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Researchers have discovered biomarkers that predict which patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer will respond to a combination treatment of the anti-inflammatory drug Celebrex and the growth factor receptor blocker Tarceva. The findings may help oncologists personalize treatment, prescribing drugs they know patients will respond to and sparing them from therapies that won't work. Both drugs are taken in pill form once a day and result in fewer side effects than conventional treatments such as chemotherapy.

Scientists are another step closer to understanding why some people suffer from life-threatening diseases such as cancer. A new model may enable more accurate prediction of the risk of prostate cancer progression. By combining the Gleason score (a pathological score given to prostate cancer based on its microscopic appearance) with structured data from biomarker assessments, the researchers have developed a model for predicting the likelihood of prostate cancer virulence.

When it comes to Bisphenol A exposure from polycarbonate plastic bottles, it's not whether the container is new or old but the liquid's temperature that has the most impact on how much BPA is released, according to new research. BPA is one of many man-made chemicals classified as endocrine disruptors, which alter the function of the endocrine system by mimicking the role of the body's natural hormones.

Scientists are assessing a unique protein found only in whey, the liquid byproduct of cheese-making, that appears to hold promise as a dietary supplement for individuals with a rare genetic condition known as phenylketonuria, or PKU.

Patients treated at top-rated hospitals nationwide are nearly one-third less likely to die, on average, than those admitted to all other hospitals, according to a study released today by HealthGrades, the leading independent healthcare ratings organization. Patients who undergo surgery at these high-performing hospitals also have an average five percent lower risk of complications during their stay, researchers found.

New research in Pediatrics offers another reason to rethink blaming the spike in autism diagnoses on thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative routinely used in several childhood vaccines until the late '90s. Infants' bodies expel the thimerosal mercury much faster than originally thought -- thereby leaving little chance for a progressive building up of the toxic metal.

Using ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer, astronomers have probed the inner parts of the disc of material surrounding a young stellar object, witnessing how it gains its mass before becoming an adult.

Scientists have reported the discovery of two common, single-letter variants in the sequence of the human genome that regulate one of the principle motors of evolution. Yet remarkably, the versions of the SNPs that increase recombination in men decrease it in women, and vice versa.

Neurological surgeons at Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience are among the first surgeons in the United States using an FDA-approved liquid system for treating wide-necked brain aneurysms, which could eventually replace current treatments. A brain aneurysm is a weakness in a major blood vessel that causes a portion of the vessel wall to balloon out. This abnormality puts an individual at risk should the aneurysm break open and bleed.

A new study sheds light on the relationship between women who smoke while pregnant -- or are exposed to secondhand smoke -- and an increased risk of SIDS to their babies. Researchers found that an infant's ability to respond to oxygen deprivation is dramatically compromised by exposure to nicotine in the womb, even light to moderate amounts.