Researchers have identified a molecular pathway that plays a critical role in the growth of blood vessels. The finding not only offers an important insight into the development of the vascular system during embryonic development but suggests a potential target for inhibiting the blood vessels that fuel cancers, diabetic eye complications and atherosclerosis, the researchers say.
As people get older, their risk of developing polyps and colorectal cancer increases. Currently, there is no clear evidence or established guideline for the upper age limit for colorectal cancer screening by colonoscopy. Two new studies presented at the American College of Gastroenterology’s 72nd Annual Scientific Meeting suggest continued colorectal cancer screening among healthy elderly Americans.
For the first time, scientists have linked the all-too-human preference for a food — chocolate — to a specific, chemical signature that may be programmed into the metabolic system and is detectable by laboratory tests. The signature reads ‘chocolate lover’ in some people and indifference to the popular sweet in others, the researchers say.
Where does the benefit lie in an afternoon nap? Is it in the nap itself — or in the anticipation of taking a snooze? Researchers in the United Kingdom have found that the time just before you fall asleep is where beneficial cardiovascular changes take place.
Although defects in the “breast cancer gene,” BRCA1, have been known for years to increase the risk for breast cancer, exactly how it can lead to tumor growth has remained a mystery. In the October 15, 2007, issue of the journal Cancer Research, scientists from the University of Chicago and Kyoto University, Japan, suggest that a mechanism that normally repairs damaged DNA may function abnormally in BRCA1 carriers leading to one type of poor-prognosis breast cancer.
A closer look at the way parents interact with children may provide clues to mistreatment of kids and pave the way for potential interventions to prevent the problem.
Stress tests are good front-line tests indicators of heart disease, but just how good depends on ordering the right one, researchers say. Thirty percent of all women, for example, have a false positive exercise treadmill test, in which they walk for several minutes at a slightly increasing incline with an electrocardiogram measuring the electrical activity of the heart, they say.
Women who overcome breast cancer have every reason to celebrate. But a heart filled with joy may also be a heart damaged by life-saving cancer therapies, a growing body of research shows.
MIT researchers have discovered a link between a gene believed to promote long lifespan and a pathway that flushes cholesterol from the body. The finding could help researchers create drugs that lower the risk of diseases associated with high cholesterol, including atherosclerosis (clogged arteries) and Alzheimer’s disease.
A new campaign encouraging British Columbians to eat “just one more” fruit and veggie serving was launched today at Granville Island Market by Gordon Hogg, Minister of State for ActNow BC.