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191,281 articles from EurekAlert

New avenue for treating colon cancer

A research team led by cell biologists at the University of California, Riverside has uncovered a new insight into colon cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. The team analyzed human colon cancer specimens and found that in nearly 80 percent of them the variants of a gene (HNF4A) are out of balance. This imbalance appears to be the result of a complex,...

New method makes culture of complex tissue possible in any lab

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego have developed a new method for making scaffolds for culturing tissue in three-dimensional arrangements that mimic those in the body. This advance, published online in the journal Advanced Materials, allows the production of tissue culture scaffolds containing multiple structurally and chemically distinct layers using common laboratory reagents...

New prenatal genetic test is much more powerful at detecting fetal abnormalities

A nationwide, federally funded study has found that testing a developing fetus' DNA through chromosomal microarray provides more information about potential disorders than does the standard method of prenatal testing, which is to visually examine the chromosomes. The results of the 4,000-plus-participant clinical study are being presented at the 32nd annual meeting of the Society for...

New research shows C-section not always best for babies

New research challenges conventional wisdom that c-sections have few or no risks for the baby. The findings presented at the 32nd Annual Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Meeting, "The Pregnancy Meeting," are consistent with the March of Dimes effort to end medically unnecessary deliveries before 39 weeks of pregnancy. The study is the ninth by SMFM members to be honored by the March of Dimes...

NFC aid for the visually and hearing impaired

As the proportion of senior citizens grows, their special needs are gaining momentum. Human eyesight, for example, weakens with age. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has been developing new NFC-based applications that make life easier for the visually impaired. A group of affected persons recently tested an innovative, speech-based item identification system and new "talking" packaging...

Physically abused children report higher levels of psychosomatic symptoms

Children who display multiple psychosomatic symptoms, such as regular aches and pains and sleep and appetite problems, are more than twice as likely to be experiencing physical abuse at home than children who do not display symptoms. Researchers who studied 2,510 children found a strong association between reported physical abuse and three or more psychosomatic symptoms. The association was...

Potential for incorrect relationship identification in new forensic familial searching techniques

In familial searching, a partial genetic profile match between a database entrant and a crime scene sample is used to implicate genetic relatives of the database entrant as potential sources of the sample. Unlike traditional forensic DNA identification, where all genetic markers must match exactly, in familial searching a portion of genetic markers need to match to suggest a biological...

Secrets of immune response illuminated in new study

In research appearing in this month's issue of the journal Nature Immunology, Roy Curtiss, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University investigates the coordination of a particular type of immune response, involving the release of of IFN-λ -- a cell-signaling protein molecule known as a cytokine.

Skin deep

Experiments conducted in a Harvard lab, and described in the Feb. 2 issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology, reveal that, while sharks' sandpaper-like skin does allow the animals to swim faster and more efficiently, the structure of some high-tech swimsuits has no effect when it comes to reducing drag as swimmers move through the water.

Storm warning: Financial tsunami heading this way

Dror Kenett and professor Eshel Ben-Jacob of Tel Aviv University recently devised a financial market "seismograph" that can measure the interconnections between stock markets across the globe. Their research has the potential to serve as an early warning system and provide measures to manage and mitigate the spread of financial crisis.

Study finds in utero surgery preferable to surgery

In a study to be presented today at the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine's annual meeting, The Pregnancy Meeting, in Dallas, Texas, researchers will report findings that show that, for children with spina bifida, surgery conducted while the fetus is still in utero as opposed to surgery on a newborn is more cost effective due to the costs associated with caring for a child with significant...