COLUMBUS, Ohio – Chronic inhalation of polluted air appears to activate a protein that triggers the release of white blood cells, setting off events that lead to widespread inflammation, according to new research in an animal model.
This finding narrows the gap in researchers’ understanding of how prolonged exposure to pollution can increase the risk for cardiovascular problems and other diseases. (more…)
It is well known that the human body has a highly developed immune system to detect and destroy invading pathogens and tumor cells. Now, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have shown that the body has a second line of defense against cancer – healthy cells. A new study shows that normal mammary epithelial cells, as they are developing, secrete interleukin 25, a protein known for its role in the immune system’s response to inflammation, for the express purpose of killing nearby breast cancer cells.
“We found that normal breast cells provide an innate defense mechanism against cancer by producing interleukin 25 (IL25) to actively and specifically kill breast cancer cells,” says breast cancer authority Mina Bissell, of Berkeley Lab’s Life Sciences Division, who led this research. “This suggests that IL25 receptor signaling may provide a new therapeutic target for the treatment of breast cancer.” (more…)
Up equals good, happy, optimistic; down the opposite. Right is honest and trustworthy. Left, not so much. That’s what language and culture tell us. “We use mental metaphors to structure our thinking about abstract things,” says psychologist Daniel Casasanto, “One of those metaphors is space.” (more…)
A new study finds that the general public thinks getting a suntan poses a greater public health risk than nanotechnology or other nanoparticle applications. The study, from North Carolina State University, compared survey respondents’ perceived risk of nanoparticles with 23 other public-health risks.
The study is the first to compare the public’s perception of the risks associated with nanoparticles to other environmental and health safety risks. Researchers found that nanoparticles are perceived as being a relatively low risk. (more…)
Men who sexually abuse children generally blame external factors to explain their actions and diminish their guilt. “Every reason they give is a cognitive distortion,” says Sarah Paquette, a student who investigated the issue as part of her master’s thesis at the Université de Montréal School of Criminology. (more…)
In the past few years, Dr. Baowen Feng, with 22 years of clinical experience in gynecology and obstetrics, has rarely had the chance to practice medicine. (more…)
Those who spend more than 11 hours at work increase their chance of having a heart attack by two thirds, according to a new study. (more…)
Sub-Saharan Africa is struggling with twin epidemics — HIV and heroin addiction — and Tanzania, in eastern Africa, is one of the hardest-hit regions.
But now, with funding from the U.S. government and organizational expertise from Yale, an effort is underway there to get heroin addiction and the viruses spawned by the sharing of contaminated needles — HIV, Hepatitis B and C — under control. (more…)
