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Link found between pollutants and certain metabolic complications of obesity

A team of researchers at the IRCM in Montr-al led by R-mi Rabasa-Lhoret, in collaboration with J-r-me Ruzzin from the University of Bergen in Norway, found a link between a type of pollutants and certain metabolic complications of obesity. Their breakthrough, published online this week by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, could eventually help improve the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cardiometabolic risk associated with obesity, such as diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

28 Feb 2014

Survival rates for bladder cancer in UK are falling, confirms new study

Of the top 10 cancers in the UK, bladder cancer is only one where survival rates have been shown to be getting worse. New figures published this month in the Journal of Clinical Urology confirm in a study of cases of bladder cancer in England over a 19 year period (from 1990 until 2009) that survival rates here in the UK are falling and are worse than in than in other European countries with similar incidence rates.

27 Feb 2014

Researchers use new tools to measure and track B-12 vitamins in the ocean

The phrase, 'Eat your vitamins,' applies to marine animals just like humans. Many vitamins, including B-12, are elusive in the ocean environment.

25 Feb 2014

UCLA scientists developed experimental treatment that eradicates acute type of leukemia in mice

A diverse team of scientists from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have developed an experimental treatment that eradicates an acute type of leukemia in mice without any detectable toxic side effects. The drug works by blocking two important metabolic pathways that the leukemia cells need to grow and spread.

25 Feb 2014

Newly developed compound may allow blind see light

Progressive degeneration of photoreceptors-the rods and cones of the eyes-causes blinding diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. While there are currently no available treatments to reverse this degeneration, a newly developed compound allows other cells in the eye to act like photoreceptors. As described in a study appearing in the February 19 issue of the Cell Press journal Neuron, the compound may be a potential drug candidate for treating patients suffering from degenerative retinal disorders.

20 Feb 2014

Researchers develop screening assay that quickly assesses nearly 1,500 compounds' effect on estrogen

A team of researchers at City of Hope has developed a screening assay that can quickly assess up to 1,536 compounds' effect on estrogen activity in the body. The test can also evaluate whether chemicals act as inhibitors of aromatase, an enzyme linked to breast cancer that converts androgen to estrogen.

20 Feb 2014

Experts sound alarm about the dangers of industrial chemicals on children’s health

In a Review published in The Lancet Neurology, two of the world’s leading experts on the link between environment and children’s health are sounding the alarm on the dangers of industrial chemicals. They are calling on countries to transform their chemical risk-assessment procedures in order to protect children from everyday toxins that may be causing a global “silent epidemic” of brain development disorders.

18 Feb 2014

Researchers use new technique that can partially move tumors from inoperable locations in brain

One factor that makes glioblastoma cancers so difficult to treat is that malignant cells from the tumors spread throughout the brain by following nerve fibers and blood vessels to invade new locations.

17 Feb 2014

Study describes new, cost-effective method for screening chemicals for potential environmental impact

Every year waste treatment facilities in the United States process more than eight million tons of semi-solid sewage called biosolids -- about half of which is recycled into fertilizer and spread on crop land.

17 Feb 2014

Indoor exposure to radon gas may cause of lung cancer

Pointing to startling statistics on lung cancer risks, child health and other experts in Canada are ramping up calls for families nationwide to test their homes for radon gas contamination.

14 Feb 2014

Odor-producing chemicals in earwax differ according to ethnic origin

Scientists from the Monell Center have used analytical organic chemistry to identify the presence of odor-producing chemical compounds in human earwax. Further, they found that the amounts of these compounds differ between individuals of East Asian origin and Caucasians.

13 Feb 2014

Severe skin reactions during radiation therapy could be prevented by applying silicone dressing

Severe skin reactions during radiation therapy could be prevented by applying a thin transparent silicone dressing to the skin from the first day of treatment, clinical research from New Zealand shows.

13 Feb 2014

Scientists explain why women with dense breast tissue at greater risk of developing breast cancer

Scientists from The University of Manchester working with IBM Research have identified a key biological mechanism that for the first time explains why women with dense breast tissue are at greater risk of developing breast cancer.

12 Feb 2014

Cedars-Sinai receives $1M grant to study molecular changes in brain due to air pollutants

Researchers at the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai will conduct a study to determine if several potentially toxic compounds that exist in polluted air are capable of entering the brain from the bloodstream and causing brain cancer.

12 Feb 2014

ADM commits $25 million equity investment in Rennovia

Archer Daniels Midland Company and Rennovia, Inc. announced today that ADM has committed to a $25 million equity investment in the privately held company, which develops catalysts and processes for the cost-advantaged production of chemical products from renewable feedstocks.

11 Feb 2014

Researchers shed new light on pain associated with bacterial infections

Components in the outer wall of bacteria directly activate pain sensors, triggering immediate pain and inflammatory responses. This finding by a multinational team of researchers led by Professor Karel Talavera (KU Leuven, Belgium) and Professor Félix Viana (Institute of Neuroscience, Spain) sheds new light on pain associated with bacterial infections and reveals a new target for drugs designed to treat them.

11 Feb 2014

Researchers to highlight biomedical breakthroughs, new discoveries at Biophysical Society Meeting

Ask a question about how the human immune system fights a tropical disease, or how viruses like HIV use genetic tricks to resist drugs, or how plant cells capture light, or how Alzheimer's takes hold in the brain, or how we can better fight diseases like cancer, or why some sperm cells are fertile while others are not, and you may have to narrow your gaze to the nanoscale to find answers.

10 Feb 2014

New study provides important understanding of what drives appetite

While the function of eating is to nourish the body, this is not what actually compels us to seek out food. Instead, it is hunger, with its stomach-growling sensations and gnawing pangs that propels us to the refrigerator - or the deli or the vending machine. Although hunger is essential for survival, abnormal hunger can lead to obesity and eating disorders, widespread problems now reaching near-epidemic proportions around the world.

9 Feb 2014

Falling in love causes body to release feel-good chemicals that trigger specific physical reactions

Getting struck by Cupid's arrow may very well take your breath away and make your heart go pitter-patter this Valentine's Day, reports sexual wellness specialists at Loyola University Health System.

7 Feb 2014

Research focuses on health effects from wood burning

With the winter weather still going strong, lots of people will be restocking the wood pile next to their fireplaces and wood burning stoves. Can using a wood burning stove or fireplace pose a threat to my health?

6 Feb 2014