In the first study to directly compare men and women with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and severe emphysema, researchers have found that there are marked differences between the sexes.
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Using novel light-scattering techniques, researchers have found the first evidence that early stage pancreatic cancer causes subtle changes in part of the small intestine. The easily monitored marker may ultimately allow early detection for a disease notorious for having few obvious symptoms, the primary reason pancreatic cancer killed more than 33,000 Americans last year.
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Oral intake of allergens via lactic acid bacterium Lactococcus lactis might be new strategy for treating auto-immune and allergic disorders. Researchers have shown that auto-antigens or allergens can be administered orally via the lactic acid bacterium.
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Researchers have found new evidence suggesting that colon cancer is a disease of missing hormones that could potentially be treated by hormone replacement therapy. Early in colon cancer development, two intestinal cell growth-controlling hormones are “lost,” disrupting the activity of the hormones’ receptor, GCC. Using two mouse models of colon cancer development in people, the scientists showed that GCC signaling blocks tumors from forming, meaning that colon cancer could be a disease of hormone insufficiency.
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Glial cells are gaining recognition as regulators of neuronal cell function. Through a study of circadian activity in Drosophila, researchers have identified a specific population of glial cells that is critical for a behavioral process.
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In studies with monkeys, researchers have identified in detail the brain regions responsible for the unique ability of primates, including humans, to process visual 3-D shapes to guide their sophisticated manipulation of objects.
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Using brain images of people listening to short symphonies by an obscure 18th-century composer, a research team has gained valuable insight into how the brain sorts out the chaotic world around it.
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The American Academy of Sleep Medicine advises children and teens that sleep habits adopted over the summer will need to be changed when school starts in order to ensure proper sleep.
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Researchers have discovered how genes turn on the switch that leads to prostate cancer. The team discovered that pieces of two chromosomes can trade places with each other and cause two genes to fuse together. The fused genes then override the “off” switch that keeps cells from growing uncontrollably, causing prostate cancer to develop.
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Tremors rippled the landscape of Vancouver Island, the westernmost part of British Columbia, during a major Alaskan earthquake in 2002, and geoscientists have found clear evidence that the two events were related.
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