Scientists have reported that an experimental vaccine targeting one of the most common genetic drivers of pancreatic cancer, called mutant KRAS, is safe and generated a durable immune responses aimed at preventing the cancer.
Lincoln, Neb., May 14, 2014 – A chimpanzee will wait more than two minutes to eat six grapes, but a black lemur would rather eat two grapes now than wait any longer than 15 seconds for a bigger serving.
It's an echo of the dilemma human beings face with a long line at a posh restaurant. How long are they willing to wait for the five-star meal? Or do they head to a greasy spoon to eat sooner?
A paper published today in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B explores the evolutionary reasons why some primate species wait for a bigger reward, while others are more likely to grab what they can get immediately.
PHILADELPHIA - Stimulation of a certain population of neurons within the brain can alter the learning process, according to a team of neuroscientists and neurosurgeons at the University of Pennsylvania. A report in the Journal of Neuroscience describes for the first time that human learning can be modified by stimulation of dopamine-containing neurons in a deep brain structure known as the substantia nigra. Researchers suggest that the stimulation may have altered learning by biasing individuals to repeat physical actions that resulted in reward.
LA JOLLA—Using new stem cell technology, scientists at the Salk Institute have shown that neurons generated from the skin cells of people with schizophrenia behave strangely in early developmental stages, providing a hint as to ways to detect and potentially treat the disease early.
The findings of the study, published online in April's Molecular Psychiatry, support the theory that the neurological dysfunction that eventually causes schizophrenia may begin in the brains of babies still in the womb.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Depression in preschool teachers is associated with behavioral problems ranging from aggression to sadness in children under the teachers' care, new research suggests.
The study identified one contributing factor to this link: a poor-quality atmosphere in the child care setting that exists as a result of the teacher's depressive symptoms. In this study, "teacher" refers to both classroom instructors and in-home child care providers.
Researchers conducted the study using data from a large national study that collected family information primarily from low-income, single-mother households.
Much like using dimmer switches to brighten or darken rooms, biochemists have identified a protein called CFIm25 that can be used to slow down or speed up the growth of brain tumors in mice.
Seabirds, marine mammals, seabed animals and other fish actually love human fishermen - because they throw back unwanted fish and that means free food with less work.
New rules have been put in place by the European Union's Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) bans throwing unwanted fish caught at sea back into the sea – it forces vessels to haul fish to land anyway, which is a waste of time and money. The new CFP took effect on 1 January 2014 and will phase out the discarding of fish entirely by 2019.
Are you a control freak?
Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is something else entirely. It is a condition marked by thoughts and images that chronically intrude in the mind and by engaging in repetitive behaviors aimed at reducing the associated anxiety. Some forms of the disorder can add an extra hour to the day's routine but some people are so disabled that they can't leave their homes.
Estimates say that OCD affects 1 percent of the U.S. population or more. Antidepressants known as SSRIs work for some, as does behavioral therapy. Its causes and mechanisms are as much guessing as science.
The most important fertilizer for producing food is nitrogen.
But, as is obvious with any fertilizer or pesticide or anything else, the dose makes the poison. DDT became a problem when it was used improperly, by people who assumed more would work better, and the same thing happens with people who use too much fertilizer, including the organic kind.
Chemical compounds containing reactive nitrogen are major drivers of air and water pollution worldwide, and hence of diseases like asthma or cancer. If overused, nitrogen pollution could rise by 20 percent by 2050, according to a paper by scientists of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
Mitigation efforts could decrease the pollution by 50 percent without sacrificing yield, they write.
More than 60 years ago, Otto Warburg said that cancer cells differ from normal cells in the metabolic pathway they use for the oxidation of sugar.
Rather than the typical series of oxidative steps that take place in the citric acid cycle, cancer cells metabolize sugar via the glycolytic pathway irrespective of whether oxygen is present or not.
Writing in a new paper for The EMBO Journal, researchers believe that the reason for this difference in colon cancer is changes in the Wnt signaling pathway, an essential communication pathway operating in these tumors.
3 million men across America experience infertility. Today, researchers described a key event during sperm development that is essential for male fertility - a protein controls DNA packaging to protect a man's genetic information.
Psychologists probably won't like the implication that e-cigarettes cause mental illness, or vice versa, but in the topsy-turvy world of the American culture wars, where vaccines are bad and inhaling marijuana smoke is good, all fields are going to take their lumps.
E-cigarettes should be healthier for people - there is no smoke and smoking is what causes 10 percent of lung cancer - but there is definitely a concerted effort to undermine them. A new pape in Tobacco Control, for example, warns us that the FDA has not approved e-cigarettes as a cessation aid. It doesn't mean they are harmful or homeopathy but that is how the issue is framed. And in science and health, framing is always bad.
A shared population of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria circulates both in humans and companion animals, according to a study published this week in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.
