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MGH study reveals effects of obesity on pancreatic and breast cancer

Massachusetts General Hospital investigators may have uncovered a novel mechanism behind the ability of obesity to promote cancer progression. In their report published online in the journal Clinical Cancer Research, the research team describes finding an association between obesity and an overabundance of a factor called PlGF (placental growth factor) and that PlGF's binding to its receptor VEGFR-1, which is expressed on immune cells within tumors, promotes tumor progression.

12 Feb 2016

Silicon Biosystems Menarini, Macrogen to jointly develop genomic cancer tests

Silicon Biosystems Menarini and Macrogen, Inc. today announced they will form a partnership to provide clinical assays and innovative procedures for precision medicine in cancer.

12 Feb 2016

Distinctive gene 'signature' may lead to new way to diagnose Lyme disease

Researchers at UC San Francisco and Johns Hopkins may have found a new way to diagnose Lyme disease, based on a distinctive gene "signature" they discovered in white blood cells of patients infected with the tick-borne bacteria.

12 Feb 2016

Transition from milk-based diet to family food impacts Infants’ gut bacteria

It is the transition to eating the family's food and not the weight of the mother that has the greatest impact on the composition of gut bacteria in nine-month-old children.

12 Feb 2016

Atypical heart attack symptoms lead to delayed treatment, increased injury in women

When having a heart attack, most people will experience some kind of chest pain or pressure that worsens. Pain and pressure, along with sweating, shortness of breath and pain that migrates into the arms or neck are the typical heart attack symptoms.

12 Feb 2016

Mechanistic understanding of sneezing can help map spread of infections

Here's some incentive to cover your mouth the next time you sneeze: New high-speed videos captured by MIT researchers show that as a person sneezes, they launch a sheet of fluid that balloons, then breaks apart in long filaments that destabilize, and finally disperses as a spray of droplets, similar to paint that is flung through the air.

12 Feb 2016

Humans can tolerate parasites responsible for sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis

Humans can tolerate the parasites responsible for the sleeping sickness, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis for many years.

12 Feb 2016

New research findings uncover lifestyle secrets of ‘mindlessly slim’

You know that one friend that never worries about weight and seems to stay effortlessly slim? That friend, and others like them might unknowingly possess secrets to helping those who struggle with their weight.

12 Feb 2016

Tick genome study sheds light on occurrences of Lyme disease

After a decade-long research effort the genome of the deer tick has been sequenced by an international team of scientists, including researchers from the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics.

12 Feb 2016

Animal study shows link between oxygen-sensing neurons and fat-burning circuit

A new study in animal models, led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is the first to show that oxygen sensing in the brain has a role in metabolism and sensing an organism's internal state.

12 Feb 2016

Marijuana use among U.S. adults not as high as predicted before

Marijuana use is on the rise, with an estimated 12.5 percent of adults living in the United States reportedly using the drug at least once in 2013, according to a new study that looked at drug usage over the span of a decade.

12 Feb 2016

Poor physical fitness in middle age linked to smaller brain size 20 years later

Poor physical fitness in middle age may be linked to a smaller brain size 20 years later, according to a study published in the February 10, 2016, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

12 Feb 2016

Interplay between gene variant and socio-economic environment may determine girls' food choices

If you're fat, can you blame it on your genes? The answer is a qualified yes. Maybe. Under certain circumstances. Researchers are moving towards a better understanding of some of the roots of obesity.

12 Feb 2016

Pioneering technique shows promise for new medical diagnostics, targeted drug delivery

Living systems rely on a dizzying variety of chemical reactions essential to development and survival. Most of these involve a specialized class of protein molecules--the enzymes.

12 Feb 2016

Gastric bypass surgery linked to long-term survival for patients over age 35

New research from Brigham Young University finds that patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery after the age of 35 see a major improvement in long-term survival.

12 Feb 2016

People who feel older may end up in hospital as they age

People who feel older than their peers are more likely to be hospitalized as they age, regardless of their actual age or other demographic factors, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.

12 Feb 2016

Study confirms no detectable difference when switching between generics

While approved generics are required to be equivalent to their brand-named counterparts in terms of active ingredients, some may wonder if a switch between generics could cause problems for someone who relies on daily medication to control a severe, chronic condition, like seizures.

12 Feb 2016

Nutrients in food may influence our genes

Almost all of our genes may be influenced by the food we eat, suggests new research published today in the journal Nature Microbiology. The study, carried out in yeast - which can be used to model some of the body's fundamental processes - shows that while the activity of our genes influences our metabolism, the opposite is also true and the nutrients available to cells influence our genes.

12 Feb 2016

Researchers find variability in definitions for reasonable medical threshold in child abuse cases

Physicians use different definitions of "reasonable medical certainty" when testifying as expert witnesses in child abuse cases. The variability is troubling because it could result in flawed rulings, according to researchers at Penn State College of Medicine.

12 Feb 2016

Remote monitoring technology does not reduce hospital readmissions among heart failure patients

Increasingly patients and providers are interested in using remote monitoring devices to help with their health care. The researchers sought to determine if these devices could be useful in preventing 180-day all-cause hospital readmissions for heart failure patients.

12 Feb 2016