Bisphenol A linked to metabolic syndrome in human tissue

New research from the University of Cincinnati (UC) implicates the primary chemical used to produce hard plastics—bisphenol A (BPA)—as a risk factor for metabolic syndrome and its consequences. more  

Updated guidelines for stem cell research released

The National Academies today released amended guidelines for research involving human embryonic stem cells, revising those that were issued in 2005 and updated in 2007. The Academies originally produced the guidelines to offer a common set of ethical standards for the responsible conduct of research using human stem cells, an area that, due to an absence of comprehensive federal funding, was lacking national standards. Since their initial release, the guidelines have served effectively as the basis for oversight of this research in the United States. In addition, a standing advisory committee -- a joint project between the Academies' National Research Council and Institute of Medicine -- was established to monitor and review scientific advances and determine any need for revisions. more

Computerized reminder system drove up colon cancer screening rates, U-M study found

A computerized reminder system used in community-based primary care doctors’ offices increased colorectal cancer screening rates by an average of 9 percent, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System. more  

3T MRI leads to better diagnosis for focal epilepsy

3T MRI is better at detecting and characterizing structural brain abnormalities in patients with focal epilepsy than 1.5T MRI, leading to a better diagnosis and safer treatment of patients, according to a recent study conducted at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. "Patients with focal epilepsy have recurrent seizures that result from a specific area of their brain, usually due to a structural brain abnormality," said Bronwyn E. Hamilton, MD, senior author of the study. more

New evidence on the robustness of metabolic networks  

Biological systems are constantly evolving in ways that increase their fitness for survival amidst environmental fluctuations and internal errors. Now, in a study of cell metabolism, a Northwestern University research team has found new evidence that evolution has produced cell metabolisms that are especially well suited to handle potentially harmful changes like gene deletions and mutations. more

Collaboration between researchers yields more comprehensive portrait of brain cancer 

A team including researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute and Stanford University, together with colleagues from a number of other organizations, today publishes a comprehensive analysis of genomic variation in the brain cancer glioblastoma. These results are the first from the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) research network, a collaborative effort funded by the National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Glioblastoma is the most common and most aggressive of the primary brain tumors: Notably, U.S. Senator Edward M. Kennedy was diagnosed with glioblastoma earlier this year. more

Study suggests a possible way to offset chemobrain memory loss

Cancer patients have complained for years about the mental fog known as chemobrain. Now in animal studies at West Virginia University (WVU), researchers have discovered that injections of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), an antioxidant, can prevent the memory loss that breast cancer chemotherapy drugs sometimes induce. The WVU researchers’ study has just been published in the September issue of the Springer journal Metabolic Brain Disease. more

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