A clinical trial of a new targeted breast cancer drug, led by physicians at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, has begun enrolling patients. The TEACH (Tykerb Evaluation After CHemotherapy) trial will investigate the experimental drug Tykerb (lapatinib) in patients with early-stage, HER2-positive breast cancer who have not been treated with Herceptin, another targeted drug used for the same type of tumor. Read more…
A 100-million-year-old bee fossil and a DNA study suggest that bees may have originated in the Northern rather than the Southern Hemisphere and from a different family of bees than previously thought. Read more…
Researchers in Southern California have isolated brain regions that respond selectively to the cues of gender, ethnicity and identity in faces. Read more…
According to recent research, the complexity of tooth surfaces reveals the diet of a species. Scientists at the University of Helsinki's Institute of Biotechnology and Department of Geology showed that the more complex the surface of an animal's teeth, the greater the share of vegetables in its diet. For instance, the teeth of carnivores and rodents differ in almost every aspect, but if a carnivore and a rodent eat similar food, their teeth are equally complex. The results were published in Nature. Read more…
If multi-slice computed tomography (MSCT) shows that a patient has plaque build-up in the artery walls, does it also mean that there is actual reduced blood flow in the artery? New research shows that more often than not, the plaque in coronary artery walls does not necessarily harm blood flow to the heart. The research appears in the December 19 edition of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Read more…
In the first multi-center clinical trial conducted to better understand the complexities of a rare, aggressive and often lethal form of breast cancer, researchers have discovered that the experimental biological agent, lapatinib, successfully and specifically treats inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Read more…
Experiments designed to test discrepancies in theoretical computational chemistry have turned up a barely two-angstrom difference that may lead to a new approach to locate and remove dangerous toxins such as perchlorate and nitrates from the environment. Read more…
More than 90 percent of children and young adults who survive five years or longer after diagnosis and treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are alive 20 years later and leading productive lives, according to a University of Minnesota study. Read more…
In the first-ever exploration of a planet by sounding radar, scientists are finding an older, craggier face of Mars buried beneath the surface. In a paper published in the Dec. 14 issue of the journal Nature, researchers say radar echoes strongly suggest there are ancient impact basins buried beneath the lowland smooth plains of the Martian northern hemisphere. Read more…
FOND DU LAC, Wis. (AP) -- Rick Lisko hunts deer with a bow but got his most unusual one driving his truck down his mile-long driveway. The young buck had nub antlers -- and seven legs.
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The Planetary Society is offering a $50,000 prize for the best plan to reach out and put a tracking beacon on near-Earth asteroid Apophis. Channel: Science Tags: science Apophis asteroid tracking collision Read more…
15.12.2006 19:09
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Nanocables that convert light into electricity could one day be used to power nano-robots.The cables are 16 nanometres in diameter and several micrometres long. They resemble the light-harvesting antennae used by some bacteria and transform light into electricity in a similar way to the semiconductors in solar panels, albeit on a much smaller scaleChannel: Science Tags: nanocables light electricity alternative energy Read more…
15.12.2006 19:09
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NASA's planned moon base announced last week could pave the way for deeper space exploration to Mars, but one of the biggest beneficiaries may be the terrestrial energy industry.Channel: Science Tags: science Moon nuclear fuel Read more…
15.12.2006 19:09
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Several teams of scientists studied comet grains collected by NASA's Stardust spacecraft, some of which have revealed surprising results. In addition to discovering stardust, or particles older than the Sun, one group found material from the hottest part of the solar system.Channel: Science Tags: comets stardust space NASA Read more…
A landmark study by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and US Geological Survey (USGS) says tigers living in one of India's best-run national parks lose nearly a quarter of their population each year from poaching and natural mortality, yet their numbers remain stable due to a combination of high reproductive rates and abundant prey. Read more…
Researchers at Ohio State University have discovered that two microRNA (miRNA) molecules help control the oncogene responsible for a dangerous form of B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL), the most common human leukemia in the world. Read more…
On December 11, USDA Forest Service (FS) scientists from the FS Southern Research Station (SRS) unit in Research Triangle Park, NC, along with colleagues from Duke University, published two papers in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) that provide a more precise understanding of how forests respond to increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2), the major greenhouse gas driving climate change. Read more…
Scientists have discovered that induction of a gene known as MDA-7/IL-24 is the molecular mechanism that enables nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to halt the growth of cancer cells, a finding that could eventually lead to the development of targeted cancer treatments. Read more…
A prototype flight computer has been designed and evaluated which will improve the interaction between an aircraft's autopilot and pilot. Read more…
Just as overconfidence in a teenager may lead to unwise acts, overconfidence in projections of climate change may lead to inappropriate actions on the parts of governments, industries and individuals, according to an international team of climate researchers. Read more…
Scientists at the University of Bonn have identified a new gene which could play an important role in the development of diabetes. Flies in which this hereditary factor is defective are also significantly smaller than other members of their species and live appreciably longer. In the current issue of the prestigious journal Nature the Bonn researchers have published two articles on this topic. Read more…
Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute, who first isolated cancer stem cells in adult brain tumors in 2004, have now found these cells to be highly resistant to chemotherapy and other treatments. Even if a tumor is almost completely obliterated, it will regenerate from the surviving cancer stem cells and be even more resistant to treatment than before. Read more…
University of Washington researchers had demonstrated they can control the movement of a humanoid robot with signals from a human brain. Read more…
At the American Society for Cell Biology's 2006 conference, scientists will describe how live cell imaging has revealed the very close relationship of hematopoietic stem cells and osteoblasts in the stem cell niche. Read more…
Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston report a new and efficient strategy, using eggs alone, for creating embryonic stem (ES) cells that can generate tissues suitable for transplantation, because the cells are compatible with the recipient's immune system. The technique (done just in mice so far) would apply only to females, who would donate their own eggs to create genetically-matched ES cells. Read more…
