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Researchers uncover mechanism that helps white fat cells to become browner

White adipose tissue stores excess calories as fat that can be released for use in other organs during fasting. Mammals also have small amounts of brown adipose tissue, which primarily acts as an effective fat burner for the production of heat. Now researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have uncovered the mechanism by which white fat cells from humans gets reprogrammed to become browner.

14 Dec 2014

Researchers assemble first high-resolution, 3-D maps of folded genomes

In a triumph for cell biology, researchers have assembled the first high-resolution, 3-D maps of entire folded genomes and found a structural basis for gene regulation -- a kind of "genomic origami" that allows the same genome to produce different types of cells. The research appears online today in Cell.

14 Dec 2014

Oncotype DX assay linked to decrease in chemotherapy use in younger patients

In what's believed to be one of the largest population-based studies of Oncotype DX ever conducted, researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center have found that the commercial diagnostic tool, Oncotype DX, was associated with a decrease in chemotherapy use in younger patients, but not in those over 66 years of age.

14 Dec 2014

People need to watch distinct warning signs of holiday depression

While the holidays are a time of merriment and festivities for many, some people struggle with depression during this time of year.

14 Dec 2014

Laurie T. Krug named Stony Brook University Discovery Prize Fellow

Laurie T. Krug, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at Stony Brook University, is the first early career scientist to be named Stony Brook University Discovery Prize Fellow, a new philanthropically-sponsored award established to fund high-risk, high-reward basic research projects.

14 Dec 2014

Deoxygenated hemoglobin triggers conversion of nitrite to nitric oxide

Understanding how nitrite can improve conditions such as hypertension, heart attack and stroke has been the object of worldwide research studies. New research from Wake Forest University has potentially moved the science one step closer to this goal.

14 Dec 2014

New study analyses prevalence of domestic violence against pregnant women

A new study analyses the violent behaviours exhibited towards pregnant women. While 21% of women suffer emotional violence during pregnancy, 3.6% encounter physical or sexual violence. Furthermore, 36.1% of those who reported physical violence claimed that it happened "very often" or "daily".

14 Dec 2014

New technique could help diagnose cancerous, pre-cancerous conditions

Since the first "catalog" of the normal bacterial makeup of the human body was published in 2012, numerous connections between illness and disturbances in the human microbiota have been found. This week, scientists report yet another: Cancerous tumors in the ascending colon (the part nearest to the small intestine) are characterized by biofilms, which are dense clumps of bacterial cells encased in a self-produced matrix.

14 Dec 2014

GSA announces recipients of 2015 Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Awards

The Genetics Society of America and the Drosophila research community are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2015 Victoria Finnerty Undergraduate Travel Awards. These awards support travel costs for undergraduates engaged in research to attend the Annual Drosophila Research Conference sponsored by GSA.

14 Dec 2014

Penn researchers find effective way to inhibit inflammatory response during kidney dialysis

Frequent kidney dialysis is essential for the approximately 350,000 end-stage renal disease (ESRD) patients in the United States. But it can also cause systemic inflammation, leading to complications such as cardiovascular disease and anemia, and patients who rely on the therapy have a five-year survival rate of only 35 percent. Such inflammation can be triggered when the complement cascade, part of the body's innate immune system, is inadvertently activated by modern polymer-based dialysis blood filters.

14 Dec 2014

TGen uncovers way to track cause of neurological disorder in a young girl

Using a basic genetic difference between men and women, the Translational Genomics Research Institute has uncovered a way to track down the source of a neurological disorder in a young girl.

14 Dec 2014

New study finds that immune cells in the brain may contribute to obesity

Immune cells perform a previously unsuspected role in the brain that may contribute to obesity, according to a new study by UC San Francisco researchers.

14 Dec 2014

Study sheds light on clinical and biological characteristics of male breast cancer

Results of the EORTC10085/TBCRC/BIG/NABCG International Male Breast Cancer Program conducted in both Europe and in the United States and presented at the 2014 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium found significant improvement in survival for men with breast cancer, but this improvement was not as good as that observed for women.

14 Dec 2014

Boston Scientific Precision Spectra SCS System provides sustained relief for low back pain patients

New retrospective data evaluating the Boston Scientific Corporation Precision Spectra Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) System demonstrate that the device provided sustained, highly significant relief of low back pain 12 months after implantation.

14 Dec 2014

ALS Association announces research funds to further understand genetic cause of ALS

The ALS Association is pleased to announce the award of $326,662 in research funds to expand ongoing natural history studies in order to further understand the most common genetic cause of ALS, in preparation for clinical trials in those whose disease is affected by this gene.

14 Dec 2014

Genomic Health reports positive results from Oncotype DX clinical study in women with DCIS

Genomic Health, Inc. today announced positive results from the second large clinical validation study of Oncotype DX in patients with a pre-invasive form of breast cancer known as DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ).

13 Dec 2014

Figitumumab development discontinued for non-adenocarcinoma NSCLC

Adding the novel insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor inhibitor figitumumab to the epidermal growth factor receptor–tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib does not improve survival in patients with non-adenocarcinoma non-small-cell lung carcinoma, research shows.

12 Dec 2014

Postoperative recurrent disease affects NSCLC survival after gefitinib

Patients with postoperative recurrent non-small-cell lung cancer harbouring epidermal growth factor receptor mutations have longer progression-free and overall survival with gefitinib treatment, than those with stage IV disease, Japanese researchers report.

12 Dec 2014

Metastatic lung cancer outcomes independent of KRAS mutation subtypes

Overall survival in patients with metastatic lung cancer does not correlate with Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homologue mutation subtypes, US researchers report.

12 Dec 2014

New study investigates use of DNA barcoding to test authenticity of popular herbal supplements

Dr. Damon Little, Associate Curator of Bioinformatics in the Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics at The New York Botanical Garden, has just published a new study in the journal Genome investigating the use of DNA barcoding to test the authenticity of Ginkgo biloba (G. biloba), an herbal dietary supplement sold to consumers that is supposed to boost cognitive capacity.

12 Dec 2014