Whispering Gallery Inspires Virus Detector
8/28/2012
By affixing nanoscale gold spheres onto a microscopic bead of glass, researchers have created a super-sensor that can detect even single samples of the smallest known viruses. The sensor uses a peculiar behavior of light known as "whispering gallery mode," named after the famous circular gallery in St. Paul's Cathedral in London, where a whisper near the wall can be heard around the gallery...
New Computer Simulation Models Metastasis
8/28/2012
Cancer metastasis, the escape and spread of primary tumor cells, is a common cause of cancer-related deaths. But metastasis remains poorly understood. Studies indicate that when a primary tumor breaks through a blood vessel wall, blood's "stickiness" tears off tumor cells the way a piece of tape tears wrapping paper...
Improved Tool To Remove Stroke-Causing Blood Clots
8/28/2012
Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death and a common cause of long-term disability in the United States, but doctors have very few proven treatment methods. Now a new device that mechanically removes stroke-causing clots from the brain is being hailed as a game-changer...
Anti-Clotting Drugs Prasugrel And Clopidogrel Yield Similar Results
8/28/2012
The first trial to study patients with acute coronary syndrome who do not undergo coronary stenting or bypass surgery found no significant difference between two anti-clotting drugs - prasugrel and clopidogrel - in preventing the first occurrence of death, heart attack or stroke, according to Duke University Medical Center cardiologists...
Breast Cancer Recurrence Higher Among Overweight Women
8/27/2012
Obese and overweight women are more likely to experience breast cancer recurrence compared to women of normal weight, regardless of the type of cancer treatment they received, researchers reported in the journal Cancer...
Trastuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1) Significantly Improves Breast Cancer Survival
8/27/2012
The investigational drug, Trastuzumab Emtansine (T-DM1), improves survival of patients with HER2-Positive metastatic breast cancer "significantly", Genentech Inc. announced today as it published highlights of its Phase III EMILIA study results. T-DM1 was compared to lapatinib and Xeloda (capecitabine) combination therapy...
Since The Introduction Of PSA Testing, Prostate Cancer Survival Rates Have Improved
8/27/2012
The routine use of prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing for screening and monitoring prostate cancer has led to early and more sensitive detection of the disease...
Racial Disparities In Prostate Cancer Care
8/27/2012
A study led by investigators from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center (VICC), Nashville, Tenn., finds that black men with prostate cancer receive lower quality surgical care than white men. The racial differences persist even when controlling for factors such as the year of surgery, age, comorbidities and insurance status. Daniel Barocas, M.D...
Human Melanoma Stem Cells Identified
8/27/2012
Cancer stem cells are defined by three abilities: differentiation, self-renewal and their ability to seed a tumor. These stem cells resist chemotherapy and many researchers posit their role in relapse...
Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues have identified PHF20, a novel transcriptional factor, and clarified its role in maintaining the stability and transcription of p53, a gene that allows for both normal cell growth and tumor suppression. PHF20, the researchers found, plays a previously unknown and unique role in regulating p53...