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Study Sheds New Light on the Progression and Invasiveness of Ductal Breast Cancer
Khoisan populations developed differentially
Bioengineers lead NIH Center to Map the Gene Activities of Individual Cells in Human Cortex
Reprogramming cell identity in the pituitary gland
Scientists identify likely origins of vertebrate air breathing
Obese Teen Boys Have Up to 50 Percent Less Testosterone than Lean Boys
Eating Lots of Carbs, Sugar May Raise Risk of Cognitive Impairment, Mayo Clinic Study Finds
Physics Explains How Sickling Cells Make People Sick
Agricultural solutions for climate-nitrogen management in a hot, unpredictable world
Marriage, education can help improve well-being of adults abused as children
Genetic error linked to rare disease that causes chronic respiratory infections
Foot, knee and hip pain a problem in obese children
Social Contact Can Ease Pain Related to Nerve Damage, Animal Study Suggests
Starvation hormone markedly extends mouse life span, researchers report
New ways to ID women who have higher risk of breast cancer from low-dose radiation
Study Suggests Intermittent Binge Drinking Could Cause Significant Brain Impairment Within Months
Brain’s language center has multiple roles

Study Sheds New Light on the Progression and Invasiveness of Ductal Breast Cancer

Posted: 17 Oct 2012 05:05 AM PDT

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is considered a precursor lesion for invasive breast cancer if untreated, and is found in approximately 45% of patients with invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC). Patients with DCIS only (not accompanied by invasive disease) have a 5-year-survival of nearly 100%, compared to 89% for all stages of invasive breast cancer (24% for patients with distant metastasis).

Khoisan populations developed differentially

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:55 PM PDT

Populations in southern Africa that speak non-Bantu languages characterized by click consonants fall into two major groups that share a genetic link with eastern African hunter-gatherers. Scientists have long debated whether populations in eastern and southern Africa that speak non-Bantu languages with click consonants descend from a common ancestor. The most comprehensive survey of genetic diversity in these populations to date provides strong evidence for a genetic link between eastern and southern Africa.

Bioengineers lead NIH Center to Map the Gene Activities of Individual Cells in Human Cortex

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 02:07 PM PDT

Bioengineers at the University of California, San Diego have received a $9.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish a single-cell genomics center and develop a three-dimensional map of gene activities in individual cells in the human cortex. Researchers believe understanding variations between individual cells within the same tissue may be critical to understanding the origins of diseases, including brain disorders. The cerebral cortex is the outer layer of neural tissue responsible for cognitive functions including memory, attention and decisionmaking.

Reprogramming cell identity in the pituitary gland

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:24 PM PDT

A team of researchers at the IRCM, supervised by Dr. Jacques Drouin, reprogrammed the identity of cells in the pituitary gland and identified critical mechanisms of epigenetic cell programming. This important discovery, published today by the scientific journal Genes & Development, could eventually lead to new pharmacological targets for the treatment of Cushing’s disease.

Scientists identify likely origins of vertebrate air breathing

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:17 PM PDT

University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists have identified what they think is the ancestral trait that allowed for the evolution of air breathing in vertebrates. They will present their research at the 42nd annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience Oct. 17 in New Orleans.

“To breathe air with a lung you need more than a lung, you need neural circuitry that is sensitive to carbon dioxide,” said Michael Harris, a UAF neuroscientist and lead researcher on a project investigating the mechanisms that generate and control breathing.

Obese Teen Boys Have Up to 50 Percent Less Testosterone than Lean Boys

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 12:03 PM PDT

A study by the University at Buffalo shows for the first time that obese males ages 14 to 20 have up to 50 percent less total testosterone than do normal males of the same age, significantly increasing their potential to be impotent and infertile as adults.

The paper was published online as an accepted article in Clinical Endocrinology.

Eating Lots of Carbs, Sugar May Raise Risk of Cognitive Impairment, Mayo Clinic Study Finds

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 11:57 AM PDT

People 70 and older who eat food high in carbohydrates have nearly four times the risk of developing mild cognitive impairment, and the danger also rises with a diet heavy in sugar, Mayo Clinic researchers have found. Those who consume a lot of protein and fat relative to carbohydrates are less likely to become cognitively impaired, the study found. The findings are published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

The research highlights the importance of a well-rounded diet, says lead author Rosebud Roberts, M.B., Ch.B., a Mayo Clinic epidemiologist.

Physics Explains How Sickling Cells Make People Sick

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 10:51 AM PDT

Researchers at Drexel University have identified the physical forces in red blood cells and blood vessels underlying the painful symptoms of sickle cell disease. Their experiment, the first to answer a scientific question about sickle cell disease using microfluidics engineering methods, may help future researchers better determine who is at greatest risk of harm from the disease. They report their findings in Cell Press’s Biophysical Journal today.

Agricultural solutions for climate-nitrogen management in a hot, unpredictable world

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 10:44 AM PDT

After this summer’s crippling drought killed crops and weakened livestock, new attention is being paid to agriculture and climate – both in developing ways farmers can cope with more unpredictable weather, and practices to reduce the release of greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide that worsen climate change.

Marriage, education can help improve well-being of adults abused as children

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:32 AM PDT

Researchers investigating the long-term consequences of child abuse have identified some protective factors that can improve the health of victims during their adulthood.

Men and women in their 30s who had been abused or neglected as children reported worse mental and physical health than their non-abused peers. But being married or having graduated from high school buffered the severity of their symptoms.

Genetic error linked to rare disease that causes chronic respiratory infections

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:28 AM PDT

Scanning the DNA of two people with a rare disease has led scientists to identify the precise genetic error responsible for their disorder, primary ciliary dyskinesia.

The condition affects the tiny hair-like structures, called cilia, that extend from various cells in the body, and causes a range of symptoms: persistent lung, sinus and ear infections, male infertility, and sometimes a reversed orientation of major organs in the body.

Foot, knee and hip pain a problem in obese children

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:19 AM PDT

Pain in the lower extremities - feet, ankles, knees and hips - contributes to both poor physical function and a reduced quality of life in obese children, according to a new study by Dr. Sharon Bout-Tabaku and colleagues, from Nationwide Children's Hospital and The Ohio State University in the US. Their work shows that obese children with lower extremity pain have worse physical function and poorer psychological health than obese children without lower extremity pain. Their findings appear online in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research®, published by Springer.

Social Contact Can Ease Pain Related to Nerve Damage, Animal Study Suggests

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:15 AM PDT

Companionship has the potential to reduce pain linked to nerve damage, according to a new study.

Mice that were paired with a cage-mate showed lower pain responses and fewer signs of inflammation in their nervous system after undergoing surgery that affected their nerves than did isolated mice, suggesting that the social contact had both behavioral and physiological influences.

The social contact lowered the pain response and signs of inflammation even in animals that had experienced stress prior to the nerve injury.

Starvation hormone markedly extends mouse life span, researchers report

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 09:09 AM PDT

A study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers finds that a starvation hormone markedly extends life span in mice without the need for calorie restriction.

New ways to ID women who have higher risk of breast cancer from low-dose radiation

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 08:37 AM PDT

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have identified tissue mechanisms that may influence a woman’s susceptibility or resistance to breast cancer after exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation, such as the levels used in full-body CT scans and radiotherapy.

Study Suggests Intermittent Binge Drinking Could Cause Significant Brain Impairment Within Months

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 08:26 AM PDT

A study of binge-drinking rodents suggests that knocking back a few drinks every few days may swiftly reduce one’s capacity to control alcohol intake. Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) found signs of cognitive impairment in rats similar to that seen in established alcoholism after the animals had only a few months of intermittent access to alcohol.

Brain’s language center has multiple roles

Posted: 16 Oct 2012 08:17 AM PDT

A century and a half ago, French physician Pierre Paul Broca found that patients with damage to part of the brain’s frontal lobe were unable to speak more than a few words. Later dubbed Broca’s area, this region is believed to be critical for speech production and some aspects of language comprehension.