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New approach for early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic tumors are one of the most lethal cancers, with fewer than five percent of patients surviving five years after diagnosis. But a new study that peers deeply into the genetics of pancreatic cancer presents a bit of good news an opportunity for early diagnosis. In contrast to earlier predictions, many pancreatic tumors are, in fact, slow growing, taking nearly 20 years to become lethal after the first genetic perturbations appear.

29 Oct 2010

UCLA researchers receive grant to develop medical products against radiation exposure

Researchers in the Radiation Oncology Department at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have received a $14 million grant to develop countermeasures that will help treat damage caused by radiological or nuclear threats such as a dirty bomb attack.

25 Oct 2010

Australian stem cell line offers fresh approach to diabetes cure

Australian researchers have developed the country’s first diabetes specific stem cell line, a major advance for patients suffering from the chronic disease.

21 Oct 2010

Highlights of Frontiers in Optics 2010/Laser Science XXVI Meeting

Scientists and engineers from around the world will gather on the shores of Lake Ontario in Rochester, N.Y. next week to discuss some of the latest breakthroughs in lasers and optics and their applications to cutting-edge science, the development of new materials, and medicine.

21 Oct 2010

Turmeric component enhances chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer

Curcumin, the major component in the spice turmeric, when combined with the drug Cisplatin enhances the chemotherapy's suppression of head and neck cancer cell growth, researchers with UCLA's Jonsson Cancer Center have found.

20 Oct 2010

New microchip technology to identify neuronal regenerators

Scientists have long sought the ability to regenerate nerve cells, or neurons, which could offer a new way to treat spinal-cord damage as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. Many chemicals can regenerate neurons grown in Petri dishes in the lab, but it's difficult and time-consuming to identify those chemicals that work in live animals, which is critical for developing drugs for humans.

12 Oct 2010

Paper describes new method for studying bacterial infection of orthopedic implants

A research team, co-headed by Dr. Woo Lee and Dr. Hongjun Wang of Stevens Institute of Technology, has published a paper describing a new method that generates three-dimensional tissue models for studying bacterial infection of orthopedic implants. Dr. Joung-Hyun Lee of Stevens, and Dr. Jeffrey Kaplan of the New Jersey Dental School, are co-authors of the research.

7 Oct 2010

Corning acquires Plaslab

Corning Incorporated announced today that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of all outstanding shares of Plaslab S.A.S. from certain investment funds managed by Qualium Investissement and from the other shareholders of Plaslab. Plaslab is the holding company of Plastiques Gosselin.

4 Oct 2010

Researchers create device to find ways to improve commonly used treatment for 'water on the brain'

Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) scientists participated in a study with researchers from the University of Utah that could help find ways to improve shunt systems used to treat the neurological disorder hydrocephalus, or "water on the brain," the leading cause of brain surgery for children in the United States. Researchers studied the shunt systems under a variety of conditions by creating a bioreactor that mimics the environment inside patients.

24 Sep 2010

Cranberry juice prevents urinary tract infections: Study

Scientists reported new evidence on the effectiveness of that old folk remedy cranberry juice for urinary tract infections at the ACS' 240th National Meeting. "A number of controlled clinical trials these are carefully designed and conducted scientific studies done in humans have concluded that cranberry juice really is effective for preventing urinary tract infections," said Terri Anne Camesano, Ph.D., who led the study.

16 Sep 2010

Researchers create artificial human ovary to yield infertility treatments for cancer patients

Researchers at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital have invented the first artificial human ovary, an advance that provides a potentially powerful new means for conducting fertility research and could also yield infertility treatments for cancer patients. The team has already used the lab-grown organ to mature human eggs.

15 Sep 2010

WPI researchers: Cranberry juice cocktail blocks strain of S. aureus

Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) from beginning the process of infection.

2 Sep 2010

Researchers identify molecule to slow down dysfunctional immune response in hemorrhagic shock

Researchers have isolated a molecule, small enough to be used as a drug, that can shut down a dysfunctional immune response that causes deadly hemorrhagic shock, results in delayed death of heart attack patients, promotes rejection of transplanted organs and destroys joints in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, according to a paper published in Molecular Immunology.

27 Aug 2010

Today's opinions: Rep. Ryan's plan to aid Medicare; The burden on health law supporters in Va.; Evaluating Medicare actuary's estimates

Only in Washington could the government raid one entitlement program to finance a brand-new one and still claim that deficits have been reduced and entitlements have been reformed (Rep. Paul Ryan, 8/13).

13 Aug 2010

Study shows link between fructose and pancreatic cancer proliferation

Pancreatic cancers use the sugar fructose, very common in the Western diet, to activate a key cellular pathway that drives cell division, helping the cancer to grow more quickly, a study by researchers at UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center has found.

4 Aug 2010

Cancer cells utilize fructose as an alternative to glucose for fueling growth: Study

A study published in the August issue of Cancer Research has resulted in several premature and potentially misleading conclusions when it comes to fructose and its effect on pancreatic tumor cells. Unfortunately, the media covering this story, and even the authors, have been too quick to extrapolate the results of laboratory research on pure fructose to real-world conditions, which is not appropriate or helpful to consumers.

4 Aug 2010

An overview of AAPM annual meeting

AAPM is the premier organization in medical physics, a broadly-based scientific and professional discipline encompassing physics principles and applications in medicine and biology. Its membership includes medical physicists who specialize in research that develops cutting-edge technologies and board-certified clinical medical physicists who apply these technologies in community hospitals, clinics, and academic medical centers.

16 Jul 2010

Highlights of AAPM 52nd meeting

The 52nd meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) convenes from July 18 - 22, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA.

14 Jul 2010

Individual cells react differently to complex signals: Study

Using new technology that allows scientists to monitor how individual cells react in the complex system of cell signaling, Stanford University researchers have uncovered a much larger spectrum of differences between each cell than ever seen before.

29 Jun 2010

Studying cells in 3-D could help develop drugs to prevent cancer from spreading: Researchers

Showing movies in 3-D has produced a box-office bonanza in recent months. Could viewing cell behavior in three dimensions lead to important advances in cancer research? A new study led by Johns Hopkins University engineers indicates it may happen. Looking at cells in 3-D, the team members concluded, yields more accurate information that could help develop drugs to prevent cancer's spread.

22 Jun 2010