the development of a pro-tumor network
Date: Sep-18-2013Researchers at Roswell Park Cancer Institute (RPCI) have uncovered a new pathway by which cancer cells, such as in breast cancer, stimulate the expansion of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), a blood cell population known to interfere with the body's anti-tumor response. The findings, published online in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, shed new light on the pathological events that fuel tumor growth and could lead to the development of new therapies to hinder it. "Tumors are often described as 'wounds that do not heal," says Scott I. Abrams, Ph.D...
Why do young adults start smoking?
Date: Sep-18-2013The risk of becoming a smoker among young adults who have never smoked is high: 14% will become smokers between the ages of 18 and 24, and three factors predict this behaviour. "Smoking initiation also occurs among young adults, and in particular among those who are impulsive, have poor grades, or who use alcohol regularly," said Jennifer O'Loughlin, a Professor at the University of Montreal School of Public Health (ESPUM) and author of a Journal of Adolescent Health study published in August. O'Loughlin believes smoking prevention campaigns should also target young adults aged 18 to 24...
Doctors warn that Syria's health structure is at "breaking point"
Date: Sep-18-2013A group of 50 doctors and medical professionals from across the globe have called for the UN to provide more support to medical personnel caring for Syrians in need, warning that the country's health systems are at "breaking point", and urging Syrian authorities to immediately lift restrictions that are preventing doctors and medicines from reaching patients...
Cancer cell growth encouraged by specific sugar molecule
Date: Sep-18-2013The process of glycosylation, where sugar molecules are attached to proteins, has long been of interest to scientists, particularly because certain sugar molecules are present in very high numbers in cancer cells. It now turns out that these sugar molecules are not only present but actually aid the growth of the malignant cells. In the long term this discovery is an important step towards a cure that can stop the growth of cancer cells...
Decreasing human cases of infection by vaccinating cattle against E. coli
Date: Sep-18-2013Vaccinating cattle against the E. coli O157 bacterium could cut the number of human cases of the disease by 85%, according to scientists. The bacteria, which cause severe gastrointestinal illness and even death in humans, are spread by consuming contaminated food and water, or by contact with livestock faeces in the environment. Cattle are the main reservoir for the bacterium. The vaccines that are available for cattle are rarely used, buc could be significant...
Researchers identify new target for melanoma treatment
Date: Sep-18-2013Scientists at Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have announced the discovery that a gene encoding an enzyme, phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 (PDK1), plays an essential role in the development and progression of melanoma. The finding offers a new approach to treating this life-threatening disease. The team of researchers, led by Ze'ev Ronai, Ph.D., professor and scientific director of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute in La Jolla (San Diego, Calif.), used genetic mouse melanoma models to show the importance of the PDK1 gene in melanoma...
Smoking prevention among young adults
Date: Sep-18-2013The risk of becoming a smoker among young adults who have never smoked is high: 14% will become smokers between the ages of 18 and 24, and three factors predict this behaviour. "Smoking initiation also occurs among young adults, and in particular among those who are impulsive, have poor grades, or who use alcohol regularly," said Jennifer O'Loughlin, a Professor at the University of Montreal School of Public Health (ESPUM) and author of a Journal of Adolescent Health study published in August. O'Loughlin believes smoking prevention campaigns should also target young adults aged 18 to 24...
Dysfunctional gut microbiota closely linked to range of health issues
Date: Sep-18-2013A new understanding of the essential role of gut microbes in the immune system may hold the key to dealing with some of the more significant health problems facing people in the world today, Oregon State University researchers say in a new analysis. Problems ranging from autoimmune disease to clinical depression and simple obesity may in fact be linked to immune dysfunction that begins with a "failure to communicate" in the human gut, the scientists say...
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