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New Take on Impacts of Low Dose Radiation

By Guest PostDecember 24, 2011Health, Scienceatomic bomb blasts, berkeley lab, biological damage, breast cell line, broken dna, cancer risks, christopher pham, dna damage response, dna repair mechanisms, Environment, epidemiological data, extrapolation, gy of radiation, human breast cells, human tissue, ionizing radiation, Japan, joel swenson, lawrence berkeley national laboratory, levels of ionizing radiation, linear no threshold hypothesis, lnt, low dose radiation, mammogram, mathematical modeling, mcf10a, mina bissell, primary breast epithelial cells, radiation induced foci, rafael gomez sjoberg, repair, rif, standard model, survivors, sylvain costes, teresa neumaier, time lapse imaging, world war II, xray microbeam

*Berkeley Lab Researchers Find Evidence Suggesting Risk May Not Be Proportional to Dose at Low Dose Levels*

Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), through a combination of time-lapse live imaging and mathematical modeling of a special line of human breast cells, have found evidence to suggest that for low dose levels of ionizing radiation, cancer risks may not be directly proportional to dose. This contradicts the standard model for predicting biological damage from ionizing radiation – the linear-no-threshold hypothesis or LNT – which holds that risk is directly proportional to dose at all levels of irradiation.

“Our data show that at lower doses of ionizing radiation, DNA repair mechanisms work much better than at higher doses,” says Mina Bissell, a world-renowned breast cancer researcher with Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division. “This non-linear DNA damage response casts doubt on the general assumption that any amount of ionizing radiation is harmful and additive.” (more…)

Removal of Lymph Nodes During Surgery For Thyroid Cancer May Be Beneficial

By Guest PostDecember 22, 2011Healthaleksandra popadich, australia, biopsy, blood thyroglobulin levels, clnd, disease, England, group a patients, group b patients, lymph nodes, mark sywak, michael yeh, neck, papillary cancer, prophylactic central neck lymph node dissection, rate of disease recurrence, removal of neck lymph nodes, stan sidhu, thyroglobulin, thyroid cancer, thyroid malignancies, thyroid surgery, thyroid tumor marker, ultrasound, university of sydney, US

*Procedure may reduce recurrence rates, lower tumor marker levels*

Papillary thyroid cancer accounts for the majority of all thyroid malignancies, which primarily impact women. A new study indicates that routinely removing lymph nodes in the neck in these cancer patients may help prevent the disease from coming back.

When thyroid cancer metastasizes, lymph nodes in the neck may be affected, but these lymph-node tumors can be tiny and may not be detected by ultrasounds done before surgery to remove the diseased thyroid — or even during the procedure itself. (more…)

Marijuana Use Continues to Rise Among U.S. Teens, While Alcohol Use Hits Historic Lows

By Guest PostDecember 16, 20112 commentsGeneral, Healthadderall, alcohol, amphetamine, anabolic steroid, cocaine powder, cold medicines, cough, crack cocaine, ecstasy, energy drinks, inhalants, k2, lloyd johnston, marijuana, mdma, medical use, monster, narcotic drug, red bull, reload, sedative, sedatives, spice, stimulant drug, synthetic cannabinoids, synthetic marijuana, teens, tranquilizers, university of michigan, us secondary school students, use of marijuana, vicodin

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Among the more important findings from this year’s Monitoring the Future survey of U.S. secondary school students are the following:

Marijuana use among teens rose in 2011 for the fourth straight year—a sharp contrast to the considerable decline that had occurred in the preceding decade. Daily marijuana use is now at a 30-year peak level among high school seniors.
“Synthetic marijuana,” which until earlier this year was legally sold and goes by such names as “K2” and “spice,” was added to the study’s coverage in 2011; one in every nine high school seniors (11.4%) reported using that drug in the prior 12 months.
Alcohol use—and, importantly, occasions of heavy drinking—continued a long-term gradual decline among teens, reaching historically low levels in 2011.
Energy drinks are being consumed by about one third of teens, with use highest among younger teens. (more…)

Yale Scientists Identify Gene That Controls The Spread of Melanoma

By Guest PostDecember 16, 2011Health, Sciencebeta catenin, braf gene, disease, drug treatments, gene, genetically altered mice, human melanoma, intestine, lungs, lymph nodes, malignant melanoma, manjula santhanakrishnan, marcus w bosenberg, melanoma, metastasis, skin, skin cancer, spleen, tumor growth, william damsky, yale cancer center

Yale Cancer Center researchers have identified a gene in melanoma that can dramatically affect the spread of the disease. The study, published in the journal Cancer Cell, provides new insight into how melanoma metastasizes in patients with advanced disease, and which organs are most likely to be affected. These findings could potentially lead to new drug treatments.

Malignant melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer, accounting for 80 percent of all skin cancer deaths. Nearly all melanoma deaths are a result of metastasis, which can occur early in the course of tumor growth in the skin. (more…)

Understanding How Cancer Spreads: Nanotech Single-Cell Monitoring Technique Could Give Insights

By Guest PostDecember 14, 2011Healthcancer metastasis, cancerous tumor, circulating tumor cells, genetic code, how cancer spreads, magnetic nanoparticles, personalized cancer treatment, single cancer cell

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— A technique that lets researchers monitor single cancer cells in real time as they float in liquid could help doctors study the breakaway tumor cells that cause metastasis. Metastasis is the process of the disease spreading through the body. (more…)

Body Rebuilding: Scientists Regenerate Muscle in Mice

By Guest PostDecember 10, 2011Healthbody rebuilding, cell delivery techniques, muscle regrow, muscle trauma, regeneration, thfibrin microthreads

New Study Uses Reprogrammed Human Cells and Bioengineered Microthreads

A team of scientists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and CellThera, a private company located in WPI’s Life Sciences and Bioengineering Center, have regenerated functional muscle tissue in mice, opening the door for a new clinical therapy to treat people who suffer major muscle trauma. (more…)

Study Debunks Stereotype That Men Think About Sex All Day Long

By Guest PostDecember 4, 2011Healthdaily sex thoughts, erotophilia score, men sexual thoughts, sexual thought research, tracking sexual thoughts

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Men may think about sex more often than women do, but a new study suggests that men also think about other biological needs, such as eating and sleep, more frequently than women do, as well. (more…)

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