Monday 1 October 2012

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


New insights on control of pituitary hormone outside of brain has implications for breast cancer

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 02:37 PM PDT

Recently, researchers have found that prolactin is also produced by some tissues outside the brain, however little is known about the functions of extra-pituitary prolactin or how its production is regulated in these tissues. The PI3K-Akt oncogenic signaling pathway in the mammary glands of mice rapidly induces cells in the breast itself to produce prolactin, which leads to breast tissue differentiation, and prolactin has long been thought to play a role in breast cancer.

Hubble portrays a dusty spiral galaxy

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 01:07 PM PDT

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided another outstanding image of a nearby galaxy -- NGC 4183, seen with a beautiful backdrop of distant galaxies and nearby stars. Located about 55 million light-years from the sun and spanning about eighty thousand light-years, NGC 4183 is a little smaller than the Milky Way. This galaxy, which belongs to the Ursa Major Group, lies in the northern constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs).

Mars Rover Opportunity working at 'Matijevic Hill'

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 01:04 PM PDT

NASA's Mars rover Opportunity, well into its ninth year on Mars, will work for the next several weeks or months at a site with some of the mission's most intriguing geological features. The site, called "Matijevic Hill," overlooks 14-mile-wide (22-kilometer-wide) Endeavour Crater. Opportunity has begun investigating the site's concentration of small spherical objects reminiscent of, but different from, the iron-rich spheres nicknamed "blueberries" at the rover's landing site nearly 22 driving miles ago (35 kilometers).

Blocking key protein could halt age-related decline in immune system, study finds

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:21 AM PDT

The older we get, the weaker our immune systems tend to become, leaving us vulnerable to infectious diseases and cancer and eroding our ability to benefit from vaccination. Now scientists have found that blocking the action of a single protein whose levels in our immune cells creep steadily upward with age can restore those cells' response to a vaccine.

Scientists find missing link between players in the epigenetic code

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:21 AM PDT

New research has established the first link between the two most fundamental epigenetic tags -- histone modification and DNA methylation -- in humans.

Common RNA pathway found in ALS and dementia

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:21 AM PDT

Two proteins previously found to contribute to ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, have divergent roles. But a new study shows that a common pathway links them.

Climate change could cripple southwestern U.S. forests: Trees face rising drought stress and mortality as climate warms

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:21 AM PDT

Combine the tree-ring growth record with historical information, climate records, and computer-model projections of future climate trends, and you get a grim picture for the future of trees in the southwestern United States, according to a new study.

Gene that causes a form of deafness discovered

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:21 AM PDT

Researchers have found a new genetic mutation responsible for deafness and hearing loss associated with Usher syndrome type 1.

Key mechanism for controlling the body's inflammatory response discovered

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:21 AM PDT

Researchers have discovered how a key molecule controls the body's inflammatory responses. The molecule, known as p110delta, fine-tunes inflammation to avoid excessive reactions that can damage the organism. The findings could be exploited in vaccine development and new cancer therapies.

Fish getting smaller as the oceans warm

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:20 AM PDT

Changes in ocean and climate systems could lead to smaller fish, according to a new study.

Governments failing to address 'global pandemic of untreated cancer pain'

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:20 AM PDT

Governments around the world are leaving hundreds of millions of cancer patients to suffer needlessly because of their failure to ensure adequate access to pain-relieving drugs, an unprecedented new international survey reveals.

Novel pathogen epidemic identified in sub-Saharan Africa: Spread of human invasive non-Typhoidal Salmonella tracked

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 11:15 AM PDT

Researchers have found that the spread of a dangerous bacteria that can be fatal in up to 45% of people infected in sub-Sahara Africa may have been instigated by the emergence and spread of HIV in Africa. The study also found that one of the major contributing factors for the successful spread of the disease – non-Typhoidal Salmonella (iNTS) – was the acquisition of genes that afford resistance to several front line drugs used to treat blood-borne infection such as iNTS.

New weapons in the fight against cancer

Posted: 30 Sep 2012 09:07 AM PDT

Several new first-in-human studies for drugs targeted against a range of cancers have just been released.

Studies show advances in gastrointestinal cancer treatments

Posted: 29 Sep 2012 11:02 AM PDT

New trial data showing improvements in the treatment of esophageal and gastrointestinal cancers were recently released.

Wide discrepancy in multidrug surveillance among intensive care units

Posted: 28 Sep 2012 09:51 AM PDT

Screening practices for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in intensive care units (ICUs) vary widely from hospital to hospital, according to a new study.

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