UCSF scientists have illuminated a key step in a signaling pathway that helps orchestrate embryonic development. The finding, they say, could lead to insights into the development of stem cells, as well as birth defects and cancers, and thus fuel therapeutic strategies.
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Researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center have identified a second promising treatment target for glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most deadly types of brain tumors. The research results are reported in the October issue of Molecular Cancer Research.
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A dairy cow’s rumen can act as a biological filter, breaking down most perchlorate in feed, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
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A new study released at the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Gastroenterology confirms that patients with diabetes are significantly more likely to have colon cancer than individuals without diabetes.
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The discovery Stanford researchers in the School of Engineering announce in the Oct. 27 issue of the journal Nature is one that may enable a tiny modulator-a solid-state shutter-made of silicon and germanium. Because silicon and germanium are elements common in semiconductor manufacturing, the modulator could be built into chips easily and cheaply.
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A study by a University of Vermont psychology professor shows that cognitive behavioral therapy is more effective in the long term than light therapy in combating Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). CBT shows patients how learned behaviors and ingrained negative thought patterns contribute to their symptoms. Sitting inactively in front of a light box for 1-2 hours a day, the study’s author says, is not only impractical, it may actually contribute to the problem. SAD season typically begins around October 30th.
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Using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to view the ninth planet in our solar system, astronomers discovered Pluto may have not one, but three moons. If confirmed, the discovery of the two new moons could offer insights into the nature and evolution of the Pluto system; Kuiper Belt Objects with satellite systems; and the early Kuiper Belt. The Kuiper Belt is a vast region of icy, rocky bodies beyond Neptune’s orbit.
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A collaboration of researchers, led by Dr. Martine Roussel (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital), has developed a novel mouse model of medulloblastoma — the most prevalent malignant pediatric brain tumor — that the researchers hope will more accurately represent the genetic changes involved in human brain tumor development.
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A newly developed method that detects tiny bits of zircon in rock reliably predicts the age of ocean crust more than 99 percent of the time, making the technique the most accurate so far. After collecting zircon-bearing samples of ocean crust, the scientists used a Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe (SHRIMP) to determine the absolute ages of 17 samples from Atlantis Bank about 75 miles south of the Southwest Indian Ridge in the southern Indian Ocean.
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A new study of gender and risk factors for colorectal cancer reveals that while both tobacco and alcohol increase risk for colorectal cancer, women who smoke are at higher risk.
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