ScienceDaily Health Headlines -- for Tuesday, January 10, 2012

ScienceDaily Health Headlines

for Tuesday, January 10, 2012

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Fibroblasts contribute to melanoma tumor growth (January 9, 2012) -- Fibroblasts, cells that play a role in the structural framework of tissues, play an apparent role in melanoma tumor growth. Fibroblasts also contribute to melanoma drug resistance and may also facilitate the "flare" response when a tumor's metabolism is enhanced following a patient being removed from a targeted therapy, said researchers. ... > full story

Quitting smoking: Starting Chantix earlier may make it easier to quit (January 9, 2012) -- Smokers planning to kick the habit may have more success if they begin using a cessation medication several weeks before they actually try to quit. ... > full story

The perils of 'bite-size' science (January 9, 2012) -- Short, fast, and frequent: Those 21st-century demands on publication have radically changed the news, politics, and culture -- for the worse, many say. Now a new article aims a critique at a similar trend in psychological research. ... > full story

How does our brain know what is a face and what's not? (January 9, 2012) -- Objects that resemble faces are everywhere. Whether it’s New Hampshire’s erstwhile granite “Old Man of the Mountain,” or Jesus’ face on a tortilla, our brains are adept at locating images that look like faces. However, the normal human brain is almost never fooled into thinking such objects actually are human faces. New research by neuroscientists helps explain how the brain recognizes faces. ... > full story

Cell membrane proteins could provide targets for broader vaccines (January 9, 2012) -- Vaccines with broader reach might be made by stimulating specialized immune cells to recognize foreign cell membrane proteins that are shared across bacterial species, say researchers. The approach could be particularly beneficial in preventing infection by multi-drug resistant organisms. ... > full story

PET effectively detects dementia, decade of research shows (January 9, 2012) -- Scientists find that a method of positron emission tomography safely and accurately detects dementia, including the most common and devastating form among the elderly, Alzheimer's disease. ... > full story

Listening to music can be effective for reducing pain in high-anxiety persons (January 9, 2012) -- Distraction is an effective pain reliever, and a new study concludes that listening to music can be effective for reducing pain in high-anxiety persons who can easily become absorbed in cognitive activities. ... > full story

Proton therapy effective prostate cancer treatment, study suggests (January 9, 2012) -- Proton therapy, a type of external beam radiation therapy, is a safe and effective treatment for prostate cancer, according to two new studies. ... > full story

Nanoparticles hold promise as potential vehicle for drug delivery in brain (January 9, 2012) -- In the images of fruit flies, clusters of neurons are all lit up, forming a brightly glowing network of highways within the brain. It's exactly what researchers were hoping to see: It meant that ORMOSIL, a novel class of nanoparticles, had successfully penetrated the insects' brains. And even after long-term exposure, the cells and the flies themselves remained unharmed. ... > full story

Maintaining balance: Blood progenitor cells receive signals from niche cells and the daughter blood cells they create (January 9, 2012) -- Maintaining balance is crucial. In Drosophila, the common fruit fly, the creation and maintenance of the blood supply requires such balance. Stem cell scientists have now uncovered that two-way signaling from two different sets of cells is necessary for that balance, both to ensure enough blood cells are made to respond to injury and infection and that the blood progenitor cell population remains available for future needs. ... > full story

Research demonstrating link between virus and MS could point the way to treatment and prevention (January 9, 2012) -- A new study from researchers at Queen Mary, University of London shows how a particular virus tricks the immune system into triggering inflammation and nerve cell damage in the brain, which is known to cause MS. ... > full story

Cell-CT: A new dimension in breast cancer research (January 9, 2012) -- Medical researchers have examined normal, benign and malignant cells, using the only research Cell-CT apparatus -- a specialized instrument capable of imaging cells in vivid 3-D with true isotropic resolution. The technology permits the examination of subtle cellular details inaccessible by more conventional forms of microscopy that are inherently 2-D. ... > full story

Drug to treat HIV in children shows promise via national clinical trial (January 9, 2012) -- For children with HIV infection, the FDA approval of the use of raltegravir, an antiretroviral drug that slows the spread of HIV infection, offers a new weapon to treat HIV infection in children. ... > full story

Low vitamin D levels linked to depression, psychiatrists report (January 9, 2012) -- Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to depression, according to psychiatrists. ... > full story

Mass prostate cancer screening doesn't reduce deaths, study suggests (January 9, 2012) -- There's new evidence that annual prostate cancer screening does not reduce deaths from the disease, even among men in their 50s and 60s and those with underlying health conditions, according to new research. ... > full story

Concussion testing makes everyone tired (January 9, 2012) -- Testing athletes for concussions may induce mental fatigue in subjects whether or not they have a head injury, according to researchers. ... > full story

Major variation in bladder cancer subtype trends highlights need for focused research (January 9, 2012) -- A major study of 128,000 patients has found significant differences between the most common cancer tumors growing inside and on the surface of the bladder. Papillary transitional cell carcinoma rose by 56% between 1973 and 2007 and non-papillary transitional cell carcinoma fell by 53% over the same period, suggest that they may be two disease entities with different causes. This significant finding underlines the importance of future research differentiating between these two subtypes. ... > full story

Researchers create a healthier cigarette (January 9, 2012) -- From a health care perspective, the best cigarette is no cigarette, but for the millions of people who try to quit smoking every year, researchers may have found a way to make cigarette smoking less toxic. ... > full story

New hope for diseases of protein folding such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s diseases, ALS, cancer and diabetes (January 8, 2012) -- Two related studies offer new strategies for tackling the challenges of preventing and treating diseases of protein folding, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases, ALS, cystic fibrosis, cancer and type 2 diabetes. The research identifies new genes and pathways that prevent protein misfolding and toxic aggregation, keeping cells healthy, and also identifies small molecules with therapeutic potential that restore health to damaged cells, providing new targets for drug development. ... > full story

Gunshot, stabbing victims are recovering without exploratory surgery (January 8, 2012) -- Although more patients with abdominal gunshot and stab wounds can successfully forego emergency “exploratory” surgery and its potential complications, new research suggests that choosing the wrong patients for this “watchful waiting” approach substantially increases their risk of death from these injuries. ... > full story

Daily Show and Colbert Report viewers are 'deep' (January 8, 2012) -- Daily Show viewers are deep. That might be a shallow analysis of the research, but “there is a segment of the political satire audience that is motivated by a deeper level of processing,” according to new research. ... > full story

How poor maternal diet can increase risk of diabetes: New mechanism discovered (January 7, 2012) -- Researchers have shown one way in which poor nutrition in the womb can put a person at greater risk of developing type 2 diabetes and other age-related diseases in later life. This finding could lead to new ways of identifying people who are at a higher risk of developing these diseases and might open up targets for treatment. ... > full story

Malignancy-risk gene signature for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer found (January 7, 2012) -- A malignancy-risk gene signature developed for breast cancer has been found to have predictive and prognostic value for patients with early stage non-small cell lung cancer. ... > full story

Moderate red wine drinking may help cut women’s breast cancer risk, study suggests (January 6, 2012) -- Drinking red wine in moderation may reduce one of the risk factors for breast cancer, providing a natural weapon to combat a major cause of death among U.S. women, new research shows. ... > full story

DNA mismatch repair happens only during a brief window of opportunity (January 6, 2012) -- In eukaryotes-the group of organisms that include humans –- a key to survival is the ability of certain proteins to quickly and accurately repair genetic errors that occur when DNA is replicated to make new cells. Researchers have solved part of the mystery of how these proteins do their job, a process called DNA mismatch repair. ... > full story

Religious beliefs battle hypertension, Norwegian study of church attendance suggests (January 6, 2012) -- Does a belief in God confer any health benefits? Researchers in Norway have found a clear relationship between time spent in church and lower blood pressure in both women and men. ... > full story

Sea snails help scientists explore a possible way to enhance memory (January 6, 2012) -- Efforts to help people with learning impairments are being aided by a species of sea snail. The mollusk, which is used by researchers to study the brain, has much in common with other species including humans. Neuroscientists have used this animal model to test an innovative learning strategy designed to help improve the brain's memory and the results were encouraging. ... > full story

What determines the capacity of short-term memory? (January 6, 2012) -- Short-term memory plays a crucial role in how our consciousness operates. Several years ago a hypothesis has been formulated, according to which capacity of short-term memory depends in a special way on two cycles of brain electric activity. Scientists have now demonstrated this experimentally for the first time. ... > full story

New drug screening identifies chemical agents with potent anti-cancer activity (January 6, 2012) -- Drugs already approved for clinical use across a variety of therapeutic categories can be screened to identify effective agents for thyroid cancer, according to a recent study. These findings could rapidly be implemented into a clinical trial to test how effective the treatment would be. ... > full story

New system may one day steer microrobots through blood vessels for disease treatment (January 6, 2012) -- Researchers use a magnetic field to generate both side-to-side and corkscrew-like motions of tiny robots. ... > full story

Why young couples aren't getting married: They fear the ravages of divorce (January 6, 2012) -- With the share of married adults at an all-time low in the United States, new research by demographers unveils clues why couples don't get married -- they fear divorce. ... > full story

Flatworm flouts fundamental rule of biology: Worm regenerates without centrosome, a structure long thought necessary for cell division (January 6, 2012) -- A tiny, freshwater flatworm found in ponds and rivers around the world that has long intrigued scientists for its remarkable ability to regenerate has now added a new wrinkle to biology. ... > full story

Scientists 'hijack' bacterial immune system (January 6, 2012) -- The knowledge that bacteria possess adaptable immune systems that protect them from individual viruses and other foreign invaders is relatively new to science, and researchers across the globe are working to learn how these systems function and to apply that knowledge in industry and medicine. Now, a team of researchers has discovered how to harness this bacterial immune system to selectively target and silence genes. ... > full story

No brakes on breast cancer cells (January 6, 2012) -- Scientists have discovered a tiny RNA molecule, called miR-520, which at once blocks two important pathways in the development of cancer in cells. In estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer, the production of this microRNA is often reduced and this is correlated with malignant behavior of tumor cells. The team has found out that tumors with low levels of miR-520 have a particularly strong tendency to metastasize. ... > full story

Novel brain tumor vaccine acts like bloodhound to locate cancer cells (January 6, 2012) -- A national U.S. clinical trial testing the efficacy of a novel brain tumor vaccine has begun. The vaccine will be tested in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive and highest grade malignant glioma. ... > full story

Why people choose running over walking (January 6, 2012) -- Other than Olympic race walkers, people generally find it more comfortable to run than walk when they start moving at around two meters per second – about 4.5 miles per hour. Biomedical engineers have discovered why: At two meters per second, running makes better use of an important calf muscle than walking, and therefore is a much more efficient use of the muscle's – and the body's – energy. ... > full story

Genetic cause of thyroid cancer discovered (January 6, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered three genes that increase the risk of thyroid cancer, which is has the largest incidence increase in cancers among both men and women. ... > full story

Nanotechnology may speed up drug testing (January 6, 2012) -- Testing the effectiveness of new pharmaceuticals may get faster thanks to a new technique incorporating quantum dots. ... > full story

Progress made toward a genital herpes vaccine (January 6, 2012) -- New research points investigators toward finding a genital herpes vaccine that works on both viruses that cause disease. ... > full story

Power does go to our heads (January 6, 2012) -- Power -- defined as the ability to influence others -- makes people think differently. For North Americans, a feeling of power leads to thinking in a focused and analytical way, which may be beneficial when pursuing personal goals. ... > full story

A smoking cessation benefit can save money for Medicaid (January 6, 2012) -- New research indicates that including comprehensive tobacco cessation benefits in Medicaid insurance coverage can result in substantial savings for Medicaid programs. The study found that every dollar spent in program costs resulted in an average program savings of .12, which represents a .12 return on investment. ... > full story

Tobacco company misrepresented danger from cigarettes, study suggests (January 6, 2012) -- A new analysis of tobacco industry documents shows that Philip Morris USA manipulated data on the effects of additives in cigarettes, including menthol, obscuring actual toxicity levels and increasing the risk of heart, cancer and other diseases for smokers, according to researchers. ... > full story

Men and women have major personality differences: New report suggests previous measurements have underestimated variation between the sexes (January 5, 2012) -- Men and women have large differences in personality, according to a new study. The existence of such differences, and their extent, has been a subject of much debate, but the authors of the new report describe a new method for measuring and analyzing personality differences that they argue is more accurate than previous methods. ... > full story

Targeted blocking of cell death prevents fatal condition septic shock, study suggests (January 5, 2012) -- Researchers have discovered a new approach to preventing septic shock, an often fatal extreme inflammatory reaction of the body. It is the most frequent cause of death at intensive care departments in hospitals. Researchers have described how blocking a particular form of cell death (necroptosis) fully protects mice against this fatal inflammation. ... > full story

Outside temperatures, sun exposure and gender may trigger glaucoma (January 5, 2012) -- When it comes to whether or not you will develop exfoliation syndrome -- an eye condition that is a leading cause of secondary open-angle glaucoma and increased risk of cataract as well as cataract surgery complications -- age, gender and where you live does matter. ... > full story

Lower classes quicker to show compassion in the face of suffering (January 5, 2012) -- Emotional differences between the rich and poor, as depicted in such Charles Dickens classics as "A Christmas Carol" and "A Tale of Two Cities," may have a scientific basis. Researchers have found that people in the lower socio-economic classes are more physiologically attuned to suffering, and quicker to express compassion than their more affluent counterparts. ... > full story

Bat brains parse sounds for multitasking (January 5, 2012) -- Imagine listening to music while carrying on a conversation with friends. This type of multi-tasking is fairly easy to do, right? That's because our brains efficiently and effectively separate the auditory signals -- music to the right side; Conversation to the left. But what researchers have not been able to do in humans or animals is to see a parsing of duties at the single neuron level -- until now. ... > full story

Changes seen in cerebrospinal fluid levels before onset of Alzheimer's disease (January 5, 2012) -- Cerebrospinal fluid levels of A-beta42 appear to be decreased at least five to 10 years before some patients with mild cognitive impairment develop Alzheimer disease (AD) dementia whereas other spinal fluid levels seem to be later markers of disease, according to a new report. ... > full story